text stringlengths 181 608k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 3 values | url stringlengths 13 2.97k | file_path stringlengths 125 140 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.65 1 | token_count int64 50 138k | score float64 1.5 5 | int_score int64 2 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oil prices remain near record highs, gold has gone through the roof, technology sector equity valuations are frothing over and emerging markets are decoupling from the moribund West. As investors seek new or alternative asset classes as either safe harbors or high-return prospects, there is an essential new portfolio that needs to be developed: cities.
The emerging markets category in particular is fraying. Witness how, according to MSCI, mature markets like South Korea retain emerging market status, while clearly stable and booming economies like the UAE are still labeled “frontier” alongside Kenya. Such labels are too broad, encompassing a wide range of countries with divergent trajectories. At the same time, they lack nuance, failing to take into account that a city’s fate can often be decoupled from that of its home country. The aftermath of the financial crisis has starkly revealed how this is indeed the case. Unemployment remained lower in cities, which also recovered faster. European cities have rebounded demonstrably faster from the financial crisis than EU nations as a whole. Greece, Italy, and Portugal might be finished from an investor’s standpoint, but Athens, Rome, Milan and Lisbon certainly are not.
These discrepancies come together when we look at high-growth city centers outside the core economies. In Ukraine or Egypt, over 90 percent of foreign investment comes just to the capital cities of Kiev and Cairo, while the rest of their large populations struggles as ever before. Quite a few such cities might be smart economic bets even when their home nations are performing poorly. Angola is most certainly a frontier market, but it was also the world’s fastest growing country last year, at 18 percent, based on the energy, banking, real estate and infrastructure activities in the capital city of Luanda. It is in many ways becoming a regional magnet, the first in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa.
For decades, national governments have sought to strike a balance between regulating and promoting the corporations that generate much of their wealth and overseas influence. The same is even more the case for cities. Today the Gross Value Added of cities per capita far exceeds that of their home nations. According to the Brookings Metro Monitor, 150 cities representing just 12 percent of world population account for 46 percent of total GDP.
There are far more meaningful and investment-worthy cities than there are nations. But we need better metrics to measure their performance and invest in their potential.
Like climate, fresh water or food, cities should be thought of commodities to be priced and optimized for maximum benefit. But for cities to be treated as an asset class alongside emerging market regions, commodities, or alternative financial products, governments and the financial sector will require broader, more precise, and better-integrated data to analyze. This means moving beyond competitive surveys and branding toward real and broader data collection and learning networks that improve the collective global management of our vital city habitats.
It is time for a serious city performance index to emerge that provides real-time data which banks, insurers, property developers, investors, and municipalities can actually use to capture rapidly changing urban dynamics. Earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that hedge funds sought to short U.S. municipal bonds on the basis that data was insufficient as whether cities were actually solvent. Some of the data that will necessary include indicators around entrepreneurship levels and capital investment, education and creativity, political stability and hybrid governance institutions.
Each city is a unique and complex ecosystem of currents and patterns. Still, better city metrics can create a status drive that will spur improvements in the way the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index or Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has done among countries. Banks like HSBC, for example, increasingly reward city performance in sustainability, for cities are the targets of most clean-tech investments. Measuring, pricing, and investing in city performance is a crucial step not only toward maximizing economic value, but in creating a stable foundation for world society and the global economy.
Photo credit: Juan Medina/Reuters | <urn:uuid:74db520d-d2ae-41c9-bde6-f2af098adbfd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.citylab.com/work/2011/11/economic-performance-index-for-cities/516/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00381-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942898 | 824 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Who is Stockpiling and Sharing Private Information About New York Students?
Most New York City public school parents don't know that their child's personal information will be available to third-party companies through a new data-sharing initiative. Parents and advocates opposed to the new initiative believe it will put sensitive student information at risk and allow companies to capitalize on data that parents never consented to release. The New York State Education Department says that districts have been sharing this kind of information for nearly a decade, and that the new initiative simply enables that data to be shared in a safer, more efficient fashion. If it really is that simple, parents and advocates wonder, why hasn't the state been more forthcoming with details about the project?
"The real outrage of it is that the whole spin of this is that it's being done to help kids. And, yet they refuse to tell their parents about it." Leonie Haimson, of Class Size Matters, tells the Voice. "The idea that they wouldn't tell parents about it and allow them the right to consent, shows me that either it's not being done for kids at all, or that they don't trust parents to make the right choices for their child." The initiative calls for inBloom Inc., previously known as the Shared Learning Collaborative, to build educational databases for nine different states including New York. NYSED will use inBloom to power its Education Data Portal. The $100 million inBloom initiative is funded primarily through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and federal grants. Disciplinary records, attendance records, special-needs records, testing records, addresses, phones numbers, email-addresses and birth-dates are among some of the data that can be shared with the third-party vendors contracting with state and city districts. According to NYSED, the EDP will:
"...allow New York to focus its limited resources on the delivery of innovative data tools and curriculum content, including customizable dashboards for educators, parents, and students; early warning supports to help provide targeted resources to students at risk of not completing high school ready for college and careers; electronic transcript transfer between high schools and New York's public colleges and universities; and curriculum/instructional resources to support our professional development and student learning goals."
Earlier this month, inBloom, Inc. hosted forums at the South by Southwest education festival in Houston -- where education technology companies were invited to see how inBloom databases can be used to develop various educational tools. A recent Reuters report revealed that venture capitalists have invested more than $400 million dollars into the business of education technology. Opponents of inBloom are outraged by the prospect of corporations profiting from student information that parents never consented to release. "Our children are not commodities. They are not something to be bought and sold on the market place," Councilman Steve Levin said during a rally against the initiative last week. "Their achievement and their data is not something that's negotiable or something that should be for sale. This is about transparency. This about their rights as students and parents in New York City." NYSED has a different take. "I'm not sure there's consent involved. This is regular student information that when parents register a child for school. They give up," Tom Dunn, spokesman for NYSED tells the Voice. The state maintains that the project is fully compliant with the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Some activists believe that data-sharing initiatives such as inBloom are only possible because the U.S. Department of Education made amendments to FERPA in 2008 and 2011 to relax protections. The Electronic Privacy Information Center is currently suing the USED accusing the department of illegally reinterpreting what constituents an "authorized representative" and an "education program." EPIC argues that the new interpretations fail to adequately enforce the law's intended mandate to "protect the privacy of [student] records by preventing unauthorized access by third parties." "I don't think enough parents, and I definitely don't think enough students recognize what's happening to student data. And, we need some form of accountability," Khaliah Barnes, an EPIC attorney tells the Voice. "We know that there is value in having information and analyzing progress. But in order to do that effectively you can't remove all privacy protections." Both inBloom and NYSED tell the Voice that privacy protection paramount. "Our security practices meet the highest industry standards," an inBloom spokesperson said in a statement to the Voice. "As in any system, no security protections can be 100 [percent] guaranteed, but it's important to realize that in the current state of affairs, student data is often stored locally, with weaker security protections, multiple login credentials and greater potential for data breaches."
Dunn says that NYSED will roll out a full information campaign about the EDP for parents and students before the new portal is launched. He also points out that information about the inBloom-powered EDP is available on NYSED's website, in news releases, and on agenda items for regents meetings. Haimson says that NYSED has hardly made any real efforts to disseminate information to the public about the portal. In fact, she says that the only reason why some parents know anything about inBloom is because she's been shouting about it for over a year now. Numerous requests from her and other concerned advocates to meet with the state and NYSED officials to discuss the scope of the EDP initiative have been denied, she says. Hundreds of emails and phone calls from parents seeking to opt of their kid's out of the data portal have gone largely ignored. Haimson says NYSED has only grown slightly more responsive over time because of growing outrage against the EDP. "One of my huge frustrations here is getting the word out because as soon as a parent gets a glimpse of what's going...they'll be necessarily outraged and terrified and inflamed to some kind of action," Molly Wulkowicz, whose child attends Midtown West public school, tells the Voice. "The problem is nobody knows that this is happening." Wulkowicz is disturbed by the fact there's such little awareness and conversation about the new EDP at Midtown West, where there are many affluent parents. Thus, she can only imagine what less affluent public school parents know about the initiative. She's even more disturbed by the fact Wireless Generation, a subsidiary company of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, was contracted to build the infrastructure of the inBloom database system. The subsidiary ed-tech company, now called Amplify, is run by former New York City public school chancellor, Joel Klein. Of course, News Corporation's issues with privacy have been well publicized in recent years. "It's hard not to sound like you're totally paranoid because it sounds so far out. People literally think you're a paranoid disturbed person because how could this be happening," Wulkowicz says. "Joel Klein and Rupert Murdoch don't get involved in things like this because they're altruists." Dunn stressed the fact that Wireless Generation has completed its work on the project and will not handle any student data. NYSED's reassurances aren't enough for many observers. Last week, Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell introduced a bill that would prohibit student information from being shared with third-party vendors without consent. "Students and parents have the fundamental right to privacy and control over their own information," O'Donnell said in a statement. "Under this bill, student information cannot be disclosed without explicit parental consent, and students' needs will once again be prioritized over those of the private companies seeking to profit from our children."
Get the ICYMI: Today's Top Stories Newsletter Our daily newsletter delivers quick clicks to keep you in the know
Catch up on the day's news and stay informed with our daily digest of the most popular news, music, food and arts stories in New York, delivered to your inbox. | <urn:uuid:8f2c9889-85ac-48b0-ba76-c2b7a02c7aa8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.villagevoice.com/news/who-is-stockpiling-and-sharing-private-information-about-new-york-students-6668208 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00126-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96545 | 1,617 | 2.015625 | 2 |
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, says Egypt is making "strong efforts" to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.
Speaking in Brussels Mr Hague said a clear message was also needed from the whole of the European Union to bring an end to the violence.
Today's bombing in Tel Aviv is reminiscent of six years ago and could mark a serious escalation in the conflict.
A truce in Gaza suits all sides but none of the groups seem interested in a long-lasting solution.
A complex system of air defences has been instrumental in protecting Israel's population from incoming rockets. | <urn:uuid:65fed143-1a81-41c3-af2f-d3b6b31626f7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itv.com/news/update/2012-11-19/strong-efforts-to-agree-ceasefire-between-israel-and-gaza/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00320-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953306 | 117 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Plausibility: This is your brain on lead
Hill (1965) says it is helpful if a causal hypothesis is biologically plausible. The plausibility of preschool lead exposure affecting learning and behavior has been demonstrated by extensive research showing adverse neurochemical, subcellular, and cellular effects on brain development (Banks, 1997). There are also “toxicological effects with behavioural concomitants at exceedingly low levels of exposure”. (Lidsky & Schneider, 2003)
Wolf (2014) notes that lead poisoning “wreaks a lot of havoc on the central nervous system. So pinpointing one – or even a few – molecular switches by which the heavy metal turns on aggression has been challenging.” The impact on gray and white matter growth is well known, however, and the association between brain growth and criminal offending has been recognized in landmark Supreme Court death penalty decisions.
In Roper v. Simmons (2005), the Supreme Court held that execution is an excessive sanction for crimes committed by juveniles, citing the “susceptibility of juveniles to immature and irresponsible behavior” indicative of “diminished culpability”. An American Psychological Association (APA) Roper brief (2004) cited magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of a “biological dimension to adolescent behavioral immaturity”.
“The frontal lobes, especially the prefrontal cortex, play a critical role in the executive or “CEO” functions of the brain … involved when an individual plans and implements goal-directed behaviors. … MRI studies indicate this executive area of the brain is one of the last parts of the brain to reach maturity.
… white matter significantly increases during adolescence [as] a substance called myelin is wrapped around brain cell axons. Myelination improves the connectivity of neural tracts by insulating the axon thereby greatly speeding up the communication between cells, allowing the brain to process information more efficiently and reliably.” (APA, 2004)
This APA brief highlighted MRI research by Giedd (1999) showing a surge in gray matter growth around puberty, followed by white matter growth that improved connections between neurons. In another study, Sowell (1999) compared MRI scans at ages 12-16 to scans at ages 23-30 showing a large difference in frontal lobe white matter. The APA cites this as evidence of neurodevelopment affecting juvenile offending, but Bartzokis (2001) reported MRI evidence of frontal lobe white matter growth through age 50. He explains: ‘‘What keeps growing is the myelin … It literally allows your brain to work in concert; you’re not as prone to impulse” (Health Scout, 2001). White matter growth through age 50 suggests that improving brain function could explain why arrest rates decline with age well beyond adolescence.
Moffitt (1993) described how Adolescence-Limited offenders account for most juvenile crime, but some youths become more violent Life-Course-Persistent offenders. Even among chronic offenders, Sampson and Laub (2003) found that offending increased sharply after age 10, property crimes peaked during adolescence and fell almost 90% by the mid-20s, and violent offenses peaked in the early-20s and fell through age 50. These findings are consistent with offending being affected by the gray matter growth surge around puberty, rapid white matter growth through the mid-20s, and ongoing white matter growth through age 50.
The APA Roper brief included an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) graph to illustrate that violent offense rates “build steeply to age 18 and then fall”, but the most recent version of that OJJDP graph no longer supports that claim. In 1994, the violent crime arrest rate peaked at the age of 18, but in 2019 it peaked in the late-20s. From 1994-2019, violent crime arrest rates fell 73% for juveniles, and 65% for ages 18-20, but rose 21% for ages 50-54.
If brain function affects crime, then violent crime arrest rate trends by age suggest that brain function from 1994 to 2019 improved for juveniles but deteriorated for older adults. That conclusion is consistent with birth year trends in lead exposure and University of Cincinnati MRI studies (Cecil, 2008; Brubaker, 2009) showing that lead exposure impairs the same types of brain development linked to “diminished culpability” in Roper.
“One set of scans found that lead exposure is linked to production of the brain’s white matter – primarily a substance called myelin, which forms an insulating sheath around the connections between neurons. Lead exposure degrades both the formation and structure of myelin, and when this happens, says Kim Dietrich, one of the leaders of the imaging studies, “neurons are not communicating effectively.” Put simply, the network connections within the brain become both slower and less coordinated.
… A second study found that high exposure to lead during childhood was linked to a permanent loss of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex”. (Drum, 2013)
Lead exposure impacts on neurodevelopment provide a new perspective on research by Raine (1997) comparing brain scans for murderers and matched controls. This study showed that murderers had dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex and the corpus callosum (the largest white matter structure in the brain, facilitating communication between cerebral hemispheres). This provided direct evidence to support earlier speculation that corpus callosum dysfunction may cause a biological predisposition to violence. Moreover, this dysfunction and “consequent lack of hemispheric integration could contribute to the abnormal asymmetries of function … previously observed in antisocial and violent groups” (Raine, 1997). An analysis of 43 imaging studies by Yang and Raine (2009) also found “significantly reduced prefrontal structure and function in antisocial individuals”. Raine has since stated that the rise and fall of leaded gasoline exposure is “the only single cause that can both explain the precipitous rise in violence from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s and also the drop that we’ve been experiencing” (NPR, 2013).
Males (2020) has observed that the “near disappearance of adolescent property offenses” has been led by an even more astonishing drop among the youngest juveniles: “From 1978 to 2018, felony and misdemeanor property arrests of Californians under age 12 plunged by 99%, from 10,419 to 116.” He concludes that these trends “stunningly refute … [the] notion that teenagers do “incredibly stupid” things due to their undeveloped brains”.
Youth behavior trends do not discredit the research on brain growth but do show that teenagers today do not have their father’s (or grandfather’s) teen brain. The Cecil (2008) and Brubaker (2009) studies showing how lead impairs neurodevelopment reflect brain scans for participants in the Cincinnati Lead Study (CLS). The CLS enrolled pregnant women from 1979-1984 and followed their children born over those years. The average preschool blood lead for CLS participants was 13 mcg/dl. The average preschool blood lead for all USA children was above 15 mcg/dl in every year from 1952-1978, and above 21 mcg/dl every year from 1966-1973 (Nevin, 2007). This means that MRI studies cited in the APA Roper brief (studies published in 1999) were not showing us the normal development of a completely healthy, lead-free teenage brain. Those MRI studies examined people born across decades when almost all children had preschool blood lead levels now linked to an increased risk of “toxicological effects with behavioural concomitants”. In other words, that MRI research showed us the teenage brain on lead.
Research showing white matter growth from adolescence through age 50 is consistent with arrest rates that decline with age. In fact, arrest rates in 2019 were higher for youths than adults over 50, despite youths in 2019 having had far less preschool lead exposure than adults over 50 (born before the phase out of leaded gasoline). Silbergeld (1992) observed that lead exposure during critical periods of brain growth can cause permanent damage, but neurotransmission effects could be reversible absent continuous exposure. More generally, behavioral neuroscience recognizes that “the nervous system can modify its organization and ultimately its function throughout an individual’s lifetime”, a property called brain plasticity (Kolb & Whishaw, 1998).
Another analysis of CLS participants found that preschool blood lead over 5 mcg/dl is associated with a higher risk of violent and property crime arrests, and arrest rates rise with each 5 mcg/dl increase in blood lead (Wright, 2008). The average preschool blood lead for all USA children was close to 5 mcg/dl in the 1930s and early-1940s and well above 5 mcg/dl in every year from 1947 through 1984 (Nevin, 2007). National blood lead survey data collected from 1976-1980 found that 99.8% of preschool children had blood lead above 5 mcg/dl (and 88.2% had blood lead above 10 mcg/dl).
In 1960, the first year of FBI recorded data, the juvenile property crime arrest rate was 1457 per 100,000 population ages 10-17. Most juvenile offenders in 1960 were born before 1947, when average preschool blood lead was close to 5 mcg/dl, but that average included many children with blood lead above the 5 mcg/dl level now linked to a higher risk of arrests. The 1960 juvenile property crime arrest rate was the lowest recorded from 1960 through 2000. In 2001, the juvenile property crime arrest rate fell to 1451, and fell to 1395 in 2002, 17 years after average preschool blood lead fell to 5.1 mcg/dl in 1985. National blood lead survey data collected from 1988-1991 found that average preschool blood lead had fallen to 2.8 mcg/dl but 33% of preschool children still had blood lead above 5 mcg/dl. The percent of USA children under age 6 with blood lead over 5 mcg/dl fell to 9.9% in 1999-2000 and to 0.5% in 2013-2014.
For 60 years, the juvenile property crime arrest rate has tracked the rise and fall of average preschool blood lead and it is still tracking the fall in preschool blood lead prevalence above 5 mcg/dl. In 2019, the juvenile property crime arrest rate was just 359 per 100,000 population ages 10-17, less than 25% of the 1960 rate. | <urn:uuid:9de9d5d4-5069-47e5-b8a0-171d2c0b3960> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ricknevin.com/plausibility-this-is-your-brain-on-lead/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.94289 | 2,198 | 2.625 | 3 |
Albert Einstein quote on goodwill, Andrew Greeley 83rd birthday, Andrew Greeley quote on religion, astrology, astrology february 5 2011, astrology for February 5 2011, Barbara Hershey 63rd birthday, birthdays for february 5th, chatty, compassion, free horoscope, goodwill, horoscope february 5 2011, horoscope for february 5 2011, kindness, meditation, Mercury sextile Jupiter, Moon in Pisces, optimism, random acts of kindness, Roger Staubach 69th birthday, zodiac
“Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes – goodwill among men and peace on earth.” Albert Einstein
Our mental outlook brightens. A warm ray of sunshine permeates our thoughts. This is because thinker Mercury is aligned (via the sextile aspect) with benevolent, optimistic Jupiter. A wonderful day to spread around some goodwill, or to serve up fab words of encouragement. We may also want to read books on philosophy or religion. Or, make travel arrangements. Jupiter’s ray impinging upon us inclines us to want to broaden our horizons, literally and symbolically. Too, Mercury-Jupiter can make us a bit more chatty. This same aspect also enables us to be able to see more of the humor in situations.
The goddess Moon is additionally still sequestered in mystical, compassionate, “Why can’t we all just get along?” Pisces. Meditation and going within replenishes us now.
“What this world needs is a new kind of army – the army of the kind.” Cleveland Amory
“Practically speaking, your religion is the story you tell about your life.” Andrew Greeley
(c) Copyright 2011
eclectric electric light nodes: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1120181
Famous Birthday: http://www.famousbirthdays.com/feb.html
mosaic sun: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1327692
Disclaimer For entertainment purposes only. The information and data contained on and through this site is to be treated purely for your entertainment purposes only. Any prediction or other message that you receive is not a substitute for advice, programs, or treatment that you would normally receive from a licensed professional such as a doctor, lawyer, mental health professional, or financial adviser. Cosmic Life Coach Blog and Patricia Thompson provides no guarantees, implied warranties, or assurances of any kind, and will not be responsible for any interpretation. | <urn:uuid:4245c03a-8576-46ba-b8d2-6b061827febf> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://cosmiclifecoach.com/2011/02/04/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573667.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819100644-20220819130644-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.866924 | 563 | 1.507813 | 2 |
What are the Main Benefits of Cloud Software? The reasons to use a cloud software in your company. You’ve probably heard that the cloud is the future, but do you know why? Keep reading to know more about the reasons to use cloud software in your company.
You don’t have to download anything, you can access cloud software in your company from any computer without any complications.
The reasons to use a cloud software in your company, application Integration
Cloud software can connect with other applications such as e-commerce and more. You can integrate any application you want easily and simply.
The best systems are constantly updating, so the cloud software you get will be the best and you will have the latest version. These changes are managed automatically, without the need to update your platform.
Having the software in the cloud avoids the need to hire a team to maintain the servers that host the software and databases. This is especially beneficial for small businesses with little or no technical expertise and allows for scalability as businesses grow. Scalability is a feature of cloud software that means there is no limit to the number of courses per student and no limit to the number of students or courses that can be grown.
What are the Main Benefits of Cloud Software? The cloud software allows you to set the language you want. With your software in the cloud, you can save the initial cost of servers and licenses and the cost of maintenance in the long term.
The cloud-based software allows you to generate and schedule instant or periodic reports. This can be done in various formats such as PDF or CSV with the respective exhaustive tracking of the clients and processes.
What are the Main Benefits of Cloud Software? The reasons to use a cloud software in your company, it’s customizable
You no longer need to maintain your own server or install the software on each of your computers. Nor is it necessary to purchase the software, nor to make a high initial outlay on systems.
With the software in the cloud, you only have to sign up for the service and start working. The process is done quickly and with less costs since all the software is in one place, in the cloud, of course.
What are the Main Benefits of Cloud Software? In addition to saving you the money of one or many licenses and the cost of using and maintaining the servers, you also save on the cost of the software in the cloud. If you have a small business, you will need to have a few users accessing the software. With this type of software you can hire a basic plan per month, so every month you know exactly what your business infrastructure will cost if you have it in the cloud.
Cloud servers are very powerful machines, designed and prepared to maintain a large workload in real-time. The advantage for the company is that the program will run faster than on a normal office computer.
In addition, these servers are constantly maintained and supervised by specialized technicians. For that reason, the company will not have problems with viruses, updates, incompatible programs, misconfigurations, or other issues.
If tomorrow your business is doing well and you need more users to access the management software or more features you can increase your subscription as your needs change. Or if, on the other hand, your company reduces its activity, you can not renew certain services and adapt the system to every moment of your business.
What are the advantages of cloud-based software? What are the advantages of cloud-based software? The reasons to use cloud software in your company gives a company the opportunity to expand.
Conclusion of What are the Main Benefits of Cloud Software?
Or at least the information that you give them permission to see. Thus, you can be in constant contact with your headquarters in other areas. Or have the possibility to visit a customer outside your country and have a click all the information of your business wherever you are.
For me, this is another of the great advantages of cloud software: you can customize it to suit your business.
Have you considered the advantages of your business if you have your information in the cloud? The use of software in the cloud is an improvement in many business processes. In fact, the companies that benefit most are the small and medium-sized ones. The reason is that they have the possibility to use business models that until recently were only at hand by large companies. | <urn:uuid:41fd3f8e-015b-4a0c-b47b-56fcfa4e05c9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://innatos.com.mx/en/what-are-the-main-benefits-of-cloud-software/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.951294 | 892 | 1.945313 | 2 |
CONTACT: Teresa Weidemann-Smith
State Bar of Wisconsin
(800) 444-9404, ext. 6025
Miss Wisconsin, Miss Madison Judge Student Hearing Competition
MADISON, January 8, 2005 -- The State Bar of
Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Law Foundation sponsored the 2005 We the
People ... The Citizen and the Constitution Wisconsin State Hearing
competition at the State Capitol in Madison on Saturday, January 8th
from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Students from Greenfield, Heritage Christian,
Ripon, Wauwatosa and Wisconsin Dells High Schools prepared for the
competition by completing a semester instructional program about the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The students will answer questions
posed by six panels consisting of lawyers, legislators, educational
professionals and Miss Madison Kelly Jo Stauffacher and Miss Wisconsin
Molly Jean McGrath.
The hearings take place from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The media is
invited to attend for interviews at the Capitol at 3:30 p.m. Miss
Wisconsin and Miss Madison will present awards to students at the Inn on
the Park beginning at 4 p.m.
We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution is an
educational program developed and administered by the Center for Civic
Education. It is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education and
was established in 1987 under the Commission on the Bicentennial of the
United States Constitution. Wisconsin's program is supported by the
State Bar of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies,
the Wisconsin Law Foundation and the Law-related Education Committee of
the State Bar. For the past 17 years, this citizenship education program
has involved hundreds of Wisconsin students and teachers in the study of
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
For more information on the competition, contact Dee Runaas, State
Bar of Wisconsin LRE Coordinator at 608/250-6191 or at org drunaas wisbar wisbar drunaas org .
The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association,
created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a
Wisconsin law license. With more than 21,000 members, the State Bar aids
the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides
continuing legal education for its members to help them maintain their
expertise, and assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community
service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the
value of lawyers. For more information, visit www.wisbar.org or www.legalexplorer.com. | <urn:uuid:56d0471c-e8c7-4640-9726-4cfda5b8efe7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=9739 | 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 | 0.902837 | 554 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The total straight line flight distance from Seattle, WA to Maui is 2,646 miles. This is equivalent to 4 259 kilometers or 2,299 nautical miles.
How many air miles is it from Seattle to Hawaii?
The shortest distance (air line) between Seattle and Hawaii is 2,670.09 mi (4,297.09 km).
How many air miles from Seattle to Kauai?
The total straight line flight distance from Seattle, WA to Kauai is 2,706 miles. This is equivalent to 4 354 kilometers or 2,351 nautical miles.
How long is the plane ride from Seattle to Hawaii?
Around five hours and 37 minutes
How many air miles is it from Seattle to Honolulu?
The total straight line flight distance from Seattle, WA to Honolulu, HI is 2,680 miles. This is equivalent to 4 313 kilometers or 2,329 nautical miles.
Which Hawaiian island is closest to Seattle?
Seattle is a whopping 2,665 miles from Hawaii Island, and 2,704 miles to the more distant island of Kauai. Getting between Seattle and Hawaii is an over-water journey so you won't find options to take a car, bus or train, but you will find plenty of flights and cruises.
What airlines fly nonstop from Seattle to Hawaii?
If you would like to travel to Honolulu, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Alaska Airlines all offer nonstop flights.
How long is a cruise from Seattle to Hawaii?
Fall Cruise From Seattle to Hawaii 2022. The next offering on AAA's list of cruises from Seattle to Hawaii is a 15-day cruise by Princess Cruises. This autumn cruise will help you avoid the heat of Hawaiian spring and summer, giving you cooler weather for shore excursions and less humidity.
Is it worth getting a balcony on a cruise?
Fresh air. For me, this is the big reason to get a balcony cabin. At any time of the day — or night — you can slide open your balcony door and breathe in the fresh ocean air. You'll also be able to hear the sounds of the waves as they crash against the bow of your ship.
How do I get from Seattle to Hawaii without flying?
Via a serendipitous sea/rail connection that occurs several times a year. Each spring and fall, this route gives travelers the opportunity to visit Hawaii's four major islands for 12 days, enjoy nine days at sea, and take a two-day train trip along the Pacific Coast — all without ever once visiting an airport.
Does Amtrak train go to Hawaii?
Amtrak Enters the Hawai'ian Market.
What is the best month to sail to Hawaii?
The best time to sail to Hawaii is around June. The temperatures are comfortable in early summer, and the hurricane season still hasn't really started yet. In July you can encounter hurricanes. In April the southerly part of the trip can be quite cold.
What is the best time to go on a cruise to Hawaii?
Shoulder season or off-season for Hawaii cruises takes place between May and June, and again in September through mid-December. If you want to enjoy an affordable Hawaiian vacation with glorious weather, the shoulder season is the best time of year to sail to Hawaii.
How much would a cruise to Hawaii cost?
While prices for Hawaiian cruises vary depending on the cruise line, on a typical 14-day sailing, you can expect to pay between $1,200 and $4,500 (and up), which breaks down to around $85 to $321 per day.
How long is a cruise from California to Hawaii?
While there are several cruise lines that make calls in Hawaii, most sailings embark from Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco, or Vancouver, and the sea journey to and from the islands takes a total of 8-9 days.
Where do Hawaii cruises depart from?
Leave from Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu and cruise the other Hawaiian Islands. Norwegian Cruise Line offers a seven day, round trip adventure that leaves from Honolulu and docks in Kahului, Maui; Nawiliwili, Kauai; and both Hilo and Kona on the Big Island.
Is Uber available in Hawaii?
If you're wondering "is there Uber and Lyft in Hawaii?" the answer is yes.
Why don't you rent a car in Maui?
Demand for rental cars on Maui is slowing down after a shortage of vehicles sent prices soaring when more tourists returned amid the pandemic
4, 2021, at 3:34 p | <urn:uuid:114aab89-0449-470b-9c1f-b6d2e57ec7a4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://trendingsimple.com/hawaii/many-air-miles-seattle-maui/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.932693 | 946 | 1.570313 | 2 |
PITTSBURGH - A family in Pittsburgh's Mount Washington neighborhood had an unusual visitor. They found a tiny fawn all alone in their backyard.
The family has been caring for the animal, feeding it with a bottle, because it's so defenseless.
"I know people say, 'Let nature take its course,'" Ben Brazell told Channel 11's Vince Sims. "I got a heart. I can't let a raccoon destroy this poor thing."
Wildlife experts, however, told Channel 11 News that if one finds a wild animal like a deer, it's important to contact the proper authorities.
After talking with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, the family was referred to a farm in Murrysville, where they could take the fawn. There, it will be raised until it can be released back into the wild. | <urn:uuid:491d3a8d-47ec-4e65-bae0-8cb6268d170a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wpxi.com/news/local/family-caring-tiny-fawn-after-backyard-discovery_nxs9y/289437623 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00484-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971222 | 181 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The heart of the document is Chapter 2, Central Themes of Reformation Theology [Kernpunkte reformatorischer Theologie]. An opening section summarizes the thesis: “The Reformation doctrine of justification breaks through the logic that to be justified one must be in the right.” Rather, “God wishes to have fellowship with each person, regardless of how each has behaved with G, with other persons, or with themselves” (p. 45). This thesis is then elaborated by means of five “alones”: Christ alone, grace alone, Word alone, Scripture alone, faith alone. Each section follows a similar pattern. First, the “basic theological idea” [theologischer Grundgedanke] is expounded. Then, “present challenges” to the basic idea are noted. In each case, both “challenges within the church” and “social challenges” are discussed.
Four comments on this chapter:
– The emphasis falls on justification as God’s nearness [Nähe], despite our unworthiness of such nearness (p. 49). Jesus makes that nearness concrete and in his cross and resurrection, shows that God is near even sin and death and takes away that which in sin and death would separate us from God (p. 50).
– The emphasis is on justification. While it is said that justification is not just one theme among many, but “the basis for a consoled, healed, borne life” (p. 46) not much is said about that life, beyond the statement that good work will follow “quasi automatically” (p. 89).
– In light of the title of the total text, not much is really said here about freedom.
– As the text notes, to say “alone” is to exclude. To say “this alone” is to say “not that” (p. 47). In the discussion of most of the “alones,” the contrast with what is excluded is explicitly drawn.
Chapter 3, “How can [the Reformation] be celebrated [gefeiert]?” focuses on the relation between a strictly ecclesial celebration and one oriented to the concerns of the wider culture. The hope expressed is for a celebration that would make the connection between the Reformation and “present experiences and expectations” visible. (p. 97). Anniversary celebrations of this sort offer “concentrated narratives” that help to shape cultural understanding (p. 99). The connection between the Reformation and “modern history of freedom” is offered as an example of this relation (pp. 98-104), with a focus on the cultural impact of Luther’s appeal to conscience before the Reichstag in Worms (the “here I stand” speech).
A brief conclusion, Chapter 4, expresses the desire for the widest possible ecumenical and social celebration of the Reformation.
An ecumenical analysis of the text will come tomorrow. | <urn:uuid:fd4e4fed-e276-4a4c-8313-80eef2360b36> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.e-ccet.org/2014/07/reformation-and-justification-summary-of-contents-4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00349-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934258 | 640 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Pentagon has devised numerous ways to entice young people into signing up with a new video game available for free on a Pentagon website. It is also available through recruiting offices around the country. It’s called, ’America’s Army.’
A preview for the game reads like this:
"For the first time ever,
designed by the army,
developed by the army,
created by the army. . .
The official US army game.
Live the real army experience.
From basic training. . .
to special ops missions,
authentic combat units and weapons,
immersive graphics and challenges,
in training or under fire.
No other army game is this real,
b/c nobody gets the army like the army!"
More than 950,000 people have already registered online for the game.
Jack Thompson is the father of a ten year old boy and a Miami attorney who has represented the parents of children killed in school shootings. He plans to file an injunction in federal court, if the army doesn’t pull the plug on the game.
- Jack Thompson, parent against army video game. | <urn:uuid:c62e512b-cec2-45cf-bd44-67723fcfe682> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.democracynow.org/2002/11/13/hey_kids_lets_play_war_u | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00538-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940163 | 240 | 1.5625 | 2 |
- Shop around and search the market for one of the numerous zero rate credit cards that are available. Each one offers a zero rate for an average of six months. If after the six months' introductory offer is up and you still have an outstanding balance, consider switching the balance to another card.
- People who pay off their credit card balances every month should make sure their card offers a cashback.
- When buying white goods, electrical goods and household appliances costing over é50, consider buying on a card such as where you are automatically covered by an extended warranty.
- Never buy anything on a store card. The interest rate will be cripplingly expensive. Use a low or zero rate card instead.
Don’t let benefits influence your decision
WHEN choosing a card, benefits, such as loyalty schemes can be worth checking out - especially if you can save money on flights if you were planning to travel anyway.
WHEN choosing a card, benefits, such as loyalty schemes can be worth checking out - especially if you can save money on flights if you were planning to travel anyway. But benefits are not as important as rates as high rates will soon cancel out any benefits you receive, so unless you're paying off your card in full each month, don't let them influence your decision too much. Stuart Glendinning, from money supermarket.com offers these tips: | <urn:uuid:75db0886-3629-40ab-ab5e-ef57bf160ab8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/dont-let-benefits-influence-your-decision-1139856 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00219-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963494 | 280 | 1.640625 | 2 |
NoC emulation support is provided with behavioral models in either SystemVerilog or SystemC. The simulation time with the SystemC model is much faster but is cycle approximate and less accurate compared to the SystemVerilog model.
Although you can use both the SystemC and SystemVerilog models to verify functionality, the SystemVerilog model is recommended for performance analysis. Performance analysis using the SystemVerilog model is within ±5% of hardware.
You can emulate the NoC using simulators in the Vivado tools or using the hardware emulation flow provided by the Vitis environment. | <urn:uuid:fadfd850-c322-448b-8e51-7aa35834e181> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://docs.xilinx.com/r/2021.2-English/ug1388-acap-system-integration-validation-methodology/NoC-Emulation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.860955 | 122 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Obama’s much anticipated speech to the Islamic world is being widely hailed as a major breakthrough in U.S. policy toward the Islamic world. In reality, it is essentially Leftist platitudes and alarming naivete. Obama began:
I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning,
...whose Grand Sheikh, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, has given his approval — on Islamic grounds — to suicide bombing.
and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.
According to Islamic law, a Muslim may only extend this greeting — Peace be upon you — to a fellow Muslim. To a non-Muslim he is to say, “Peace be upon those who are rightly guided,” i.e., Peace be upon the Muslims. Islamic law is silent about what Muslims must do when naive non-Muslim Islamophilic Presidents offer the greeting to Muslims.
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
“Co-existence and cooperation”? When and where, exactly?
Note that Obama lists only ways in which the West has, in his view, mistreated the Islamic world. Not a word about the jihad doctrine, not a word about Islamic supremacism and the imperative to make war against and subjugate non-Muslims as dhimmis. Not a word about the culture of hatred and contempt for non-Muslims that existed long before the spread of American culture (“modernity and globalization”) around the world, which Obama D’Souzaishly suggests is responsible for the hostility Muslims have for the West.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.
The idea that the jihadists are a “small but potent minority of Muslims” is universally accepted dogma, but has no evidence to back it up. The evidence that appears to back it up is highly tendentious — view this story concerning how Dalia Mogahed (now an Obama adviser) and John Esposito cooked survey data from the Islamic world to increase the number of “moderates.”
And of course it was by no means only “the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians” that “has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights.” It was also the Islamic texts and teachings that inspired those attacks that have fueled this perception. But Obama is not singular in declining to acknowledge the existence of such texts and teachings. In that he is following George W. Bush and every influential American politician, diplomat, and analyst.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
No word, of course, of the Shari'a laws that impugn the dignity of human beings who are women or non-Muslim by denying them various basic rights.
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust,
Once again, he assumes that it is his responsibility, and America’s, to dispel mistrust that Muslims feel for the West. It is not the responsibility of Muslims to do anything to gain the trust of the U.S. or the West in general.
nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran
tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.” That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims.
Note that he avoids saying his father was a Muslim, which would open him to charges of apostasy.
As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
The idea that Islamic culture was once a beacon of learning and enlightenment is a commonly held myth. In fact, much of this has been exaggerated, often for quite transparent apologetic motives. The astrolabe was developed, if not perfected, long before Muhammad was born. The zero, which is often attributed to Muslims, and what we know today as “Arabic numerals” did not originate in Arabia, but in pre-Islamic India. Aristotle’s work was preserved in Arabic not initially by Muslims at all, but by Christians such as the fifth century priest Probus of Antioch, who introduced Aristotle to the Arabic-speaking world. Another Christian, Huneyn ibn-Ishaq (809-873), translated many works by Aristotle, Galen, Plato and Hippocrates into Syriac. His son then translated them into Arabic. The Syrian Christian Yahya ibn ‘Adi (893-974) also translated works of philosophy into Arabic, and wrote one of his own, The Reformation of Morals. His student, another Christian named Abu ‘Ali ‘Isa ibn Zur’a (943-1008), also translated Aristotle and others from Syriac into Arabic. The first Arabic-language medical treatise was written by a Christian priest and translated into Arabic by a Jewish doctor in 683. The first hospital was founded in Baghdad during the Abbasid caliphate — not by a Muslim, but a Nestorian Christian. A pioneering medical school was founded at Gundeshapur in Persia — by Assyrian Christians.
In sum, there was a time when it was indeed true that Islamic culture was more advanced than that of Europeans, but that superiority corresponds exactly to the period when Muslims were able to draw on and advance the achievements of Byzantine and other civilizations. But when the Muslim overlords had taken what they could from their subject peoples, and the Jewish and Christian communities had been stripped of their material and intellectual wealth and thoroughly subdued, Islam went into a period of intellectual decline from which it has not yet recovered.
I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America’s story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, “The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims.”
Of course it doesn’t. But does that statement hold true the other way around?
And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t it have been more accurate for Obama to say “won a Nobel Prize”? Isn’t Ahmed Zewail the only U.S.-based Muslim to have won a Nobel Prize?
And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers – Thomas Jefferson – kept in his personal library.
I have an Arabic Qur’an and 19 different translations of the Qur’an in my office — 18 into English and one into Spanish. I’m not sure that the fact that Jefferson had a Qur’an in his personal library necessarily means what Obama is suggesting it means.
So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t.
I couldn’t agree more!
And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.
Assuming that such stereotypes actually exist, and that negativity toward Islam among non-Muslims isn’t entirely a reaction to jihad violence and Islamic supremacism, why is this his responsibility? Is it his responsibility as President to fight against negative stereotypes of Christians as ignorant racist yahoos? Is it his responsibility as President to fight against negative stereotypes of Hindus? Jews? Black Americans? American Southerners? Californians? Or is it only his responsibility to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam? If the latter, why? On what basis? By what justification?
But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words – within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”
Good, but not good enough. He should have pointed out not only our founding principles, but the fact that America is the only country that has ever taken it upon itself to extend a helping hand to its defeated enemies. America has spent billions upon billions to try to help improve Islamic societies — often this money has been spent in a misguided and ignorant fashion, but there is no denying the good intentions. It would have been good of Obama to point that out also.
Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President.
I still remember when it was “racist” and “Islamophobic” to note the president’s middle name.
But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores – that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.
“Nearly seven million American Muslims” — he is accepting the inflated population figures pushed by Islamic advocacy groups for obvious political reasons.
Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one’s religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.
So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations – to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.
Platitudes and naivete. No mention of the Islamic supremacist agenda that would deny the right of so many to live with dignity -- but I am sure he doesn’t even believe that such an agenda exists.
Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.
For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.
He picked two places where he believes that the chief victims are Muslims.
That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.
This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests.
Yes, and often they have done so under the divine imperative to make non-Muslims “feel themselves subdued” (Qur’an 9:29).
Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.
In the interest of such sharing, no doubt, Obama made sure that Muslim Brotherhood members attended this speech. Yet the Brotherhood is dedicated, in its own words, to “eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.” Doesn’t that count as an attempt to elevate “one nation or group of people over another”?
That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension.
Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not – and never will be – at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.
Unfortunately, the definition of “innocent” is not always and everywhere the same. Some jihadists consider no non-Muslim to be innocent. This is an important point, since Obama is appealing to Muslims to oppose the killing of innocents, by which he means American non-combatants as on 9/11 — but many of his hearers don’t consider such people to be innocent:
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America’s goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.
That’s why we’re partnering with a coalition of forty-six countries. And despite the costs involved, America’s commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths – more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.
He is appealing to Muslims, as I explained above, on the basis of premises that not all of them share.
Incidentally, his reference is to Qur’an 5:32. 5:33 doesn’t quite continue the beautiful spirit here, mandating crucifixion or amputation for those who fight against Allah and Muhammad.
The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace.
No mention, no awareness, of the imperative within Islamic texts and teachings to subjugate infidels.
We also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who have been displaced. And that is why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend upon.
Based on the erroneous assumption that jihad violence is a reaction to American actions, and so American kindness will dispel it. The South African Mufti Ebrahim Desai, the imam of an “Ask the Imam” feature at a Muslim question and answer site, was once asked this question (spelling and grammar as in the original): “The west is often criticised by Muslims for many reasons, such as allowing women go to work. But shouldnt the west also recieve praise because its always them who intervene when muslims r being tortured, they stopped Milosovic kiling muslims and sent their own troops to the country, they r usually the first to send aid when theres a flood, they r also intervening in Isreal and condeming them killing Muslims, so should we appreciate their efforts or not?”
Desai’s answer was brief: “In simple the Kuffaar [unbelievers] can never be trusted for any possible good they do. They have their own interest at heart.”
One man’s opinion? Sure. But it is an opinion with deep roots in Islamic tradition, and it would therefore be naïve to dismiss it as simply Desai’s own mean-spiritedness. The Qur’an contains a warning against those who turn “in friendship to the Unbelievers….If only they had believed in Allah, in the Prophet, and in what hath been revealed to him, never would they have taken them for friends and protectors, but most of them are rebellious wrong-doers” (5:80-81). It also tells Muslims that “never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion” (2:120).
These are words that Obama should consider carefully.
Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: “I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.”
Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future – and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq’s sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq’s democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012. We will help Iraq train its Security Forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.
And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.
Good luck with that. It hasn’t happened in all the years since 9/11. Why will it happen now? On what basis does Obama think or hope it will?
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
America’s strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation.
Occupation? Why did no one ever complain about Egyptian and Jordanian occupation of Palestinian land between 1948 and 1967, when they controlled Gaza and the West Bank?
And those “daily humiliations” might not be so bad if so many of them hadn’t gloried in blowing up Israeli civilians. Israel took steps to protect its citizens. If the Palestinians didn’t have a culture of hatred and violence, those steps would not have been necessary and would not have been taken.
So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
Intolerable? But it wasn’t intolerable for Israelis to put up with the daily threat of being blown up in pizza parlors or on buses?
For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers – for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel’s founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
Such a state will be used as a base for further jihad attacks against Israel, just as Gaza has been since the Israeli withdrawal. But the lessons of history never seem to count in these calculations.
That is in Israel’s interest, Palestine’s interest, America’s interest, and the world’s interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them – and all of us – to live up to our responsibilities.
The Palestinians never have. What will Obama do to change that now? Apparently his only concrete idea is to put more pressure on the Israelis, although he talks a good game:
Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It’s a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.
His comparison of the Palestinians with black Americans is unconscionable. Are the Israelis Bull Connor and George Wallace? For the comparison to hold, black Americans must have been launching daily rocket attacks against white civilians, and blowing themselves up at those segregated lunch counters during crowded lunch hours. Remember that?
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build.
People have been calling upon them to do that for years. They have never heeded the call. Mortimer Zuckerman and others spent $14 million to give them Israeli greenhouses during the Gaza turnover, so they would have a way to make a living. They turned those greenhouses into weapons smuggling tunnels.
But remember, the lessons of history don’t count.
The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Yes, and Khaled Meshaal will fly Buraq to Washington to finalize his assent to all these things.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Absurd moral equivalence. Peaceful settlements on land to which Israel has a legitimate claim, versus genocidal bloodlust.
Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel’s security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
Never mind the many indications that that humanitarian crisis is a product of the Palestinian propaganda machine.
Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel’s legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.
Not “everyone” knows this. Many Palestinians will not recognize Israel’s right to exist, ever. Many Israelis know that a Palestinian state would be a jihad base working for the destruction of Israel.
Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.
Using Islamic locutions will only lead many Muslims to believe that Obama is a Muslim, which could get him into some difficult situations.
The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I have made it clear to Iran’s leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.
It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America’s interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.
I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation – including Iran – should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.
I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.
Does that include Shari'a?
That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.
He doesn’t seem to understand that in Islam there is a very different understanding of the meaning of “justice” and “freedom.”
There is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments – provided they govern with respect for all their people.
This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.
The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.
Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition.
More historical myth. Even Maria Rosa Menocal, in her extended whitewash of Muslim Spain called The Ornament of the World, admits that the laws of dhimmitude were very much in force in the great Al-Andalus. She says: “The dhimmi, as these covenanted peoples were called, were granted religious freedom, not forced to convert to Islam. They could continue to be Jews and Christians, and, as it turned out, they could share in much of Muslim social and economic life. In return for this freedom of religious conscience the Peoples of the Book (pagans had no such privilege) were required to pay a special tax — no Muslims paid taxes — and to observe a number of restrictive regulations: Christians and Jews were prohibited from attempting to proselytize Muslims, from building new places of worship, from displaying crosses or ringing bells. In sum, they were forbidden most public displays of their religious rituals.”
So much for that “proud tradition of tolerance.” Also, historian Kenneth Baxter Wolf observes that “much of this new legislation aimed at limiting those aspects of the Christian cult which seemed to compromise the dominant position of Islam.” After enumerating a list of laws much like Menocal’s, he adds: “Aside from such cultic restrictions most of the laws were simply designed to underscore the position of the dimmîs as second-class citizens.”
If Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together peaceably and productively only with Christians and Jews relegated by law to second-class citizen status, then al-Andalus has absolutely no reason to be lionized in our age. Obama should know that the laws of dhimmitude give his claim of a “proud tradition of tolerance” the same hollow ring as the stories of prominent American blacks from the slavery and Jim Crow eras: yes, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington were great men, but their accomplishments not only do not erase or contradict the records of the oppression of their people, but render them all the more poignant and haunting. Whatever the Christians and Jews of al-Andalus accomplished, they were still dhimmis. They enjoyed whatever rights and privileges they had not out of any sense of the dignity of all people before God, or the equality of all before the law, but at the sufferance of their Muslim overlords.
I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.
There's an interesting juxtaposition of quotations:
“People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul.” — Obama.
“If anyone changes his religion, kill him.” — Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of another’s. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld – whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.
It is good to see him mention this. It will be interesting to see if he backs it up with action on the behalf of Maronites, Orthodox, or Copts.
Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.
Will he make sure that zakat doesn’t go for jihad, as it has in the past -- cf. the Holy Land Foundation’s millions for Hamas?
Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.
Will Obama speak out for the women who have been threatened and even killed for not wearing clothes that Islamic supremacists found acceptable?
Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s Interfaith dialogue and Turkey’s leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action – whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.
Platitudes and naivete.
The sixth issue that I want to address is women’s rights.
I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now let me be clear: issues of women’s equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women’s equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.
Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity – men and women – to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.
How does he propose to overcome the culture that teachings like this create? The Qur’an likens a woman to a field (tilth), to be used by a man as he wills: “Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will” (2:223).
The Qur’an also declares that a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man: “Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her” (2:282).
It allows men to marry up to four wives, and have sex with slave girls also: “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice” (4:3).
It rules that a son’s inheritance should be twice the size of that of a daughter: “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” (4:11).
Worst of all, the Qur’an tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives: “Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them” (4:34).
It allows for marriage to pre-pubescent girls, stipulating that Islamic divorce procedures “shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated” (65:4).
Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity.
I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence.
Britney Spears causes jihad: Dinesh D’Souza, call your office! Maybe the far-seeing conservative writer can get a job in the Obama administration, now that Obama is suggesting that he shares D’Souza’s preposterous thesis that America’s immoral pop culture, exported to the Islamic world, caused these pious, modest people to react by taking down the World Trade Center. In reality, the immorality of the West has been a feature of Islamic anti-Western writings since long before Britney took to the stage. Jihad theorist Sayyid Qutb was scandalized by the dancing at a church social in Greeley, Colorado in 1948. And before he even went to America, Qutb wrote Social Justice In Islam, calling for Islamic Sharia law to rule the world. The immorality he saw in American culture did not itself turn him against America, but illustrated for him why America was unfit to rule the world, and why only Islam was fit for that role. That immorality was never for Qutb the root cause of his opposition to America.
And eight centuries before Qutb’s birth, a recurring feature of Muslim polemic against the Crusaders was the sexual immorality of the “Franks.” According to an anonymous poet at the time of the First Crusade, the Europeans completely overturned the moral order: “What is right is null and void and what is forbidden is made licit.” Muslims will always charge non-Muslims with immorality unless they adopt Islamic moral norms. But this alleged immorality no more causes the jihad than do American policies toward Israel and Iraq.
Now Santa promises gifts:
Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and changing communities. In all nations – including my own – this change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we will lose of control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities – those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.
But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradiction between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies while maintaining distinct cultures. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim-majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai. In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.
This is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work. Many Gulf States have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century, and in too many Muslim communities there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investments within my country. And while America in the past has focused on oil and gas in this part of the world, we now seek a broader engagement.
On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America, while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a teenager in Kansas can communicate instantly with a teenager in Cairo.
On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and appoint new Science Envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, and grow new crops. And today I am announcing a new global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.
All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments; community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.
What will we get in return for all those gifts? He thinks we will get good will. We have spent billions already, however, and have no good will to show for it.
The issues that I have described will not be easy to address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek – a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God’s children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.
I know there are many – Muslim and non-Muslim – who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.
Seeing things realistically is not to “stoke the flames of division,” although I am sure he will conflate them.
Some suggest that it isn’t worth the effort – that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country – you, more than anyone, have the ability to remake this world.
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples – a belief that isn’t new; that isn’t black or white or brown; that isn’t Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It’s a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It’s a faith in other people, and it’s what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.
The Holy Koran tells us, “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.”
The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.”
The Holy Bible tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.
And over and out, in a flourish of naive Rodney-Kingism.
It is a dangerous world, and this was a dangerous speech. | <urn:uuid:488699c7-23ef-4c45-8b44-1f52aa4305cf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=35110 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00124-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965849 | 11,257 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A Pakistani Christian woman who converted to Islam to get married has been viciously attacked by her husband.
Police found the woman, Sajida, fighting for her life and gasping for breath after the attack in Dhing Shah village, Kasur - her face had been fully burnt after family members threw boiling water on her.
Authorities say that she was not only burnt but was also suffering from several severe head injuries which had maggots in them because she had not been treated in time.
Sajida was rushed to the DHQ hospital but because of her critical condition the doctor referred her to Jinnah hospital, Lahore, where she was admitted.
Sajida had to convert to Islam eight years ago to marry a Muslim man, Aslam Dogar. However, according to reports from the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), the family never accepted her as their daughter in law.
For example, her utensils for eating and other things were kept separate from the main household kitchen, she was still considered a Christian and never treated as a family member. She was also subjected to torture and humiliation on a daily basis because of her Christian faith.
Sajida’s husband and one of his brothers have been arrested for their role in the attack, while another brother who was involved escaped during the police raid. A case has been registered against Sajida’s husband and his two brothers.
Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK said this type of abuse towards Christian girls is common and happens very often, but is hardly ever reported in the media.
He said: “Interfaith marriages are not acceptable in Pakistani society and women from other faiths, like Sajida, who convert to Islam are never respected.
“Their in- laws and distant relatives never accept them as a family member. In most cases they are still considered Christian or non-Muslims or whatever their previous religion.
“Sometimes their children are accepted because they are taught Islam from the very beginning.
“Non-Muslim girls are often enticed and once trapped they are forced to convert to Islam because without converting to Islam nobody would marry them. There are very few who genuinely marry non-Muslim girls, start a family with them, and give them the same rights and respect. Sometimes these girls are sold and even pushed into prostitution.
“Marrying a Muslim man in Pakistan mostly end ups in tragedy, like this case, or even worse as there are several parents who are still waiting to hear news about their daughters’ wellbeing.
“The girls who either married of their own free will or were kidnapped are never allowed to see their parents or other relatives.
“Sajida is lucky in a way that she got timely help and the police rescued her. I wish that she gets justice but keeping in view the many cases in the past, there is not much hope. It Is not just the in-laws and relatives who don’t give respect, but most factions of Pakistani society look upon them as if they are inferior." | <urn:uuid:e85157b8-349c-4b23-aefa-7d1b878dfd21> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/husband-pours-boiling-water-on-christian-wife-who-converted-to-islam-to-marry-him | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.98867 | 636 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A few days ago, I had the good fortune of reconnecting with a northern colleague, Mike, who invited me for a round of golf at the Sault Golf and Country Club, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. During our twilight round, we had a number of conversations revolving around family, work, and recreation, but the one that sticks in my head, is the brief chat we had on the 7th green.
Since the round was unplanned, I played my round with the clubs of Mike's 11 year old son, Adam. While it took me a few holes to adapt to these novice tools, it was in talking about Adam that I learned he had been invited to caddy for the Canadian Men’s Senior Golf Championship taking place in the Sault from September 9th - 12th.
It turns out, that the current debate in Mike's household was whether or not Adam should be allowed to miss school for the Thursday and Friday of the tournament. With the tide leaning heavily towards school, I couldn't resist playing the devil's advocate...
"If Adam attends school, how long will the experiences of those two days stick with him?"
"If Adam attends the golf tournament, how long with the experiences of those two days stick with him?"
Even though I've never caddied for another golfer, by the barometer of memory; lasting impact; and influence on future pursuits, there is little doubt in my mind, that caddying for one or more senior golfers will provide the richer experience.
So here is my challenge to you upon the start of a new school year... "What are you doing in your classroom today, that is more important, more meaningful and more relevant for personal growth, than the act of caddying in a golf tournament?"
Photo Credit: SSShupe | <urn:uuid:5eff8a9c-bfa6-4fd7-af3a-e0d07c16767b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/08/to-caddy-or-to-attend-class.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00004-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97771 | 374 | 1.523438 | 2 |
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I really dislike pierre elliot trudeau. He did much to destroy Canada's culture and institutions and remake them into a ghettoized multicultural mess. Well it was pearson before him started off this politically correct madness. The reason? National unity. The utter failure of trudeau and pearson and pseudochretien on the national unity cannot be denied. The separatists blossomed under trudeau. Chretien almost lsot the country, but it was pearson that started it all off. The pandering of the liberal party is revolting. Let them merge with the dippers, let Canada have a chance to be rid of this cultural cancer.
God Bless the Dominion of Canada
The usual telling of the tale is that Pearson’s government pursued a new nationalism that sought to diminish the Britishness of Canadian symbols precisely to strengthen national unity. For example, Champion quotes Hugh MacLennan in 1965 about how the new flag would be the beginning of the end of the “two solitudes” that his novel made famous. He expected that the English and the French would “join hands to build a new kind of nationhood.” It was widely thought then that French-Canadians and “ethnic” Canadians could not reconcile themselves with the trappings of the British Crown — the Red Ensign most prominent among them — but that they would enthusiastically embrace new Canadian symbols.
Rarely has the conventional wisdom been so spectacularly wrong. The sponsorship scandal, one might recall, had its origins in promoting Canadian symbols in Quebec, where they remain conspicuously absent. The current Governor-General, taking office 40 years after MacLennan’s comment, adopted as her motto, Briser les solitudes — breaking down the solitudes. We are still at it. Her tenure also illustrated how enervated the old symbols have become, to the extent that she styled herself as head of state, as if the Crown had been abolished altogether. Almost 50 years on from the “other quiet revolution” — Pearson’s new Canadian nationalism — the Britishness had been well scrubbed away, but the benefit to national unity was not apparent. | <urn:uuid:36dbe265-e202-47b1-83fe-10cdba5c2ae2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://torydrroy.blogspot.com/2010/07/happy-dominion-day.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00155-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968926 | 452 | 1.90625 | 2 |
The mystery behind the Rio Olympics' unsightly, swamp-green pool water appears to be finally solved. The explanation, however, is nothing short of bizarre.
During a press conference Saturday, Rio 2016 officials added to a growing list of theories about the greening water. On Aug. 5, someone accidentally dumped 160 liters of hydrogen peroxide - the stuff you use to clean scrapes and burns - into two pools at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, reported The New York Times. The mishap neutralized the chlorine's ability to kill organics.
Hydrogen peroxide is reportedly effective at cleaning pools, but not when used together with chlorine.
Officials don't have enough time ahead of Sunday's synchronized swimming competition to clean the pool. So, they announced Saturday they would drain and refill the competition pool with some 1 million gallons of clear water from the nearby practice pool, The Associated Press reported. Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada said the "radical measure" was necessary to ensure visibility for athletes competing in upcoming synchronized swimming events.
But a pool used for diving, whose water also turned green, would not be drained, Andrada told the AP.
In the past week, several water players have complained about how much their eyes have stung during matches. | <urn:uuid:29b517db-eded-4e62-b119-2801deca351c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11693558 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00430-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958831 | 261 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Forest Ecosystems, Forest Management and the Global Carbon Cycle
Lieferbar innerhalb von 2-3 Tagen
BeschreibungGlobally, forest vegetation and soils are both major stores of terrestrial organic carbon, and major contributors to the annual cycling of carbon between the atmosphere and the biosphere. Forests are also a renewable resource, vital to the everyday existence of millions of people, since they provide food, shelter, fuel, raw materials and many other benefits. The combined effects of an expanding global population and increasing consumption of resources, however, may be seriously endangering both the extent and future sustainability of the world's forests. About thirty chapters cover four main themes: the role of forests in the global carbon cycle; effects of past, present and future changes in forest land use; the role of forest management, products and biomass on carbon cycling, and socio-economic impacts.
InhaltsverzeichnisForeword.- Preface.- Workshop participants.- 1 Introduction.- I: Forest ecosystems and the global carbon cycle.- 2 The global carbon cycle and the atmospheric record: "The problem definition".- 3 Nutrient constraints on carbon storage in forested ecosystems.- 4 Estimated extent of forested peatlands and their role in the global carbon cycle.- 5 Sequestration of carbon in the boreal forest ecosystem managed for timber production: the situation in Finland.- 6 Carbon storage and climate change in Swedish forests: a comparison of static and dynamic modelling approaches.- 7 Climate change and management of insect defoliators in boreal forest ecosystems.- 8 Some potential carbon budget implications of fire management in the boreal forest.- 9 Working Group Summary: Natural and anthropogenically-induced variations in terrestrial carbon balance.- II: The global carbon cycle and forest land use: past, present and future.- 10 Land-use change and terrestrial carbon: the temporal record.- 11 Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle: estimating state and change in biomass density.- 12 Carbon budget of the Russian boreal forests: a systems analysis approach to uncertainty.- 13 Conflicting objectives while maximising carbon sequestration by forests.- 14 Retrospective assessment of carbon flows in Canadian boreal forests.- 15 The carbon pulse resulting from forest dieback related to insect outbreaks: case study of a forest district in the Sudety Mountains (southwest Poland).- 16 Carbon budget of temperate zone forests during 1851-2050.- 17 Working Group Summary: Forests and the global carbon cycle: past, present and future role.- III: The global carbon cycle, forest products and forest biomass.- 18 Carbon implications of forest management strategies.- 19 The influence of carbon budget methodology on assessments of the impacts of forest management on the carbon balance.- 20 Significance of wood products in forest sector carbon balances.- 21 Plantation forestry-its role as a carbon sink: conclusions from calculations based on New Zealand's planted forest estate.- 22 Carbon pools and fluxes in U.S. forest products.- 23 Effects of forest management, harvesting and wood processing on ecosystem carbon dynamics: a boreal case study.- 24 Working Group Summary: Evaluating effects of alternative forest management regimes on the role of forests and forest products in the carbon cycle.- IV: The human dimension: the global carbon cycle and socio-economics.- 25 The economics of increased carbon storage through plantations and forest management.- 26 Costs of forest-sector mitigation options.- 27 Integrating the socio-economic and physical dimensions of degraded tropical lands in global climate change mitigation assessments.- 28 Socio-economic factors in the management of tropical forests for carbon.- 29 Economic aspects of carbon sequestration-some findings from Norway.- 30 People and forests in Canada: fitting carbon into a perplexing future.- 31 Forests and global carbon management: a policy perspective.- 32 Working Group Summary: Human dimensions of the forest-carbon issue.- Concluding remarks.- 33 Summary.- 34 Epilogue: Forests and the human habitat: the case for building a global consensus.- List of acronyms and abbreviations.- List of reviewers.- Author index.
Untertitel: Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1996. Book. Sprache: Englisch.
Erscheinungsdatum: Juli 2012
Seitenanzahl: 476 Seiten | <urn:uuid:671203af-5a6f-483b-bd9e-a23796ef5bfe> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://m.hugendubel.de/de/buch/-forest_ecosystems_forest_management_and_the_global_carbon_cycle-21205467-produkt-details.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00078-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.769822 | 869 | 3.65625 | 4 |
The Jack Russell Terrier - Pet Dog Documentary English
The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated.
The Jack Russell is frequently confused with the Parson Russell terrier (see the American Kennel Club) and the Russell terrier, which is a shorter-legged, stockier variety. (Within the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, the "Russell terrier" is also known as "Jack Russell terrier".) The term "Jack Russell" is also commonly misapplied to other small white terriers. The Jack Russell is a broad type, with a size range of 10–15 inches (25–38 cm). The Parson Russell is limited only to a middle range with a standard size of 12–14 inches (30–36 cm), while the Russell terrier is smaller at 8–12 inches (20–30 cm). Each breed has different physical proportions according to the standards of their breed clubs.
Jack Russell Dog teaches baby to crawl!! Cute And Lovely Pictures Of Dog Terrier Jack Russell. Useful Dog Tricks performed by Jesse (Original Video). Parson Russell Terrier / Dog Breed. Jack Russell Terrier 3 miesiące. Dogs 101 - Jack Russell. Cesar Millan Jack Russell 1 dio. Dog Norfolk Terrier Puppy | Dog Pictures Of Terrier Dogs And Puppy. Jack Russell Terier, HOPE boy, 3 months old. How a Parson Jack Russell terrier sleeps! Charlie The Jack Russell documentary Of Nicole K. Parson russell terrier in action. Jack Russell Terrier Facts. My jack russell called Archy. About the Jack Russell. | <urn:uuid:bafac8e1-2141-4e6e-8b45-d6acb1b7ff42> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.funnydog.tv/video/the-jack-russell-terrier-pet-dog-documentary-english/0OyeMbK_1Tc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00506-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.844544 | 365 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Unlock Your Storefront’s Potential – How to Discover Keywords
Whether or not you understand keywords, they are an extremely important component for every piece of content of your website. You may have heard the term “keywords” and dismissed it as another silly internet buzzword- We’ve all been there and done that at some point! However, if you take the time to understand, apply and discover keywords for your website’s content, you will soon see positive results in regards to your site’s traffic and exposure. Correctly using keywords to drive users your way isn’t very technical at all, and it involves a change in content creation more than anything. That said, anyone can easily learn the basics of keywords to take advantage of your favorite search engines. Let’s get started!
What are keywords, anyway? Simply put, keywords are the search items that you type into the box on your favorite search engine, which are then used to retrieve related web results. If you were to type in the keyword “Bootic” on the top search engines, everyone’s favorite e-commerce network will appear near or at top of the list of results. That’s because Bootic.com contains the word “Bootic” in specific ways so that the search engines associate the keyword search item “Bootic” with our homepage. Keywords are used by search engines classify your website and to ensure that your website appears when it is relevant to a user’s search.
If you were 9SpotMonk, what keywords would you include in your texts to drive search engines your way? Well, take a look at the services that they provide, the items that they sell and unique bits of information exclusive to the brand are all elements that can be made into keywords for users to find the company. Examples that I would use include “New Jersey Art Studio”, “Custom Wedding Collections” and “Environmentally Friendly Stationary.” It’s not too difficult to cherry pick the keywords that your website needs to include in its copy: Just think “What would I type into a search engine to discover my website?” Consider these to be “Buying” keywords: If you were looking to buy your products, what terms would you search for to find them? Consider each individual product, its uses and defining features to brainstorm useful and searchable keywords. If you need additional help choosing which search terms will lead searchers to your homepage, try out some of the following tools to get started:
Google Trends: http://www.google.com/trends/
Let’s Plug in Keywords!- Now that you know what keywords are, it’s time to strategically place them throughout your text documents for search engines to pick up on. Insert the most important keyword or keywords in the title of each article, while keeping it readable and interesting for your users. While you should write your content as naturally and brilliantly as you normally would, be sure to include your keywords in the title once, the body of the article at least twice and once more time at the end of the content. Placing keywords closer to the top of the article also helps you to get noticed by search engines, but you should also set keywords in the closing section as well. Does your content contain links? If so, try to make those links actual keywords too! Anchor text, the visible text on a link, is extremely important for search engines. Be sure that this text is full of keywords!
See? Understanding how to discover keywords are and how to effectively use them to garner the visibility that your website deserves isn’t too difficult. We’re not telling you to the speak search engine language, but it really does make things easier if you merge “How search engines connect search terms with website results” with your brand’s organically written content. Unchain your website’s approachability by taking advantage of keywords! | <urn:uuid:6d502abf-2ce5-42d5-b5a1-c9a8db36d804> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://blog.bootic.com/2012/09/03/unlock-your-storefronts-potential-how-to-discover-keywords/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00202-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939494 | 833 | 1.59375 | 2 |
‘Anyone who has tested Covid-19 positive but subsequently died at a later date of any cause will be included on the PHE Covid-19 death figures… even if they had a heart attack or were run over by a bus three months later’
I have been shouting this from the rooftops since the middle of March, while the media and much of the general public have been pushing the idea that in fact the death toll is actually higher than is being advertised.
There was never any logic to that narrative, the numbers were always going to be inflated, to some degree this is understandable – after all the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, (extremely incompetent) Scientists were predicting, based on computer models, that millions upon millions were going to die around the World; so assumptions of causality of mortality were to be expected.
But this was not merely human error made in times of crisis, these over inflated numbers were caused by man-made policy which perpetuated fear within a population.
After months of us preaching about over-inflated numbers, the mainstream news and the rest of the population finally wake up to this reality:
It appears that PHE compiles “out of hospital” deaths by searching the NHS database for whether that person ever tested positive.
It then apparently fails to consider how long ago that person tested positive or their actual cause of death.
“By this PHE definition, no-one with Covid in England is allowed to ever recover from their illness,” Professors Yoon K Loke and Carl Heneghan, who discovered the statistical flaw, explain.
So if someone tested positive for Covid back in March and then got knocked over by a bus in June, well you guessed it – They were recorded as another Covid death!
This is the example Dr. Loke, a spokesman from the Department of Health used in his statement:
‘Anyone who has tested Covid-19 positive but subsequently died at a later date of any cause will be included on the PHE Covid-19 death figures… even if they had a heart attack or were run over by a bus three months later.’
Matt Hancock the UK’s Health Secretary has now ordered an urgent review into this major flaw in the statistical recording of deaths in the pandemic.
According to The Guardian:
The UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, is ordering an urgent review of the daily Covid-19 death statistics produced by Public Health England, after it emerged that they may include recovered former sufferers who could have died of other causes.
As you would expect, they are downplaying the significance this major flaw in data gathering would have had on the deaths data, in fact Dr Loke said:
The ‘vast majority’ of Covid-19 deaths are correctly identified.
Which would be almost believable if there were no other major flaws in how this pandemic has been handled.
The Tip of the Iceberg
So we now know for a fact that if you have tested positive for Covid and then later died, regardless of the cause you will go down as a Covid death. This alone is significant in itself, but if that wasn’t enough now consider the fact that the PCR testing kits used to determine if someone has the virus or not is extremely unreliable.
“Diagnostic tests, typically involving a nasopharyngeal swab, can be inaccurate in two ways,” said Steven Woloshin, MD, MS, in a news release announcing a new report that “examines challenges and implications of false-negative COVID-19 tests.”
Woloshin is an internist, a professor at Dartmouth Institute, and co-director of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
“A false-positive result mistakenly labels a person infected, with consequences including unnecessary quarantine and contact tracing,” he stated in the news release.
“False-negative results are far more consequential, because infected persons who might be asymptomatic may not be isolated and can infect others.”
The actual rate of false-positives is relatively unknown, false negatives a reported to be extremely high, often stated in the region of between 20% to as high as 60%. But the as I said the false-positive rate is not really discussed as much.
What we do know is this, PCR testing is not an accurate method for determining whether someone has a virus in their system. The inventor of the PCR tests even said:
“PCR is intended to identify substances qualitatively, but by its very nature is unsuited for estimating numbers.
Although there is a common misimpression that the viral load tests actually count the number of viruses in the blood, these tests cannot detect free, infectious viruses at all; they can only detect proteins that are believed, in some cases wrongly, to be unique to HIV.
The tests can detect genetic sequences of viruses, but not viruses themselves.”
I’ve actually pulled that quote directly from Reuters own fact checker which claim the quote is taken out of context and doesn’t mean the PCR tests are not suitable for virus detection.
And while they are correct, in that Mullis’ quote has been largely taken out of context, the reality of what he was saying still equates to an inaccurate method of testing.
But that’s not the only only issue we have to consider, exactly what are these PCR tests checking for?
Well, firstly it must be made clear that while the World claims to have isolated the virus, this doesn’t appear to be entirely true. There have been four separate claims to isolating the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but in all cases their is little evidence to suggest the material obtained and isolated was in fact responsible for Covid-19.
But additionally, while the material obtained was then isolated leaving an RNA sequence, it was a partial sequence. Much of the alleged virus died in the growth medium. The complete virus has been finished using a computer modelling programme.
Now, I accept I may have got my understanding wrong about this and I urge you to look into this yourself. If you believe my above statements to be inaccurate and misleading, please speak up, because few people on either side of the discussion want to have a fully transparent conversation about it.
The following interview with the now infamous and controversial MIT, Duke, and Medical University of South Carolina graduate Dr. Andrew Kaufman goes into this in more detail.
I’m not telling you everything he states is true, in fact I have many questions I’d like to ask him myself as certain claims he makes I cannot quite get my head around, particularly in respect to germ theory, or should I say anti-germ theory.
Kaufman has been widely discredited in the mainstream news and science communities, but as with Kaufmans claims, I also have many questions I’d like to ask surrounding the debunking of his claims.
The claim of isolation of the virus appears to be a deception, while indeed I believe we have a full genome sequence of something, a sequence they identify as SARS-CoV-2, it does not appear to be an actual real life full sequence, a large proportion of the sequencing seems to be computer generated and what sequencing they obtained was taken from an assumed piece of genetic material belonging to a virus.
With so many questions and uncertainties, there are inevitably more questions we need to ask about the PCR test. Are we checking for SARS-CoV-2, or are we checking for something that exists in us all under certain conditions?
Or are we checking for simply any Coronavirus, or another Coronavirus that is genetically similar to SARS-CoV-2?
I’m not going to state this is the case, as many in the alternative media are doing – but neither am I going to ignore the huge contradictions and obvious uncertainties being published in the media and from the scientific community.
The Lockdown Pandemic
Finally, we need to talk about what will probably be one of the most recorded and written about historical events in generations, the Lockdown and measures taken to ‘flatten the curve’ as they like to continually say.
While its true there has been an excess of deaths this season in many parts of the World, specifically the UK, we shouldn’t jump the gun and assume this is due to the virus.
If you look at when the spike in excessive deaths began in the UK they correlate almost to the day when the lockdown restrictions began. This same correlation exists in just about every nation that implemented similar measures.
We know that in fact 95% of reported deaths from Covid-19 in the UK has serious pre-existing health conditions, we also know that the protocols used for care homes, where the majority of these very sick people were homed, was nothing short of murder.
In the week to April 10, care homes lost 1,000 residents to coronavirus, official statistics report. Sector groups, however, believe the true figure to be far higher. Counting the fatalities of individuals suspected of having COVID-19 — in addition to confirmed sufferers — the number is nearer 4,000, says the National Care Forum (NCF)
The reason for this insanely high number of deaths in care homes can be attributed almost entirely to the way in which the Government handled the pandemic.
UK ministers ordered 15,000 hospital beds to be vacated by 27 March. Making beds available was part of the “national effort” and “will help to save thousands of lives” they told care homes. Guidelines said there was no need to test discharged patients because Covid-19 sufferers “can be safely cared for in a care home”.
That’s right, UK ministers with their abundance in common sense and critical thinking decided that shifting thousands of elderly patients from hospitals back into care homes regardless of their COVID status would be a good idea.
We know the virus is dangerous to one group of people, one very small minority group of people the elderly, particularly the elderly with pre-existing health conditions. So basically, everybody in a care home.
This decision was catastrophic in the damage it caused, entire care homes were almost wiped out. Then add to this the lack of staff working at these care homes due to the virus and isolation protocols, plus the building fear in staff from this advertised ‘deadly virus’.
They would have stood a better chance if we had lined the care home patients up against a wall and given a machine gun to a blind man and told him to shoot. Utterly unforgivable.
While this has been the greatest catastrophe throughout the pandemic, its not the only. The lockdown itself has caused untold stresses on society, from unemployment to domestic violence, it has disconnected people from each other and in many cases entirely isolated individuals into a box feeding them with fear from the 24/7 live coverage of the pandemic.
The saddest part is, the real devastation caused by state measures around the World has not even begun.
What are your thoughts on all of this, I still hear many people denying that the numbers are over inflated, in fact many believe the numbers have been under-counted in an attempt to bolster the Governments opinion polls?
How this conclusion is reached with everything we now know is beyond me, but if you are one of those people I’m interested in just how such a scenario has occurred based on the mortality statistical protocols put in place for the virus.
Whatever your opinion, please speak freely here. | <urn:uuid:3716a414-f284-4bb0-ac1a-b07c6cd84271> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://oye.news/news/health/uk-covid-death-count-debacle-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572215.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815235954-20220816025954-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.970711 | 2,440 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Hope: Your Best Strategy
Distilling decades of psychological research into simple language, Dr. Randy Ross provides practical wisdom to effectively face challenges, difficulties and setbacks. Offering life-transforming truths, Dr. Ross untangles some of life’s toughest issues and shows how anyone can apply hope to make life better, improve relationships and lead well.
This keynote will introduce the four common beliefs that form the foundation of hope, while providing insights and guidance on ways to elevate hope to create a brighter tomorrow. Life becomes better when we become better as life. And everyone can become better at life by effectively embracing hope.
Choose to be Remarkable
The usual. It’s conventional, operating within the established norms. It’s predictable, delivering the expected. It’s comfortable, maintaining the status quo. It’s…safe! But, the usual will never be Remarkable!
Remarkable means notably or conspicuously UN-usual. It is living life and doing business in such an extraordinary way that people “remark” about it. And when you inspire others to the point that they are telling your story, then you indeed have become Remarkable. Don’t ever settle again for living life or doing business as usual. Learn three questions that, when answered in the affirmative, will ensure that you are well on your way to becoming Remarkable!
Relationomics: Business Powered by Relationships
Relationships are at the core of our lives. They shape and refine our character. They influence our worldview. They’re not just important to us as human beings – they’re crucial. So it should come as no surprise that healthy relationships are the heart of successful businesses. And yet, many organizational cultures do not promote healthy relationships. Those that do, find that they enjoy greater effectiveness, reputation and loyalty.
In this powerful presentation, Dr. Ross unpacks the key principles and practices that create a working environment that inspires people to bring their best to work every day. Whether you are building teams in a corporate setting or looking to build stronger friendships personally, these principles will profoundly impact your relationships.
Crafting Your Culture to Get Uncommon Results
Culture is the single most important differentiating factor that any organization possesses. In spite of this reality, many leaders wind up with a culture by default rather than one by design, leaving the workforce disengaged and uninspired. The greatest resource that any leader has is the untapped, latent energy and passion of the people within the organization.
When leaders release this potential, innovation and productivity soar and a movement of good is spawned that leaves in its wake an energized and engaged workforce. As a craftsman of culture and a movement maven, Dr. Randy Ross will teach you how to craft a culture that gets uncommon results.
The Secret to Ultra-Luxury Service
You don’t have to “pull the stars down” to provide ultra-luxury service. Customer service and culture is about how well you connect with others. The more personal your service, the more impactful the results. And, culture is nothing more than how well you play in the sandbox with others.
Join Dr. Randy Ross as he unpacks the principles of Relationomics, which have the power to greatly enhance the way you connect with others. Improve your culture, enhance customer service and enrich your personal relationships with these highly transformative practices.
Glued: Building Teams That Stick Together
Some say that people are the greatest asset of any organization. The reality is that the right people are your greatest asset. The wrong people are actually your greatest liability. Getting the right people into the organization and onto the right teams will foster a culture conducive to creating movements of good, where people are fully engaged and performance is exponentially elevated.
Learn how to hire the right people and then empower your teams to garner remarkable results. Ownership empowers others to take responsibility for both the process and the outcomes and generates creativity and commitment. Learn how to be a leader that inspires greatness in others and fosters collaboration, maximizing results.
Winning the Talent War: Hire and Retain Top Talent
If you want remarkable results, then you have to do two things well. If you do these two things well, then everything else is easier. If you blow it on these two, then everything else becomes hard. To get remarkable results you have to hire remarkable people and craft a remarkable culture. Each is easier said than done. Most groups simply don’t know how to hire well and they settle for a culture by default, rather than intentionally crafting a compelling culture, where people are inspired to bring their best to work every day.
In this session, Dr. Randy Ross will introduce participants to the fascinating field of axiology. When hiring practices are values-based and values-driven, you screen for a higher caliber of candidate. Join Dr. Ross as he explores how to identify and engage top talent and craft a culture where movements of good become the norm.
Axiology: The Power of Value Creation
In the world, there are two types of people: Value Creators, and Value Extractors. Value Creators focus on how they can use their strengths and passion to produce good for others. Value Extractors merely position themselves to grab as much as they can for themselves. Learn how to move from people from being consumers to contributors, who create movements of good within organizational life.
Drawing from principle of applied axiology, this session will unpack 4 maxims that can transform teams and the cultures in which they operate. Discover how valucentricity, the alignment of values, can revolutionize not only the work environment but your personal life and relationships as well.
Make a Positive Wake: The Ripple Effect of Remarkable Leadership
Discover the five key principles necessary to create a positive wake in your workforce. By applying these principles, a leader can unlock and unleash the power of an engaged and energized team. These sequential and strategic steps will create a movement of good within your organization that is inspirational.
Create a wave of enthusiasm that will engender excitement, increase collaboration and elevate performance. Join Dr. Randy Ross as he unpacks these principles in a fun and engaging way that will enlighten and entertain everyone in attendance. | <urn:uuid:4ac2149b-c185-4ef4-b212-ed121c48c4c4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://drrandyross.com/speaking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.933205 | 1,290 | 1.546875 | 2 |
As the maturity of the Procurement organization increases there is a clear move to a more centralized operating model to ensure economies of scale and skill. However, there is a risk that this model increases the distance to the actual business. Therefore, the next step of maturity for Procurement Done Right is to create a hybrid operating model that has different degrees of centralization depending on category and that fully utilizes Shared Service Centers (SSC) and outsourcing for more transactional Procurement tasks.
An Aligned Hybrid Procurement Operating Model
A Procurement Operating Model must be aligned with the company strategy and culture, but it is not a one size fits all model. Different spend categories has different mechanics depending on supplier market, industry regulations, degree of standardization, strategic impact and stakeholder organization that needs to be considered.
This can be condensed to three main parts that needs to be considered for each spend category to decide the level of centralization needed to operate. These are supplier market, stakeholder organization and strategic impact.
Three Dimensions of a Procurement Operating Model
Understanding of the supplier market structure in terms of being local, regional or global will indicate if cooperation and relationships should be on local or centralized.
How are key stakeholders organized? Are they locally within the company or are they centralized in a group function? The answer to this affects the degree of centralization in the Procurement operating model as well.
Understanding of how important to the organization the specific spend category is also an indication of what degree of standardization the Procurement operating model should have.
Additionally, an operating model for Procurement also needs to consider how transactional Procurement in the best possible way can be industrialized for efficiency considering different types of outsourcing possibilities. | <urn:uuid:8c5744b2-fac7-4f84-a934-c29324d7bd7c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.procureitright.com/insights/future-proof-operating-model/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.917073 | 370 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Verdú to Montserrat
We left Verdú this morning on the camino path, full of anticipation for our walk to Montserrat! This was the destination for Ignatius on his pilgrim journey, to pray at the shrine for Our Lady of Montserrat, known to the people as the Black Madonna, or affectionately, La Moreneta. Marian devotion to La Moreneta had been strong for hundreds of years prior to Ignatius’ journey in 1522. Pilgrims, as well as kings and queens, had been ascending this spectacular mountain and sacred place.
As we approached the mountain range, we were awed by the natural wonder of Mount “serrat” (“serrated” or “sawed top of the mountain”). Some of us thought it was shaped liked the fingers of two hands reaching up to the sky. We know from “A Pilgrim’s Testament” that it was here that Ignatius experienced the love of God poured out in creation; the stars at night and the sunrise over the mountain valley. Ignatius also found hospitality and guidance from the Benedictine monks at the monastery on Montserrat. The wideness of God’s love and mercy was reflected in the landscape, and Ignatius began to envision the possibility of a new life with God.
After a challenging hike, we took the bus up the steep mountain road and arrived in time for a Vespers service chanted by the abbey monks in the beautiful Basilica. After the service, we were able to walk up the stairs to visit the statue of the Black Madonna.
Ignatius prayed an all night vigil with Our Lady before he lay down his sword, to symbolize a new beginning. We concluded our day with prayer and a communal meal to celebrate the birthday of one of our pilgrims. We are grateful for the peace of the mountain and the warmth of companionship that has deepened as we have made our way. | <urn:uuid:bb3bc9eb-54be-4ff3-bed6-fcda0ec751a7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.stignatiuschestnuthill.org/post/verd%C3%BA-to-montserrat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.963545 | 412 | 1.90625 | 2 |
My mother is angry about her diagnosis. More than anything it’s that she’s caught something my father has not. “Don’t come into my MRI appointment with me,” she sneers in my dad’s direction. “They may figure out that you have it too.”
My father has never been a patient man. He ignores her and heads towards the garage.
“I may outlive all of you,” she says as he closes the back door. She flips through a pamphlet on dementia from her doctor. She says to me, “Sometimes it’s better for old people not to know all this stuff.” She recently turned 73. After a year of mom’s absent mindedness, my dad made an appointment for her with their family doctor.
Now I look over her shoulder at the description of ’cognitive decline’. She pronounces the words slowly: cog-NITE-ive. I read moderate dementia, a label I suspect may anger her the most. Like saying ‘half pregnant’—you know what’s coming.
After a week on Alzheimer’s medication, her disposition seems to improve. “Dad even cuddled me,” she tells me one day. “And I get two kisses: morning and night.”
One day I show up at my parents’ house when they’re in the middle of an argument. I take a spot at the dining room table. Lately my mom is angry at my dad much of the time. “You shut up,” she yells at him. “You don’t know.”
When we were kids none of us was allowed to say “shut up.” I’m still shocked every time I hear it come out of my mother’s mouth. Until recently, I’d never heard her yell.
My dad clears his throat the way he does before he cries.
She says to me, “People keep saying I have something, but I don’t. What is it called again?” Part of me wants to burst out laughing: the Alzheimer’s patient can’t remember the name of her disease. “Mom,” I say gently. “You have Alzheimer’s.” It’s the first time I’ve used that word with her.
“No, I don’t,” she says. “My doctor said I have memory loss. Not Alzheimer’s. Dad forgets things too, you know.” How happy she’d be if he was also afflicted, and she wasn’t alone.
“He does forget some things, but you’re the one on Alzheimer’s medication.” I’m not sure where this is going. My mother has never been reasonable.
“For memory loss,” she says. “And I’m going to start to take more pills.”
“And why do you want to take more?” “To stop the memory loss.”
“Because it’s getting worse?” I ask. I want her to admit what she’s said to my sisters and forgotten: that she thinks she can actually feel the blood vessels in her head bursting and she can’t remember anything anymore.
I know she uses 20 dollar bills for book marks and that my dad doesn’t leave her alone when they go to a grocery store or the casino. I know her arms are often covered in burns from the oven. I suspect that by tonight she’ll forget I was here today.
She says, “Because if I take one pill, then two would be much better.”
This was first published in the July 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.
Spot an error in this article? A typo maybe? Or an incorrect source? Let us know! | <urn:uuid:645cde03-c170-486f-8d61-7b90b59c76eb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://completewellbeing.com/blogpost/me-my-mom-alzheimers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.971387 | 854 | 1.546875 | 2 |
A star there is, they said, so near to God's own throne
it rules both near and far and governs as its own
the lights both great and small that shine in heaven's heights,
those children, one and all, that beam in endless night.
Its every day, they said, lasts for a thousand years
in which God's children play with smiles and no tears;
and every journal's thought exceeds in wisdom's reach
all things our scribes have taught, all things our lives can teach.
And from that place, perhaps, one sees the host of hosts
that sprinkle endless space, the sea without a coast --
and there the forests old spread endless and unmarred;
their trunks are trunks of gold, and every leaf -- a star.
But standing here, I said, I know a greater thing
than any extant sphere around which worlds can ring:
the One that prays with tears while facing endless loss
but overcomes all fears to stretch forth on a cross,
and rises up once more, a lamb upon a throne,
the way, the sheepfold's door, the knower and the known;
he is the branching vine and we the grafted stems
that praise with cheerful wine the endlessness of him.
The force of love to rush,
is force of love to river be,
not pool or puddle on the plain:
it moves with end and not in vain,
to flow through vale to violet sea,
to find a home in unbound good.
Yet every water must be bound,
it will forceless move,
creep and seep,
devoid of rush,
like words that waver into hush,
enslaved by furrow and by groove.
That way the sea is never found.
Love in every way may veer,
may fall away,
As rivers overflow we err --
the border burdens by being there --
and waves will war,
fight and flail,
for bounds are death:
death we fear.
Weird is the wyrd of man,
writ on stars with sacred stile,
carved on ash of ages blessed,
carved on leaves.
The bracts confess truth to those who hang for nine --
in death sublime.
Eye then opens --
source of awe --
wise becomes the Hanging God:
wise with lore of ancient runes,
wise in ways of birth and doom.
fresh-drawn from prophet's well
(poets there will drink their fill,
the scops who,
with their eddas,
dream of things to come and things unseen),
will wake from slumber sleeping thoughts --
wise becomes the prophet-God,
who gives an eye to be made wise,
who on the ash of ages dies.
Ravens soar from rainbow-bridge
with piercing eye for all things hid,
go back and forth through all the lands --
through all ages restless roam from root to crown to Father's throne,
thought and memory turned to wing,
seeking out all truths unseen.
And this he sees in town and wild:
a stranger is the human child. | <urn:uuid:8ed3935d-0801-456f-ab4a-0477512b0302> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://branemrys.blogspot.com/2016/06/three-poem-re-drafts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720238.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00190-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911412 | 675 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Georgia's Colonial Coast Birding Trail
Jekyll Island - North End Beach
Description: This site is situated at the northern end of Jekyll Island at the mouth of St. Simons Sound. Although the beach is more limited than at the south end, the mix of beach, forest and saltwater habitats provides excellent birding opportunities.
Types of Birds: Songbirds, shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, gull-like birds
Best Birding Seasons: Songbirds (all), shorebirds (all), wading birds (all), waterfowl (winter), gull-like birds (all)
Specialties: Least tern, red-throated loon, scoters, American oystercatcher, black skimmer
Tips: Warblers are best seen during spring and fall migration. Thousands of scoters and scaup raft just offshore in winter. Look for ospreys throughout the year. Look for common and red-throated loons fishing off the beach. Walking southward along the beach is sometimes difficult at high tide.
Fee: $5 per vehicle or $45 annual ParkPass.
Telephone Number: Toll-free 1-877-4JEKYLL (453-5955)
Fun Things To Do: Look for wildlife while bicycling around the island. Watch gulls and other birds following fishing boats. In summer, take a guided turtle walk and look for nesting loggerhead sea turtles. Learn about the fascinating life of the island and surrounding nearby marsh on a guided marsh or nature walk. For more information on coastal wildlife viewing opportunities, call (912) 635-2284.
Directions: Take Exit 29 at the junction of I-95 and US 17. Take US 17/SR 520 North to the SR 520 split. Turn right onto SR 520 and continue on to the toll booth at the east end of the Jekyll Island Causeway. Pay the parking fee and travel until the road intersects Beachview Drive. Turn left onto Beachview Drive and drive 4.5 miles to the north end of the island. Parking lot will be on the right. See the map.
Navigate to Page:
Report poaching and wildlife violations. You can receive a cash reward if your tip leads to an arrest—even if you wish to remain anonymous. | <urn:uuid:fe49b8af-0754-41cc-aa34-35a178307e5b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://georgiawildlife.com/node/1348 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00250-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882633 | 480 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Awards and Recognition
Award-Winning 'Green' Innovation
On April 25 at the CleanMed Conference in Boston, representatives from Magee- Womens Hospital accepted the 2013 Environmental Leadership Circle Award. For the second year in a row, Magee has won this prestigious award presented by Practice Greenhealth.
There are 1300 member hospitals in Practice Greenhealth and only 29 have qualified for the environmental leadership circle. This award represents a commitment by Magee to environmental principles in education, clinical practice and sustainability.
Magee is recognized as a leader in creating education for healthcare providers, patients and the community around environmental health. Some of the accomplishments that led to this recognition are:
- Reduction in red bag waste and increase in recycling. Regulated medical waste accounts for 10.2% or our waste stream and recycling accounts for approximately 25%.
- Creation and maintenance of on-site organic vegetable and herb gardens. The produce is utilized in healthy menu options in the cafeteria, café’ and patient meals.
- Education provided to patients through prenatal classes, Green Parenting film, lunch 'n learns in the gardens, and cooking classes for cancer survivors utilizing produce from the gardens. The education department also offers a comprehensive class for staff and consumers, It IS Easy Being Green.
- Education for staff in orientation and our annual symposium for environmentally literate health care providers. Partnership with Allegheny Community College to create environmental health curriculum for nursing students.
- Formation of a community board and commitment to reducing obesity in Allegheny County through programs addressing healthy foods and food systems.
- Relamping of the Magee campus to replace old lighting with newer energy efficient bulbs.
- Silver LEED award for Magee’s new addition.
- Contribution to education beyond our community through presentations at national conferences such as AWHONN and CleanMed.
- Green OR Team. Partnership with University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering to study OR waste.
This honor would not be possible without the contributions of our multidisciplinary and dynamic Green Team. We also work with many community partners such as Phipps Conservatory, the Pitt Engineering School and Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC). | <urn:uuid:ebac9b86-15c0-40f3-be8b-d1e5d1a8bb40> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.upmc.com/locations/hospitals/magee/about-us/environmental-initiatives/pages/awards-recognition.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00107-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925919 | 448 | 1.601563 | 2 |
If your dog is slowly turning your garden into a cratered moonscape then try not to despair because dogs that dig are only doing what comes naturally.
The first step you should take is to try to identify the reason why he is digging. Dogs may dig because of a predatory instinct or they may be digging to bury bones or toys. This is instinctual behaviour designed to hide food from other predators.
Digging may also be part of a nesting instinct, particularly if your dog is pregnant. They will also dig a hole if it is too hot because digging exposes cool earth and provides a small, shaded shelter. If your dog is digging under a fence or next to a gate he may simply be trying to get out of the garden. Some dogs dig to alleviate boredom or just for fun. Others may have a genetic predisposition to dig, Terriers for example, are notorious diggers.
What can you do?
Once you’ve identified why your dog is digging it becomes simpler to correct. All you will need is a little patience and persistence. If your dog is digging in order to chase wildlife you need to find a way to keep them apart, perhaps you could construct some kind of shield or obstacle so he won’t be able to see the other animals – after all, if he can’t see them, he won’t be as tempted to chase them.
If the wildlife is on his side of the fence, then chances are, he won’t be fast enough to catch it anyway – squirrels and birds are usually far too speedy for the average dog.
Rats and mice will normally show a dog a clean pair of heels too. Take care if you use poison to deal with vermin such as this, as it could affect your dog as well. Additionally, if you use traps to catch vermin, make sure to keep your dog away from them so he doesn’t get harmed.
If your dog simply seems to be trying to get rid of lots of pent up energy you should try giving him more exercise. Take longer or more frequent walks and try to schedule some ‘playtime’ involving games like fetch that will tire out your dog.
Never punish your dog for digging a hole. Even if you bring your dog to the dig site he won’t be able to associate his digging with the punishment. If you catch him in the act, direct him to another activity and reward him for choosing to do this new activity instead.
Need a Behaviourist?
Search our Dog Behaviourists Directory
Disclaimer: The information produced by Infurmation is provided for general and educational purposes only and does not constitute any legal, medical or other professional advice on any subject matter. These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Always seek the advice of your vet or other qualified health care provider prior to starting any new diet or treatment and with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you suspect that your pet has a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider. | <urn:uuid:ac17756a-7aa5-4a94-8be4-48753402737d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.infurmation.co.za/home-page/how-to-handle-dogs-that-dig/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573172.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818063910-20220818093910-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.941267 | 653 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Weekly Zcash Discussion - July 10, 2022 - Use this thread for general chatter, basic questions, and if you're new to Zcash
# What is Zcash? Zcash is a privacy preserving digital currency. It is the first blockchain to leverage a novel technology called Zero-knowledge proofs to enable privacy and selective transparency. Zero-knowledge proofs allow transactions to be verified without revealing the sender, receiver or transaction amount. Selective disclosure features within Zcash allow a user to share some transaction details, for purposes of compliance or audit. Development work on Zcash began in 2013 by Johns Hopkins professor Matthew Green and some of his graduate students. The development was completed by the for-profit Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, LLC, led by Zooko Wilcox, a Colorado-based computer security specialist and cypherpunk. Over time, this company rebranded and converted to a non-profit org now known as the Electric Coin Company (ECC). Zcash development now occurs with support from ECC employees, the Zcash Foundation, and many community members through community elected funding streams that originate from ongoing Zcash mining rewards. | <urn:uuid:8707c5d6-852a-48fb-a78e-cf25e21194e5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://coin.fyi/news/zcash/weekly-zcash-discussion-july-10-2022-use-this-thread-for-general-chatter-ba-vvp3dh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.954432 | 240 | 1.75 | 2 |
July 1, 2011 11:29:00 PM
A Crossroads after-school program team, which included students from Columbus High School, represented the state of Mississippi at the 2011 international competition for its Community Problem Solving Project at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The conference was held June 9-12 in La Crosse, Wis. Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) engages students in creative problem solving. It was created to stimulate critical and creative thinking skills and encourage students to develop a vision for the future.
Crossroads had two teams of Columbus High School students apply their problem solving skills to a current community problem and compete in the Mississippi Affiliate, Future Problem Solving Program International Bowl held at Mississippi University for Women in March. Using the FPS problem-solving model, students implemented an action plan to address the community problems they chose to help solve.
The team that won first place at the regional bowl helped develop a solution for the lack of positive role models at their school and in their community. They hosted a Youth Forum and conducted an interactive presentation for the middle school Crossroads students -- covering topics such as obesity, exercise, and bullying. The team called S.W.A.G.G. (Students With A Great Goal) went on to compete internationally.
Wish in a Backpack team placed second. Members collected school supplies and toiletries for underprivileged children and donated the supplies to the Father''s Child Ministries for distribution. The team worked to solve the problem of students going to school unprepared and as a result having to deal with ridicule.
Ivey Ivy, who serves as youth development specialist for the MUW Roger F. Wicker Center for Creative Learning, runs the after school program.
Crossroads is a project of the MUW Center for Creative Learning that serves students from the Columbus Municipal School District. The goal of the project is to provide a safe and enriching environment for students outside of regular school hours. The after-school and summer programs address the following student needs: academic enrichment, leadership and personal development skills, cultural and artistic enrichment, health and fitness and recreation. | <urn:uuid:93910e20-5117-46c0-9650-797cce9545f1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cdispatch.com/printerfriendly.asp?aid=11974 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00538-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964008 | 436 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Metro takes 'no-nonsense' approach to stray animals problem
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Monday said that it was taking a hard stance in tackling the issue of stray animals around the Metro as "the increase in the number of stray animals wandering on our roads" was concerning.
"...the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has resolved to tackle the problem head-on, starting with the strict enforcement of the existing municipal by-law regarding stray animals," the municipality's communications office said in a statement.
"This no-nonsense approach to return to the rule of law and focus on bylaw enforcement is intended to establish an orderly and safe City, as envisaged in terms of the Take Back the City Campaign recently initiated by the Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Cllr Danny Jordaan, in partnership with local law enforcement agencies."
The municipality said while plans to address the problem of stray animals on our roads over the long-term are being considered, it was clear that urgent intervention was necessary.
"In this regard, seven staff members from other departments in the Public Health Directorate of the Municipality have now been deployed to the NMBM Animal Control Unit to assist the current staff complement dealing with the problem of stray animals.
"The Municipality’s Traffic Department has also been placed on alert and will assist the Animal Control Unit in ensuring the safety of road users during incidents of road invasion by roaming animals," read the statement.
"The Municipality recently introduced an awareness campaign amongst livestock owners to drive home the fact that allowing their animals to stray unto our roads is a bylaw transgression, apart from the fact that it poses a major threat to the safety of road users. While their cooperation is being sought, the relevant bylaw will be strictly applied and stray animals will be impounded."
It said that impounded livestock will be taken to a pound in Uitenhage where the owner/s are expected to claim their livestock and pay a fine.
"They will also be responsible to transport their livestock back to their homes or farms. The livestock is charged per day and per quantity of feed consumed while at the pound. These fines can go as far as thousands of rands.
"Failure by livestock owners to claim and pay a fine for their impounded livestock will result in their livestock being auctioned to recover the cost that has been incurred to keep them at the pound," the municipality said.
"The Municipality believes that these measures will serve to see a reduction in the incidence of stray animals on our roads, but urges local road users to remain extremely vigilant and be on the look-out for stray animals, especially while driving at night."
Please find the following numbers that can assist in relation to Stray Animal and related matters:
- Stray livestock Control: NMBM (Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality)- Mr Zama – 079 490 0540 (24 hours)
- Responsible for the pound and stray animals – Mr Hein Whitebooi: NMBM – Tel: 041 994 1296/ 079 685 6867, e-mail: [email protected]
- Sub Directorate: Waste Management (removes dead cats and dogs from roads) – Waste Management Secretary: Ms Claudia Muniz 041 506 7405
- SPCA-Uitenhage: (All stray animals impounded) – 041 922 4528
- Registrar of Animal Identification: (Enquiries on registered brands) – 012 319 7433
- Nature Conservation: Compliance and Enforcement: (Cycads/Poaching, etc.) – Mr Jan Kapp 041 508 5821 / 082 332 0293
Image: NOW TARGETED... Stray animals are often seen on Eastern Cape roads and pose a danger to motorists.
The Willowvale Regional Magistrate's Court on Tuesday...
A 24-year-old Ngqamakhwe woman is expected in court on...
When a timeous response is needed to any-size disaster - be it...
The George Municipality on Wednesday advised local residents...
Early in January, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) announced the appointment of Dr Randall Jonas as...
The South African Weather Services on Wednesday morning...
The effects of a sovereign credit rating downgrade would be...
Notice is hereby given that the electricity supply...
Scores of new students and their parents are set to descend...
An enthusiastic team of 30 champions have been...
- Ford Kugas Burning: Early data shows lack of coolant circulation is the cause says Ford SA
- Stolen electronics valued at R80 000 and destined for PE intercepted in Alexandria
- Case against New Year's Day rape accused postponed to Thursday
- Another fuel price hike predicated at the end of January
- Notification of the interruption of the electricity supply - The following areas will be affected | <urn:uuid:706085a0-c879-401d-9959-0581c8733551> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.rnews.co.za/article/metro-takes-no-nonsense-approach-to-stray-animals-problem | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00503-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932752 | 1,000 | 1.875 | 2 |
HI im really stuck with this question, i dont know what to do with it??..can anyone help??..id like to learn how to solve this question...thanks. A man makes two cups of instant coffee four times a day. On every occasion he fills the kettle up to the 10-cup level. What is the cost of the energy he wastes in one year by heating more water than is neccessary??..make suitable assumptions to solve. Pleeeeeeeeeez help me!! | <urn:uuid:ffd1876d-c96b-4f58-a147-8b149df914ed> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/thermal-properties.71780/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00567-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946277 | 99 | 2.46875 | 2 |
The attractions of emerging market bonds
Those who ply their trade outside the bond market would be forgiven for thinking the Balassa-Samuelson effect was a medical condition. In fact, it is a measure of the health of nations, first devised by Hungarian strategist Béla Balassa and US economist Paul Samuelson in 1964.
The Balassa-Samuelson model says increased productivity leads to higher labour costs and, hence, higher prices in countries that are getting richer. This is not as much a statement of the blindingly obvious as it might first appear.
As demand rises and labour gets sucked into manufacturing, an acute labour shortage is created in the service sector. By all accounts, hairdressers are a particular beneficiary of this trend.
When consumers are confident they are able to afford the essentials, spending turns to life’s little luxuries, like a decent trim.
You can see Balassa-Samuelson at work in house price differentials between such cities as New York and Detroit. You get better value out of a US dollar spent in Sri Lanka than Switzerland.
Nations growing in prosperity tend to endure a high exchange rate. This is the last thing emerging economies want because their exports lose their price advantage; economic growth slows, social stability weakens and in the absence of welfare spending, unrest occurs.
This is why emerging economies, led by China, have invested their trading surpluses in western sovereign bonds to keep their currencies low. The manipulation has been going on for more than a decade.
Their money helped to fuel the US credit boom. Even after the onset of the credit crisis in 2008, emerging market central banks bought more than $2 trillion of US Treasuries to continue massaging the value of their currencies down.
According to Jan Dehn, co-head of research at emerging market bond manager Ashmore Investments, emerging markets now control 80% of the world’s currency reserves. And, as a result, the dollar has been remarkably stable.
But the emerging economies suffer outgoings equivalent in size to Finland’s gross domestic product. Dehn says: “Not only do they incur a huge opportunity cost, in terms of forgone domestic consumption and investment, the cost is huge.
“There is a non-negligible risk in 2013 that one or more of the larger emerging markets central banks turn to active selling.”
-- Losses on bonds
This is also because emerging economies face an increasing risk of losing money on bonds issued by countries in the west whose prosperity is eroding as a result of escalating debts, generous pay and high welfare spending.
They are concerned that western central banks have no choice but to debase their currencies through money printing because their economies are no longer competitive. The US Federal Reserve has been particularly proactive in using the dollar’s reserve status as cover for continual money printing. Japan made a big noise about imitating the US this year.
US public sector debt is now $16.5 trillion. Bill Gross, managing director of bond manager Pimco, said last year that public sector debt, social security and health care obligations could rise to 800% of America’s gross domestic product over the next five years. He is increasingly convinced gold is a better store of value – who would disagree?
To get a better view of an increasingly delicate situation, Lombard Odier Investment Management has set a precedent by merging its global and emerging bond teams.
Quite apart from western debts, emerging economies are weary of local inflation that can be stimulated by low exchange rates, as well as policy errors.
Current concern centres on Brazil, where finance minister Guido Mantega insists inflation is under control at 6%, despite the hawkish view of his central bank. Mantega coined the term “currency war” in 2010 to distract attention from his own record, and right on cue, as Brazil comes under the spotlight, he warns the war could get nastier.
-- Eastern focus
In Hong Kong, strategist Marc Faber has said emerging economies are increasingly trading with each other, reducing their dependence on western markets.
Emerging economies also need to fund their own bond markets. China is expected to wheel out a series of municipal bonds to refinance debts run up by local authorities on extravagant property schemes.
Last week, Russian sovereign bonds made the transition to the Euroclear securities settlement system. This was part of Russia’s plan to make them more liquid, with a view to using the bond market yield curve to police inflation.
Russian debt yields have now fallen from 8.4% to 6.6% according to Investec Asset Management. Co-head of emerging market debt Werner Gey van Pittius enjoyed the trade. He said bonds in emerging markets tend to surprise on the upside. Local pension schemes are keen buyers, helping to keep demand ahead of supply.
Investec likes to study Balassa-Samuelson, arguing that exchange rates lag prosperity growth, particularly when central banks are buying dollars.
On Investec’s interpretation of Balassa-Samuelson, with emerging market GDP set to grow 6% this year, their currencies are undervalued by 11.4%. This suggests an excess return of 3% a year against the dollar.
Emerging market bonds are currently trading at a spread of 270 basis points over Treasury bonds. Whichever way you look at the situation, pension scheme weightings of 5% are way too low.
--This article was first published in the print edition of Financial News dated February, 18, 2013 | <urn:uuid:06168bdb-e651-4897-87d6-f2b9bdb55976> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2013-02-20/the-attractions-of-emerging-market-bonds?mod=sectionheadlines-home-AM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718309.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00405-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954779 | 1,147 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Philosophical Fragments (Danish: Philosophiske Smuler eller En Smule Philosophi) was a Christian philosophic work written by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in 1844. It is a discussion of "how" a person arrives at Absolute Truth vs historical or philosophical truths.
- Propositio: The question is asked in ignorance, by one who does not even know what can have led him to ask it.
A Project of ThoughtEdit
- How far does the Truth admit of being learned? (…)For what a man knows he cannot seek, since he knows it; and what he does not know he cannot seek, since he does not even know for what to seek. Socrates thinks the difficulty through in the doctrine of Recollection, by which all learning and inquiry is interpreted as a kind of remembering; one who is ignorant needs only a reminder to help him come to himself in the consciousness of what he knows. Thus the Truth is not introduced into the individual from without, but was within him.
- p. 8
The God as Teacher and Saviour: An Essay of the ImaginationEdit
- The Moment makes its appearance when an eternal resolve comes into relation with an incommensurable occasion. Unless this is realized I we shall be thrown back on Socrates, and shall then have neither the God as Teacher, nor an Eternal Purpose, nor the Moment. Moved by love, the God is thus eternally resolved to reveal himself. But as love is the motive so love must also be the end; for it would be a contradiction for the God to have a motive and an end which did not correspond. His love is a love of the learner, and his aim is to win him.
- p. 20
The Absolute Paradox: A Metaphysical CrotchetEdit
- I always reason from existence, not toward existence, whether I move in the sphere of palpable sensible fact or in the realm of thought. I do not for example prove that a stone exists, but that some existing thing is a stone. The procedure in a court of justice does not prove that a criminal exists, but that the accused, whose existence is given, is a criminal.
- p. 31
The Case of the Contemporary DiscipleEdit
- The God has thus made his appearance as Teacher (for we now resume our story), and has assumed the form of a servant. To send another in his place, one high in his confidence, could not satisfy him; just as it could not satisfy the noble king to send in his stead even the most trusted man in his kingdom. But the God had also another reason; for between man and man the Socratic relationship is the highest and truest. If the God had not come himself, all the relations would have remained on the Socratic level; we would not have had the Moment, and we would have lost the Paradox. The God’s servant-form however is not a mere disguise, but is actual; it is not a parastatic body but an actual body; and from the hour that in the omnipotent purpose of his omnipotent love the God become a servant, he has so to speak imprisoned himself in his resolve, and is now bound to go on (to speak foolishly) whether it pleases him or no.
- p. 42
- If this fact has been naturalized, birth is no longer merely birth, but is at the same time a new birth, so that one who has never before been in existence is born anew -- in being born the first time. In the individual life the hypothesis of naturalization is expressed in the principle that the individual is born with faith; in the life of the race it must be expressed in the proposition that the human race, after the introduction of this fact, has become an entirely different race, though determined in continuity with the first. In that event the race ought to adopt a new name; for there is nothing inhuman about faith as we have proposed to conceive it, as a birth within a birth (the new birth); but if it were as the proposed objection would conceive it, it would be a fabulous monstrosity.
- p. 71-72
- A good man wishes to serve humanity by presenting a probability-proof, so as to help it accept the improbable. He is successful beyond all measure; deeply moved, he receives congratulations and addresses of thanksgiving, not only from the quality, who know
- p. 82
- The projected hypothesis indisputably makes an advance upon Socrates, which is apparent at every point. Whether it is therefore more true than the Socratic doctrine is an entirely different question, which cannot be decided in the same breath, since we have here assumed a new organ: Faith; a new presupposition: the consciousness of Sin; a new decision: the Moment; and a new Teacher: the God in Time. Without these I certainly never would have dared present myself for inspection before that master of Irony, admired through the centuries, whom I approach with a palpitating enthusiasm that yields to none. But to make an advance upon Socrates and yet say essentially the same things as he, only not nearly so well -- that at least is not Socratic.
- p. 82 | <urn:uuid:3b5c1533-0684-43c9-8264-78f135da6079> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philosophical_Fragments | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00007-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977045 | 1,080 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Minority Business Grants
The Government, large corporations and many foundations keep aside money to give to minorities and minority groups. More than a billion dollars is spent every year on funding minorities. Hence, there’s ample scope to take advantage of this and receive some free money. These grants are available at the local, State and national level. From a political perspective, these are incredibly important.
Many grants target American minority groups in an effort to improve their quality of life and to give them equal opportunities. More people can take advantage of minority grants than ever before. Minority grants are offered to people who belong to many groups:
It’s often always assumed that people who don’t form the majority of the populations need external support to enrich or improve the quality of their lives. They also need to be given equal opportunities as the rest. As a result, there does exist funding for them. Minorities who’re eligible include people from a particular ethnicity or race, disabled people, (both mentally and physically) low income groups, disadvantaged individuals, etc. Another categorization is based on sexual orientation. With the government becoming more liberal towards homosexuals, they come under this category that’s eligible to apply along with bisexual and transgendered individuals. Even, friends and children of people who are homosexual, bisexual, or transgendered come under the umbrella of these monetary gifts and apply for the same.
While Business Grants for Women are available, a lesser-known fact is that women also come under minority groups and can apply for these grants. Also, businesses or organizations that assist or serve or help out minority populations or people from certain backgrounds are eligible. That’s not all; people who’re left-handed can also under some strenuous circumstances qualify.
If you belong to a minority race or ethnic group, are disabled, are in a low-income bracket, etc., additional doors are opened for you in the grant world. Minorities can receive grants not only for business, but for a variety of needs and goals:
Along with business grants, funding is also provided for a host of other things. A partial list is given below. This is just to illustrate how broad-ranged these really are and how much you stand to gain from applying.
- Legal counsel from an attorney for help and advice regarding a problem with the Courts, or another individual, etc.
- Education at any level – from kindergarten to a Masters’ program. This can also be used to rehabilitate one’s self and seek additional training to make that person employable. Funding for people from certain backgrounds in this area is quite different from Education Grants as the grant offered to minorities is more comprehensive and cover a lot more ground.
- Purchasing a home, repairing it or related things.
- Child support for a single mother/father and funding to care for your child, healthcare assistance, etc.
- Bankruptcy assistance
- Professional consulting on your business plans
- Business training to improve business management skills
Just How Much Money do you stand to get?
As stated earlier, over a billion dollars are kept aside for this particular grant. Millions are provided for business start-ups and people wishing to expand their business. Also, many individuals need assistance in purchasing their first home. The sum available for this is in the seven figures. Thousands of dollars are handed out in free legal counsel and college tuition scholarships.
Who administers these grants?
The first place you need to look at is the government. The Centre is the source of some great funding. While this is at the national level, there are also many State and local governments who do the same. Along with government and government agencies, many private donors are also present in addition to foundations and charitable organizations.
Let’s say you read up on these grants and you are actually a minority. How do you go about applying? How do you find out any specific agency or organizations who’d actually administer you monetary gifts? That’s where we at USA Grant Application come in. We provide you with the correct resources and research about the same bring you closer to your goal. With our expertise and advice, you can find out the grants that are fit your needs and qualifications.
"This site is the best site so far. It has user friendly tabs and is very informative."
-- Kelly Reese
"The directions and information are very clear. This is a great website if you are looking for grants."
"You tell the truth! Best choice to get help in financing something new."
--James B. Wilcox
"It was easy to fill out and follow cuz I am new at the computer. Everything was straight forward so I could understand it."
"It is easy to find what you want even if you are not good with a computer!" | <urn:uuid:a13f8f5e-ac1c-4106-b907-2d73868c034d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.usagrantapplication.org/Business-Grants/Minority-Grants.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94908 | 989 | 2.234375 | 2 |
US experts supervising program
North Korea has begun disabling its nuclear installations under the supervision of a team of nine US experts, reports Agence France Presse
. Work started at plutonium production facilities in the Yongbyon complex, where North Korea has already shut down a reactor. "Obviously, it is going to take some time,... | <urn:uuid:2286fc6e-e289-4675-a539-a26b7e593d53> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.newser.com/tag/3755/1/yongbyon.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00318-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939171 | 67 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Bananas are high in potassium and fiber and since they add such a smooth creamy texture to smoothies, it seems like smoothies just aren’t complete without them. Kiwi fruits are packed with vitamin A and magnesium. This smoothie also features yogurt, which is chock full of protein and calcium.
1 banana, peeled into chunks (frozen chunks if you have them)
1 kiwifruit, peeled and cut into quarters
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
3 -4 ice cubes (omit if you’re using frozen banana)
2 teaspoons honey
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth. Makes 2 smoothies
Nutrition Information for each smoothie:
3 grams fiber
35 grams carbohydrates
8 grams protein
In addition, each smoothie give lots of calcium and potassium and almost all the vitamin C you need for one day.
Have you ever imagined a day where you could eat great tasty food and still burn fat?
It sounds like the holy grail of weight loss to keep in great shape!
Science has made discoveries to realize the reality. By carefully selecting a variety of the top fat burning foods and incorporating them into your daily diet, you too have the potential to raise your metabolic rate, burn more energy, and melt away the fat.
Have you ever wondered why some people can eat to their heart's content without gaining a pound?
Then you have others who seemingly just look at a cookie and pack on ten pounds? Maybe this is exactly how you feel.
Your propensity to gain and lose weight is affected by many factors. These include genetics, chronic health issues, stress, age, gender, lifestyle and of course, the state of your metabolism.
While some of these are often beyond your control, there are steps you can take to speed up your metabolism to lose weight. This is the ultimate guide to help you build a fast metabolism. | <urn:uuid:fb28115e-51fe-4df4-913a-3a7304c2ac4e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.fitaffinity.com/blogs/articles/banana-kiwi-smoothie | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00337-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941146 | 395 | 2.015625 | 2 |
New shipments of tea are arriving here daily and in rapid fire. These new additions are late spring /early summer green and teas that have been shipped by sea from China and Taiwan, and second flush Darjeeling and Nepal teas that have been shipped via air-cargo.
We are in the process of unpacking all of them, and it is a lot of work to make sure all is well with the tea and to get all of the peripheral information recorded. For example, we must literally unpack all of the tea to make sure it is all there. Then, we must taste it all to insure that each tea is indeed the tea that we ordered. Then tea information must be written and added to our website and blog in a timely fashion. The jars we sell the tea from must be labeled and the individual labels that we use for customer purchases must be made, too. The tea must be inventoried in the appropriate place in our warehouse and last but n0t least, of course, the tea must be put into jars so that customers may purchase it.
Despite all of this work, we love the excitement of having new tea arrive. We always spend a few minutes as we unpack each one to admire it’s unique texture, color and shape before we taste it.
Several of these new teas are of particular note. First up are two hand-rolled black teas that we ordered directly from the producers in Nepal as soon as we tasted their samples. These teas are from the Everest Tea Estate and the Shangri-La tea factory. Both are gorgeous and worthy of a place in the finest tea collections.
We chose these hand-rolled teas first, because they are delicious, and secondly, because they are spectacular examples of the tea makers craft. Nepal is one of the last places on earth that is still makes hand-rolled black teas, and we would like to support that effort and see it continue. Click here for more details: http://tiny.cc/aZd6P
Tai Ping Hou Kui has never looked so lovely or tasted so fresh. In fact, this tea is so fresh you will swear that the leaf is still attached to the bush. If you look carefully at this picture you can see the little cross-hair marks embedded in the leaf from the weave of the paper that is used to line the top of the tea-firing baskets during manufacture. This paper absorbs moisture so that the leaf does not have to spend as much time over the charcoal fire as it otherwise would.
Tai Ping has some of the largest leaves of any green tea and this batch is certainly the most magnificent that we have ever had. This particular batch of competition-grade Tai Ping is a splendid example of the results that specific leaf plucking yields . The vivid green color and vegetal in flavor reveal that the tea was plucked in the early spring. Click here for more details: http://tiny.cc/kLvfB
Bai Hao Oriental Beauty is Taiwan’s most beloved tea. Oddly, Bai Hao is not as well known in the USA as the semi-ball rolled teas such as Tung Ting and the High Mountain gao shan oolongs. Or even Baozhong. This is a pity because Bai Hao is very labor intensive to produce and can only be made for a short period of time in June. Taiwanese tea lovers favor this tea for its mellow and seductive apricot and melon flavors and its light, elegant style. The leaf for quality Bai Hao is an odd-looking mix of dark, medium and light colored leaves.
But that is as it should be and the best Bai Hao is not a blend. Bai Hao is given a long outdoor and indoor wither, which contributes to the customary appearance of this tea. Japanese tea drinkers adore Bai Hao and when they visit the island searching for tea to bring home, they willingly pay very high prices for the best tea. Accordingly, we made sure that our Bai Hao tea maker saved some of his great tea for our customers, too. Click here for details: http://tiny.cc/7CQnv | <urn:uuid:1a1c4254-b977-4642-9182-0b0b0ae7f586> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://teatrekker.wordpress.com/tag/tai-ping-hou-kui/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00115-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964771 | 859 | 1.5 | 2 |
The paper designed a straw crusher device based on genetic optimization design method. Firstly, straw crusher device math model was build. Secondly, taking the cutter shaft as optimized object, the cutter shaft in the working device axis diameter, internal diameter and ratio were set as variables, and taking the lightest quality of cutter shaft as the objective function, to build the mathematical model of straw crusher. Then combined with the GA optimum design method, straw crusher optimization design model and simulation model were optimized. Lastly, the structural parameters of straw crusher and satisfactory results were get. The article improves the efficiency of design and the quality of product; it also provides a new kind of design method for agricultural machinery. | <urn:uuid:922d2f44-4fb1-40c2-979e-c58582334c42> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.scientific.net/AMR.139-141.929 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00135-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962036 | 141 | 2.4375 | 2 |
- 1 Hardware requirements
- 2 Gentoo Linux installation media
- 3 Downloading and burning the CD
- 4 Booting the CD
Before we start, we first list what hardware requirements are needed to successfully install Gentoo on a x86 box.
|CPU||i486 or later||i686 or later|
|Memory||256 MB||512 MB|
|Disk space||2.5 GB (excluding swap space)|
|Swap space||At least 256 MB|
The Gentoo X86 project page is a good place to be for more information about Gentoo's x86 support.
Gentoo Linux installation media
Minimal installation CD
The Gentoo minimal installation CD is a bootable CD which contains a self-sustained Gentoo environment. It allows the user to boot Linux from the CD. During the boot process the hardware is detected and the appropriate drivers are loaded. The CD is maintained by Gentoo developers and allows anyone to install Gentoo if an active Internet connection is available.
The Minimal Installation CD is called install-x86-minimal-<release>.iso.
The occasional Gentoo LiveDVD
Occasionally, a special DVD is crafted by the Gentoo Ten project which can be used to install Gentoo. The instructions further down this chapter target the Minimal Installation CD so might be a bit different. However, the LiveDVD (or any other bootable Linux environment) supports getting a root prompt by just invoking sudo su - or sudo -i in a terminal.
What are stages then?
A stage3 tarball is an archive containing a minimal Gentoo environment, suitable to continue the Gentoo installation using the instructions in this manual. Previously, the Gentoo Handbook described the installation using one of three stage tarballs. While Gentoo still offers stage1 and stage2 tarballs, the official installation method uses the stage3 tarball. If you are interested in performing a Gentoo installation using a stage1 or stage2 tarball, please read the Gentoo FAQ on How do I install Gentoo using a stage1 or stage2 tarball?
Stage3 tarballs can be downloaded from releases/x86/autobuilds/ on any of the official Gentoo mirrors. Stage files update frequently and are not included on the installation CDs.
Downloading and burning the CD
Download the media
The default installation media that Gentoo Linux uses are the minimal installation CDs, which host a bootable, very small Gentoo Linux environment with the right tools to install Gentoo Linux from. The CD images themselves can be downloaded from the downloads page (recommended) or by manually browsing to the ISO location on one of the many available mirrors.
If downloading from a mirror, the minimal installation CDs can be found as follows:
- Go to the releases/ directory.
- Select the directory for the relevant target architecture (such as x86/).
- Select the autobuilds/ directory.
- For amd64 and x86 architectures select either the current-install-amd64-minimal/ or current-install-x86-minimal/ directory (respectively). For all other architectures navigate to the current-iso/ directory.
Some target architectures such as arm, mips, and s390 will not have minimal install CDs. At this time the Gentoo Release Engineering project does not support building .iso files for these targets.
Inside this location, the installation CD file is the file with the .iso suffix. For instance, take a look at the following listing:
[DIR] hardened/ 05-Dec-2014 01:42 - [ ] install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso 04-Dec-2014 21:04 208M [ ] install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.CONTENTS 04-Dec-2014 21:04 3.0K [ ] install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.DIGESTS 04-Dec-2014 21:04 740 [TXT] install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.DIGESTS.asc 05-Dec-2014 01:42 1.6K [ ] stage3-x86-20141204.tar.bz2 04-Dec-2014 21:04 198M [ ] stage3-x86-20141204.tar.bz2.CONTENTS 04-Dec-2014 21:04 4.6M [ ] stage3-x86-20141204.tar.bz2.DIGESTS 04-Dec-2014 21:04 720 [TXT] stage3-x86-20141204.tar.bz2.DIGESTS.asc 05-Dec-2014 01:42 1.5K
In the above example, the install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso file is the minimal installation CD itself. But as can be seen, other related files exist as well:
- A .CONTENTS file which is a text file listing all files available on the installation CD. This file can be useful to verify if particular firmware or drivers are available on the installation CD before downloading it.
- A .DIGESTS file which contains the hash of the ISO file itself, in various hashing formats/algorithms. This file can be used to verify if the downloaded ISO file is corrupt or not.
- A .DIGESTS.asc file which not only contains the hash of the ISO file (like the .DIGESTS file), but also a cryptographic signature of that file. This can be used to both verify if the downloaded ISO file is corrupt or not, as well as verify that the download is indeed provided by the Gentoo Release Engineering team and has not been tampered with.
Ignore the other files available at this location for now - those will come back when the installation has proceeded further. Download the .iso file and, if verification of the download is wanted, download the .DIGESTS.asc file for the .iso file as well. The .CONTENTS file does not need to be downloaded as the installation instructions will not refer to this file anymore, and the .DIGESTS file should contain the same information as the .DIGESTS.asc file, except that the latter also contains a signature on top of it.
Verifying the downloaded files
This is an optional step and not necessary to install Gentoo Linux. However, it is recommended as it ensures that the downloaded file is not corrupt and has indeed been provided by the Gentoo Infrastructure team.
Through the .DIGESTS and .DIGESTS.asc files, the validity of the ISO file can be confirmed using the right set of tools. This verification is usually done in two steps:
- First, the cryptographic signature is validated to make sure that the installation file is provided by the Gentoo Release Engineering team
- If the cryptographic signature validates, then the checksum is verified to make sure that the downloaded file itself is not corrupted
Microsoft Windows based verification
On a Microsoft Windows system, chances are low that the right set of tools to verify checksums and cryptographic signatures are in place.
To first verify the cryptographic signature, tools such as GPG4Win can be used. After installation, the public keys of the Gentoo Release Engineering team need to be imported. The list of keys is available on the signatures page. Once imported, the user can then verify the signature of the .DIGESTS.asc file.
This does not verify that the .DIGESTS file is correct, only that the .DIGESTS.asc file is. That also implies that the checksum should be verified against the values in the .DIGESTS.asc file, which is why the instructions above only refer to downloading the .DIGESTS.asc file.
The checksum itself can be verified using the Hashcalc application, although many others exist as well. Most of the time, these tools will show the user the calculated checksum, and the user is requested to verify this checksum with the value that is inside the .DIGESTS.asc file.
Linux based verification
On a Linux system, the most common method for verifying the cryptographic signature is to use the app-crypt/gnupg software. With this package installed, the following commands can be used to verify the cryptographic signature of the .DIGESTS.asc file.
First, download the right set of keys as made available on the signatures page:
gpg --keyserver hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net --recv-keys 0xBB572E0E2D182910
gpg: requesting key 0xBB572E0E2D182910 from hkp server pool.sks-keyservers.net gpg: key 0xBB572E0E2D182910: "Gentoo Linux Release Engineering (Automated Weekly Release Key) <email@example.com>" 1 new signature gpg: 3 marginal(s) needed, 1 complete(s) needed, classic trust model gpg: depth: 0 valid: 3 signed: 20 trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 3u gpg: depth: 1 valid: 20 signed: 12 trust: 9-, 0q, 0n, 9m, 2f, 0u gpg: next trustdb check due at 2018-09-15 gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: new signatures: 1
Next verify the cryptographic signature of the .DIGESTS.asc file:
gpg --verify install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.DIGESTS.asc
gpg: Signature made Fri 05 Dec 2014 02:42:44 AM CET gpg: using RSA key 0xBB572E0E2D182910 gpg: Good signature from "Gentoo Linux Release Engineering (Automated Weekly Release Key) <firstname.lastname@example.org>" [unknown] gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature! gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner. Primary key fingerprint: 13EB BDBE DE7A 1277 5DFD B1BA BB57 2E0E 2D18 2910
To be absolutely certain that everything is valid, verify the fingerprint shown with the fingerprint on the Gentoo signatures page.
With the cryptographic signature validated, next verify the checksum to make sure the downloaded ISO file is not corrupted. The .DIGESTS.asc file contains multiple hashing algorithms, so one of the methods to validate the right one is to first look at the checksum registered in the .DIGESTS.asc file. For instance, to get the SHA512 checksum:
grep -A 1 -i sha512 install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.DIGESTS.asc
# SHA512 HASH 364d32c4f8420605f8a9fa3a0fc55864d5b0d1af11aa62b7a4d4699a427e5144b2d918225dfb7c5dec8d3f0fe2cddb7cc306da6f0cef4f01abec33eec74f3024 install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso -- # SHA512 HASH 0719a8954dc7432750de2e3076c8b843a2c79f5e60defe43fcca8c32ab26681dfb9898b102e211174a895ff4c8c41ddd9e9a00ad6434d36c68d74bd02f19b57f install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso.CONTENTS
In the above output, two SHA512 checksums are shown - one for the install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso file and one for its accompanying .CONTENTS file. Only the first checksum is of interest, as it needs to be compared with the calculated SHA512 checksum which can be generated as follows:
As both checksums match, the file is not corrupted and the installation can continue.
Of course, with just an ISO file downloaded, the Gentoo Linux installation cannot be started. The ISO file needs to be burned on a CD to boot from, and in such a way that its content is burned on the CD, not just the file itself. Below a few common methods are described - a more elaborate set of instructions can be found in Our FAQ on burning an ISO file.
Burning with Microsoft Windows
On Microsoft Windows, a number of tools exist that support burning ISOs on CDs.
- With EasyCD Creator, select File, Record CD from CD image. Then change the Files of type to ISO image file. Then locate the ISO file and click Open. After clicking on Start recording the ISO image will be burned correctly onto the CD-R.
- With Nero Burning ROM, cancel the wizard which automatically pops up and select Burn Image from the File menu. Select the image to burn and click Open. Now hit the Burn button and watch the brand new CD being burnt.
Burning with Linux
On Linux, the ISO file can be burned on a CD using the cdrecord command, part of the app-cdr/cdrtools package.
For instance, to burn the ISO file on the CD in the /dev/sr0 device (this is the first CD device on the system - substitute with the right device file if necessary):
cdrecord dev=/dev/sr0 install-x86-minimal-20141204.iso
Users that prefer a graphical user interface can use K3B, part of the app-cdr/k3b package. In K3B, go to Tools and use Burn CD Image. Then follow the instructions provided by K3B.
Booting the CD
Booting the installation media
Once the installation CD is burned, it is time to boot it. Remove all external bootable media from the system (including any CD/DVD disks or USB drives), reboot the system, and enter the motherboard's firmware user interface. This is usually performed by pressing a keyboard key such as DEL, F1, F10, or ESC during the Power-On Self-test (POST) process. The 'trigger' key varies depending on the system and motherboard. If it is not obvious use an internet search engine and do some research using the motherboard's model name as the search keyword. Results should be easy to determine. Once inside the motherboard's firmware menu, change the boot order so that the external bootable media (CD/DVD disks or USB drives) are tried before the internal disk devices. Without this change, the system will most likely reboot to the internal disk device, ignoring the external boot media.
When installing Gentoo with the purpose of using the UEFI interface instead of BIOS, it is recommended to boot with UEFI immediately. If not, then it might be necessary to create a bootable UEFI USB stick (or other medium) once before finalizing the Gentoo Linux installation.
Now place the installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and reboot. A boot prompt should be shown. At this screen, Enter will begin the boot process with the default boot options. To boot the installation CD with custom boot options, specify a kernel followed by boot options and then hit Enter.
At the boot prompt, users get the option of displaying the available kernels (F1) and boot options (F2). If no choice is made within 15 seconds (either displaying information or using a kernel) then the installation CD will fall back to booting from disk. This allows installations to reboot and try out their installed environment without the need to remove the CD from the tray (something well appreciated for remote installations).
We mentioned specifying a kernel. On the installation CD, several kernels are provided. The default one is called gentoo. Other kernels are for specific hardware needs and the -nofb variants disable framebuffer support.
The next section gives a short overview of the available kernels and their descriptions:
- Default kernel with support for K8 CPUs (including NUMA support) and EM64T CPUs
- Same as gentoo but without framebuffer support
- Test the local RAM for errors
Alongside the kernel, boot options help in tuning the boot process further.
- This loads support for ACPI and also causes the acpid daemon to be started by the CD on boot. This is only needed if the system requires ACPI to function properly. This is not required for Hyperthreading support.
- Completely disables ACPI. This is useful on some older systems and is also a requirement for using APM. This will disable any Hyperthreading support of your processor.
- This sets up serial console access for the CD. The first option is the device, usually ttyS0 on x86, followed by any connection options, which are comma separated. The default options are 9600,8,n,1.
- This allows for passing options to the device-mapper RAID subsystem. Options should be encapsulated in quotes.
- This loads APM driver support. This also requires that
- This loads support for PCMCIA and Cardbus hardware and also causes the pcmcia cardmgr to be started by the CD on boot. This is only required when booting from PCMCIA/Cardbus devices.
- This loads support for most SCSI controllers. This is also a requirement for booting most USB devices, as they use the SCSI subsystem of the kernel.
- This allows the user to partition the whole hard disk even when the BIOS is unable to handle large disks. This option is only used on machines with an older BIOS. Replace sda with the device that requires this option.
- This forces the disabling of DMA in the kernel and is required by some IDE chipsets and also by some CDROM drives. If the system is having trouble reading from the IDE CDROM, try this option. This also disables the default hdparm settings from being executed.
- This disables the Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller that is present on newer motherboards. It has been known to cause some problems on older hardware.
- This disables all of the autodetection done by the CD, including device autodetection and DHCP probing. This is useful for doing debugging of a failing CD or driver.
- This disables DHCP probing on detected network cards. This is useful on networks with only static addresses.
- Disables support for device-mapper RAID, such as that used for on-board IDE/SATA RAID controllers.
- This disables the loading of Firewire modules. This should only be necessary if your Firewire hardware is causing a problem with booting the CD.
- This disables gpm console mouse support.
- This disables the loading of the hotplug and coldplug init scripts at boot. This is useful for doing debugging of a failing CD or driver.
- This disables the keymap selection used to select non-US keyboard layouts.
- This disables the local APIC on Uniprocessor kernels.
- This disables the loading of Serial ATA modules. This is used if the system is having problems with the SATA subsystem.
- This disables SMP, or Symmetric Multiprocessing, on SMP-enabled kernels. This is useful for debugging SMP-related issues with certain drivers and motherboards.
- This disables sound support and volume setting. This is useful for systems where sound support causes problems.
- This disables the autoloading of USB modules. This is useful for debugging USB issues.
- This adds some extra pauses into the boot process for slow USB CDROMs, like in the IBM BladeCenter.
Logical volume/device management
- This enables support for Linux's Logical Volume Management.
- Enables debugging code. This might get messy, as it displays a lot of data to the screen.
- This caches the entire runtime portion of the CD into RAM, which allows the user to umount /mnt/cdrom and mount another CDROM. This option requires that there is at least twice as much available RAM as the size of the CD.
- This causes the initial ramdisk to load any module listed, as well as dependencies. Replace X with the module name. Multiple modules can be specified by a comma-separated list.
- Starts sshd on boot, which is useful for unattended installs.
- Sets whatever follows the equals as the root password, which is required for dosshd since the root password is by default scrambled.
- This causes the initial ramdisk to skip the loading of a specific module that may be causing a problem. Syntax matches that of doload.
- Disables the starting of portmap/nfsmount on boot.
- This causes an X-enabled LiveCD to not automatically start X, but rather, to drop to the command line instead.
- This causes the CD to pause for 10 seconds during certain portions the boot process to allow for devices that are slow to initialize to be ready for use.
- This allows the user to specify a given delay, in seconds, to be added to certain portions of the boot process to allow for devices that are slow to initialize to be ready for use. Replace X with the number of seconds to pause.
The bootable media will check for
do*options, so that options can be overridden in the exact order specified.
Now boot the media, select a kernel (if the default gentoo kernel does not suffice) and boot options. As an example, we boot the gentoo kernel, with
dopcmcia as a kernel parameter:
Next the user will be greeted with a boot screen and progress bar. If the installation is done on a system with a non-US keyboard, make sure to immediately press Alt+F1 to switch to verbose mode and follow the prompt. If no selection is made in 10 seconds the default (US keyboard) will be accepted and the boot process will continue. Once the boot process completes, the user is automatically logged in to the "Live" Gentoo Linux environment as the root user, the super user. A root prompt is displayed on the current console, and one can switch to other consoles by pressing Alt+F2, Alt+F3 and Alt+F4. Get back to the one started on by pressing Alt+F1.
Extra hardware configuration
When the Installation CD boots, it tries to detect all the hardware devices and loads the appropriate kernel modules to support the hardware. In the vast majority of cases, it does a very good job. However, in some cases it may not auto-load the kernel modules needed by the system. If the PCI auto-detection missed some of the system's hardware, the appropriate kernel modules have to be loaded manually.
In the next example the 8139too module (which supports certain kinds of network interfaces) is loaded:
Optional: User accounts
If other people need access to the installation environment, or there is need to run commands as a non-root user on the installation CD (such as to chat using irssi without root privileges for security reasons), then an additional user account needs to be created and the root password set to a strong password.
To change the root password, use the passwd utility:
New password: (Enter the new password) Re-enter password: (Re-enter the password)
To create a user account, first enter their credentials, followed by the account's password. The useradd and passwd commands are used for these tasks.
In the next example, a user called john is created:
useradd -m -G users john
New password: (Enter john's password) Re-enter password: (Re-enter john's password)
To switch from the (current) root user to the newly created user account, use the su command:
su - john
Optional: Viewing documentation while installing
To view the Gentoo handbook during the installation, first create a user account as described above. Then press Alt+F2 to go to a new terminal.
During the installation, the links command can be used to browse the Gentoo handbook - of course only from the moment that the Internet connection is working.
To go back to the original terminal, press Alt+F1.
Optional: Starting the SSH daemon
To allow other users to access the system during the installation (perhaps to support during an installation, or even do it remotely), a user account needs to be created (as was documented earlier on) and the SSH daemon needs to be started.
To fire up the SSH daemon, execute the following command:
service sshd start
If users log on to the system, they will get a message that the host key for this system needs to be confirmed (through what is called a fingerprint). This is to be expected as it is the first time people log on to the system. However, later when the system is set up and someone logs on to the newly created system, the SSH client will warn that the host key has been changed. This is because the user now log on to - for SSH - a different server (namely the freshly installed Gentoo system rather than the live environment that the installation is currently using). Follow the instructions given on the screen then to replace the host key on the client system.
To be able to use sshd, the network needs to function properly. Continue with the chapter on Configuring the network. | <urn:uuid:c50779c1-61b8-4f4e-908e-05d3d1159289> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:X86/Installation/Media | 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 | 0.843299 | 5,401 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Each industry is reforming by innovation in the advanced economy and has brought about extreme changes. The financial business is the same. Banks have effectively accepted the eventual fate of digitization. We are on the pinnacle of an extreme insurgency but most are uninformed. Indeed, even those people that like the capability of Blockchain innovation regularly look no farther than bitcoins. When a singular burrows further and sees how Blockchain capacities and its suggestions they will definitely understand its significance.
Blockchain is a disseminated record that holds a far reaching and an unedited record of all significant data identified with an advanced exchange. This record permits to settle exchanges in a split second and solidly. Blockchain is a blockbuster in banking as it diminishes the period of time it takes to finish an instalment and wipes out excess cycles. Blockchain innovation can possibly disrupt banking. In our current reality where billions of individuals do not approach banks, Blockchain innovation can have a profound effect. Occupants of non-industrial nations with restricted admittance to banking would get an opportunity to make a record and make exchanges at a global level. It will likewise empower residents to have a solid and confided in exchanges between members without the requirement for a unified checking or a mediator.
It is nothing unexpected that monetary establishments are investigating the interesting abilities of Blockchain. The monetary associations can likewise utilize it to acquire further developed understanding into market moves and increment straightforwardness. Blockchain innovation can decrease bank’s framework costs and empower quicker preparing time. Information the board is a major issue in banking, yet with the assistance of ihub global review Blockchain innovation, banks can store any sort of information, and permit that information to be gotten to simply as per the predefined rules.
Exchange finance is a significant region inside financial that could change because of Blockchain innovation. The obsolete cycles in the financial regions should be refreshed, as far as cost and productivity. Blockchain is the best stage to unite parties in a got network without an outsider and by making every exchange safely. Regardless of whether it is instalments, fast exchanges or straightforwardness, block chain’s fundamental properties of productivity, cost-viability and secure exchanges are a couple of motivations to the developing prominence of this innovation across the monetary associations. Blockchain innovation is sufficiently possible to change the whole arrangement of the Banking. Yet, much more should be accomplished for monetary associations and inhabitants to turn out to be completely mindful of the ramifications and advantages of Blockchain. | <urn:uuid:e24c7643-9dee-4f52-984f-72a8a83284aa> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.michigancitizensforscience.org/distributed-progression-of-records-in-blockchain-provider.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.942558 | 490 | 2.421875 | 2 |
NOAA Check Out Skills - Complete Video
Video Display Options
- Why choose?
The current state of video display on the web provides many challenges. If this website contains a YouTube video, we default to it since it is more likely to work in your choice of device/browser. That may not provide the experience you prefer, so we offer the option to choose your display: YouTube or HTML5. Please note the HTML5 video option may not work at all in some browsers/devices. If you cannot view the video you can download it from our video repository.
00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:07.000
00:00:21.433 --> 00:00:26.766
Hi, my name is Bill Gordon. I am the Instructor Trainer at the NOAA Diving Center in Seattle, Washington.
00:00:26.766 --> 00:00:31.866
The video you're about to watch contains 10 of the skills you will be required to perform during your check out dive.
00:00:31.866 --> 00:00:36.132
They are intentionally performed in slow, exaggerated motion to give us the opportunity
00:00:36.133 --> 00:00:40.133
to demonstrate or highlight some of the more important sub-skills.
00:00:40.133 --> 00:00:45.099
Every diver in the NOAA Diving Program needs to be proficient in these fundamental skills.
00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:47.700
The skills we will talk about are: mask clearing,
00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:49.200
00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.000
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:52.566
00:00:52.566 --> 00:00:54.232
00:00:54.233 --> 00:00:56.333
use of an alternate air source,
00:00:56.333 --> 00:00:57.766
00:00:57.766 --> 00:01:01.232
use of NOAA's redundant air Supply System or RASS,
00:01:01.233 --> 00:01:02.933
weight belt remove and replace,
00:01:02.933 --> 00:01:04.799
and scuba unit remove and replace.
00:01:05.633 --> 00:01:07.333
Although these skills are not specific to NOAA,
00:01:07.333 --> 00:01:09.866
they are part of the training that every diver should receive.
00:01:09.866 --> 00:01:13.032
These skills are the foundation of safe diving.
00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:21.933
At some point in your diving career your mask is going to get knocked off your face.
00:01:21.933 --> 00:01:26.766
Maybe you're following somebody too closely and you get kicked in the face...that's your fault!
00:01:26.766 --> 00:01:29.299
or your mask strap breaks... things just happen...
00:01:29.300 --> 00:01:32.900
and of course your mask may fog and water may leak in.
00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:36.966
In this video we're going to demonstrate how to remove and replace your mask.
00:01:38.366 --> 00:01:43.399
To clear the fog from the inside of your mask, break the seal on the top and let water enter.
00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:48.466
To clear the mask, apply pressure to the top, relieve pressure from the bottom
00:01:48.466 --> 00:01:54.232
and as you roll your head back exhale through your nose.
00:01:54.233 --> 00:01:59.033
Notice how when the water comes in contact with the lens it clears the fog.
00:01:59.033 --> 00:02:01.666
We do this skill so we can see when we are underwater.
00:02:01.833 --> 00:02:07.999
Make sure when you exhale you leave a space between the bottom of your nose and the inside of the nose pocket.
00:02:09.766 --> 00:02:11.266
Break the seal,
00:02:11.266 --> 00:02:13.966
let water enter the mask,
00:02:13.966 --> 00:02:17.432
apply pressure to the top, relieve pressure from the bottom
00:02:17.433 --> 00:02:20.699
and as you exhale, roll your head back.
00:02:22.233 --> 00:02:25.133
When we remove a mask,
00:02:25.133 --> 00:02:28.233
first you flood it and then pull it away from your face.
00:02:28.233 --> 00:02:34.566
To replace the mask, you can either put the mask against your face and form a seal and then put the strap on,
00:02:34.566 --> 00:02:36.332
or you can put the strap on
00:02:36.333 --> 00:02:38.366
and then put the mask on your face.
00:02:38.366 --> 00:02:43.799
If you're wearing a hood, make sure that the mask only comes in contact with your face.
00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:49.233
If the mask goes from your face and over your hood it will leak where the two meet.
00:02:51.166 --> 00:02:57.599
Apply pressure to the top, relieve pressure from the bottom, as you roll your head back exhale through your nose.
00:02:57.600 --> 00:02:58.666
That's how you clear a mask.
00:03:03.833 --> 00:03:09.666
Whenever you put a regulator back in your mouth underwater you need to clear it before you can breathe from it again.
00:03:09.666 --> 00:03:14.099
This is perhaps the simplest and most dangerous of all the skills you will have to perform.
00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.966
The most important rule in scuba diving is: never hold your breath.
00:03:18.966 --> 00:03:24.432
If you hold your breath while you ascend, the gas will expand and can seriously injure or kill you.
00:03:24.433 --> 00:03:28.666
This is why any time a regulator comes out of your mouth you must blow a steady stream of bubbles.
00:03:29.533 --> 00:03:32.566
This has to be a habit and needs to be performed from muscle memory.
00:03:32.566 --> 00:03:36.132
It has to happen without thinking in order for you to be a safe diver.
00:03:36.133 --> 00:03:38.466
Never hold your breath when you're scuba diving.
00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:43.866
In this video we are going to demonstrate the two methods for clearing a second stage.
00:03:43.866 --> 00:03:46.066
The first method is the blast method
00:03:46.066 --> 00:03:48.699
and the second method is the purge method.
00:03:48.700 --> 00:03:50.933
Remember: any time a regulator is out of your mouth
00:03:50.933 --> 00:03:53.199
you must blow a steady stream of bubbles.
00:03:55.400 --> 00:04:00.633
This is the blast method. Take the regulator out, point it mouthpiece down so that it doesn't free flow...
00:04:00.633 --> 00:04:02.733
...steady stream of bubbles...
00:04:02.733 --> 00:04:08.233
To clear the second stage, you simply cough forcefully through it.
00:04:08.233 --> 00:04:10.666
The purge method, when you take the regulator out
00:04:10.666 --> 00:04:13.132
... make sure you blow a steady stream of bubbles....
00:04:13.133 --> 00:04:17.666
when you put the regulator back in, put your tongue in the hole of the mouthpiece
00:04:17.666 --> 00:04:19.532
before you push the purge button.
00:04:19.533 --> 00:04:24.966
When you push the purge button, it clears the second stage.
00:04:24.966 --> 00:04:29.732
When you take a regulator out, if you point it mouthpiece up, it will free flow.
00:04:29.733 --> 00:04:33.899
And you can go through about 1500 PSI per minute.
00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:38.066
So make sure any time a regulator is out, you point it mouthpiece down.
00:04:38.066 --> 00:04:42.632
Remember: the most important rule of scuba diving is never hold your breath.
00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:55.533
At some time in your diving career, your regulator is going to get pulled from your mouth and you'll have to know how to retrieve it.
00:04:55.533 --> 00:05:00.299
Something might get caught on a regulator hose or you might run into something, it will happen.
00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:04.666
The important thing is not to panic. Just remember to keep blowing a steady stream of bubbles
00:05:04.666 --> 00:05:08.966
while you recover your regulator and never hold your breath.
00:05:09.166 --> 00:05:14.732
If for some reason your regulator falls out of your mouth and you need to recover it, there are several ways to do this.
00:05:14.733 --> 00:05:17.333
In this video you will see the following methods:
00:05:17.466 --> 00:05:19.499
The Right Hand Sweep,
00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:20.800
the Tank Tilt,
00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:22.300
and the Invert Method.
00:05:23.533 --> 00:05:29.133
Here, the diver has taken the regulator out of their mouth and thrown it over their right shoulder.
00:05:29.133 --> 00:05:32.899
Notice that the diver's always blowing a steady stream of bubbles.
00:05:32.900 --> 00:05:37.833
To recover the regulator using the Right Hand Sweep Method, the diver leans to the right.
00:05:37.833 --> 00:05:42.766
Notice how the hose falls away from the diver's body making room for the right arm
00:05:42.766 --> 00:05:47.032
and then does a big sweep ending up with their hand pointing straight up.
00:05:47.033 --> 00:05:53.466
95% of the time that hose is going to be on your right shoulder when you go to find it with your left hand.
00:05:53.466 --> 00:05:56.732
That was the Right Hand Sweep Method.
00:05:56.733 --> 00:05:59.733
Here again, diver takes the regulator out
00:05:59.733 --> 00:06:04.833
but this time puts it back behind their head. Notice the steady stream of bubbles.
00:06:04.833 --> 00:06:11.599
Anytime a regulator is out of your mouth you must blow a steady stream of bubbles. You cannot hold your breath.
00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:14.766
For the Tank Tilt Method, you reach back with your left hand
00:06:14.766 --> 00:06:18.399
grab the bottom of the scuba cylinder or the bottom of your BC jacket
00:06:18.400 --> 00:06:22.700
and with your right hand, reach over your shoulder and find the first stage.
00:06:23.200 --> 00:06:28.466
Once you find the first stage, the hose in the front of the first stage on the right side
00:06:28.466 --> 00:06:34.099
is the hose you're after. That we'll get you to your second stage.
00:06:35.933 --> 00:06:42.033
00:06:42.033 --> 00:06:44.599
Diver takes the regulator out,
00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:46.600
puts it back behind their head,
00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:52.733
but here they're not able to find it. You look and look: you can't find it. We have other options.
00:06:52.733 --> 00:06:54.433
Just think about it.
00:06:54.433 --> 00:06:59.033
Up front we have our alternate air source or our Atomic that we can breathe from.
00:06:59.033 --> 00:07:03.066
Until you find your primary regulator, whichever method you use,
00:07:03.066 --> 00:07:08.199
go ahead and breathe from your Atomic. You get smart points for this.
00:07:08.200 --> 00:07:13.166
Notice that any time a regulator is out of the diver's mouth they blow a steady stream of bubbles.
00:07:13.166 --> 00:07:17.899
you may be ascending while you are doing this skill.
00:07:17.900 --> 00:07:23.333
If that method doesn't work, there's another method. It's called the Invert Method.
00:07:23.333 --> 00:07:26.199
So here the diver was'nt able to find it.
00:07:26.200 --> 00:07:31.566
so we invert. There is a little swirl to help that hose go around your snorkel.
00:07:31.566 --> 00:07:38.732
That will free your regulator from back behind your head.
00:07:43.466 --> 00:07:46.566
Divers need to be able to perform a controlled descent
00:07:46.566 --> 00:07:50.199
and must be able to slow or stop if they have a problem clearing their ears or sinuses.
00:07:50.200 --> 00:07:53.233
Not all dives are on the bottom.
00:07:53.233 --> 00:07:55.233
Some dives are mid-water or on a ship's hull.
00:07:55.233 --> 00:07:59.899
if you plan a dive to a certain depth, you should not exceed that depth or your dive tables will change.
00:08:00.700 --> 00:08:04.733
In the case of Nitrox you may have a maximum depth based on what you are breathing.
00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:10.966
Before you make a controlled descent, there are a few things you need to do.
00:08:10.966 --> 00:08:14.399
Check with your dive buddies and make sure they are ready to leave surface.
00:08:14.400 --> 00:08:18.733
Get a compass heading on the beach, or your exit point, as a reference.
00:08:18.733 --> 00:08:24.066
Check your cylinder pressure and then check your time so you know when your dive starts.
00:08:24.066 --> 00:08:31.832
To make a controlled descent, put your inflator/ deflator high above your left shoulder and vent air from your BC until you start to descend.
00:08:31.833 --> 00:08:38.066
On the way down, if you need to, You can add small bursts of air to your BC to control your descent.
00:08:38.066 --> 00:08:43.199
When making a controlled descent we always keep our feet beneath us so if we need to use our fins
00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:48.366
to slow or stop our descent because of ear or sinus issues, we can.
00:08:48.366 --> 00:08:56.499
We only descend as fast as the slowest diver in the team and we always stay together as buddy teams when diving.
00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:57.966
That's a controlled descent.
00:09:02.466 --> 00:09:06.266
Your bottom time ends when you start to make a direct ascent to the surface.
00:09:06.266 --> 00:09:13.966
It's important that you're able to control your ascent because dive tables are based on an ascent rate of no faster than 30 feet per minute.
00:09:13.966 --> 00:09:17.166
There are a few things you need to adjust in order to moderate your ascent.
00:09:17.166 --> 00:09:20.332
For example, the air inside your BC starts to expand.
00:09:20.333 --> 00:09:24.533
Also gas trapped in your exposure protection will expand and increase your ascent rate.
00:09:24.800 --> 00:09:29.966
You need to stay with your dive buddies and everyone in the group should ascend at the same rate.
00:09:31.800 --> 00:09:35.400
Before you make a controlled ascent there are a few things you need to do.
00:09:35.400 --> 00:09:39.000
Check with your dive buddies and make sure they are ready to leave bottom.
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.066
check your cylinder pressure and then check your dive time so you know when your dive ends.
00:09:44.066 --> 00:09:47.532
Hand positions are very important during a controlled ascent.
00:09:47.533 --> 00:09:52.499
All divers should always have their right hand with a closed fist above their head.
00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:54.600
The closed fist protects your fingers.
00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:58.500
The fist above your head protects your head from overhead obstructions.
00:09:59.566 --> 00:10:03.832
All divers always look above themselves and their dive buddies for overhead obstructions
00:10:03.833 --> 00:10:06.933
and we can only ascend as fast as the slowest diver in the buddy team.
00:10:07.633 --> 00:10:11.366
The proper ascent rate is no faster than 30 feet per minute.
00:10:21.733 --> 00:10:28.566
When the divers get to the surface, the first thing they do is inflate their BCs so that they're positively buoyant.
00:10:33.400 --> 00:10:36.566
This is why we always dive in buddy teams:
00:10:36.566 --> 00:10:42.999
if the diver has an equipment malfunction or runs out of air and does not have a RASS to perform a self-rescue
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:44.900
their dive buddy will be there to rescue them.
00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:48.900
One way to do this is to use your alternate air source.
00:10:48.900 --> 00:10:55.500
At NOAA we use the Atomic SS1 as an alternate air source/inflator. We often refer to it as the Atomic.
00:10:56.166 --> 00:11:03.532
When using the Atomic, the donor breathes from their alternate air source and passes off their primary regulator to the out-of-air diver.
00:11:06.733 --> 00:11:09.933
Here, the diver on the right has run out of air.
00:11:09.933 --> 00:11:15.533
The diver on the left is the donor and offers up their primary regulator.
00:11:15.533 --> 00:11:20.099
Both divers go to proper hand positions.
00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:28.733
Let's look at where the Atomic is. In the case of the donor, on the left hand side, the donor's breathing from the Atomic
00:11:28.733 --> 00:11:32.266
and the donor can also add or subtract air from their BC.
00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:36.600
The recipient, the person out of air,
00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:40.533
has their inflator high up above their left shoulder because, as they make an ascent,
00:11:40.533 --> 00:11:44.699
they may need to vent air from their BC as they go up.
00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:49.633
Also when they get to the surface, they need to find their alternate air source inflator so they can orally inflate their BC.
00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:58.866
So here we see the right hand - it's right hand to left shoulder.
00:11:58.866 --> 00:12:01.499
And looking straight down you see the hook up.
00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:10.100
It's an open box in the middle. there are no crossed arms. both divers are facing each other.
00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:14.600
Once the out-of-air situation is solved and you get a breathing rhythm going
00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:17.433
both divers ascend to the surface.
00:12:17.433 --> 00:12:21.933
Now, for the person out of air, it's not a free ride! You have to kick as well.
00:12:21.933 --> 00:12:26.466
The donor is not just going to inflate their BC and drag you to the surface.
00:12:26.466 --> 00:12:30.266
Both divers have to kick to get to the surface.
00:12:30.266 --> 00:12:32.532
When you get to the surface,
00:12:32.533 --> 00:12:37.533
the person that is out of air is going to have to orally inflate their BC.
00:12:37.533 --> 00:12:42.566
So when they get to the surface, they have to kick hard and orally inflate their BC.
00:12:42.566 --> 00:12:47.099
The donor keeps the regulator in their mouth - that's the Atomic -
00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:53.333
fully inflates their BC and provides positive buoyancy for the person that's out of air.
00:12:53.333 --> 00:12:55.366
So watch as they come to the surface.
00:12:55.866 --> 00:12:57.299
Here is the second view.
00:12:58.033 --> 00:13:02.799
The donor on the left keeps the regulator in and their BC is fully inflated.
00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:06.733
The recipient, on the right, has to orally inflate their BC.
00:13:06.733 --> 00:13:10.466
Once both divers are positively buoyant, the skill is over.
00:13:17.033 --> 00:13:20.533
This is why we always dive in buddy teams:
00:13:20.533 --> 00:13:26.166
if a diver has an equipment malfunction or runs out of air their dive buddy can rescue them.
00:13:26.166 --> 00:13:31.766
If the diver who has run out of air does not have a RASS and cannot perform a self-rescue
00:13:31.766 --> 00:13:34.432
their dive buddy will need help them.
00:13:34.433 --> 00:13:38.199
If your alternate air source is not working or your dive buddy does not know how to use it
00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:42.133
your next best alternative is to share your primary regulator.
00:13:42.133 --> 00:13:43.766
We call this buddy breathing.
00:13:45.966 --> 00:13:49.366
Here, we see the diver on the right has run out of air.
00:13:49.366 --> 00:13:54.766
The diver on the left is the donor and the diver on the right is the recipient.
00:13:54.766 --> 00:13:57.066
Notice the hand positions.
00:13:57.066 --> 00:14:04.099
The donor keeps control of the regulator by holding on to the second stage hose where it hits the second stage body.
00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:08.500
The recipient holds on to the donor's wrist.
00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:12.433
Think of this skill as if you're doing it in dark water where you can't see.
00:14:12.433 --> 00:14:16.966
The only time you would let go of that regulator or that wrist is in order to purge it.
00:14:16.966 --> 00:14:21.699
Other than that, you're going to keep control of it all the way to the surface.
00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:27.666
When you pass a regulator, you pass the regulator mouthpiece down so the second stage doesn't free flow.
00:14:27.666 --> 00:14:32.766
Any time there's not a regulator in your mouth you need to be blowing a steady stream of bubbles.
00:14:32.766 --> 00:14:37.732
Two quick breaths; mouthpiece down.
00:14:37.733 --> 00:14:40.366
00:14:40.366 --> 00:14:44.799
...mouthpiece down so it doesn't free flow.
00:14:44.800 --> 00:14:48.000
Hand positions: every hand is busy.
00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:53.033
The person that is out of air is reaching straight across to the donor's left shoulder strap
00:14:53.033 --> 00:14:57.466
being careful not to trap their alternate air source hose.
00:14:57.466 --> 00:15:02.866
The donor is holding their alternate air source inflator high above the left shoulder.
00:15:02.866 --> 00:15:07.899
Here, the diver can control the buoyancy as both divers head to the surface.
00:15:07.900 --> 00:15:18.466
Remember: the person that is out of air will not be able to add air to their Buoyancy Compensator.
00:15:18.466 --> 00:15:22.666
We'll go around and take a look at hand positions.
00:15:22.666 --> 00:15:29.632
Any time a regulator is not in your mouth make sure you're blowing a steady stream of bubbles.
00:15:29.633 --> 00:15:31.999
Notice that they are not cross grabbing.
00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.700
Any hand that is holding on to something reaches directly across.
00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:43.633
This way the divers can look at each other as they're heading to the surface to make sure everything is OK.
00:15:43.633 --> 00:15:49.199
After you've established a rythm, two quick breaths, pass the regulator mouthpiece down,
00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:53.466
then the divers will begin to make their ascent.
00:15:53.466 --> 00:15:59.732
If you're the person out of air, it isn't a free ride to the surface. You still have to kick.
00:15:59.733 --> 00:16:02.866
The person that's the donor, that still has air,
00:16:02.866 --> 00:16:06.032
when they get to the surface will fully inflate their BC
00:16:06.033 --> 00:16:10.566
and keep the regulator in their mouth, being prepared to be used as a buoy.
00:16:10.566 --> 00:16:17.332
The person that's out of air has to breathe from ambient or surface air and orally inflate their BC.
00:16:17.333 --> 00:16:19.599
The donor keeps the regulator in their mouth
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:22.000
and also pushes up on the recipient.
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.800
00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:26.066
A surface view.
00:16:26.066 --> 00:16:31.466
We see the diver on the right, out of air, kicking hard and orally inflating their BC.
00:16:31.466 --> 00:16:35.799
The donor keeps the regulator in and has their BC fully inflated.
00:16:43.366 --> 00:16:49.499
At NOAA, when doing working dives or in situations with limited visibility, overhead environments, or where you can be separated
00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:54.933
from you dive buddy, divers are required to carry a redundant air supply system.
00:16:54.933 --> 00:16:57.699
At NOAA, we call this a RASS.
00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:04.466
Ideally, all divers on all dives should be self- sufficient and carry a RASS. You'll be happy you had one if you ever run out of air.
00:17:05.933 --> 00:17:08.366
The video we are about to see is RASS to the surface.
00:17:08.366 --> 00:17:12.332
So here a diver has run out of air and there's been a buddy separation,
00:17:12.333 --> 00:17:14.666
so the diver must make it to the surface.
00:17:14.666 --> 00:17:16.832
Here the diver has run out of air...
00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.766
Now, here we find a "known". We know the bottom of the cylinder.
00:17:20.766 --> 00:17:29.232
Once you find the bottom of the cylinder you can find the rest of the components. So this is a habit we're starting early on in all divers.
00:17:29.233 --> 00:17:32.866
Later on if you go to do decompression diving you might be wearing a sling bottle on the side.
00:17:32.866 --> 00:17:36.066
This might be required decompression gas.
00:17:36.066 --> 00:17:39.399
Or you might have a ceiling or overhead stops required.
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.466
So we start habits here.
00:17:41.466 --> 00:17:47.366
Find the bottom of the cylinder. From the bottom of the cylinder you can find the second stage.
00:17:47.366 --> 00:17:50.366
From the second stage you can find the on/off valve.
00:17:50.366 --> 00:17:54.632
From the on/off valve you know we are at the first stage, from the first stage you can find the pressure gauge.
00:17:54.633 --> 00:18:01.166
so from one known location you can find all the components on the pony bottle. So let's watch all those steps.
00:18:01.166 --> 00:18:05.932
From a known, to the on/off valve, from the on/off valve, to the second stage,
00:18:05.933 --> 00:18:07.366
00:18:07.366 --> 00:18:09.532
put it in your mouth and breathe from it.
00:18:09.533 --> 00:18:11.499
any time a diver
00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:17.000
doesn't have a second stage in their mouth they need to be blowing a steady stream of bubbles.
00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:26.400
So even in between the second stage and orally inflating the BC there's still a steady stream of bubbles coming out of the diver's mouth.
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:30.400
Here we are adding 2 to 3 breaths to the BC
00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.966
and you're catching that air inside your BC. This is going to make your ascent much easier.
00:18:34.966 --> 00:18:39.566
That air that you've captured inside your BC is going to expand on your way to the surface.
00:18:39.566 --> 00:18:47.566
Hand positions. Here we have the right hand with a closed fist above our head. A closed fist protects your fingers.
00:18:47.566 --> 00:18:51.766
A closed fist also protects your head from overhead obstructions.
00:18:51.766 --> 00:18:58.299
your left hand holds the BCD inflator/deflator at the highest point above your left shoulder.
00:18:58.300 --> 00:19:03.500
A couple reasons for doing this: as you're ascending to the surface the air trapped inside your BC
00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:08.733
is going to expand. You may need to vent some air from your BC to slow down your ascent.
00:19:08.733 --> 00:19:10.733
also when you get to the surface
00:19:10.733 --> 00:19:17.399
you have to orally inflate your BC, so when you get to the surface you've already located the thing you have to blow air into.
00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:24.066
That's the alternate air source inflator or the second stage located in your left hand.
00:19:24.066 --> 00:19:32.599
Here you see as the diver ascends to the surface, less and less effort is required. The air trapped in the BC is starting to take over.
00:19:32.600 --> 00:19:39.133
Still, when the diver gets to the surface go ahead and take the second stage out and you take breaths from ambient air
00:19:39.133 --> 00:19:43.399
and you blow that air into your BC.
00:19:46.333 --> 00:19:50.099
Once you are at the surface, go ahead and ditch the second stage
00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:56.566
taking big breaths from ambient air and pushing the yellow button directly in front of the mouthpiece with your two fingers.
00:19:56.566 --> 00:20:02.332
Only blow when you're pushing the button, that will capture air inside your BC.
00:20:02.333 --> 00:20:04.533
The skill is over when the diver is positively buoyant.
00:20:04.533 --> 00:20:08.466
00:20:08.466 --> 00:20:12.132
This video is going to be a demonstration of weight belt removal and replacement on the bottom.
00:20:12.133 --> 00:20:16.299
Reasons you need to be able to do this: during a high entry, when you hit the water
00:20:16.300 --> 00:20:21.700
your weight belt may get bumped a little loose and you might need to tighten it back up.
00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:28.633
As you descend in the water column the neoprene that you are wearing compresses and you physically get smaller as you go to depth
00:20:28.633 --> 00:20:31.799
so you may need to adjust your weight belt as well.
00:20:31.800 --> 00:20:40.100
When you get out of the water, into a small boat, it is much easier to hand your weight belt to the people in the boat to climb inside.
00:20:40.100 --> 00:20:41.800
So these are just a couple of examples.
00:20:43.166 --> 00:20:49.566
Weight belt: remove and replace. First thing we need to do is to let all the air out of our Buoyancy Compensator or BCD.
00:20:49.566 --> 00:20:53.632
You want to be as negative as possible on the bottom when you are doing this skill.
00:20:53.633 --> 00:20:58.599
With your right hand you are going to reach around the front, you are going to pop open the buckle
00:20:58.600 --> 00:21:04.100
and as you take the weight belt off make sure and keep it on top of you. Keep the weight on top of you during this entire skill.
00:21:04.100 --> 00:21:06.933
Make the equipment do the work.
00:21:06.933 --> 00:21:10.733
When you go to put your weight belt back on
00:21:10.733 --> 00:21:14.199
you roll away from the belt
00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:19.533
keeping the weight on top of you; make the weight belt do all the work. You slide the weight belt up
00:21:19.533 --> 00:21:21.299
and then, before you do the buckle,
00:21:21.300 --> 00:21:28.766
make sure that your gauge console or your alternate air source or octopus isn't trapped underneath the belt.
00:21:28.766 --> 00:21:33.299
The trick here is making the equipment do all the work for you.
00:21:33.300 --> 00:21:37.533
we'll take a look at this from another view. This is a side view.
00:21:37.533 --> 00:21:41.999
Same thing: all the air out of your BC.
00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:46.533
With your right hand, reach around the front,
00:21:46.533 --> 00:21:48.599
pop the buckle
00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:54.766
but immediately put the weight back on top of you. It's really important that you do this with the proper technique.
00:21:54.766 --> 00:22:01.732
These are light belts here, these might be 12 or 16 pound belts. When you are doing this skill in cold water
00:22:01.733 --> 00:22:08.733
you might be wearing a 25 to 35 pound weight belt. The technique is massively important then.
00:22:08.733 --> 00:22:20.033
Again, make sure not to trap your gauge console or alternate air source or octopus.
00:22:20.033 --> 00:22:22.633
And there you go, that was a good example of weight belt: remove and replace on the bottom.
00:22:26.866 --> 00:22:28.766
There are a couple of reasons you want to be able to do this:
00:22:28.766 --> 00:22:32.066
first of all it is one of the required skills that you need to do during your check out dive.
00:22:32.066 --> 00:22:38.732
But also, what is built into this skill is the muscle memory where you learn where everything is
00:22:38.733 --> 00:22:41.666
and how the buckles and clips on your BC work
00:22:41.666 --> 00:22:44.732
and also when you get into week two of the class
00:22:44.733 --> 00:22:48.733
some of that muscle memory is relied upon for the rescue portion
00:22:48.733 --> 00:22:52.733
because during rescue you have to undo buckles and clips and loosen shoulder straps
00:22:52.733 --> 00:22:55.733
and remove the BCD from the diver as you do a complete rescue.
00:22:55.733 --> 00:22:57.499
So that's the reason we do it like this.
00:22:58.833 --> 00:23:04.466
BCD: remove and replace. The first thing you want to do is let all the air out of your BC.
00:23:04.466 --> 00:23:10.766
You want it as negatively buoyant as possible.
00:23:10.766 --> 00:23:14.266
You're going to loosen up the shoulder straps; you have a buckle over each shoulder.
00:23:14.266 --> 00:23:21.232
You want the shoulder straps open as far as possible, that makes this skill much easier.
00:23:21.233 --> 00:23:27.199
Next thing you are going to do is take your gauge console - notice how it runs under your left shoulder strap and under your left arm -
00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:34.333
you are going to back that out and put it in your BC pocket.
00:23:34.333 --> 00:23:37.766
At your waist, on the front, there's a plastic buckle.
00:23:37.766 --> 00:23:43.066
Undo that. underneath that is a Velcro cummerbund, undo that as well.
00:23:43.066 --> 00:23:49.366
Remember that the regulator comes over your right shoulder, so we want to take this off like a jacket
00:23:49.366 --> 00:23:54.499
taking your left arm out first, that way you can keep the regulator in your mouth during the entire skill.
00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:56.500
Then, with your right hand reach back behind you
00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:01.900
either grab the bottom of the scuba cylinder or the bottom of your scuba jacket
00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:04.900
and take it off like we just did here.
00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:09.933
check to make sure there is nothing wrapped around your first stage; that your cam band is done properly
00:24:09.933 --> 00:24:15.633
and then to put it back on, put your right arm in first. Remember the regulator hose comes over your right shoulder.
00:24:15.633 --> 00:24:19.599
With your right hand push the scuba unit up against your back
00:24:19.600 --> 00:24:30.200
and hook down with your left hand trying to find that large shoulder strap hole.
00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:35.133
Then, find the cummerbund up front
00:24:35.133 --> 00:24:38.699
do the Velcro cummerbund and then the buckle that is in front of that.
00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:46.166
And remember that we put our gauge console in our BC pocket, that way it can't get tangled up front when we put our scuba unit back on.
00:24:46.166 --> 00:24:48.166
Reach back and find your gauge console.
00:24:48.166 --> 00:24:56.299
Run it underneath your left arm in between the BC shoulder strap and your body
00:24:56.300 --> 00:25:01.033
and then tuck it on the opposite side
00:25:01.033 --> 00:25:06.766
and then you can tighten down both of the shoulder straps on your BC.
00:25:06.766 --> 00:25:10.432
That was scuba unit: remove and replace.
The information provided using this web site is only intended to be general summary information to the public. It is not intended to take the place of either written law or regulations.
Neither NOAA, the OMAO, the individuals featured in the videos, nor any other party associated with the production of these videos accept responsibility for any accident or injury resulting from the use of materials contained herein.
Information in these videos is current as of the date of production. Although we try to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, neither NOAA, the OMAO, nor any agency, officer, or employee thereof warrants the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, products, or processes disclosed herein, and shall not be held responsible for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or out of date. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from the instructional videos herein does so at his or her own risk.
The views and opinions of authors expressed on OMAO websites do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government, and they may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
OMAO makes every effort to provide virus-free files but does not guarantee uncorrupted files. | <urn:uuid:1cfc9cb0-4741-491e-98d2-5eb139ab782f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.omao.noaa.gov/find/media/video/noaa-check-out-skills-complete-video | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.910021 | 10,941 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Mysterious Geoglyphs of Amazonia May Show Ancient Humanity Had an Major Impact on Rainforest
Evidence of ancient Amazonian civilization deep under the canopy of the rainforest is hoping to be revealed under a new initiative by international scientific agencies. Questions will be raised on how the ancient populations impacted the rainforest thousands of years ago.
A project grant of 1.7m-euro (£1.25m; $1.9m) from the European Research Council is backing the endeavor of a UK-led, international research team. They will be employing drones and laser instruments to detect hidden geoglyphs and evidence of ancient communities below canopy-level.
The unusual earthworks, which include square, straight, and ring-like ditches, were first uncovered in 1999, after large areas of forest were cleared for cattle grazing. Since then, hundreds of the earthen foundations have been found in a region more than 150 miles across, covering northern Bolivia and Brazil’s Amazonas state.
BBC News reports the aim of the project is to discover the “scale and activities of populations living in the late pre-Columbian period (the last 3,000 years before the Europeans arrived in the 1490s).”
The international team will be investigating the nature of the geometric earthen shapes, and looking to establish whether the sites demonstrate an ancient collective behavior.
Dr. Jose Iriarte of Exeter University, UK tells BBC News, "While some researchers think that Amazonia was inhabited by small bands of hunter-gatherers and shifting cultivators who had a minimal impact on the environment, and that the forest we see today is pristine and untouched for thousands of years - mounting evidence is showing this may not be the case.”
"This evidence suggests that Amazonia may have been inhabited by large, numerous, complex and hierarchical societies that had a major impact on the environment; what we call the 'cultural parkland hypothesis'," he continues.
Until recently this type of search for vegetation-shrouded earthworks would have proven near impossible for researchers. Drones and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology make these investigations possible today. LiDAR was developed in the 1960s to analyze oceans and ice in the Arctic, but has been employed since in topography, geology and mapping.
Traditional aerial imagery, where only treetops are visible. Credit: PPS/EMBRAPA/US FOREST SERVICE
LiDAR imagery of the canopy. Credit: PPS/EMBRAPA/US FOREST SERVICE
The canopy is digitally removed to reveal the ground-level where the laser contacted, revealing any topographical details. Credit: PPS/EMBRAPA/US FOREST SERVICE
Archaeologists want to shed light on the dating and purpose of the geoglyphs, dwellings and ditches, which largely remain a mystery. More than 450 earthworks have been located in cleared areas of the rainforest. Some of the located works are clustered on a high plateaus, suggesting they may have been used for defense, however, others have theorized they were used for drainage or for channeling water, as they’re often near spring water sources. Others point to the geometric layouts, suggesting a ceremonial or religious function.
- The Mysterious Man-Made Ditches that Predate Amazon Rainforest
- Discovery of ancient stone tools in Brazil challenges belief about human arrival in the Americas
- The unknown origins of the incredible Sajama Lines of Bolivia
- Lost archaeological sites rediscovered through new technology
Aerial photograph of ditches at Fazenda Parana. Credit: Edison Caetano, Antiquity Journal
Aerial photograph and plan of earthworks at Fazenda Colorada, which is made up of clear geometric shapes. Excavations suggest inhabitants lived in the three-sided square. Credit: Sanna Saunaluoma, Antiquity Journal
If the team is able to find evidence of ancient, large-scale occupation, this will lend weight to the idea that the rainforest we know today may be a result of the presence of early humanity.
Dr. Iriarte explains, "We want to see what is the human footprint in the forest and then inform policy, because it may be the case that the very biodiversity that we want to preserve is the result of the past historical manipulation of this forest.”
The initiative was announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in California. The project findings may be used to shape future policy on sustainable forest use and the preservation of historical sites.
Featured Image: Ancient earthworks have been revealed due to land clearing. New techniques involving laser equipment may reveal evidence of occupation by ancient civilizations. Credit: Projecto Geoglifos – CNPQ
By Liz Leafloor | <urn:uuid:8d8a30fc-c37c-410b-8541-de65b5e5324e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/mysterious-geoglyphs-amazonia-ancient-humanity-major-impact-020219 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.940907 | 997 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Seafood traceability requires reliable data, but the logistics of creating, transferring, and receiving trustworthy, timely data in complex supply chains can be tricky.
At every link in the seafood supply chain, a new player handles the fish and either creates or consumes data. Each player has various interests and business needs, which means their data needs can also be vastly different. A harvester might want to know where the fish was caught, for example, while a processor might be more interested in shipment arrival times and vessel level yields. In addition to these various points of data generation, and different data demands, each player may collect and consume data using different tools and in different formats.
And then there is the fact that seafood supply chains aren’t linear chains at all. One set of trading partners invariably interacts with companies in other chains, creating a much more complex web of data.
So how do companies looking to adopt and implement traceability deal with complex supply chains?
What we’ve discovered is that the route to traceability requires two parallel processes:
- A precompetitive approach where seafood companies and technology providers set industry standards for technical documents, global understanding, and definitions. Examples of ongoing initiatives in this arena include USAID’s Fisheries Catch Documentation and Traceability in Southeast Asia and WWF’s Global Dialogue.
- A cooperative implementation approach, in which industry trading partners work closely to agree on the requirements for a full-chain traceability system. We have identified a Request for Proposal (RFP) process as an effective approach to address this critical, yet missing component of seafood traceability efforts.
For full chain traceability to work efficiently, everyone who creates and consumes data needs to be “plugged in.”
Future of Fish has helped create tools that directly solve some of the issues with implementing technology across supply chains to create, transfer, and receive the information each player needs.
Through an RFP process, every player in the supply chain comes together to agree on the needs and specifications of a multiple-technology-based system. Each player affirms their commitment to traceability and identifies their data needs and collection abilities. The RFP process also helps each participating company identify their specific role in creating and consuming key data elements (KDEs). This ensures that everyone understands the current state of affairs as well as the desired outcomes of the traceability system from the start.
The supply chain describes their requirements in the RFP and makes it available to technology providers. Like any RFP process, the tech companies then respond and compete for the contract.
Because no one technology company can meet all needs for robust, full-chain traceability, multiple companies must collaborate to build solutions that meet the multiple functions and needs expressed in the RFP. Over time, we believe this kind of collaboration among technology vendors will help the industry develop and grow.
There are many advantages to having an entire supply chain implement traceability under a single RFP.
It ensures interoperability. Because everyone defines their collective needs, we know from the outset that the solution suite will be designed to transfer data up and down the supply chain without hiccups.
It improves data predictability. By mapping the supply chain ahead of time, all players know and understand how the data chain will work. Rather than sending their data into a black hole, not knowing if the information will be passed along, players will understand everyone’s expectations and responsibilities in advance.
It boosts data security. Rather than spending time and money trying to develop customized hacks to make different traceability tools work together, risking data loss and security breaches, a single deployment of a traceability solution leaves the data chain intact. This gives companies and governments more control, making them better able to conceal proprietary or sensitive information.
It makes costs transparent. Because the supply chain receives bids upfront from multiple tech providers, everyone knows how much it will cost to implement traceability before diving in. This also allows for all actors who consume data (including governments) to play a part in financing technology deployment.
It allows for scale. Once a robust network of traceability systems is happily humming along, the supply chain can use that steady foundation to expand and grow. The network can then easily bring on other chains through RFPs based on the same technical specifications--ensuring interoperability among all the technology solutions in place.
Cooperative traceability through RFPs benefits technology vendors too.
It fosters innovation. Supply chains are complex, to say the least. A written RFP process helps developers understand the changing needs of the industry. Technology vendors can better recognize where they add value and where they need to strengthen their offerings.
It sets expectations. A written RFP puts requirements in black and white. Literally.
It encourages collaboration. If a single vendor can’t meet all needs set out in an RFP, they can partner with others on a bid.
Future of Fish and its partners are aligning seafood supply chains.
Getting players to the table is one of the biggest hurdles we’ve seen in helping complex seafood supply chains adopt and implement traceability. For a chain-wide system to work efficiently, everyone must be on board—all stakeholders, including seafood companies at all nodes of a supply chain, governments, and technology providers need to collaborate on effective technology solutions.
At Future of Fish, we’re researching and designing resources to engage and support the seafood industry and technology providers through our Fisheries Development Model (FDM). The FDM considers the governance, finance, cultural, and data needs of a fishery system in a comprehensive approach to improving traceability.
As part of our FDM work, the RFP-driven process is already being tested in various places around the world. And this year, through our work with the Oceans Seafood Marketing Initiative (OSMI), we’re refining the model and building it into a tool that will help supply chains through the process. Our hope is that this RFP tool will structure a way for individual companies to remain in control over their technology investments, while increasing their likelihood of success by helping to align trading partners’ expectations and commitments.
In addition, we are actively working with leading traceability technology vendors to support their efforts to meet the diverse, unique, and rapidly evolving needs of the seafood industry. This includes supporting the launch of a Trade Association for Seafood Traceability Technology (TAST-T).
If you’d like more information about our RFP process or to see if Future of Fish can help your supply chain identify and implement an effective traceability system, contact Fiona Lugo-Mulligan, Traceability Program Manager at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:47998b09-69fc-454e-8155-9a652d02745d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://futureoffish.com/blog/cooperative-traceability-next-generation-approaches-complex-seafood-supply-chains | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.935577 | 1,374 | 2.140625 | 2 |
1 Answer | Add Yours
Farmers in all countries, whether these are less economically developed countries (LEDCs) or richer countries, must make all sorts of decisions that affect the output of their farms (and we should note that there are countries where farming is largely done by women).
One decision that must be made is what to plant. This can be harder for farmers in LEDCs to decide. They may not have as much information as farmers in more developed countries. They may not know, on a scientific basis, what sorts of crop rotations are best. They may not have much information about the likely prices of any crops that they might want to raise for commercial purposes. Nevertheless, they must make this choice, potentially affected both the yields they get and the prices for which they can sell their produce.
Another decision is when to plant. This can be a dangerous thing because of the need to guess when rains will come. If the farmer plants at the wrong time, their crops can be damaged by lack of rain or by excess rain. Either way, it is a gamble that can have a major impact on yields.
Of course, farming is an uncertain thing everywhere in the world. These dilemmas are not unique to farmers in LEDCs.
We’ve answered 317,730 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:17a51495-bbc7-4642-8d20-73ba6ddfdcd1> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/describe-two-decisions-that-ledc-farmer-has-make-382071 | 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 | 0.96469 | 276 | 2.84375 | 3 |
As earthmovers groaned and power saws whined, one of those giant turtles, the pride of Wellfleet, MA showed up at the site. It might be fairer to say, showed up not just at the site but one can only assume his site; a kettle pond occupied by his terrapene carolina line since the last Ice Age.
Slowly, he took in the construction like an unsmiling foreman: a red canoe tied to a long dock, ferns, blueberry bushes and beech trees to be received in amended soil, and up the slope from the pond, a rectangular 1600-square foot main house joined to what was once a fishing shack, an 1100-square foot deck and a breezeway which separates a 570-square foot guest house.
Along with other emigre architects of the post-war era summering and building on the Cape—Marcel Breuer, Serge Chermayeff, Walter Gropius, Eero Saarinen, among others—Finnish-born Olav Hammarstrom (1906-2002) sought to place himself and his clients ever-closer to its salt sprayed nature.
And what better way for Hammarstrom to accomplish this than with his Modernist, stripped-down aesthetic? “There was even a tree growing through the deck,” recalls landscape architect Keith LeBlanc of LeBlanc Jones in Boston who joined Caroline “Coty” Sidnam of SPG Architects of New York and local builder Jon Ziperman of Cape Associates in bringing Hammarstrom’s idyll on a private pond into the 21st century.
Now one could argue that to truly get back to nature—all the way—one must spend the summer en plein air, communing with the turtle. So, the question for Hammarstrom and for LeBlanc and Sidnam was how to get back, but not too far back. How to strike a balance between rough and refined.
“Clearly, the house had deteriorated over the years. Plumbing worn out, leaks in the roof, electric not safe, and Nor’easters had pushed it precariously close to the edge of a dune. Not a soft, rolling dune but one more like a cliff,” said Sidnam, who was rejoined by Ziperman who characterized the project as an archeological dig. “With gut jobs like this, you have to keep peeling back layers and layers, correcting the structure as you go to prepare the house for what you are about to do to it.
When Sidnam’s long-term clients found the Hammarstrom house was on the market, they purchased it with an eye to fixing it up and selling it. Mid-century modern was one of their favorite periods, and this would be a way of getting involved. Their Cape house at the time was an iconic “big old box but not an interesting box” recalls Sidnam. As the project progressed, her clients decided to fix this far more interesting box and move in, rather than sell.
If you enter the main house from the parking area, turning right, your gaze travels far, all the way from the guest bedroom (not to be confused with the guest house), past the kitchen, the fishing shack/family room to the far wall of the bedroom beyond which Sidnam added an outdoor shower.
Long views in open plans are fine, but where’s the privacy, one asks? There aren’t any partitions. The answer is in the form of floating interior cubes, one for the master bath and one for the kitchen that creates visual, if not actual privacy, blocking some sight lines, and revealing others. To extend the view to its fullest on the pond side, the South and most important side, it’s interesting to note how cleverly Sidnam put a hidden panel pocketed in the wall of the kitchen cube, extending kitchen counter. When the panel’s open the long view of the deck and pond becomes that much longer, and while closed the evening’s dirty dishes are conveniently hidden from sight.
By adding large sections of clerestory glass to the pitched roof of the fishing shack/family room, Sidnam found a way to light up its aged and darkened knotty pine. A purple B&B sectional sofa, and Eames lounge chair and ottoman enlarge on the Modernist theme from the newer, Hammarstrom part of the house where other icons can be found: Arne Jacobsen dining chairs, an Eero Saarinen Womb Chair & Ottoman, and Knoll seating fabric in sapphire.
Fifteen thousand years after retreating glaciers scooped out the kettle pond, which remains the focus of the property to this day. It was up to landscape designer Keith LeBlanc to make that focus a bit sharper. In place of rotting railroad ties delineating various outdoors spaces, LeBlanc employed native plants, trees, and stone to create, in his words: “a dramatic unfolding in reaching the pond. You can get a glimpse of it from the road and then you have to descend thirty feet. It’s a narrow drive. You’ve got to pull over in the sand and gravel to let another car past. In strict compliance with National Seashore regulations, we used the native beech trees (which have the virtue of keeping their yellowed leaves through winter) to purposely maintain that narrowness and that feeling of a secluded home in the woods.”
“It was very unclear where you were supposed to park, or how to get to the front door. We re-graded the parking court and for a more gracious pedestrian experience, once you’re out of the car, we enlarged the aperture of the stairs going down to the house. Some of the stairs, in fact, are wide enough to extend beyond the paving into the plantings. Drawing closer to the door there’s a grove of Black Gum trees LeBlanc planted. The trees like wet feet he explained and signify to visitors their increasing proximity to the pond. LeBlanc points out how the Gum Trees verticality juxtaposes with the house, accentuating its horizontality.
On the other side, through the breezeway, stone steps leading to the dock become more irregular, offering a wilder experience than the more refined parking court. As he descends, one can safely assume the resident turtle approves of this and other updates to timeless Modernism.
© Louis Postel 2017, first published in New England Home as Mid-century Modern in Wellfleet | <urn:uuid:6cc894e2-029e-4368-a7e0-150f55d387ed> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://postel-ink.com/idyll-wild-new-england-home-2017/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573908.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820043108-20220820073108-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.952409 | 1,371 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Bias is apparent in The Stelter Company’s newest research report, “What Makes Them Give?” The planned giving study recommends expanding communications and outreach to younger and less loyal prospect pools than traditionally thought appropriate. Much of Stelter’s business is communications, direct marketing and outreach.
It’s in their corporate interest to encourage charities to reach out to larger pools of prospects by direct mail, email, calling and website engagement because they have business lines in all those methods.
For lots of decades, Planned Giving pros have promoted estate and retirement plan gifts to prospects in their mid-50s and over. That’s the age at which it’s been believed people generally begin to think of their long-term plans as charitable vehicles. Before then, plans are for protection of family and gifts to loved ones, for the most part.
Also, being in the will or IRA of a 40-something is less valuable than a 70- or 80-year-old because of the vastly greater likelihood that the younger person’s charitable interests will change–perhaps many times–before their death in 50 or 55 years.
Stelter’s research recommends starting promotion at age 40, claiming 60% of best prospects are age 40 to 54. That conclusion may be completely correct.
But because of the company’s bias I cannot rely on their study as evidence of trends that suggest activities that will increase Stelter’s revenue.
Along with direct and email products and campaigns, the company offers a calling program. The more people charities mail to, email and call, the more potential revenue for Stelter.
That creates researcher bias, notwithstanding the research was conducted by a different company hired and paid by Stelter.
“What Makes Them Give?” also suggests expanding Planned Giving prospect pools by setting aside beliefs about donor loyalty as a predictor of giving.
To turn prospects into donors you have to communicate with them, so larger prospect pools benefit Stelter’s bottom line.
The study includes a good number of recommendations unrelated to expanded communications and outreach, including rethinking recognition societies. Those are untainted by Stelter’s bias.
I’d love to expand Planned Giving prospecting. I really would.
We don’t yet have objective research concluding that would be a wise investment of charities’ hard-earned money and limited time. | <urn:uuid:bb1b13c0-06d6-47cd-a0da-48297bdd08a1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://tonymartignetti.com/tag/what-makes-them-give/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.953473 | 504 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Purpose of Review: Oral functions, which are responsible for feeding and swallowing, play a very important role in obtaining proper nutrition. Therefore, their deterioration could interfere with nutritional ingestion. This review investigated previous reports on the relationship between oral function deterioration and malnutrition. Recent Findings: Reduced occlusal force, decreased tongue–lip motor function, decreased tongue pressure, decreased masticatory function, and deterioration of swallowing function have been found to be associated with malnutrition. On the other hand, consensus does not exist on whether oral dryness is associated with malnutrition. Prosthetic rehabilitation and oral function training are effective interventions for improving oral functions. However, malnutrition could not be addressed by prosthetic rehabilitation alone; it requires simultaneous management with prosthetic rehabilitation and nutritional guidance. Furthermore, it has been reported that data on whether oral function training, such as tongue strengthening training, could improve malnutrition are limited. Summary: Partial deterioration of oral functions can cause malnutrition. Prosthetic rehabilitation and oral function training could be considered interventions for improving malnutrition, but numerous unclarified points about these methods remain. In the future, detailed research should be conducted to elucidate the causal relationship between deterioration of oral functions and malnutrition and to establish oral function interventions for improving malnutrition.
!!!All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes | <urn:uuid:b3a23dc3-ef03-4100-92d9-e4dc294236b7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kyushu-u.pure.elsevier.com/ja/publications/deterioration-of-oral-functions-and-nutrition-in-older-individual-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.902107 | 321 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Gay Jesus themes are discussed in two new books: “It Was Too Soon Before…” by Dirk Vanden and “Gay Jesus” by Steve Gillman.
Each author takes a dramatically different approach to the same subject. Vanden’s book is the autobiography of a gay pioneer, including his mystical/psychedelic visions of a gay Jesus. Gillman’s book is a set of 10 anti-authoritarian essays, with the title essay pointing out that a gay Jesus would reveal people’s prejudice.
“It Was Too Soon Before…” by Dirk Vanden“It Was Too Soon Before...” is aptly subtitled “The unlikely life, untimely death, and unexpected rebirth of Gay Pioneer, Dirk Vanden.” Born in 1932, Vanden was a novelist during the early development of the gay literary genre. His first books were published--augmented with sex scenes inserted by the publisher--as porn pulps. Seven of his erotic novels were released from 1969-73, when homosexuality was illegal and gay literature was banned.
Vanden is also a talented artist who did two paintings based on his gay Jesus vision, “Take Away the Cross” and “Ecce Homo (Behold the Homosexual),” also known as “Jumping Jesus.” Both appear in his new book as well as in our previous post “Gay Artist Does Inspiring Jesus Art.”
In his autobiography Vanden tells how he fell in love with Jesus, “meek and mild, loving and forgiving,” while growing up gay in a sexually repressive Mormon family. When he turned out to be irreversibly homosexual, he felt abandoned by Jesus for many years. Vanden’s journey includes California’s thriving gay counterculture of the 1960s, the AIDS death of his longtime partner, retirement into obscurity and a “rebirth” as his books have been rediscovered by modern gay literary scholars.
During an acid trip at a gay bathhouse in San Francisco in 1970, Vanden had a life-changing experience of seeing Jesus incarnated in every Gay man, including the author himself. This gay Jesus vision changed Vanden’s life and gave him a new sense of purpose. He also described the vision in fictionalized form in his 2010 novel “All of Me.” (See our previous post Gay Jesus vision appears in new mystery novel.)
In one of the final chapters Vanden expands on the vision by writing a creative, sex-positive gay gospel. The Bible does not record what Jesus did during his teen and young adult years, so Vanden fills in the gap, using clues from the Bible, the gnostic gospels and his own life as reference.
Vanden imagines the friendship between Jesus and Abdul, the son of a traveling merchant from Persia who sold rugs for the houses built by Jesus and his father. Abdul seduces the teenage Jesus. In a reversal of the usual story, Vanden’s Jesus hitches a ride on Abdul’s caravan to follow his guiding star to meet the wise man Melchior. They make love and Melchior inducts him into spiritual mysteries. Over the next 10 years Joshua lives with and learns from three wise men before he returns to Galilee to start his public ministry.
“It Was Too Soon Before…” is nicely put together designed with two sections of photos, a list of wise aphorisms at the end, and a well designed cover with some of Vanden’s art. He painted the pastoral nude cover image for “It Was Too Soon Before…” as an ad for the bathhouse where his gay Jesus vision occurred, and it hung in the lounge there for many years.
Published by the widely respected Lethe Press, the book features an introduction by Toby Johnson, award-winning gay spirituality author. Johnson was mentored by comparative religion scholar Joseph Campbell. He uses mythology to put Vanden into the heroic framework of the quest for the Holy Grail.
As Johnson writes, “Vanden’s life story shows how Gay men necessarily transform their religious upbringing to create a kind of personal new vision of their own, based in personal experience and deep intuition, that fulfills their zeal to be good and contributing persons, offers them a life of adventure and discovery and, most importantly, that makes sense in the modern, scientific, post-mythological world.”
Some readers may find it a bit jarring to move from Johnson’s epic introduction to Vanden’s sometimes crude vocabulary. For example, the f-word appears as early as the table of contents. Others may relish reading a spiritual message and wrapped in earthy language.
“Gay Jesus” by Steve Gillman“What if Jesus was gay?” is the provocative question explored in the title essay of “Gay Jesus” by Steve Gillman. He makes some witty and valid predictions about how conservative Christians would reveal their anti-gay prejudice. However, it seems like Gillman uses “gay Jesus” mostly as a gimmick to gain attention. The author, who is heterosexually married, is not educated about queer theology. Gillman takes it for granted that the Bible condemns homosexuality, ignoring LGBT-positive interpretations.
Still he does raise important questions in the book: “Why couldn’t Jesus be homosexual, and why should his sexual orientation have any bearing on the message in his teachings? Unless a person believes--or at least subconsciously feels--that there is something wrong with a man being attracted to others of the same gender, how could that person reject a gay Jesus?”
Born in Michigan in 1964, Gillman is an author and entrepreneur who writes about politics, travel, economics, backpacking, inventions, and ideas in general. He self-published “Gay Jesus” in e-book form only. Gillman doesn’t claim to be an authority on any subject--not even anti-authoritarianism. After a quick take on the gay Jesus, he moves on to cover a variety of topic ranging from glorification of the Bible to government intrusions on individual freedoms through the military, taxes, and jury duty.
“Holy Terror” by Mel WhiteAlso of interest: Mel White’s new paperback “Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tells Us to Deny Gay Equality” was published May 22 and is in stock now. White, the gay clergyman who founded Soulforce, used to be a ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. In “Holy Terror,” he exposes the origins of the Christian fundamentalist movement and how its virulent anti-gay agenda has led to right wing extremism. The book was originally published in hardcover under the title “Religion Gone Bad.”
This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others. | <urn:uuid:95448e01-6b23-467d-9fc6-4308b6b8eaf1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://jesusinlove.blogspot.com/2012/05/two-new-gay-jesus-books-published.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00067-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961915 | 1,475 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The typography in magazines, artwork on billboards and layouts on Web pages most likely spring from the creative minds of graphic artists. Sometimes called graphic designers, these art professionals communicate ideas through color, pictures, logos, fonts and multimedia. Most work a 40-hour week to earn their salaries, although schedules can run longer when tight deadlines approach.
Full-time graphic artists earned an average $23.41 per hour, or $48,690 per year, as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid 10 percent made less than $12.60 per hour or $26,210 per year. The best-paid 10 percent received more than $37.20 per hour or $77,370 per year. The BLS predicts that jobs for the profession will increase at 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, which is close to the average 14 percent predicted for all positions in all industries. Computer systems design will show the biggest gains at 61 percent while non-Internet publishing industries will suffer declines of 4 percent.
Experience affects pay. Junior designers in printed, Web and interactive design earned a median $19 per hour or $38,000 per year, according to the 2011 Survey of Design Salaries compiled by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. They are defined as workers with up to three years of experience out of school who need supervision. Designers who worked independently made a median $22.50 per hour or $45,000 per year. Senior designers, who could lead projects and train junior employees, received a median $32 an hour or $64,000 per year.
The biggest employers of graphic artists in 2011, according to the BLS, were specialized design services, which included designers who worked for themselves. Average wages ran $24.59 per hour or $51,150 per year. Next were publishers of newspapers, periodicals, books and directories, where wages averaged $20.59 per hour or $42,820 per year. The highest salaries were in the federal government, with averages at $36.33 per hour or $75,570 per year. Amusement parks and arcades followed, with mean wages of $31.72 per hour or $65,980 per year. Third for compensation were monetary authorities, which offered an average $31.56 per hour or $65,650 per year.
A bachelor’s degree in graphic design is the usual minimum requirement for employment. This education is available in about 300 post-secondary colleges, universities and schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Subjects include principles of design, studio art, computer art, website design, commercial production and printing techniques. Marketing, writing and business are important for those wanting to work for themselves. Students are able to build a professional portfolio that contains their best work. They can use this documentation to show their design skills when applying for jobs or looking for projects.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Graphic Designers-Work Environment
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011-Graphic Designers
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Graphic Designers-Job Outlook
- AIGA: AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries 2011
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to Become a Graphic Designer
- Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:6cf42cfa-23bc-4b99-ab59-788faeed7d9c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://work.chron.com/fulltime-graphic-artist-salary-6618.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00437-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948174 | 682 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Management Information Systems: Strategy and Action
The new edition of this MIS text retains the clear, readable writing style and managerial perspective of the first edition. A strategy-action theme, which focuses students on information systems goals, emphasizes the role of people in information systems, and balances technical with managerial issues, and is reinforced by boxed features and end-of-chapter case studies. The modular organization allows flexibility in customizing material in the text to fit course objectives, and there is an extensive support package.
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Introduction to Management Information Systems
85 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
activities airline analysis application software approach area networks CBIS Chapter COBOL communications companies competitive computer system corporate cost data flow data flow diagram database management decision support systems desktop desktop publishing devices disk documents electronic employees end-user computing environment example executive executive information systems expert system Figure firms fourth-generation languages functions graphics hardware impact implementation important information technology input instance integrated interface inventory languages levels mainframes major Management Information Systems management systems manufacturing marketing ment microcomputer MIS department MIS professionals needs operating systems organization's organizational organizations output outsourcing perform personal computers personnel printers problems prototyping puter records requirements role screen secondary storage specific spreadsheet storage stored strategic planning structure subsystems systems analyst systems development tasks telecommunication tems tion transaction processing systems types vendors | <urn:uuid:bc4434a8-5080-4733-b942-f1f7bb2f9508> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Management_information_systems.html?id=OODxAAAAMAAJ&hl=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00492-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.839066 | 279 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Roman Catholic reporting about union between Rome and Orthodoxy tends to be over optimistic. The Catholics seem to want union much more than the Orthodox do. A clearer assessment might be that Moscow sees cooperation with Rome as necessary to re-Christianize Europe, to help Europe rediscover its moral and religious moorings. Nevertheless, a significant thaw is occurring.
“The Lefebvrists, the Anglicans… will it be the Orthodox next?” asked one slightly bewildered Catholic priest recently. Pope Benedict XVI is turning out to be ecumenically audacious. For this he has faced criticism, misunderstanding and accusations of insensitivity. But Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church seem now to be making progress in preparing the ground to overcome the Great Schism of 1054.
When I was in Russia late last year the Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, commented on the imperative aim of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to build “a dialogue of truth and charity” with the Orthodox. He emphasised how vital this was and thanked Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for its work in supporting Catholic, Orthodox and ecumenical projects in Russia:
“We have to encourage the Catholic community to show solidarity to the Orthodox. The initiative of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI is so important. Thank you for all that the charity does for the Church and for building relations with the Orthodox, in line with the will of the Holy Father… and Our Lord!”
He continued, reflecting on the great sufferings of all Christians in Soviet times: “We must find courage to turn the pages of history.”
But it is not only Catholics who wish to “turn the pages of history” and establish an understanding, with a deeper respect.
Archpriest Fr Igor Vyzhanov, Secretary for inter-Christian Affairs at the Moscow Patriarchate, told me: “We have a common heritage, a common mission and challenges in common – both Catholics and Orthodox. We need your prayers and charity.”
Fr Igor accompanied Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, who is head of the External Affairs Department of the Russian Orthodox Church, to a meeting at Castel Gandolfo with Pope Benedict XVI in late September. When asked about the continuing tense situation between churches in Ukraine – where the faithful of the Eastern Rite (Greek) Catholic Church suffered so much and where there is a raw sensitivity and a politically territorial religious viewpoint on both sides – Archpriest Igor recognised the scale of the challenges: “There is much hurt and there are very painful memories on both sides and the question is how a way forward can be found. But we must foster a solution with the Greek Catholics in Ukraine – and we both call for the need for dialogue.”
So what underlies these recent changes in attitude? Where has this new energy come from, pushing towards a mutual recognition and some theological and ecclesial agreement? The difficult meetings of the International Joint Commission for Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Theological Commission, the publishing of books and articles, as well as cultural and diplomatic exchanges, are definitely leading to a greater openness. Indeed, one sign of this is a forthcoming exhibition with lectures this spring 2010 in Rome entitled Days of Russian Spiritual Culture – and it is thought likely that the Holy Father will make a point of attending. Additionally, the projects supported by Aid to the Church in Need have helped to build bridges of charity – including the publishing of social teaching documents by the Russian Orthodox Church and the sponsoring of a television programme on the Holy Father, with a personal message from Pope Benedict in Russian, broadcast across Russia in 2008. Barriers of mistrust and superstition are coming down – as common social and religious challenges are faced – and some of the wounds of atheism are beginning to heal.
Read the complete article on the Catholic Herald website. | <urn:uuid:9f5bbc0a-d24d-496d-8a3e-7b4d377f9b3b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aoiusa.org/catholic-herald-in-russia-the-path-to-unity-is-defrosting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00283-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952938 | 800 | 1.8125 | 2 |
One of the more integral thinkers of the last century was Paul Brunton and here are some of his reflections on the question:
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
People sometimes ask me to what religion I belong or to what school of yoga I adhere. If I answer them, which is not often, I tell them: “To none and to all!” If such a paradox annoys them, I try to soften their wrath by adding that I am a student of philosophy. During my journeys to the heavenly realm of infinite eternal and absolute existence, I did not once discover any labels marked Christian, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant, Zen, Shin, Platonist, Hegelian, and so on, any more than I discovered labels marked Englishman, American, or Hottentot. All such ascriptions would contradict the very nature of the ascriptionless existence. All sectarian differences are merely intellectual ones. They have no place in that level which is deeper than intellectual function. They divide men into hostile groups only because they are pseudo-spiritual. He who has tasted of the pure Spirit’s own freedom will be unwilling to submit himself to the restrictions of cult and creed. Therefore I could not conscientiously affix a label to my own outlook or to the teaching about this existence which I have embraced. In my secret heart I separate myself from nobody, just as this teaching itself excludes no other in its perfect comprehension. Because I had to call it by some name as soon as I began to write about it, I called it philosophy because this is too wide and too general a name to become the property of any single sect. In doing so I merely returned to its ancient and noble meaning among the Greeks who, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, designated the spiritual truth learnt at initiation into them as “philosophy” and the initiate himself as “philosopher” or lover of wisdom.
Now genuine wisdom being, in its highest phase, the fruit of a transcendental insight, is sublimely dateless and unchangeable. Yet its mode of expression is necessarily dated and may therefore change. Perhaps this pioneering attempt to fill the term “philosophy” with a content which combines ancient tradition with modern innovation will help the few who are sick of intellectual intolerances that masquerade as spiritual insight. Perhaps it may free such broader souls from the need of adopting a separative standpoint with all the frictions, prejudices, egotisms, and hatreds which go with it, and afford them an intellectual basis for practising a profound compassion for all alike. It is as natural for those reared on limited conceptions of life to limit their faith and loyalty to a particular group or a particular area of this planet as it is natural for those reared on philosophic truth to widen their vision and service into world-comprehension and world-fellowship. The philosopher’s larger and nobler vision refuses to establish a separate group consciousness for himself and for those who think as he does. Hence he refuses to establish a new cult, a new association, or a new label. To him the oneness of mankind is a fact and not a fable. He is always conscious of the fact that he is a citizen of the world-community. While acknowledging the place and need of lesser loyalties for unphilosophical persons, he cannot outrage truth by confining his own self solely to such loyalties.
Why this eagerness to separate ourselves from the rest of mankind and collect into a sect, to wear a new label that proclaims difference and division? The more we believe in the oneness of life, the less we ought to herd ourselves behind barriers. To add a new cult to the existing list is to multiply the causes of human division and thence of human strife. Let those of us who can do so be done with this seeking of ever-new disunity, this fostering of ever-fresh prejudices, and let those who cannot do so keep it at least as an ideal–however remote and however far-off its attainment may seem–for after all it is ultimate direction and not immediate position that matters most. The democratic abolishment of class status and exclusive groups, which will be a distinctive feature of the coming age, should also show itself in the circles of mystical and philosophic students. If they have any superiority over others, let them display it by a superiority of conduct grounded in a diviner consciousness. Nevertheless, with all the best will in the world to refrain from starting a new group, the distinctive character of their conduct and the unique character of their outlook will, of themselves, mark out the followers of such teaching. Therefore whatever metaphysical unity with others may be perceived and whatever inward willingness to identify interests with them may be felt, some kind of practical indication of its goal and outward particularization of its path will necessarily and inescapably arise of their own accord. And I do not know of any better or broader name with which to mark those who pursue this quest than to say that they are students of philosophy. (20-1.18)
It may be asked why I insist on using the word “philosophy” as a self-sufficient name without prefixing it by some descriptive term or person’s name when it has held different meanings in different centuries, or been associated with different points of view ranging from the most materialistic to the most spiritualist. The question is well asked, although the answer may not be quite satisfactory. I do so because I want to restore this word to its ancient dignity. I want it used for the highest kind of insight into the Truth of things, which means into the Truth of the unique Reality. I want the philosopher to be equated with the sage, the man who not only knows this Truth, has this insight, and experiences this Reality in meditation, but also, although in a modified form, in action amid the world’s turmoil. (20-1.127)
The practice of philosophy is an essential part of it and not only consists in applying its principles and its wisdom to everyday active living, but also in realizing the divine presence deep, deep within the heart where it abides in tremendous stillness. (20-1.17)
The Advaitin who declares that as such he has no point of view, has already adopted one by calling himself an Advaitin and by rejecting every other point of view as being dualistic. A human philosophy is neither dualistic alone nor nondualistic alone. It perceives the connection between the dream and the dreamer, the Real and the unreal, the consciousness and the thought. It accepts Advaita, but refuses to stop with it; it accepts duality, but refuses to remain limited to it; therefore it alone is free from a dogmatic point of view. But in attempting to bring into harmony that which forever is and that which is bound by time and space, it becomes a truly human philosophy of Truth.
Two things have to be learned in this quest. The first is the art of mind-stilling, of emptying consciousness of every thought and form whatsoever. This is mysticism or Yoga. The disciple’s ascent should not stop at the contemplation of anything that has shape or history, name or habitation, however powerfully helpful this may have formerly been to the ascent itself. Only in the mysterious void of Pure Spirit, in the undifferentiated Mind, lies his last goal as a mystic. The second is to grasp the essential nature of the ego and of the universe and to obtain direct perception that both are nothing but a series of ideas which unfold themselves within our minds. This is the metaphysics of Truth. The combination of these two activities brings about the realization of his true Being as the ever beautiful and eternally beneficent Overself. This is philosophy. (20-4.134)
Viewed from the standpoint of the house in which we all have to live–that is, the body–Advaita Vedanta seems to deal only in ultimate abstractions–however admirable and lofty its outlook. The body is there and its actuality and factuality must be noted and, more, accepted. This is why I do not give any other label to the ideas put into my later books than the generic name philosophy. I do not call it Indian philosophy since there are ideas in the books which do not belong to India at all. I do not identify it with any particular land, race, religion, or teacher from the ancient past or the modern present. Philosophy can not be limited only to abstract ideas. It includes those ideas but it also includes other things. Its original Greek meaning “love of wisdom” concerns the whole of man, and not only his abstract thoughts, intellect, feelings, body, or relation to the world around him. It concerns his entire life: his contacts with other people, the morality which guides him in dealing with them, and finally his attitude towards himself. Philosophy must be universal in its scope; therefore, it may embrace ideas which originate not only in India or in America or in Europe, but in every other country and in every other period of civilization. Not all ideas are philosophical, but only those which are true, useful, in harmony with the World-Idea, and able to survive the test of practice and applicability. (20-1.128)
Truth will not insult intelligence, although it soars beyond intellect. Let the religionists talk nonsense, as they do at times; but holiness is not incompatible with the use of brains, the acquisition of knowledge, and the rational faculties. (20-4.61)
To view the inferior mystical experiences or the ratiocinative metaphysical findings otherwise than as passing phases, to set them up as finally representative of reality in the one case or of truth in the other, is to place them on a level to which they do not properly belong. Those who fall into the second error do so because they ascribe excessive importance to the thinking faculty. The mystic is too attached to one faculty, as the metaphysician is to the other, and neither can conduct a human being beyond the bounds of his enchained ego to that region where Being alone reigns. It is not that the mystic does not enter into contact with the Overself. He does. But his experience of the Overself is limited to glimpses which are partial, because he finds the Overself only within himself, not in the world outside. It is temporary because he has to take it when it comes at its own sweet will or when he can find it in meditation. It is a glimpse because it tells him about his own “I” but not about the “Not-I.” On the other hand, the sage finds reality in the world without as his own self, at all times and not at special occasions, and wholly rather than in glimpses. The mystic’s light comes in glimpses, but the sage’s is perennial. Whereas the first is like a flickering unsteady and uneven flame, the second is like a lamp that never goes out. Whereas the mystic comes into awareness of the Overself through feeling alone, the sage comes into it through knowledge plus feeling. Hence, the superiority of his realization.
The average mystic is devoid of sufficient critical sense. He delights in preventing his intellect from being active in such a definite direction. He has yet to learn that philosophical discipline has a steadying influence on the vagaries of mystical emotion, opinion, fancy, and experience. He refuses to judge the goal he has set up as to whether it be indeed man’s ultimate goal. Consequently he is unable to apply correct standards whereby his own achievements or his own aspirations may be measured. Having shut himself up in a little heaven of his own, he does not attempt to distinguish it from other heavens or to discover if it be heaven indeed. He clings as stubbornly to his self-righteousness as does the religionist whom he criticizes for clinging to his dogma. He does not comprehend that he has transferred to himself that narrowness of outlook which he condemns in the materialistic. His position would be preposterous were it not so perilous.
Mysticism must not rest so smugly satisfied with its own obscurity that it refuses even to make the effort to come out into the light of critical self-examination, clear self-determination, and rational self-understanding. To complain helplessly that it cannot explain itself, to sit admiringly before its own self-proclaimed impalpability, or to stand aristocratically in the rarefied air of its own indefinability–as it usually does–is to fall into a kind of subtle quackery. Magnificent eulogy is no substitute for needed explanation. (20-4.23)
We do not claim that an entirely new teaching has been given to the world. But we do claim that a teaching and a praxis which we found in a primitive antique form have been brought up-to-date and given a scientific modern expression, that some parts of it which were formerly half-hidden and others wholly so, have been completely revealed and made accessible to everyone who cares for such things. (20-2.103)
This is a pioneer work, this making of a fresh synthesis which draws from, but does not solely depend upon, the knowledge of colleagues scattered in different continents as well as the initiations of masters belonging to the most different traditions. (20-2.67)
There is a kind of understanding combined with feeling which is not a common one here in the West, indeed uncommon enough to seem more discoverable and less puzzling in the Asiatic regions. It is puzzling for four reasons. One is that it cannot be attributed to the intellect alone, nor to the emotional nature alone. Another is that it provides an experience so difficult to describe that it is preferable not to discuss it at all. A third is that although the most reverent it is not allied to religion. A fourth point is that it is outside any precise labelling as for instance a metaphysics or cult which could really belong to it. Yet it is neither anything new or old. It is nameless. But because there is only one way to deal with it honestly–the way of utter silence, speechless when in contact with other humans, perfectly still when in the secrecy of a closed room–we may renew the Pythagorean appellation of “philosophy” for it is truly the love of wisdom-knowledge. (20-1.129)
Such a revolutionary acquisition as insight must necessarily prove to be in a man’s life can only be developed by overcoming all the tremendous force of habitual wrong thinking, by neutralizing all the tremendous weight of habitual wrong feeling, and by counteracting all the tremendous strength of habitual wrong-doing. In short, the familiar personal “I” must have the ground cut from under its feet. This is done by the threefold discipline. The combined threefold technique consists of metaphysical reflection, mystical meditation, and constant remembrance in the midst of disinterested active service. The full use and balanced exercise of every function is needful. Although these three elements have here been isolated one by one for the purpose of clearer intellectual study, it must be remembered that in actual life the student should not attempt to isolate them. Such a division is an artificial one. He who takes for his province this whole business of truth-seeking and gains this rounded all-comprehensive view will no longer be so one-sided as to set up a particular path as being the only way to salvation. On the contrary, he will see that salvation is an integral matter. It can no more be attained by mere meditation alone, for example, than by mere impersonal activity alone; it can no more be reached by evading the lessons of everyday external living than by evading the suppression of such externality which meditation requires. Whereas metaphysics seeks to lift us up to the superphysical idea by thinking, whereas meditation seeks to lift us up by intuition, whereas ethics seeks to raise us to it by practical goodness, art seeks to do the same by feeling and appreciating beauty. Philosophy in its wonderful breadth and balance embraces and synthesizes all four and finally adds their coping stone, insight. (20-4.178)
Philosophy must critically absorb the categories of metaphysics, mysticism, and practicality. For it understands that in the quest of truth the co-operation of all three will not only be helpful and profitable to each other but is also necessary to itself. For only after such absorption, only after it has travelled through them all can it attain what is beyond them all. The decisive point of this quest is reached after the co-operation between all three activities attains such a pitch that they become fused into a single all-comprehensive one which itself differs from them in character and qualities. For the whole truth which is then revealed is not merely a composite one. It not only absorbs them all but transcends them all. When water is born out of the union of oxygen and hydrogen, we may neither say that it is the same as the simple sum-total of both nor that it is entirely different from both. It is a fluid and therefore possesses properties which they as gases do not at all possess. We may only say that it includes and yet transcends them. When philosophic insight is born out of the union of intellectual reasoning, mystical feeling, and altruistic doing, we may neither say that it is only the totalization of these three things nor that it is utterly remote from them. It comprehends them all and yet itself extends far beyond them into a higher order of being. It is not only that the philosopher synthesizes these triple functions, that in one and the same instant his intellect understands the world, his heart feels a tender sympathy towards it, and his will is moved to action for the triumph of good, but also that he is continuously conscious of that infinite reality which, in its purity, no thinking, no emotion, and no action can ever touch. (20-4.183)
The hidden teaching starts and finishes with experience. Every man must begin his mental life as a seeker by noting the fact that he is conscious of an external environment. He will proceed in time to discover that it is an ordered one, that Nature is the manifestation of an orderly Mind. He discovers in the end that consciousness of this Mind becomes the profoundest fact of his internal experience. (20-4.132)
Truth existed before the churches began to spire their way upwards into the sky, and it will continue to exist after the last academy of philosophy has been battered down. Nothing can still the primal need of it in man. Priesthoods can be exterminated until not one vestige is left in the land; mystic hermitages can be broken until they are but dust; philosophical books can be burnt out of existence by culture-hating tyrants, yet this subterranean sense in man which demands the understanding of its own existence will one day rise again with an urgent claim and create a new expression of itself. (20-5.262)
Those who would assign philosophy the role of a leisurely pastime for a few people who have nothing better to do, are greatly mistaken. Philosophy, correctly understood, involves living as well as being. Its value is not merely intellectual, not merely to stimulate thought, but also to guide action. Its ideas and ideals are not left suspended in mid-air, as it were, unable to come down to earth in practical and practicable forms. It can be put to the test in daily living. It can be applied to all personal and social problems without exception. It shows us how to achieve a balanced existence in an unbalanced society. It is truth made workable. The study of and practice of philosophy are particularly valuable to men and women who follow certain professions, such a physicians, lawyers, and teachers, or who hold a certain social status, such as business executives, political administrators, and leaders of organizations. Those who have been placed by character or destiny or by both where their authority touches the lives of numerous others, or where their influence affects the minds of many more, who occupy positions of responsibility or superior status, will find in its principles that which will enable them to direct others wisely and in a manner conducive to the ultimate happiness of all. In the end it can only justify its name if it dynamically inspires its votaries to a wise altruistic and untiring activity, both in self-development and social development. (20-1.177)
We may begin by asking what this philosophy offers us. It offers those who pursue it to the end a deep understanding of the world and a satisfying explanation of the significance of human experience. It offers them the power to penetrate appearances and to discover the genuinely real from the mere appearance of reality; it offers satisfaction of that desire which everyone, everywhere, holds somewhere in his heart–the desire to be free.
It is the joyous duty of philosophy to bring into systematic harmony the various views which mankind has held and will ever hold, however conflicting they seem on the surface, by assigning the different types to their proper level and by providing a total view of the possible heights and depths of human thought. Thus and thus alone the most opposite tendencies of belief and the most striking contrasts of outlook are brought within a single scheme. All become aspects, more or less limited, only. None ever achieves metaphysical finality and need never again be mistaken for the whole truth. All become clear as organic phases of mankind’s mental development. Philosophy alone can bring logically opposite doctrines into harmonious relation with each other by assigning them to their proper places under a single sheltering canopy. Thus out of the medley of voices within us philosophy creates a melody. (20-1.481)
The quest has three aspects: metaphysical, meditational, and morally active. It is the metaphysician’s business to think this thing called life through to its farthest end. It is the mystic’s business to intuit the peaceful desireless state of thoughtlessness. But this quest cannot be conducted in compartments; rather must it be conducted as we have to live, that is, integrally. Hence it is the philosopher’s business to bring the metaphysician’s bloodless conclusions and the mystic’s serene intuition into intimate relation with practical human obligations and flesh-and-blood activities. Both ancient mystical-metaphysical wisdom and modern scientific practicality form the two halves of a complete and comprehensive human culture. Both are required by a man who wants to be fully educated; one without the help of the other will be lame. This may well be why wise Emerson confessed, “I have not yet seen a man!” Consequently, he who has passed through all the different disciplines will be a valuable member of society. For meditation will have calmed his temperament and disciplined his character; the metaphysics of truth will have sharpened his intelligence, protected him against error, and balanced his outlook; the philosophic ethos will have purified his motives and promoted his altruism, whilst the philosophic insight will have made him forever aware that he is an inhabitant of the country of the Overself. He will have touched life at its principal points yet will have permitted himself to be cramped and confined by none. (20-1.173)
Philosophy takes its votaries on a holy pilgrimage from ordinary life in the physical senses through mystical life in the sense-freed spirit to a divinized life back in the same senses. (20-4.113)
The sincere, who are honestly desirous of discovering Truth at whatever cost, will be helped within their limitations; the insincere, who seek to support their petty prejudices rather than to follow Truth, will have their hearts read and their hollowness exposed. (20-1.174)
Is there a universal truth? Is there a doctrine which does not depend on individual opinion or the peculiarities of a particular age or the level of culture of a particular land? Is there a teaching which appeals to universal experience and not to private prejudice? We reply that there is, but it has been buried underneath much metaphysical lumber, much ancient lore, and much Oriental superstition. Our work has been to rescue this doctrine from the dead past for the benefit of the living present. In these pages we explode false counterfeits and expound the genuine doctrine. (20-5.194)
We may generally distinguish three different views of the world. The first is that which comes easily and naturally and it depends on five-sense experience alone. It may be called materialism, and may take various shapes. The second is religious in its elementary state, depending on faith, and mystical in its higher stage, depending on intuition and transcendental experience. The third is scientific in its elementary state, depending on concrete reason, and metaphysical in its higher state, depending on abstract reason. Although these are the views generally held amongst men, they do not exhaust the possibilities of human intelligence. There is a fourth possible view which declares that none of the others can stand alone and that if we cling to any one of them alone to the detriment of the others we merely limit the truth. This view is the philosophic. It declares that truth may be arrived at by combining all the other views which yield only partial truths into the balanced unity of whole truth, and unfolding the faculty of insight which penetrates into hidden reality. (20-1.19)
There are three things man needs to know to make him a spiritually educated man: the truth about himself, his world, and his God. The mystic who thinks it is enough to know the first alone and to leave out the last two, is satisfied to be half-educated. (20-4.95)
The first step is to discover that there is a Presence, a Power, a Life, a Mind, Being, unique, not made or begot, without shape, unseen and unheard, everywhere and always the same. The second step is to discover its relationship to the universe and to oneself. (20-4.133)
It is not enough to attain knowledge of the soul; any mystic may do that. It is necessary to attain clear knowledge. Only the philosophic mystic may do that. This emphasis on clarity is important. It implies a removal of all the obstructions in feeling, the complexes in mind, and obfuscations in ego which prevent it. When this is done, the aspirant beholds truth as it really is. (20-4.62) (20-4.168)
In the first stage of progress we learn to stand aside from the world and to still our thoughts about it. This is the mystical stage. Next, we recognize the world as being but a series of ideas within the mind; this is the mentalist-metaphysical stage. Finally, we return to the world’s activity without reacting mentally to its suggestions, working disinterestedly, and knowing always that all is One. This is the philosophical stage.
The faith in and the practice of reverential worship into which he was initiated by religion must not be dropped. It is required by philosophy also. Only, he is to correct, purify, and refine it. He is to worship the divine presence in his heart, not some distant remote being, and he is to do so more by an act of concentrated thought and unwavering feeling than by resort to external indirect and physical methods. With the philosopher, as with the devotee, the habit of prayer is a daily one. But whereas he prays with light and heat, the other prays with heat alone. The heart finds in such worship a means of pouring out its deepest feelings of devotion, reverence, humility, and communion before its divine source. Thus we see that philosophy does not annul religious worship, but purifies and preserves what is best in it. It does annul the superstitions, exploitations, and futilities connected with conventional religious worship. In the end philosophy brings the seeker back to religion but not to a religion: to the reverence for a supreme power which he had discarded when he discarded the superstitions which had entwined themselves around it. Philosophy is naturally religious and inevitably mystical. Hence it keeps intact and does not break to pieces that which it receives from religion and yoga. It will, of course, receive only their sound fruits, not their bad ones. Philosophic endeavour does not, for instance, disdain religious worship and humble prayer merely because its higher elements transcend them. They are indeed part of such endeavour. But they are not, as with religionists, the whole of it. The mystic must not give up being religious merely because he has become a mystic. In the same way, the philosopher must not give up being both mystical and religious merely because he has become a philosopher. It is vitally important to know this. Philosophy does not supersede religion but keeps it and enlarges it. (20-1.454)
Science suppresses the subject of experience and studies the object. Mysticism suppresses the object of experience and studies the subject. Philosophy suppresses nothing, studies both subject and object; indeed it embraces the study of all experience. (20-1.21)
Although philosophy propounds statements of universal laws and eternal truths, nevertheless each man draws from its study highly personal application and gains from its practices markedly individual fulfilment. Although it is the only Idea which can ever bring men together in harmony and unity, nevertheless it becomes unique for every fresh adherent. And although it transcends all limitations imposed by intellect emotion form and egoism, nevertheless it inspires the poet, teaches the thinker, gives vistas to the artist, guides the executive, and solaces the labourer. (20-1.150)
Philosophy is faced with the problem of educating each individual seeker who aspires to understand it. There is no such thing as mass education in philosophy. (20-2.289)
The theory of philosophy is suited and available to everyone who has the intelligence to grasp it, the faith to accept it, the intuition to recognize its supreme pre-eminence. The practice of philosophy is more restricted, being for those who have been sufficiently prepared by previous inner growth and outer experience to be willing to impose its higher ethical standards, mental training, and emotional discipline upon themselves. To come unprepared for the individual effort demanded, unfit for the intellectual and meditational exertions needed, unready for the teacher or the teaching, is to find bewilderment and to leave disappointed. A premature attempt to enter the school of philosophy will meet with the painful revelation of the dismaying shortcomings within oneself, which must be remedied before the attempt can be successful. (20-2.120)
It is the business of philosophy to cast out error and establish truth. This takes it away from the popular conceptions of religion. Philosophy by its very nature must be unpopular; hence it does not ordinarily go out of its way to spread its ideas in the world. Only at special periods, like our own, when history and evolution have prepared enough individuals to make a modest audience, does philosophy promulgate such of its tenets as are best suited to the mind of that period. (20-2.7)
Such a teaching cannot indulge in propagandist methods or militant sectarianism. It must live quietly and offer itself only to those who are intellectually prepared and emotionally willing to receive it. (20-2.290)
The spiritual seekers who followed Rene\q Gue\qnon and the poets who followed T.S. Eliot fell into the same trap as their leaders. For in protesting, and rightly, against the anarchy of undisciplined and unlimited freedom, both Gue\qnon and Eliot retreated backwards into formal tradition and fixed myth. Both had served their historic purpose and were being left behind. Both men were brilliant intellectuals and naturally attracted a corresponding type of reader. Their influence is understandable. But it is not on the coming wave of the Aquarian Age. New forms will be needed to satisfy the new knowledge, the new outlook, the new feelings. The classical may be respected, even admired; but the creative will be followed. (20-2.66)
The esoteric meaning of the star is “Philosophic Man,” that is, one who has travelled the complete fivefold path and brought its results into proper balance. This path consists of religious veneration, mystical meditation, rational reflection, moral re-education, and altruistic service. The esoteric meaning of the circle, when situated within the very centre of the star, is the Divine Overself-atom within the human heart. (20-1.23)
Whatever were the motives which dictated the exclusive reservation of ultimate wisdom in former centuries and the extraordinary precautions which were taken to keep it from the larger world, we must now reckon on the dominant fact that humanity lives today in a cultural environment which has changed tremendously. The old ideas have lost their weight among educated folk–except for individuals here and there–and this general decay has passed by reflex action among the masses, albeit to a lesser extent. Whether in religion or science, politics or society, economics or ethics, the story of prodigious storm which has shaken the thoughts of men to their foundations is the same. The time indeed is transitional. In this momentous period when the ethical fate of mankind is at stake because the religious sanctions of morality have broken down, it is essential that something should arise to take their place. This is the supreme and significant fact which has forced the hands of those who hold this wisdom in their possession, which has compelled them to begin this historically unique disclosure of it, and which illustrates the saying that the night is darkest just before dawn. This is the dangerous situation which broke down an age-old policy and necessitated a new one whose sublime consequences to future generations we can now but dimly envisage. (20-2.8)
The goal of self-elimination which is held up before us refers only to the animal and lower human selves. It certainly does not refer to the annihilation of all self-consciousness. The higher individuality always remains. But it is so different from the lower one that it does not make much sense to discuss it in human language. Hence, those who have adequately understood it write or talk little about its higher mysteries. If the end of all existence were only a merger at best or annihilation at worst, it would be a senseless and sorry scheme of things. It would be unworthy of the divine intelligence and discreditable to the divine goodness. The consciousness stripped of thought, which looks less attractive to you than the hazards of life down here, is really a tremendous enlargement of what thought itself tries to do. Spiritual advance is really from a Less to a More. There is nothing to fear in it and nothing to lose by it–except by the standards and values of the ignorant. (20-5.5)
It is perhaps the amplitude and symmetry of the philosophic approach which make it so completely satisfying. For this is the only approach which honours reason and appreciates beauty, cultivates intuition and respects mystical experience, fosters reverence and teaches true prayer, enjoins action and promotes morality. It is the spiritual life fully grown. (20-1.22)
Not to escape life, but to articulate it, is philosophy’s practical goal. Not to take the aspirant out of circulation, but to give him something worth doing is philosophy’s sensible ideal. (20-1.340)
The philosophic student will not make the mistake of using the quest as an excuse for inefficiency when attending to duties. There is nothing spiritual in being a muddler. The performance of worldly duties in a dreamy, casual, uninterested, and slovenly manner is often self-excused by the mystically minded because they feel superior to such duties. This arises out of the false opposition which they set up between Matter and Spirit. Such an attitude is not the philosophical one. The mystic is supposed to be apathetic in worldly matters, if he is to be a good mystic. The philosophical student, on the contrary, keeps what is most worthwhile in mysticism and yet manages to keep alert in worldly matters too. If he has understood the teaching and trained himself aright, his practical work will be better done and not worse because he has taken to this quest. He knows it is perfectly possible to balance mystical tendencies with a robust efficiency. He will put as much thought and heart into his work as it demands. (20-1.434)
It is not enough to negate thinking; this may yield a mental blank without content. We have also to transcend it. The first is the way of ordinary yoga; the second is the way of philosophic yoga. In the second way, therefore, we seek strenuously to carry thought to its most abstract and rarefied point, to a critical culminating whereby its whole character changes and it merges of its own accord in the higher source whence it arises. If successful, this produces a pleasant, sometimes ecstatic state–but the ecstasy is not our aim as with ordinary mysticism. With us the reflection must keep loyally to a loftier aim, that of dissolving the ego in its divine source. The metaphysical thinking must work its way, first upwards to a more and more abstract concept and second inwards to a more and more complete absorption from the external world. The consequence is that when illumination results, whether it comes in the form of a mystical trance, ecstasy, or intuition, its character will be unquestionably different and immeasurably superior to that which comes from the mere sterilization of the thinking process which is the method of ordinary yoga. (20-4.62)
The activity of analytic thinking has been banned in most mystical schools. They regard it as an obstacle to the attainment of spiritual consciousness. And ordinarily it is indeed so. For until the intellect can lie perfectly still, such consciousness cannot make itself apparent. The difficulty of making intellect quite passive is however an enormous one. Consequently different concentration techniques have been devised to overcome it. Nearly all of them involve the banishment of thinking and the cessation of reasoning. The philosophical school uses any or all of them where advisable but it also uses a technique peculiarly its own. It makes use of abstract concepts which are concerned with the nature of the mind itself and which are furnished by seers who have developed a deep insight into such nature. It permits the student to work out these concepts in a rational way but leading to subtler and subtler moods until they automatically vanish and thinking ceases as the transcendental state is induced to come of itself. This method is particularly suited either to those who have already got over the elementary difficulties of concentration or to those who regard reasoning power as an asset to be conserved rather than rejected. The conventional mystic, being the victim of external suggestion, will cling to the traditional view of his own school, which usually sees no good at all in reasoned thinking, and aver that spiritual attainment through such a path is psychologically impossible. Never having been instructed in it and never having tried it, he is not really in a position to judge. (20-4.65)
Continued and constant pondering over the ideas presented herein is itself a part of the yoga of philosophical discernment. Such reflection will as naturally lead the student towards realization of his goal as will the companion and equally necessary activity of suppressing all ideas altogether in mental quiet. This is because these ideas are not mere speculations but are themselves the outcome of a translation from inner experience. While such ideas as are here presented grow under the water of their reflection and the sunshine of their love into fruitful branches of thought, they gradually begin to foster intuition. (20-4.66)
The logical movement of intellect must come to a dead stop before the threshold of reality. But we are not to bring about this pause deliberately or in response to the bidding of some man or some doctrine. It must come of its own accord as the final maturation of long and precise reasoning and as the culmination of the intellectual and personal discovery that the apprehension of mind as essence will come only when we let go of the idea-forms it takes and direct our attention to it. (20-4.67)
The use of metaphysical thinking as part of the philosophic system is a feature which few yogis of the ordinary type are likely to appreciate. This is both understandable and pardonable. They are thoroughly imbued with the futility of a merely rational and intellectual approach to reality, a futility which has also been felt and expressed in these pages. So far there is agreement with them. But when they proceed to deduce that the only way left is to crush reason and stop the working of intellect altogether, our paths diverge. For what metaphysics admittedly cannot accomplish by itself may be accomplished by a combination of metaphysics and mysticism far better than by mysticism alone. The metaphysics of truth, which is here meant, however, must never be confused with the many historical speculative systems which exist. (20-4.64)
This is the paradox that both the capacity to think deeply and the capacity to withdraw from thinking are needed to attain this goal. (20-4.68)
We cannot afford to dispense with mysticism merely because we take to philosophy. Both are essential to this quest and both are vital in their respective places. The mystic’s power to concentrate attention is needed throughout the study of philosophy. The philosopher’s power to reason sharply is needed to give mystical reverie a content of world-understanding. And in the more advanced stages, when thinking has done its work and intellect has come to rest, we cease to be a philosopher and dwell self-absorbed in mystic trance, having taken with us the world-idea without which it would be empty. We can only afford to dispense with both mysticism and philosophy when we have perfectly done the work of both and when, amid the daily life of constant activity, we can keep unbroken the profound insight and selfless attitude which time and practice have now made natural.
The mistake of the mystics is to negate prematurely. Only after reasoning has completed its own task to the uttermost will it be psychologically right and philosophically fruitful to still it in the mystic silence. (20-4.69)
The highest contribution which mysticism can make is to afford 5its votaries glimpses of that grand substratum of the universe which we may call the Overself. These glimpses reveal It in the pure unmanifest non-physical essence that It ultimately is. They detach It from the things, creatures, and thoughts which make up this world of ours, and show It as It is in the beginning, before the world-dream made its appearance. Thus mysticism at its farthest stretch, which is Nirvikalpa samadhi, enables man to bring about the temporary disappearance of the world-dream and come into comprehension of the Mind within which, and from which, the dream emerges. The mystic in very truth conducts the funeral service of the physical world as he has hitherto known it, which includes his own ego. But this is as far as mysticism can take him. It is an illuminative and rare experience, but it is not the end. For the next task which he must undertake if he is to advance is to relate his experience of this world as real with his experience of the Overself as real. And this he can do only by studying the world’s own nature, laying bare its mentalistic character and thus bringing it within the same circle as its source, the Mind. If he succeeds in doing this and in establishing this relation correctly, he will have finished his apprenticeship, ascended to the ultimate truth and become a philosopher. Thenceforward he will not deny the world but accept it.
The metaphysician may also perform this task and obtain an intellectual understanding of himself, the world, and the Overself. And he has this advantage over the mystic, that his understanding becomes permanent whereas the mystic’s rapt absorption must pass. But if he has not passed through the mystical exercises, it will remain as incomplete as a nut without a kernel. For these exercises, when led to their logical and successful issue in Nirvikalpa samadhi, provide the vivifying principle of experience which alone can make metaphysical tenets real.
From all this we may perceive why it is quite correct for the mystic to look undistractedly within for his goal, why he must shut out the distractions and attractions of earthly life in order to penetrate the sacred precinct, and why solitude, asceticism, meditation, trance, and emotion play the most important roles in his particular experience. What he is doing is right and proper at his stage but is not right and proper as the last stage. For in the end he must turn metaphysician, just as the metaphysician must turn mystic and just as both must turn philosopher–who is alone capable of infusing the thoughts of metaphysics and the feelings of mysticism into the actions of everyday practical life. (20-4.115)
The crucial point of our criticism must not be missed. Our words are directed against the belief which equates the criterion of truth with the unchecked and unpurified feeling of it–however mystical it be. We do not demand that feeling itself shall be ignored, or that its contribution–which is most important–toward truth shall be despised. Our criticism is not directed against emotion, but against that unbalanced attitude which sets up emotion almost as a religion in itself. We ask only that the reaction of personal feeling shall not be set up as the sole and sufficient standard of what is or is not reality and truth. When we speak of the unsatisfactory validity of feeling as providing sufficient proof by itself of having experienced the Overself, we mean primarily, of course, the kind of passionate feeling which throws the mystic into transports of joy, and secondarily, any strong emotion which sweeps him off his feet into refusal to analyse his experience coldly and scientifically. Three points may be here noted. First, mere feeling alone may easily be egoistic and distort the truth or be inflamed and exaggerate it or put forward a wanted fancy in place of an unwanted fact. Second, there is here no means of attaining certainty. Its validity, being only personal, is only as acceptable as are the offerings of poets and artists who can also talk in terms of psychological, but not metaphysical, reality. For instance, the mystic may gaze at and see what he thinks to be reality, but some one else may not think it to be so. Third, the path of the philosophical objection to appraising feeling alone as a criterion of truth and of our insistence on checking its intimations with critical reasoning may be put in the briefest way by an analogy. We feel that the earth is stable and motionless, but we know that it traces a curve of movement in space. We feel that it is fixed in the firmament, but we know that the whole heliocentric system has its own motion in space. The reader should ponder upon the implications of these facts. Are not the annals of mysticism stained by many instances of megalomaniacs who falsely set themselves up as messiahs merely because they felt that God had commissioned them to do so? This is why the philosopher is concerned not only with the emotional effects of inner experience, as is the mystic, but also with the truth about these effects. (20-4.24)
The philosopher is satisfied with a noble peace and does not run after mystical ecstasies. Whereas other paths often depend upon an emotionalism that perishes with the disappearance of the primal momentum that inspired it, or which dissolves with the dissolution of the first enthusiastic ecstasies themselves, here there is a deeper and more dependable process. What must be emphasized is that most mystical aspirants have an initial or occasional ecstasy, and they are so stirred by the event that they naturally want to enjoy it permanently. This is because they live under the common error that a successful and perfect mystic is one who has succeeded in stabilizing ecstasy. That the mystic is content to rest on the level of feeling alone, without making his feeling self-reflective as well, partly accounts for such an error. It also arises because of incompetent teachers or shallow teaching, leading them to strive to perform what is impracticable and to yearn to attain what is impossible. Our warning is that this is not possible, and that however long a mystic may enjoy these “spiritual sweets,” they will assuredly come to an end one day. The stern logic of facts calls for stress on this point. Too often he believes that this is the goal, and that he has nothing more about which to trouble himself. Indeed, he would regard any further exertions as a sacrilegious denial of the peace, as a degrading descent from the exaltation of this divine union. He longs for nothing more than the good fortune of being undisturbed by the world and of being able to spend the rest of his life in solitary devotion to his inward ecstasy. For the philosophic mystic, however, this is not the terminus but only the starting point of a further path. What philosophy says is that this is only a preliminary mystical state, however remarkable and blissful it be. There is a more matured state–that of gnosis–beyond it. If the student experiences paroxysms of ecstasy at a certain stage of his inner course, he may enjoy them for a time, but let him not look forward to enjoying them for all time. The true goal lies beyond them, and he should not forget that all-important fact. He will not find final salvation in the mystical experience of ecstasy, but he will find an excellent and essential step towards salvation therein. He who would regard rapturous mystical emotion as being the same as absolute transcendental insight is mistaken. Such a mistake is pardonable. So abrupt and striking is the contrast with his ordinary state that he concludes that this condition of hyper-emotional bliss is the condition in which he is able to experience reality. He surrenders himself to the bliss, the emotional joy which he experiences, well satisfied that he has found God or his soul. But his excited feelings about reality are not the same as the serene experience of reality itself. This is what a mystic finds difficult to comprehend. Yet, until he does comprehend it, he will not make any genuine progress beyond this stage. (20-4.125)
What science calls the “critical temperature,” that is, the temperature when a substance shares both the liquid and gaseous states, is symbolic of what philosophical mysticism calls the “philosophic experience,” that is, when a man’s consciousness shares both the external world of the five senses and the internal world of the empty soul. The ordinary mystic or yogi is unable to hold the two states simultaneously and, quite often, even unwilling to do so, because of the false opposition he has been taught to set up between them. (20-4.122)
There is a fundamental difference between mystical escapism and mystical altruism. In the first case, the man is interested only in gaining his own self-realization and will be content to let his endeavours stop there. In the second case, he has the same aim but also the keen aspiration to make his achievement, when it materializes, available for the service of mankind. And because such a profound aspiration cannot be banished into cold-storage to await this materialization, he will even sacrifice part of his time, money, and energy to doing what little he can to enlighten others intellectually during the interval. Even if this meant doing nothing more than making philosophical knowledge more easily accessible to ordinary men than it has been in the past, this would be enough. But he can do much more than that. Both types recognize the indispensable need of deliberately withdrawing from society and isolating themselves from its activities to obtain the solitude necessary to achieve intensity of concentration, to practise meditative reflection upon life, and to study mystical and philosophical books. But whereas the first would make the withdrawal a permanent, lifelong one, the second would make it only a temporary and occasional one. And by “temporary,” we mean any period from a single day to several years. The first is a resident of the ivory tower of escapism, the second merely its visitor. The first can find happiness only in his solitariness and must draw himself out of humanity’s disturbing life to attain it. The second seeks a happiness that will hold firm in all places and makes retirement from that life only a means to this end. Each is entitled to travel his own path. But at such a time as the present, when the whole world is being convulsed and the human soul agitated as never before, we personally believe that it is better to follow the less selfish and more compassionate one. (20-4.222)
Life is not a matter of meditation methods exclusively. Their study and practice is necessary, but let them be put in their proper place. Both mystical union and metaphysical understanding are necessary steps on this quest, because it is only from them that the student can mount to the still higher grade of universal being represented by the sage. For we not only need psychological exercises to train the inner being, but also psychological exercises to train the point of view. But the student must not stay in mysticism as he must not stay in metaphysics. In both cases he should take all that they have to give him but struggle through and come out on the other side. For the mysticism of emotion is not the shrine where Isis dwells but only the vestibule to the shrine, and the metaphysician who can only see in reason the supreme faculty of man has not reflected enough. Let him go farther and he shall find that its own supreme achievement is to point beyond itself to that principle or Mind whence it takes its rise. Mysticism needs the check of philosophic discipline. Metaphysics needs the vivification of mystical meditation. Both must bear the fruit in inspired action or they are but half-born. In no other way than through acts can they rise to the lofty status of facts.
The realization of what man is here for is the realization of a fused and unified life wherein all the elements of action, feeling, and thought are vigorously present. It is not, contrary to the belief of mystics, a condition of profound entrancement alone, nor, contrary to the reasonings of metaphysicians, a condition of intellectual clarity alone, and, still less, contrary to the opinions of theologians, a condition of complete faith in God alone. We are here to live, which means to think, feel, and act also. We have not only to curb thought in meditation, but also to whip it in reflection. We have not only to control emotion in self-discipline, but also to release it in laughter, relaxation, affection, and pleasure. We have not only to perceive the transiency and illusion of material existence, but also to work, serve, strive, and move strenuously, and thus justify physical existence. We have to learn that when we look at what we really are we stand alone in the awed solitude of the Overself, but when we look at where we now are we see not isolated individuals but members of a thronging human community. The hallmark of a living man, therefore, ought to be an integral and inseparable activity of heart, head, and hand itself occurring within the mysterious stillness and silence of its inspirer, the Overself.
The mistake of the lower mystic is when he would set up a final goal in meditation itself, when he would stop at the “letting-go” of the external world which is quite properly an essential process of mysticism, and when he would let his reasoning faculty fall into a permanent stupor merely because it is right to do so during the moments of mental quiet. When, however, he learns to understand that the antinomy of meditation and action belongs only to an intermediate stage of this quest, when he comes later to the comprehension that detachment from the world is only to be sought to enable him to move with perfect freedom amid the things of the world and not to flee them, and when he perceives at long last that the reason itself is God-given to safeguard his journey and later to bring his realization into self-consciousness–then he shall have travelled from the second to the third degree in this freemasonry of ultimate wisdom. For that which had earlier hindered his advance now helps it; such is the paradox which he must unravel if he would elevate himself from the satisfactions of mysticism to the perceptions of philosophy. If his meditations once estranged him from the world, now they bring him closer to it! If formerly he could find God only within himself, now he can find nothing else that is not God! He has advanced from the chrysalis-state of X to the butterfly state of Y.
If there be any worth in this teaching, such lies in its equal appeal to experience and to reason. For that inward beatitude which it finally brings is superior to any other that mundane man has felt and, bereft of all violent emotion itself though it be, paradoxically casts all violent emotions of joy in the shade. When we comprehend that this teaching establishes as fact what the subtlest reasoning points to in theory, reveals in man’s own life the presence of that Overself which reflection discovers as from a remote distance, we know that here at long last is something fit for a modern man. The agitations of the heart and the troublings of the head take their dying breaths. (20-4.148)
The principle of balance is one of the most important of philosophic principles. (20-3.269)
The basis of the universe is its equilibrium. Only so can the planets revolve in harmony and without collision. The man who would likewise put himself in tune with Nature, God, must establish equilibrium as the basis of his own nature. (20-3.279)
The required condition of balance as the price of illumination refers also to correcting the lopsidedness of letting the conscious ego direct the whole man while resisting the superconscious spiritual forces. In other words, balance is demanded between the intellect which seeks deliberate control of the psyche and the intuition which must be invited by passivity and allowed to manifest in spontaneity. When a man has trained himself to turn equally from the desire to possess to the aspiration to being possessed, when he can pass from the solely personal attitude to the one beyond it, when the will to manage his being and his life for himself and by himself is compensated by the willingness to let himself and his life be quiescent, then his being and his life are worked upon by higher forces. This also is the kind of balance and completeness which the philosophic discipline must lead to so that the philosophic illumination may give him his second birth. (20-3.278)
But it is of the highest importance to note that the principle of balance cannot be properly established in any man until each of the elements within him has been developed into its completeness. The failure to do so produces the type of man who knows truth intellectually, talks it fluently, and does the wrong in spite of it. A balance of immature and half-developed faculties is transitory by its very nature and never wholly satisfactory, whereas a balance of fully matured ones is necessarily durable and always perfectly gratifying.
Those who talk or write truth, but do not live it because they cannot, have glimpsed its meaning but not realized its power. They have not the dynamic balance which follows when the will is raised to the level of the intellect and the feelings. It is this balance which spontaneously ignites mystic forces within us, and produces the state called “born again.” This is the second birth, which takes place in our consciousness as our first took place in our flesh. (20-3.385)
It is most important to get rid of an unbalanced condition. Most people are in such a condition although few know it. For example, intellectuality without spirituality is human paralysis. Spirituality without intellectuality is mental paralysis. No man should submit to such suicidal conditions. All men should seek and achieve integrality. To be wrapped up in a single side of life or to be overactive in a single direction ends by making a man mildly insane in the true and not technical sense of this word. The remedy is to tone down here and build up there, to cultivate the neglected sides, and especially to cultivate the opposite side. Admittedly, it is extremely difficult for most of us, circumstanced as we usually are, to achieve a perfect development and equal balance of all the sides. But this is no excuse for accepting conditions completely as they are and making no effort at all to remedy them. The difficulty for many aspirants in attaining such an admirably balanced character lies in their tendency to be obsessed by a particular technique which they followed in former births but which cannot by itself meet the very different conditions of today. We must counterbalance the habit of living only in a part of our being. When we have become harmoniously balanced in the philosophic sense, heart and head will work together to answer the same question, the unhurrying sense of eternity and the pressing urge of the hour will combine to make decisions as wise as they are practical, and the transcendental intuitions will suggest or confirm the workings of reason. In this completed integral life, thought and action, devotion and knowledge do not wrestle against each other but become one. Such is the triune quest of intelligence, aspiration, and action. (20-3.280)
This perfect harmony between the various elements of his personality is not to be achieved with some in the state of half-development and others of full development. All are to be brought up to the same high level.
Even our understanding of balance has to be corrected. It is not, for philosophic purposes, the mean point between two extremes but the compensatory union of two qualities or elements that need one another. (20-3.277)
The danger of a lopsided character is seen when humility reverence and piety are largely absent whilst criticism logicality and realism are largely present. The intellect then becomes imperiously proud, arrogantly self-assured, and harshly intolerant. The consequence is that its power to glean subtler truths rather than merely external data is largely lost. (20-3.386)
The balance needed by faith is understanding; by peacefulness, energy; by intuition, reason; by feeling, intellect; by aspiration, humility; and by zeal, discretion. (20-3.410)
Inner balance is not established by setting two polar opposites against each other, as miserliness against extravagance, but by combining two necessary qualities together such as bravery with caution. (20-3.412)
Manifested life remains no less real because we belittle it with the harsh cognomen of “illusion.” Our active existence requires no apology on its behalf to the one-eyed philosophers who accuse Westerners of being entrapped by “Maya.”
Neither the Buddhistic emphasis on suffering nor the hedonistic emphasis on joy are proper to a truly philosophical outlook. Both have to be understood and accepted, since life compels us to experience both. (20-3.411)
A well-balanced person is not necessarily one who takes the measured midpoint between two extremes but one who lets himself be taken over by the inner calm. The needed adjustment is then made by itself. Although this avoids his falling into lopsided acts or exaggerated views, a merely moderate character is not the best result. More important is the surrender to the higher power which is implicit in the whole process of becoming truly balanced. (20-3.283)
It is good for an ascetic or monk to sit idle and inactive whilst he contemplates the futility of a life devoted solely to earthly strivings, but it is bad for him to spend the whole of a valuable incarnation in such idleness and in such contemplation. For then he is fastening his attention on a single aspect of existence and losing sight of all others. It is good for a metaphysician to occupy himself with noting the logical contradictions involved in the world’s existence and in the reason’s own discoveries, but bad for him to waste a whole incarnation in fastening his attention on a single aspect. It is good for the worldling to accumulate money and enjoy the good things it can buy, marry a wife and adorn his home with comforts, but it is bad for him to waste his valuable incarnation without a higher purpose and a loftier goal. Nor is this all. Mysticism, metaphysics, and worldliness are useless unless they succeed in affording a man a basis of altruistic ethics for everyday living. The average mystic does not see that his lapse into loss of interest in the world around him, his indifference to positive and practical service of mankind, in short his whole other-worldliness, is not a virtue as he believes, but a defect. Hermits who withdraw from the troubled world to practise the simplicity, monks who retreat from the active world to muse over the evanescence of things, defeatists who flee from their failure in life, marriage, or business to the lethargy which they believe to be peace, thereby evidence that they have not understood the higher purpose of incarnation. It is to afford them the opportunity to realize in waking consciousness their innermost nature. This cannot be done by turning their face from the experiences of human existence, but by boldly confronting them and mastering them. Nor can it be done by retreating into the joys of meditation. The passionate ecstasies of lower mysticism, like the intellectual discoveries of lower metaphysics, yield only the illusion of penetrating into reality. For the world, as well as the “I,” must be brought into the circle of meditation if the whole truth is to be gained. The one-sided, monkish doctrine which indicts the world’s forms with transiency and illusiveness must be met and balanced by the philosophic doctrine which reveals the world’s essence as eternal and real. There will then be no excuse for lethargy, defeatism, or escapism. A metaphysical outlook often lacks the spark of vitality; a mystical outlook often lacks the solidity of reasoned thought; and both often lack the urge to definite action. The practical failures of metaphysics are traceable to the fact that it does not involve the exercise of the will as much as it involves the exercise of the intellect. The intellectual failures of metaphysics are due to the fact that the men who taught it in the past knew nothing of science and those who teach it in the present know nothing of higher mystical meditation, whilst both have usually had little experience of the hard facts of life outside their sheltered circle. The failures of mysticism are due to the same causes, as well as others we have often pointed out. Finally, the failure of metaphysicians to produce practical fruit is partly due to the fact that they perceive ideas of truth and not truth itself, as the failure of mystics is partly due to the fact that they experience feelings of reality and not reality itself. The successes and services of the sage on the contrary are due to the fact that he perceives truth and experiences reality and not merely thoughts or feelings about them. (20-4.223)
It is not only balance inside the ego itself that is to be sought, not only between reason and emotion, thought and action, but also and much more important, outside the ego: between it and the Overself. (20-3.281)
From all these studies, meditations, and actions the student will little by little emerge an inwardly changed man. He comes to the habitual contemplation of his co-partnership with the universe as a whole, to the recognition that personal isolation is illusory, and thus takes the firm steps on the ultimate path towards becoming a true philosopher. The realization of the hidden unity of his own life with the life of the whole world manifests finally in infinite compassion for all living things. Thus he learns to subdue the personal will to the cosmic one, narrow selfish affection to the wide-spreading desire for the common welfare. Compassion comes to full blossom in his heart like a lotus flower in the sunshine. From this lofty standpoint, he no longer regards mankind as being those whom he unselfishly serves but rather as being those who give him the opportunity to serve. He will suddenly or slowly experience an emotional exaltation culminating in an utter change of heart. Its course will be marked by a profound reorientation of feeling toward his fellow creatures. The fundamental egoism which in open or masked forms has hitherto motivated him will be abandoned: the noble altruism which has hitherto seemed an impracticable and impossible ideal, will become practicable and possible. For a profound sympathy of all other beings will dwell in his heart. Never again will it be possible for him wilfully to injure another; but on the contrary the welfare of the All will become his concern. In Jesus’ words he is “born again.” He will find his highest happiness, after seeking reality and truth, in seeking the welfare of all other beings alongside of his own. The practical consequence of this is that he will be inevitably led to incessant effort for their service and enlightenment. He will not merely echo the divine will but will allow it actively to work within him. And with the thought comes the power to do so, the grace of the Overself to help him to achieve quickly what the Underself cannot achieve. In the service of others he can partially forget his loss of trance-joy and know that the liberated self which he had experienced in interior meditation must be equated by the expanded self in altruistic action. (20-4.224)
In observation a scientist, at heart a religious devotee, in thought a metaphysician, in secret a mystic, and in public an efficient honourable useful citizen–this is the kind of man philosophy produces. (20-5.22)
He who has sufficiently purified his character, controlled his senses, developed his reason, and unfolded his intuition is always ready to meet what comes and to meet it aright. He need not fear the future. Time is on his side. For he has stopped adding bad karma to his account and every fresh year adds good karma instead. And even where he must still bear the workings of the old adverse karma, he will still remain serene because he understands with Epictetus that “There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world, and that is to perfect my nature in all sorts of virtue or strength; and there is nothing that I cannot use for that purpose.” He knows that each experience which comes to him is what he most needs at the time, even though it be what he likes least. He needs it because it is in part nothing else than his own past thinking, feeling, and doing come back to confront him to enable him to see and study their results in a plain, concrete, unmistakable form. He makes use of every situation to help his ultimate aims, even though it may hinder his immediate ones. Such serenity in the face of adversity must not be mistaken for supine fatalism or a lethargic acceptance of every untoward event as God’s will. For although he will seek to understand why it has happened to him and master the lesson behind it, he will also seek to master the event itself and not be content to endure it helplessly. Thus, when all happenings become serviceable to him and when he knows that his own reaction to them will be dictated by wisdom and virtue, the future can no more frighten him than the present can intimidate him. He cannot go amiss whatever happens. For he knows too whether it be a defeat or a sorrow in the world’s eyes, whether it be a triumph or a joy, the experience will leave him better, wiser, and stronger than it found him, more prepared for the next one to come. The philosophic student knows that he is here to face, understand, and master precisely those events, conditions, and situations which others wish to flee and evade, that to make a detour around life’s obstacles and to escape meeting its problems is, in the end, unprofitable. He knows that his wisdom must arise out of the fullness and not out of the poverty of experience and that it is no use non-cooperatively shirking the world’s struggle, for it is largely through such struggle that he can bring forth his own latent resources. Philosophy does not refuse to face life, however tragic or however frightful it may be, and uses such experiences to profit its own higher purpose. (20-1.175)
When a certain balance of forces is achieved, something happens that can only be properly called “the birth of insight.”
He who knows and feels the divine power in his inmost being will be set free in the most literal sense of the word from anxieties and cares. He who has not yet arrived at this stage but is on the way to it can approach the same desirable result by the intensity of his faith in that being. But such a one must really have the faith and not merely say so. The proof that he possesses it would lie in the measure with which he refuses to accept negative thoughts, fearful thoughts, despondent thoughts. In the measure that he does not fail in his faith and hence in his thinking, in that measure, the higher power will not fail to support him in his hour of need. This is why Jesus told his disciples, “Take no anxious thought for the morrow.” In the case of the adept, having given up the ego, there is no one left to take care of him, so the higher Self does so for him. In the case of the believer, although he has not yet given up the ego, nevertheless, he is trying to do so, and his unfaltering trust in the higher Self is rewarded proportionately in the same way. In both cases the biblical phrase, “The Lord will provide,” is not merely a pious hope but a practical fact. (20-3.97)
The free soul has brought his thought and actions into perfect harmony with Nature’s morality. He lives not merely for himself alone, but for himself as a part of the whole scheme. Consequently, he does not injure others but only benefits them. He does not neglect his own benefit, however, but makes the two work together. His activities are devoted to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities set for him by his best wisdom, by his higher self.
The world is necessarily affected by his presence and activities, and affected beneficially. First, the mere knowledge that such a man exists helps others to continue with their efforts at self-improvement, for they know then that the spiritual quest is not a vain dream but a practicable affair. Second, he influences those he meets to live better lives–whether they be few or many, influential or obscure. Third, he leaves behind a concentration of spiritual forces which works on for a long time, through other persons, after he leaves this world. Fourth, if he is a sage and balanced, he will always do something of a practical nature for the uplift of humanity instead of merely squatting in an ashram. (20-5.180)
A mystic experience is simply something which comes and goes, whereas philosophic insight, once established in a man, can not possibly leave him. He understands the Truth and can not lose this understanding any more than an adult can lose his adulthood and become an infant. (20-4.198)
“Intuition” had come to lose its pristine value for me. I cast about for a better one and found it in “insight.” This term I assigned to the highest knowing-faculty of sages and was thus able to treat the term “intuition” as something inferior which was sometimes amazingly correct but not infrequently hopelessly wrong in its guidance, reports, or premonition. I further endeavoured to state what the old Asiatic sages had long ago stated, that it was possible to unfold a faculty of direct insight into the nature of the Overself, into the supreme reality of the universe, that this was the highest kind of intuition possible to man, and that it did not concern itself with lesser revelations, such as giving the name of a horse likely to win tomorrow’s race, a revelation which the kind of intuition we hear so much about is sometimes able to do. (20-4.152)
Insight is a function of the entire psyche and not of any single part of it.
This is the true insight, the permanent illumination that neither comes nor goes but always is. While being serious, where the event or situation requires it, he will not be solemn. For behind this seriousness there is detachment. He cannot take the world of Appearances as being Reality’s final form. If he is a sharer in this world’s experiences, he is also a witness and especially a witness of his own ego–its acts and desires, its thoughts and speech. And because he sees its littleness, he keeps his sense of humour about all things concerning it, a touch of lightness, a basic humility. Others may believe that he stands in the Great Light, but he himself has no particular or ponderous self-importance. (20-4.205)
He who possesses insight does not have to use arguments and reach conclusions. The truth is there, self-evident, inside himself as himself, for his inner being has become one with it. (20-4.170)
Whenever I have used the term “the centre of his being,” I have referred to a state of meditation, to an experience which is felt at a certain stage. Because the very art of meditation is a drawing inwards and the finer, the more delicate, the subtler this indrawing becomes, the closer it is to this central point of consciousness. But from the point of view of philosophy, meditation and its experiences are not the ultimate goal–although they may help in preparing one for that goal. In that goal there is no kind of centre to be felt nor any circumference either–one is without being localized anywhere with reference to the body, one is both in the body and in the Overself. There is then no contradiction between the two. (20-4.136)
Philosophy seeks not only to know what is best in life but also to love it. It wants to feel as well as think. The truth, being above the common forms of these functions, can be grasped only by a higher function that includes, fuses, and transcends them at one and the same time–insight. In human life at its present stage of development, the nearest activity to this one is the activity of intuition. From its uncommon and infrequent visitations, we may gather some faint echo of what this wonderful insight is. (20-4.150)
Attention is forever being caught by some thought or some thing, by some feeling or some experience. In the case of the ordinary man, consciousness is lost in the attention; but in the case of the philosophic man there is a background which evaluates the attention and controls it. (20-5.81)
Insight is the flower of reason and not its negation.
The ever changing world-movement is suspended and transcended in the mystical trance so that the mystic may perceive its hidden changeless ground in the One Mind, whereas in the ultramystic insight its activity is restored. For such insight easily penetrates it, and always sees this ground without need to abolish the appearance. Consequently the philosopher is aware that everyday activity is as much and as needful a field for him as mystical passivity. Such expression, however, cannot be less than what he is within himself through the possession of insight. Just as any man cannot express himself as an ant, do what he may, simply because his human consciousness is too large to be narrowed down to such a little field, so the philosopher cannot separate his ultramystic insight from his moment-to-moment activity. In this sense he has no option but to follow and practise the gospel of inspired action. (20-4.203)
To arrive at great certitude is to arrive at great strength. Truth not only clears the head but also arms the will. It is not only a light to our feet but is itself a force in the blood. (20-5.196)
The mystic will not care and may not be able to do so but the philosopher has to learn the art of combining his inward recognition of the Void with his outward activity amongst things without feeling the slightest conflict between both. Such an art is admittedly difficult but it can be learnt with time and patience and comprehension. Thus he will feel inward unity everywhere in this world of wonderful variety, just as he will experience all the countless mutations of experience as being present in the very midst of this unity. (20-4.121)
Where we speak either metaphysically or meditationally of the experience of pure consciousness, we mean consciousness uncoloured by the ego.
The mastery of philosophy will produce a supreme self-confidence within him throughout his dealings with life. The man who knows nothing of philosophy will declare that it has nothing to do with practical affairs and that it will not help you to rise in your chosen career, for instance. He is wrong. Philosophy gives its votary a thoroughly scientific and practical outlook whilst it enables him to solve his problems unemotionally and by the clear light of reason. He will, however, be under certain ethical limitations from which other men are exempt, for he takes the game of living as a sacred trust and not as a means for personal aggrandizement at the expense of others. (20-1.176)
It may be said that the world’s supreme need is exactly what the illumined man has found, therefore his duty is to give it to the world. This is true, but it is equally true that the world is not ready for it any more than he himself was ready for it before he underwent a long course of purification, discipline, and training. Accepting these realities of the situation, he feels no urge to spread his ideas, no impulse to organize a following. However that does not mean that he does nothing at all; it only means that he will help in the ways he deems to be most effective even if they are the least publicized and the least apparent. He is not deaf to the call of duty but he gives it a wider interpretation than those who are ignorant of the state and powers which he enjoys. (20-4.264)
Whoever attains this, the topmost peak of the philosophic life, will naturally possess the capacity–rather the genius–to help the internal evolutionary advance of mankind. Indeed, it will be the principal and secret business of his life, whatever his external and conventional business may be. Those who stood closest to Jesus were asked to preach the gospel. Clearly therefore he conceived the spreading of truth to be their primary task. That other tasks, such as feeding and clothing the poor, had their own particular importance too, was acknowledged in his injunction to other persons. But that such tasks were secondary ones is clear inference from his instructions to the apostles. And in this critical passage of humanity from a used-out standpoint to a newer one which confronts it today, such a service is more than important. In his own humbler way and in a quiet unobtrusive manner, remembering always that people will find the best account of his beliefs in his deeds, even the neophyte who has still to climb the foothills of philosophy can and must communicate so much of this knowledge as he finds men may be ready for, but not an iota more. His task is not, like that of the apostles, to convert them but to help them. He may be only a firefly with little light to shed but he should desert the esotericism of former centuries and try to enlighten others because he must understand the unique character of this century and see the dangerous gaping abyss which surrounds its civilization. Moreover he may take refuge in the words of Tripura, an archaic Sanskrit text, which, if its archaic idiom be translated into modern accents, says: “An intense student may be endowed with the slenderest of good qualities, but if he can readily understand the truth–however theoretically–and expound it to others, this act of exposition will help him to become himself imbued with these ideas and his own mind will soak in their truth. This in the end will lead him to actualize the Divinity within himself.” (20-4.292)
When he first attains to this clear vision, he sees not only that which brings him great joy but also that which brings him great sorrow. He sees men bewildered by life, pained by life, blinded by life. He sees them wandering into wrong paths because there is no one to lead them into right ones. He sees them praying for light but surrounded by darkness. In that hour he makes a decision which will fundamentally affect the whole of his life. Henceforth he will intercede for these others, devote himself to their spiritual service. (20-4.226)
After the desire for the fullest overshadowing by the Overself, which must always be primal, his second desire is to spread out the peace, understanding, and compassion which now burn like a flame within him, to propagate an inward state rather than an intellectual dogma, to bless and enlighten those who seek their divine parent. (20-4.227)
The man who lives in the physical senses alone reaches and affects those other men only whom he can come into contact with physically. He is entirely limited by time and space. The man who lives in the developed intellect or feelings also reaches and affects those other men who can respond to his written or printed ideas or his artistic inspirations. He is limited only partially by time and space. But the man who lives in the godlike Overself within him is freed from time and space and uplifts all those who can respond intuitively, even though they may never know him physically. For in the spiritual world he cannot hide his light. (20-4.263)
The philosopher accepts his predestined isolation not only because that is the way his position has to be, but also because his physical presence arouses negative feelings in the hearts of ordinary people as it arouses positive ones in the hearts of certain seekers. The negatives may range all the way from puzzlement, bewilderment, and suspicion to fear, opposition, and downright enmity. The positives may range from instinctive attraction to a readiness to lay down life in his defense or service. All these feelings arise instantly, irrationally, and instinctively. And they are unconnected with whether or not he reveals his true personal identity. This is because they are the consequence of a psychical impingement of his aura upon theirs. The contact is unseen and unapparent in the physical world, but it is very real in the mental-emotional world. It is truly a psychical experience for both: clear and precise and correctly understood by him, vague and disturbing and utterly misunderstood by ordinary people as well as pseudo-questers. It is both a psychical and a mystical experience for those genuine questers with whom he has some inward affinity, a glad recognition of a long-lost, much revered Elder Brother. Unfortunately, despite the generous compassion and enormous goodwill which he bears in his heart for all alike, it is the unpleasant contacts which make up the larger number whenever the philosopher descends into the world. Let him not be blamed if he prefers solitude to society. For there is nothing he can do about it. People are what they are. Most times when he tries to make himself agreeable to them, as though they both belonged to the same spiritual level, he fails. He learns somewhat wearily to accept his isolation and their limitation as inevitable and, at the present stage of human evolution, unalterable. He learns, too, that it is futile to desire these things to be otherwise. (20-5.151)
The peace to which he has become heir is not self-absorbed rest from old activities that he deserts, but a divine awareness that subsists beneath new ones that he accepts. (20-4.225)
Notebooks of Paul Brunton © 1988 | <urn:uuid:6a511c4d-5b02-440b-bf05-f1bf33b9a9a7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.psychologyofjoy.com/what-is-philosophy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.970821 | 18,571 | 2.09375 | 2 |
In a message to U.S. citizens abroad, the American Embassy in Tel Aviv advised U.S. citizens to stay away from Road 98, one of the two main north-south roads on the Golan Heights. In the message, the embassy says that “, travel on route 98 in the Golan Heights or any road or point east of route 98 is off limits for all U.S. Government personnel,” at least through the end of the week. “U.S. citizens are advised to defer non-essential travel to and within the Golan Heights and to exercise an extra measure of caution,” the message added.
Fighting between Syrian rebels and soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has reached the Israeli-Syrian border. Last week, Syrian rebels briefly captured the area of the Kuneitra crossing between Israel and Syria. The rebel forces on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights are said to belong to the Jabhat al-Nusra group closely identified with Al Qaeda.
During the fighting last week, several mortar shells hit a UN outpost in Kuneitra, right on the border with Israel. In the past several weeks, numerous shells and bullets fired from Syria have hit Israeli targets in the Golan. The IDF believes that the mortars and bullets were “strays,” the result of the all out war and wild fighting going on between rebels and Syrian soldiers.
The message did not say why the warning was in effect just for this week, or whether it would be renewed. In general when traveling throughout the Middle East, including in Israel, the embassy advises, “remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates. Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.” | <urn:uuid:5435b43c-fea4-4f34-9cf5-ad1d91ae74c4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168789 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00428-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951501 | 379 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Breathe in. Breathe out. If before your lungs finished filling with air another interruption collided with your inhale or before making it to exhale your mind cluttered with a long list of things beckoning your attention, step back and admit you need time for yourself.
Basking in the solitude of alone time doesn’t magically happen, as a pumpkin turned carriage to whisk a gorgeously clad Cinderella off to a ball to meet her prince, at the waving of a wand and a “bip-pity, bop-pity, boo”. It sounds like an oxymoron, but finding peaceful private time requires reaching for it with gusto and focused energy.
What stops you?
Recharge your battery by setting aside those guilt-ridden myths of excessive self-absorption and sneak away for some necessary solitude where you renew your thoughts and catch your breath before jumping back into the whirling tornado of a hectic lifestyle. Start by answering two basic questions:
- What robs your time? Discover what devours your time and steals away too many hours of each day leaving you unable to enjoy a moment alone. Keep a journal for one full week if you don’t already know.
- How much time does it take? Start small, even if it’s a five-minute walk back from your child’s bus stop or just to stand on your front porch and soak up the sun.
Follow these five tips on how to find time for yourself amidst a busy schedule:
- Schedule privacy. Checking off lists of things that need to get done already accompanies your every day. Why not add yourself to your plan? Mark out a block of a few minutes each day or an hour or two a week just for you.
- Lock the door. Any parent of small children learns quickly that not even a bathroom break truly provides a moment alone. Put your young children down for a nap or in a safe place or with a sitter first, of course, and then lock the door to the room of your choice and wallow in quiet peace.
- Who needs sleep? Make a date with a cup of coffee and wake up early before the kids for a morning person, or for a night owl, stay up after tucking kids in to bed. Choose one or the other and not both, making sure you get plenty of healthy rest every day.
- Seize the day, or any spare minute suffices. Find alone time, as a working parent, during a lunch break, leaving early for work or spending a few minutes after work before picking up the kids.
- Sign the kids up for lessons or join a gym. Drop the kids off at the nursery inside your YMCA or fitness center and find solace in a simple uninterrupted shower in the locker room. Bask in a half hour or more regenerating while your child enjoys piano lessons, gymnastics or anything that doesn’t demand a “mommy and me” hour. | <urn:uuid:60ef4d99-b9a3-417d-b4ca-0ea12d912f58> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.purex.com/family-life/how-to-find-time-for-yourself-amidst-a-busy-schedule/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719784.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00427-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923559 | 618 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Multivariate Iyengar Inequalities for Radial Functions
Here we present a variety of multivariate Iyengar type inequalities for radial functions defined on the shell and ball. Our approach is based on the polar coordinates in, and the related multivariate polar integration formula. Via this method we transfer well-known univariate Iyengar type inequalities and univariate author’s related results into multivariate Iyengar inequalities. See also .
Studies in Computational Intelligence
Anastassiou, G. (2020). Multivariate Iyengar Inequalities for Radial Functions. Studies in Computational Intelligence, 886, 67-89. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38636-8_5 | <urn:uuid:f69c00fa-2f9a-4446-9eef-6df187f10cca> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/facpubs/5181/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.782303 | 173 | 1.617188 | 2 |
- "The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of stories written for young wizards and witches. They have been popular bedtime reading for centuries, with the result that the Hopping Pot and the Fountain of Fair Fortune are as familiar to many of the students at Hogwarts as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are to Muggle (non-magical) children."
- —J. K. Rowling[src]
Muggle author J. K. Rowling has noted the difference between this fairy tale and wizarding children's stories: fictional witches are much more active in seeking their fortunes than the Muggle fairy-tale heroines. Asha, Altheda, Amata and Babbitty Rabbitty are all witches who take their fate into their own hands, rather than than taking a hundred year-long nap, as the protagonist of Sleeping Beauty does.
Behind the scenes
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Indirect mention)
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Mentioned only) | <urn:uuid:55cbba26-69bb-4a84-bbe4-98121513de66> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00129-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957835 | 215 | 2.890625 | 3 |
State’s high court refers to Lawrence decision in lawsuit over herpes infection
While the Virginia Legislature continues to haggle about whether to repeal the state’s sodomy law or reform it to reflect constitutional limitations on the state’s ability to penalize private consensual sex, the state’s Supreme Court acted on January 14 to strike down a criminal statute against “fornication” between unmarried adults, relying on the Supreme Court’s 2003 sodomy ruling in Lawrence v. Texas.
The case came to Virginia’s high court as a side-issue in a lawsuit filed by a woman against her former boyfriend, who she claims infected her with herpes. Muguet Martin and Kris Ziherl lived together in what the court calls “a sexually active relationship” from October 2001 until early November 2003. Martin experienced symptoms that led her to seek medical care in June 2003, and was diagnosed with herpes. This led to a break up with Ziherl, and ultimately she sued him, claiming he knew he was infected and contagious when he had sex with her.
Ziherl’s attorney came up with an interesting defense tactic. Relying on a 1990 Virginia Supreme Court decision that bans plaintiffs from recovering damages for personal injury sustained while engaging in an illegal activity, the attorney argued that Martin could not sue because her sexual activity was illegal under Virginia law. The fornication statute said that only people who are married to each other can engage in sexual intercourse, an ironic twist on the state’s popular tourism slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers.”
Surprisingly, the trial judge, Theodore J. Markow of Richmond City Circuit Court, agreed with Ziherl’s argument and dismissed the case. Markow refused to apply Lawrence v. Texas to this situation, reasoning that the state could have valid reasons for prohibiting heterosexual sex outside of marriage, such as protecting public health and encouraging marriage for the procreation of children.
Martin appealed, and the Virginia Supreme Court unanimously reversed the dismissal, in an opinion by Justice Elizabeth Lacy.
“We find no relevant distinction between the circumstances in Lawrence and the circumstances in the present case,” wrote Lacy, noting that the Supreme Court had ruled that “decisions by married or unmarried persons regarding their intimate physical relationship are elements of their personal relationships that are entitled to due process protection.”
Lacy found that the court’s 1990 precedent barring a person from seeking a recovery for injuries sustained during illegal activity could not apply to this case.
“The sexual activity between Martin and Ziherl was not illegal and ‘the fact that the governing majority in a State has traditionally viewed a particular practice as immoral is not a sufficient reason for upholding a law prohibiting the practice,’” wrote Lacy, quoting from Lawrence v. Texas.
The case was sent back to the Richmond County Circuit Court to give Martin a chance to prove that she had been negligently or intentionally infected by Ziherl.
The court’s ruling should dispel any remaining doubt whether the Virginia sodomy law is unconstitutional in light of Lawrence v. Texas. However, this would not be directly relevant in on ongoing dispute between local law enforcement officials involved in rest stop raids and gay men who claim they are victimized because of their sexual orientation, since the Virginia court did emphasize, as had the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence, that the case did not involve “public activity.” | <urn:uuid:006a065c-c5ea-4d8f-9b1c-b33a3ae848e5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://gaycitynews.com/virginia-sex-law-struck-down/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.966727 | 725 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On The Social Teaching Of The Church)
To the Bishops, Priests, Religious Families, Sons and Daughters of the Church and All People of Good Will For the Twentieth Anniversary of Populorum Progressio.
Venerable Brothers and dear Sons and Daughters, Health and the Apostolic Blessing!
1. The social concern of the Church, directed towards an authentic development of man and society which would respect and promote all the dimensions of the human person, has always expressed itself in the most varied ways. In recent years, one of the special means of intervention has been the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiffs which, beginning with the Encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII as a point of reference, 1 has frequently dealt with the question and has sometimes made the dates of publication of the various social documents coincide with the anniversaries of that first document. 2
The Popes have not failed to throw fresh light by means of those messages upon new aspects of the social doctrine of the Church. As a result, this doctrine, beginning with the outstanding contribution of Leo XIII and enriched by the successive contributions of the Magisterium, has now become an updated doctrinal "corpus". It builds up gradually, as the Church, in the fullness of the word revealed by Christ Jesus 3 and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16, 26; 16:13-15), reads events as they unfold in the course of history. She thus seeks to lead people to respond, with the support also of rational reflection and of the human sciences, to their vocation as responsible builders of earthly society.
2. Part of this large body of social teaching is the distinguished Encyclical "Populorum Progressio" 4 which my esteemed predecessor Paul VI published on 26 March 1967.
The enduring relevance of this Encyclical is easily recognized if we note the series of commemorations which took place during 1987 in various forms and in many parts of the ecclesiastical and civil world. For this same purpose, the Pontifical Commission "Iustitia et Pax" sent a circular letter to the Synods of the Oriental Catholic Churches and to the Episcopal Conferences, asking for ideas and suggestions on the best way to celebrate the Encyclical's anniversary, to enrich its teachings and, if need be, to update them. At the time of the twentieth anniversary, the same Commission organized a solemn commemoration in which I myself took part and gave the concluding address. 5 And now, also taking into account the replies to the above mentioned circular letter, I consider it appropriate, at the close of the year 1987, to devote an Encyclical to the theme of "Populorum Progressio".
3. In this way I wish principally to achieve two objectives of no little importance: on the one hand, to pay homage to this historic document of Paul VI and to its teaching; on the other hand, following in the footsteps of my esteemed predecessors in the See of Peter, to reaffirm the continuity of the social doctrine as well as its constant renewal. In effect, continuity and renewal are a proof of the perennial value of the teaching of the Church.
This twofold dimension is typical of her teaching in the social sphere. On the one hand it is constant, for it remains identical in its fundamental inspiration, in its "principles of reflection", in its "criteria of judgment", in its basic "directives for action", 6 and above all in its vital link with the Gospel of the Lord. On the other hand, it is ever new, because it is subject to the necessary and opportune adaptations suggested by the changes in historical conditions and by the unceasing flow of the events which are the setting of the life of people and society.
4. I am convinced that the teachings of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, addressed to the people and the society of the sixties, retain all their force as an appeal to conscience today in the last part of the eighties, in an effort to trace the major lines of the present world always within the context of the aim and inspiration of the "development of peoples", which are still very far from being exhausted. I therefore propose to extend the impact of that message by bringing it to bear, with its possible applications, upon the present historical moment, which is no less dramatic than that of twenty years ago.
As we well know, time maintains a constant and unchanging rhythm. Today however we have the impression that it is passing ever more quickly, especially by reason of the multiplication and complexity of the phenomena in the midst of which we live. Consequently, the configuration of the world in the course of the last twenty years, while preserving certain fundamental constants, has undergone notable changes and presents some totally new aspects.
The present period of time, on the eve of the third Christian millennium, is characterized by a widespread expectancy, rather like a new "Advent", 7 which to some extent touches everyone. It offers an opportunity to study the teachings of the Encyclical in greater detail and to see their possible future developments.
The aim of the present reflection is to emphasize, through a theological investigation of the present world, the need for a fuller and more nuance concept of development, according to the suggestions contained in the Encyclical. Its aim is also to indicate some ways of putting it into effect.
5. As soon as it appeared, the document of Pope Paul VI captured the attention of public opinion by reason of its originality. In a concrete manner and with great clarity, it was possible to identify the above-mentioned characteristics of continuity and renewal within the Church's social doctrine. The intention of rediscovering numerous aspects of this teaching, through a careful re-reading of the Encyclical, will therefore constitute the main thread of the present reflections.
But first I wish to say a few words about the date of publication: the year 1967. The very fact that Pope Paul VI chose to publish a social Encyclical in that year invites us to consider the document in relationship to the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which had ended on 8 December 1965.
6. We should see something more in this than simple chronological proximity. The Encyclical Populorum Progressio presents itself, in a certain way, as a document which applies the teachings of the Council. It not only makes continual reference to the texts of the Council, 8 but it also flows from the same concern of the Church which inspired the whole effort of the Council--and in a particular way the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes to coordinate and develop a number of themes of her social teaching.
We can therefore affirm that the Encyclical Populorum Progressio is a kind of response to the Council's appeal with which the Constitution Gaudium et Spes begins: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts". 9 These words express the fundamental motive inspiring the great document of the Council, which begins by noting the situation of poverty and of under-development in which millions of human beings live.
This poverty and underdevelopment are, under another name, the "griefs and the anxieties" of today, of "especially those who are poor". Before this vast panorama of pain and suffering the Council wished to suggest horizons of joy and hope. The Encyclical of Paul VI has the same purpose, in full fidelity to the inspiration of the Council.
7. There is also the theme of the Encyclical which, in keeping with the great tradition of the Church's social teaching, takes up again in a direct manner the new exposition and rich synthesis which the Council produced, notably in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes.
With regard to the content and themes once again set forth by the Encyclical, the following should be emphasized: the awareness of the duty of the Church, as "an expert in humanity", "to scrutinize the signs of the times and to interpret them in the light of the Gospel"; 10 the awareness, equally profound, of her mission of "service", a mission distinct from the function of the State, even when she is concerned with people's concrete situation; 11 the reference to the notorious inequalities in the situations of those same people; 12 the confirmation of the Council's teaching, a faithful echo of the centuries-old tradition of the Church, regarding the "universal purpose of goods"; 13 the appreciation of the culture and the technological civilization which contribute to human liberation, 14 without failing to recognize their limits; 15 finally, on the specific theme of development, which is precisely the theme of the Encyclical, the insistence on the "most serious duty" incumbent on the more developed nations "to help the developing countries". 16 The same idea of development proposed by the Encyclical flows directly from the approach which the Pastoral Constitution takes to this problem. 17
These and other explicit references to the Pastoral Constitution lead one to conclude that the Encyclical presents itself as an application of the Council's teaching in social matters to the specific problem of the development and the underdevelopment of peoples.
8. This brief analysis helps us to appreciate better the originality of the Encyclical, which can be stated in three points.
The first is constituted by the very fact of a document, issued by the highest authority of the Catholic Church and addressed both to the Church herself and "to all people of good will", 18 on a matter which at first sight is solely economic and social: the development of peoples. The term "development" is taken from the vocabulary of the social and economic sciences. From this point of view, the Encyclical Populorum Progressio follows directly in the line of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, which deals with the "condition of the workers". 19 Considered superficially, both themes could seem extraneous to the legitimate concern of the Church seen as a religious institution and "development" even more so than the "condition of the workers".
In continuity with the Encyclical of Leo XIII, it must be recognized that the document of Paul VI possesses the merit of having emphasized the ethical and cultural character of the problems connected with development, and likewise the legitimacy and necessity of the Church's intervention in this field.
In addition, the social doctrine of the Church has once more demonstrated its character as an application of the word of God to people's lives and the life of society, as well as to the earthly realities connected with them, offering "principles for reflection", "criteria of judgment" and "directives for action". 20 Here, in the document of Paul VI, one finds these three elements with a prevalently practical orientation, that is, directed towards moral conduct.
In consequence, when the Church concerns herself with the "development of peoples", she cannot be accused of going outside her own specific field of competence and, still less, outside the mandate received from the Lord.
9. The second point of originality of Populorum Progressio is shown by the breadth of outlook open to what is commonly called the "social question".
In fact, the Encyclical Mater et Magistra of Pope John XXIII had already entered into this wider outlook 21 and the Council had echoed the same in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes. 22 However, the social teaching of the Church had not yet reached the point of affirming with such clarity that the social question has acquired a worldwide dimension, 23 nor had this affirmation and the accompanying analysis yet been made into a "directive for action", as Paul VI did in his Encyclical.
Such an explicit taking up of a position offers a great wealth of content, which it is appropriate to point out.
In the first place a possible misunderstanding has to be eliminated. Recognition that the "social question" has assumed a worldwide dimension does not at all mean that it has lost its incisiveness or its national and local importance. On the contrary, it means that the problems in industrial enterprises or in the workers' and union movements of a particular country or region are not to be considered as isolated cases with no connection. On the contrary they depend more and more on the influence of factors beyond regional boundaries and national frontiers.
Unfortunately, from the economic point of view, the developing countries are much more numerous than the developed ones; the multitudes of human beings who lack the goods and services offered by development are much more numerous than those who possess them.
We are therefore faced with a serious problem of unequal distribution of the means of subsistence originally meant for everybody, and thus also an unequal distribution of the benefits deriving from them. And this happens not through the fault of the needy people, and even less through a sort of inevitability dependent on natural conditions or circumstances as a whole.
The Encyclical of Paul VI. in declaring that the social question has acquired worldwide dimensions, first of all points out a moral fact, one which has its foundation in an objective analysis of reality. In the words of the Encyclical itself, "each one must be conscious" of this fact, 24 precisely because it directly concerns the conscience, which is the source of moral decisions.
In this framework, the originality of the Encyclical consists not so much in the affirmation, historical in character, of the universality of the social question, but rather in the moral evaluation of this reality. Therefore political leaders, and citizens of rich countries considered as individuals, especially if they are Christians, have the moral obligation, according to the degree of each one's responsibility, to take into consideration, in personal decisions and decisions of government, this relationship of universality, this interdependence which exists between their conduct and the poverty and underdevelopment of so many millions of people. Pope Paul's Encyclical translates more succinctly the moral obligation as the "duty of solidarity"; 25 and this affirmation, even though many situations have changed in the world, has the same force and validity today as when it was written.
On the other hand, without departing from the lines of this moral vision, the originality of the Encyclical also consists in the basic insight that the very concept of development, if considered in the perspective of universal interdependence, changes notably. True development cannot consist in the simple accumulation of wealth and in the greater availability of goods and services, if this is gained at the expense of the development of the masses, and without due consideration for the social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of the human being. 26
10. As a third point, the Encyclical provides a very original contribution to the social doctrine of the Church in its totality and to the very concept of development. This originality is recognizable in a phrase of the document's concluding paragraph and which can be considered as its summary, as well as its historic label: "Development is the new name for peace". 27
In fact, if the social question has acquired a worldwide dimension, this is because the demand for justice can only be satisfied on that level. To ignore this demand could encourage the temptation among the victims of injustice to respond with violence, as happens at the origin of many wars. Peoples excluded from the fair distribution of the goods originally destined for all could ask themselves: why not respond with violence to those who first treat us with violence? And if the situation is examined in the light of the division of the world into ideological blocs--a division already existing in 1967 and in the light of the subsequent economic and political repercussions and dependencies, the danger is seen to be much greater.
The first consideration of the striking content of the Encyclical's historic phrase may be supplemented by a second consideration to which the document itself alludes: 28 how can one justify the fact that huge sums of money, which could and should be used for increasing the development of peoples, are instead utilized for the enrichment of individuals or groups, or assigned to the increase of stockpiles of weapons, both in developed countries and in the developing ones, thereby upsetting the real priorities? This is even more serious given the difficulties which often hinder the direct transfer of capital set aside for helping needy countries. If "development is the new name for peace", war and military preparations are the major enemy of the integral development of peoples.
In the light of this expression of Pope Paul VI, we are thus invited to re-examine the concept of development. This of course is not limited to merely satisfying material necessities through an increase of goods, while ignoring the sufferings of the many and making the selfishness of individuals and nations the principal motivation. As the Letter of Saint James pointedly reminds us: "What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have" (Js 4:1-2).
On the contrary, in a different world, ruled by concern for the common good of all humanity, or by concern for the "spiritual and human development of all" instead of by the quest for individual profit, peace would be possible as the result of a "more perfect justice among people". 29
Also this new element of the Encyclical has a permanent and contemporary value, in view of the modern attitude which is so sensitive to the close link between respect for justice and the establishment of real peace.
11. In its own time the fundamental teaching of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio received great acclaim for its novel character. The social context in which we live today cannot be said to be completely identical to that of twenty years ago. For this reason, I now wish to conduct a brief review of some of the characteristics of today's world, in order to develop the teaching of Paul VI's Encyclical, once again from the point of view of the "development of peoples".
12. The first fact to note is that the hopes for development, at that time so lively, today appear very far from being realized.
In this regard, the Encyclical had no illusions. Its language, grave and at times dramatic, limited itself to stressing the seriousness of the situation and to bringing before the conscience of all the urgent obligation of contributing to its solution. In those years there was a certain widespread optimism about the possibility of overcoming, without excessive efforts, the economic backwardness of the poorer peoples, of providing them with infrastructures and assisting them in the process of industrialization.
In that historical context, over and above the efforts of each country, the United Nations Organization promoted consecutively two decades of development. 30 In fact, some measures, bilateral and multilateral, were taken with the aim of helping many nations, some of which had already been independent for some time, and others--the majority being States just born from the process of decolonization. For her part, the Church felt the duty to deepen her understanding of the problems posed by the new situation, in the hope of supporting these efforts with her religious and human inspiration, in order to give them a "soul" and an effective impulse.
13. It cannot be said that these various religious, human, economic and technical initiatives have been in vain, for they have succeeded in achieving certain results. But in general, taking into account the various factors, one cannot deny that the present situation of the world, from the point of view of development, offers a rather negative impression.
For this reason, I wish to call attention to a number of general indicators, without excluding other specific ones. Without going into an analysis of figures and statistics, it is sufficient to face squarely the reality of an innumerable multitude of people--children, adults and the elderly in other words, real and unique human persons, who are suffering under the intolerable burden of poverty. There are many millions who are deprived of hope due to the fact that, in many parts of the world, their situation has noticeably worsened. Before these tragedies of total indigence and need, in which so many of our brothers and sisters are living, it is the Lord Jesus himself who comes to question us (cf. Mt 25: 31-46).
14. The first negative observation to make is the persistence and often the widening of the gap between the areas of the so-called developed North and the developing South. This geographical terminology is only indicative, since one cannot ignore the fact that the frontiers of wealth and poverty intersect within the societies themselves, whether developed or developing. In fact, just as social inequalities down to the level of poverty exist in rich countries, so, in parallel fashion, in the less developed countries one often sees manifestations of selfishness and a flaunting of wealth which is as disconcerting as it is scandalous.
The abundance of goods and services available in some parts of the world, particularly in the developed North, is matched in the South by an unacceptable delay, and it is precisely in this geopolitical area that the major part of the human race lives.
Looking at all the various sectors--the production and distribution of foodstuffs, hygiene, health and housing, availability of drinking water, working conditions (especially for women), life expectancy and other economic and social indicators the general picture is a disappointing one, both considered in itself and in relation to the corresponding data of the more developed countries. The word "gap" returns spontaneously to mind.
Perhaps this is not the appropriate word for indicating the true reality, since it could give the impression of a stationary phenomenon. This is not the case. The pace of progress in the developed and developing countries in recent years has differed, and this serves to widen the distances. Thus the developing countries, especially the poorest of them, find themselves in a situation of very serious delay.
We must also add the differences of culture and value systems between the various population groups, differences which do not always match the degree of economic development, but which help to create distances. These are elements and aspects which render the social question much more complex, precisely because this question has assumed a universal dimension.
As we observe the various parts of the world separated by this widening gap, and note that each of these parts seems to follow its own path with its own achievements, we can understand the current usage which speaks of different worlds within our one world: the First World, the Second World, the Third World and at times the Fourth World. 31 Such expressions, which obviously do not claim to classify exhaustively all countries, are significant: they are a sign of a widespread sense that the unity of the world, that is, the unity of the human race, is seriously compromised. Such phraseology, beyond its more or less objective value, undoubtedly conceals a moral content, before which the Church, which is a "sacrament or sign and instrument... of the unity of the whole human race", 32 cannot remain indifferent.
15. However, the picture just given would be incomplete if one failed to add to the "economic and social indices" of underdevelopment other indices which are equally negative and indeed even more disturbing, beginning with the cultural level. These are illiteracy, the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining higher education, the inability to share in the building of one's own nation, the various forms of exploitation and of economic, social, political and even religious oppression of the individual and his other rights, discrimination of every type, especially the exceptionally odious form based on difference of race. If some of these scourges are noted with regret in areas of the more developed North, they are undoubtedly more frequent, more lasting and more difficult to root out in the developing and less advanced countries.
It should be noted that in today's world, among other rights, the right of economic initiative is often suppressed. Yet it is a right which is important not only for the individual but also for the common good. Experience shows us that the denial of this right, or its limitation in the name of an alleged "equality" of everyone in society, diminishes, or in practice absolutely destroys the spirit of initiative, that is to say the creative subjectivity of the citizen. As a consequence, there arises, not so much a true equality as a "leveling down". In the place of creative initiative there appears passivity, dependence and submission to the bureaucratic apparatus which, as the only "ordering" and "decision-making" body if not also the "owner" of the entire totality of goods and the means of production, puts everyone in a position of almost absolute dependence, which is similar to the traditional dependence of the worker-proletarian in capitalism. This provokes a sense of frustration or desperation and predisposes people to opt out of national life, impelling many to emigrate and also favoring a form of "psychological" emigration.
Such a situation has its consequences also from the point of view of the "rights of individual nations". In fact, it often happens that a nation is deprived of its subjectivity, that is to say the "sovereignty" which is its right, in its economic, political-social and in a certain way cultural significance, since in a national community all these dimensions of life are bound together.
It must also be restated that no social group, for example a political party, has the right to usurp the role of sole leader, since this brings about the destruction of the true subjectivity of society and of the individual citizens, as happens in every form of totalitarianism. In this situation the individual and the people become "objects", in spite of all declarations to the contrary and verbal assurances.
We should add here that in today's world there are many other forms of poverty. For are there not certain privations or deprivations which deserve this name? The denial or the limitation of human rights as for example the right to religious freedom, the right to share in the building of society, the freedom to organize and to form unions, or to take initiatives in economic matters--do these not impoverish the human person as much as, if not more than, the deprivation of material goods? And is development which does not take into account the full affirmation of these rights really development on the human level? In brief, modern underdevelopment is not only economic but also cultural, political and simply human, as was indicated twenty years ago by the Encyclical Populorum Progressio. Hence at this point we have to ask ourselves if the sad reality of today might not be, at least in part, the result of a too narrow idea of development, that is, a mainly economic one.
16. It should be noted that in spite of the praiseworthy efforts made in the last two decades by the more developed or developing nations and the International Organizations to find a way out of the situation, or at least to remedy some of its symptoms, the conditions have become notably worse.
Responsibility for this deterioration is due to various causes. Notable among them are undoubtedly grave instances of omissions on the part of the developing nations themselves, and especially on the part of those holding economic and political power. Nor can we pretend not to see the responsibility of the developed nations, which have not always, at least in due measure, felt the duty to help countries separated from the affluent world to which they themselves belong.
Moreover, one must denounce the existence of economic, financial and social mechanisms which, although they are manipulated by people, often function almost automatically, thus accentuating the situation of wealth for some and poverty for the rest. These mechanisms, which are manoeuvred directly or indirectly by the more developed countries, by their very functioning favor the interests of the people manipulating them. But in the end they suffocate or condition the economies of the less developed countries. Later on these mechanisms will have to be subjected to a careful analysis under the ethical-moral aspect.
Populorum Progressio already foresaw the possibility that under such systems the wealth of the rich would increase and the poverty of the poor would remain. 33 A proof of this forecast has been the appearance of the so-called Fourth World.
17. However much society worldwide shows signs of fragmentation, expressed in the conventional names First, Second, Third and even Fourth World, their interdependence remains close. When this interdependence is separated from its ethical requirements, it has disastrous consequences for the weakest. Indeed, as a result of a sort of internal dynamic and under the impulse of mechanisms which can only be called perverse, this interdependence triggers negative effects even in the rich countries. It is precisely within these countries that one encounters, though on a lesser scale, the more specific manifestations of underdevelopment.
Thus it should be obvious that development either becomes shared in common by every part of the world or it undergoes a process of regression even in zones marked by constant progress. This tells us a great deal about the nature of authentic development: either all the nations of the world participate, or it will not be true development.
Among the specific signs of underdevelopment which increasingly affect the developed countries also, there are two in particular that reveal a tragic situation. The first is the housing crisis. During this International Year of the Homeless proclaimed by the United Nations, attention is focused on the millions of human beings lacking adequate housing or with no housing at all, in order to awaken everyone's conscience and to find a solution to this serious problem with its negative consequences for the individual, the family and society. 34
The lack of housing is being experienced universally and is due in large measure to the growing phenomenon of urbanization. 35 Even the most highly developed peoples present the sad spectacle of individuals and families literally struggling to survive, without a roof over their heads or with a roof so inadequate as to constitute no roof at all.
The lack of housing, an extremely serious problem in itself, should be seen as a sign and summing-up of a whole series of shortcomings, economic, social, cultural or simply human in nature. Given the extent of the problem, we should need little convincing of how far we are from an authentic development of peoples.
18. Another indicator common to the vast majority of nations is the phenomenon of unemployment and underemployment.
Everyone recognizes the reality and growing seriousness of this problem in the industrialized countries. 36 While it is alarming in the developing countries, with their high rate of population growth and their large numbers of young people, in the countries of high economic development the sources of work seem to be shrinking, and thus the opportunities for employment are decreasing rather than increasing.
This phenomenon too, with its series of negative consequences for individuals and for society, ranging from humiliation to the loss of that self-respect which every man and woman should have, prompts us to question seriously the type of development which has been followed over the past twenty years. Here the words of the Encyclical Laborem Exercens are extremely appropriate: "It must be stressed that the constitutive element in this progress and also the most adequate way to verify it in a spirit of justice and peace, which the Church proclaims and for which she does not cease to pray... is the continual reappraisal of man's work, both in the aspect of its objective finality and in the aspect of the dignity of the subject of all work, that is to say, man". On the other hand, "we cannot fail to be struck by a disconcerting fact of immense proportions: the fact that... there are huge numbers of people who are unemployed... a fact that without any doubt demonstrates that both within the individual political communities and in their relationships on the continental and world level there is something wrong with the organization of work and employment, precisely at the most critical and socially most important points". 37
This second phenomenon, like the previous one, because it is universal in character and tends to proliferate, is a very telling negative sign of the state and the quality of the development of peoples which we see today.
19. A third phenomenon, likewise characteristic of the most recent period, even though it is not met with everywhere, is without doubt equally indicative of the interdependence between developed and less developed countries. It is the question of the international debt, concerning which the Pontifical Commission "Iustitia et Pax" has issued a document. 38
At this point one cannot ignore the close connection between a problem of this kind the growing seriousness of which was already foreseen in "Populorum Progressio" 39 --and the question of the development of peoples.
The reason which prompted the developing peoples to accept the offer of abundantly available capital was the hope of being able to invest it in development projects. Thus the availability of capital and the fact of accepting it as a loan can be considered a contribution to development, something desirable and legitimate in itself, even though perhaps imprudent and occasionally hasty.
Circumstances having changed, both within the debtor nations and in the international financial market, the instrument chosen to make a contribution to development has turned into a counter-productive mechanism. This is because the debtor nations, in order to service their debt, find themselves obliged to export the capital needed for improving or at least maintaining their standard of living. It is also because, for the same reason, they are unable to obtain new and equally essential financing.
Through this mechanism, the means intended for the development of peoples has turned into a brake upon development instead, and indeed in some cases has even aggravated underdevelopment.
As the recent document of the Pontifical Commission "Iustitia et Pax" states, 40 these observations should make us reflect on the ethical character of the interdependence of peoples. And along similar lines, they should make us reflect on the requirements and conditions, equally inspired by ethical principles, for cooperation in development.
20. If at this point we examine the reasons for this serious delay in the process of development, a delay which has occurred contrary to the indications of the Encyclical Populorum Progression, which had raised such great hopes, our attention is especially drawn to the political causes of today's situation.
Faced with a combination of factors which are undoubtedly complex, we cannot hope to achieve a comprehensive analysis here. However, we cannot ignore a striking fact about the political picture since the Second World War, a fact which has considerable impact on the forward movement of the development of peoples.
I am referring to the existence of two opposing blocs, commonly known as the East and the West. The reason for this description is not purely political but is also, as the expression goes, geopolitical. Each of the two blocs tends to assimilate or gather around it other countries or groups of countries, to different degrees of adherence or participation.
The opposition is first of all political, inasmuch as each bloc identifies itself with a system of organizing society and exercising power which presents itself as an alternative to the other. The political opposition, in turn, takes its origin from a deeper opposition which is ideological in nature.
In the West there exists a system which is historically inspired by the principles of the liberal capitalism which developed with industrialization during the last century. In the East there exists a system inspired by the Marxist collectivism which sprang from an interpretation of the condition of the proletarian classes made in the light of a particular reading of history. Each of the two ideologies, on the basis of two very different visions of man and of his freedom and social role, has proposed and still promotes, on the economic level, antithetical forms of the organization of labor and of the structures of ownership, especially with regard to the so-called means of production. It was inevitable that by developing antagonistic systems and centers of power, each with its own forms of propaganda and indoctrination, the ideological opposition should evolve into a growing military opposition and give rise to two blocs of armed forces, each suspicious and fearful of the other's domination.
International relations, in turn, could not fail to feel the effects of this "logic of blocs" and of the respective " spheres of influence". The tension between the two blocs which began at the end of the Second World War has dominated the whole of the subsequent forty years. Sometimes it has taken the form of "cold war" sometimes of "wars by proxy", through the manipulation of local conflicts, and sometimes it has kept people's minds in suspense and anguish by the threat of an open and total war.
Although at the present time this danger seems to have receded, yet without completely disappearing, and even though an initial agreement has been reached on the destruction of one type of nuclear weapon, the existence and opposition of the blocs continue to be a real and worrying fact which still colors the world picture.
21. This happens with particularly negative effects in the international relations which concern the developing countries. For as we know the tension between East and West is not in itself an opposition between two different levels of development but rather between two concepts of the development of individuals and peoples, both concepts being imperfect and in need of radical correction. This opposition is transferred to the developing countries themselves, and thus helps to widen the gap already existing on the economic level between North and South and which results from the distance between the two worlds: the more developed one and the less developed one.
This is one of the reasons why the Church's social doctrine adopts a critical attitude towards both liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism. For from the point of view of development the question naturally arises: in what way and to what extent are these two systems capable of changes and updatings such as to favor or promote a true and integral development of individuals and peoples in modern society? In fact, these changes and updatings are urgent and essential for the cause of a development common to all.
Countries which have recently achieved independence, and which are trying to establish a cultural and political identity of their own, and need effective and impartial aid from all the richer and more developed countries, find themselves involved in, and sometimes overwhelmed by, ideological conflicts, which inevitably create internal divisions, to the extent in some cases of provoking full civil war. This is also because investments and aid for development are often diverted from their proper purpose and used to sustain conflicts, apart from and in opposition to the interests of the countries which ought to benefit from them. Many of these countries are becoming more and more aware of the danger of falling victim to a form of neo-colonialism and are trying to escape from it. It is this awareness which in spite of difficulties, uncertainties and at times contradictions gave rise to the International Movement of Non-Aligned Nations, which, in its positive aspect, would like to affirm in an effective way the right of every people to its own identity, independence and security, as well as the right to share, on a basis of equality and solidarity, in the goods intended for all.
22. In the light of these considerations, we easily arrive at a clearer picture of the last twenty years and a better understanding of the conflicts in the northern hemisphere, namely between East and West, as an important cause of the retardation or stagnation of the South.
The developing countries, instead of becoming autonomous nations concerned with their own progress towards a just sharing in the goods and services meant for all, become parts of a machine, cogs on a gigantic wheel. This is often true also in the field of social communications, which, being run by centers mostly in the northern hemisphere, do not always give due consideration to the priorities and problems of such countries or respect their cultural make-up. They frequently impose a distorted vision of life and of man, and thus fail to respond to the demands of true development.
Each of the two blocs harbors in its own way a tendency towards imperialism, as it is usually called, or towards forms of neo-colonialism: an easy temptation to which they frequently succumb, as history, including recent history, teaches.
It is this abnormal situation, the result of a war and of an unacceptably exaggerated concern for security, which deadens the impulse towards united cooperation by all for the common good of the human race, to the detriment especially of peaceful peoples who are impeded from their rightful access to the goods meant for all.
Seen in this way, the present division of the world is a direct obstacle to the real transformation of the conditions of underdevelopment in the developing and less advanced countries. However, peoples do not always resign themselves to their fate. Furthermore, the very needs of an economy stifled by military expenditure and by bureaucracy and intrinsic inefficiency now seem to favor processes which might mitigate the existing opposition and make it easier to begin a fruitful dialogue and genuine collaboration for peace.
23. The statement in the Encyclical Populorum Progressio that the resources and investments devoted to arms production ought to be used to alleviate the misery of impoverished peoples 41 makes more urgent the appeal to overcome the opposition between the two blocs.
Today, the reality is that these resources are used to enable each of the two blocs to overtake the other and thus guarantee its own security. Nations which historically, economically and politically have the possibility of playing a leadership role are prevented by this fundamentally flawed distortion from adequately fulfilling their duty of solidarity for the benefit of peoples which aspire to full development.
It is timely to mention and it is no exaggeration that a leadership role among nations can only be justified by the possibility and willingness to contribute widely and generously to the common good.
If a nation were to succumb more or less deliberately to the temptation to close in upon itself and failed to meet the responsibilities following from its superior position in the community of nations, it would fall seriously short of its clear ethical duty. This is readily apparent in the circumstances of history, where believers discern the dispositions of Divine Providence, ready to make use of the nations for the realization of its plans, so as to render "vain the designs of the peoples" (cf. Ps 33 /32: 10 ).
When the West gives the impression of abandoning itself to forms of growing and selfish isolation, and the East in its turn seems to ignore for questionable reasons its duty to cooperate in the task of alleviating human misery, then we are up against not only a betrayal of humanity's legitimate expectations a betrayal that is a harbinger of unforeseeable consequences but also a real desertion of a moral obligation.
24. If arms production is a serious disorder in the present world with regard to true human needs and the employment of the means capable of satisfying those needs, the arms trade is equally to blame. Indeed, with reference to the latter it must be added that the moral judgment is even more severe. As we all know, this is a trade without frontiers, capable of crossing even the barriers of the blocs. It knows how to overcome the division between East and West, and above all the one between North and South, to the point--and this is more serious of pushing its way into the different sections which make up the southern hemisphere. We are thus confronted with a strange phenomenon: while economic aid and development plans meet with the obstacle of insuperable ideological barriers, and with tariff and trade barriers, arms of whatever origin circulate with almost total freedom all over the world. And as the recent document of the Pontifical Commission "Iustitia et Pax" on the international debt points out, 42 everyone knows that in certain cases the capital lent by the developed world has been used in the underdeveloped world to buy weapons.
If to all this we add the tremendous and universally acknowledged danger represented by atomic weapons stockpiled on an incredible scale, the logical conclusion seems to be this: in today's world, including the world of economics, the prevailing picture is one destined to lead us more quickly towards death rather than one of concern for true development which would lead all towards a "more human" life, as envisaged by the Encyclical "Populorum Progressio." 43
The consequences of this state of affairs are to be seen in the festering of a wound which typifies and reveals the imbalances and conflicts of the modern world: the millions of refugees whom war, natural calamities, persecution and discrimination of every kind have deprived of home, employment, family and homeland. The tragedy of these multitudes is reflected in the hopeless faces of men, women and children who can no longer find a home in a divided and inhospitable world.
Nor may we close our eyes to another painful wound in today's world: the phenomenon of terrorism, understood as the intention to kill people and destroy property indiscriminately, and to create a climate of terror and insecurity, often including the taking of hostages. Even when some ideology or the desire to create a better society is adduced as the motivation for this inhuman behavior, acts of terrorism are never justifiable. Even less so when, as happens today, such decisions and such actions, which at times lead to real massacres and to the abduction of innocent people who have nothing to do with the conflicts, claim to have a propaganda purpose for furthering a cause. It is still worse when they are an end in themselves, so that murder is committed merely for the sake of killing. In the face of such horror and suffering, the words I spoke some years ago are still true, and I wish to repeat them again: "What Christianity forbids is to seek solutions... by the ways of hatred, by the murdering of defenseless people, by the methods of terrorism". 44
25. At this point something must be said about the demographic problem and the way it is spoken of today, following what Paul VI said in his Encyclical 45 and what I myself stated at length in the Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortia." 46
One cannot deny the existence, especially in the southern hemisphere, of a demographic problem which creates difficulties for development. One must immediately add that in the northern hemisphere the nature of this problem is reversed: here, the cause for concern is the drop in the birthrate, with repercussions on the aging of the population, unable even to renew itself biologically. In itself, this is a phenomenon capable of hindering development. Just as it is incorrect to say that such difficulties stem solely from demographic growth, neither is it proved that all demographic growth is incompatible with orderly development.
On the other hand, it is very alarming to see governments in many countries launching systematic campaigns against birth, contrary not only to the cultural and religious identity of the countries themselves but also contrary to the nature of true development. It often happens that these campaigns are the result of pressure and financing coming from abroad, and in some cases they are made a condition for the granting of financial and economic aid and assistance. In any event, there is an absolute lack of respect for the freedom of choice of the parties involved, men and women often subjected to intolerable pressures, including economic ones, in order to force them to submit to this new form of oppression. It is the poorest populations which suffer such mistreatment, and this sometimes leads to a tendency towards a form of racism, or the promotion of certain equally racist forms of eugenics.
This fact too, which deserves the most forceful condemnation, is a sign of an erroneous and perverse idea of true human development.
26. This mainly negative overview of the actual situation of development in the contemporary world would be incomplete without a mention of the coexistence of positive aspects.
The first positive note is the full awareness among large numbers of men and women of their own dignity and of that of every human being. This awareness is expressed, for example, in the more lively concern that human rights should be respected, and in the more vigorous rejection of their violation. One sign of this is the number of recently established private associations, some worldwide in membership, almost all of them devoted to monitoring with great care and commendable objectivity what is happening internationally in this sensitive field.
At this level one must acknowledge the influence exercised by the Declaration of Human Rights, promulgated some forty years ago by the United Nations Organization. Its very existence and gradual acceptance by the international community are signs of a growing awareness. The same is to be said, still in the field of human rights, of other juridical instruments issued by the United Nations Organization or other International Organizations. 47
The awareness under discussion applies not only to individuals but also to nations and peoples, which, as entities having a specific cultural identity, are particularly sensitive to the preservation, free exercise and promotion of their precious heritage.
At the same time, in a world divided and beset by every type of conflict, the conviction is growing of a radical interdependence and consequently of the need for a solidarity which will take up interdependence and transfer it to the moral plane. Today perhaps more than in the past, people are realizing that they are linked together by a common destiny, which is to be constructed together, if catastrophe for all is to be avoided. From the depth of anguish, fear and escapist phenomena like drugs, typical of the contemporary world, the idea is slowly emerging that the good to which we are all called and the happiness to which we aspire cannot be obtained without an effort and commitment on the part of all, nobody excluded, and the consequent renouncing of personal selfishness.
Also to be mentioned here, as a sign of respect for life despite all the temptations to destroy it by abortion and euthanasia is a concomitant concern for peace, together with an awareness that peace is indivisible. It is either for all or for none. It demands an ever greater degree of rigorous respect for justice and consequently a fair distribution of the results of true development. 48
Among today's positive signs we must also mention a greater realization of the limits of available resources, find of the need to respect the integrity and the cycles of nature and to take them into account when planning for development, rather than sacrificing them to certain demagogic ideas about the latter. Today this is called ecological concern.
It is also right to acknowledge the generous commitment of statesmen, politicians, economists, trade unionists, people of science and international officials many of them inspired by religious faith who at no small personal sacrifice try to resolve the world's ills and who give of themselves in every way so as to ensure that an ever increasing number of people may enjoy the benefits of peace and a quality of life worthy of the name.
The great International Organizations and a number of the Regional Organizations, contribute to this in no small measure. Their united efforts make possible more effective action.
It is also through these contributions that some Third World countries, despite the burden of many negative factors, have succeeded in reaching a certain self-sufficiency in food, or a degree of industrialization which makes it possible to survive with dignity and to guarantee sources of employment for the active population.
Thus, all is not negative in the contemporary world, nor could it be, for the Heavenly Father's Providence lovingly watches over even our daily cares (cf. Mt 6: 25-32; 10: 23-31; Lk 12: 6-7; 22-30). Indeed, the positive values which we have mentioned testify to a new moral concern, particularly with respect to the great human problems such as development and peace.
This fact prompts me to turn my thoughts to the true nature of the development of peoples, along the lines of the Encyclical which we are commemorating, and as a mark of respect for its teaching.
27. The examination which the Encyclical invites us to make of the contemporary world leads us to note in the first place that development is not a straightforward process, as it were automatic and in itself limitless, as though, given certain conditions, the human race were able to progress rapidly towards an undefined perfection of some kind. 49
Such an idea linked to a notion of "progress" with philosophical connotations deriving from the Enlightenment, rather than to the notion of "development" 50 which is used in a specifically economic and social sense now seems to be seriously called into doubt, particularly since the tragic experience of the two world wars, the planned and partly achieved destruction of whole peoples, and the looming atomic peril. A naive mechanistic optimism has been replaced by a well-founded anxiety for the fate of humanity.
28. At the same time, however, the "economic" concept itself, linked to the word development, has entered into crisis. In fact there is a better understanding today that the mere accumulation of goods and services, even for the benefit of the majority, is not enough for the realization of human happiness. Nor, in consequence, does the availability of the many real benefits provided in recent times by science and technology, including the computer sciences, bring freedom from every form of slavery. On the contrary, the experience of recent years shows that unless all the considerable body of resources and potential at man's disposal is guided by a moral understanding and by an orientation towards the true good of the human race, it easily turns against man to oppress him.
A disconcerting conclusion about the most recent period should serve to enlighten us: side-by-side with the miseries of underdevelopment, themselves unacceptable, we find ourselves up against a form of superdevelopment, equally inadmissible, because like the former it is contrary to what is good and to true happiness. This superdevelopment, which consists in an excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the. benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of "possession" and of immediate gratification, with no other horizon than the multiplication or continual replacement of the things already owned with others still better. This is the so-called civilization of "consumption" or "consumerism", which involves so much "throwing-away" and "waste". An object already owned but now superseded by something better is discarded, with no thought of its possible lasting value in itself, nor of some other human being who is poorer.
All of us experience firsthand the sad effects of this blind submission to pure consumerism: in the first place a crass materialism, and at the same time a radical dissatisfaction, because one quickly learns unless one is shielded from the flood of publicity and the ceaseless and tempting offers of products that the more one possesses the more one wants, while deeper aspirations remain unsatisfied and perhaps even stifled.
The Encyclical of Pope Paul VI pointed out the difference, so often emphasized today, between "having" and "being", 51 which had been expressed earlier in precise words by the Second Vatican Council. 52 To "have" objects and goods does not in itself perfect the human subject, unless it contributes to the maturing and enrichment of that subject's "being", that is to say unless it contributes to the realization of the human vocation as such.
Of course, the difference between "being" and "having", the danger inherent in a mere multiplication or replacement of things possessed compared to the value of "being", need not turn into a contradiction. One of the greatest injustices in the contemporary world consists precisely in this: that the ones who possess much are relatively few and those who possess almost nothing are many. It is the injustice of the poor distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all.
This then is the picture: there are some people the few who possess much who do not really succeed in "being" because, through a reversal of the hierarchy of values, they are hindered by the cult of "having"; and there are others the many who have little or nothing--who do not succeed in realizing their basic human vocation because they are deprived of essential goods.
The evil does not consist in "having" as such, but in possessing without regard for the quality and the ordered hierarchy of the goods one has. Quality and hierarchy arise from the subordination of goods and their availability to man's "being" and his true vocation.
This shows that although development has a necessary economic dimension, since it must supply the greatest possible number of the world's inhabitants with an availability of goods essential for them "to be", it is not limited to that dimension. If it is limited to this, then it turns against those whom it is meant to benefit.
The characteristics of full development, one which is "more human" and able to sustain itself at the level of the true vocation of men and women without denying economic requirements, were described by Paul VI. 53
29. Development which is not only economic must be measured and oriented according to the reality and vocation of man seen in his totality, namely, according to his interior dimension. There is no doubt that he needs created goods and the products of industry, which is constantly being enriched by scientific and technological progress. And the ever greater availability of material goods not only meets needs but also opens new horizons. The danger of the misuse of material goods and the appearance of artificial needs should in no way hinder the regard we have for the new goods and resources placed at our disposal and the use we make of them. On the contrary, we must see them as a gift from God and as a response to the human vocation, which is fully realized in Christ.
However, in trying to achieve true development we must never lose sight of that dimension which is in the specific nature of man, who has been created by God in his image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). It is a bodily and a spiritual nature, symbolized in the second creation account by the two elements: the earth, from which God forms man's body, and the breath of life which he breathes into man's nostrils (cf. Gen 2:7).
Thus man comes to have a certain affinity with other creatures: he is called to use them, and to be involved with them. As the Genesis account says (cf. Gen 2:15), he is placed in the garden with the duty of cultivating and watching over it, being superior to the other creatures placed by God under his dominion (cf. Gen 1:2526). But at the same time man must remain subject to the will of God, who imposes limits upon his use and dominion over things (cf. Gen 2:16-17), just as he promises him immortality (cf. Gen 2:9; Wis 2:23). Thus man, being the image of God, has a true affinity with him too.
On the basis of this teaching, development cannot consist only in the use, dominion over and indiscriminate possession of created things and the products of human industry, but rather in subordinating the possession, dominion and use to man's divine likeness and to his vocation to immortality. This is the transcendent reality of the human being, a reality which is seen to be shared from the beginning by a couple, a man and a woman (cf. Gen 1: 27), and is therefore fundamentally social.
30. According to Sacred Scripture therefore, the notion of development is not only "lay" or "profane", but is also seen to be, while having a socioeconomic dimension of its own, the modern expression of an essential dimension of man's vocation.
The fact is that man was not created, so to speak, immobile and static. The first portrayal of him, as given in the Bible, certainly presents him as a creature and image, defined in his deepest reality by the origin and affinity that constitute him. But all this plants within the human being man and woman the seed and the requirement of a special task to be accomplished by each individually and by them as a couple. The task is "to have dominion" over the other created beings, "to cultivate the garden". This is to be accomplished within the framework of obedience to the divine law and therefore with respect for the image received, the image which is the clear foundation of the power of dominion recognized as belonging to man as the means to his perfection (cf. Gen 1:26-30; 2:15-16; Wis 9:2-3).
When man disobeys God and refuses to submit to his rule, nature rebels against him and no longer recognizes him as its "master", for he has tarnished the divine image in himself. The claim to ownership and use of created things remains still valid, but after sin its exercise becomes difficult and full of suffering (cf. Gen 3: 17-19).
In fact, the following chapter of Genesis shows us that the descendants of Cain build "a city", engage in sheep farming, practice the arts (music) and technical skills (metallurgy); while at the same time people began to "call upon the name of the Lord" (cf. Gen 4:17-26).
The story of the human race described by Sacred Scripture is, even after the fall into sin, a story of constant achievements, which, although always called into question and threatened by sin, are nonetheless repeated, increased and extended in response to the divine vocation given from the beginning to man and to woman (cf. Gen 1: 26-28) and inscribed in the image which they received.
It is logical to conclude, at least on the part of those who believe in the word of God, that today's "development" is to be seen as a moment in the story which began at creation, a story which is constantly endangered by reason of infidelity to the Creator's will, and especially by the temptation to idolatry. But this "development" fundamentally corresponds to the first premises. Anyone wishing to renounce the difficult yet noble task of improving the lot of man in his totality, and of all people, with the excuse that the struggle is difficult and that constant effort is required, or simply because of the experience of defeat and the need to begin again, that person would be betraying the will of God the Creator. In this regard, in the Encyclical Laborem Exercens I referred to man's vocation to work, in order to emphasize the idea that it is always man who is the protagonist of development. 54
Indeed, the Lord Jesus himself, in the parable of the talents, emphasizes the severe treatment given to the man who dared to hide the gift received: "You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I have not winnowed? ... So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents" (Mt 25: 26-28). It falls to us, who receive the gifts of God in order to make them fruitful, to "sow" and "reap". If we do not, even what we have will be taken away from us.
A deeper study of these harsh words will make us commit ourselves more resolutely to the duty, which is urgent for everyone today, to work together for the full development of others: "development of the whole human being and of all people". 55
31. Faith in Christ the Redeemer, while it illuminates from within the nature of development, also guides us in the task of collaboration. In the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians, we read that Christ is "the firstborn of all creation", and that "all things were created through him" and for him (1:15-16). In fact, "all things hold together in him", since "in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things (v. 20).
A part of this divine plan, which begins from eternity in Christ, the perfect "image" of the Father, and which culminates in him, "the firstborn from the dead" (v. 18), is our own history, marked by our personal and collective effort to raise up the human condition and to overcome the obstacles which are continually arising along our way. It thus prepares us to share in the fullness which "dwells in the Lord" and which he communicates "to his body, which is the Church" (v. 18; cf. Eph 1:22-23). At the same time sin, which is always attempting to trap us and which jeopardizes our human achievements, is conquered and redeemed by the "reconciliation" accomplished by Christ (cf. Col. 1: 20).
Here the perspectives widen. The dream of "unlimited progress" reappears, radically transformed by the new outlook created by Christian faith, assuring us that progress is possible only because God the Father has decided from the beginning to make man a sharer of his glory in Jesus Christ risen from the dead, in whom "we have redemption through his blood... the forgiveness of our trespasses" (Eph 1: 7). In him God wished to conquer sin and make it serve our greater good, 56 which infinitely surpasses what progress could achieve.
We can say therefore as we struggle amidst the obscurities and deficiencies of underdevelopment and superdevelopment that one day this corruptible body will put on incorruptibility, this mortal body immortality (cf. 1 Cor 15:54), when the Lord "delivers the Kingdom to God the Father" (v. 24) and all the works and actions that are worthy of man will be redeemed.
Furthermore, the concept of faith makes quite clear the reasons which impel the Church to concern herself with the problems of development, to consider them a duty of her pastoral ministry, and to urge all to think about the nature and characteristics of authentic human development. Through her commitment she desires, on the one hand, to place herself at the service of the divine plan which is meant to order all things to the fullness which dwells in Christ (cf. Col 1:19) and which he communicated to his body; and on the other hand she desires to respond to her fundamental vocation of being a "sacrament", that is to say "a sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race". 57
Some Fathers of the Church were inspired by this idea to develop in original ways a concept of the meaning of history and of human work, directed towards a goal which surpasses this meaning and which is always defined by its relationship to the work of Christ. In other words, one can find in the teaching of the Fathers an optimistic vision of history and work, that is to say of the perennial value of authentic human achievements, inasmuch as they are redeemed by Christ and destined for the promised Kingdom. 58
Thus, part of the teaching and most ancient practice of the Church is her conviction that she is obliged by her vocation she herself, her ministers and each of her members to relieve the misery of the suffering, both far and near, not only out of her "abundance" but also out of her "necessities". Faced by cases of need, one cannot ignore them in favor of superfluous church ornaments and costly furnishings for divine worship; on the contrary it could be obligatory to sell these goods in order to provide food, drink, clothing and shelter for those who lack these things. 59 As has been already noted, here we are shown a "hierarchy of values"--in the framework of the right to property between "having" and "being", especially when the "having" of a few can be to the detriment of the "being" of many others.
In his Encyclical Pope Paul VI stands in the line of this teaching, taking his inspiration from the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes. 60 For my own part, I wish to insist once more on the seriousness and urgency of that teaching, and I ask the Lord to give all Christians the strength to put it faithfully into practice.
32. The obligation to commit oneself to the development of peoples is not just an individual duty, and still less an individualistic one, as if it were possible to achieve this development through the isolated efforts of each individual. It is an imperative which obliges each and every man and woman, as well as societies and nations. In particular, it obliges the Catholic Church and the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, with which we are completely willing to collaborate in this field. In this sense, just as we Catholics invite our Christian brethren to share in our initiatives, so too we declare that we are ready to collaborate in theirs, and we welcome the invitations presented to us. In this pursuit of integral human development we can also do much with the members of other religions, as in fact is being done in various places.
Collaboration in the development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all, and must be shared by the four parts of the world: East and West, North and South; or, as we say today, by the different "worlds". If, on the contrary, people try to achieve it in only one part, or in only one world, they do so at the expense of the others; and, precisely because the others are ignored, their own development becomes exaggerated and misdirected.
Peoples or nations too have a right to their own full development, which while including as already said the economic and social aspects should also include individual cultural identity and openness to the transcendent. Not even the need for development can be used as an excuse for imposing on others one's own way of life or own religious belief.
33. Nor would a type of development which did not respect and promote human rights personal and social, economic and political, including the rights of nations and of peoples be really worthy of man.
Today, perhaps more than in the past, the intrinsic contradiction of a development limited only to its economic element is seen more clearly. Such development easily subjects the human person and his deepest needs to the demands of economic planning and selfish profit.
The intrinsic connection between authentic development and respect for human rights once again reveals the moral character of development: the true elevation of man, in conformity with the natural and historical vocation of each individual, is not attained only by exploiting the abundance of goods and services, or by having available perfect infrastructures.
When individuals and communities do not see a rigorous respect for the moral, cultural and spiritual requirements, based on the dignity of the person and on the proper identity of each community, beginning with the family and religious societies, then all the rest availability of goods, abundance of technical resources applied to daily life, a certain level of material well-being will prove unsatisfying and in the end contemptible. The Lord clearly says this in the Gospel, when he calls the attention of all to the true hierarchy of values: "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" (Mt 16:26).
True development, in keeping with the specific needs of the human being man or woman, child, adult or old person implies, especially for those who actively share in this process and are responsible for it, a lively awareness of the value of the rights of all and of each person. It likewise implies a lively awareness of the need to respect the right of every individual to the full use of the benefits offered by science and technology.
On the internal level of every nation, respect for all rights takes on great importance, especially: the right to life at every stage of its existence; the rights of the family, as the basic social community, or "cell of society"; justice in employment relationships; the rights inherent in the life of the political community as such; the rights based on the transcendent vocation of the human being, beginning with the right of freedom to profess and practice one's own religious belief.
On the international level, that is, the level of relations between States or, in present-day usage, between the different "worlds", there must be complete respect for the identity of each people, with its own historical and cultural characteristics. It is likewise essential, as the Encyclical Populorum Progressio already asked, to recognize each people's equal right "to be seated at the table of the common banquet", 61 instead of lying outside the door like Lazarus, while "the dogs come and lick his sores" (cf. Lk 16:21). Both peoples and individuals must enjoy the fundamental equality 62 which is the basis, for example, of the Charter of the United Nations Organization: the equality which is the basis of the right of all to share in the process of full development.
In order to be genuine, development must be achieved within the framework of solidarity and freedom, without ever sacrificing either of them under whatever pretext. The moral character of development and its necessary promotion are emphasized when the most rigorous respect is given to all the demands deriving from the order of truth and good proper to the human person. Furthermore the Christian who is taught to see that man is the image of God, called to share in the truth and the good which is God himself, does not understand a commitment to development and its application which excludes regard and respect for the unique dignity of this "image". In other words, true development must be based on the love of God and neighbor, and must help to promote the relationships between individuals and society. This is the "civilization of love" of which Paul VI often spoke.
34. Nor can the moral character of development exclude respect for the beings which constitute the natural world, which the ancient Greeks alluding precisely to the order which distinguishes it--called the "cosmos". Such realities also demand respect, by virtue of a threefold consideration which it is useful to reflect upon carefully.
The first consideration is the appropriateness of acquiring a growing awareness of the fact that one cannot use with impunity the different categories of beings, whether living or inanimate, animals, plants, the natural elements simply as one wishes, according to one's own economic needs. On the contrary, one must take into account the nature of each being and of its mutual connection in an ordered system, which is precisely the "cosmos".
The second consideration is based on the realization which is perhaps more urgent that natural resources are limited; some are not, as it is said, renewable. Using them as if they were inexhaustible, with absolute dominion, seriously endangers their availability not only for the present generation but above all for generations to come.
The third consideration refers directly to the consequences of a certain type of development on the quality of life in the industrialized zones. We all know that the direct or indirect result of industrialization is, ever more frequently, the pollution of the environment, with serious consequences for the health of the population.
Once again it is evident that development, the planning which governs it, and the way in which resources are used must include respect for moral demands. One of the latter undoubtedly imposes limits on the use of the natural world. The dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to "use and misuse", or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to "eat of the fruit of the tree" (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity.
A true concept of development cannot ignore the use of the elements of nature, the renewability of resources and the consequences of haphazard industrialization three considerations which alert our consciences to the moral dimension of development. 63
35. Precisely because of the essentially moral character of development, it is clear that the obstacles to development likewise have a moral character. If in the years since the publication of Pope Paul's Encyclical there has been no development or very little, irregular, or even contradictory development the reasons are not only economic. As has already been said, political motives also enter in. For the decisions which either accelerate or slows down the development of peoples are really political in character. In order to overcome the misguided mechanisms mentioned earlier and to replace them with new ones which will be more just and in conformity with the common good of humanity, an effective political will is needed. Unfortunately, after analyzing the situation we have to conclude that this political will has been insufficient.
In a document of a pastoral nature such as this, an analysis limited exclusively to the economic and political causes of underdevelopment (and, mutatis mutandis, of so-called super-development) would be incomplete. It is therefore necessary to single out the moral causes which, with respect to the behavior of individuals considered as responsible persons, interfere in such a way as to slow down the course of development and hinder its full achievement.
Similarly, when the scientific and technical resources are available which, with the necessary concrete political decisions, ought to help lead peoples to true development, the main obstacles to development will be overcome only by means of essentially moral decisions. For believers, and especially for Christians, these decisions will take their inspiration from the principles of faith, with the help of divine grace.
36. It is important to note therefore that a world which is divided unto blocs, sustained by rigid ideologies, and in which instead of interdependence and solidarity different forms of imperialism hold sway, can only be a world subject to structures of sin. The sum total of the negative factors working against a true awareness of the universal common good, and the need to further it, gives the impression of creating, in persons and institutions, an obstacle which is difficult to overcome. 64
If the present situation can be attributed to difficulties of various kinds, it is not out of place to speak of "structures of sin", which, as I stated in my Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, are rooted in personal sin, and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. 65 And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people's behavior.
"Sin" and "structures of sin" are categories which are seldom applied to the situation of the contemporary world. However, one cannot easily gain a profound understanding of the reality that confronts us unless we give a name to the root of the evils which afflict us.
One can certainly speak of "selfishness" and of "shortsightedness", of "mistaken political calculations" and "imprudent economic decisions". And in each of these evaluations one hears an echo of an ethical and moral nature. Man's condition is such that a more profound analysis of individuals' actions and omissions cannot be achieved without implying, in one way or another, judgments or references of an ethical nature.
This evaluation is in itself positive, especially if it is completely consistent and if it is based on faith in God and on his law, which commands what is good and forbids evil.
In this consists the difference between socio-political analysis and formal reference to "sin" and the "structures of sin". According to this latter viewpoint, there enter in the will of the Triune God, his plan for humanity, his justice and his mercy. The God who is rich in mercy, the Redeemer of man, the Lord and giver of life, requires from people clear-cut attitudes which express themselves also in actions or omissions towards one's neighbor. We have here a reference to the "second tablet" of the Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:12-17; Dt 5: 16-21). Not to observe these is to offend God and hurt one's neighbor, and to introduce into the world influences and obstacles which go far beyond the actions and the brief lifespan of an individual. This also involves interference in the process of the development of peoples, the delay or slowness of which must be judged also in this light.
37. This general analysis, which is religious in nature, can be supplemented by a number of particular considerations to demonstrate that among the actions and attitudes opposed to the will of God, the good of neighbor and the "structures" created by them, two are very typical: on the one hand, the all-consuming desire for profit, and on the other, the thirst for power, with the intention of imposing one's will upon others. In order to characterize better each of these attitudes, one can add the expression: "at any price". In other words, we are faced with the absolutizing of human attitudes with all its possible consequences.
Since these attitudes can exist independently of each other, they can be separated; however in today's world both are indissolubly united, with one or the other predominating.
Obviously, not only individuals fall victim to this double attitude of sin; nations and blocs can do so too. And this favors even more the introduction of the "structures of sin" of which I have spoken. If certain forms of modern "imperialism" were considered in the light of these moral criteria, we would see that hidden behind certain decisions, apparently inspired only by economics or politics, are real forms of idolatry: of money, ideology, class, technology.
I have wished to introduce this type of analysis above all in order to point out the true nature of the evil which faces us with respect to the development of peoples: it is a question of a moral evil, the fruit of many sins which lead to "structures of sin". To diagnose the evil in this way is to identify precisely, on the level of human conduct, the path to be followed in order to overcome it.
38. This path is long and complex, and what is more it is constantly threatened because of the intrinsic frailty of human resolutions and achievements, and because of the mutability of very unpredictable external circumstances. Nevertheless, one must have the courage to set out on this path, and, where some steps have been taken or a part of the journey made, the courage to go on to the end.
In the context of these reflections the decision to set out or to continue the journey involves, above all, a moral value which men and women of faith recognize as a demand of God's will, the only true foundation of an absolutely binding ethic.
One would hope that also men and women without an explicit faith would be convinced that the obstacles to integral development are not only economic but rest on more profound attitudes which human beings can make into absolute values. Thus one would hope that all those who, to some degree or other, are responsible for ensuring a "more human life" for their fellow human beings, whether or not they are inspired by a religious faith, will become fully aware of the urgent need to change the spiritual attitudes which define each individual's relationship with self, with neighbor, with even the remotest human communities, and with nature itself; and all of this in view of higher values such as the common good or, to quote the felicitous expression of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, the full development "of the whole individual and of all people." 66
For Christians, as for all who recognize the precise theological meaning of the word "sin", a change of behavior or mentality or mode of existence is called "conversion", to use the language of the Bible (cf. Mk 13:3, 5; Is 30:15). This conversion specifically entails a relationship to God, and to the sin committed, to its consequences and hence to one's neighbor, either an individual or a community. It is God, in "whose hands are the hearts of the powerful" 67 and the hearts of all, who according to his own promise and by the power of his Spirit can transform "hearts of stone" into "hearts of flesh" (cf. Ezek 36:26).
On the path towards the desired conversion, towards the overcoming of the moral obstacles to development, it is already possible to point to the positive and moral value of the growing awareness of interdependence among individuals and nations. The fact that men and women in various parts of the world feel personally affected by the injustices and violations of human rights committed in distant countries, countries which perhaps they will never visit, is a further sign of a reality transformed into awareness, thus acquiring a moral connotation.
It is above all a question of interdependence, sensed as a system determining relationships in the contemporary world, in its economic, cultural, political and religious elements, and accepted as a moral category. When interdependence becomes recognized in this way, the correlative response as a moral and social attitude, as a "virtue", is solidarity. This then is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. This determination is based on the solid conviction that what is hindering full development is that desire for profit and that thirst for power already mentioned. These attitudes and "structures of sin" are only conquered--presupposing the help of divine grace--by a diametrically opposed attitude: a commitment to the good of one's neighbor with the readiness, in the Gospel sense, to "lose oneself" for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to "serve him" instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage (cf. Mt 10:40-42; 20: 25; Mk 10: 42-45; Lk 22: 25-27).
39. The exercise of solidarity within each society is valid when its members recognize one another as persons. Those who are more influential, because they have a greater share of goods and common services, should feel responsible for the weaker and be ready to share with them all they possess. Those who are weaker, for their part, in the same spirit of solidarity, should not adopt a purely passive attitude or one that is destructive of the social fabric, but, while claiming their legitimate rights, should do what they can for the good of all. The intermediate groups, in their turn, should not selfishly insist on their particular interests, but respect the interests of others.
Positive signs in the contemporary world are the growing awareness of the solidarity of the poor among themselves, their efforts to support one another, and their public demonstrations on the social scene which, without recourse to violence, present their own needs and rights in the face of the inefficiency or corruption of the public authorities. By virtue of her own evangelical duty the Church feels called to take her stand beside the poor, to discern the justice of their requests, and to help satisfy them, without losing sight of the good of groups in the context of the common good.
The same criterion is applied by analogy in international relationships. Interdependence must be transformed into solidarity, based upon the principle that the goods of creation are meant for all. That which human industry produces through the processing of raw materials, with the contribution of work, must serve equally for the good of all.
Surmounting every type of imperialism and determination to preserve their own hegemony, the stronger and richer nations must have a sense of moral responsibility for the other nations, so that a real international system may be established which will rest on the foundation of the equality of all peoples and on the necessary respect for their legitimate differences. The economically weaker countries, or those still at subsistence level, must be enabled, with the assistance of other peoples and of the international community, to make a contribution of their own to the common good with their treasures of humanity and culture, which otherwise would be lost for ever.
Solidarity helps us to see the "other" whether a person, people or nation not just as some kind of instrument, with a work capacity and physical strength to be exploited at low cost and then discarded when no longer useful, but as our "neighbor", a "helper" (cf. Gen 2: 18-20), to be made a sharer, on a par with ourselves, in the banquet of life to which all are equally invited by God. Hence the importance of reawakening the religious awareness of individuals and peoples.
Thus the exploitation, oppression and annihilation of others are excluded. These facts, in the present division of the world into opposing blocs, combine to produce the danger of war and an excessive preoccupation with personal security, often to the detriment of the autonomy, freedom of decision, and even the territorial integrity of the weaker nations situated within the so-called "areas of influence" or "safety belts".
The "structures of sin" and the sins which they produce are likewise radically opposed to peace and development, for development, in the familiar expression of Pope Paul's Encyclical, is "the new name for peace". 68
In this way, the solidarity which we propose is the path to peace and at the same time to development. For world peace is inconceivable unless the world's leaders come to recognize that interdependence in itself demands the abandonment of the politics of blocs, the sacrifice of all forms of economic, military or political imperialism, and the transformation of mutual distrust into collaboration. This is precisely the act proper to solidarity among individuals and nations.
The motto of the pontificate of my esteemed predecessor Pius XII was Opus iustitiae pax, peace as the fruit of justice. Today one could say, with the same exactness and the same power of biblical inspiration (cf. Is 32:17; Jas 3:18): Opus solidaritatis pax, peace as the fruit of solidarity.
The goal of peace, so desired by everyone, will certainly be achieved through the putting into effect of social and international justice, but also through the practice of the virtues which favor togetherness, and which teach us to live in unity, so as to build in unity, by giving and receiving, a new society and a better world.
40. Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue. In what has been said so far it has been possible to identify many points of contact between solidarity and charity, which is the distinguishing mark of Christ's disciples (cf. Jn 13: 35)
In the light of faith, solidarity seeks to go beyond itself, to take on the specifically Christian dimensions of total gratuity, forgiveness and reconciliation. One's neighbor is then not only a human being with his or her own rights and a fundamental equality with everyone else, but becomes the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One's neighbor must therefore be loved, even if an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her; and for that person's sake one must be ready for sacrifice, even the ultimate one: to lay down one's life for the brethren (cf. 1 Jn 3: 16).
At that point, awareness of the common fatherhood of God, of the brotherhood of all in Christ "children in the Son" and of the presence and life-giving action of the Holy Spirit will bring to our vision of the world a new criterion for interpreting it. Beyond human and natural bonds, already so close and strong, there is discerned in the light of faith a new model of the unity of the human race, which must ultimately inspire our solidarity. This supreme model of unity, which is a reflection of the intimate life of God, one God in three persons, is
what we Christians mean by the word "communion". This specifically Christian communion, jealously preserved, extended and enriched with the Lord's help, is the soul of the Church's vocation to be a "sacrament", in the sense already indicated.
Solidarity therefore must play its part in the realization of this divine plan, both on the level of individuals and on the level of national and international society. The "evil mechanisms" and "structures of sin" of which we have spoken can be overcome only through the exercise of the human and Christian solidarity to which the Church calls us and which she tirelessly promotes. Only in this way can such positive energies be fully released for the benefit of development and peace.
Many of the Church's canonized saints offer a wonderful witness of such solidarity and can serve as examples in the present difficult circumstances. Among them I wish to recall Saint Peter Claver and his service to the slaves at Cartagena de Indias, and Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe who offered his life in place of a prisoner unknown to him in the concentration camp at Auschwitz.
41. The Church does not have technical solutions to offer for the problem of underdevelopment as such, as Pope Paul VI already affirmed in his Encyclical. 69 For the Church does not propose economic and political systems or programs, nor does she show preference for one or the other, provided that human dignity is properly respected and promoted, and provided she herself is allowed the room she needs to exercise her ministry in the world.
But the Church is an "expert in humanity", 70 and this leads her necessarily to extend her religious mission to the various fields in which men and women expend their efforts in search of the always relative happiness which is possible in this world, in line with their dignity as persons.
Following the example of my predecessors, I must repeat that whatever affects the dignity of individuals and peoples, such as authentic development, cannot be reduced to a "technical" problem. If reduced in this way, development would be emptied of its true content, and this would be an act of betrayal of the individuals and peoples whom development is meant to serve.
This is why the Church has something to say today, just as twenty years ago, and also in the future, about the nature, conditions, requirements and aims of authentic development, and also about the obstacles which stand in its way. In doing so the Church fulfills her mission to evangelize, for she offers her first contribution to the solution of the urgent problem of development when she proclaims the truth about Christ, about herself and about man, applying this truth to a concrete situation. 71
As her instrument for reaching this goal, the Church uses her social doctrine. In today's difficult situation, a more exact awareness and a wider diffusion of the "set of principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and directives for action" proposed by the Church's teaching 72 would be of great help in promoting both the correct definition of the problems being faced and the best solution to them.
It will thus be seen at once that the questions neither the analysis of the problem of development as such nor the means to overcome the present difficulties can ignore this essential dimension.
The Church's social doctrine is not a "third way" between liberal capitalism and Marxist collectivism, nor even a possible alternative to other solutions less radically opposed to one another: rather, it constitutes a category of its own. Nor is it an ideology, but rather the accurate formulation of the results of a careful reflection on the complex realities of human existence, in society and in the international order, in the light of faith and of the Church's tradition. Its main aim is to interpret these realities, determining their conformity with or divergence from the lines of the Gospel teaching on man and his vocation, a vocation which is at once earthly and transcendent; its aim is thus to guide Christian behavior. It therefore belongs to the field, not of ideology, but of theology and particularly of moral theology.
The teaching and spreading of her social doctrine are part of the Church's evangelizing mission. And since it is a doctrine aimed at guiding people's behavior, it consequently gives rise to a "commitment to justice", according to each individual's role, vocation and circumstances.
The condemnation of evils and injustices is also part of that ministry of evangelization in the social field which is an aspect of the Church's prophetic role. But it should be made clear that proclamation is always more important than condemnation, and the latter cannot ignore the former, which gives it true solidity and the force of higher motivation.
42. Today more than in the past, the Church's social doctrine must be open to an international outlook, in line with the Second Vatican Council, 73 the most recent Encyclicals, 74 and particularly in line with the Encyclical which we are commemorating. 75 It will not be superfluous therefore to re-examine and further clarify in this light the characteristic themes and guidelines dealt with by the Magisterium in recent years.
Here I would like to indicate one of them: the option or love of preference for the poor. This is an option, or a special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions to be made concerning the ownership and use of goods.
Today, furthermore, given the worldwide dimension which the social question has assumed, 76 this love of the preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care and, above all, those without hope of a better future. It is impossible not to take account of the existence of these realities. To ignore them would mean becoming like the "rich man" who pretended not to know the beggar Lazarus lying it his gate (cf. Lk 16:19-31). 77
Our daily life as well as our decisions in the political and economic fields must be marked by these realities. Likewise the leaders of nations and the heads of International Bodies, while they are obliged always to keep in mind the true human dimension as a priority in their development plans, should not forget to give precedence to the phenomenon of growing poverty. Unfortunately, instead of becoming fewer the poor are becoming more numerous, not only in less developed countries but--and this seems no less scandalous--in the more developed ones too. It is necessary to state once more the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine: the goods of this world are originally meant for all. 78 The right to private property is valid and necessary, but it does not nullify the value of this principle. Private property, in fact, is under a "social mortgage", 79 which means that it has an intrinsically social function, based upon and justified precisely by the principle of the universal destination of goods. Likewise, in this concern for the poor, one must not overlook that special form of poverty which consists in being deprived of fundamental human rights, in particular the right to religious freedom and also the right to freedom of economic initiative.
43. The motivating concern for the poor--who are, in the very meaningful term, "the Lord's poor" 80 --must be translated at all levels into concrete actions, until it decisively attains a series of necessary reforms. will show what reforms are most urgent and how they can be achieved. But those demanded by the situation of international imbalance, as already described, must not be forgotten.
In this respect I wish to mention specifically: the reform of the international trade system, which is mortgaged to protectionism and increasing bilateralism; the reform of the world monetary and financial system, today recognized as inadequate; the question of technological exchanges and their proper use; the need for a review of the structure of the existing International Organizations, in the framework of an international juridical order.
The international trade system today frequently discriminates against the products of the young industries of the developing countries and discourages the producers of raw materials. There exists, too, a kind of international division of labor, whereby the low-cost products of certain countries which lack effective labor laws or which are too weak to apply them are sold in other parts of the world at considerable profit for the companies engaged in this form of production, which knows no frontiers.
The world monetary and financial system is marked by an excessive fluctuation of exchange rates and interest rates, to the detriment of the balance of payments and the debt situation of the poorer countries.
Forms of technology and their transfer constitute today one of the major problems of international exchange and of the grave damage deriving therefrom. There are quite frequent cases of developing countries being denied needed forms of technology or sent useless ones.
In the opinion of many, the International Organizations seem to be at a stage of their existence when their operating methods, operating costs and effectiveness need careful review and possible correction. Obviously, such a delicate process cannot be put into effect without the collaboration of all. This presupposes the overcoming of political rivalries and the renouncing of all desire to manipulate these Organizations, which exist solely for the common good.
The existing Institutions and Organizations have worked well for the benefit of peoples. Nevertheless, humanity today is in a new and more difficult phase of its genuine development. It needs a greater degree of international ordering, at the service of the societies, economies and cultures of the whole world.
44. Development demands above all a spirit of initiative on the part of the countries which need it. 81 Each of them must act in accordance with its own responsibilities, not expecting everything from the more favored countries, and acting in collaboration with others in the same situation. Each must discover and use to the best advantage its own area of freedom. Each must make itself capable of initiatives responding to its own needs as a society. Each must likewise realize its true needs as well as the rights and duties which oblige it to respond to them. The development of peoples begins and is most appropriately accomplished in the dedication of each people to its own development, in collaboration with others.
It is important then that as far as possible the developing nations themselves should favor the self-affirmation of each citizen, through access to a wider culture and a free flow of information. Whatever promotes literacy and the basic education which completes and deepens it is a direct contribution to true development, as the Encyclical Populorum Progressio proposed. 82 These goals are still far from being reached in so many parts of the world.
In order to take this path, the nations themselves will have to identify their own priorities and clearly recognize their own needs, according to the particular conditions of their people, their geographical settling and their cultural traditions.
Some nations will have to increase food production, in order to have always available what is needed for subsistence and daily life. In the modern world where starvation claims so many victims, especially among the very young there are examples of not particularly developed nations which have nevertheless achieved the goal of food self-sufficiency and have even become food exporters.
Other nations need to reform certain unjust structures, and in particular their political institutions, in order to replace corrupt, dictatorial and authoritarian forms of government by democratic and participatory ones. This is a process which we hope will spread and grow stronger. For the "health" of a political community as expressed in the free and responsible participation of all citizens in public affairs, in the rule of law and in respect for and promotion of human rights is the necessary condition and sure guarantee of the development of "the whole individual and of all people".
45. None of what has been said can be achieved without the collaboration of all especially the international community in the framework of a solidarity which includes everyone, beginning with the most neglected. But the developing nations themselves have the duty to practice solidarity among themselves and with the neediest countries of the world.
It is desirable, for example, that nations of the same geographical area should establish forms of cooperation which will make them less dependent on more powerful producers; they should open their frontiers to the products of the area; they should examine how their products might complement one another; they should combine in order to set up those services which each one separately is incapable of providing; they should extend cooperation to the monetary and financial sector.
Interdependence is already a reality in many of these countries. To acknowledge it, in such a way as to make it more operative, represents an alternative to excessive dependence on richer and more powerful nations, as part of the hoped for development, without opposing anyone, but discovering and making best use of the country's own potential. The developing countries belonging to one geographical area, especially those included in the term "South", can and ought to set up new regional organizations inspired by criteria of equality, freedom and participation in the comity of nations as is already happening with promising results.
An essential condition for global solidarity is autonomy and free self-determination, also within associations such as those indicated. But at the same time solidarity demands a readiness to accept the sacrifices necessary for the good of the whole world community.
46. Peoples and individuals aspire to be free: their search for full development signals their desire to overcome the many obstacles preventing them from enjoying a "more human life".
Recently, in the period following the publication of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, a new way of confronting the problems of poverty and underdevelopment has spread in some areas of the world, especially in Latin America. This approach makes liberation the fundamental category and the first principle of action. The positive values, as well as the deviations and risks of deviation, which are damaging to the faith and are connected with this form of theological reflection and method, have been appropriately pointed out by the Church's Magisterium. 83
It is fitting to add that the aspiration to freedom from all forms of slavery affecting the individual and society is something noble and legitimate. This in fact is the purpose of development, or rather liberation and development, taking into account the intimate connection between the two.
Development which is merely economic is incapable of setting man free; on the contrary, it will end by enslaving him further. Development that does not include the cultural, transcendent and religious dimensions of man and society, to the extent that it does not recognize the existence of such dimensions and does not endeavor to direct its goals and priorities towards the same, is even less conducive to authentic liberation. Human beings are totally free only when they are completely themselves, in the fullness of their rights and duties. The same can be said about society as a whole.
The principal obstacle to be overcome on the way to authentic liberation is sin and the structures produced by sin as it multiplies and spreads. 84
The freedom with which Christ has set us free (cf. Gal 5:1) encourages us to become the servants of all. Thus the process of development and liberation takes concrete shape in the exercise of solidarity, that is to say in the love and service of neighbor, especially of the poorest: "For where truth and love are missing, the process of liberation results in the death of a freedom which will have lost all support". 85
47. In the context of the sad experiences of recent years and of the mainly negative picture of the present moment, the Church must strongly affirm the possibility of overcoming the obstacles which, by excess or by defect, stand in the way of development. And she must affirm her confidence in a true liberation. Ultimately, this confidence and this possibility are based on the Church's awareness of the divine promise guaranteeing that our present history does not remain closed in upon itself but is open to the Kingdom of God.
The Church has confidence also in man, though she knows the evil of which he is capable. For she well knows that in spite of the heritage of sin, and the sin which each one is capable of committing there exist in the human person sufficient qualities and energies, a fundamental "goodness" (cf. Gen 1:31), because he is the image of the creator, placed under the redemptive influence of Christ, who "united himself in some fashion with every man", 86 and because the efficacious "fills the earth" (Wis 1:7).
There is no justification then for despair or pessimism or inertia. Though it be with sorrow, it must be said that just as one may sin through selfishness and the desire for excessive profit and power, one may also be found wanting with regard to the urgent needs of multitudes of human beings submerged in conditions of underdevelopment, through fear, indecision and, basically, through cowardice. We are all called, indeed obliged, to face the tremendous challenge of the last decade of the second Millennium, also because the present dangers threaten everyone: a world economic crisis, a war without frontiers, without winners or losers. In the face of such a threat, the distinction between rich individuals and countries and poor individuals and countries will have little value, except that a greater responsibility rests on those who have more and can do more.
This is not however the sole motive or even the most important one. At stake is the dignity of the human person, whose defense and promotion have been entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are strictly and responsibly in debt. As many people are already more or less clearly aware, the present situation does not seem to correspond to this dignity. Every individual is called upon to play his or her part in this peaceful campaign, a campaign to be conducted by peaceful means, in order to secure development in peace, in order to safeguard nature itself and the world about us. The Church too feels profoundly involved in this enterprise, and she hopes for its ultimate success.
Consequently, following the example of Pope Paul VI with his Encyclical Populorum Progressio, 87 I wish to appeal with simplicity and humility to everyone, to all men and women without exception. I wish to ask them to be convinced of the seriousness of the present moment and of each one's individual responsibility, and to implement by the way they live as individuals and as families, by the use of their resources, by their civic activity, by contributing to economic and political decisions and by personal commitment to national and international undertakings--the measures inspired by solidarity and love of preference for the poor. This is what is demanded by the present moment and above all by the very dignity of the human person, the indestructible image of God the Creator, which is identical in each one of us.
In this commitment, the sons and daughters of the Church must serve as examples and guides, for they are called upon, in conformity with the program announced by Jesus himself in the synagogue at Nazareth, to "preach good news to the poor... to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Lk 4:18-19). It is appropriate to emphasize the preeminent role that belongs to the laity, both men and women, as was reaffirmed in the recent Assembly of the Synod. It is their task to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice.
I wish to address especially those who, through the Sacrament of Baptism and the profession of the same Creed, share a real, though imperfect, communion with us. I am certain that the concern expressed in this Encyclical as well as the motives inspiring it will be familiar to them, for these motives are inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can find here a new invitation to bear witness together to our common convictions concerning the dignity of man, created by God, redeemed by Christ, made holy by the Spirit and called upon in this world to live a life in conformity with this dignity.
I likewise address this appeal to the Jewish people, who share with us the inheritance of Abraham, "our father in faith" (cf. Rm 4:11 f.) 88 and the tradition of the Old Testament, as well as to the Muslims who, like us, believe in the just and merciful God. And I extend it to all the followers of the world's great religions.
The meeting held on 27 October last in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis, in order to pray for and commit ourselves to peace---each one in fidelity to his own religious profession showed how much peace and, as its necessary condition, the development of the whole person and of all peoples, are also a matter of religion, and how the full achievement of both the one and the other depends on our fidelity to our vocation as men and women of faith. For it depends, above all, on God.
48. The Church well knows that no temporal achievement is to be identified with the Kingdom of God, but that all such achievements simply reflect and in a sense anticipate the glory of the Kingdom, the Kingdom which we await at the end of history, when the Lord will come again. But that expectation can never be an excuse for lack of concern for people in their concrete personal situations and in their social, national and international life, since the former is conditioned by the latter, especially today.
However imperfect and temporary are all the things that can and ought to be done through the combined efforts of everyone and through divine grace, at a given moment of history, in order to make people's lives "more human", nothing will be lost or will have been in vain. This is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in an enlightening passage of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes: "When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise human dignity, fraternal communion, and freedom according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will end them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illumined and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom... here on earth that kingdom is already present in mystery". 89
The Kingdom of God becomes present above all in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the Lord's Sacrifice. In that celebration the fruits of the earth and the work of human hands the bread and wine are transformed mysteriously, but really and substantially, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of the minister, into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, through whom the Kingdom of the Father has been made present in our midst.
The goods of this world and the work of our hands the bread and wine serve for the coming of the definitive Kingdom, since the Lord, through his Spirit, takes them up into himself in order to offer himself to the Father and to offer us with himself in the renewal of his one Sacrifice, which anticipates God's Kingdom and proclaims its final coming.
Thus the Lord unites us with himself through the Eucharist Sacrament and Sacrifice and he unites us with himself and with one another by a bond stronger than any natural union; and thus united, he sends us into the whole world to bear witness, through faith and works, to God's love, preparing the coming of his Kingdom and anticipating it, though in the obscurity of the present time.
All of us who take part in the Eucharist are called to discover, through this Sacrament, the profound meaning of our actions in the world in favor of development and peace; and to receive from it the strength to commit ourselves ever more generously, following the example of Christ, who in this Sacrament lays down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13). Our personal commitment, like Christ's and in union with his, will not be in vain but certainly fruitful.
49. I have called the current Marian Year in order that the Catholic faithful may look more and more to Mary who goes before us on the pilgrimage of faith 90 and with maternal care intercedes for us before her Son, our Redeemer. I wish to entrust to her and to her intercession this difficult moment of the modern world, and the efforts that are being made and will be made, often with great suffering, in order to contribute to the true development of peoples proclaimed by my predecessor Paul VI.
In keeping with Christian piety through the ages, we present to the Blessed Virgin difficult individual situations, so that she may place them before her Son, asking that he alleviate and change them. But we also present to her social situations and the international crisis itself, in their worrying aspects of poverty, unemployment, shortage of food, the arms race, contempt for human rights, and situations or dangers of conflict, partial or total. In a filial spirit we wish to place all this before her "eyes of mercy", repeating once more with faith and hope the ancient antiphon: "Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin".
Mary most holy, our Mother and Queen, is the one who turns to her Son and says: "They have no more wine" (Jn 2:3). She is also the one who praises God the Father, because "he has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away (Lk 1:52-53). Her maternal concern extends to the personal and social aspects of people's life on earth. 91
Before the Most Blessed Trinity, I entrust to Mary all that I have written in this Encyclical, and I invite all to reflect and actively commit themselves to promoting the true development of peoples, as the prayer of the Mass for this intention states so well: "Father, you have given all peoples one common origin, and your will is to gather them as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of all with the fire of your love, and the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and sisters. By sharing the good things you give us may we secure justice and equality for every human being, an end to all division and a human society built on love and peace". 92
This, in conclusion, is what I ask in the name of all my brothers and sisters, to whom I send a special blessing as a sign of greeting and good wishes.
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 30 December of the year 1987, the tenth of my Pontificate.
Joannes Paulus PP. II
1. LEO XIII, Encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (15 May 1891): Leonis XIII P.M. Acta, XI, Romae 1892, pp. 97-144.
2. PIUS XI, Encyclical "Quadragesimo Anno" (15 May 1931): AAS 23 (1931), pp. 177-228; JOHN XXIII, Encyclical "Mater et Magistra" (15 May 1961): AAS 53 (1961), pp. 401-464; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971): AAS 63 (1971), pp. 401-441; JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical "Laborem Exercens" (14 September 1981): AAS 73 (1981), pp. 577-647. Also PIUS XII delivered a radio message (1 June 1941) for the fiftieth anniversary of the Encyclical of Leo XIII: AAS 33 (1941), pp. 195-205.
3. C. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation "Dei Verbum," 4.
4. PAUL VI, Encyclical "Populorum Progressio" (26 March 1967): AAS 59 (1967), pp. 257-299.
5. Cf. "L'Osservatore Romano," 25 May 1987.
6. Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 72: AAS 79 (1987), p. 586; PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), AAS 63 (1971), pp. 403f.
7. Cf. Encyclical "Redemptoris Mater" (25 March 1987), 3: AAS 79 (1987), pp. 363f.; Homily at the Mass of 1 January 1987: "L'Osservatore Romano," 2 January 1987.
8. The Encyclical "Populorum Progressio" cites the documents of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council nineteen times, and sixteen of the references are the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes."
9. "Gaudium et Spes," 1.
10. Ibid., 4; cf. "Populorum Progressio" 13: loc. cit., p. 263, 264.
11. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 3; "Populorum Progressio," 13: loc. cit., p. 264.
12. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 63; "Populorum Progressio," 9: loc. cit., p. 269.
13. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 69; "Populorum Progressio," 22: loc. cit., p. 269.
14. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 57; "Populorum Progressio," 41: loc. cit., p. 277.
15. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 19; "Populorum Progressio," 22: loc. cit., pp. 277f.
16. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 86; "Populorum Progressio," 48: loc. cit., p. 281.
17. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 69; "Populorum Progressio," 14-21: loc. cit., pp. 264-268.
18. Cf. The Inscriptio of the Encyclical "Populorum Progressio": loc. cit., p. 257.
19. The Encyclical "Rerum Novarum" of Leo XIII has as its principal subject "the condition of the workers": Leonis XIII P.M. Acta, XI, Romae 1892, p. 97.
20. Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 72: AAS 79 (1987), p. 586; PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 4: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 403f.
21. Cf. Encyclical "Mater et Magistra" (15 May 1961): AAS 53 (1961), p. 440.
22. "Gaudium et Spes," 63.
23. Cf. Encyclical "Populorum Progressio," 3: loc. cit., p. 258; cf. also ibid., 9: loc. cit., p. 261.
24. Cf. ibid., 3: loc. cit., p. 258.
25. Ibid., 48: loc. cit., p. 281.
26. Cf. ibid., 14: loc. cit., p. 264: "Development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man".
27. Ibid., 87: loc. cit., p. 299.
28. Cf. ibid., 53: loc. cit., p. 283.
29. Cf. Ibid., 76: loc. cit., p. 295.
30. The decades referred to are the years 1960-1970 and 1970-1980; the present decade is the third (1980-1990).
31. The expression "Fourth World' is used not just occasionally for the so-called less advanced countries, but also and especially for the bands of great or extreme poverty in countries of medium and high income.
32. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 1.
33. Encyclical "Populorum Progressio," 33: loc. cit., p. 273.
34. It should be noted that the Holy See associated itself with the celebration of this International Year with a special Document issued by the Pontifical Commission "Iustitia et Pax" entitled "What Have You Done to Your Homeless Brother?" - The Church and the Housing Problem (27 December 1987),
35. Cf. PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 8-9: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 406-408.
36. A recent United Nations publication entitled World Economic Survey 1987 provides the most recent data (cf. pp. 8-9). The percentage of unemployed in the developed countries with a market economy jumped from 3% of the work force in 1970 to 8% in 1986. It now amounts to 29 million people.
37. Encyclical Letter "Laborem Exercens" (14 September 1981), 18: AAS 73 (1981), pp. 624-625.
38. At the Service of the Human Community: An Ethical Approach to the International Debt Question (27 December 1986).
39. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio", 54: loc. cit., pp. 283f: "Developing countries will thus no longer risk being overwhelmed by debts whose repayment swallows up the greater part of their gains. Rates of interest and time for repayment of the loan could be so arranged as not to be too great a a burden on either party, taking into account free gifts, interest-free or low-interest loans, and the time needed for liquidating the debts".
40. Cf. "Presentation" of the document At the Service of the Human Community: An Ethical Approach to the International Debt Question (27 December 1986),
41. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 53; loc. cit., p. 283.
42. At the Service of the Human Community: An Ethical Approach to the International Debt Question (27 December 1986), III, 2, 1.
43. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 20-21: loc. cit., pp. 267f.
44. Address at Drogheda, Ireland (29 September 1979), 5: AAS 71 (1979), II, p. 1079.
45. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 37: loc. cit., pp. 275ff.
46. Cf. Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" (22 November 1981), especially in 30: AAS 74 (1982), pp. 115-117.
47. Cf. Human Rights. Collection of International Instruments, United Nations, New York 1983; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter "Redemptor Hominis" (4 March 1979), 17: AAS 71 (1979), p. 296.
48. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 78; PAUL VI, Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 76: loc. cit., pp. 294f.: "To wage war on misery and to struggle against injustice is to promote, along with improved conditions, the human and spiritual progress of all men, and therefore the common good of humanity ... peace is something that is built up day after day, in the pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among men".
49. Cf. Apostolic Exhortation "Familiaris Consortio" (22 November 1981), 6: AAS 74 (1982), p. 88: "...history is not simply a fixed progression towards what is better, but rather an event of freedom, and even a struggle between freedoms..."
50. For this reason the word "development" was used in the Encyclical rather than the word "progress", but with an attempt to give the word "development" its fullest meaning.
51. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 19, loc. cit., pp. 266f.: "Increased possession is not the ultimate goal of nations or of individuals. All growth is ambivalent... The exclusive pursuit of possessions thus becomes an obstacle to individual fulfilment and to man's true greatness... both for nations and for individual men, avarice is the most evident form of moral underdevelopment"; cf. also PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 9: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 407f.
52. Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes", 35: PAUL VI, Address to the Diplomatic Corps (7 January 1965): AAS 57 (1965), p. 232.
53. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 20-21: loc. cit., pp. 267f.
54. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Laborem Exercens" (14 September 1981), 4: AAS 73 (1981), pp. 584f.; PAUL VI, Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 15: loc. cit., p. 265.
55. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 42: loc. cit., p. 278.
56. Cf. Praeconium Paschale, "Missale Romanum," ed. typ. altera, 1975, p. 272: "O certe necessarium Adae peccatum, quod Christi morte deletum est! O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meriut habere Redemptorem!".
57. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 1.
58. Cf. for example, St. Basil the Great, "Regulae fusius tractatae, interrogatio XXXVII," 1-2: PG 31, 1009-1012; Theodoret of Cyr, "De Providentia, Oratio VII": PG 83, 665-686; St. Augustine, "De Civitate Dei, XIX", 17: CCL 48, 683-685.
59. Cf. for example. St. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, "In Evang. S. Matthaei," hom. 50, 3-4: PG 58, 508-510; St. Ambrose, "De Officiis Ministrorum," lib. II, XXVIII, 136-140: PL 16, 139-141; St. Possidius, "Vita S. Augustini Episcopi," XXIV: PL 32, 53f.
60. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 23: loc. cit., p. 268: "'If someone who has the riches of this world sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?' (1 Jn 3:17). It is well known how strong were the words used by the Fathers of the Church to describe the proper attitude of persons who possess anything towards persons in need". In the previous number, the Pope had cited No. 69 of the Pastoral Constitution "Gaudium et Spes" of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
61. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 47: "...a world where freedom is not an empty word and where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table with the rich man".
62. Cf. ibid., 47: "It is a question, rather, of building a world where every man, no matter what his race, religion or nationality, can live a fully human life, freed from servitude imposed on him by other men..."; cf. also SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 29. Such fundamental equality is one of the basic reasons why the Church has always been opposed to every form of racism.
63. Cf. Homily at Val Visdende (12 July 1987, 5: "L'Osservatore Romano," 13-14 July 1987; PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 21: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 416f.
64. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, "Gaudium et Spes," 25.
65. Apostolic Exhortation "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia" (2 December 1984), 16: "Whenever the Church speaks of situations of sin, or when she condemns as social sins certain situations or the collective behavior of certain social groups, big or small, or even of whole nations and blocs of nations, she knows and she proclaims that such cases of social sin are the result of the accumulation and concentration of many personal sins. It is a case of the very personal sins of those who cause or support evil or who exploit it; of those who are in a position to avoid, eliminate or at least limit certain social evils but who fail to do so out of laziness, fear or the conspiracy of silence, through secret complicity or indifference; of those who take refuge in the supposed impossibility of changing the world, and also of those who sidestep the effort and sacrifice required, producing specious reasons of a higher order. The real responsibility, then, lies with individuals. A situation--or likewise an institution, a structure, society itself--is not in itself the subject of moral acts. Hence a situation cannot in itself be good or bad": AAS 77 (1985), p. 217.
66. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 42: loc. cit., p. 278.
67. Cf. "Liturgia Horarum, Feria III Hebdomadae IIIae Temporis per annum," Preces ad Vesperas.
68. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 87: loc. cit., p. 299.
69. Cf. ibid., 13; 81: loc. cit., pp. 263f.; 296f.
70. Cf. ibid., 13: loc. cit., p. 263.
71. Cf. Address at the Opening of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Bishops ( 28 January 1979): AAS 71 (1979), pp. 189-196.
72. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 72: AAS 79 (1987) p. 586; PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 4: AAS 63 (1971) pp. 403f.
73. Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," Part II, Ch. V, Section 2: "Building up the International Community", 83-90.
74. Cf. JOHN XXXIII, Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra" (15 May 1961): AAS 53 (1961), p. 440; Encyclical Letter "Pacem in Terri"s (11 April 1963), Part IV: AAS 55 (1963) pp. 291-296; PAUL VI, Apostolic Letter "Octogesima Adveniens" (14 May 1971), 2-4: AAS 63 (1971), pp. 402-404.
75. Cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 3; 9: loc. cit., pp. 258; 261.
76. Ibid., 3: loc. cit., p. 258.
77. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 47: loc. cit., p. 280; CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 68: AAS 79 (1987) pp. 583f.
78. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 69, PAUL VI, Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 22: loc. cit., p. 268; CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 90: AAS 79 (1987), p. 594; ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, "Summa Theol." IIa IIae, q. 66, art. 2.
79. Cf. Address at the Opening of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Bishops (28 January 1979): AAS 71 (1979), pp. 189-196; "Ad limina" Address to a group of Polish Bishops, (17 December 1987), 6: "L'Osservatore Romano," 18 December 1987.
80. Because the Lord wished to identify himself with them (Mt 25:31-46) and takes special care of them (cf. Ps 12 11 : 6; Lk 1:52f.).
81. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 55: loc. cit., p. 284: "these are the men and women that need to be helped, that need to be convinced to take into their own hands their development, gradually acquiring the means"; cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 86.
82. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 35: loc. cit., p. 274: "Basic education is the first objective of a plan of development".
83. Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Certain Aspects of the "Theology of Liberation" "Libertatis Conscientia" (6 August 1984), Introduction: AAS 76 (1984), pp. 876f.
84. Cf. Apostolic Exhortation "Reconciliatio et Paenitenti"a (2 December 1984), 16: AAS 77 (1985), pp. 213-217; CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 38; 42: AAS 79 (1987), pp. 569; 571.
85. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Libertatis Conscientia" (22 March 1986), 24: AAS 79 (1987), p. 564.
86. Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes", 22; JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter "Redemptor Hominis" (4 March 1979), 8: AAS 71 (1979), p. 272.
87. Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio," 5: loc. cit., p. 259: "We believe that all men of good will, together with our Catholic sons and daughters and our Christian brethren, can and should agree on this programme"; cf. also 81-83, 87: loc. cit., pp. 296-298; 299.
88. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, "Nostra Aetate," 4.
89. Gaudium et Spes, 39.
90. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 58; JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter "Redemptoris Mater" (25 March 1987), 5-6: AAS 79 (1987), pp. 365-367.
91. Cf. PAUL VI, Apostolic Exhortation "Marialis Cultus" (2 February 1974), 37: AAS 66 (1974), pp. 148f.; JOHN PAUL II, Homily at the Shrine of the Our Lady of Zapopan, Mexico (30 January 1979), 4: AAS 71 (1979), p. 230.
92. Collect of the Mass "For the Development of Peoples": "Missale Romanum," ed. typ. altera, 1975, p. 820.
This item 4246 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org | <urn:uuid:946a4cd8-aa77-4d50-a337-827f55b7c3bc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=4246 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.954039 | 29,086 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Boulle marquetry, named after Andre Charles Boulle (of German parents but active in France during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries), is made from brass and turtle shell. It is cut from a ‘packet’ comprising two sheets of brass interleaved with two sheets of turtle shell and taped together with a paper pattern of the design on top. Many hours of sawing the shapes using a fine bladed fretsaw are involved to produce the marquetry panels. The ‘waste’ brass from one sheet is removed and replaced by the turtle shell pieces which exactly match the shape of the apertures formed. The ‘waste’ brass from the first sheet is then combined with the corresponding shell ‘waste’ from the second sheet of turtle shell. Thus from one ‘packet’ of two brass and two turtle shell sheets two marquetry panels are created, one with turtle shell inlaid within a brass ground and the other with brass inlaid within a shell ground. These are known as ‘premiere partie’ and ‘contra partie’ respectively. Thus after many hours of cutting and subsequent assembly two pieces of boulle furniture were produced, the ‘contra partie’ version being less popular and usually selling for less than the ‘premiere partie’ example. In the ‘premiere partie’ example of this article it can be seen that the turtle shell appears to be red in colour. This is because it is mounted on red pigmented paper which is visible through the translucent turtle shell. In the nineteenth century additional colours were used as a background and I have seen examples where green and blue pigments have been used instead of red.
And so to the title of this article, what is the ‘trouble with Boulle work’? From the outset it is very difficult to glue brass to timber. The workshop diaries of Andre Charles Boulle refer to examples of his work being returned within a matter of only months because the brass had become unstuck. During preparation the back of the brass would be scored to provide a ‘key’ for the glue, and then cleaned and rubbed with Garlic to aid adhesion before the glue was applied. The French found that the best glue for the purpose was fish glue made from the swim bladder of the sturgeon fish. Today it is not uncommon to find that brass has become loose and is either missing or has become torn or bent. Similarly the turtle shell may have become loose and may even have been lost. Aside from the deterioration of the adhesive the shrinkage of the timber substrate is a further cause of the lifting, damage to, and loss of brass and turtle shell. This shrinkage of the timber substrate may also mean that some pieces of brass have to be trimmed to fit the now smaller aperture.
In the example in question some brass inlay had lifted and become distorted through being caught by clothing and dusting etc. There were some small pieces of turtle shell missing and many that had become loose. Fortunately all the pieces of brass were present. I say ‘fortunately’ because cutting brass marquetry is a thoroughly tedious task in which the very fine jewellers saw blades seem to break with alarming frequency. Consequently I tend to refer pieces that require a lot of replacement brass cutting to a specialist Boulle practitioner!
A number of pieces of damaged brass were removed and then carefully hammered flat using the appropriate tools. One piece had to be shortened by around 0.5mm using a file. The remains of the original glue was softened and removed from the back of the brass and from the mating aperture on the cabinet. As per the historic practise the back of the brass was rubbed with a cut garlic clove and fish glue applied before the piece was inserted into position and cramped into place.
A couple of small pieces of turtle shell had been lost over time. The client asked if something could be done to blend-in the small voids rather than go to the expense of cutting new pieces of shell marquetry. The use of turtle shell is bound by the rules of the multilateral CITES treaty (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) which since its enforcement in 1975 bans the use of the shell of the Green turtle traditionally used in Boulle work. Unless a verifiable source of ‘antique’ shell is available, commercially available synthetic substitutes must be used. In this particular case the voids were very small (less than a thumbnail in size) and a very convincing and economical solution was achieved by mixing coloured waxes and pressing them into the voids before smoothing the surface to match. | <urn:uuid:363bc346-e6b1-4e5e-8d1d-10e4eee7389f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.dovetailrestoration.co.uk/2014/10/the-trouble-with-boulle-work/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.973478 | 975 | 3.25 | 3 |
Posted: 06/10/08 09:01 AM
Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Awarded Contract to Develop Advanced Hybrid Vehicle Powertrains for IISI's Future Steel Vehicle Program with EDAG
IRVINE, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. announced that it was awarded a contract by EDAG Engineering + Design AG (EDAG) to develop advanced hybrid vehicle powertrains for the Future Steel Vehicle program sponsored by WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI).
Under this contract, Quantum will design, analyze, and develop hybrid vehicle powertrain architectures, i.e., advanced plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles. Quantum will work with their partner, Advanced Lithium Power Inc. (ALP), to develop the advanced lithium-ion battery system and controls for each of the vehicle architectures.
Future Steel Vehicle will develop lightweight steel auto body concepts that address alternative powertrains, such as advanced hybrid, electric, and fuel cell systems. The goal of the research is the demonstration of safe, structurally efficient steel bodies for future vehicles that reduce GHG (green house gas) emissions over the entire life cycle, it demonstrates steel as the material of choice for alternative fuel architectures and positions the steel industry as a key resource for cost-effective structures and opportunities for packaging of alternative propulsion systems. EDAG, with expertise in product and manufacturing engineering using Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) for automotive sheet metal structures, as well as body and closure design, was awarded the program by IISI. EDAG, headquartered in Fulda, Germany, is the world's largest independent engineering development partner to the international mobility industry. Quantum is a member of EDAG's winning team and will develop the alternative powertrain systems for the Future Steel Vehicle project.
"Demand for Quantum's innovative hybrid electric powertrain designs and experience in taking alternative propulsion system concepts into production continues to grow worldwide. We look forward to working with EDAG and IISI-WorldAutoSteel on this exciting integration of advanced lightweight vehicle structures with our advanced hybrid powertrains," said Alan P. Niedzwiecki, President and CEO of Quantum. "With oil prices above $130.00 a barrel and the national average of a gallon of gas exceeding $4.00 a gallon, there is growing demand worldwide for energy efficient transportation. IISI's vision for the development of a Future Steel Vehicle clearly addresses this need."
Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., a fully integrated alternative energy company, is a leader in the development and production of advanced propulsion systems, energy storage technologies, and alternative fuel vehicles. Quantum's portfolio of technologies includes advanced lithium-ion battery systems, electronic controls, hybrid electric drive systems, hydrogen storage and metering systems, and alternative fuel technologies that enable fuel efficient, low emission hybrid, plug-in hybrid electric, fuel cell, and alternative fuel vehicles. Quantum's powertrain engineering, system integration, vehicle manufacturing, and assembly capabilities provide fast-to-market solutions to support the production of hybrid and plug-in hybrid, hydrogen-powered hybrid, fuel cell, alternative fuel, and specialty vehicles, as well as modular, transportable hydrogen refueling stations. Quantum's customer base includes automotive OEMs, dealer networks, fleets, aerospace industry, military and other government entities, and other strategic alliance partners.
Quantum has also formed a new company with Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, which is called Fisker Automotive, Inc. Fisker Automotive will offer a range of environmentally friendly premium cars, incorporating Quantum's proprietary high-performance plug-in-hybrid electric vehicle architecture, known as "Q-Drive," into a unique chassis that will enable optimizing the performance and vehicle dynamics.
More information can be found about Quantum's products and services at http://www.qtww.com/.
Source: Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. | <urn:uuid:73de101b-e5e3-482d-9d8b-84e55790d81e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://forums.trucktrend.com/truck-trend/70/6780139/off-topic-automotive/quantum-fuel-systems-hybrid-vehicle-powertrains-gets-more-praise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00162-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912177 | 821 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Across the nation, universities are announcing their 2010 Common Reading selection. Many of them have selected The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. Gallaudet University is no exception. Skloot's book has made its way into national and local papers, has become a best seller, and has library patrons waiting in haste!
At Gallaudet University, on February 24, 2010 as part of her national book tour, Skloot recounted the story of the late Henrietta Lacks, a woman scientists are familiar with based only on her cells since they were the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture. The visit was an emotional one for the author, who learned that in the 1950s, Gallaudet housed a school for black deaf students. Henrietta Lacks's children, some of whom were deaf and hard of hearing, lived in Baltimore during that time, yet the family was never aware of the school or a similar one in Baltimore. Instead, the children barely learned how to read and write after attending public schools that never accommodated their needs.
Gallaudet University's Denison House, a new student housing project that places a faculty member and graduate student with undergraduate students, will use The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as the centerpiece of its bioethics theme during the coming year.
While this isn't a traditional selection for my blog, it's a fascinating story that involves deaf individuals. I will post more about this during the year once the author visits campus.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Crown; 1 edition edition (February 2, 2010) | <urn:uuid:24f65119-6cd9-4001-9369-df50c4a7fe35> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://pajka.blogspot.com/2010/05/immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-by.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00543-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972305 | 343 | 1.960938 | 2 |
History of the toque (beanie)
We know the the elegant & sophisticated Beardo is the premier beanie of today.
Ever wonder how the beanie (toque for you Canadians out there) got started?
The beanie was working apparel associated with blue collar laborers, including welders, mechanics, and other tradesmen who needed to keep their hair back, but for whom a brim would be an unnecessary obstruction. Beanies do sometimes have a very small brim, less than an inch deep, around the brow front. The baseball cap evolved from this kind of beanie, with the addition of a visor to block the sun.
By the mid-1940s, beanies fell out of general popularity as a hat, in favour of cotton visored caps like the baseball cap. However, in the 1950s and possibly beyond, they were worn by college freshmen and various fraternity initiates as a form of mild hazing. For example, Lehigh University required freshmen to wear beanies, or "dinks," and other colleges including Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Rutgers, Westminster College and others may have had similar practices. Benedictine College, in Kansas still carries this tradition for the first week of a freshman's classes, and is said to be the only college in the US to maintain this tradition. Wilsons College continues this tradition today as a part of its Odd/Even class year "rivalry."
Does your school have any quirky or beardy traditions???? | <urn:uuid:e78a1292-b633-4247-9e34-a2e273899a32> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.beardowear.com/blogs/news/14883749-history-of-the-toque-beanie | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00078-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964743 | 304 | 2.625 | 3 |
There is an intimate association between mineral and bone disorders in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the extensive burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in this population. High phosphate levels in CKD have been associated with increased all-cause mortality and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Observational studies have also shown a consistent relationship between serum phosphate in the normal range and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and decline in renal function. Furthermore, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), a phosphaturic hormone, increases very early in the course of CKD and is strongly associated with death and CVD, including LVH and vascular calcification. Few studies have addressed outcomes using interventions to reduce serum phosphate in a randomized controlled fashion; however, strategies to address cardiovascular risk in early CKD are imperative and phosphate is a potential therapeutic target. This review outlines the epidemiological and experimental evidence highlighting the relationship between excess phosphate and adverse outcomes, and discusses clinical studies required to address this problem.
© 2012 The Authors. Nephrology © 2012 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology. | <urn:uuid:ec9cab38-f498-49d8-b368-877f6352f82f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22574672/?dopt=Abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.927494 | 228 | 2.171875 | 2 |
4x4 Truck Trail Protection Exo Cage Rollcage - Exo-Llent Protection!Posted in How To: Body Chassis on June 1, 2008 0) (
Average folks must think we're nuts when they see our rigs go whizzing by completely covered in steel tubing. Who can blame them? It takes a hard-core wheeler to really appreciate the beauty of a vehicle wrapped in steel tubing. So if you're new to wheeling and just don't get all the steel stuff, let us explain the basics of rollcages and exo-cages to you.
In the most basic of explanations, a rollcage is a protective steel frame of tubing built inside the vehicle to protect its occupants in the event of a rollover or accident. Rollcages are readily available from aftermarket manufacturers and off-road fabricators, but they will likely be called something else for liability reasons, such as sport cages or trail cages. However, even under a different name, many offer protection and safety.
There aren't too many manufacturers that sell exo-cages or kits. Exo-cages, which are built on the outside of the vehicle, are mostly one-off custom builds from specialty off-road shops. To the best of our knowledge, the only vehicles ever fitted with factory exo-cages are the Defender series built by Land Rover. Exo-cages offer some passenger safety but are generally added to a vehicle for body protection. They also work very well on tall or longer-wheelbase vehicles. The theory is that the longer the vehicle, the smaller the turning radius. The taller the vehicle, the more it will lean into obstacles, hence the need for additional body protection in tight spaces like narrow canyons.
If you are going to build or add a fully functional rollcage or exo-cage to your vehicle, you will be adding hundreds of pounds of weight and rolling resistance. A full interior rollcage with the addition of an exo-cage can add 200 to 500 pounds. Be prepared for a dramatic drop in fuel economy and performance. Also, keep in mind that the additional weight may take its toll on your suspension, requiring different spring rates, new shocks, or the revalving of your shocks.
The two types of steel used for rollcages and exo-cages are 4130 chromoly and DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel tubing. Welded-seamed tubing is not recommended. Tubing sizes will range anywhere from 1 to 2 inches. Chromoly is a high-strength alloy steel that contains chromium and molybdenum. It's a misconception that chromoly is lighter than DOM. Since it is stronger, smaller diameters of chromoly can be used. For example; 0.090-inch-wall chromoly has about the same strength as 0.120-inch-wall DOM tubing. When chromoly is welded, great care should be taken, otherwise it can become cracked and brittle. If you haven't welded chromoly before, consult a professional before attempting to build a cage that is there to potentially save your life. DOM steel tubing is a lot easier to work with than chromoly and is about half the price. A cage built with DOM tubing-properly welded, gusseted, and constructed-should be safe and strong enough for any four-wheel build. Quickly quenching chromoly or DOM steel can cause cracking and lamellar tearing. Both metals should be allowed to air-cool. Chromoly tubing thicker than 0.120-wall inch should be heat-treated after welding.
We have seen some pretty cool rollcages manufactured and custom built over the years. We like to think of a good rollcage builder as a fine artisan. Whether you are buying a cage or building your own, we highly recommend you do your research and choose wisely. | <urn:uuid:d21199c2-e9d1-4811-adfc-ecdc084e2964> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/body-chassis/131-0806-4x4-truck-protection-exo-cage-rollcage/ | 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 | 0.946188 | 808 | 1.640625 | 2 |
282 Undoubtedly the "shame which brings sin" includes that which induces people to make promises to friends, promises which cannot be kept. Thus, a person may make an enemy of a friend without cause (dwrean, 20:23). On the other
hand, "a man who has lost his sense of shame" may be expected to default on a neighbor's loan (29:14). Without shame (anaidouj) "begging is sweet" (40:30). A sense of
shame is essential to proper etiquette.
The foot of a fool rushes into a house, but a man of experience stands respectfully (aisxunqhsetai) before it. Sirach 21:22
It is no wonder, therefore, that the final petition in the lament of Sirach 22:7-23:6 prays for deliverance from a "shameless soul" (yux^ anaidei). A shameless soul would
expose him to betraying neighborly benefactors, a life of begging, and a host of other hazardous patterns of life.
Such an ambiguous phenomenon as shame requires careful scrutiny. The long didactic poem of Sirach 41:14 through 42:8 seeks to bring some order out of the apparent chaos of human shame. The poem is composed of two parts (41:17-23 and 42:1-8) with an introductory summons to hear (41:14-16). The first major part (41:17-23) lists actions of which one should be ashamed. These include all manner of activities which are classic characteristics of enemies. The second part (42:1-8) lists those patterns of behavior of which one | <urn:uuid:ad95d5b5-df74-4692-83b1-c6694bac2898> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.hitpages.com/doc/4513391347499008/289/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720962.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00385-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921323 | 350 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Source: Aljazeera America
Leak details intellectual property rights deal in Trans-Pacific Partnership under negotiation between US and 10 nations
US President Barack Obama poses for a photograph with Trans-Pacific Partnership leaders.
In its latest document dump, WikiLeaks unearthed what it says is a leaked chapter from secretive trade negotiations under way between the U.S., Japan, and a number of Pacific rim nations. The documents suggest the proposed framework will have far reaching consequences and undermine individual rights worldwide.The anti-privacy organization released what it says is the August version of a section of the negotiating framework concerning intellectual property rights, part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed free trade agreement between the U.S. and ten nations.
The nations covered by the TPP total almost 40 percent of the world’s GDP, over 11 percent of its population and about a quarter of its global trade. The agreement is intended to lower trade barriers between the countries and help negotiate a framework on issues including intellectual property rights.
Though the 95-page document indicates that details between the countries are still being hammered out over intellectual property rights, the issues highlighted would impact Internet freedom, access to pharmaceutical drugs and publishing.
“The U.S. administration is aggressively pushing the TPP through the U.S. legislative process on the sly,” said WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange in a press release.
“If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs,” said Assange.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) , which is the Obama administration’s lead on the TPP negotiations, refused to say whether the leak was authentic.
“We do not comment on the authenticity of documents purported as leaks from a negotiation,” said Carol Guthrie, a USTR spokesperson.
Responding to specific queries about the U.S. positions on issues like intellectual property rights occasioned by the leaked document, Guthrie said that U.S. policy on the TPP is ongoing and that nothing has been agreed.
“The intellectual property negotiation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership discussions has not been completed and a final text has not been agreed to,” said Guthrie. “We are working with Congress, stakeholders, and our TPP negotiating partners to reach an outcome that promotes high-paying jobs in innovative American industries and reflects our values, including by seeking strong and balanced copyright protections, as well as advancing access to medicines while incentivizing the development of new, life-saving drugs.”
But critics say the alleged draft text privileges companies and governments over individual livelihoods.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the global health organization, reacted negatively to the draft text , saying it would complicate global access to vital medicines.
“The leak of the secret text confirms that the U.S. government continues to steamroll its trading partners in the face of steadfast opposition over terms that will severely restrict access to affordable medicines for millions of people. The U.S. is refusing to back down from dangerous provisions that will impede timely access to affordable medicines.”
Meanwhile, Internet freedom groups like Public Knowledge believe that the TPP does not “reflect the rights and interests of the wide variety of stakeholders affected by copyright.” | <urn:uuid:a1c1bc13-4b71-417c-bf11-eb8c989ca45b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/wikileaks-shines-rare-light-onto-us-trade-negotiations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00507-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928725 | 733 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Named parameters are a system that allows you to parameterize your transformations and jobs. On top of the variables system that was already in place prior to the introduction in version 3.2, named parameters offer the setting of a description and a default value. That allows you in turn to list the required parameters for a job or transformation.
You can go to the settings dialog of your transformation or job and there you will find the "Parameters" tab...
Once these parameters are set they are used at runtime. If a value is set, that is used. If no value is set for a parameter, the default is used.
The execution dialog of transformations and jobs allow you to set a value for each named parameter that is defined...
In both Pan and Kitchen you can list the defined parameters:
You can also define parameters during execution like this:
In both the Job and Transformation job entries in a job you can define how parameters are set and/or passed:
As you can see from the screenshot all parameters defined in the parent job are passed down by default. You can also selectively pass parameters down by specifying them in the grid.
You can either set the value of a parameter by giving it a value OR by looking up the value in a Result row from a previous transformation. Simply specify a column name in that case.
You can pass named parameter values to sub-transformations in the 'Parameters' tab of the 'Mapping (execute sub-transformations)' step:
As of PDI 4.2.x (?), the named parameter must be defined in the sub-transformation, otherwise the value set here will be ignored. | <urn:uuid:991c06b3-9772-4b2c-a2f7-33c566ed2e66> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://wiki.pentaho.com/display/EAI/Named+Parameters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00285-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.771514 | 337 | 2 | 2 |
One of the odd things about contributing to OpenStreetMap is that you have no idea who is using the maps and the data. You spend hours, weeks, months, years even building up a wonderfully comprehensive database of geographic features in the area, all because it’s fun, because you believe in the project’s ideals or you need the data for your own project. But does anyone else use it? It would be depressing if the answer was “no”.
So I get cheered every time I see documents like this:
That’s an excerpt from a presentation by Southwark Living Streets. They took the Mayor of London’s transport advisor around Elephant & Castle to show how unfriendly and dangerous the area is for pedestrians, and illustrated the whole thing with OpenStreetMap. The chap who made this loves OSM, he told me he realised how useful it could be when he noticed we had put in all the footpaths through estates, making OSM the only map that reflects the reality for pedestrians in the area.
It was our coverage of footpaths that led to OpenStreetMap being used by parents challenging a school’s decision that they were outside the catchment area.
I also regularly see OSM used by cycling campaigners, for example this presentation on a cycling campaign that’s also about the Elephant & Castle area.
Then there was my collaboration with residents local to the Heygate Estate who wanted to map the trees that under threat from the redevelopment of the estate. That, I’m happy to say, has resulted in many of the mature trees being protected in the new plans.
So we have useful maps, and powerful tools for community campaigns if there’s an OSM expert about to help out.
But as I wrote last year, there’s a whole other world of data we could be adding, especially for groups concerned with streets that are designed for pedestrians and cyclists.
ITO have been beavering away on lots of amazing maps that show off this kind of data. These are two maps showing the “walkable city” on the left (the blue lines show footpaths and pavements broken up by black roads) and speed limits on the right (green is for 20 mph, orange for 30 mph).
Here are a few in an area I’ve done some work on, just to show what’s possible:
With a few tweaks to the Potlatch 2 editor on the OpenStreetMap homepage, anyone could easily add all this metadata to streets. There are presets for speed limits and surfaces, but not – yet – for sidewalks. If we could get them in – here’s the enhancement request – I think all those community campaigners already using screenshots of OpenStreetMap might just get interested in contributing data.
How great would it be if Southwark Living Streets could print out a special “walkable city” map of Elephant & Castle for their next presentation to the Mayor of London’s transport advisor? | <urn:uuid:d981874d-0eb2-44b0-b9ff-9a0556163df4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://tomchance.org/2012/10/04/mapping-for-pedestrians/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.957875 | 625 | 1.804688 | 2 |
We quantitatively evaluated the computerized tomograms (CT) of 148 neurologically intact subjects, aged 28 to 84 years, to examine the effect of normal aging on the integrity of brain mass. Ten parameters were measured in each CT scan as indices for brain volume, including size of lateral, third and fourth ventricles, width of the sylvian and interhemispheric fissures, cortial sulci and the prepontine cistern. Most of these measurements showed that advancing age is associated with progressive loss of brain substance. Data show that the atrophy of brain during normal aging is both cortical and central and is not limited to the older population, but begins at a young age. These normative measurements may serve for comparison with data obtained from CT scans of patients with various neurological disorders.
|Number of pages||4|
|Journal||Israel Journal of Medical Sciences|
|State||Published - 1985| | <urn:uuid:3a95fe0a-7547-4a2c-88cc-774a7a8cf585> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://cris.tau.ac.il/en/publications/progressive-brain-atrophy-during-normal-aging-in-man-a-quantitati | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.905468 | 230 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Phone: 0044 (0)1404 815735
Having achieved considerable success in the Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies prior to the war, winning the Monte Carlo Rally outright in a 4.5 litre Invicta in 1931, Donald Healey was anxious to produce his own car.
During the latter stages of the Second World War, Donald Healey, with a few close friends, put together a few ideas for a new streamlined car. Donald was hoping to develop a reliable and fast light weight sports car for the motoring enthusiast. The new vehicle would be based around an innovative chassis, designed by Barry Bilbie, which was both light and strong. With an extremely reliable and potent pre-war 2.4 litre Riley engine, which subsequently formed the basis for the E.R.A. engine, and independent front suspension and a unique steering mechanism, the new car resulted in an excellent package for competition.
Late in 1946 the first roadster version was produced. It was called the Healey Westland after the manufacturer of the body, Westland Motor Company Limited, who were based in Hereford. Shortly afterwards, and in order to achieve greater top end speed, a saloon body was created by Samuel Elliotts of Reading. The saloon car was called the Healey Elliott and had an all aluminium body to reduce weight.
In the summer of 1947, a Healey Elliott saloon was taken to the Jabekke-Aeltre highway in Belgium and achieved a top speed of 111.87 mph, which was recorded in the Motor. The Healey Elliott was advertised as the fastest production saloon in the World.
Having achieved such an accolade and with Tommy Wisdom, a good journalist friend of his, Donald Healey achieved a class win in a Healey Westland during the 1947 Alpine Rally. Donald then decided to make preparations for an assault on the international motor racing scene the following year.
Around that time, Donald became acquainted with an Australian by the name of Nick Haines, who had been a pilot in the RAF. Nick was already a successful club racer himself and became the Belgian Agent for the Donald Healey Motor Company in the early days. It was felt that the best way to advertise the new cars was to get some competition success.
In April 1948, the factory prepared two vehicles specifically for competition, a Healey Elliott (GWD 42) and a Healey Westland (GWD43) and registered both vehicles at Warwick on 21 April 1948, in readiness for the Mille Miglia a couple of weeks later.
The first Mille Miglia after the war, in 1947, was made up entirely of Italian entries, and so, in an effort to promote the British car industry and unity between the nations after the recent conflict, six Healeys were entered for the fifteenth Mille Miglia in May 1948, of which four were accepted. An official Healey team of three cars, which comprised the two aforementioned factory prepared vehicles and a further Healey Elliott car, previously prepared by the factory for Count Johnny Lorani, who had achieved first in class during the Targa Florio a few weeks earlier. These were the only cars within that year’s event which were not Italian. The factory prepared Healey Elliotts had their sun roofs removed to further lessen the weight of the car.
Being flagged off before the other team members, Nick Haines and Rudolfo Haller, a well known hill climbing champion, departed Brescia in car number 37 the Healey Elliott (GWD 42) and thereby was the first non-Italian car and first British car after the war to take part in the event. Of the 186 cars taking part in the event that year, 61 cars, including the two Healey Elliotts, were competing within the Standard Touring Car Category. The Healey Westland (GWD 43) was driven by Donald Healey, who was partnered by his son Geoffrey Healey, within the Unlimited Sports Car Category.
It had been raining for a few days prior to the race, but the start of the event was under a clear sky. All the Healeys entered proudly displayed the union jack on their bonnets. GWD 42 made a good start. After passing Rome and having travelled around 300 miles strange noises started coming from the rear of the vehicle which turned out to be a broken torque rod. The car was quickly diverted into a local garage where the rod was welded and refitted within 50 minutes. Unfortunately the repair only lasted another 50 or so miles. Not wishing to give up, Nick Haines and Rudolf Haller continued until they reached the Futa Pass just beyond Florence, around two thirds of the distance, when an oil leak in the gearbox and the seizing of the mainshaft, meant the inevitable retirement of GWD 42.
Despite suffering similar torque rod problems in the other Healey Elliott, Count Lurani came home 13th overall, finishing first in the Touring Car Category and achieving a record time. This was the first time that a British car had won the Touring Car Category in the Mille Miglia.
Donald and Geoffrey Healey had an even more eventful race, having struck a dog at 105 mph, but still finished 9th overall. With the likes of motor racing champions Nuvolari, Ascari, Sanesi and Cortese taking part in the event with Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, the achievement of the Healey team was all the more worthy.
To take advantage of the initial success of the Healey cars, Donald Healey, with Nick Haines as navigator, took part in the Alpine Rally with the Healey Westland (GWD 43) at the beginning of July, where they achieved first in class and an Alpine Cup.
Not satisfied with the success achieved in the demanding Mille Miglia Road Race and the Alpine Rally, Donald decided that it would be worthwhile entering a Healey in the Belgian Grand Prix for Sports Cars that year. As the classic Le Mans race had yet to be revived after the war, the Belgian Grand Prix was to be the most prestigious endurance sports car race for 1948.
So in July 1948, GWD 42 was entered in the Belgian 24 hour race at the Spa Francorchamps. GWD 42 was the only Healey entered for the event and thereby became the first Healey to be officially raced on a circuit. Tommy Wisdom, a well known journalist was asked to partner local agent Nick Haines. In view of Count Lurani experiencing some problems with the bonnet lifting during the Mille Miglia earlier in the year, a strap was fitted to GWD 42 as a precaution.
During practice prior to the event, Tommy Wisdom was a little concerned about glare and decided to put a rug on the rear parcel shelf, which is not a well known performance trick. Nick Haines did employ some special Dunlop racing tyres for the event, with the assistance of Dunlop “Mac”, which no doubt helped in the poor weather conditions. The Healey Elliott also experienced overheating but this was easily rectified.
Once again the race was preceded by heavy rain, although at 4pm on the day of the race, the sky cleared to allow a “Le Mans” start with the drivers running across the race track to the 40 cars entered for the event, which included Delage, Delahaye, Talbot, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin, Fraser Nash-BMW and HRG’s. This time the Healey Elliott was entered in the Sports Car Category rather than the Touring Category.
Tommy Wisdom recalled an incident which occurred at the start of the race. “It was a Le Mans start and we, of course, had a right hand drive car and lined up alongside us was an open BMW which had left hand drive. The very pleasant German driver of the BMW came over to me as we stood on the grid and said “Please, you will go first because we cannot both get into the car at the same time because the doors will touch”, I replied “No, please you will go first”. “No,” he answered “you will go first because I have the faster car and I will soon catch you up. That is only fair.”, and so I did go first and he never saw me again. I bet he was hopping mad!”
As the 24 hour endurance race was as much a human trial as a witness of the cars’ capabilities, Tommy Wisdom started the race in a tweed suit and trilby hat with the parcel shelf stuffed with sweets and cigarettes. Apparently Tommy wore the trilby to further protect his eyes from the setting sun. After a gentlemanly start, the competitive spirit took hold and the Heeley Elliott gradually came up in its Category.
Despite the casual approach of Tommy Wisdom, the Healey Elliott left the starting grid in second place just behind an Alta driven by Abecassis.
By around 10am the next morning GWD 42 was seven laps behind its Category leader, a 3.0 Litre Delage. As the last hour of the event approached the Delage pit realised that the Healey Elliott was on the same lap as its car and gaining.
With only half an hour to go, in the forest section of the circuit, the Healey Elliott sped past the Delage and led the Sports Car Category, which resulted in the Delage driver putting his foot to the floor. With smoke pouring from its front end, the Delage regained the lead on the very last lap, much to the dismay of Nick Haines and Tommy Wisdom.
The Healey Elliott finally finished 8th overall and second in its Category. The motoring press was quick to recognise the success of the Healey Elliott in the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and now Spa and looked forward to further success in the remaining events that year.
GWD 42 enjoyed a triumphant return to the Cape Factory at Warwick, and designers and engineers alike, responsible for the preparation of GWD 42 earlier in the year, had photos taken outside Donald Healey’s office as a keepsake to record the achievement at Spa in the face of stiff opposition.
Towards the end of the season GWD 42 was entered in the Paris 12 Hours Race held at the famous Montlhery race circuit, which effectively was the alternative location for the Le Mans circuit. The BRDC entered a British Team, which included GWD 42 and GWD 43 against a French Team.
The Healey Elliott GWD 42 was driven by Nick Haines and well known racing driver Leslie Johnson, who was the managing director of the E.R.A. Company. The race was due to start at 6am, but in view of the difficulties in marshalling the 50 entries for the event, the race did not commence until 7am under clear blue skies.
In an effort to further reduce weight, Nick Haines removed the side lights which were considered to be superfluous for the race. No doubt the headlights were retained to warn slower cars of his presence.
Once again GWD 42 made an impressive start and Leslie Johnson pulled away from the entire field and took the lead as the cars left the start. However, by the end of the first lap, the Healey Elliott had fallen back to eleventh overall.
The Healey Westland driven by Tommy Wisdom and Norman Black retired due to transmission problems with around two hours to go. Whilst lying 9th overall and only 40 minutes remaining as the Team prize was guaranteed for the BRDC, GWD 42 was also withdrawn as the engine was starting to overheat and Leslie Johnson suspected engine problems. It was not thought necessary to flog a game car on to breaking point when the Team match had been won.
As Donald Healey was a good friend of Freddie March, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, the next weekend saw GWD 42 cross the channel for the inaugural Goodwood Meeting in September 1948. Sporting race number 1, GWD 42 took part in the first race of the event which was for non-supercharged closed Sports Cars. The race comprised six Healeys, an HRG and a Pycroft Jaguar.
During practice on the Friday before the main event, GWD 42 was said to be having trouble with tight big ends. However Nick Haines lined up at the back of the grid the following day.
Shortly after the start of the race the Pycroft Jaguar took the lead, which it maintained to the finish. During lap two Nick Haines in GWD 42 overtook the HRG just after Madgewick but then spun off. In an effort to redeem himself Nick Haines carried on and achieved the fastest lap of the race and hence the first lap record for the Goodwood circuit which was subsequently bettered by Stirling Moss in a Cooper in the fifth race of the Meeting about two hours later!
And so the first full International Racing season for Donald Healey came to an end with the Healey Westland and Healey Elliott achieving some commendable results. Nick Haines, the principal driver of GWD 42 throughout the season, went on to race for Aston Martin and then Jaguar with some success and Leslie Johnson and Tommy Wisdom had further notable drives in Healeys in the 1950’s.
On the back of the very successful racing debuts in 1948, not least the success of the Healey Elliott GWD 42, Donald Healey had achieved his ambition to provide a lightweight sports car for the motoring enthusiast. Donald Healey subsequently developed the Healey Silverstone in 1949, the Nash Healey in the early 1950’s and of course the Austin Healey shortly thereafter. The rest, as they say, is history!
The first Healey Elliott was built in 1946. The manufacturer of the body was Sam Elliott & Sons of Reading, England. It was made by hand using an aluminium skin on an ash frame. The side and rear windows were made of perspex to reduce weight. The car had individual leather covered bucket seats in the front and a bench seat in the rear. As petrol was scarce the petrol cap was located inside the boot. The boot could only be opened using a pull switch on the front of the rear seat armrest. It is believed that 13 were built in 1946/47.
The car was tested by 'The Motor' magazine over an extended road test in England and on the continent, and reached 104mph in Italy. Donald Healey used the car to set a number of speed records for saloon cars in 1947. The average two way run over a mile was 110.8mph, with the fastest one way mile at 111.87mph.
The car featured a 2.4 litre 4 cylinder Riley engine of 2443cc with twin SU carburettors. It produced 104bhp and had a 4 speed gearbox. 0 - 60 mph took 14.6 seconds.
Approximately 101 were produced between 1946 and 1950.
The prototype Healey Elliott, the first car designed and built by Donald Healey, has now emerged after 45 years in the same ownership. Chassis 1502, engine B209, is currently undergoing a full rebuild at Classic Restorations in Bedfordshire and is hoped to be finished in time for the 60th anniversary to re-enact its record breaking 'The Motor' road test, when it achieved 104.65 mph on the Milan - Como autostrada.
(Please select the 'Back' button on your browser to return to your previous page) | <urn:uuid:da2ea0ae-6aa6-4701-966a-8ca51ba1c126> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://marqueart.com/marqueart/background_healey_elliott_saloon.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00461-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977656 | 3,218 | 1.765625 | 2 |
One favorite type of antipasti is a spread. Defined literally as one food that is spread on another food product (usually bread or crackers), spreads are specifically designed to add a particular flavor or texture to a dish. The way they are applied, as well as their culinary purpose, distinguishes them from condiments (such as mustard) and dips (such as salsa and chutneys).
Three of the most common and delicious spreads are hummus, baba ghanoush, and pâté.
A staple in Middle Eastern and Arabic food, the word hummus comes from the Arabic word meaning “chickpeas.” The full name in Arabic is ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna, which means “chickpeas with tahini.” The name accurately describes the spread, which is made of mashed chickpeas mixed with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Hummus is most often served with a flatbread (such as pita) and can either be eaten plain or topped with tomato, cucumber, caramelized onions, coriander, olives, pickles, or pine nuts.
Baba Ghanoush is a dish that originates from the eastern Mediterranean region. The Arabic term means “father of coquetry” and it is believed that the original creator of the dish was a member of a harem.
The main ingredient in baba ghanoush is eggplant. Baked or broiled over an open flame to give it a nice smoky flavor, the pulp of the eggplant is then mashed and mixed with olive oil and various seasonings, such as tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, mint, salt, and parsley. Baba ghanoush is most often spread on khubz (a type of flatbread) or pita bread.
Considered a delicacy in many culinary traditions, pâté consists of a mixture of cooked ground meat (most often liver) and fat that is finely minced until it becomes a spreadable paste. The meat and fat can be combined with other ingredients, including spices, herbs, alcohol (most often wine, cognac, brandy, or Armagnac), and vegetables. Pâté is usually served on soft bread, garnished with dill or other fresh herbs. | <urn:uuid:79ce00ca-99b3-400a-a21b-4679944bb729> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pastacheese.com/blog/spreads | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957175 | 502 | 2.515625 | 3 |
by Colin A. Ross, M.D. Twenty-one years ago, in 1979, I did my clinical rotation in psychiatry as a medical student at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. I noticed then that psychiatric inpatients tended to have many different diagnoses. They would be admitted and treated for depression on one occasion, and for a psychotic disorder another time, and often would have numerous admissions. The current diagnosis was always the correct one, but at some point in the future it would become a past incorrect diagnosis. I was most troubled when I saw the diagnosis change several times in a single admission. Not uncommonly, the diagnosis was changed in order to provide a rationale for prescribing a new medication. Some psychiatrists were simply sloppy diagnosticians and irrational polypharmacists. Others were careful, conscientious and reasonable. The problem was that the patients did not fit the conceptual system of late twentieth century psychiatry. Even when the conceptual system was applied consistently, it did not work. The patients were too polymorphous, variable, complicated and, often, uncooperative. I was taught that sometimes this was because the patient was "borderline." Borderlines, I was taught, display pan-anxiety, pan-sexuality, and polymorphous perversity. Those terms conveyed to me the frustration generated by the conceptual system. Even if the "borderline" patients were set aside, the problem persisted. On the inpatient wards, the norm was extensive comorbidity. I have been thinking about this problem for twenty-one years, and have devised a solution for it, which I call the trauma model. The purpose of this book is to define the problem of comorbidity, and then to describe its solution through the trauma model. The trauma model is a comprehensive, testable scientific theory of mental illness. The polydiagnostic patient with extensive comorbidity is the major recipient of inpatient psychiatric treatment. In managed care terms, this is the high-cost, high-utilization, high-recidivism patient. There is no scientific model in psychiatry which accounts for this patient, even though he or she is the major consumer of psychiatric services. The dominant model in contemporary psychiatry is the single gene-single disease model. Insurance policies which have expanded their coverage for serious mental illness include disorders assumed to be distinct genetic biomedical brain diseases within contemporary psychiatry schizophrenia, unipolar and bipolar depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance abuse. Yet, the patients requiring expensive psychiatric care, for the most part, do not fit the single gene-single disease model. They meet DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for many different disorders and are often given many different clinical diagnoses over time. The separate diseases model simply cannot account for the clinical data. The problem of comorbidity, from a financial perspective, is the core clinical problem in psychiatry. The solution for the problem of comorbidity adopted by psychiatry over the next ten years will set the tone for research, theory, clinical practice and health care coverage in the twenty-first century. In this book, I propose the trauma model as a scientifically testable solution to the problem of comorbidity. In the first section of the book, the clinical origins and a formal scientific statement of the problem of comorbidity are presented. In the second section, key assumptions of the model are outlined in detail. The third section begins with a description of some general principles of the model, then takes up each of the major sections of DSM-IV-TR. In each of these chapters I describe the specific research predictions arising from the trauma model. These are divided into subsections on phenomenology, natural history, epidemiology, twin and adoption studies, biology, treatment outcome, and revisions to DSM-IV-TR. In the fourth section of the book, trauma therapy is described. The basic principles and techniques in the psychotherapy of the extensively comorbid patient are outlined. These tend to be cognitive-behavioral in form. As in the rest of the book, the therapy is grounded in relevant bodies of science wherever possible. The testability of the therapy is dealt with in the separate chapters of the previous section. In the final chapter, the trauma model is discussed from the perspective of the structure of scientific revolutions (Kuhn, 1962). Adoption of the trauma model by mainstream psychiatry would represent a major paradigm shift. At present, the trauma model is marginalized and has no impact on the majority of research, clinical practice and theory in psychiatry. This fact presents an interesting opportunity for anyone interested in scientific paradigm shifts. Major paradigm shifts do not occur every decade in a given field, or even every century. Here we have one in progress. Or, alternatively, one that will fail. Either way, the fate of the trauma model will provide interesting lessons about the balance of science and politics in psychiatry. I have made no effort to be comprehensive in my references because there is no point. Since the trauma model is a general model of mental illness, I would have to master and reference the literatures on all the major sections of DSM-IV-TR, in order to be comprehensive. That is an impossible task. Fortunately, it is also an irrelevant task. The purpose of the book is to outline the model and the specific scientific predictions that follow from it, then describe the principles of trauma therapy. I have therefore decided not to be exhaustive in my referencing of the content of psychiatry. The reader can consult any of the major comprehensive textbooks of psychiatry for this content. For an inventory of measures relevant to the predictions of the trauma model, I refer the reader to the Handbook of Psychiatric Measures (Pincus, Rush, First, and McQueen, 2000). The references in this book are illustrative only. I have used my own published research to illustrate some points because I am familiar with it, and because it was carried out within the trauma model. Particular data are used only to illustrate the logic of the model, not to prove it. The trauma model is constructed to be falsifiable. Therefore it could be wrong. That is how it is with scientific models. Ideological objections to the model are irrelevant. What counts are the data. There will be no single crucial experiment. The predictions of the trauma model potentially lead to numerous Ph.D. theses and research publications. Only after a body of data has accumulated will the theory be either proven or rejected. The most likely scientific outcome is that a bit of both will occur the theory will be proven, but modifications will be required. The origins of the trauma model are in my work with comorbid patients over the last twenty-one years. They are my teachers. I thank them for presenting the problem in such poignant and compelling form. I thank also the many other professionals who have taken trauma seriously as a theme in psychiatry. The trauma model as I have constructed it draws on the work of many different people. If there is to be a paradigm shift in psychiatry, it will be due to the collective work of many individuals. My task here is to present a unified, testable summation of this collective effort. | <urn:uuid:4fe188ad-1910-4199-929d-1f02e794a8c9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.manitoucommunications.com/EasyCart/Product.asp?CategoryID=&SubCategoryID=&BrandID=&ItemID=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.949841 | 1,458 | 2 | 2 |
Unfortunately, the legal system has long received bad advice on this subject from some mental health professionals. Many psychologists who ought to know better will still say that it is ideal for a child to have a primary attachment figure and to be separated from that primary attachment figure only briefly until sufficient language skills have developed to allow the child to fully understand what is happening and that they will be reunited with their primary attachment figure after a more substantial visit with the secondary attachment figure. This is thought to foster healthy infant attachment, which we all agree is a predictor of psychological health at least later in childhood and possibly throughout life. Following this train of thought, secondary attachment figures in families of divorce (often fathers) would be limited to visitation of a few hours at a time for at least the first few years of a child's life. Since the secondary attachment figure would like to have intimate parent-child interactions, they would ideally visit the primary attachment figure's home and participate in rituals such as bathing or bedtime. In reality, of course, many divorced couples do not get along well enough for this to occur, and primary attachment figures often work or leave young children with extended family members for overnight visits even as the try to refuse such visitation to the other parent in contentious divorce cases. Attachment theory can thus become a weapon in family court that is used to estrange secondary attachment figures (again, often fathers) from their children during the early years of a child's life. This may impede the development of parent-child bonding, and there is a significant body of literature supporting the importance of involvement by both parents to positive developmental outcomes. More importantly, perhaps, this interpretation of attachment theory is not at all accurate.
John Bowlby, considered the father of modern attachment theory, did originally suggest the idea of monotropy (that the only significant infant attachment is to a single primary caregiver). However, Bowlby himself later softened on this idea, and both common sense and literature in the field of attachment now acknowledge that children are capable of multiple attachments even very early in life. In fact, the more positive attachments a child has, the better the implications for future psychological health and well-being. Further, the research is clear that the long-term involvement of both parents in a child's life leads to the best outcomes. The primary consideration in early overnight visitation should be the quality of the relationship between parent and child, not the age of the child. Unfortunately, some mental health experts continue to provide the courts with inaccurate information that perpetuates myths, to the detriment of those deemed secondary attachment figures and the children themselves.
Update: On 2/5/2020, Dr. Clifton Hudson and Dr. Jennifer Price, formerly of Hudson Forensic and currently Assistant Professor in the Marshall University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and President of the West Virginia Psychological Association, addressed the West Virginia Legislature's House Committee on Senior, Children, and Family Issues on the modern social science literature pertaining to attachment and early shared parenting.
Forensic psychologists are in the business of providing well-educated and scientifically-informed opinions to assist with legal and administrative processes, but it is well-established that the quality of such opinions varies and that biasing influences can skew forensic psychological opinions. For example, real-world expert assessments of of psychopathy on the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) have been found to vary according to whether the defense or prosecution requested the evaluation, to a much greater extent than would be expected based on the inherent error built into the test. However, ethical providers should perform the same evaluation, regardless of who commissioned it. Well-formed forensic psychological opinions should follow logically from basic psychological principles and forensic research. They should represent the body of mainstream psychological literature rather than seeking out anomalous findings to support a particular point. As the U.S. Supreme Court noted in General Electric Co. v. Joiner (1997), ipse dixit ("because I said so") testimony is inherently problematic.
If you have concerns about the quality or potential bias of forensic psychological opinions posited by an expert in one of your cases, Hudson Forensic will gladly offer you a free case consultation. We will discuss the case with you or even read over the other expert's report and provide preliminary feedback concerning the quality of the work and possible approaches to resolving any shortcomings that might be identified.
"Forensic psychology" sometimes conjures images of crime scene investigations or criminal profiling amongst the lay public. However, the reality of the discipline is considerably more mundane. Forensic psychology exists at the interface between psychology and law. It involves the use of psychological principles to assist with legal and administrative decisions. While the evaluation of things like competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, diminished capacity, and sex offender risk may most frequently be thought of in association with forensic psychology, the truth is that many other types of evaluations are most appropriately considered to be forensic. These include, but are not limited to, mental health evaluations of personal injury, disability, fitness for duty, competency to manage one's own affairs, parental fitness, factors related to the credibility of abuse allegations, and competency to testify. Forensic psychology sometimes applies traditional psychological knowledge and sometimes applies knowledge specific to the specialty area. It may sometimes follow a layperson's perception of common sense, but research sometimes proves that "common sense" to be dead wrong.
To appropriately understand forensic psychology, it is helpful to draw contrasts between traditional psychology and forensic psychology. Even mental health providers sometimes blur the lines between the two in ways that create ethical problems and malpractice exposure. Some distinctions between the two are as follows: | <urn:uuid:08a2e4d1-00f5-45cd-a079-c8993bc760b4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hudsonforensic.com/posts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.956208 | 1,144 | 2.234375 | 2 |
p. 565 Revelation of Moses.
Account and life of Adam and Eve, the first-created, revealed by God to His servant Moses, when he received from the hand of the Lord the tables of the law of the covenant, instructed by the archangel Michael.
This is the account of Adam and Eve. After they went forth out of paradise, Adam took Eve his wife, and went up into the east. And he remained there eighteen years and two months; and Eve conceived and brought forth two sons, Diaphotus called Cain, and Amilabes 2455 called Abel.
And after this, Adam and Eve were with one another; and when they lay down, Eve said to Adam her lord: My lord, I have seen in a dream this night the blood of my son Amilabes, who is called Abel, thrown into the mouth of Cain his brother, and he drank it without pity. And he entreated him to grant him a little of it, but he did not listen to him, but drank it all up; and it did not remain in his belly, but came forth out of his mouth. And Adam said to Eve: Let us arise, and go and see what has happened to them, lest perchance the enemy should be in any way warring against them.
And having both gone, they found Abel killed by the hand of Cain his brother. And God says to the archangel Michael: Say to Adam, Do not relate the mystery which thou knowest to thy son Cain, for he is a son of wrath. But grieve thyself not; for I will give thee instead of him another son, who shall show thee all things, as many as thou shalt do to him; but do thou tell him nothing. This God said to His angel; and Adam kept the word in his heart, and with him Eve also, having grief about Abel their son.
And after this, Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and brought forth Seth. And Adam says to Eve: Behold, we have brought forth a son instead of Abel whom Cain slew; let us give glory and sacrifice to God.
And Adam had 2456 thirty sons and thirty daughters. 2457 And he fell into disease, and cried with a loud voice, and said: Let all my sons come to me, that I may see them before I die. And they were all brought together, for the earth was inhabited in three parts; and they all came to the door of the house into which he had entered to pray to God. And his son Seth said: Father Adam, what is thy disease? And he says: My children, great trouble has hold of me. And they say: What is the trouble and disease? And Seth answered and said to him: Is it that thou rememberest the fruits of paradise of which thou didst eat, and grievest thyself because of the desire of them? If it is so, tell me, and I will go and bring thee fruit from paradise. For I will put dung upon my head, and weep and pray, and the Lord will hearken to me, and send his angel; and I shall bring it to thee, 2458 that thy trouble may cease from thee. Adam says to him: No, my son Seth; but I have disease and trouble. Seth says to him: And how have they come upon thee? Adam said to him: When God made us, me and your mother, for whose sake also I die, He gave us every plant in paradise; but about one he commanded us not to eat of it, because on account of it we should die. And the hour was at hand for the angels who guarded your mother to go up and worship the Lord; and the enemy gave to her, and she ate of the tree, knowing that I was not near her, nor the holy angels; then she gave me also to eat. And when we had both eaten, God was angry with us. And the Lord, coming into paradise, set His throne, and called with a dreadful voice, saying, Adam, where art thou? and why art thou hidden from my face? shall the house be hidden from him that built it? And He says, Since thou hast forsaken my covenant, I have brought upon thy body seventy strokes. 2459 The trouble of the first stroke is the injury of the eyes; the trouble of the second stroke, of the hearing; and so in succession, all the strokes shall overtake thee.
And Adam thus speaking to his sons, groaned out loud, and said: What shall I do? I am in great grief. And Eve also wept, saying: My lord Adam, arise, give me the half of thy disease, p. 566 and let me bear it, because through me this has happened to thee; through me thou art in distresses and troubles. And Adam said to Eve: Arise, and go with our son Seth near paradise, and put earth upon your heads, and weep, beseeching the Lord that He may have compassion upon me, and send His angel to paradise, and give me of the tree in which flows the oil out of it, and that thou mayest bring it to me; and I shall anoint myself, and have rest, and show thee the manner in which we were deceived at first.
And Seth and Eve went into the regions of paradise. And as they were going along, Eve saw her son, and a wild beast fighting with him. And Eye wept, saying: Woes me, woes me; for if I come to the day of the resurrection, all who have sinned will curse me, saying, Eve did not keep the commandment of God. And Eve cried out to the wild beast, saying: O thou evil wild beast, wilt thou not be afraid to fight with the image of God? How has thy mouth been opened? how have thy teeth been strengthened? how hast thou not been mindful of thy subjection, that thou wast formerly subject to the image of God? Then the wild beast cried out, saying: O Eve, not against us thy upbraiding nor thy weeping, but against thyself, since the beginning of the wild beasts was from thee. How was thy mouth opened to eat of the tree about which God had commanded thee not to eat of it? For this reason also our nature has been changed. Now, therefore, thou shalt not be able to bear up, if I begin to reproach thee. And Seth says to the wild beast: Shut thy mouth and be silent, and stand off from the image of God till the day of judgment. Then the wild beast says to Seth: Behold, I stand off, Seth, from the image of God. Then the wild beast fled, and left him wounded, and went to his covert.
And Seth went with his mother Eve near paradise: and they wept there, beseeching God to send His angel, to give 2460 them the oil of compassion. And God sent to them the archangel Michael, and he said to them these words: Seth, man of God, do not weary thyself praying in this supplication about the tree in which flows the oil to anoint thy father Adam; for it will not happen to thee now, but at the last times. Then shall arise all flesh from Adam even to that great day, as many as shall be a holy people; then shall be given to them all the delight of paradise, and God shall be in the midst of them; and there shall not any more be sinners before Him, because the wicked heart shall be taken from them, and there shall be given to them a heart made to understand what is good, and to worship God only. Do thou again go to thy father, since the measure of his life has been fulfilled, equal to 2461 three days. And when his soul goes out, thou wilt behold its dreadful passage.
And the angel, having said this, went away from them. And Seth and Eve came to the tent where Adam was lying. And Adam says to Eve: Why didst thou work mischief against us, and bring upon us great wrath, which is death, holding sway over all our race? And he says to her: Call all our children, and our childrens children, and relate to them the manner of our transgression.
Then Eve says to them: Listen, all my children, and my childrens children, and I shall relate to you how our enemy deceived us. It came to pass, while we were keeping paradise, that we kept each the portion allotted to him by God. And I was keeping in my lot the south and west. And the devil went into the lot of Adam where were the male wild beasts; since God parted to us the wild beasts, and had given all the males to your father, and all the females He gave to me, and each of us watched his own. And the devil spoke to the serpent, saying, Arise, come to me, and I shall tell you a thing in which thou mayst be of service. Then the serpent came to him, and the devil says to him, I hear that thou art more sagacious than all the wild beasts, and I have come to make thy acquaintance; 2462 and I have found thee greater than all the wild beasts, and they associate with thee; notwithstanding, thou doest reverence to one far inferior. Why eatest thou of the tares 2463 of Adam and his wife, and not of the fruit of paradise? Arise and come hither, and we shall make him be cast out of paradise through his wife, as we also were cast out through him. The serpent says to him, I am afraid lest the Lord be angry with me. The devil says to him, Be not afraid; only become my instrument, and I will speak through thy mouth a word by which thou shalt be able to deceive him. Then straightway he hung by the walls of paradise about the hour when the angels of God went up to worship. Then Satan came in the form of an angel, and praised God as did the angels; and looking out from the wall, I saw him like an angel. And says he to me, Art thou Eve? And I said to him, I am. And says he to me, What doest thou in paradise? And I said to him, God has set us to keep it, and to eat of it. The devil answered me through the mouth of the serpent, Ye do well, but you do not eat of every plant. And I p. 567 say to him, Yes, of every plant we eat, but one only which is in the midst of paradise, about which God has commanded us not to eat of it, since you will die the death. Then says the serpent to me, As God liveth, I am grieved for you, because you are like cattle. For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this; but rise, come hither, listen to me, and eat, and perceive the value of the tree, as He told us. But I said to him, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And he says to me, Be not afraid; for as soon as thou eatest, thine eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods in knowing what is good and what is evil. And God, knowing this, that ye shall be like Him, has had a grudge against you, and said, Ye shall not eat of it. But do thou observe the plant, and thou shalt see great glory about it. And I observed the plant, and saw great glory about it. And I said to him, It is beautiful to the eyes to perceive; and I was afraid to take of the fruit. And he says to me, Come, I will give to thee: follow me. And I opened to him, and he came inside into paradise, and went through it before me. And having walked a little, he turned, and says to me, I have changed my mind, and will not give thee to eat. And this he said, wishing at last to entice and destroy me. And he says to me, Swear to me that thou wilt give also to thy husband. And I said to him, I know not by what oath I shall swear to thee; but what I know I say to thee, By the throne of the Lord, and the cherubim, and the tree of life, I will give also to my husband to eat. And when he had taken the oath from me, then he went and ascended upon it. And he put upon the fruit which he gave me to eat the poison of his wickedness, that is, of his desire; for desire is the head 2464 of all sin. And I bent down the branch to the ground, and took of the fruit, and ate. And in that very hour mine eyes were opened. and I knew that I was stripped 2465 of the righteousness with which I had been clothed; and I wept, saying, What is this thou hast done to me, because I have been deprived of the glory with which I was clothed? And I wept too about the oath. And he came down out of the tree, and went out of sight. And I sought leaves in my portion, 2466 that I might cover my shame; and I did not find them from the plants of paradise, since, at the time that I ate, the leaves of all the plants in my portion fell, except of the fig alone. And having taken leaves off it, I made myself a girdle, and it is from those plants of which I ate. And I cried out with a loud voice, saying, Adam, Adam, where art thou? Arise, come to me, and I shall show thee a great mystery. And when your father came, I said to him words of wickedness, which brought us down from great glory. For as soon as he came I opened my mouth, and the devil spoke; and I began to advise him, saying, Come hither, my lord Adam, listen to me, and eat of the fruit of the tree of which God said to us not to eat of it, and thou shalt be as God. And your father answered and said, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And I said to him, Be not afraid, for as soon as thou shalt eat thou shalt know good and evil. And then I quickly persuaded him, and he ate; and his eyes were opened, and he was aware, he also, of his nakedness. And he says to me, O wicked woman, why hast thou wrought mischief in us? Thou hast alienated me from the glory of God. And that same hour we heard the archangel Michael sounding his trumpet, calling the angels, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Come with me to paradise, and hear the word in which I judge Adam. And when we heard the archangel sounding, we said, Behold, God is coming into paradise to judge us. And we were afraid, and hid ourselves. And God came up into paradise, riding upon a chariot of cherubim, and the angels praising Him. When God came into paradise, the plants both of Adams lot and of my lot bloomed, and all lifted themselves up; and the throne of God was made ready where the tree of life was. And God called Adam, saying, Adam, where art thou hidden, thinking that I shall not find thee? Shall the house be hidden from him that built it? Then your father answered and said, Not, Lord, did we hide ourselves as thinking that we should not be found by Thee; but I am afraid, because I am naked, and stand in awe of Thy power, O Lord. God says to him, Who hath shown thee that thou art naked, unless it be that thou hast forsaken my commandment which I gave thee to keep it? Then Adam remembered the word which I spake to him when I wished to deceive him, I will put thee out of danger from God. And he turned and said to me, Why hast thou done this? And I also remembered the word of the serpent, and said, The serpent deceived me. God says to Adam, Since thou hast disobeyed my commandment, and obeyed thy wife, cursed is the ground in thy labours. For whenever thou labourest it, and it will not give its strength, thorns and thistles shall it raise for thee; and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread. And thou shalt be in distresses of many kinds. Thou shalt weary thyself, and rest not; thou shalt be afflicted by bitterness, and shall not taste of sweetness; thou shalt be afflicted by heat, and oppressed by cold; and thou shalt toil much, and not grow rich; and thou shalt make haste, 2467 and not attain p. 568 thine end; and the wild beasts, of which thou wast lord, shall rise up against thee in rebellion, because thou hast not kept my commandment. And having turned to me, the Lord says to me, Since thou hast obeyed the serpent, and disobeyed my commandment, thou shalt be in distresses 2468 and unbearable pains; thou shalt bring forth children with great tremblings; and in one hour shalt thou come to bring them forth, 2469 and lose thy life in consequence of thy great straits and pangs. And thou shalt confess, and say, Lord, Lord, save me; and I shall not return to the sin of the flesh. And on this account in thine own words I shall judge thee, on account of the enmity which the enemy hath put in thee; and thou shalt turn again to thy husband, and he shall be thy lord. 2470 And after speaking thus to me, He spoke to the serpent in great wrath, saying to him, Since thou hast done this, and hast become an ungracious instrument until thou shouldst deceive those that were remiss in heart, cursed art thou of all the beasts. Thou shalt be deprived of the food which thou eatest; and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; upon thy breast and belly shalt thou go, and thou shalt be deprived both of thy hands and feet; there shall not be granted thee ear, nor wing, nor one limb of all which those have whom thou hast enticed by thy wickedness, and hast caused them to be cast out of paradise. And I shall put enmity between thee and between his seed. He shall lie in wait for 2471 thy head, and thou for his heel, until the day of judgment. And having thus said, He commands His angels that we be cast out of paradise. And as we were being driven along, and were lamenting, your father Adam entreated the angels, saying, Allow me a little, that I may entreat God, and that He may have compassion upon me, and pity me, for I only have sinned. And they stopped driving him. And Adam cried out with weeping, saying, Pardon me, Lord, what I have done. Then says the Lord to His angels, Why have you stopped driving Adam out of paradise? It is not that the sin is mine, or that I have judged ill? Then the angels, falling to the ground, worshipped the Lord, saying, Just art Thou, Lord, and judgest what is right. And turning to Adam, the Lord said, I will not permit thee henceforth to be in paradise. And Adam answered and said, Lord, give me of the tree of life, that I may eat before I am cast out. Then the Lord said to Adam, Thou shalt not now take of it, for it has been assigned to the cherubim and the flaming sword, which turneth to guard it on account of thee, that thou mayst not taste of it and be free from death for ever, but that thou mayst have the war which the enemy has set in thee. But when thou art gone out of paradise, if thou shalt keep thyself from all evil, as being destined to die, I will again raise thee up when the resurrection comes, and then there shall be given thee of the tree of life, and thou shalt be free from death for ever. And having thus said, the Lord commanded us to be cast out of paradise. And your father wept before the angels over against paradise. And the angels say to him, What dost thou wish that we should do for thee, Adam? And your father answered and said to the angels, Behold, you cast me out. I beseech you, allow me to take sweet odours out of paradise, in order that, after I go out, I may offer sacrifice to God, that God may listen to me. And the angels, advancing, said to God, Jael, eternal King, order to be given to Adam sacrifices 2472 of sweet odour out of paradise. And God ordered Adam to go, that he might take perfumes of sweet odour out of paradise for his food. And the angels let him go, and he gathered both kinds—saffron and spikenard, and calamus 2473 and cinnamon, and other seeds for his food; and having taken them, he went forth out of paradise. And we came to the earth. 2474
Now, then, my children, I have shown you the manner in which we were deceived. But do ye watch over yourselves, so as not to forsake what is good.
And when she had thus spoken in the midst of her sons, and Adam was lying in his disease, and he had one other day before going out of the body, Eve says to Adam: Why is it that thou diest, and I live? or how long time have I to spend after thou diest? tell me. Then says Adam to Eve: Do not trouble thyself about matters; for thou wilt not be long after me, but we shall both die alike, and thou wilt be laid into my place. 2475 And when I am dead you will leave 2476 me, and let no one touch me, until the angel of the Lord shall say something about me; for God will not forget me, but will seek His own vessel which He fashioned. Arise, rather, pray to God until I restore my spirit into the hands of Him who has given it; because we know not how we shall meet Him who made us, whether He shall be angry with us, or turn and have mercy upon us. Then arose Eve, and went p. 569 outside; and falling to the ground, she said: I have sinned, O God; I have sinned, O Father of all; I have sinned to Thee, I have sinned against Thy chosen angels, I have sinned against the cherubim, I have sinned against Thine unshaken throne; I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned much, I have sinned before Thee, and every sin 2477 through me has come upon the creation. And while Eve was still praying, being on her knees, behold, there came to her the angel of humanity, and raised her up, saying: Arise, Eve, from thy repentance; for, behold, Adam thy husband has gone forth from his body; arise and see his spirit carried up to Him that made 2478 it, to meet Him.
And Eve arose, and covered her face with her hand; and the angel says to her: Raise thyself from the things of earth. And Eve gazed up into heaven, and she saw a chariot of light going along under four shining eagles—and it was not possible for any one born of woman 2479 to tell the glory of them, or to see the face of them—and angels going before the chariot. And when they came to the place where your father Adam was lying, the chariot stood still, and the seraphim between your father and the chariot. And I saw golden censers, and three vials; and, behold, all the angels with incense, and the censers, and the vials, came to the altar, and blew them up, and the smoke of the incense covered the firmaments. And the angels fell down and worshipped God, crying out and saying: Holy Jael, forgive; for he is Thine image, and the work of Thine holy hands.
And again, I Eve saw two great and awful mysteries standing before God. And I wept for fear, and cried out to my son Seth, saying: Arise, Seth, from the body of thy father Adam, and come to me, that thou mayst see what the eye of no one hath ever seen; and they are praying for thy father Adam. 2480
Then Seth arose and went to his mother, and said to her: What has befallen thee? and why weepest thou? She says to him: Look up with thine eyes, and see the seven firmaments opened, and see with thine eyes how the body of thy father lies upon its face, and all the holy angels with him, praying for him, and saying: Pardon him, O Father of the universe; for he is Thine image. What then, my child Seth, will this be? and when will he be delivered into the hands of our invisible Father and God? And who are the two dark-faced ones who stand by at the prayer of thy father? And Seth says to his mother: These are the sun and the moon, and they are falling down and praying for my father Adam. Eve says to him: And where is their light, and why have they become black-looking? And Seth says to her: They cannot shine in the presence of the Light of the universe, 2481 and for this reason the light from them has been hidden.
And while Seth was speaking to his mother, the angels lying upon their faces sounded their trumpets, and cried out with an awful voice, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord upon what He has made, for He has had compassion upon Adam, the work of His hands. When the angels had sounded this forth, there came one of the six-winged seraphim, and hurried Adam to the Acherusian lake, and washed him in presence of God. And he spent three hours 2482 lying, and thus the Lord of the universe, sitting upon His holy throne, stretched forth His hands, and raised Adam, and delivered him to the archangel Michael, saying to him: Raise him into paradise, even to the third heaven, and let him be there until that great and dreadful day which I am to bring upon the world. And the archangel Michael, having taken Adam, led him away, and anointed him, as God said to him at the pardoning of Adam.
After all these things, therefore, the archangel asked about the funeral rites of the remains; and God commanded that all the angels should come together into His presence, each according to his rank. And all the angels were assembled, some with censers, some with trumpets. And the Lord of Hosts went up, 2483 and the winds drew Him, and cherubim riding upon the winds, and the angels of heaven went before Him; and they came to where the body of Adam was, and took it. And they came to paradise, and all the trees of paradise were moved so that all begotten from Adam hung their heads in sleep at the sweet smell, except Seth, because he had been begotten according to the appointment of God.
The body of Adam, then, was lying on the ground in paradise, and Seth was grieved exceedingly about him. And the Lord God says: Adam, why hast thou done this? If thou hadst kept my commandment, those that brought thee down to this place would not have rejoiced. Nevertheless I say unto thee, that I will turn their joy into grief, but I will turn thy grief into joy; and having turned, I will set thee in thy kingdom, on the throne of him that deceived thee; and he shall be cast into this place, that thou mayst sit upon him. Then shall be condemned, he and those who hear him; and they shall be much grieved, and shall weep, seeing thee sitting upon his glorious throne.
p. 570 And then He said to the archangel Michael: Go into paradise, into the third heaven, and bring me three cloths of fine linen and silk. And God said to Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael: 2484 Cover Adams body with the cloths, and bring olive oil of sweet odour, and pour upon him. And having thus done, they prepared his body for burial. And the Lord said: Let also the body of Abel be brought. And having brought other cloths, they prepared it also for burial, since it had not been prepared for burial since the day on which his brother Cain slew him. For the wicked Cain, having taken great pains to hide it, had not been able; for the earth did not receive it, saying: I will not receive a body into companionship 2485 until that dust which was taken up and fashioned upon me come to me. And then the angels took it up, and laid it on the rock until his father died. And both were buried, according to the commandment of God, in the regions of paradise, in the place in which God found the dust. 2486 And God sent seven angels into paradise, and they brought many sweet-smelling herbs, and laid them in the earth; and thus they took the two bodies, and buried them in the place which they had dug and built.
And God called Adam, and said: Adam, Adam. And the body answered out of the ground, and said: Here am I, Lord. And the Lord says to him: I said to thee, Dust 2487 thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return. Again I promise thee the resurrection. I will raise thee up in the last day in the resurrection, with every man who is of thy seed.
And after these words God made a three-cornered seal, and sealed the tomb, that no one should do anything to him in the six days, until his rib should return to him. And the beneficent God and the holy angels having laid him in his place, after the six days Eve also died. And while she lived she wept about her falling asleep, because she knew not where her body was to be laid. For when the Lord was present in paradise when they buried Adam, both she and her children fell asleep, except Seth, as I said. And Eve, in the hour of her death, besought that she might be buried where Adam her husband was, saying thus: My Lord, Lord and God of all virtue, do not separate me, Thy servant, from the body of Adam, for of his members Thou madest me; but grant to me, even me, the unworthy and the sinner, to be buried by his body. And as I was along with him in paradise, and not separated from him after the transgression, so also let no one separate us. After having prayed, therefore, she looked up into heaven, and stood up, and said, beating her breast: God of all, receive my spirit. And straightway she gave up her spirit to God.
And when she was dead, the archangel Michael stood beside her; and there came three angels, and took her body, and buried it where the body of Abel was. And the archangel Michael said to Seth: Thus bury every man that dies, until the day of the resurrection. And after having given this law, he said to him: Do not mourn beyond six days. And on the seventh day, rest, and rejoice in it, because in it God and we the angels rejoice in the righteous soul that has departed from earth. Having thus spoken, the archangel Michael went up into heaven, glorifying, and saying the Alleluia: 2488 Holy, holy, holy Lord, to the glory of God the Father, because to Him is due glory, honour, and adoration, with His unbeginning and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
There is great variety as to these names in the mss. The true reading was probably διαφύτωρ or διαφυτευτής, a planter, and μηλατάς or μηλοβότης, a keeper of sheep.565:2456
One ms. adds: And Adam lived 930 years; and when he came to his end he cried, etc.565:2458
One ms. has: and he will bring to me of the tree in which compassion flows, and thy trouble shall cease from thee.565:2459
Lit., and he will give.566:2461
Perhaps for ἴσον we should read εἴσω, within. Another reading is: for the days of his life have been fulfilled, and he will live from today three days, and he will die.566:2462
C has: I take counsel with thee. [C is a Vienna manuscript of the twelfth century; see p. 358, and Tischendorf, Apocalypses Apocryphæ, pp. xi., xii.—R.]566:2463
It seems to be settled that the zizania of the Greeks, the zawân of the Arabs, was darnel; but, from the associations connected with the word, it is better to keep the common translation.567:2464
C has, root and origin.567:2465
i.e., of the garden.567:2467
I have read ταχυνθήσει for παχυνθήσει, thou shalt grow fat.568:2468
The text has ματαίοις, vain; the true reading is probably καμάτοις or μόχθοις.568:2469
Inserted fromms. C.568:2470
ms. B. inserts: And Eve was twelve years old when the demon deceived her, and gave her evil desires. For night and day he ceased not to bear hatred against them, because he himself was formerly in paradise; and therefore he supplanted them, because he could not bear to see them in paradise. [B is a Viennams. of the thirteenth or fourteenth century; see Tischendorf, Apocal. Apocr., p. xi.—R.]568:2471
This is after the version of the LXX., and it is also the interpretation of Gesenius of the Hebrew shûph, Gen. iii. 15.568:2472
This is the “sweet cane” of Isa. 43:24, Jer. 6:20. See also Exod. 30:23, Cant. 4:14, Ezek. 27:19.568:2474
Or, and we were upon the earth.568:2475
Perhaps τάφον, tomb, would be better than τόπον.568:2476
Or, all sin.569:2478
The text has πονήσαντα, a misprint for ποιήσαντα .569:2479
Lit., of a womb.569:2480
The last clause is not in C.569:2481
ms. A here ends thus: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen. [A is the Venice ms. “of about the thirteenth century;” Tischendorf, Apocal. Apocr., p. xi.—R.]569:2482
The mss. originally had days, and hours is substituted in another hand.569:2483
i.e., mounted His chariot.570:2484
According to a Jewish tradition, these were the four angels who stood round the throne of God.570:2485
Probably the reading should be ἕτερον, another, and not ἑταῖρον. Or it may mean: I will not receive a friendly body, i.e., one upon which I have no claims.570:2486
i.e., of which Adam was made.570:2487
ms. D ends here with: To whom be glory and strength to ages of ages. Amen. [D is the Milan manuscript which Tischendorf assigns to “About the eleventh century,” Apocalypses Apocryphæ, p. xi.—R.] | <urn:uuid:6ccafaea-c6f9-4c9e-972b-0de1a67e4df3> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/008/0081380.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719843.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00292-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977598 | 7,731 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Funds raised towards this project will buy an Ophthalmology Optos Machine. This would be used in multiple clinics every week by the Ophthalmology technician team. An optos camera is used for patients with medical retina including diabetic retinopathy, choroidal nevus, and stable melanomas. The camera would allow technicians to take photographs of the patient’s eye in a single appointment and the patient would then be able to return home. Consultants would be able to review double the number of patients and therefore reduce waiting times and backlog. The equipment would benefit over 1,200 patients a year, as well as further patients by contributing to the research body. | <urn:uuid:8557b5a1-c6c8-4ff8-84bb-c6f95160cdc0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hampshiremedicalfund.org/portfolio-items/optos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.956199 | 136 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Are you a science fiction fan? The mere mention of the genre might send a shiver down your spine, conjuring visions of two-dimensional characters with ray-guns where their brains should be. Alternatively, you might be the sort of person who gave serious consideration to whether or not they could get away with naming their daughter Katniss. Wherever you land on the spectrum, though, it’s fair to say that the Star Wars has a hero waiting for you. Its creators have assembled a pantheon of good guys, in every hue and shade, from the reformed villain to villainous reformers. Yet when you set aside the hairstyles, and off-load the droids, you discover storylines not terribly different from your own.
Star Wars has transcended the limits of a mere movie franchise to become a cultural icon. It is the second-highest-grossing media franchise of all time. George Lucas, the father of this phenomenon, makes no secret of the secret to his success. As a young man, Lucas had been significantly influenced by Columbia University-trained mythologist Joseph Campbell. Campbell is the author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces, a book which mapped the common story-pattern that provides the foundation for all of the world’s great religious and ethical stories. Lucas would become great friends with Campbell and refer to him as his “Yoda” when it came to storytelling.
Campbell’s “hero’s journey” structure has been reflected in ten Star Wars storylines to date, explaining why they have achieved such universal appeal amongst people who have neither language nor culture in common. Some audience members celebrate the classic adventures of the farm-boy-made-good, Luke Skywalker. Others are drawn to the more complex appeal of the abandoned Rey, living off a junk heap while she waits for her parents. With each film release, we see still more hero-types emerge. It’s all part of an attempt by Star Wars storytellers to help you find yourself in that galaxy far, far away. Take Solo: A Star Wars Story, as an example. Yes, it bombed at the box office earlier this year, but if you’re prepared to give it another chance it’s now out on DVD.
Han Solo is the much-loved rogue of the Star Wars universe. His obvious faults—pride, foolhardiness, over-confidence—cloak a hero with a heart of gold. Rolling Stone magazine named this smug swashbuckler as number one on its 50 Best Star Wars Characters of All Time, and the original trilogy’s most vital asset:
“The Correllian smuggler’s own conflicts make him the saga’s most complex character. Starry-eyed Luke instantly embraces the Force and the urgent drama of the Rebellion. Han takes some convincing, just as we do.”
And Solo: A Star Wars Story reveals that’s not all we have in common with Han.
Han may have arrived in the Star Wars franchise as a cynical flyboy who is, “… just in it for the money!” Yet his prequel, Solo, shows Han shared our more optimistic youth. The young Han, played by Alden Ehrenreich, grew up as an indentured thief in the Correllian shipyards. Despite the deprivation, though, he manages to retain a positive outlook. “I’m going to be a pilot,” he tells an Imperial Recruiter. “Best in the galaxy!” Turning Han’s usual catchphrase on its head, he tells Chewbacca, “I have a good feeling about this!”
Also like us, Han sets about adding a list of “true companions” to his life. Campbell’s heroic story template sees these as more than just friends, but the family who will see us through anything. Solo introduces us to Chewbacca, the towering Wookie who will become his friendly co-pilot and contrast for life. We also witness the entrance of Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), a smuggler who is a flamboyant reflection of Han’s own high-stakes character. And then comes Qi’Ra (Emilia Clarke), Han’s first love-interest, for whom he will risk everything. She’s also the character who understands him best:
Qi’ra: I might be the only person who knows what you really are.
Han: And what’s that?
Qi’ra: A good person.
Yet another point of reflection on our personal journey, is the day Han realises his purpose in life. The young Solo knows he is a skilled driver and flier, but it takes his introduction to the seedy underbelly of the galaxy to help him find his place. When he finally meets the Millennium Falcon—a ship so significant in his life, it qualifies as both friend and home—the transition to rogue is complete. Outwardly, he will become a smuggler, but inwardly he has embraced his independence. He chooses to exist outside of the system, and because of that Han will always side with those who choose to do the same.
Assemble the Star Wars films end to end, though, and what follows is a more depressing collection of our life experiences. Han loses the first love of his life and suffers repeated betrayals and business failures. His near constant refrain becomes “It’s not my fault!” though his own determination to live a high-risk life is at least partly to blame. In the process, he earns the enmity of endless people. By the time he enters Tatooine’s Mos Eisley cantina in the original 1977 Star Wars movie, he is the sceptical, calculating captain of a battered freighter who is struggling under a deathly pile of debts. When Greedo confronts him, of course Han shoots first. Subsequent films show our hero finding some redemption in a good cause and managing to start a family. However, The Force Awakens reveals even that joy has been soured by the loss of a child and the separation that follows. Harrison Ford’s much older Han is wiser, but with many regrets to look back on.
As you look back on that assembled storyline, it’s clear to see that Han’s life has hinged on one critical meeting—what Campbell calls the “meeting with the mentor:”
“The first encounter of the hero journey is with a protective figure (often a little old crone or old man) who provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to pass.”
In Solo, Han crosses paths with Tobias Beckett, an ageing con-man played by Woody Harrelson. What captures the young Han’s eye is this scoundrel’s flashy fighting style and his seeming control over the chaos around him. The older man warns Han that if he comes with him, “You’re in this life for good.” His first gift to Solo is his signature blaster for the battle ahead, and his second is a piece of advice that proves distressingly true:
“Assume everyone will betray you. And you will never be disappointed.”
It’s not the first time Star Wars has used the “meeting of the mentor” trope to set a character on their life’s journey. Luke meets Obi Wan Kenobi and receives his father’s light sabre. On a darker note, Anakin meets Emperor Palpatine and ultimately receives Darth Vader’s helmet. Recalling those scenes, I can’t help but reflect on the powerful difference mentors make. We don’t have to try hard to accept their influence for good or evil; most of us have had mentors of our own. Personally, my life was profoundly shaped by an elderly gentleman who took the time to knock the rough edges off a clueless young producer. But then friends of mine have met Becketts of their own, whose seductive air of cool has set their feet on paths they lived to regret. Just like Han, we have to be careful of the mentors we choose, a truth the Bible is keenly concerned with:
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
And if that proverb isn’t warning enough, the Bible follows up with real-life examples. On the negative side of the ledger, the young king Rehoboam chooses inexperienced counsellors who appeal to his vanity—he loses his kingdom. Jezebel mentors King Ahab in wickedness and he loses his life. More alarming still, Judas lends an ear to Satan, betrays Jesus and loses his soul. However, the Bible also describes the best advisors.
Consider Paul, who calls young Timothy alongside, and leads him into a lifetime of ministry. Or Barnabas, who won’t give up on young Mark, and ultimately schools a Gospel writer. Then of course there’s Jesus, who takes the most unlikely disciples and sets their feet on the path to a lifetime of service. But my favourite has to be His encounter with the woman at the well. (Read the story in John 4.) Here is a Samaritan outcast who isn’t even looking for a mentor. Yet Jesus’ patience, insight and preparedness to cut through tradition and her resistance leads her to personal transformation. No wonder she finishes the encounter by telling her village:
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (verse 29).
Han Solo might have assured Luke Skywalker, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid,” but in this, he was sadly mistaken. What did Jesus leave the Samaritan woman with? Nothing less than the water of eternal life. And the best news: His offer to mentor your life is not a device designed to sell a cinema seat. It comes free of any ticket.
Mark Hadley is a film critic and cultural commentator.
List of the highest-grossing media franchises, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_highest-grossing_media_franchises
W. Baines, Why Star Wars Continues To Captivate Us, Beliefnet, http://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/movies/why-star-wars-continues-to-captivate-us
Rolling Stone, 50 Best ‘Star Wars’ Characters of All Time, May 4, 2017, https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/50-best-star-wars-characters-of-all-time | <urn:uuid:71863d51-0b1d-41df-961c-66287276d5dd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://signsofthetimes.org.au/2018/12/your-life-courtesy-of-star-wars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.949871 | 2,294 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Standard Motor Company
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)|
|The Standard Motor Company Limited|
|Founder||Reginald Walter Maudslay|
|Headquarters||Canley, Coventry, UK|
|Products||Motor vehicles and Ferguson tractors|
|Brands||Standard, Triumph, Ferguson|
The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay (1871–1934). It purchased Triumph in 1945 and in 1959 officially changed its name to Standard-Triumph International and began to put the Triumph brandname on all its products.
For many years it manufactured Ferguson tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tractor assets were sold to Massey-Ferguson as of 31 August 1959.
As of 28 September 1959 Standard Motor Company was renamed Standard-Triumph International Limited. A new subsidiary took the name The Standard Motor Company Limited and took over the manufacture of the group's products.
The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.
- 1 History
- 1.1 1903–14
- 1.2 First World War
- 1.3 1919–39
- 1.4 Second World War
- 1.5 Post-war years
- 1.6 Sir John Black
- 2 Standard in India
- 3 British car models
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Maudslay, great grandson of the eminent engineer Henry Maudslay, had trained under Sir John Wolfe-Barry as a civil engineer. In 1902 he joined his cousin Cyril Charles Maudslay at his Maudslay Motor Company to make marine internal combustion engines. The marine engines did not sell very well, and still in 1902 they made their first engine intended for a car. It was fitted to a chain-drive chassis. The three-cylinder engine, designed by Alexander Craig was an advanced unit with a single overhead camshaft and pressure lubrication.
Realising the enormous potential of the horseless carriage and using a gift of £3,000 from Sir John Wolfe-Barry, R. W. Maudslay left his cousin and became a motor manufacturer on his own account. His Standard Motor Company was incorporated on 2 March 1903 and he established his business in a small factory in a two-storey building in Much Park Street, Coventry. Having undertaken the examination of several proprietary engines to familiarise himself with internal combustion engine design he employed seven people to assemble the first car, powered by a single-cylinder engine with three-speed gearbox and shaft drive to the rear wheels. By the end of 1903 three cars had been built and the labour force had been increased to twenty five. The increased labour force produced a car every three weeks during 1904.
The single-cylinder model was soon replaced by a two-cylinder model quickly followed by three- and four-cylinder versions and in 1905 the first six. Even the first cars boasted shaft drive as opposed to chains, and the engines were not merely "square" but had 6" diameter pistons with a 3" stroke. As well as supplying complete chassis, the company found a good market selling engines for fitting to other cars, especially where the owner wanted more power. Although Alex Craig, a Scottish engineer, was engaged to do much of the detail work, Maudslay himself was sufficiently confident to undertake much of the preliminary layout. One of the several derivations of the name "Standard" is said to have emanated from a discussion between Maudslay and Craig during which the latter proposed several changes to a design on the grounds of cost, which Maudslay rejected, saying that he was determined to maintain the best possible "Standard".
In 1905 Maudslay himself drove the first Standard car to compete in a race. This was the RAC Tourist Trophy in which he finished 11th out of 42 starters, having had a non-stop run. In 1905 the first export order was also received, from a Canadian who arrived at the factory in person. The order was reported in the local newspaper with some emphasis, "Coventry firm makes bold bid for foreign markets".
The company exhibited at the 1905 London Motor Show in Crystal Palace, at which a London dealer, Charles (later Sir Charles) Friswell 1872-1926 agreed to buy the entire factory output. He joined Standard and later was managing director for many years.
In late 1906 production was transferred to larger premises and output was concentrated on 6-cylinder models. The 16/20 h.p. tourer with side-entrance body was priced at £450. An indication of how much this was can be gained from the fact that a draughtsman earned £3 a week. In 1907 Friswell became company chairman. He worked hard to raise its profile, and the resulting increase in demand necessitated the acquisition of a large single-storey building in Cash's Lane, Coventry. Even this was inadequate after the publicity gained when a fleet of 20 cars, 16/20 tourers, were supplied for the use of Commonwealth editors attending the 1909 Imperial Press Conference in London. In 1909 the company first made use of the famous Union Flag Badge, a feature of the radiator emblem until after the Second World War. By 1911 the range of vehicles was comprehensive, with the 8-horsepower model being produced in quantity whilst a special order for two 70 hp cars was at the same time executed for a Scottish millionaire. Friswell's influence culminated in supplying seventy 4-cylinder 16 hp cars for King George V and his entourage, including the Viceroy of India, at the 1911 Delhi Durbar. In 1912 Friswell sold his interest in Standard to C. J. Band and Siegfried Bettmann, the founder of the Triumph Motor Cycle Company (which became the Triumph Motor Company). During the same year the first commercial vehicle was produced, and the 4-cylinder model "S" was introduced at £195, the first to be put into large-scale production. 1600 were produced before the outbreak of the First World War, 50 of them in the final week of car production. These cars were sold with a three-year guarantee. In 1914 Standard became a public company.
First World War
During the First World War the company produced more than 1000 aircraft, including the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12, Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, Sopwith Pup and Bristol F.2-B in a new works at Canley that opened on 1 July 1916. Canley would subsequently become the main centre of operations. Other war materials produced included shells, mobile workshops for the Royal Engineers, and trench mortars.
Civilian car production was restarted in 1919 with models based on pre-war designs, for example the 9.5 model "S" was re-introduced as the model SLS although this was soon superseded by an 8 h.p. model.
In the early 1920s saloon bodies were first offered; previously all cars had been tourers. The bodies had, since the move to Bishopsgate Green, been made in Coventry by the company itself, but it was not until 1922 that they were mass-produced, using a wooden track along which they were pushed by hand. The company was justifiably proud of the modern factory at Canley, boasting in its advertisements "It is a beautifully lighted and well-aired factory standing on the edge of a breezy common away from the city din and smoke, that the finishing touches and test are given to the All British 'Standard' Light cars which issue there to almost every quarter in the world".
It was about this time during the early 1920s that the slogan "Count them on the road" appeared on every advertisement. By 1924 the company had a share of the market comparable to Austin Motor Company, making more than 10,000 cars in 1924. As the immediate post-war boom faded, many rival marques were discontinued. Cars became steadily larger and more elaborate as manufacturers sought to maintain sales. During the 1920s all the models were named after towns, not only near the factory such as Canley and Kenilworth but also further afield – Teignmouth, Falmouth, and Exmouth.
By the late 1920s profits had decreased dramatically due to great reinvestment, a failed export contract and bad sales of the larger cars. In 1927 the inadvisability of matching the larger more elaborate trend became apparent and the 9 hp Fulham with fabric body was introduced at £185. Production was concentrated mainly on one basic chassis with a 9 hp engine. The importance of standardisation was now appreciated and only one alternative was offered. In 1929 John Paul Black (later Sir John Black) a joint managing director of Hillman took up an appointment at Standard as joint Managing Director.
Standard Swallow and Jaguar
Black encouraged the supply of chassis to external coachbuilders such as Avon and Swallow Coachbuilding and Jensen. The coachbuilding company of Avon during the early 1930s commenced producing cars with a distinctly sporty appearance, using as a foundation, a complete chassis from the Standard Motor Company. These chassis were ordinary production units, used because of their sound engineering design and good performance. Known as Avon Standard Specials they catered for a select market too small for Standard themselves.
Swallow decided to produce a car under their own name using a Standard engine and chassis. A prototype S S One was displayed at London's October 1931 Motor Show and in 1932 Swallow were able to supply three models, two of them used the same body. Swallow's business was moved to S S Cars Limited and began to use a model name of Jaguar for part of their range then extended it to include their saloons. In 1945 S S Cars became Jaguar Cars and Standard still manufactured Jaguar's engines though only the smallest remained a standard Standard design.
It was not until 1930, after the replacement of artillery wheels by spoke wheels that the distinctive radiator shape first used on the 6-cylinder models in 1906 was finally abandoned. In 1930, before the worst of the Depression, the Big Nine was introduced which together with the 6-cylinder Ensign and Envoy constituted the complete range. Here standardisation was taken a step further with the bodies on 9 hp four-cylinder and 15 hp six-cylinder being almost indistinguishable except for bonnet length. The Big Nine was soon followed by the Big Twelve and sales for the second six months of 1931 exceeded those of the whole of the previous year. In 1932 there was a Royal visit to the Canley works by the Duke of Gloucester who came to open the Canley Pavilion outside which he took delivery of a new 6-cylinder model.
Founder and Chairman Reginald Maudslay retired in 1934 and died soon afterwards on 14 December 1934 at the age of 64. Charles James Band 1883-1961, a Coventry solicitor and a Standard director since 1920, replaced him as chairman and served in that capacity until the beginning of 1954 though Sir John Black briefly held the appointment before he retired. 1935 saw all production transferred to the Canley site. Extensive re-organisation occurred including a continuous track being laid down in the paint shop on which the cars were completely painted.
Through the 1930s, fortunes improved with new models, the Standard Nine and Standard Ten addressed the low to mid range market. At the 1935 Motor Show the new range of Flying Standards was announced with (semi) streamlined bodies. The Flying Standards came to the market in 1936 with their distinctive streamlined sloping rears virtually replacing the existing range of Nine, Twelve, Sixteen, and Twenty. The Flying Standards were so-called because of the major radiator shell change to a waterfall grille topped by the Union Jack badge apparently streaming backwards in contrast to its previous forward-facing position.
The Flying Nine, Flying Ten, Flying Twelve, and Flying Fourteen had four-cylinder engines, while the Flying Sixteen and Flying Twenty had six-cylinder engines. At the top of the range was the Standard Flying V-Eight, with a 20 RAC hp side-valve 90 degree V8 engine and a top speed of more than 80 mph (130 km/h). 250 Flying V-Eights were made from 1936 to 1937; they were offered for sale from 1936 to 1938 with the initial price of £349 lowered to ₤325 in the last year to clear inventory.
In 1938 a new factory was opened at Fletchampstead. That year, Standard launched the Flying Eight. The Flying Eight had a new four-cylinder engine smaller than that in the Flying Nine, and was the first British mass-produced light saloon with independent front suspension. The Flying Ten and Flying Twelve were also given new chassis with independent front suspension in 1938.
The aero engine plant at Banner Lane, a shadow factory, began construction in mid 1939 and production began in 1940. It was managed by Standard for the Air Ministry. After the war Standard leased Banner Lane and in partnership with Harry Ferguson made his Ferguson tractors.
By the beginning of the war, Standard's annual production was approximately 50,000 units.
Second World War
The company continued to produce its cars during the Second World War, but now mainly fitted with utility bodies ("Tillies"). However, the most famous war-time product was the de Havilland Mosquito aircraft, mainly the FB VI version, of which more than 1100 were made. 750 Airspeed Oxfords were also made as well as 20,000 Bristol Mercury VIII engines, and 3,000 Bristol Beaufighter fuselages.
Other wartime products included 4000 Beaverette light armoured cars and a prototype lightweight "Jeep" type vehicle.
With peace, the pre-war Eight and Twelve the twelve fitted with 1776cc engine sold as 14 hp cars were quickly back in production using tools carefully stored since 1939. Of greater significance was the 1945 purchase, arranged by Sir John Black for £75,000, of the Triumph Motor Company. Triumph had gone into receivership in 1939, and was now reformed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard, named Triumph Motor Company (1945) Limited. The Triumph factory was near the city centre and had been completely destroyed in the blitz. A lucrative deal was also arranged to build the small Ferguson Company tractor. This arrangement was considered primarily by Black as a means to securing increased profits to fund new car development.
In December 1945 Standard Motor Company Limited announced that an arrangement had been made to manufacture Mr Harry Ferguson's tractors and the Air Ministry's shadow factory at Banner Lane Coventry run by Standard during the war would be used for the project. These tractors would be for the Eastern hemisphere, Ferguson tractors built by Ford in America for the Western hemisphere. Production was expected to start in 1946. Implements would be sourced separately by Ferguson who would also merchandise the tractors and the implements.
A one-model policy for the Standard marque (alongside a range of new Triumphs) was adopted in 1948 with the introduction of the 2-litre Standard Vanguard, which was styled on American lines by Walter Belgrove, and replaced all the carry-over pre-war models. This aptly named model was the first true post-war design from any major British manufacturer. The beetle-back Vanguard Phase 1 was replaced in 1953 by the notch-back Phase 2 and in 1955 by the all-new Phase 3, which resulted in variants such as the Sportsman, Ensign, Vanguard Vignale and Vanguard Six.
Standard Eight and Ten
The one-model policy lasted until 1953, when a new Standard Eight small car was added. This was introduced at £481. 7. 6. the cheapest four-door saloon on the market, yet it boasted independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes and an economical O.H.V. engine. At the same time in another part of the same building Standards were producing a very different engine, the Rolls Royce Avon jet aero engine of which 415 were made between 1951 and 1955. In 1954 the Eight was supplemented by the slightly more powerful Standard Ten which featured a wider chrome grille.
The Phase II Vanguard was powered, like the Phase I, by a 2088 cc 4-cylinder "wet sleeve" engine, now with a modestly increased compression ratio, and producing 68 hp. This engine could be modified by using an additional intake system and two single-barrel Solex carburettors, producing 90 hp. Typically, the Phase II engine was one Solex carburettor, with 85 mm by 93 mm pistons. Standard Motors at the time supplied many of these engines to Ferguson Tractor distributed in the United States.
The Ten was followed in its turn in 1957 by the Standard Pennant featuring very prominent tail fins, but otherwise little altered structurally from the 1953 Standard Eight. An option for the Ten, and standard fitment to the Pennant, was the Gold Star engine, tuned for greater power and torque than the standard 948 cc unit. Another tuning set, featuring a different camshaft and twin carburettors, was available from dealers. As well as an overdrive for the gearbox, an option for the Eight, Ten and Pennant was the Standrive, a semi-manual transmission that automatically operated the clutch during gearchanges.
During the same year that the '8' was introduced, another car was displayed at the London Motor Show. This was the Triumph 20TS, a sports two-seater with a modified Standard '8' chassis and a Vanguard engine. The 20TS's lack of luggage space and unsatisfactory performance and handling resulted in production being delayed until the next year when the chassis and drivetrain were developed and the body was restyled to incorporate a generous boot. The car was badged as a 'Triumph' rather than a 'Standard' and the Triumph TR2 was a winner.[clarification needed] Ken Richardson achieved 124 mph (200 km/h) on the Jabbeke Highway in Belgium in a slightly modified car. As a result of the publicity, small manufacturers, including Morgan, Peerless, Swallow, and Doretti, bought engines and other components from Standard Motor Company.
Standard Atlas van
In 1958 the Standard Atlas panel van and pick-up was first vended, a cab-over-engine design. It initially used the 948 cc engine from the Standard 10, making the resulting vehicle woefully underpowered, even with its 6.66:1 final drive ratio. In 1961, the Atlas Major was introduced, and sold alongside the original 948 cc Atlas. This variant was powered by the Standard 1670 cc wet-liner motor, as used with different capacities in the Vanguard cars, and the Ferguson tractor. The same engine was also used in Triumph TR2, TR3 and TR4 sports cars. To use this larger engine, a substantial redesign of the cab interior and forward chassis was necessary. The vehicles were of a high standard but not priced competitively, which resulted in relatively few sales. In 1963 the Atlas Major became the Standard 15, with a new long-wheelbase variant, with 2138 cc engine, became the Standard 20. Later that year, the Standard name became disused by Leyland, and these models were rebranded hastily as Leyland 15 and 20. By 1968 when production ended in the UK, all variants were powered by the 2138 cc engine and badged as Leyland 20s.
These vehicles were badged as Triumphs for export to Canada, and possibly other overseas markets. The van's tooling was also exported to India after UK production ceased, where the resultant vehicle continued in production until the 1980s.
By the later 1950s the small Standards were losing out in the UK market to more modern competitor designs, and the Triumph name was believed to be more marketable; hence the 1959 replacement for the Eight, Ten and Pennant was badged as the Triumph Herald; with substantial mechanical components carried over from the small Standards. Despite the separate chassis and independent rear suspension, the differential, hubs, brakes, engine and gearbox were all common to the last Standard Pennants. In order to build the Herald the company invested £ 2 1⁄2 million in a new assembly hall extension at the Canley plant which Standard had acquired in 1916. The builders of the three-storey building excavated 250,000 tons of soil and rock. Inside the building were three 1300 ft assembly lines equipped to be one of the most modern car assembly plants in the world. This turned out to be the company's last investment on such a scale at Canley: investment decisions after the merger with Rover would favour the newer plant at Solihull.
Overseas manufacturing plants were opened in Australia, France, India and South Africa. Overseas assembly plants were opened in Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Sir John Black
During the year ended 31 August 1954 Standard made and sold 73,000 cars and 61,500 tractors and much more than half of those were exported. Since the war Standard had made and sold some 418,000 cars and 410,000 tractors and again much more than half were exported. Appointed to Standard's then ailing business in 1929, director and general manager since 1930 and appointed managing director in 1934 energetic Sir John Black resigned as chairman and managing director of Standard that year following a serious motorcar accident. He was advised (after consultations with his wife and close friends) to relinquish his offices of chairman and managing director and his membership of the board of directors. His deputy and long-time personal assistant, Alick Dick 1916-1986, took his position as managing director. Air Marshal Lord Tedder was appointed chairman, Tedder would hold that position until the Leyland takeover at the end of 1960. A S Dick resigned in August 1961 when the board was reorganised by Leyland in view of the substantial losses Standard was accumulating.
Standard's Vanguard engine
The Vanguard's engine, later slightly enlarged, powered two saloons, a tractor and three sports cars
The Standard-Triumph company was eventually bought in 1960 by Leyland Motors Ltd which paid £20 million and the last Standard, an Ensign Deluxe, was produced in the UK in May 1963, when the final Vanguard models were replaced by the Triumph 2000 model. Triumph continued when Leyland became British Leyland Motor Corporation (later BL) in 1968. The Standard brand was ended on 17 August 1970 when a sudden announcement said that henceforth the Company was to be known as the Triumph Motor Company. The Standard name has been unused in Europe since then and the Triumph or Rover Triumph BL subsidiary used the former Standard engineering and production facilities at Canley in Coventry until the plant was closed in 1980.
BMW acquired the Standard and Triumph brands following its purchase of BL's successor Rover Group in 1994. When most of Rover was sold in 2000, BMW kept the Standard brand along with Triumph, MINI and Riley. The management of British Motor Heritage Ltd, gained the rights to the Standard Brand upon their management purchase of this company from BMW in 2001 (reference BMH website linked below).
There was talk of a possible revival of the Standard name by MG Rover for its importation of the Tata Indica (reference Channel 4 website below). However, for reasons relating to the ownership of the brand by BMW, the car was finally launched as the Rover CityRover.
Standard in India
The Standard name endured into the 1980s in India, where Standard Motor Products of India Ltd., Madras manufactured the Triumph Herald badged as the 'Standard Herald' and with the basic 948 cc engine during the 1960s, with increasingly local content and design changes over the years, eventually producing additional four-door and five-door estate models exclusively for the Indian market by the late '60s.
After 1970, Standard Motor Products split with British Leyland, and introduced a bodily restyled four-door saloon based on the Herald known as the Standard Gazel in 1972, using the same 948 cc engine but with a live rear axle, as the Herald's swing-axle was not liked much by Indian buyers and mechanics alike. Allegedly India's first indigenous car, the Gazel was built in small numbers – it has been suggested that it did so to keep its manufacturer's licence – until 1977. With the company concentrating solely on producing commercial vehicles based on the Leyland 20 model, badged as "Standard 20", production of Standard cars ceased until the Standard 2000, a rebadged Rover SD1, was introduced in 1985. The car was higher and had a slightly modified old 1991 cc Standard Vanguard engine, as the company could not procure the licence to use the original Rover engine on this car, and was thus not successful, apart from the reasons that it had competition from cars with Japanese and other newer, fuel-efficient technology in India. It ceased production in 1987, with the local factory also closing its operations forever at the same time. After feeble efforts over successive years to revive the company, the premises were auctioned off in 2006, with Rimmer Bros. (UK) buying up the entire unused stock of SD1 parts.
British car models
Pre World War 1
|1903||Motor Victoria||6 hp||1006 cc||5 in (127 mm) x 3 in (76 mm)||side||
||78 in (1,981 mm)|
|1904–05||Motor Victoria||12/15 hp||1926 cc||5 in (127 mm) x 3 in (76 mm)||side||
|1905||16 hp||3142 cc||100 mm (3.9 in) x 100 mm (3.9 in)||side||
||108 in (2,743 mm)|
|1905–08||18/20||4714 cc||100 mm (3.9 in) x 100 mm (3.9 in)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1906||Model 8||16/20||3531 cc||102 mm (4.0 in) x 108 mm (4.3 in)||side||
||108 in (2,743 mm) / 120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1906||Model 9||24/30||5232 cc||4 in (102 mm) x 4 in (102 mm)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm) / 132 in (3,353 mm)|
|1906||Model 10||10 hp||631 cc||70 mm (2.8 in) x 82 mm (3.2 in)||side||
||78 in (1,981 mm)|
|1906–12||Model 11||50 hp||11734 cc||140 mm (5.5 in) x 127 mm (5.0 in)||side||
||132 in (3,353 mm)|
|1906–12||Model 12||50 hp||11734 cc||140 mm (5.5 in) x 127 mm (5.0 in)||side||
||144 in (3,658 mm)|
|1907||15 hp||1893 cc||70 mm (2.8 in) x 82 mm (3.2 in)||side||
||87 in (2,210 mm)|
|1907–08||Model B||30 hp||5297 cc||102 mm (4.0 in) x 108 mm (4.3 in)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1908–11||Model C||40 hp||6167 cc||102 mm (4.0 in) x 107 mm (4.2 in)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1908–11||Model D||30 hp||4032 cc||89 mm (3.5 in) x 108 mm (4.3 in)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1909–11||Model E||16 hp||2688 cc||89 mm (3.5 in) x 108 mm (4.3 in)||side||
||110 in (2,794 mm) / 120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1912||Model G||25 hp||4032 cc||89 mm (3.5 in) x 108 mm (4.3 in)||side||
||116 in (2,946 mm)|
|1910–11||Model J||12 hp||1656 cc||68 mm (2.7 in) x 114 mm (4.5 in)||side||
||96 in (2,438 mm)|
|1911–12||Model K||15 hp||2368 cc||80 mm (3.1 in) x 120 mm (4.7 in)||side||
||120 in (3,048 mm)|
|1911–13||Model L||20 hp||3620 cc||80 mm (3.1 in) x 120 mm (4.7 in)||side||
||126 in (3,200 mm)|
|1913–14||Model O||20 hp||3336 cc||89 mm (3.5 in) x 133 mm (5.2 in)||side||
||121 in (3,073 mm) / 128 in (3,251 mm)|
|1913–18||Model S||9.5 hp||1087 cc||62 mm (2.4 in) x 90 mm (3.5 in)||side||
||90 in (2,286 mm)|
(Sources—Standard Motor Club and Graham Robson Book of the Standard Motor Company, Veloce, ISBN 978-1-845843-43-4)
|1919–21||9.5 hp Model SLS||1328 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1921–23||8 hp||1087 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1921–23||11.6 hp SLO||1598 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1922–26||13.9 hp SLO-4||1944 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1923–27||11.4 hp V3||1307 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1926–28||13.9 hp V4||1944 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1927–28||18/36 hp||2230 cc ohv 6-cylinder|
|1927–30||9 hp||1153 or 1287 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1929–33||15 hp||1930 or 2054 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1930–33||9.9 hp Big Nine||1287 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1931–35||20 hp Envoy||2552 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1932–33||Little Nine||1006 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1932–33||Little Twelve||1337 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1932–33||Big Twelve||1497 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1934||12/6||1497 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1934–35||10/12 Speed Model||1608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1934–36||Nine||1052 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1934–36||Ten||1343 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1934–36||Twelve||1608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1934–36||Sixteen||2143 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1935–36||Twenty||2664 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1937–38||Flying Ten||1267 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1937–40||Flying Twelve||1608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1937–40||Flying Nine||1131 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1937–40||Flying Light Twelve||1343 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1937–40||Flying Fourteen||1608 cc or 1776 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1936–40||Flying Sixteen||2143 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1936–40||Flying Twenty||2663 cc side-valve 6-cylinder|
|1936–38||Flying V8||2686 cc side-valve V-8-cylinder|
|1938–40||Flying Eight||1021 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1945–48||Eight||1021 cc side-valve four-cylinder||
|1945–48||Twelve||1608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder||
|1945–48||Fourteen||1776 cc side-valve 4-cylinder||
|1947–53||Vanguard Phase I||2088 cc OHV 4-cylinder||
|1953–55||Vanguard Phase II||2088 cc ohv 4-cylinder
2092 cc ohv 4-cylinder diesel
|1953–57||Eight||803 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1954–56||Ten||948 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1955–58||Vanguard Phase III||2088 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1956–57||Vanguard Sportsman||2088 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1957–61||Ensign||1670 cc ohv 4-cylinder
2092 cc ohv 4-cylinder diesel
|1957–59||Pennant||948 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1958–61||Vanguard Vignale||2088 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
|1960–63||Vanguard Six||1998 cc ohv 6-cylinder||
|1962–63||Ensign II||2138 cc ohv 4-cylinder||
Military and commercial
|1940–43||Beaverette||1,776 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1940 -1943 type CD 1943-1945 type UV||12 hp Light Utility||1,608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1943||Jeep||1,608 cc side-valve 4-cylinder|
|1947–58||12 cwt||2,088 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1954–62||6 cwt||948 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1958–62||10 hp Atlas||948 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1962–63||Atlas Major||1,670 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
|1962–65||7 cwt||1,147 cc ohv 4-cylinder|
- Standard-Triumph Changes. The Times, Tuesday, Oct 06, 1959; pg. 17; Issue 54584.
- Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
- Sir Charles Friswell. The Times, Friday, Dec 17, 1926; pg. 16; Issue 44457
- "Goodbye Standard long live Triumph". Motor: 39–40. 15 May 1976.
- Apral, K. "Standard 1930". www.classiccarcatalogue.com. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- Mr. C. J. Band, The Times, Tuesday, Jan 08, 1935; pg. 19; Issue 46956
- The Standard Motor Company. The Times, Wednesday, Dec 16, 1953; pg. 12; Issue 52806
- Robson, Graham (May 2011). The Book of the Standard Motor Company. Poundbury, Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-845843-43-4. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
A side-by-side comparison shows that the Eight block was smaller in all dimensions than the Nine/Ten, ensuring that all the major components – block, crankshaft, and camshaft – were new, as were the spacings between cylinder centres.
- Robson, Graham, The Book of the Standard Motor Company, p. 126
- Robson, Graham, The Book of the Standard Motor Company, pp. 63–64
- Motor Industry Management: Journal of the Institute of the Motor Industry. Burke House Periodicals. 1995. p. 25. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
Standard Flying Eight – first 8hp car with independent front suspension.
- Roberts, Peter (1984). The history of the automobile. Exeter Books. p. 145. ISBN 0-6710-7148-3. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
The ultimate was probably the Standard Flying Eight which had the new advantage for a small car of independent front suspension...
- Robson, Graham, The Book of the Standard Motor Company, p. 69
- Robson, Graham, The Book of the Standard Motor Company, pp. 63–64: "However, we do know, for certain, that in the 1938/39 financial year, which ended on 31 August 1939, exactly 50,729 cars were produced ..."
- Standard Motor Company Record Turnover And Profit, Mr. C. J. Band On Expansion Policy The Times, Friday, Dec 21, 1945; pg. 10; Issue 50331
- Sir John Black. The Times, Wednesday, Dec 29, 1965; pg. 8; Issue 56515
- Standard Motor Company (Manufacturers of Standard and Triumph Cars, Ferguson Tractors, and Standard Commercial Vehicles). The Times, Thursday, Oct 14, 1954; pg. 13; Issue 53062
- Reorganizing Standard Triumph. The Times, Tuesday, Aug 22, 1961; pg. 8; Issue 55166
- Robson 2006, p. [page needed]
- Michael Sedgwick and Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945-1970, Haymarket Publishing Ltd, 1994, page 185
- Sedgwick & Gillies 1986.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Standard Motor Company.|
- Standard Motor Club
- Standard Flying V-Eight
- Hari's Motor World—Indian cars
- "Archival material relating to Standard Motor Company". UK National Archives.
- Catalogue of the Standard archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
|British Leyland – car companies and marques|
|BMH||BLMC / British Leyland||Jaguar
|Rover||Rover Company||Rover Company||Rover Company||Austin Rover Group
Land Rover Group (BL plc)
|Rover Group (BAe)||Rover Group
|MG Rover Group (PVH)|
|Land Rover||Ford (PAG)|
|Standard||Standard||Standard Triumph||Leyland Motors||British Motor Heritage|
|MG||Morris Garages (MG)||Rover Group
|MG Rover Group (PVH)||SAIC
|Vanden Plas||Vanden Plas|
|Princess||BMC||BLMC / British Leyland|
|Austin-Healey||Austin (BMC) & Donald Healey| | <urn:uuid:8e858d72-8cdb-4f02-87f8-980f5d36a999> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Motor_Company | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719041.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00169-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946076 | 8,348 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Books & Bibles
Fashion & Jewelry
Gifts & Giving
Home Decor & Accents
Kitchen & Gourmet
Beauty & Health
Christian Bookstore .Net is a leading online Christian book store.
Shop Christian Books, Bibles, Jewelry, Church Supplies, Homeschool Curriculum & More!
"One of the first great events in Christian history was the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, convened to organize Christian sects and beliefs into a unified doctrine. The great Christian clergymen who wrote before this famous event are referred to as the Ante-Nicenes and the Apostolic Fathers, and their writings are collected here in a ten-volume set. The Ante-Nicenes lived so close to the time of Christ that their interpretations of the New Testament are considered more authentic than modern voices. But they are also real and flawed men, who are more like their fellow Christians than they are like the Apostles, making their words echo in the ears of spiritual seekers. Volume X of the 10-volume collected works of the Ante-Nicenes, first published between 1885 and 1896, is a complete bibliography for the first nine volumes of The Ante-Nicene Fathers. It also includes an index for referenced biblical passages."
Buy THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, Volume X Bibliographic Synopsis; General Index by Reverend Alexander Roberts from our Christian Books store - isbn: 9781602064874 & 1602064873
The team at Christian Bookstore .Net welcome you to our Christian Book store! We offer the best selections of Christian Books, Bibles, Christian Music, Inspirational Jewelry and Clothing, Homeschool curriculum, and Church Supplies. We encourage you to purchase your copy of THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, Volume X Bibliographic Synopsis; General Index by Reverend Alexander Roberts today - and if you are for any reason not happy, you have 30 days to return it. Please contact us at 1-877-205-6402 if you have any questions.
Customer Support: 1-888-395-0572 | <urn:uuid:5c28d5da-cec3-4667-a649-c5b6d808bb10> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.christianbookstore.net/the-ante-nicene-fathers-the-writings-of/catalog-360415/ | 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 | 0.894492 | 466 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Chain conveyors are a kind of continuous conveyor and are used to transport heavy pallets.
Do you need a simple drive solution for moving bulk or piece goods along a horizontal or tilted path? Scenarios of this kind require an inverter for a smooth start and a method of speed control over...
Looking for a roller conveyor drive solution with a constant speed? You can find the answer in our efficient mains-powered three-phase geared motors.
An ejector is needed for sorting piece goods or changing their transport direction.
Do you need materials handling technology that can not only load and unload material, but also store and sort? Then what you need is a turntable.
Scissor lift table
Materials handling technology solutions for restricted vertical transport sections are particularly challenging.
Overcome great heights with lifting stations capable of vertically transporting goods over large distances.
Automated guided vehicle systems
Finding their way. Automated guided vehicle systems are industrial trucks that transport goods independently from the loading area to the intended destination.
Shuttle systems offer improved flexibility in many high bay warehouses and offer very fast and precise access to products, particularly during peak periods.
Storage and retrieval unit
Seamlessly manage and store your piece goods with a sophisticated storage and retrieval unit.
Our drives for pallet systems optimise pallet loading operations. | <urn:uuid:29d176f4-40c5-4d2c-bd8b-d3c39d87ea4e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.lenze.com/en/industry-sector-expertise/intralogistics/warehouse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00362-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90997 | 276 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Donald Trump’s presidency is well underway, but many observers are still trying to understand how he won the office in the first place. Plenty of explanations are circulating, from Hillary Clinton’s weaknesses as a candidate to pervasive sexism and class disenfranchisement in the Rust Belt. But whatever the truth, those who worked tirelessly on behalf of Trump have got what they were after.
A small subset of these campaigners is worth special attention. Not so much because of their political convictions but because of their unrestrained fervour to fulfil an ancient Egyptian prophecy involving Trump, a cartoon frog, and an online counterculture.
The story starts with the infamous online image board 4chan, which has been a weather-vane of internet subculture since its conception in 2003. 4chan is divided into sub-forums about topics ranging from video games and anime to politics. Users communicate largely through memes – images somehow grounded in pop culture and featuring a recurring character, figure or phrase. Around 2010, 4chan users began posting and reposting the image of a cartoon frog, Pepe. By 2015, his wrinkly, wide-eyed face had become a staple meme within the community.
The sub-forum “/pol/” caters to the internet’s extreme fringe: anarchists, communists, far-right extremists and white supremacists. /pol/ is 4chan’s second most popular sub-forum, and is one of the main forces that set the tone for online fringe political discussion.
Pepe the frog and /pol/ first collided with the outside world in June of 2015, when Trump announced his candidacy for president of the united states. Trump, with his aversion to “political correctness” and penchant for flair and showmanship, was /pol/’s immediate candidate of choice. And so, Pepe the frog was edited to wear a “Make America Great Again” hat, and began appearing in hundreds of Trump-supporting forum posts.
At that very time, an event of religious significance to /pol/ contributors was approaching.
Each post published on 4chan bears an identifying number, assigned consecutively by order of publication. Because of the huge number of posts published every day, this number is practically random. 4chan has an old tradition of users trying to have their posts obtain certain special numbers, known as “gets”. The most precious “gets” are round numbers (such as 1m) or those that repeat all their digits. By October of 2015, /pol/ was approaching its 77777777th post, seen to be of particular importance because the number 7 is often associated with good luck and fortune. The post that would “get” that number was sure to gain legendary status within the community.
As it happened, the 77777777th “get” was for the message “Trump will win”.
This sent /pol/ and the broader 4chan community into paroxysms of amazement and glee. To fulfil this prophecy, the sub-forum started an online campaign in support of Trump. Users on /pol/ believed that the best way they could help Trump’s chances of victory was by creating and spreading pro-Trump internet memes outside of 4chan. They called it the “meme war”: if they could expose regular social media users (“normies”) to as many pro-Trump memes as possible, Trump would forever dominate the online news cycle, giving him a better chance of winning the primaries and maybe even the presidency.
It was from this melting pot that the cult of Kek emerged.
The word “Kek”, originally a Korean onomatopoeia for a raspy laugh, had long been used on 4chan as a replacement for “lol” (laughing out loud). One day, a /pol/ contributor discovered that Kek is also the name of an ancient Egyptian frog god.
The similarities between Kek and Pepe were striking enough as it was, but Kek also has a female alter ego, or nemesis, that takes the form of a snake. This was quickly taken to symbolise Clinton, a universally reviled character within the /pol/ community. What’s more, to our modern eyes, the hieroglyphs supposedly used to write the name Kek in ancient Egyptian even strongly resemble a man sitting in front of his computer.
Some of this, incidentally, is simply incorrect. According to an Egyptologist we contacted, Kek – which perhaps fittingly means “darkness” in ancient Egyptian – is not in fact a frog god per se, but rather one of four male Egyptian gods who are usually depicted with frog’s heads. Their female counterparts are depicted with serpentine heads. The hieroglyphs on the frog statuette above actually spell “Heqet”, which is the real name of the Egyptian frog goddess often associated with fertility and procreation.
Historical inaccuracies notwithstanding, this series of coincidences proved too much for the 4chan community to ignore, and the cult of Kek was born. The frog-headed Kek became the father, Pepe the holy spirit, and Trump the son, sent to Earth to fulfil a divine destiny.
Kek’s followers busied themselves disseminating Pepe memes everywhere on the mainstream internet. The Clinton campaign mistakenly attributed their efforts to a Nazi-esque ideology, and declared Pepe a public enemy – a grave misunderstanding of online counterculture. Until then, Pepe had been a harmless meme on the mainstream internet, with celebrities like Katy Perry retweeting images of him; sudden demonisation by the Clinton campaign endowed the cult with a remarkable legitimacy.
Kek cultists and 4chan’s Trump followers flocked to vote in online post-debate polls, racking up huge Trump margins. Trump repeatedly cited these results as proof of his debating prowess, although the polls concerned allowed people to vote more than once. This allowed him to present a narrative of unstoppable victory, even in the face of what would normally have been campaign-destroying scandals.
What this saga means for the future role of the internet in political campaigning isn’t yet clear, but a precedent has been set: no matter how bizarre or misinformed, the collective power of tens of thousands of internet cultists appears to works wonders. | <urn:uuid:80865b4b-55f8-46a2-8531-66f119ce9312> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://theconversation.com/how-an-ancient-egyptian-god-spurred-the-rise-of-trump-72598 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.963421 | 1,322 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Vast and sparsely populated, you can isolate characters in Northern Alaska in a way that’s hard to match anywhere else on earth. Here, there’s no running to a house and pounding on the door for help because the nearest house is over a hundred miles away. There’s no phoning the police or a friend or loved one because there are no phone lines, no cell reception, no WIFI. This remoteness and lack of communication heighten the sense of threat and, at a practical level for a writer, remove the thorny problem of “Why don’t they just go to the police?” The characters’ isolation makes them acutely vulnerable but also, in forcing them to be totally self-reliant, reveals hitherto unknown courage and resilience and, at times, despair.
In my story, a mother and child journey across Northern Alaska in November to look for the missing father. At this time of year in arctic Alaska, night lasts for two months and so the novel is set almost entirely in darkness. This endless night is a gift for a writer. Adults as well as children fear the dark with good reason. You cannot see danger, cannot ascertain if there’s a threat, or what it might be, or how close it is. Other senses go onto heightened alert: a sudden noise is alarming, a sensation of being watched makes the hairs on your neck stand up but you can’t verify if you’re right to be afraid. Darkness cloaks the story in a layer of uncertainty and apprehension. For mile after mile, the mother sees headlights behind her but cannot make out the driver or even the type of vehicle. She initially thinks of him as a protector but then realizes he’s a predator, tracking them through the darkness. The dark can let a person trust someone she should fear.
The lack of daylight also creates a more subtle tension. The characters are used to a diurnal day-night rhythm but in Alaska, the rhythm is stuck at night. They are disorientated because there are no visible markers in the landscape around them; their disorientation also becomes mental as they lose track of days. A character describes not knowing what day it is any more and feeling that out here there are no days, no turning of the Earth to reach the face of a sun, but a dark night of the soul in which only violent storms break time into different pieces.
In Northern Alaska, the temperature can plummet as low as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold is a killing, remorseless adversary, as dangerous—or more so—than the human threat. Frostbite and hypothermia become real and urgent dangers. The mother sees cold as a predator conceived in a place without daylight, the daughter as a monster with rows and rows of scissor-sharp teeth that can tear her into shreds. But worse is the mother’s changed opinion, as she succumbs to hypothermia, that cold is vastly and cruelly impersonal, absorbing you into itself.
Whilst I plundered the setting of Northern Alaska for the thriller aspect of the book, there was also a literary reason for setting a novel in Alaska. This is a place where landscape easily becomes metaphor. It is a place that contains subtlety as well as enormity of scale. The tundra is vast but is made up of tiny fragile plants. Astonishingly, in the seemingly desolate landscape, there are animals and birds that stay and endure the Arctic winter, whose fur and feathers turn white to match the land and skies. Inupiat people have lived in Northern Alaska for centuries and their culture is extraordinary. Looking up at the night sky in Alaska, the stars hardly seem to move; near to the North Pole, the earth is almost literally revolving around you. If Alaska itself became more of a character than simply a setting, it is a character that is beautiful as well as brutal, unique, and multifaceted. | <urn:uuid:c229a0b0-1562-4285-a52b-f742a4ed4704> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.mysterycenter.com/2016/02/22/why-i-chose-to-set-my-story-in-alaska/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.957531 | 817 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Summary: Brief overview article on the Roswell incident, from Roswell Online
In early July 1947 an incident occurred in the desert just outside of Roswell, NM. Many people have heard of the Roswell UFO crash, but very few people know the details of the incident. The following account of the 1947 UFO incident was taken from public records, from information provided by the International UFO Museum and from the press release for UFO Encounter 1997.
On the evening of July 3, 1947 Dan Wilmot, a respected business owner, and his wife were sitting on their front porch when they saw a bright saucer shaped object with glowing lights moving across they sky at 400-500 miles per hour. Dan Wilmot estimated that the unidentified flying object was about 20-25 feet across. The flying object appeared from the Southeast and disappeared to the Northwest. Dan Wilmot reported his unusual sighting to the Roswell Daily Record.
In early July W.W. (Mac) Brazel, the Foreman of the J. B. Foster Ranch rode out to check his sheep after a night of intense thunderstorms. Mac Brazel discovered a large amount of unusual debris scattered across one of the ranch's pastures. Mac Brazel took some pieces of the debris, showed them to some friends and neighbors and eventually contacted Chaves County Sheriff George Wilcox. Suspecting that the materials described by Mac Brazel might be connected with military operations, Sheriff Wilcox notified authorities at the Roswell Army Air Field (subsequently renamed Walker AFB) for assistance in the matter.
Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer at the 509th Bomb Group, was involved in the recovery of the wreckage which was initially transported to Roswell Army Air Field. On July 8th the Roswell Daily Record's headline story revealed that the wreckage of a flying saucer had been recovered from a ranch in the area. When questioned Major Jesse Marcel disclosed that the wreckage had been flown from New Mexico on to higher headquarters.
Colonel William Blanchard, Commander of the 509th Bomb Group, issued a press release stating that the wreckage of a crashed disk had been recovered. A second press release was issued from the office of General Roger Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Air Force at Ft. Worth Army Air Field in Ft. Worth, Texas within hours of the first press release. The second press release rescinded the first press release and claimed that officers of the 509th Bomb Group had incorrectly identified a weather balloon and its radar reflector as a crashed disk.
The Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell had a contract to provide ambulance and mortuary services for Roswell Army Air Field. Glenn Dennis, a young Mortician who worked for Ballard Funeral Homes, received several phone calls from the Mortuary Officer at the air field prior to learning of the recovery of the wreckage. Glenn Dennis was asked about the availability of small hermetically sealed caskets and for his recommendations on the preservation of bodies that had been exposed to the elements for several days. His curiosity aroused, Glenn Dennis visited the Base Hospital that evening and was forcibly escorted from the building. This behavior only incited Glenn Dennis' curiosity and he arranged to meet a nurse from the Base Hospital on the following day in a coffee house. The nurse had been in attendance during autopsies performed on "... several small non-human bodies ...". Glenn Dennis kept drawings of aliens that the nurse had sketched on a napkin during their meeting. This meeting was to be their last and Glenn Dennis could learn no more about the alien bodies, as the nurse was abruptly transferred to England within the next few days.
On July 9th the Roswell Daily Record revealed that the wreckage had been found on the J.B. Foster Ranch. Mac Brazel was so harassed that he became sorry he had ever reported his find to the Chaves County Sheriff.
In the following days virtually every witness to the crash wreckage and the subsequent recovery efforts was either abruptly transferred or seemed to disappear from the face of the earth. This led to suspicions that an extraordinary event was the subject of a deliberate government coverup. Over the years books, interviews and articles from a number of military personnel, who had been involved with the incident, have added to the suspicions of a deliberate coverup.
In 1979 Jesse Marcel was interviewed regarding his role in the recovery of the wreckage. Jesse Marcel stated, "... it would not burn ... that stuff weighs nothing, it's so thin, it isn't any thicker than the tinfoil in a pack of cigarettes. It wouldn't bend. We even tried making a dent in it with a 16 pound sledge hammer. And there was still no dent in it." Officers who had been stationed at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio (where the wreckage was taken) at the time of the incident have supported Jesse Marcel's claims.
Dr. Jesse Marcel, Jr., eleven years old at the time of the incident, accompanied his Dad during the retrieval efforts. Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. has produced detailed drawings of hieroglyphic like symbols that he saw on the surface of some of the wreckage. Dr Marcel testifies regularly on his belief that a UFO of some type crashed in Roswell. | <urn:uuid:12e8fc83-8a07-41c4-bbe7-095a71e3f466> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc384.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00401-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979173 | 1,056 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Heidelberg City Guide
Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Heidelberg is one of the jewels among German cities: surrounded by mountains, the river Neckar running through it, the Heidelberg Castle, one of Germany’s oldest universities and many small alleys leading through rows of historic houses.
Heidelberg’s being cosmopolitan is shown by the “International Music Festival“ in the springtime, while its being traditional becoming visible when hosting the “Tour de Ländle”, the Baden cycling championships.
We may recommend the hotels in the district Walldorf, e.g the "Holiday Inn Heidelberg-Walldorf" in suburban region, but near the city at the same time. It is equipped with a swimming pool, a sauna, a solarium and all the comforts you could ask for.
Also in the district Walldorf you may choose the 4*-star hotel “Vorfelder“, located near the city of Heidelberg. The restaurant “L’Estale”, which belongs to the hotel, has high-class cuisine to offer.
You will be able to reach any place in the city easily with the tram, or places further away with the train starting at Heidelberg’s central station.
If you are looking for a hotel in the city centre, you may book the “NH-Hotel”, which has been evaluated by its guests as being “excellent”.
And if you are looking for a smaller, familial hotel, you will have a great variety to choose from, e.g. the 2*-hotel “Elite“, which offers whole-food for breakfast.
Total population: 144,634 (31st December 2006)
Postal codes: 69115-691216 | <urn:uuid:f2d024e6-9ae1-4409-8bdc-0e1c1e13d4a8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.hotel.info/en/heidelberg/hotels-35086/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00007-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944052 | 404 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Beware The Ides Of March…That’s Today, March 15th!
Today is March 15, or more famously, “The Ides of March”. From Julius Caesers time…This was the day he was stabbed (23 times) in 44 B.C.
It has also become an interesting day in pop culture…From Wikipedia.com…
“The Ides of March is celebrated every year by the Rome Hash House Harriers with a toga run in the streets of Rome, in the same place where Julius Caesar was killed.
# The Republic of Hungary commemorates National Day, a remembrance of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 which grew into a war for independence from Habsburg rule.
# The Atlanta Chapter of the Dagorhir Battle Games Association hosts an annual spring event at Red Horse Stables on the weekend closest to 15 March. The event is appropriately named “The Ides of March”.
# The Temple Hill Association in New Windsor, NY holds an annual dinner in honor of the Ides of March because it is also the day that General George Washington quelled a mutiny of his Officers in 1783
# Founders Brewing Company have had a tradition of releasing their Founders KBS beer on the Ides of March
# Former employees of Hayssen Manufacturing in Sheboygan Wisconsin, USA, use the Ides of March as a remembrance of the day (March 15, 1995) the announcement was made that the plant they worked at was being closed permanently.
Ya don’t see August 11 get this kind of treatment, do ya? | <urn:uuid:1aed56b5-1d52-4511-bd91-84fbd8fa66c5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://wfgr.com/beware-the-ides-of-march-thats-today-march-15th/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00466-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967006 | 334 | 1.914063 | 2 |
On Friday, June 24, the United States Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for the right to abortion.
The sweeping decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and leaves legal protections at risk for contraception, same-sex marriage and IVF. The decision has allowed abortion bans to go into effect in 18 states.
Copy and paste this URL into your WordPress site to embed
Copy and paste this code into your site to embed | <urn:uuid:8f24f905-6b34-4381-96fc-59fce597decc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://msmagazine.com/2022/06/24/supreme-court-overturn-roe-v-wade-abortion/embed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573667.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819100644-20220819130644-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.918996 | 102 | 1.59375 | 2 |
When going to Sacramento public auctions, there are various options available to the buyer. When it comes to public auctions, insurance auctions, and government auctions, they are open to every individual interested in bidding. A majority of online auctions are also accessible to the general public.
Nonetheless, some auctions are available to individuals with a dealer’s licenses. Such car dealer auctions are not accessible to most buyers, and yes, as a buyer, there are great deals that you’re missing on. Thankfully, there are ways that a person can be part of a car dealer auction.
One way that a person can get access to an auction is through a dealer’s license. This is something you don’t want a lot of your effort and time taken in securing it. Nevertheless, you can work with dealers who can offer access to the auctions. The dealers can allow you to get more information concerning the vehicles at the auction. They are also in a position of doing the bidding on your behalf. All you have to do is let them know the amount you’re willing to spend on a truck or car.
The cars present at Sacramento public auctions are of high quality compared to other vehicles in other auctions. Most of the cars are current trade-ins, while others are practically new vehicles. There are few cases where new vehicles are found at Sacramento public auctions. Most of the vehicle’s quality is high as the dealers use auctions such as Sacramento public auctions to refill inventory in their lots.
Buying vehicles at a public auction such as Sacramento public auctions, the vehicle’s prices are much lower than purchases made through other means. Although at the auction, you’ll end up competing with other bidders, you can save up to thousands of dollars. It is possible to find vehicles sold at a wholesale price or a price close to its wholesale price at the auctions.
Most bidders at Sacramento public auctions are dealers who do not want to pay a high price for a vehicle. Therefore, on bidding at a slightly higher price, they tend to move on to the next car. However, if you’re bidding against individuals like yourself, looking for a vehicle they desire to have. The price can go high; hence, you don’t have to empty your pockets on a car to win at the auction.
Car dealer auctions are increasingly becoming popular with each passing day, especially considering the benefits that it offers. Such auctions offer quality, ease of use, and price affordability of vehicles, which makes all the difference. Therefore, the next time you’re looking for car auctions, consider Sacramento public auctions.
At Prime Auctions, we offer high quality, reliable, and affordable products to our clients. You can explore our vehicle auctions that provide an easy auction process and is less stressful than visiting a local dealership to negotiate with the salesperson. | <urn:uuid:282e0a03-a27c-4ccf-80ec-b61fa577f640> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.primeauctions.com/sacramento-public-auctions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.959453 | 588 | 1.5625 | 2 |
When under pressure, your performance can suffer. There are many proven ways to overcome this problem.
Are you ever nervous at a crucial time? It might be an interview for a job you desperately want. Or a public talk in front of friends or critics. If you play sport, it could be a big game.
Most people have performance anxiety at some times. It is cruel. Not only does it make you feel terrible, but it can harm your performance. Speakers at a big occasion freeze up and can’t remember their lines, or speak in a leaden voice while reading a text. A golfer misses a crucial putt, commonly called choking.
I’ve read that many people are more afraid of public speaking than of dying. Some famous opera singers are anxious throughout their careers and have to be pushed onto the stage. I’ve talked with academics who never get over their worries about giving lectures. Some professional musicians take beta blockers to calm their nerves.
Decades ago, I played competition chess, and eventually began to become nervous about making a blunder, a bad move that meant the game was lost. Strangely, after making a blunder I would totally relax, because I knew I didn’t need to worry any more. After several games like this, I stopped playing.
Pressure can also have a more drawn-out effect. I see this among colleagues who have trouble finishing articles and sending them to journals. Their anxiety is caused by thinking their work is not good enough. Some of them fear rejection; others cannot measure up to their own internal critics.
If you suffer performance nerves in any part of your life, I recommend the book Performing under Pressure by Hendrie Weisinger and J. P. Pawliw-Fry. It draws on the large amount of research in this area. Best of all, it has a multitude of practical tips.
You might imagine that you perform better under pressure. A looming deadline concentrates the mind, enabling you to get the work done. But in many ways pressure can have a negative impact.
You are in the middle of a crucial interview or presentation. To do your best, you need all of your mental capacity directed to the task at hand, with no distractions. However, the pressure of the situation may cause you to worry about making a mistake. You might even start thinking of worst-case scenarios, if you mess up entirely. It doesn’t matter exactly what you’re thinking of: if it’s anything except the task at hand, it saps mental energy and prevents you from doing your best.
For some tasks, you rely entirely on your unconscious mind: you do things without thinking consciously about them. Your breathing is an example. When you learn a skill well, like a golf swing, eventually it becomes automatic, and you don’t need to think consciously about it. Under pressure though, if you start doubting yourself, you may pay attention to what is usually routine. You start thinking about your golf swing rather than where the ball will go. You lose the benefit of unconscious, automatic processing, and your skill level declines. You may end up choking: your stroke is way off!
Part 2 of Performing under Pressure describes “pressure solutions.” When you’re under pressure, these are things you can do to perform better. There are 22 of them!
Pressure solution 1 is “befriend the moment”. The way you think about pressure makes a big difference.
“… individuals who perceive a task or situation not as a threat but instead as a challenge, an opportunity, or fun are far more likely to perform up to the level of their ability, increasing their changes for success.” (p. 112)
Number 13 is “pressure yourself.” When preparing for a high-pressure situation, the idea is to practise what’s involved with pressure. I did this years ago when preparing to play the Weber clarinet concerto #2 with the Wollongong Symphony, a really high-stress occasion for me. I practised the piece for months, of course, and rehearsed with the orchestra. Then, closer to the concert, I simulated some of the circumstances. At home, I played through the entire concerto without stopping. I played it along with a recording. I dressed up in my performance clothes and played it, imagining being in front of an audience of 500. At the concert, I was very nervous beforehand but relaxed as soon as I walked on stage. I’m sure that pressuring myself in advance made a difference.
Pressure solution #15 is to write down your fears. There is a considerable body of research showing the power of writing to reduce the mental effects of traumatic experiences. The technique is simple: spend a few minutes writing down what happened and how you felt or feel about it. This straightforward exercise, spending just 20 minutes writing on three days, has been shown to have lasting benefits. Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry report on one study about using writing in advance of a stressful challenge.
For students who didn’t write out their thoughts and feelings, there was a high correlation between test anxiety and performance – the more anxious the student, the worse the performance. In contrast, those students who wrote about their test thoughts and feelings showed no relationship between test anxiety and performance. In fact, the highly anxious students did as well as the less anxious students. (p. 140)
With 22 pressure solutions on offer, you should find it easy to find at least a few that work. It’s a matter of trying them and seeing what difference they make, and recruiting a few friends who can provide an independent assessment of the outcomes.
I think a big obstacle is that many people do not want to talk about their performance anxiety, or even think about it, perhaps with the fear that this will make it worse. Avoidance is easier in the short term. Checking out solutions means confronting what causes anxiety.
The COTE of armour
In part 3, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry take a step back and look at ways for people to become more resistant to performance anxiety and more able to use it to their advantage. They present four generic personality strengths: confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm. Each one can be fostered.
Consider optimism. Many people believe that pessimism or optimism are character traits, which is true enough, but also believe that they are unalterable. Actually, though, there ways to change.
Optimism is not just thinking that everything will turn out okay. It involves several features. One is permanence. An optimistic attitude involves assuming that good things will continue but that bad things are temporary. A promotion at work is taken as a sign of continued success, but rejection of a promotion is treated as a short-term setback to be overcome by trying harder.
A second important feature of optimism is pervasiveness. An optimistic attitude treats positives as pervading all parts of life and treating negatives as restricted in relevance. A pessimistic salesperson, having a bad day, might say “I’ll never be any good at anything” whereas an optimistic one might just say “It was a bad day but tomorrow will be different.”
An important part of optimism is looking for positives, even in disastrous situations, and working towards them. The willingness to continue is important.
As well as describing the value of confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry give tips on becoming stronger in each of them. For example, to become more tenacious, they recommend setting meaningful goals, practising focusing, being adaptable enough to look for alternative paths to achieve goals, and thinking of obstacles as opportunities.
Putting it into practice
Performing under Pressure is a valuable manual for improving in clutch situations. Following the authors’ suggestions will lead to short-term solutions and long-term improvement. Eventually, pressure that used to cause anxiety will be welcomed as a challenge and as a prod to doing ever better. Too good to be true? For many individuals, the challenge is to just get started.
Based on my observations, many people seem resigned to their current set of skills. Rather than study and practise how to become better under pressure, they are more likely to continue what they’ve always done. To improve requires a willingness to become involved in self-transformation, to think of yourself in a different way, and to put in the effort to achieve the vision.
Ironically, those with the most confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm are most likely to benefit from the authors’ insights and advice. It requires a degree of tenacity to obtain and read a book, think about its relevance and to institute a programme to implement some of its suggestions.
My guess is that the most promising way to improve is to find one or two friends and work together at changing, helping each other. How to proceed is straightforward. The challenge is to begin. | <urn:uuid:ab1d970f-093f-4eae-8a55-42f0f934aba4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://comments.bmartin.cc/tag/hendrie-weisinger/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573908.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820043108-20220820073108-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.966304 | 1,890 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The list of star athletes competing to be India’s flag bearer seems to be getting longer with each passing event. This time too, the Indian Olympic Association had several names after the injury to the first choice, Neeraj Chopra.
Finally, shuffling from the list of three, the IOA zeroed out PV Sindhu – who marched with the Indian tricolor in Commonwealth Games venue Birmingham last night.
With a contingent of 215 athletes across 16 disciplines, India will look to improve on their performance from the last edition of the CWG. Over the past decade, India has steadily improved its medal tally.
In a country where cricket has eclipsed all other games and is considered a religion, it has been very difficult for any other stream of sports to attract attention. But not impossible.
The wind of change that began to blow at the turn of the 21st century swept through most sports disciplines. Most of the categories like boxing, wrestling, archery, hockey etc. have given us international stars.
India have consistently improved on their best performances in the last three of the four Olympic events, achieving their highest medal tally of seven so far at the Tokyo Games. If we take the Commonwealth Games, as the host nation in 2010, India broke its previous records with 101 medals, second only to sports giant Australia. The performance was no fluke and was sustained with 66 medals, the second best performance at the Gold Coast 2018 CWG Games. At the Asian Games, India has always been a powerhouse and continues to be so.
And why did it happen? Due to a little pressure from the government. India’s improved sporting success can be partly attributed to the plans of the Sports Authority of India. As part of it, promising athletes are provided with specialized training, state-of-the-art infrastructure and playing equipment, and an individual diet prescribed by trained nutritionists. It currently trains 6,586 boys and 2,639 girls in 189 different centers of the country.
The government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme or TOPS together with the Mission Olympic Cell, where selected athletes receive specialized training according to individual goals and financial assistance, was also of great importance. TOPS athletes PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik won medals at Rio Olympics 2016.
Both the government and the private sector have made a conscious effort to bring in world-class trainers, sports doctors and trainers from abroad. It has made a big difference in performance over the years. Olympic medalists Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and Mirabai Chanu were assisted by several expert foreign coaches and support staff.
Some experts say that the outstanding show of the Indian contingent at the 2010 Commonwealth Games was a turning point for Indian sports, after which players began to be recognized and funds and investments from the private sector started pouring in. This was immediately reflected in India’s performance at the London Olympics with two Silver and four Bronze medals.
Big corporations and brands like Reliance, JSW Group have come up with unique programs to support Indian athletes. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, athletes supported by the JSW Group brought home 12 medals. The group is also credited with India’s success at the Tokyo Olympics, where Neeraj Chopra won gold in the athletics segment.
In the recent past, there has also been greater international competitive exposure for Indian athletes with several world-class tournaments held at home, such as the India Open boxing tournament and the Indian Open badminton tournament.
Experts say that the rise of role models like Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Neeraj Chopra, Geeta Phogat has also inspired thousands of young Indians to take up sports other than cricket.
Conclusion: Despite tremendous progress, India’s ranking in elite events shows that we still have a long way to go. China won 26 gold medals at the Rio Olympics. If both the government and the private sector can build on the foundations laid in recent years, the country will see much more success at world sporting events.
“Internet evangelist. Twitter fanatic. Hardcore entrepreneur. Incurable analyst. Extreme food junkie. Unapologetic tv maven. Reader.” | <urn:uuid:7961d5d7-aca1-47df-93e9-afa178636e29> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thesixnews.com/what-led-to-indias-sporting-success/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.953493 | 866 | 1.882813 | 2 |
soap free products
how can I tell if a product is soap free?
And why advertise a soap free product? What are the advantages?
thank you in advance for the help.
Soap is created by the saponification of oils with sodium hydroxide (bar soaps) or potassium hydroxide (liquid soaps). I believe the "original" soap first came to be in the Middle East and was created by combining water, sodium hydroxide, and olive oil to make a bar. This became known as "Castile" soap.
Soap-free products are created using synthetic detergents/surfactants, such as sulfates, isethionates, glucosides, etc. Some of them can be considered "natural" as they may be derived from coconuts, apples, oats, etc.
The advantage of a soap-free product is that they are typically more gentle on the skin, as they can be pH balanced, while soaps are generally harsher and more stripping due to their high pH.
If it has sulfates it is soap free
Administrator, Professional Chemist
- We can only guess, but I suspect the first soaps were derived from animal fat (tallow). When cooking over a fire, the fat may have dropped into the wood ashes where the saponification reaction might occur.
Learn to formulate cosmetics
, you are probably correct. Thank you for adding that; very interesting.
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Latest Q&A session
Change my view
Requests / Opportunities
Color and makeup
Starting a cosmetic line
In this Discussion
Powered by Vanilla | <urn:uuid:b34790c4-1d53-42bc-ab24-aef58986ba49> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/10752/soap-free-products | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.920271 | 584 | 2.03125 | 2 |
On today’s podcast we continue our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this third part of this series, James Nesci joins the NC DWI Guy to reveal how to use basic math principles to attack breath machines. James Nesci has been board certified by the National College of DUI Defense since 2001 and served as the College’s Dean during the 2016-2017 academic year.
Mr. Nesci often defended cases well into the .30 blood-alcohol range. He was one of the lead attorneys on the Intoximeters RBT-IV breath-testing issue in Southern Arizona which resulted in the suppression of breath tests in over 7,000 cases. He is one of only a handful of attorneys in the country who has ever held a DOT-Compliant Permit to operate an Intoxilyzer 8000.
Mr. Nesci owns both an Intoxilyzer 8000 which he regularly used for in-court demonstrations and for research purposes before he retired.
Discover the Nesci Extrapolation Argument and how to use this math concept to show the jury the true sample size being tested by a breath machine and how this small sample is then multiplied to get a reported alcohol concentration.
Learn why language is so important for the jury and how to carefully select your words, for example using “estimate” instead of “result” every time you reference the numerical BAC.
Uncover some of the biggest problems that Mr. Nesci has discovered with breath testing and how to exploit these issues with a jury.
Uncover some of the best trial tactics for attacking breath machines from a warrior who lived and breathed for courtroom battle during his carrier. | <urn:uuid:6c0ad281-9dee-4a55-ab6b-f4062f9b25cb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.minicklaw.com/episode-61-dui-math-with-james-nesci/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.945538 | 353 | 1.632813 | 2 |
"Glass blowing in a hut" Top 5 Page for this destination Monschau Things to Do Tip by Pavlik_NL
Monschau Things to Do: 42 reviews and 121 photos
Monschau has a 2000 year old history of glass! This is something the citizens are very proud of and in the museum near the Burgau parking lot one can visit the museum. Here one also gives demonstrations in glass-blowing, producing plates, vazes, drinking glasses, bottles and more. After tat there is the polishing and – if necessary – the painting or decorating. The museum invites you the whole year through from 10:00 until 18:00 hours.
More Reviews (9)
- Every year from the first advent-weekend
- Mass-tourism in high season and around...
- Don't forget the wonderful surroundings.
- See All By foot preferably or by touristtrain
Pavlik_NL's Related Pages
Have you been to Monschau?Share Your Travels | <urn:uuid:7e3917ea-4691-4b28-9370-6c0a0bc7bd4c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/9f87c/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00514-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.883148 | 210 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The issue of counterfeit parts in military equipment isn’t new – and it isn’t going away.
As far back as 2012 Senate Armed Services Committee investigation found 1,800 incidents of counterfeit electronic parts in defense equipment. Yet a 2016 report the Government Accountability Office report states that the Defense Department supply chain still is “vulnerable to the risk of counterfeit parts, which have the potential to delay missions and ultimately endanger service members.”
This fall the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) threw its weight behind an emerging solution, one that uses plant-based deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. to create unique identifying markers on electronics and a range of other military parts.
The November contract deepens DLA’s seven-year relationship with Applied DNA Sciences (APDN). It tasks the company with applying its unique identifier to a range of products across the supply chain, including not just electrical components but also pipes, tubes, bearings and engine accessories.
This follows on a pair of 2014 awards, including a $2.97 million DLA contract and a $975,000 Small Business Innovation Research project with the Missile Defense Agency.
Military planners have struggled to stem what many characterize as a flood of counterfeit parts infiltrating the supply chain from China and elsewhere. They are concerned that fake parts won’t perform as specified, and in the case of technology components, some worry that counterfeit parts could be used to spy on U.S. assets or introduce malicious code into military systems.
DNA materials derived from plants offer a possible solution.
The basic coding mechanism of life, DNA by its nature is dense with information. “The amount of content that DNA uses is incredible,” said Janice Meraglia, vice president of government and military programs for Applied DNA Sciences. “That’s why when DNA is introduced in court cases it tends to be very open and closed, because DNA evidence is virtually irrefutable. You don’t get false positives. So we take the strength of that content and use that to our advantage.”
APDN effectively chops up strands of plant DNA and recombines them to form a uniquely recognizable, encrypted pattern. This genetic-based material can then be incorporated into inks that are printed on labels. It can be blended into the base materials that form components such as O-rings, or it can be swirled into lubricating oils that coat bearings and other parts.
By its nature, the DNA marker is discrete: It attaches to the manufacturing process without getting in the way. “You can use a very small amount and incorporate it into or onto items in parts per billion, so we are not disrupting the form, fit or function of anything we work with,” Meraglia said.
Government leaders in the anti-counterfeit effort say they see promise in the technology.
“We’re encouraged by the work being done in the private sector, and hope it will ultimately lead to more effective and efficient [intellectual property] enforcement,” said Bruce Foucart, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, a part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Innovative anti-counterfeiting technology has a major role in protecting the government supply chain and shielding consumers from fake goods that present significant health and safety hazards,” he said.
APDN established its foothold in the military space in 2011, when DLA set up a red-team challenge wherein scientists from Battelle Laboratories tried and failed to spoof the DNA mark.
“It’s very difficult to counterfeit or fake,” said Tom Bergman, program manager, cyber innovations at Battelle Laboratories. He noted that given the high motivation level among parts-pirates, the government does well to seek out aggressive new strategies. “Someone who wants to counterfeit a device will learn what you are looking for and they will tune their process. That’s why you need something new and groundbreaking to approach the whole problem.”
APDN has said that its strategy could potentially change the stakes of the game, by reversing the typical approach government has taken to thwart counterfeiting.
“Very often when we are looking at counterfeits and supply chain issues, everyone is focused on detecting the fake, on finding the bad item,” Meraglia said.
The DNA approach flips the paradigm. “We are more along the lines of ensuring authenticity and establishing provenance,” she said. “It’s a more proactive approach. Now instead of letting the bad actors establish the field of engagement, we are doing that. Now they have to try to defeat us
Once applied to the part or product, the DNA can be used in one of two ways – either to validate or to authenticate.
Validation is a quick process: A proprietary lighting mechanism is aimed at the item in question, causing the DNA mark to fluoresce, if it is present.
Authentication is a more detailed process, involving scientific examination of the DNA. It’s a way of ensuring that the piece not only is marked with DNA, but is in fact exactly what it claims to be.
Right now APDN has to do that part, but the company says it is developing tools that would allow some customers to do their own authentication on site. “Everyone wants immediate results and immediate satisfaction,” Meraglia said. “There are some applications where that in-field reading is more user friendly and we have been working on that constantly, just because there is always this need for speed.”
A number of other technologies also are under development that take a microscopic-level approach to generating unique identifiers, said Jon Boyens, project manager for the cyber supply chain risk management program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
He pointed to Defense Department efforts to create an electronically readable microdot with encrypted identification data, as well as research into “nanotubes,” nanometer-scale, tube-like structures, “each one with its own design, almost like a snowflake.”
While techniques such as these hold some promise, Boyens said, they would have to be implemented with care.
“Where is the DNA applied? Where in the supply chain do you put it on? It needs to be inserted very early. When you buy from an original component manufacturer or an original equipment manufacturer, there should be some guarantee that what you are buying is authentic,” he said.
In addition, end users of these marks will have to invest in training in order to reap the full benefit. “It’s only useful if you have employees who know where to look for it and how to use the equipment,” he said. | <urn:uuid:4e46a1a5-4a0c-445f-92c3-d0fc4334d205> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.c4isrnet.com/articles/can-dna-technology-thwart-military-supply-chain-threats | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00492-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953115 | 1,403 | 2.578125 | 3 |
An educational summer for Southern librarianBy TERRI REUTER
Publications/public information coordinator,
Southern York County School District
Glen Rock, Pa – Southern Elementary School Librarian Lynn Clements spent time this summer exploring historical artifacts and documents that helped frame the United States.
Clements was selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants to participate in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute in July. She was one of only 27 educators from across the nation chosen for the five-day program.
Each year, the Library of Congress provides educators the opportunity to attend one of its teacher institutes in Washington, D.C. Clements said she was excited to work with such great educators and librarians from across the country.
“Each summer, I look for these kinds of opportunities to push myself professionally,” Clements said. “This was a great way to brush up on my skills and learn the best way to teach to the students.”
The purpose of the program is to teach educators in grades K-12 how to use the digitized collection at the library of Congress to promote critical thinking skills and construct knowledge, she said. Through the Library’s collections, the teachers explored the largest online collection of historical artifacts and accessed millions of primary (original) sources for use in instruction.
During her program, Clements worked on a unit for fifth grade students to enrich and extend their study of the Battle of Gettysburg, using primary documents, such as photos, diaries, letters, and maps. “I learned how to access digitized resources and how to write lesson plans, using primary sources with students.”
Clements said she is enthusiastic to begin applying this knowledge to her students at Southern Elementary this year. “It was a thrill to spend a week at the Library of Congress, working with educators from across the U.S., to develop lessons and exchange ideas,” she said. “I saw a survey drawn by George Washington, read an original diary written by a pioneer mother, and touched – gently – a watercolor battle map painted at Gettysburg in 1863.” | <urn:uuid:4c9f49dc-3f92-464a-a790-9c95b12a4d6b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ydtalk.com/jdispatch/2012/09/10/an-educational-summer-for-southern-librarian/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958375 | 444 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Thursday, July 26, 2012
U.K., France Advance UAS Cooperation
France and the U.K. are moving forward with its defense cooperation, announcing France will undertake operational assessments and trials of the Thales Watchkeeper unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in 2012 and 2013 and the two countries will collaborate on another UAS program.
The announcements were made Tuesday after a bi-lateral meeting in London between U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Philip Hammond MP and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
“The battle-winning operational edge that UAVs bring to operations is well understood and these systems are rightly a central pillar of UK-French defence collaboration. The announcement today that France will undertake trials of Watchkeeper demonstrates both nations commitment to cooperation on the battlefield and in the development of this strategically important sector," said Victor Chavez, chief executive of Thales U.K.
Also this week, French and British officials agreed to establish the first phase of a collaborative "demonstration program" for a Future Combat Air System (FCAS), another unmanned air system, to be completed by 2030-40. According to published reports, the countries agreed with spend $14.5 million with Dassault Aviation and BAE systems on new designs for the FCAS. More | <urn:uuid:b603f508-4db9-47aa-9d98-710ccc5703bd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/topstories/U-K-France-Advance-UAS-Cooperation_76863.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00219-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948724 | 264 | 1.523438 | 2 |
What’s wrong with this picture shot on the set of the Emmy-Award winning TV series Mad Men?” Are you wondering, “How did Don Draper get an iPhone in 1965?”
For a second, I was startled, until I looked closely at the photo from Time Magazine. That’s when I realized the actors were off camera. That explained Jon Hamm’s iPhone. But there’s another reason why I was startled. Part of the success of the Mad Men TV series is its meticulous attention to period details–in terms of clothing, furnishings, speech, characters’ attitudes, and historical events. And, just as important, the details are integrated seamlessly into the narrative, so the viewer is never jolted back to the present-day. This guideline was meticulously followed by the creators of Mad Men as well as masters of creative fiction. In fact, it is our third key component in creating a compelling fictional world:
3. Don’t let the reader see the duct tape. In other words, the creative artist needs to do his/her homework and collect information about the characters, the location, period details, and historical facts. All this happens behind the scenes. Then, the writer weaves these carefully-chosen threads into the fictional narrative. When writers get lazy or sloppy, they construct scenes with descriptions or dialog that reveal gaps in research or inconsistencies in character or plot, which can break the fictional spell. They can also insert pages of ponderous historical explanation, which is equally deadly. All of these inconsistencies or gaps or long explanations will drive the reader away.
To illustrate this point, I’ll use an example from my novel, The Incident at Montebello. To craft scenes set in a tailor shop in Italy, I had to learn about sewing in the 1930’s. Were the sewing machines electric or were they powered by foot pedals? Did men’s pants have zippers or buttons? How far below the knee were women’s hemlines? (Answers: sewing machines were not electric because most small villages didn’t have electricity; pants had buttons, not zippers; and ladies’ hems fell to mid-calf for the younger girls and to the ankle for the older women.) Here’s another example from the TV series, Da Vinci’s Demons. Tom Riley, who plays Leonardo, does not look like a man from the 15th Century because his style of dress, hairstyle, way of speaking, and mannerisms are very 21st Century–as you can see in the two photos below. Yes, he is handsome, and yes, the setting is Italy–one of my favorite places in the world, but I still couldn’t watch this series. I just couldn’t believe in the character or the situation. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in this–judging from the poor ratings on IMDB.com.
This laziness, haste or inattention to detail can also happen in character development. Instead of creating complex, multi-dimensional people that “live and breathe,” inexperienced writers can rely on stereotypical characters with transparent motivations and reactions. These “shallow Hals” are predictable, and do not grow and change as a result of their experiences. Yes, we all know people who stubbornly cling to their “old” ways, but would you want to spend an extended amount of time with them? I doubt it. Great characters in fiction are fully realized–thanks to the writers who have given us glimpses into their minds and hearts. Think of Emma Bovary or Scarlett O’Hara. They have strengths and weaknesses, they sometimes act foolishly and impulsively, but in the course of the novel, they change. Sometimes this change is incremental and not dramatic, but it does occur.
To help create, well-rounded, complete characters, you might want to develop a character sketch . Here’s a link to a useful character profile tool from The Script Lab. I am using it now as I work on my second novel and I’m finding it very helpful.
What examples do you have of books or TV series that “show the duct tape?” Have you stopped watching or reading them because of this? | <urn:uuid:6b913ebd-17a5-4923-91b1-639d2fb1ec09> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://pilotfishblog.com/2014/07/23/dont-let-them-see-the-duct-tape-part-3-of-how-to-create-a-compelling-fictional-world/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00023-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963267 | 896 | 2.671875 | 3 |
MARCH 24, 2014
The Obama administration keeps pouring huge sums of taxpayer money into the First Lady’s beloved child obesity campaign, this month allocating $10.5 million for the initiative which is part of a broader—and costly—law to revolutionize the inner-city diet.
It’s all part of an Obama family goal of eradicating obesity among children (as well as adults) in poor and minority neighborhoods and the administration has committed an astounding $4.5 billion to accomplish it. Most of the money has flowed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the agency largely responsible for executing the First Lady’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Since Congress passed the measure, the government has doled out tens of millions of dollars to a number of dubious projects.
Among them is a $25 million initiative to tackle child obesity in “hard-to-reach, limited English proficiency and minority communities” and $2 million to monitor what minority public school children eat for lunch in one Texas district. Late last year the administration awarded $11 million so public schools can buy kitchen equipment to prepare healthier meals for low-income students and a $1.2 million grant to help middle school students create fitness video games known as “exergames.” American taxpayers even financed the nation’s first-ever obesity map to support the president’s ongoing effort to single out health disparities between ethnic minorities and Caucasians.
And, of course, there’s the First Lady’s scandal-plagued “Let’s Move” initiative that strives to ensure that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. In November Judicial Watch obtained government documents that show a marketing firm with close ties to the president got a plum no-bid contract of $100,000 to design the “Let’s Move” logo for Michelle Obama’s campaign. The arrangement violates federal contracting rules and is even acknowledged by federal officials as an “unauthorized commitment,” the records obtained by JW show.
As if all this weren’t bad enough, the USDA just doled out a chunk of change to conquer more childhood obesity in low-income communities. The first chunk, $5 million, is funding university research that will supposedly create childhood prevention programs. This includes $4,887,083 to a public university in Tennessee to devise a social marketing intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake and prevent childhood obesity and $149,988 to develop a “kids-only” retail coupon study to promote healthy snack options among adolescents in convenience stores.
“USDA is at the forefront of the Obama Administration’s efforts to combat childhood obesity, which poses a threat to the health and future productivity of our entire nation,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These grants fund critical research that will help USDA and our partners implement effective strategies to support America’s next generation so they can have a healthy childhood and develop healthy habits for life.”
On the same day, the USDA dedicated $5.5 million to provide public schools with healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy. This is part of a program called “Smarter Lunchroom Strategies” that is supposed to increase consumption of healthier foods and decrease plate waste. “Strategies like Smarter Lunchrooms give schools simple, actionable, low-cost steps that help make sure that the healthy food on kids’ plates ends up in their stomachs,” Vilsack said. “These grants are part of USDA’s ongoing commitment to give states and schools the additional resources and flexibility they need as they help make the healthy choice, the easy choice for America’s young people.”
© 2010-2017 Judicial Watch, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:618d9609-6b6e-458b-abf4-a59351b0963a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/03/another-10-5-mil-to-tackle-childhood-obesity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936436 | 811 | 2 | 2 |
G8 Urged to Reject Another 'Green Revolution' U.S. working group on the food crisis urges G8 to reject failed green revolution policies for Africa
"'Business as Usual' Will Not Solve Global Hunger Crisis"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2009
WASHINGTON - April 16 - The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis, a group representing anti-hunger, family farm, community food security, environmental, international aid, labor, food justice, consumers and other food system actors, urges the G8 at the upcoming Agricultural Ministerial in Treviso, Italy to reject the failed policies of the Green Revolution. A recent landmark report backed by the UN and World Bank argues for agroecological and sustainable agriculture, rather than reliance on chemical-intensive practices and genetic engineering.
The U.S. Working Group is deeply disappointed by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hasty passage of the Global Food Security Act (S. 384) on March 31. This bill would mark a significant shift in U.S. policy by specifically mandating foreign agriculture research for genetic engineering. Previously, we had criticized the Committee’s March 24 hearing on “Alleviating Global Hunger” that relied on testimonies from “Green Revolution” advocates for the industrial agriculture system. We urge the G8 summit to resist pressure from the biotech industry and embrace genuine solutions to the food crisis.
The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis’s vision for reforming agriculture policy to help end the global food crisis calls on governments to:
* Re-regulate commodity futures markets to end excessive speculation
* Halt expansion of industrial agrofuels in developing countries
* Stabilize commodity prices through international and domestic food reserves
* Establish fairer regional and global trade arrangements
* Direct farm policy, research, education and investment toward agroecological farming practices.
The United States should reject the approach of the Global Food Security Act, sponsored by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Bob Casey (D-PA), and instead bring our agricultural research and foreign aid strategy in line with the findings of the acclaimed International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), backed by United Nations agencies, the World Bank and over 400 contributing scientists from 80 countries. The IAASTD found that the most promising solutions to the world’s food crisis include investing in agroecological research, extension and farming.
Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist at Pesticide Action Network and a Lead Author of the IAASTD report said, “Today’s global food crisis demands immediate action. But the Lugar-Casey Global Hunger Bill takes us in exactly the wrong direction. As numerous scientific reports from the UN have confirmed, African productivity can be most effectively increased through investment in organic and agroecological farming.” Ishii-Eiteman further cautioned the G8 not to focus simply on production: “The bigger, more fundamental challenge today is about restoring fairness and democratic control over our food systems. It is about increasing the profitability, well-being and resilience of small-scale and family farmers in the face of massive environmental and global economic challenges.”
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy has released a policy brief on “Why the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act Will Fail to Curb Hunger”http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2412
Eric Holt-Gimenez, Executive Director of Food First, said, “The Global Food Security Act, while commendable for its renewed focus on investing in agricultural development in Africa, mandates funding for genetically modified (GM) crop research. Past public-private partnerships on GM crops for Africa have proven to be colossal failures. The failed GM sweet potato project between Monsanto, USAID and a Kenyan research institute is a good example of 14 years’ worth of wasted money and effort. The G8 Conference should focus on solutions that actually work.”
Anti-hunger groups also criticized the Global Food Security Act’s approach and warned about the effects of promoting biotechnology on the poor. Bill Ayres, Executive Director of World Hunger Year, said, “The recent Global Food Security Act to improve the U.S. response to the world food crisis starts from a flawed premise. Indeed, the world – and the U.S. in particular – must refocus antihunger efforts to support aid and agricultural research for small farmers throughout the world. But the emphasis on genetically modified crops is misplaced. We saw Germany this week ban genetically engineered maize based on health and environmental grounds. GM maize has also been banned in France and Greece. We should focus on helping African farmers maintain control over their land and seeds, earn a living wage, and enhance – not degrade – the quality of their land and water.”
Faith groups also recommended a new approach to eliminating global hunger and warned that the G8 should not emphasize biotechnology. Andrew Kang Bartlett of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said, “While the intentions behind the Global Food Security Act may be laudable, the question is whether poorer farmers left behind by the last Green Revolution will again be swept aside by a top-down approach that benefits mostly transnational corporations.” Dave Kane, of Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, a Catholic missionary organization with priests, brothers, sisters and lay people working in Asia, Africa and Latin America, added, “We have found GM technology to be disastrous for small farmers and rural communities. Our missioners in Latin America and Asia have seen farmers get deeper and deeper into debt as they struggle to pay for all the seeds, fertilizers and herbicides that GMO technologies require. The result: farmers lose their land and with it, the ability to feed themselves and their families.”
The National Family Farm Coalition, a North American member of La Via Campesina, the international peasants movement, will be pressing the G8 to reconsider policies that advocate for food sovereignty. Ben Burkett, a Mississippi farmer and president of NFFC said, “Farmers both here and in Africa know that the current industrial agriculture model—and the push to fast-track trade liberalization—has failed to alleviate global hunger and denied family farmers a sustainable livelihood. A recently released report this month by Union of Concerned Scientists titled “Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops,” showed that despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase U.S. crop yields while only driving up costs for farmers. In comparison, traditional breeding continues to deliver better results. The G8 needs to move away from Green Revolution monoculture practices and instead implement the IAASTD’s most promising options: support ecologically sound practices, more equitable trade rules and local food distribution systems to empower family farmers.”
The US Working Group on the Food Crisis is an ad hoc group of organizations from around the US, representing various sectors of the food system, including anti-hunger, family farm, community food security, environmental, international aid, labor, food justice, consumer, and other groups. We do not view the food crisis as an unexpected, sudden emergency of the last year, but as the inevitable consequence of the development of a long list of misguided agricultural and food policies over the last 30+ years.
CONTACT: US Working Group on the Food Crisis | <urn:uuid:5a99afbb-5984-4bab-a44d-f597e84f0368> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://bioseguridad.blogspot.com/2009/04/g8-urged-to-reject-another-green.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00278-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913288 | 1,561 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.