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Reviews Otello Royal Opera House London
Gregory Kunde returns to the Royal Opera House of London in the title role of Otello
Reviews Samson et Dalila Maestranza (Seville)
Gregory Kunde stars in Samson et Dalila at de Teatro de la Maestranza of Seville
Reviews Turandot Liceu (Barcelona)
The Liceu presents Turandot with Gregory Kunde in the role of Calaf
Article in the newspaper ABC (Culture section) on the presentation of Gregory Kunde’s biography
Presentation of the book Gregory Kunde. Una vida para cantarla, an authorized biography about the tenor
Gregory Kunde on tour in Japan with the Royal Opera House, singing the title role in Verdi’s Otello
A biography tells Gregory Kunde’s story of tenacity and resilience
Gregory Kunde will sing Verdi’s Requiem with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta
Gregory Kunde will be Radamès in the Aida staged by Wiener Staatsoper
Reviews “Turandot” Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Royal Opera House returns to Japan with Otello starring Gregory Kunde
Gregory Kunde will give a concert in Palma de Mallorca with works by Verdi, Bizet, Puccini and Leoncavallo
Gregory Kunde to sing lead role in Turandot at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Gregory Kunde will star in Otello in the ROH’s next season in London
Tenor Gregory Kunde will give a concert together with soprano Mariella Devia at Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Gregory Kunde to sing Otello again at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Gregory Kunde to sing Otello at the Opéra National de Paris
Article from The Metropolitan Opera website about tenor Gregory Kunde and his success as Samson
The New York Times highlights Kunde’s success at the Met, who will be singing the next performances of Samson et Dalila
Gregory Kunde’s great success in his return to the Metropolitan Opera
Gregory Kunde will sing Chevalier des Grieux in the Manon Lescaut staged by the Dallas Opera
Reviews Otello at the Baluarte of Pamplona
Tenor Gregory Kunde sings Das lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) at the Palau de la Música of Valencia
Otello comes to Pamplona’s Auditorium Baluarte with Gregory Kunde singing title role
Gregory Kunde in the title role of Andrea Chénier at the Wiener Staatsoper
Tenor Gregory Kunde triumphs as Calaf in Turandot at the Teatro Real of Madrid
Gregory Kunde will be Calaf in Turandot, a new production by the Teatro Real of Madrid
Reviews Concert with the Oviedo Filarmonía
Gregory Kunde gives a concert with the Oviedo Filarmonía at the Auditorio Príncipe Felipe of Oviedo
Review “Fuoco di Gioia” Gala, Teatro Regio di Parma
Gregory Kunde receives the “Cavalierato di Verdi” in Parma
Interview with Adam Chodak (News 8 WROC Rochester)
Tenor Gregory Kunde sings Des Grieux in an Opera di Roma production of Manon Lescaut that will tour Japan
Gregory Kunde gives an interview to the Italian magazine “Musica”
Gregory Kunde conducts Il Barbiere di Siviglia at La Fenice in Venice
Gregory Kunde sings Radamès in Aida at Arena di Verona Opera Festival
Gregory Kunde encores with the aria Nessun Dorma in his first staged performance of Calaf
Gregory Kunde to sing Turandot premiere at Arena di Verona Opera Festival
Gregory Kunde to give a concert of Verdi and Rossini works at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Reviews Norma ABAO-Bilbao
Gregory Kunde returns to the Liceu as Renato Des Grieux, in Manon Lescaut
Reviews “La forza del destino” Semperoper Dresden
Gregory Kunde returns to ABAO-Bilbao to sing Pollione in the opera Norma
Semperoper Dresden stages La forza del destino with tenor Gregory Kunde in the role of Don Álvaro
Reviews “Aida” Teatro Real de Madrid
Madrid’s Teatro Real stages Aida, with Gregory Kunde in the role of Radamès
Resounding success of tenor Gregory Kunde as Peter Grimes at the Palau de les Arts de Valencia
Les Arts de Valencia premieres Peter Grimes with Gregory Kunde in the title role
Outstanding performance by tenor Gregory Kunde in Poliuto, at Barcelona’s Liceu
Gregory Kunde outstanding in the main role of Le Prophète at Deutsch Oper Berlin
Gregory Kunde to sing the title role of Poliuto at the Liceu of Barcelona
Gregory Kunde will offer a recital in honour of Miguel Fleta in Zaragoza
Gregory Kunde stars in Le prophète at Deutsche Oper Berlin
Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liége presents Norma, with the American tenor Gregory Kunde in the role of Pollione
Gregory Kunde triumphs as Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera in A Coruña
Gregory Kunde will embody Radamès in Aida at the Royal Opera House Muscat, with Maestro Noseda conducting
Gregory Kunde heads cast of Un ballo in maschera, opera that opens the Programación Lírica de A Coruña
Tenor Gregory Kunde to give recital at the Peralada Festival
Once again Gregory Kunde triumphs at London’s Covent Garden, this time with Otello by Verdi
Gregory Kunde debuts as Calaf in Turandot, under the musical direction of Zubin Mehta
Tenor Gregory Kunde returns to the Royal Opera House in the title role of Otello
Tenor Gregory Kunde triumphs yet again, this time with Andrea Chénier at the ABAO-OLBE
The making of Vincerò!, the new CD by Gregory Kunde
Extensive interview with Gregory Kunde in OperaWire
Universal Music releases CD of great opera arias recorded by Gregory Kunde
Gregory Kunde sings title role of Andrea Chénier at the Ópera de Bilbao
Triumph by Gregory Kunde in Andrea Chénier at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Gregory Kunde to give a recital of great opera arias in Naples, Florida
Tenor Gregory Kunde has leading role in Andrea Chénier at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Tenor Gregory Kunde triumphs with Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio di Torino and the Grand-Théâtre de Genève
Gregory Kunde will give life to Renato des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio di Torino and the Grand-Théâtre de Genève
Gregory Kunde to perform Italian arias at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu
Tenor Gregory Kunde once again to sing the role of Manrico in Il trovatore at London’s Royal Opera House
Great success by Gregory Kunde at the Teatro Regio di Torino with Samson et Dalila
Gregory Kunde leads cast of Verdi’s I vespri siciliani, at Les Arts de Valencia
Gregory Kunde to sing the title role of Samson et Dalila at the Teatro Regio di Torino
Gregory Kunde will sing Pollione in Norma, the upcoming production at Madrid’s Teatro Real
Reviews: Concert “Verdi and Puccini arias” in Pamplona
Gregory Kunde offers a concert with a selection of great Verdi and Puccini arias
Gregory Kunde to sing the title role in Otello, the production that will open the new season at Madrid’s Teatro Real
Gregory Kunde on the front page of yesterday’s edition in the major spanish newspaper El País
Review: Recital “de Verdi a Broadway” (OperaWord 30/08/2016)
Gregory Kunde begins A Coruña’s opera programming with a recital entitled “De Verdi a Broadway”
© Copyright 2020 - Gregory Kunde Tenor Official Webpage
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Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry
V. Lauter-Pasyuk, H. J. Lauter, V. Aksenov, E. I. Kornilov, A. V. Petrenko, P. Leiderer
A study of the magnetic field penetration depth in a high-temperature (HTc) superconducting film was performed with polarized neutron reflectometry in two scattering geometries. The fit to the reflectivity curves yielded the neutron-scattering length density profile and thus a precise image of the composition of the film. The film had a good quality seen by a not noticeable off-specular scattering. The fit to the spin asymmetry gave a magnetic-penetration depth of 1350 ± 150 Å along the oaxis at a temperature T = 2 K. The model included an intrinsic exponential decay of the penetration depth. For the first time the spin asymmetry was determined with high resolution over an extended Q-range for a HTc-film.
Physica B: Condensed Matter
Penetration depth (superconductivity)
Superconducting films
Neutrons
reflectance
High-T
Magnetic penetration depth
Polarized neutron reflection
Superconducting film
Lauter-Pasyuk, V., Lauter, H. J., Aksenov, V., Kornilov, E. I., Petrenko, A. V., & Leiderer, P. (1997). Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry. Physica B: Condensed Matter, 241-243, 1095-1097.
Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry. / Lauter-Pasyuk, V.; Lauter, H. J.; Aksenov, V.; Kornilov, E. I.; Petrenko, A. V.; Leiderer, P.
In: Physica B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 241-243, 1997, p. 1095-1097.
Lauter-Pasyuk, V, Lauter, HJ, Aksenov, V, Kornilov, EI, Petrenko, AV & Leiderer, P 1997, 'Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry', Physica B: Condensed Matter, vol. 241-243, pp. 1095-1097.
Lauter-Pasyuk V, Lauter HJ, Aksenov V, Kornilov EI, Petrenko AV, Leiderer P. Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry. Physica B: Condensed Matter. 1997;241-243:1095-1097.
Lauter-Pasyuk, V. ; Lauter, H. J. ; Aksenov, V. ; Kornilov, E. I. ; Petrenko, A. V. ; Leiderer, P. / Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry. In: Physica B: Condensed Matter. 1997 ; Vol. 241-243. pp. 1095-1097.
@article{128d8127fb4f4cf197b22272973ac572,
title = "Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry",
abstract = "A study of the magnetic field penetration depth in a high-temperature (HTc) superconducting film was performed with polarized neutron reflectometry in two scattering geometries. The fit to the reflectivity curves yielded the neutron-scattering length density profile and thus a precise image of the composition of the film. The film had a good quality seen by a not noticeable off-specular scattering. The fit to the spin asymmetry gave a magnetic-penetration depth of 1350 ± 150 {\AA} along the oaxis at a temperature T = 2 K. The model included an intrinsic exponential decay of the penetration depth. For the first time the spin asymmetry was determined with high resolution over an extended Q-range for a HTc-film.",
keywords = "High-T, Magnetic penetration depth, Polarized neutron reflection, Superconducting film",
author = "V. Lauter-Pasyuk and Lauter, {H. J.} and V. Aksenov and Kornilov, {E. I.} and Petrenko, {A. V.} and P. Leiderer",
journal = "Physica B: Condensed Matter",
T1 - Direct measurement of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films by polarized neutron reflectometry
AU - Lauter-Pasyuk, V.
AU - Lauter, H. J.
AU - Aksenov, V.
AU - Kornilov, E. I.
AU - Petrenko, A. V.
AU - Leiderer, P.
N2 - A study of the magnetic field penetration depth in a high-temperature (HTc) superconducting film was performed with polarized neutron reflectometry in two scattering geometries. The fit to the reflectivity curves yielded the neutron-scattering length density profile and thus a precise image of the composition of the film. The film had a good quality seen by a not noticeable off-specular scattering. The fit to the spin asymmetry gave a magnetic-penetration depth of 1350 ± 150 Å along the oaxis at a temperature T = 2 K. The model included an intrinsic exponential decay of the penetration depth. For the first time the spin asymmetry was determined with high resolution over an extended Q-range for a HTc-film.
AB - A study of the magnetic field penetration depth in a high-temperature (HTc) superconducting film was performed with polarized neutron reflectometry in two scattering geometries. The fit to the reflectivity curves yielded the neutron-scattering length density profile and thus a precise image of the composition of the film. The film had a good quality seen by a not noticeable off-specular scattering. The fit to the spin asymmetry gave a magnetic-penetration depth of 1350 ± 150 Å along the oaxis at a temperature T = 2 K. The model included an intrinsic exponential decay of the penetration depth. For the first time the spin asymmetry was determined with high resolution over an extended Q-range for a HTc-film.
KW - High-T
KW - Magnetic penetration depth
KW - Polarized neutron reflection
KW - Superconducting film
JO - Physica B: Condensed Matter
JF - Physica B: Condensed Matter
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Public invited to submit nominations for chancellor to succeed UT System’s Bill McRaven
Want to weigh in on the search for a successor to University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven? Consider yourself invited.
The search committee led by Sara Martinez Tucker, chairwoman of the system’s Board of Regents, has invited the public to send comments and nominations for a new chancellor to the board’s general counsel, Francie Frederick, at ffrederick@utsystem.edu, or to Stephen Newton of the regents’ search firm, Russell Reynolds, at UTChancellor@russellreynolds.com.
Chairman Sara Martinez Tucker, left, and Francie A. Frederick, general counsel to the board, participate in the University of Texas System Board of Regents meeting February 27, 2018.
RALPH BARRERA / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
As readers of the Statesman might recall, Russell Reynolds was the executive search firm that conducted a quest for Austin’s new city manager. That was a bumpy search, to say the least, with Newton and his staff working at one point to zigzag candidates in and out of various doors at the Hilton Austin Airport hotel in an attempt to avoid Statesman reporters and a photographer. The Statesman sued and eventually obtained records of applicants, and the City Council reversed its decision to keep the process confidential up to the end and released the names of six finalists, including Spencer Cronk, who won the job.
State law allows for confidentiality of candidates for chief executive of an institution of higher learning, although one or more finalists must be named at least 21 days before the final appointment is made. The UT regents’ practice for years has been to name a sole finalist for chancellor of the system or president of one of the system’s academic and health institutions.
Author Ralph K.M. HaurwitzPosted on February 28, 2018 March 1, 2018 Categories UncategorizedTags news
Previous Previous post: McRaven voices support for ruling that keeps DACA in place
Next Next post: UT grad named president of Carnegie Mellon
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My Sindur was removed: Forced conversions reported from Hindu Rohingya refugee camps.
‘Hindus were identified and taken to a nearby hill… Only eight women were allowed to live… mostly the young and the beautiful’: Forced conversions reported at Rohingya refugee camps.
[Even then many of us advocating Muslim Rohingya Rehabilitation……..]
Manogya Loiwal | Mail Online India | New Delhi | Sept 26, 2017:: Hindu Rohingyas living in Bangladesh relief camps have become a soft target for those looking to enforce religious conversions on those vulnerable and alone, fighting for survival in Cox’s Bazar.
Both Hindu and Muslim Rohingya have taken shelter after fleeing from Myanmar, but with far more Muslims than Hindus seeking refuge, the women from the community – who have already lost their homes and loved ones – are now faced with the real danger of losing their identity, dignity, and way of life.
Hindu Rohingya women are reporting that they are being forced to remove sindoor (a traditional vermilion red powder worn by married women along the parting of their hair) break their bangles, and marry Muslim men, converting religion in the process.
Many of women are allegedly forced to give up their Hindu traditions and read namaz (pray) five times a day.
Puja Mullick is among those targeted and she speaks of the trauma she has gone through for almost three weeks. Puja calls herself Rabia now: the change happened this month.
Rabia is a Hindu Rohingya who left Myanmar in hope of a refuge. But circumstances turned her life upside down.
Puja, now Rabia, lost her husband to violence in the last week of August in Myanmar.
She says he was not killed by the army, but by men clad in black with their faces hidden, who were acting in the name of their religion.
Rabia is not alone. Theoman says her husband and entire family were shot in front of her but she was left alive to live as a captive.
‘They took us to the forest and said I would have to read namaz or they would release me… My sindoor was removed and my religious shakha pola bangles broken.
‘I was told I would be allowed to live only if I changed my religion. I was made to wear burqa and stay with them to learn their traditions for almost three weeks.
‘I was made to read namaz… I had to say Allah, but my heart was beating for Bhagwan… My family started searching for me and came to know that I was living in a Muslim camp.’
The red saree is the only one she has now and her three-year-old son has no clothes at all.
Mail Today’s team met many more such women in the Hindu Rohingya camp in Kotupalong area of Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh.
If Puja became Rabia, Rica was being turned into Sadia. Twenty-eight-year-old Rica Dhar adjusted her orange saree to feed her year-old son as she narrated a similar tragic tale.
‘On Friday (August 25) they entered all the Hindu residences and attacked. First the mobile phones were taken away and then men were tied and beaten brutally. My husband worked as a goldsmith.
‘They took away all my jewellery and began beating me. All Hindus were identified and taken to a nearby hill. They were then killed in a row. Only eight women were allowed to stay among them… mostly young and beautiful.
‘They were told ”You will have to turn Muslim and marry us”… We had no option but to surrender and go with them… We were taken to the forest and left without food to weaken us mentally also… Then we were brought to a camp in Bangladesh… Once my Hindu relatives heard about it…they brought me to this place…”
Both Rica and Puja say there were six more women besides them who shared their fate.
After they could not be traced anywhere in Myanamar or Bangladesh, they were identified at the Kotupalong Rohingya camp where they were kept under close watch by those who were allegedly executing this forcible conversion.
When asked, government officials were clueless about what was going on. ‘We do not have any such information,’ said Md. Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar.
‘If it has occurred, we will take necessary action.’
Men hailing from the same Rakhine state went out in search of these women and allegedly faced torture themselves. Vijay Ram Pal says he was assaulted during his quest.
‘We are victims of Burma army and now we are being tortured here also. Eight women who were here from Myanmar….they were forcibly taken to another camp and were asked to convert to Islam.
‘Thankfully, a person here in the camp came to save them,’ he said.
Puja alias Rabia can now breathe easy. ‘I am back in the Hindu camp for the past three days after being rescued by my some women,’ she says.
Around five lakh Rohingyas have entered Bangladeshi territory and are scattered in different parts of this district.
Among them, are a significant number is of Hindus. When this reporter apprised Bangladesh’s information minister Hasanul Haq Inu about the situation, he promised action.
‘The news is very bad and astounding… we have taken all measures to put Rohingya Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist families in separate camps,’ he said.
‘We will be investigating this and we will be very tough.’
Courtesy: Daily Mail.
One comment on “My Sindur was removed: Forced conversions reported from Hindu Rohingya refugee camps.”
Gajanan
We Hindus lack unity and one day we will be out of Bengal,Kerala and many other states of India.
This entry was posted on September 27, 2017 by hinduexistence in Anti Women, Anti-Hindu, Anti-Indian, Attack upon Hindu Girls, Attack upon Hindus & Hindu Temples, Attack upon Hindus by Muslims, Conspiracy against Hindus, Forced Conversion, Hindu Girls and Women exploited by Muslims, Hindu Girls under attack, Hindu Girls victimized by Islamists, Hindu Murder, Hindu Women in Trap, Islamic aggression in Cultural life, Islamic Aggression in Myanmar, Islamic Aggression in Social Life, Islamic attack on Non-Muslims, Islamic Conspiracy against Hindus, Islamic Conspiracy Against Peace and Humanity, Islamic Conversion, Islamic Menace, Islamic Terrorism, Save Hindus in Myanmar, Save Myanmar Hindus and tagged Forced conversion by Rohingya Muslims, Forced conversions reported from Hindu Rohingya refugee, Hindu Rohingya women were converted, Hindu Rohingyas were slaughtered, My Sindur was removed.
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Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth Announce 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour
Written By Chris Thomas
Great news for Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth fans. The renowned rap duo have announced the “20th Anniversary Mecca And The Soul Brother Tour.”
Chocolate Boy Wonder and C.L. will hit 25 cities beginning October 15 at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. The group will be joined by Camp Lo, who will be the opening act on the tour.
“People will finally get to hear good music and see a good show, they get to come out, have a good time and enjoy the music they loved for years,” Pete Rock said in a press release.
“It means a lot because music is the foundation of the world. It gives you an opportunity to know what we contributed and how inspired we were as very young men to get the opportunity to make good music,” added C.L.
See when Pete Rockand C.L. Smooth will be in a town near you below.
10.15 Washington, D.C. Howard Theater
10.18 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
10.19 Charlotte, NC The Chop Shop
10.20 St. Louis, MO 2720 Cherokee
10.24 Denver, CO Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
10.26 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy Theatre
10.27 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s San Francisco
10.30 Portland, OR Hawthorn Theater
11.01 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
11.02 Vancouver, BC Fortune Sound Club
11.08 Chicago, IL The Shrine
11.11 Toronto, Ontario The Phoenix Concert Theatre
11.12 Montreal, Quebec Cabaret Underworld
11.13 New York, NY BB Kings
11.15 Boston, MA Middle East
camp lo , Dates , mecca and the soul brother , pete rock , Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
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Health and Wellness Associates
Shared Decision Concept in Your Healthcare
Rx to Wellness
Tag: carcinogens
Foods, Health and Disease, Uncategorized
This Snack Food is Causing Cancer
May 17, 2017 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
Popular Snack Chips May Be Linked to Cancer and Other Diseases
Deadly processed foods are very addictive. Americans currently spend about 90% of their food income buying processed junk like popular Doritos. Doritos are statistically listed as the most popular chips worldwide. Why are Doritos so bad? Take a look at the ingredients.
Doritos Ingredients:
Whole corn, vegetable oil (corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oil), salt, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), maltodextrin, wheat flour, whey, monosodium glutamate, buttermilk solids, romano cheese (part skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, onion powder, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, corn flour, disodium phosphate, lactose, natural and artificial flavor, dextrose, tomato powder, spices, lactic acid, artificial color (including Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40), citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, red and green bell pepper powder, sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, nonfat milk solids, whey protein isolate, corn syrup solids.
Whole Corn:
Genetically modified foods (especially corn) contain toxic chemicals and pesticides that can wreak havoc on your digestive system over time and tax your organs of elimination such as liver, kidneys, bladder, lymphatic system.
According to the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT):
“Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GMO food including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.”
Vegetable Oil:
Most vegetable oils are genetically modified. Almost 90 % of canola and corn oil in America is GMO. Soy, corn, safflower and canola oils are dangerous to cook with as they contain very high amounts of Omega-6. Omega-6 is only beneficial for our bodies if the ratio of Omega-6 and Omega-3 is 3 to 1. Omega-3 sources include fatty fish and cod liver oil. As a nation, we do not consume enough of these. The current ratio in America is at 50:1. Our culture is way to indulged in processed pre-packaged food, so adding foods cooked with vegetable oil make matters even worse.
Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes): Pasteurized cow’s milk on an industrial commercial level is loaded with unhealthy components such growth hormone and GMOs. Doritos contain hormones that lead to breast cancer.
Yellow #6:
Can cause cancer, hyperactivity, allergic reactions, diarrhea, vomiting, nettle rash, migraines and swelling of the skin.
Can cause allergic reactions, hyperactivity, cancer.
Red #40:
Damages DNA, causes swelling around the mouth, hives, hyperactivity in children and cancer.
Maltodextrin:
Maltodextrin is a commercial sweetener made from cornstarch. Almost all the maltodextrin used in health foods, vitamins, and supplements are derived from genetically modified corn. Abdominal bloating and flatulence can be experienced; other problems relating to digestion can also become a problem such as constipation and diarrhea.
Citric Acid:
Citric acid is used as both a flavor enhancer and a preservative ingredient. Citric acid has been known to irritate the digestive system , causing heartburn and damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach. According to a few European studies, citric acid could be responsible for promoting tooth decay as well.
Corn Syrup Solids:
This is precisely the ingredient that is contributing to the obesity in the United States. Fructose can disturb your metabolism, elevate blood pressure and triglycerides, cause weight gain, heart disease and liver damage, and even deplete your body of vitamins and minerals.
Other Flavors:
Buttermilk, Romano cheese (part skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, onion powder, corn flour, natural and artificial flavors, dextrose, tomato powder, lactose, spices, wheat flour, salt, lactic acid, citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, skim milk, whey protein isolate, corn syrup solids, red and green bell pepper powder, sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate. All these ingredients can cause serious chronic diseases and are the norm for processed snacks.
Doritos also contain acrylamides — toxic substances formed when carbohydrates are cooked a high temperature. Acrylamides are linked to cancer and other serious diseases. One study shows that eating acrylamides increases the risk of kidney cancer by 59 percent
Remember, you are what you eat. The choice is yours!
HealthWellnessAssociates@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/HealthAndWellnessAssociates/
Tagged cancer, carcinogens, health and wellness, health benefits, healthy, healthy living, toxins, wellnessLeave a comment
100 Percent Natural Cereal, Stuffed with Nasty Carcinogens.
July 5, 2016 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
100 Percent Natural’ Cereal, Stuffed With Nasty Carcinogens?
Voluntary ‘Smart Label’ Preempts State and Consumer Rights
According to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), 80 percent of the foods on your grocery store’s shelves contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).1 These foods are also most likely to be contaminated with toxic pesticide residues.
Just last month, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) sued Post Holdings, Inc., for falsely marketing Shredded Wheat cereal as “100 percent natural” and “made with nothing but goodness,” after independent testing found it contained glyphosate2 — hardly what health-conscious consumers would expect.
Alas, while Americans are getting savvier when it comes to making healthier food choices, and recent polling shows that 9 out of 10 Americans want to know if their food is genetically engineered (GE),3 big business has successfully usurped power, and politicians have by and large abandoned their constituents.
State and Consumer Rights under Attack Yet Again
Senate negotiators have now made a deal4 to create a national labeling standard for GMOs using voluntary “Smart Labels” (so-called QR codes5) rather than clear labeling — a deal that goes against the 88 percent of Americans who have said NO to being forced to use a smartphone app to find this important information.
The new bill, S. 2609, would amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 with a national bioengineered food disclosure standard.6,7 As noted in a June 23 newsletter by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA):
“It’s hard to know which is worse. The corporations that profit from poisoning your food and water. Or the politicians who will happily sell you down the river for a few campaign contributions.
Today, our ‘leaders’ in the U.S. Senate proudly announced that they’ve ‘reached a deal’ on a federal GMO labeling bill.
No matter how they spin it — and they will spin it — this ‘compromise’ is nothing more than a handout to Monsanto, an industry-brokered deal intended to legally sanction the right of corporations to deceive you, the consumer.”
Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety (CFS) has called the bill a “blow to the food movement and America’s right to know,” adding it is “in many ways worse than prior iterations of the DARK Act that were defeated — it is a blank check for biotech.”8
Roberts-Stabenow Deal Tramples Your Rights to Save Biotech Industry
Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow have spent months secretly negotiating this deal which will nullify Vermont’s GMO labeling requirement (which officially went into effect July 1) after the fact.
The legislation would also bar any other state from enacting GMO labeling requirements that differ from the national standard, and delays the disclosure requirement another two years — three years for smaller food companies. As reported by AgriPulse:9
“Under the legislation, most food companies would have the option of disclosing GMO ingredients through either a digital smartphone code, the industry’s preference, or through an on-package symbol or language that the Agriculture Department would approve.
The code would be accompanied by: ‘Scan here for more food information.’ Small companies would have the option of putting a phone number or website URL on labels instead of the digital code…
Roberts said the disclosure system would protect biotech products from being denigrated by opponents. ‘We saved agricultural biotechnology,’ said Roberts.”
Legislation Redefines Bioengineering to Exempt Most GMOs
What’s worse, the new legislation changes the very definition of bioengineering. The newest biotech methods, such as gene editing technology, would be exempt from the disclosure standards.
Indeed, the definition of “bioengineered” is so narrow it actually ends up excluding many, if not most, GE products currently on the market. Folks, this is about as crazy as it gets, and it’s a double insult to every American who has fought so hard for GMO transparency and honesty.
In an email, Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a senior staff scientist for Consumers Union, notes: 10
“Since the mutant EPSPS gene (conferring glyphosate resistance) is found in nature in Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4, and most of the Cry proteins … are found in Bacillus thuringiensis, a narrow reading of this definition would not include the Roundup Ready crops nor the vast bulk of Bt crops.
It would only include those crops that have hybrid Cry proteins (which don’t occur in nature).
The bill realizes that this definition of ‘bioengineering’ is significantly different than the definition that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses … since there is a section that says the definition only applies to this bill…
Another loophole is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will get to suggest the level of GE content that will trigger labeling, e.g. set a tolerance or threshold…
Indeed, the bill seems to realize that the various exemptions are extensive, since another part of the bill says that just because a food is not required to be labeled as ‘bioengineered’ it cannot be labeled as ‘non-GMO’ … So, this means that the non-GMO project labels will still exist.'”
Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has criticized the bill. In its technical comments, the FDA notes that the way GMOs are redefined, it may be difficult for any GMO to qualify for labeling!
Moreover, the bill gives the USDA sole authority over GMO claims on food, which would normally fall under the FDA’s jurisdiction. Unfortunately, it appears this bill is more or less a done deal already, in large part due to the Organic Trade Association11 (OTA) selling out.
OTA, a Mere Pawn of the GMA?
Sadly, it appears the OTA is little more than a pawn of the GMA, as big junk food have gobbled up smaller organic companies. The OTA is using the same inaccurate talking points as Big Food when talking about how good this bill is, when in reality the OTA has sold out and abandoned the organic food movement.
According to the OTA, 12 the Roberts-Stabenow bill “covers thousands more products than Vermont’s GMO labeling law and other state initiatives.” This simply isn’t true. The reality is that this bill would label FEWER products, as it doesn’t cover all the GMOs covered by Vermont’s law and other labeling initiatives.
As just discussed, most GMOs on the market — as much as 99 percent — could potentially be exempt from labeling under this bill! Moreover, since there’s no enforcement, the labeling requirements are hardly more than a voluntary suggestion.
How did the OTA become so misguided? In short, large multinational food companies have bought up many popular organic brands and have effectively infiltrated and in large part taken over the OTA.13
The companies that convinced the OTA to support the DARK Act and its current iteration are non-organic junk food brands that happen to own organic brands. Their main concern is NOT protecting organics however. They’re exploiting the organic market niche, but the real money is still in selling their inexpensive GMO wares.
Who really owns the organic brands you trust and love? Check out the Cornucopia Institute’s “Who Owns Organic” graphic.14 you may be surprised.
Take J.M. Smuckers Company, for example. With annual revenue of about $8 billion, Smuckers is best known for their sugary condiments and unhealthy “food-like substances” sold under the Dunkin’ Donuts, Pillsbury, Jif and Crisco brands.
Alas, Smuckers also owns RW Knudsen and Santa Cruz juices, and Smuckers’ employee Kim Dietz is on the OTA Board of Directors.15
If you think this makes Smuckers a pro-organic company, you’d be wrong. Smuckers spent $640,000 to oppose GMO laws in Oregon and Colorado, and $550,000 to oppose labeling in California.
In total, Smuckers has spent $1.19 million to defeat GMO labeling. They may have employees on the OTA board — and when it lobbies Congress, Smuckers can represent itself as an OTA member16 — but their corporate behavior is anything but pro-organic.
It lobbied to pass the DARK Act, using a firm that also represents the GMA, 17 and evidence suggests Smuckers has manipulated the OTA for years. Not only does Smuckers use GE ingredients in their foods, according to the OCA,18 “the President of the Board of Directors of the OTA, Julia Sabin, VP/GM of Smucker Natural individually profits from Smucker selling GE foods.”
What OTA and ‘Big Food’ Members Gain by Undermining Transparency
The sad fact is, the OTA does NOT speak for a majority of the truly organic food producers in the U.S. and does not represent the organic community’s interests. What’s worse, it appears the OTA purposely undermined transparency in order to protect the organic niche.
Mandatory disclosure of GMOs would actually eliminate a key advantage that organic conveys. As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, one of the key reasons for eating USDA 100 percent organic is to avoid unlabeled GMOs. If GMOs must be disclosed, Big Organic loses that selling point. So, crazy as it may seem, anti-transparency actually benefits organics. Moreover, the bill would also allow organic companies to make non-GMO claims on their products.
Loopholes Abound in Roberts-Stabenow ‘Smart Label’ Deal
Other details of the agreement include the following, which offer the food industry plenty of leeway when it comes too accurately and honestly disclosing GMOs: 19
“Very small” food manufacturers and all restaurants would be exempt from GMO disclosure rules
Meat and dairy products from animals fed with GMO grains would be exempt from any disclosure requirement
Food products where meat, poultry or egg is the main ingredient, such as pizza for example, would be exempt even if it contains GMOs like high-fructose corn syrup from GE corn or, say, GE soybean or canola oil
The USDA would have no authority to require recalls of products that don’t comply with the labeling requirements
There would be no federal penalties for violations, although states would be allowed to impose fines for violations under state consumer protection rules
People Don’t Use QR Codes, Which Is Exactly Why Industry Wants Them
QR stands for Quick Response, and the code can be scanned and read by smartphones and other QR readers.20 the code brings you to a product website that provides various details about the product. But these so-called “Smart Labels” hardly improve access to information.
A mere 16 percent of poll respondents say they’ve ever scanned a QR code to get information about a product,21,22 and to expect shoppers to scan and read an entire website for each and every product in their cart in order to determine whether or not they contain GMOs is beyond ludicrous.
Besides the fact that it’s simply not a workable method, it’s just plain wrong since everyone has a right to know what’s in the food. You shouldn’t have to own a smartphone to obtain this information. As previously noted by Lisa Archer, food and technology program director at Friends of the Earth:
“GMO labeling via QR code technology is unworkable, threatens privacy and is discriminatory since more than a third of Americans, many of which are low-income or live in rural areas with poor internet access, don’t own smartphones.”
Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, issued a similar statement in response to the Roberts-Stabenow bill: 23
“This deal is unacceptable to the 9 out of 10 Americans who support mandatory GMO labeling. Consumers deserve to know what’s in their food and to be able to make informed decisions. They have been clear that they want straightforward GMO labels that they can read and understand at a quick glance when shopping.
This law would instead allow GMO disclosure to be done through scan able codes, phone numbers or websites — making it difficult, if not impossible for the average consumer to find out what they want to know as they try to decide which kind of cereal or snack to buy.
While we appreciate efforts by Senator Stabenow and others to seek a better bill than the one passed by the House last summer, this deal does not meet consumer needs. QR codes, 1-800 numbers or websites aren’t a solution. The new Senate bill is just another way to allow companies to keep consumers in the dark — especially the one-third of Americans who don’t own a smartphone and those in rural areas without reliable broadband service.”
Vow to Boycott Foods Bearing QR Codes
It should be crystal clear to everyone that by being time-consuming and cumbersome (and in some cases impossible) to use, food makers know the QR codes will help them hide the presence of GMOs in their products, and this is precisely why I propose a new strategic campaign: boycott all products bearing QR codes. The proposed legislation would allow companies to divulge the presence of GMOs in their product using one of three ways:24
Text on the package (although the exact and now-familiar terms “GMO,” “genetically modified” or “biotechnology” are not necessarily going to be required. The USDA would determine the language)
A symbol (to be determined by the USDA)
A QR code (or for smaller food companies, a website address or 1-800 number)
If a company refuses to clearly label their product as containing GMOs via text or symbol, and opts for a Smart Label instead, I believe it’s safe to assume it’s because it has something to hide. They’re just trying to prevent as many people as possible from finding out the truth right away by not putting clear text or a GMO symbol on their product.
Why play along? If they want to be coy and opaque, strike back where it hurts — their bottom line. Don’t waste valuable time searching for the information they want to hide. Instead, just don’t buy the product!
Food Industry Group Has ILLEGALLY Lobbied to Remove Consumer and State Rights
The GMA is an industry group made up of a conglomeration of the biggest junk food producers on the planet, and this organization, which I dubbed the “Most Evil Organization on the Planet” in 2014, is a key player in this GMO labeling drama. The companies represented by the GMA are largely responsible for the massive obesity epidemic that spreads sickness and disease, yet they refuse to take responsibility and amend their ways.
Instead, they’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars to deny your right to know important facts about the food you eat and remove state rights, while further corrupting Congress through massive lobbying “donations.”25
A little known fact is that the GMA actually owns the “Smart Label” trademark that Congress has accepted as a so-called “compromise” to on-package GMO labeling, and that’s another reason why I believe the Smart Label mark is the mark of those with something to hide.26
The GMA’s 300-plus members include chemical technology companies, GE seed and food and beverage companies. Monsanto, Dow, Coca-Cola and General Mills are just some of the heavy-hitters in this powerful industry group, which has showed no qualms about doing whatever it takes to protect the interest of its members.
This includes deceptive and outright illegal tactics to take away consumer and state rights. For example, in March, the GMA was found GUILTY of perpetrating an $11 million money laundering scheme during Washington’s 2013 GMO labeling initiative. The aim was to hide the identities of the members contributing to the campaign, in order to shield them from consumer backlash.27
How can the GMA and its members possibly be trusted to do the right thing? Let’s not forget that doing the right thing is absolutely critical here, because we’re talking about companies that (are supposed to) provide nourishing sustenance to you and your family. If honesty is important in any business, it would surely be the food business!
Yet in just three years, from 2013 through 2015, the food industry spent nearly $200 million on anti-labeling campaigns. If you bought any processed food at all in the last few years, you have undoubtedly supported their efforts to pull the wool over your eyes because the list of traitor companies is long indeed, and contains many of the most widely bought brands in the U.S. Isn’t it time to stop paying these companies to lie to you and deceive you?
Encourage Your Favorite Brands to Shun ‘GMA’s Verified Ring of Deception’
My suggestion? When you see the QR code or so-called Smart Label on a food product, pass it by. Products bearing the GMA’s Smart Label mark are in all likelihood filled with pesticides and/or GMO ingredients. Don’t waste your time searching through their website, which may or may not contain the information you’re looking for. If they insist on wasting your time and making your shopping difficult, why reward them with a purchase?
If you think this sounds like a challenge, I beg you to reconsider and to take the wide view. What’s your health, and the health of your family, worth to you? Remember, each and every time you shop, you actively support one type of food system or another. Will you financially support a corrupt, toxic and unsustainable food system, or a healthy, regenerative one? There are many options available besides big-brand processed foods that are part of the “GMA’s verified ring of deception.” You can:
Shop at local farms and farmers markets
Only buy products marked either “USDA 100 percent Organic” (which by law cannot contain GMOs), “100 percent Grass-Fed,” or “Non-GMO Verified”
If you have a smartphone and you don’t mind using it, download the OCA’s Buycott app to quickly and easily identify the thousands of proprietary brands belonging to GMA members, so you can avoid them, as well as identify the names of ethical brands that deserve your patronage
Last but not least, encourage good companies to reject QR codes and to be transparent and clear with their labeling. This will eventually ensure that all GMO foods can easily be identified by the GMA’s “verified ring of deception” mark that is the Smart Label.
Campbell’s, Mars, Kellogg’s, ConAgra and General Mills all vowed to voluntarily comply with Vermont’s GMO labeling law by labeling all of their foods sold across the U.S. Will their plans change if the current “compromise” gets passed by the Senate? That remains to be seen, but if you like these companies, I would encourage you to reach out to them and ask them to remain steadfast in their promise.
What You Need to Know About GMOs
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or genetically “engineered” (GE) foods, are live organisms whose genetic components have been artificially manipulated in a laboratory setting through creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and even viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
GMO proponents claim that genetic engineering is “safe and beneficial,” and that it advances the agricultural industry. They also say that GMOs help ensure the global food supply and sustainability. But is there any truth to these claims? I believe not. For years, I’ve stated the belief that GMOs pose one of the greatest threats to life on the planet. Genetic engineering is NOT the safe and beneficial technology that it is touted to be.
The FDA cleared the way for GE (Genetically Engineered) Atlantic salmon to be farmed for human consumption. Thanks to added language in the federal spending bill, the product will require special labeling so at least consumers will have the ability to identify the GE salmon in stores. However, it’s imperative ALL GE foods be labeled, which is currently still being denied.
The FDA is threatening the existence of our food supply. We have to start taking action now. I urge you to share this article with friends and family. If we act together, we can make a difference and put an end to the absurdity.
Boycott Smart Labels Today
When you see the QR code or so-called Smart Label on a food product, pass it by. Products bearing the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association’s (GMA) Smart Label mark are in all likelihood filled with pesticides and/or GMO ingredients.
The GMA’s 300-plus members include chemical technology companies, GE seed and food and beverage companies. Monsanto, Dow and Coca-Cola are just some of the heavy-hitters in this powerful industry group, which has showed no qualms about doing whatever it takes to protect the interest of its members.
Don’t waste your time searching through their website, which may or may not contain the information you’re looking for. If they insist on wasting your time and making your shopping difficult, why reward them with a purchase? A little known fact is that the GMA actually owns the “Smart Label” trademark that Congress has accepted as a so-called “compromise” to on-package GMO labeling, and that’s another reason why I believe the Smart Label mark is the mark of those with something to hide such as Monsanto.
Will you financially support a corrupt, toxic and unsustainable food system, or a healthy, regenerative one? There are many options available besides big-brand processed foods that are part of the “GMA’s verified ring of deception.” You can:
Non-GMO Food Resources by Country
If you are searching for non-GMO foods, here is a list of trusted sites you can visit.
Organic Food Directory (Australia)
Eat Wild (Canada)
Organic Explorer (New Zealand)
Eat Well Guide (United States & Canada)
Farm Match (United States)
Local Harvest (United States)
Weston A. Price Foundation (United States)
If you have any questions please call us:
Archived :JM
Tagged bioengineering, carcinogens, cereals, GMO, health, health and wellness, health benefits, healthy eating, healthy foods, nutrition, smart label, wellnessLeave a comment
Natural Insect Repellent that works better than DEET
Biting insects can put a damper on your summer
fun, not to mention potentially transmit diseases like Lyme disease and West
Nile Virus. The majority of US adults (75 percent) said they are actually more concerned about such diseases than
they are about potentially dangerous chemicals in insect repellent.1
Still, most
people also told Consumer
Reports that safety is important when choosing an insect repellent, and only
one-third believe products on the market are safe for adults (and only 23
percent considered them safe for kids).
Concern is well-justified, as DEET
(N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is used in hundreds of products, in concentrations
of up to an astounding 100 percent. DEET has been shown to harm brain and
nervous system function.
Children are
particularly at risk for subtle neurological changes because their skin more
readily absorbs chemicals in the environment, and chemicals exert more potent
effects on their developing nervous systems.
DEET is not your only option for insect
repellent, fortunately, and Consumer Reports tests have recently revealed
natural alternatives that may be even more effective
without the harsh side effects.
Picaridin and
Lemon Eucalyptus Beat DEET for Repelling Insects
Reports recruited volunteers to test out spray-on repellents made of DEET, oil
of lemon eucalyptus, picaridin, a chemical called IR3535, and products made
with natural plant oils. After the repellents were applied and allowed to sit
for 30 minutes, the volunteers reached into a cage containing (disease-free)
mosquitoes or ticks.
Two products
emerged on top and were able to keep mosquitoes and ticks away for at least
seven hours: products that contained 20 percent picaridin or 30 percent oil of
lemon eucalyptus. Picaridin resembles the natural compound piperine, an
essential oil in black pepper.
However, picaridin is not a natural compound;
it’s produced synthetically in the lab. According to the Environmental Working
Group (EWG), picaridin does not carry the same neurotoxicity concerns at DEET,
although it has not been tested much over the long term. They report:2
“Overall, EWG’s
assessment is that Picaridin is a good DEET alternative with many of the same
advantages and without the same disadvantages.”
Eucalyptus Is a ‘Biopesticide’ Repellent
of lemon eucalyptus comes from the gum eucalyptus tree, but it is
p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), its synthetic version with pesticidal properties,
that is used as an insect repellent. While the term “PMD” is often used
interchangeably with lemon eucalyptus oil, know that it is different from the
“pure” unrefined oil, which is typically used in making fragrances.
The pure oil is
not registered with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an insect
repellant. PMD or the refined version, on the other hand, has a long history of
use but only recently became important as a commercial repellent.
In 2000, the
EPA registered oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD as a “biopesticide repellent,”
meaning it is derived from natural materials. Both lemon eucalyptus oil and
picaridin are not actual repellents,
but insteadmost likely work by masking the environmental cues that mosquitoes
use to locate their target.
Side effects of
both picaridin and lemon eucalyptus include potential skin or eye irritation,
and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that picaridin should not
be used on children under age 3. Urvashi Rangan, PhD, executive director of
Consumer Reports’ Food Safety and Sustainability Center, said:
“They are not
side-effect-free, but ‘those problems are much less severe than deet…’ Still,
all repellents should be used sparingly and only for the time you need
them—especially on children and older people.”
DEET-Containing Repellents Are Better Off Avoided
percent of Americans use DEET every year, but you should know that this
chemical – though generally effective in keeping away insects – can have deadly
repercussions. From 1961 to 2002, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry reports eight deaths related to DEET exposure.
Three of these resulted from deliberate
ingestion, but five of them occurred following DEET exposure to the skin in
adults and children.3 Psychological effects have
also been reported including altered mental state, auditory hallucinations, and
severe agitation.
In children, the most frequently reported
symptoms of DEET toxicity reported to poison control centers were lethargy,
headaches, tremors, involuntary movements, seizures, and convulsions. Further,
in a study of more than 140 National Park Service employees, 25 percent
reported health effects they attributed to DEET, including:4
Skin or mucous membrane
Transient numb or
burning lips
In addition, Duke University Medical Center
pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia spent 30 years researching
the effects of pesticides. He discovered that prolonged exposure to DEET can
impair cell function in parts of your brain — demonstrated in the lab by death
and behavioral changes in rats with frequent or prolonged DEET use. Other
potential side effects DEET exposure include:
Muscle weakness and
potentially harmful chemical found in many bug sprays is permethrin. This
chemical is a member of the synthetic pyrethroid family, all of which are
neurotoxins.
The EPA has even deemed this chemical
carcinogenic, capable of causing lung tumors, liver tumors, immune system
problems, and chromosomal abnormalities. Permethrin is also damaging to the
environment, and it is particularly toxic to bees and aquatic life. It should
also be noted that permethrin is highly toxic to cats.5
Non-Chemical
Options to Keep Bugs Away from Your Barbecue
Reports also tested three non-chemical options for keeping pests away from a
simulated backyard barbecue: a citronella candle, a portable diffuser with
essential oils, or an oscillating pedestal fan set at its highest speed.
While neither the candle nor the diffuser showed much promise, the fan worked
well, cutting mosquito landings by 45 percent to 65 percent among those sitting
near the fan.
Similar results were found from the Consumer
Reports survey, which found 45 percent of people who used fans to keep insects
away reported them as “especially helpful” (compared to 31 percent of those who
used candles).6
Naturally, the
best way to avoid mosquito bites is to prevent coming into contact with them in
the first place. You can avoid insect bites by staying inside between dusk and
dawn, which is when they are most active.
Mosquitoes are also thicker in shrubby areas and
near standing water. The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA)
recommends the “Three Ds” of protection to prevent mosquito breeding on your
property:7
Drain – Mosquitoes require water in which to breed, so
carefully drain any and all sources of standing water around your house and
yard, including pet bowls, gutters, garbage and recycling bins, spare tires,
bird baths, etc.
Dress – Wear light colored, loose fitting
clothing—long sleeved shirts and long pants, hats, and socks
Defend – While the AMCA recommends
using commercial repellents, I highly recommend avoiding most chemical
repellents for the reasons already discussed; try some of the natural
alternatives instead, when necessary
Bat houses are another option since bats are
voracious consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes. For more on buying a bat
house or constructing one yourself, visit the Organization for Bat
Conservation.8 Planting marigolds around
your yard also works as a bug repellent because the flowers give off a fragrance
that bugs dislike.
Enjoy the
Outdoors with These Additional Natural Repellent Options
Body temperature and skin chemicals like lactic
acid attract mosquitoes, which explains why you’re more likely to be “eaten
alive” when you’re sweaty, such as during or after exercise, so trying to stay
as cool and dry as you can may help to some degree. Some experts also recommend
supplementing
with one vitamin B1 tablet a day from April through October, and
then adding 100 mg of B1 to a B100 Complex daily during the mosquito season to
you less attractive to mosquitoes. Regularly
garlic may also help protect against mosquito bites, as may thefollowing natural insect repellants:
Cinnamon leaf oil
(one study found it was more effective at killing mosquitoes than DEET9)
Clear liquid vanilla extract mixed with olive oil
Wash with citronella soap, and then put 100% pure
citronella essential
oil on your skin. Java Citronella is considered the highest qualitycitronella on the market
Catnip oil (according to one study, this oil is
10 times more effective than DEET10)
Another option is to use the safe solution I have
formulated to repel mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers, ticks, and other biting
insects. It’s a
insect spray with a combination of citronella,
oil, and vanillin, which is a dynamite blend of natural plant
extracts. In fact, an independent study showed my bug spray to be more
effective than a product containing 100 percent DEET. And it’s safe for you,
your children, and your pets.
You can also try using lemon eucalyptus oil to make a homemade insect
repellent. Here is a recipe from Backpacking Spirit to try out:11
mosquito repellent consisted of around 10% lemon eucalyptus oil. If you are
using the essential (‘pure’) oil, note that it does not mix with water and will
therefore require a carrier oil, such as hazel, vodka, or olive oil.
Obtain an
appropriately sized bottle for travel; a 100 to 200 ml bottle will be a good
choice. You may also go for a bottle that has a spritzer nozzle for easy
Use a measuring
jug for more precise measurements.
Think 10%
essential oil. If you are using a 100 ml bottle, mix 90 ml of your chosen
liquid and 10 ml of lemon eucalyptus oil. If you are using a 200 ml bottle, mix
180 ml of liquid and 20 ml of essential oil.
Shake the
bottle thoroughly before use.
Spritz onto
skin and rub in.”
Archived Article
Tagged anti-cancer, cancer, carcinogens, chia seeds, DEET, health, health and wellness, health benefits, healthy eating, healthy recipes, insect, mosquitos, repellent, wellness1 Comment
What Happens to Your Body When You Smoke
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 18 out of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (17.8 percent) smoke cigarettes today. This means an estimated 42.1 million adults in the United States are cigarette smokers. Even more stunning; on average, smoking causes 480,000 deaths per year in the country, which is roughly 1,300 deaths per day.1 It is expected that eight million people will die in 2030 if the current smoking rate continues.
Background of Cigarette Smoking
Smoking is said to stimulate pleasing and enjoyable emotions, and smokers claim that it helps boost their mood, alleviates minor depression and small fits of anger, improves concentration and short-term memory, and can also provide a modest sense of well-being. This is because cigarettes contain the addictive substance nicotine that stimulates dopamine in the brain, which is responsible for the “pleasurable sensations.”
However, the more you smoke, the more your nerve cells become immune to the pleasure brought on by smoking. As a result, smokers tend to increase their intake of nicotine to get that desirable feeling from smoking.2
Despite the “pleasure” that one gets from puffing a cigarette, remember this: smoking comes with devastating health effects.
If you think smoking an e-cig makes a difference, it doesn’t. Researchers actually found that a brand of e-cigarette contains more than 10 times the level of carcinogen contained in a regular cigarette. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both harmful toxins, were also found in the vapor produced by several types of e-cigarettes.
Remember while smoking makes you feel good for a period of time, it slowly kills your body, and is the LEADING preventable cause of death in the US.3
What Are the Side Effects of Smoking Cigarettes?
Smoking harms your body and may cause permanent damage to your health. If you’re still not convinced about its dangers, take a look at some of smoking’s side effects.
Short-Term Effects
Smokers tend to have smelly clothes and hair, bad breath, and yellow or brown teeth stains. Your physical appearance can also suffer as smoking can lead to premature wrinkles, gum and tooth loss, and sudden weight change. Stomach ulcers and weakened immune system are also possible smoking side effects you might experience.4
For young people, there is a high probability that they will continue smoking into adulthood. As a result, it will impair their lung function and growth. Teens who smoke are also 22 times more likely to use cocaine.
According to a new Australian study, female smokers may experience worse menstrual cramps than those who don’t. It is likely to happen as the amount of oxygen that travels to the uterus decreases when you smoke. Researchers say that women who started to smoke at the tender age of 13 have a 59 percent risk of having painful menstruation, while those who started to smoke at age 14 or 15 have 50 percent risk of experiencing it.5
Many people don’t begin to feel the severe side effects of smoking until years later. Once you begin to feel the symptoms, you know damage has already been done. Some damaging side effects of smoking cigarettes include:
Cardiovascular health problems. Smoking poses a great danger to your heart and blood vessels. It damages the structure of your heart and the way your blood vessels work.6 Smoking increases your risk of having a heart disease by two to four times, as it causes the blood vessels in your heart to thicken and grow thinner. It makes your heart beat faster, your blood pressure rise, and causes your blood to clot. When a clot blocks the blood flow to your heart, it cannot get enough oxygen, which damages a part of your heart’s muscle or even kills it.
People who smoke have a higher risk of atherosclerosis, a disease where the plaque liquids build in the arteries. As time progresses, it will cause your arteries to harden and narrow, which will limit the flow of the oxygen-filled blood to other parts of your body.
Smoking may also lead to coronary heart disease (CHD) once the plaque liquids build up in the coronary arteries. It can lead to chest pain, heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmias, or death.
Another side effect of smoking cigarettes is Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.), which happens when plaque liquids build up to the blood vessels that deliver blood to the head, organs, and limbs. Smokers who have diabetes and take birth control pills are at greater risk of having serious ailments to the heart and blood vessels. 7
Increased risk of stroke. Smokers have a two to four times increased risk of having a stroke than non-smokers. It happens when a clot blocks the blood from your brain or when an artery around or in your brain explodes.8
Respiratory problems. Our lungs are equipped with a layer of internal mucus that serves as a protective shield for foreign materials that we inhale, by wiping off these contaminants with small hairs called cilia. But with smokers, cilia cannot function properly as these tiny hairs work rather slowly. As a result, you cannot cough, sneeze, or swallow to get these toxins out of your body.9
Smoking can trigger or make an asthma attack worse.10 It may also cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In emphysema, the air sacs in your lungs eventually lose their elasticity and start to worsen. Chronic bronchitis happens when there is a swelling in the linings of your lungs and it constrains your breathing.11
Pregnancy complications. Pregnant women who smoke have a higher risk of preterm (early) delivery, miscarriage, or stillbirth. They may encounter Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), ectopic pregnancy, and orofacial clefts for the newborns. Women also have a great tendency of having weaker bones after menopause.12
Reproductive health function. Men who smoke may encounter erectile dysfunction, poor sperm quality, and sperm defects. For women, smoking may cause reduced fertility.13
Cigarettes contain over 7,000 chemicals, some of which can cause cancer. These include formaldehyde, benzene, polonium 210, and vinyl chloride.14 Even worse, smoking can cause various kinds of cancers anywhere in your body, not just in your lungs, such as: 15
Bladder Blood (acute myeloid leukemia) Cervix
Colon and rectum (colorectal) Esophagus Kidney and ureter
Larynx Liver Oropharynx
Pancreas Stomach Trachea, bronchus, and lung
Radioactive Chemical Found in Fertilizers Leads to Lung Cancer
Did you know that your body also accumulates harmful radioactive chemicals from cigarettes? These dangerous elements come from the pesticides used on tobacco fields. While it is true that smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, there is a more specific substance that is the root cause of cancer among smokers. Tobacco fields typically use calcium phosphate fertilizers, which contain polonium-210. When polonium-210 decays, it releases alpha particles that can damage human cells they come into contact with.
Research suggests that main lung damage comes from the radiation emitted by these fertilizers.16,17,18 It also showed that polonium, specifically, causes cancer in laboratory animals.19 Moreover, according to a study in 200920 the radiation that you get from smoking 1 ½ cigarette packs is tantamount to 300 chest x-ray films per year.
A 2011 report from Nicotine and Tobacco Research21 also revealed there are internal documents stating that the tobacco industry have recognized the danger brought by these radioactive chemicals. According to these papers, acid wash was found to be an effective solution in removing polonium-210 from the tobacco leaves, but the industry avoided using it as it would lessen the pleasurable effect of nicotine to smokers.
The tobacco industry will certainly not be your number one motivator in stopping you from smoking, even if they know that this may lead to your death. It is now your decision to throw away your smoking habit for good and choose a healthier lifestyle, which can add more years to your life.
What Happens When a Smoker Quits
The process of quitting requires determination and patience as it will affect you both physically and mentally, so be prepared for its withdrawal period. But nonetheless, it will greatly benefit in many ways even just minutes after quitting.
Tips on How to Quit Smoking
People who have been addicted to smoking for a long time still have hope in turning over a new leaf. I suggest that you practice these prevention techniques to help you quit smoking:22
Choose a Quit Day. Pick a day that is not stressful for you so that you can prepare yourself. It can be your birthday, your anniversary, or even just the first day of the month.
Don’t Quit Alone. Telling someone about your decision to quit can give an enormous support when you feel alone in your battle to quit.
Know Your Nicotine Replacement Options. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) can be a great help in quitting smoking as it can help you overcome the withdrawal symptoms. It is considered safe for all smokers except for pregnant women and people with heart disease.23
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five forms of nicotine replacement therapy (patch, gum, nasal spray, inhalers, and lozenges) for those who are attempting to quit. But it is still best to ask a medical professional about which form of NRT is most suitable for you.24
Get Smart About Your Smoking. Keeping a journal can help you track the situations that helped you up or pushed you down in your attempt to quit smoking, so you can determine how you can deal with them without reaching for a cigarette.
Identify Your Triggers. Make a list of all the things that you have done in the past that involves smoking. Before your quit day, prepare yourself on how you will deal with these things.
Change the What, Where, When and How You Smoke. Altering you habits – the time and places where you used to smoke – can help you during your attempt to quit.
Spring Clean. Wash and throw away everything that reminds you of smoking.
Get Support. It is great if you can get help from communities of former smokers or a clinic that specializes in helping those who want quit.
Quit Day and Beyond. You have to adjust your behavior to identify what triggers you to smoke.
If You’re Going to Do It, Do It! Commitment is key to be successful in your attempt to quit. It will certainly be hard but it is worth it.
Quitting smoking may be hard, but I advise you to do it as early as now. I really believe that having a healthy, smoke-free lifestyle will not only benefit you but your family as well.
Tagged asthma, blood pressure, breast cancer, cancer, carcinogens, cigarettes, colorectal cancer, health, health and wellness, health benefits, healthy eating, healthy recipes, heart disease, smoking, wellnessLeave a comment
March 4, 2015 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
Many of us have had these and we need to keep eating them. They are filled with many many of the nutrients that we have lost with “quick” foods. For the men in your family, use canned whole tomatoes in your sauce, that is what is best for them. You also might want to skip the honey, especially if you have children.
Savory Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Adapted from The Green Thumb Cookbook, page 63
1 medium head cabbage
3 T uncooked brown rice
2 T chopped fresh parsley (2 t dried)
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 3/4 cups plain tomato sauce
1 cup canned tomato chunks
1/2 cup grated Colby cheese, optional
Put the head of cabbage in a pot. Cover with water. Remove the cabbage and bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Submerge the whole head of cabbage in the boiling water and cover. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the beef and onion. Turn off the heat. Add the rice, parsley, salt, pepper, and egg.
When the cabbage is done “cooking”, remove it from the water onto a cookie sheet with sides (to catch any remaining water). Very carefully, remove 12 leaves. Cut the thickest part of center rib out of each leaf, about 1 or 2 inches. There will be a little V in the middle of each leave. Divide the meat filling between the leaves and roll up jelly roll fashion, but tucking in the ends so the filling stays put. Place the rolls in a deep casserole dish.
Pour the tomato sauce, tomato chunks, and honey over the rolls. Cover and bake at 350 for about an hour and a half. Remove the lid, sprinkle with cheese, and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let set a few minutes before serving.
Tagged breast cancer, cabbage, cancer, carcinogens, children, health, health and wellness, health benefits, healthy recipes, recipe, stuffed cabbage, tomatoesLeave a comment
Diets and Weight Loss, Foods, Health and Disease
When in doubt, throw it out!
November 3, 2014 November 3, 2014 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
This was just sent today, in response to the article on sweeteners sent out yesterday. It is being sent out in its entirety.
FDA Answers Petition To Ban
Aspartame After 14 Years
By Dr. Betty Martini,D.Hum.
When I first saw their report on Google from Law360 there were only two paragraphs. Later the rest of the release was added on google news and I realized FDA was actually responding to my 2002 petition for the toxic sweetener to be banned. FDA mentions also Dr. K. Stoller’s petition but omitted the vital fact that Stoller is an M.D.
I appreciate Law360 for revealing FDA’s long delayed answer to my petition. FDA apparently doesn’t want to communicate directly to me because I have their records and can expose their coverup. They won’t even answer a FOIA request from 2010. By law a citizen’s petition for ban must be answered in 180 days. FDA had told me they had more important things to do. The imminent health hazard amendment in 2007 that is suppose to be answered in a week or ten days was ignored.
I just wrote a long and detailed report answering what I had read from Law360 showing FDA’s many lies: http://www.rense.com/general96/fda.html Now having read the rest mentioning my petition this is part two. Some of their additional absurd remarks need to be explained. Basically they have denied the petition saying aspartame doesn’t cause cancer because they know it’s against the Delaney Amendment to approve something that does. In the first part I quoted Dr. Adrian Gross, FDA’s lead scientist and toxicologist, who clearly stated aspartame causes cancer. FDA lies about this to protect the poison producers, letting the public sicken and die. In 2009 I received a call from FDA’s Michael Delaney upset that I had added the imminent health hazard amendment. He made everything clear when he said: “We have to depopulate!”
On five acres in Elberton, Georgia stand the Georgia Guidestones which display Ten Guides to an “Age of Reason.” The first is: “Maintain Earth’s population at 500 million” a call to kill 93% of the eight billion humans now on Earth. Apparently FDA is in agreement.
It is tragic aspartame is addictive. The methyl-ester immediately becomes free methyl alcohol when consumed and is classified as a narcotic causing methanol poisoning. This affects the dopamine system of the brain creating addiction. A waitress told me: “if there are two groups, one drinking Coke and the other drinking Diet Coke, the Diet Coke group will drink three times as much.”
Aspartame is a neurotoxic drug that damages the mitochondria, powerhouse of the cell, and interacts with drugs and vaccines. These facts are laid out in the 1,000 page medical text Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic by the late illustrious H. J. Roberts, M.D., www.sunsentpress.com
Now read the whole short release, and below it, I will answer what I had not read.
FDA Rejects Ban On Diet Soda Sweetener Aspartame
Share us on: By Jeff Overley
Law360, New York (October 27, 2014, 6:58 PM ET) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected calls to ban low-calorie sweetener aspartame, finding no evidence that the widely used diet soda additive causes cancer.
In responses released Friday, the FDA shot down two citizen petitions that urged regulators to recall the ingredient and to revoke a regulation that allows its use in food. Aspartame is sold under the brand name NutraSweet, is a component of coffee sweetener Equal and is commonly used in popular soft drinks, including Diet Coke.
One of the FDA’s responses addressed a petition originally lodged in 2002 by Georgia-based Mission Possible World Health International, a group focused in large part on the purported dangers of aspartame consumption. That petition attracted more than 1,000 public comments, although most have not been published by the FDA.
According to the FDA, the petition blamed incidences of brain tumors and seizures on aspartame but failed to back up its allegations with concrete data.
The anecdotal accounts of adverse effects of aspartame cited in the citizen petition are not supported by scientific evidence, FDA officials said.
Regulators at times suggested that the concerns are nothing new, writing that some of the alleged health risks were raised roughly 30 years ago and addressed in detail at the time.
Over the past decade, almost 200 adverse events tied to aspartame have been reported to the FDA, but there is little reason to give much credence to those supposed side effects, according to Fridays response.
FDA has not identified any causal link between aspartame consumption and the reported adverse events, and does not know of an established mechanism that would explain how aspartame is associated with the reported adverse events, the agency said.
One of the petitions specific concerns was that consuming aspartame results in harmful production of methanol, but the FDA said that such production is small compared to methanol that results from eating perfectly safe foods, such as apples and pears.
In any event, data reviewed by the FDA shows that methanol in aspartame or in fruits and juices does not accumulate in the body and is easily metabolized by the body’s metabolic capacities, Fridays response said.
A second response posted Friday was directed at petitioner K. Paul Stoller, who in 2009 requested revocation of the aspartame regulation. Much of the response discussed a study conducted by an aspartame-focused group called the European Ramazzini Foundation, with the FDA saying that it has not been able to access full study data and that the studys integrity appears to have been compromised.
Despite your many assertions, you have not identified any scientific data or other information that would cause the agency to alter its conclusions about the safety of aspartame, the FDA wrote to Stoller.
Although aspartame has been used abundantly around the world for many years, lingering worries about its safety have forced companies that use the artificial sweetener to constantly defend the ingredient. The Coca-Cola Co., through its Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness, promotes aspartame as helpful to dieters and calls the additive “one of the most thoroughly studied food ingredients in the world.”
Still, concerns have presented a business opportunity for some corporations, including Israel-based SodaStream International Ltd. Some of the company’s do-it-yourself soda syrups include labeling that prominently says, No aspartame.
–Editing by Philip Shea.
Martini continues: The release says: ” According to the FDA, the petition blamed incidences of brain tumors and seizures on aspartame but failed to back up its allegations with concrete data.” First of all, it was the FDA themselves who revoked the petition for approval based on the brain tumor issue and the fact it had caused brain tumors and brain cancer in original Searle studies. Go to my web site and read the entire 50 pages where the FDA discusses their own concern about aspartame causing brain tumors: http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm Scroll down to the banners. Secondly, one of the reasons the FDA tried to have G. D. Searle indicted for fraud was that as the rats developed brain tumors they would excise the tumors, put the rats back in the study and when they died they would resurrect them on paper. Thirdly, why would anyone not think aspartame triggers brain tumors when the molecule breaks down to diketopiperazine, a brain tumor agent?
Actually in the original report I wrote about this release, URL above, I went into other studies and reports on the subject in detail. Having taken the cases for over 20 years from those who suffered aspartame brain tumors I have never forgotten the case of a young 28 year attorney Kelli Motluck who had a head full of aspartame brain tumors who also discussed with me many other aspartame users she knew who had brain tumors. G. D. Searle sold to Monsanto in 1985 and was the owner at the time Kelli called me. In her last conversation she said to me, “I want to live, I want to live, I want to live, but if I die promise me you will tell the world Monsanto murdered me.” After her death I lectured in the UK in 2000 and in the lecture to the Green Party and press I did this.
Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., author of ‘Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills’
says about aspartame and brain tumors on page 212 – 213:
“It is interesting to note that the first experiments done to test the safety of aspartame before its final approval in l981 disclosed a high incidence of brain tumors in the animals fed NutraSweet. In fact, this study was done by the manufacturer of NutraSweet, G. D. Searle. In this study 320 rats were fed aspartame and 120 rats were fed a normal diet and used as controls. The study lasted two years. At the end of the study twelve of the aspartame fed rats had developed brain tumors (astrocytomas), while none of the control rats had. This represented a 3.75% incidence of brain tumors in the rats fed aspartame, which was twenty-five times higher than the incidence of spontaneous brain tumors developing in rats (0.15%). ”
“The study divided the rats into those exposed to low doses of aspartame and those exposed to a high dose. In the low dose group five of the rats developed brain tumors for and incidence of 3.13%. In the high dose group, seven developed brain tumors (4.38%). This indicates a dose related incidence of brain tumors. The higher the dose of aspartame, the more brain tumors were induced. ”
“When Dr. John Olney pointed out these findings to the FDA “Aspartame Board of Inquiry” he was told that the high incidence of tumors was the result of spontaneous development of brain tumors in rats. That is, that some rats develop brain tumors naturally, just as humans do. Dr. Olney is a trained neuropathologist as well as a neuroscientist. He reviewed the incidence of spontaneously occurring brain tumors in rats and found that out of seven studies using a total of 59,000 rats and only 0,08% developed brain tumors – the aspartame fed rats had a forty-seven fold higher incidence. But to be fair, he even accepted G. D. Searle’s references for spontaneously developing brain tumors in rats and arrives at a figure of 0.15%. This was still a twenty-five fold higher incidence in the aspartame fed rats than in the controls. ”
“It was then observed that when brain tumors develop spontaneously in rats, the rate at which they appear begins to accelerate after two years of age, exactly when the Searle’s study ended. Importantly, brain tumors are extremely rare before age one and one-half in the rat. So in truth the incidence of spontaneously occurring brain tumors would be even less than cited above. Yet, the aspartame fed rats developed two tumors by sixty weeks of age and five tumors by seventy weeks.”
“In a collective study of 41,000 rats no tumors were seen to occur before sixty weeks and only one by seventy weeks. The fact that 320 aspartame fed rats developed six brain tumors by seventy-six weeks indicates an “incredible and unprecedented” occurrence. Within the final twenty-eight weeks of the study six more brain tumors occurred in the aspartame fed group. Dr. Olney notes that “one must assume that many more (brain tumors) would have occurred after 104 weeks. ”
“It became obvious that the G. D. Searle Company was trying desperately to protect their potential billion dollar plus money maker. They claimed that more brain tumors were found because they searched the pathological slides so diligently. But, they searched just as diligently in the control rats and found none. Besides, neuropathologists examining the slides later stated that the tumors were large enough to be seen with the naked eye. ”
“Because of the criticism submitted by Dr. Olney, the G. D. Searle company conducted a second study which was designed to be more comprehensive. Instead of a two-year study, this would span the entire lifetime of the rats, from intrauterine life to death. The results of this study can only be characterized as bizarre. This time they reported five brain tumors in 120 control rats (an incidence of 3.13%) and four brain tumors in 120 control rats (an incidence of 3.33%). While this was designed to show that aspartame was not the cause of the brain tumors, if accepted, the study would indicate that both groups had a brain tumor incidence thirty times higher than the known rate of spontaneous brain tumor occurrence in rats.”
“But the story gets even more interesting, Dr. Olney hypothesized that one possible cause of the tumor induction was a by-product of aspartame metabolism called diketopiperazine (DKP). When nitrosated by the gut it produces a compound closely resembling a powerful brain tumor causing chemical – N-nitrosourea. ”
“The G. D. Searle company conducted a separate study to test the carcinogenicity of diketopiperazine (DKP). The results of this study were not submitted to the FDA until after aspartame had already been approved for general use by the American population. This study was not a lifetime study but rather a 115 week study which consisted of feeding rats their normal feed mixed with DKP. There were 114 control animals and 216 that supposedly ate the DKP. (Not all of the animals were even examined for tumors.) There were two brain tumors in the controls (1.62% incidence) and three (1.52% in the DKP groups. But strangely enough, the incidence of brain tumors found in both groups were sixteen times higher than would be expected from spontaneous occurring tumors. That did not make sense.”
“So how can we explain these strange findings? It is instructive at this point to know that in l975 the drug enforcement division of the Bureau of Foods investigated the G. D. Searle company as part of an investigation of “apparent irregularities in data collection and reporting practices.” The director of the FDA at that time stated that they found “sloppy” laboratory techniques and “clerical errors, mixed-up animals, animals not getting the drugs they were supposed to get, pathological specimens lost because of improper handling, and a variety of other errors, (which) even if innocent, all conspire to obscure positive findings and produce falsely negative results.”
“The drug enforcement division carried out a study under the care of agent Jerome Bressler concerning Searle’s laboratory practices and data manipulation (known as the Bressler Report He found that the feed used to test DKP had been improperly mixed so that the animals would receive only small doses of the chemical to be tested. (I have seen a photograph of the feed mix and can attest to the “sloppy” method used.) The commissioner also charged G. D. Searle company with “failure to maintain control and experimental animals on separate racks and failure to mark animals to ensure against mix-ups between experiments (animals fed aspartame and DKP) and controls.” This vital and telling report was buried in a file cabinet, never to be acted on by the FDA.”
“Such poor techniques would explain why both control animals and those eating aspartame had exceptionally high brain tumor rates, since they, most likely, were both eating the aspartame feed. What is ironic is that the FDA would accept studies from a company with an obvious heavy financial interest in having aspartame approved. But even more amazing is that they would depend on the same company to provide studies that they, FDA, knew beforehand were highly questionable and possibly fraudulent upon which they would make such an important public safety decision.”
“Thus far, no independent studies have been done to examine this vital issue. As a neurosurgeon I see the devastating effects a brain tumor has, not only on its victim, but on the victim’s family as well. To think that there is even a reasonable doubt that aspartame can induce brain tumors in the American population is frightening. And to think that the FDA has lulled them into a false sense of security is a monumental crime.” (end of quotes from book)
Searle’s shenanigans and fraud were so bad because they couldn’t prove aspartame safe they needed help to coverup the issue so on August 4, l976 they met with the FDA and convinced them to allow them to hire a private agency, University Associated for Education in Pathology (UAREP). As described by Florence Graves (l984, page s5500 of Congressional Record l985a):
“The pathologists were specifically told that they were not to make a judgment about aspartame’s safety or to look at the designs of the tests. Why did the FDA choose to have pathologists conduct an investigation when even some FDA officials acknowledged at the time that UAREP had a limited task which would only partially shed light on the validity of Searle’s testing? The answer is not clear.”
In other words, UAREP was sworn to silence, and how much did they get to be quiet? They received a half a million dollars!!!
Searle was intent on getting aspartame approved. They had invested 19.7 million dollars in an incomplete production facility and 9.2 million dollars in aspartame inventory. On Dec 8, l975, stockholders filed a class action lawsuit alleging that G. D. Searle had concealed information from the public regarding the nature and quality of animal research at G. D. Searle in violation of the Securities and Exchange Act (Farber l989, page 48).
Aspartame also triggered mammary, uterine, ovarian, pancreatic, testicular and thyroid tumors just for starters, not just brain tumors. There were also pituitary adenomas.
On the seizure issue. It is hard to believe that the FDA would even have the audacity to suggest there is not sufficient evidence., Searle’s own study, 52 week oral toxicity on 7 infant monkeys, showed that 5 had grand mal seizures and 1 died., Enter the twilight zone. This study was used as pivotal in the approval of aspartame to show safety. Here is that study in full: http://www.dorway.com/raoreport.pdf Also, in 1986 the Community Nutrition Institute with Attorney James Turner filed a petition to ban aspartame because so many people were having seizures and going blind from the methanol. Cynthia Mueggenborg wrote me that she was invited to attend the National Consumer Conference by the head of a department at OSU in January of 1986. She said there she heard a representative of the FDA tell 3000 people that FDA was pulling aspartame from human usage as it caused seizures and blindness. So here is the admission of the FDA themselves. The reason it wasn’t banned at that time as it was taken to the Supreme Court in Chicago. I was told someone got to the judge but I think that even today that judge should be made to explain why he refused to allow aspartame to be banned. It’s common knowledge, for instance, that methanol blinds. Remember prohibition?
Evidence of the whole situation of aspartame triggering seizures was sent to FDA by Mark Gold of the Aspartame Toxicity Center,.
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/Jan03/012203/02P-0317_emc-000198.txt This report is so indepth he even goes through industry’s studies showing what they did in an attempt to deny the issue. In the Rowen Study notice it was a one day study. Monsanto was so afraid someone would have a seizure they gave 16 of the 18 subjects anti-seizure medication and didn’t tell anyone!
In 1996 my husband’s Michigan cousin, Mary Lee, visited us on the way to Florida with the news: “William Reed is dying, having 6 or 8 seizures a day and his physician has not been able to stop them.” I asked if he was using NutraSweet/Aspartame/Equal and was suffering from MS symptoms, going blind, losing his memory and having headaches. He was.
I told her to call and tell him to stop the aspartame immediately. She said: “He may already be dead.” It was almost comical to hear her say, “William, Betty says you don’t have to die, get off aspartame.”
When she returned from Florida Mary Lee said William had abstained from aspartame and the seizures had stopped. When she was leaving she stood in the door and said, “Betty, do you realize if I had not stopped in Atlanta William would be dead.” This shows you the importance of warning by all people. Because of the lies of the FDA, trade organizations receiving funding from the manufacturers and front groups people don’t associate their aspartame diseases and symptoms with the product., So they just keep dying like William would have had not we gotten him the information.
One June 19, 1997 Dr. Timothy K. Dickinson of the Allegan Medical Clinic wrote: “William Reed is a 48 year old male with diabetes mellitus type I, on insulin. I have been involved, as his family physician, with his care since 1990. In September of 1995 he began describing episodes of generalized uncontrolled shaking, lasting up to 30 seconds. He would afterward feel good, and at times, euphoric. They would often be preceded by periorbital aching. He initially interpreted these to reflect a hyperglycemic state, and nothing abnormal showed up on his exam. At a follkow up visit in October, they were still occurring, lasting less than one minute, with mild tremoring, again preceded by the retrobulbar aching, especially on the left. While I was with the patient in the room at that visit, and he was on the exam table, I witnessed one of these episodes, which I described as being generalized clonus. He was able to tell me seconds before it started that it was going to happen. He did not talk through it. It lasted approximately 10-15 seconds, cleared for about the same period of time and occurred again. During this time, he tended to hyperextend or arch his back on the table. He seemed to be weak, but not postictal afterwards, It was within the next 6 weeks that a family member came to understand that NutraSweet could cause problems of this nature, and within two days of him discontinuing all Nutrasweet use, the seizures stopped and he has none since that time. He has also had far fewer headaches since then, He was able to resume driving, which he had ceased, because of his fear of these episodes occurring while on the road.” —
Eighteen years have passed since Mary Lee said William Reed was about to die, and he is still alive.
Some years ago I worked with an allergist and the way they find out the culprit causing problems to the patient is called the “add back system”. They keep removing products from the patient’s diet until the problem stops. Then they add back the product and if the symptoms return they know they have found what caused the problem They don’t call it anecdotal – they call proof.
After taking aspartame seizures cases for over 20 years I could write a book on the cases. Robin Goodwin’s wife in the Falkland Islands developed an aspartame brain tumor and had to be air lifted to England. His daughter suffered seizures for 18 years. On reading one of my articles he had his daughter abstain. She has never had another seizure. Robin knew how hard it would be to get aspartame banned because of the power and influence of industry, so he wrote a letter to all the 3,000 or 4,000 Falkland islanders warning them, and had the information published. We thank Robin Goodwin, activist extraordinaire, for saving the lives of the people of an island nation.
It should also be noted that when Dr. Richard Wurtman of MIT decided to do studies on aspartame and seizures he was threatened by the VP of Searle that if he did his research funds would be rejected. They were. Read about it in the UPI investigation by Gregory Gordon: http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm Scroll down to banners. Notice ILSI was set up, a research funds front group. MIT now gets research funds but Dr. Wurtman now refuses to speak out about aspartame. At one time he reported to have over 200 cases of aspartame triggered seizures which he said was enough to remove it from the market.
The FDA Rejection news release says: “The anecdotal accounts of adverse effects of aspartame cited in the citizen petition are not supported by scientific evidence,”
This statement is laughable!
Dr. H. J. Roberts in Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic said: “Aspartame disease no longer can be ignored as incidental anecdotal reactions. This sobering assertion has been validated by personal observations, those of other physicians, the FDA data, mounting epidemiologic evidence, and a host of experimental studies. — The clinical features are often severe – especially headache, convulsions, impaired vision, dizziness, confusion, profound memory loss, refractory fatigue, intense depression, gross changes in personality or behavior, eating disorders, loss of diabetes control, and the aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications.”
Page 39: “But the medical profession has a tendency to discard out of hand, and disparagingly, ‘anecdotal’ information. Digitalis, morphine, quinine, atropine, and the like are chemical derivatives that stem from anecdotal folklore remedies. After all, one anecdote may be a fable, but 1,000 anecdotes can be a biography… A vital function of the medical profession is to sift anecdotes and submit them, if possible, to scientific evaluation. But it all starts as anecdote.” Dr. Charles Harris (1987)
So what do you do with millions of anecdotes? Go to the Internet and read them all day. I picked this one as an example:
“Aspartame and seizures
Submitted by sydlee06 on Thu, 2007-07-26 23:10
“My daughter started having very hard to control seizures in Nov 06, it was continually getting worse. She had to be admitted to the hospital 3 times in March, the last time she was admitted I had read an article about aspartame and seizures and stopped allowing it in her diet. My husband is diabetic, so we used to have quite a few aspartame sweetened things in the home, ie: pudding, jello, lemonade, etc..
“She has not had a single seizure since stopping aspartame in her diet. Not one, and she previously had 3 to 27 tonic clonic daily and almost constant partial and absence seizures daily. Her neuro did not say much about it when I told her about it, but as for me that is proof enough. Not to mention that my migraines are almost non existent since I quit drinking diet soda. I wish it would get taken of the market, because now in a fight against obesity schools are even using it in lunches. Which means my daughter can not ever eat school lunches”
Also, Dr. H. J. Roberts and I attended the Conference of the American College of Physicians at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia many years ago. We went to several workshops, especially neurological. One professor said “Can anyone tell me even if its off the wall why people everywhere are having seizures for no reason?” Dr. Roberts insisted I explain and I told him about aspartame. He seemed surprised. Another physician raised his hand and said, “Professor, I’m afraid she is right., I’m not only a physician but a pilot and have a friend who flies commercially and has seizures. We’re going to have to report him.,” Mission Possible also has an Aviation Division, and on http://www.mpwhi.com you can read Dr. Russell Blaylock’s excellent Aspartame Pilot Alert. I started Mission Possible Aviation when Cliff Evans crashed his plane on aspartame. He came to Atlanta to ask me to help the pilots. I’ve gone so far as to visit the Air Force base in New Mexico when industry got to “Flying Safety” and they retracted their warning on aspartame. I couldn’t let Air Force pilots believe the retraction and one called to thank me and said he would get the info all over the base. FAA told me that because the FDA approved this toxin they couldn’t legally do anything but on the side they warn pilots.
The FDA Rejects Ban release also says:
“Regulators at times suggested that the concerns are nothing new, writing that some of the alleged health risks were raised 30 years ago and addressed in detail at the time.” The wrong word was used, not addressed but ignored.
The cover-ups by government agencies is incredible. In November 1984 the CDC reviewed 213 of 592 cases of aspartame complaints. Some of the reported symptoms included aggressive behavior, disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness, excitability, memory loss, loss of depth perception, liver impairment, cardiac arrest, seizures, suicidal tendencies, severe mood swings and death. The CDC recommended future investigations of aspartame investigate the neurological and behavioral problems and focus on symptoms such as headaches, mood alterations and behavioral chances. So how was this CDC report covered up? The CDC had Frederick L. Trowbridge add an executive summary to the report which conflicts with the investigation. He even said “Currently available information, based on data with limitations as described in the report, indicated a wide variety of complaints that are generally of a mild nature.” Frankly, I’ve never seen a mild case of such things as cardiac arrest and grand mal eizures and death! Next, CDC did not put the real investigation on their web site, simply the summary which contradicted the report where it still remains today. Check it out. In the aspartame documentary, “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World” you will see me holding up the real investigation and we have it on my web site of www.mpwhi.com and www.dorway.com
Next the release says: “FDA has not identified any causal link between aspartame consumption and the reported adverse events and does not know of an established mechanism that would explain how aspartame is associated with the reported adverse events,”
After 30 years they don’t think physicians and researchers have documented the mechanisms?! FDA has Dr. Roberts encyclopedic medical text. “Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic” which in discussing the diseases triggered or precipitated by aspartame list the mechanisms. It not only precipitates diabetes but simulates and aggravates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, destroys the optic nerve, causes diabetics to go into convulsions and interacts with insulin. The free methyl alcohol causes them to lose limbs.
Dr. Roberts was a diabetic specialist, once named The Best Doctor in the United States by the medical publication, Practice 84. On page 542 of his text the headline says: “Mechanisms of Aspartame’s Diabetogenic Potential”. Dr. Roberts even sent one to the European Food Safety Authority. Would we even begin to believe the FDA has none of the medical books giving these mechanisms which are now known the world over, as well as all the independent scientific peer reviewed studies?
The release: “One of the petition’s specific concerns was that consuming aspartame results in harmful production of methanol, but the FDA said that such production is small compared to methanol that results from eating perfectly safe foods, such as apples and pears. In any event, data reviewed by the FDA shows that “methanol in aspartame or in fruits and juices – does not accumulate in the body and is easily metabolized by the body’s metabolic capacities,”
FDA knows well that the single carbon methanol in fruit is always accompanied by ethanol, the classic antidote to methanol poisoning that takes it safely out of the body. Thus the classic first aid for methanol poisoning is to administer whisky, ethanol, ethyl alcohol. Furthermore in nature methanol binds to pectin., Dr. Ralph Walton has repeatedly written about it. Now Dr. Woodrow Monte has written a book about the methanol in aspartame, “While Science Sleeps: A Sweetener Kills”, www.whilesciencesleeps.com
The National Health Federation recently published my article about this, “Rotgut Aspartame: Methanol Mania”: http://www.thenhf.com/rotgut-aspartame-methanol-mania-by-dr-betty-martini/ Also see my report to FDA on www.mpwhi.com on a banner, “FDA Violates Data Quality Act” on the issue. The Trocho Study has shown that the formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol embalms living tissue and damages DNA., http://www.mpwhi.com/aspartame_and_preembalming.htm
Another FDA claim in their release: “In the past decade, almost 200 adverse events tied to aspartame have been reported to the FDA, but there is little reason to give much credence to those supposed side effects, according to Friday’s response.”
In1985 FDA published a list of 92 reactions to aspartame including blindness, and sexual dysfunction from 10,000 volunteered consumer complaints. They deny it now and have removed that report but access www.mpwhi.com and at the top of the page you will see the FDA’s report of 92 symptoms from 4 types of seizures to coma and death.
How many complaints FDA really received we will never know. In Congressional hearings and we have them on web you will notice it was reported that the FDA was so swamped with aspartame complaints they were referring them to the AIDS Hotline. Dr. David Kessler once said only 1% report adverse reactions to the FDA. He also said that in 1996 they would grant blanket approval of aspartame if the complaints went down. I figured they would probably stop taking complaints to stop them from going up and they did. Call after call from consumers told me the FDA refused to take their aspartame complaint and said they were no longer taking them. That was expected but how do you make existing complaints go down. They did, check out the 1996 report on web. Dr. H. J. Roberts called me absolutely furious at the way the FDA arrived at this reduction. He said he had a letter that stated they had to change their bookkeeping system and in order to do this they had to throw away hundreds of aspartame complaints.
The original manufacturer, G. D. Searle, actually released in congressional hearings secret trade information which stated aspartame could not be used for everything: http://www.mpwhi.com/trade_secret_information_on_aspartame.htm The FDA themselves said in the beginning you couldn’t heat aspartame which is why they originally only approved it in dry form. However, I fail to see how its not heated when you put Equal in a hot cup of coffee. Then in 1993 they approved it for baking!
For years I forwarded aspartame complaints to the FDA but they never added them to their records. I finally realized FDA will always protect aspartame to the bitter end. FDA works for the poison makers. Many of the drugs they approve are later removed and the TV is full of advertising by legal firms suing drug makers. It’s all about money! With that kind of money the drug makers make they can buy all the bureaucrats they need to sell their poisons.
FDA claims aspartame is the most tested product in history. It definitely is. They couldn’t keep the animals alive or show safety and they kept testing, but aspartame was never proven safe. Then independent researchers the world over began research on aspartame and showing the disasters it brings to us. The internet swarms with physician’s research reports and the tragic stories of the victims of this cruel commercial campaign against a world population.
Dr. Ralph Walton did research for 60 Minutes showing that almost 100% of independent scientific peer reviewed studies showing the problems aspartame triggers., He did his own study on aspartame even using a lower ADI. When the administrator of the hospital lost his vision in one eye and other complaints the institution stopped the study. He is now doing a study on birth defects. Dr. James Bowen wrote the FDA over two decades ago telling them aspartame is mass poisoning of the US and over 70 countries of the world. Now its over 100. He wrote in “Aspartame Murders Infants” that aspartame violates Title 18 of the domestic genocide law: http://www.rense.com/general/asp.htm He is a victim himself suffering from ALS.
As to what to use a safe sweetener has been made, “Just Like Sugar” http://www.justlikesugarinc.com Dr. Russell Blaylock wrote in the Blaylock Wellness Report: “Finally a safe sweetener”. The public must read labels and do research rather than accept lies of the FDA. They have approved several toxic sweeteners that have been proven to cause cancer and other problems. Never, never forget the words of Dr. M. Alemany who did the Trocho Study: “Aspartame will murder 200 million people.”
In the immortal words of Dr. H. J. Roberts: “When in doubt throw it out.”
Help make this report go viral, save a life today.
Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum, Founder
Mission Possible World Health International (warning the world off aspartame)
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
bettym19@mindspring.com
www.mpwhi.com
Tagged addictive, anti-cancer, aspartame, blood pressure, brain tumor, breast cancer, cancer, carcinogens, diabetic, Diet, Diet Coke, Diet Pop, Diet Soda, FDA, food, health, health and wellness, Parkinsons, seizures, sweetners, tremors, wellnessLeave a comment
Diets and Weight Loss, Health and Disease
Are Microwaves Healthy for you?
October 17, 2014 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
Microwaves are a source of electromagnetic energy (a form of nonionizing form of radiation) electronically generated. When penetrating the aliments, they trigger an inner rotation of the water molecules inside the food. This rotation triggers a friction between the molecules and the result is a rapid growth in temperature.
Microwaves use super-fast particles to literally radiate the contents of water inside food and bring it to boil. Not only has microwave use been linked to causing infertility in men, but it also denatures many of the essential proteins in the food making them virtually indigestible. Most animals will only consume food in its natural, unprocessed state, but humans actually go out of their way to render food nutritionally worthless before eating it. Think about all the prepackaged and processed foods we purchase and consume annually. It’s no wonder the state of our health is in dire straits. Microwave ovens work physically, biochemically and physiologically, producing ions and various free radicals, which destroy viruses and bacteria, but not toxins and microtoxins. The experts have concluded that food cooked in microwaves loses between 60% and 90% of its vital energy and, at the same time, the structural disintegration processes accelerates. Also, the nutrient substances are altered, leading to digestive diseases. These microwaves can increase both the number of cancerous cells in blood and the number of stomach and intestinal cancerous cells. Microwaves leaking radiation is a serious issue. Serious enough for the FDA to set legal limits on the leakage permitted by every microwave manufacturer. However, the only way to completely eliminate the radiation dangers associated with microwaves is not to use one. Microwave radiation has been known to cause cataracts, birth defects, cancer and other serious illnesses.
Because of these causes the microwave ovens were banned in the Soviet Union in 1976. Soviet scientists found that the microwave exposure decreases the ability of some vitamins to by absorbed by the human body, dramatically accelerates the structural disintegration of all foods and reduces the metabolic stress of the alkaloids, glycosides and galactoses.
In 1991, the Swiss Doctor Hans Ulrich Hertel made a study that demonstrated that cooking or heating food presents much greater risks for health than the traditionally cooked food. He found that people who ate microwave prepared food recorded losses in the hemoglobines and lymphoites.
In 2003, a Spanish governmental study elaborated in Murcia demonstrated that the vegetables and fruits cooked in a microwave lost a percentage of 97% of the substances that contribute to reducing the incidence of coronary heart diseases. In Dr. Lita Lee’s book, Health Effects of Microwave Radiation — Microwave Ovens, and in the March and September 1991 issues of Earthletter, she stated that every microwave oven leaks electro-magnetic radiation, harms food, and converts substances cooked in it to dangerous organ-toxic and carcinogenic products. In Comparative Study of Food Prepared Conventionally and in the Microwave Oven, published by Raum & Zelt in 1992, at 3(2): 43, it states: “Artificially produced microwaves, including those in ovens, are produced from alternating current and force a billion or more polarity reversals per second in every food molecule they hit. Production of unnatural molecules is inevitable. Naturally occurring amino acids have been observed to undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing) as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens.” There are no atoms, molecules or cells of any organic system able to withstand such a violent, destructive power for any extended period of time, not even in the low energy range of milliwatts. Microwaves quickly destroy the delicate molecules of vitamins and phytonutrients (plant medicines) naturally found in foods. One study showed that microwaving vegetables destroys up to 97% of the nutritional content (vitamins and other plant-based nutrients that prevent disease, boost immune function and enhance health). Dr. Hertel was the first scientist to conceive and carry out a quality clinical study on the effects microwaved nutrients have on the blood and physiology of the human body. His small but well controlled study showed the degenerative force produced in microwave ovens and the food processed in them. The scientific conclusion showed that microwave cooking changed the nutrients in the food; and, changes took place in the participants’ blood that could cause deterioration in the human system. Hertel’s scientific study was done along with Dr. Bernard H. Blanc of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University Institute for Biochemistry.
12 Enumerated Effects of Microwaves 1. A breakdown of the human “life-energy field” in those who were exposed to microwave ovens while in operation, with side-effects to the human energy field of increasingly longer duration;
A degeneration of the cellular voltage parallels during the process of using the apparatus, especially in the blood and lymphatic areas;
A degeneration and destabilization of the external energy activated potentials of food utilization within the processes of human metabolism;
A degeneration and destabilization of internal cellular membrane potentials while transferring catabolic [metabolic breakdown] processes into the blood serum from the digestive process;
Degeneration and circuit breakdowns of electrical nerve impulses within the junction potentials of the cerebrum [the front portion of the brain where thought and higher functions reside];
A degeneration and breakdown of nerve electrical circuits and loss of energy field symmetry in the neuroplexuses [nerve centers] both in the front and the rear of the central and autonomic nervous systems;
Loss of balance and circuiting of the bioelectric strengths within the ascending reticular activating system [the system which controls the function of consciousness];
A long term cumulative loss of vital energies within humans, animals and plants that were located within a 500-meter radius of the operational equipment;
Long lasting residual effects of magnetic “deposits” were located throughout the nervous system and lymphatic system;
A destabilization and interruption in the production of hormones and maintenance of hormonal balance in males and females;
Markedly higher levels of brainwave disturbance in the alpha, theta, and delta wave signal patterns of persons exposed to microwave emission fields, and;
Because of this brainwave disturbance, negative psychological effects were noted, including loss of memory, loss of ability to concentrate, suppressed emotional threshold, deceleration of intellective processes, and interruptive sleep episodes in a statistically higher percentage of individuals subjected to continual range emissive field effects of microwave apparatus, either in cooking apparatus or in transmission stations.
Take a look around you at every person that still uses a microwave. The largest majority are unhealthy and overweight. The more you use the microwave, the worse your nutritional state gets, and the more likely you are to be diagnosed with various diseases and put on pharmaceuticals which, of course, will create other health problems that lead to a grand spiraling nosedive of health. Of all the natural substances — which are polar — the oxygen of water molecules reacts most sensitively. This is how microwave cooking heat is generated — friction from this violence in water molecules. Structures of molecules are torn apart, molecules are forcefully deformed, called structural isomerism, and thus become impaired in quality. This is contrary to conventional heating of food where heat transfers convectionally from without to within. Cooking by microwaves begins within the cells and molecules where water is present and where the energy is transformed into frictional heat. The following is a summary of the Russian investigations published by the Atlantis Raising Educational Center in Portland, Oregon: – Microwaving prepared meats sufficiently to insure sanitary ingestion caused formation of d-Nitrosodienthanolamines, a well-known carcinogen. – Microwaving milk and cereal grains converted some of their amino acids into carcinogens. – Thawing frozen fruits converted their glucoside and galactoside containing fractions into carcinogenic substances. – Extremely short exposure of raw, cooked or frozen vegetables converted their plant alkaloids into carcinogens. – Carcinogenic free radicals were formed in microwaved plants, especially root vegetables. Russian researchers also reported a marked acceleration of structural degradation leading to a decreased food value of 60 to 90% in all foods tested. Among the changes observed were: – Deceased bio-availability of vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics factors in all food tested. – Various kinds of damaged to many plant substances, such as alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides. According to Dr. Lee, changes are observed in the blood chemistries and the rates of certain diseases among consumers of microwaved foods. The symptoms above can easily be caused by the observations shown below. The following is a sample of these changes:
a.. Lymphatic disorders were observed, leading to decreased ability to prevent certain types of cancers. b.. An increased rate of cancer cell formation was observed in the blood. c.. Increased rates of stomach and intestinal cancers were observed. d.. Higher rates of digestive disorders and a gradual breakdown of the systems of elimination were observed.
Decrease in Food Value Microwave exposure caused significant decreases in the nutritive value of all foods researched. The following are the most important findings:
A decrease in the bioavailability [capability of the body to utilize the nutriment] of B-complex vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics in all foods;
A loss of 60-90% of the vital energy field content of all tested foods;
A reduction in the metabolic behavior and integration process capability of alkaloids [organic nitrogen based elements], glucosides and galactosides, and nitrilosides;
A destruction of the nutritive value of nucleoproteins in meats; 5. A marked acceleration of structural disintegration in all foods. How Do You Heat Your Food The Healthy Way This is kind of a misnomer because there is truthfully, with perhaps the exception of dehydration, no way to heat food and maintain its structural and nutritional value. However, gently heating food in a cast iron pan over the stove may be the healthiest alternative to nuking it. This is the old fashioned way and it never failed our ancestors. Toss that microwave and strive to consume at least half of your diet from raw foods, that is a huge step in the right direction to maintain their nutritional value. My mother always used to tell me that if food comes from a package, or has to be heated to be eaten, there’s a good a chance it’s low in nutrition. She was right for the most part, so keep that in mind when venturing the aisles at the grocery.
Sources: eutimes.net hungerforhealth.com
Tagged 12 effects of using Microwave, carcinogens, Dr. Lita Lee, electromagnetic energy, energy, food, galactoside, glucose, glucoside, infertility, low hemoglobin levels, lymphatic disorders, lymphoites, microtoxins, microwave, molecules, nitrilosides, radiation, radiation leakageLeave a comment
The Allium Family
October 12, 2014 October 12, 2014 HWA - Health and Wellness Associates
The Allium family of vegetables includes onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots, and scallions. Epidemiological studies have found that increased consumption of Allium vegetables is associated with decreased risk of several cancers. For example, one large European study found striking risk reductions in the participants who consumed the greatest quantities of onions or garlic for oral, esophageal, colorectal, laryngeal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. A fifty-five to eighty percent reduction of almost all major cancers. Amazing!1
Anti-cancer effects of onions and garlic Allium vegetables are rich in cancer-fighting organosulfur compounds, which are produced when the cell walls of the vegetables are broken down by chopping, crushing, or chewing. These compounds are thought to be mostly responsible for the cancer-protective effects of Allium vegetables. In scientific studies, organosulfur compounds prevent the development of cancers by detoxifying carcinogens and halting cancer cell growth. These garlic and onion phytochemicals are also anti-angiogenic, which means that they can prevent tumors from obtaining a blood supply to fuel their growth.2 In studies of breast cancer cells, garlic and onion phytochemicals have caused cell death or halted cell division, preventing the cancer cells from multiplying.3-5
Onions, garlic, and their family members also contain flavonoids and phenols. White onions are not as rich in these antioxidant compounds as yellow and red, and shallots are especially high in polyphenol levels. Red onions are particularly rich in anthocyanins (also abundant in berries) and quercetin.6 Flavonoids such as quercetin can contribute to preventing damaged cells from advancing to cancer, and also have anti-inflammatory effects that may contribute to cancer prevention.7-1
Fighting Heart Disease
Consuming onions and garlic also might help you prevent heart disease. Onions are rich in natural chemicals called flavonoids, which can protect you from heart disease, says Vegetarian Nutrition.info., and onions also might reduce your risk of blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and other forms of heart disease. Garlic might also decrease your risk of blood clots, help keep your arteries flexible and help reduce your blood pressure, the Linus Pauling Institute reports.
Onions and the other vegetables of the Allium family can be added to any and every vegetable dish for great flavor and anti-cancer benefits. Remember that they must be eaten raw and chewed well or chopped finely before cooking to initiate the chemical reaction that forms the protective sulfur compounds. When you cut onions and your eyes begin to tear, they are creating the anti-cancer sulfur compounds.
Adding Onions and Garlic to Your Diet
Allium vegetables such as onions and garlic are the richest food sources of healthy sulfur compounds, which recommends eating them regularly to obtain their full health benefits, rather than taking supplements that might contain widely varying amounts of the healthy compounds. Onions and garlic have complementary tastes, so you might eat them together in the same meals. You can also add onions to stir fry dishes and use them to flavor soups, salads and dips. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends eating garlic cloves raw, or crushing or chopping garlic cloves before cooking them to help them retain their beneficial compounds during the cooking process.
How to cut an onion to maximize anti-cancer compounds and minimize eye irritation:
Make sure that the onion is cold before you cut it. Even putting the onion in the freezer for 5 minutes is sufficient.
You can use a fan to blow the gaseous compounds away from you if you like.
Cut the end of the root off with the root facing away from you, preserving as much of the onion adjacent to the root as possible. The root is the part of the onion with the highest concentration of these anti-cancer compounds.
Make sure to then cut or chop the onion finely, slice thinly, or put it in a food processor before adding to your soup, salad, or vegetable dish to maximize the production of sulfur compounds.
References 1. Galeone C, Pelucchi C, Levi F, et al. Onion and garlic use and human cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:1027-1032. 2. Powolny A, Singh S. Multitargeted prevention and therapy of cancer by diallyl trisulfide and related Allium vegetable-derived organosulfur compounds. Cancer Lett 2008;269:305-314. 3. Modem S, Dicarlo SE, Reddy TR. Fresh Garlic Extract Induces Growth Arrest and Morphological Differentiation of MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells. Genes Cancer 2012;3:177-186. 4. Na HK, Kim EH, Choi MA, et al. Diallyl trisulfide induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells through ROS-mediated activation of JNK and AP-1. Biochem Pharmacol 2012. 5. Malki A, El-Saadani M, Sultan AS. Garlic constituent diallyl trisulfide induced apoptosis in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. Cancer Biol Ther 2009;8:2175-2185. 6. Slimestad R, Fossen T, Vagen IM. Onions: a source of unique dietary flavonoids. J Agric Food Chem 2007;55:10067-10080. 7. Ravasco P, Aranha MM, Borralho PM, et al. Colorectal cancer: can nutrients modulate NF-kappaB and apoptosis? Clin Nutr 2010;29:42-46. 8. Miyamoto S, Yasui Y, Ohigashi H, et al. Dietary flavonoids suppress azoxymethane-induced colonic preneoplastic lesions in male C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice. Chem Biol Interact 2010;183:276-283. 9. Shan BE, Wang MX, Li RQ. Quercetin inhibit human SW480 colon cancer growth in association with inhibition of cyclin D1 and survivin expression through Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Cancer Invest 2009;27:604-612. 10. Pierini R, Gee JM, Belshaw NJ, et al. Flavonoids and intestinal cancers. Br J Nutr 2008;99 E Suppl 1:ES53-59.
Tagged allium, anti-cancer, blood clots, blood pressure, breast cancer, cancer, carcinogens, chives, detox, flavonoids, garlic, heart attacks, heart disease, leeks, onion, organosulfur, prevention, raw, reduction, roots, scallions, shallots, tumors, vegetablesLeave a comment
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Cityscape Skyline Of London From Tate Modern
View over the River Thames and the City of London from the Blavatnik Building Viewing Level at Tate Modern art gallery in London, England, United Kingdom. The building, originally Bankside Power Station, was designed by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Constructed from a brick shell supported by an interior steel structure, its striking monumental design with its single central chimney, had often led it to be referred to as an industrial cathedral. The 360-degree rooftop viewing deck is one of the headline features of the Switch House – the 64.5-metre-high Tate Modern gallery extension by Herzog & de Meuron, opened to the public in June 2016.
20190111_tate skyline_003.jpg
London English England Britain British UK United Kingdom View over River Thames City of London Blavatnik Building Viewing Level Tate Modern art gallery building Bankside Power Station architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott brick structure monumental design chimney industrial rooftop viewing deck Switch House Tate Modern gallery Herzog & de Meuron above architecture architectural skyline cityscape
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Tag Archives: photo id
When Liberals Attack
“What he did was make an unremarkable observation about 80 years of Supreme Court history,” Carney told reporters during a White House briefing dominated by the President’s ‘threat’ to the Supreme Court.
“Since the 1930s the Supreme Court has without exception deferred to Congress when it comes to Congress’s authority to pass legislation to regulate matters of national economic importance such as health care, 80 years,” Carney said.
“He did not mean and did not suggest that … it would be unprecedented for the court to rule that a law was unconstitutional. That’s what the Supreme Court is there to do,” Carney said.
Wow! that’s some spin. Has the Planet starting moving backwards yet?
Despite the so-called “ongoing,” year long internal investigation by the inspector general, Eric Holder has yet to be interviewed.
During an appearance in Chicago, the attorney general made the comment about the inspector general’s office at the Justice Department, which has been examining who is responsible for employing the risky tactic known as gun-walking.
Holder said he would talk to the inspector general investigators when they request it.
Insider ATF sources have told me the inspector general report is nearly finished, but that it hasn’t been made public because “they are trying to come up with a report everyone can agree on.” So, not only is the “ongoing” investigation from the DOJ inspector general not really “ongoing” at all, DOJ doesn’t plan to produce a factual report, but instead one that everyone can agree on. This isn’t surprising considering the inspector general, Cynthia A. Schnedar, is a good friend and former colleague to Eric Holder. She has also been leaking information in order to jeopardize Issa’s investigation. (Katie Pavlich)
MORE DOJ FUN
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The day after negotiations between the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice fell apart, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery accused federal prosecutors of playing games, instead of handing over evidence to back their claims.
“I demand as the duly elected officer with responsibility for prosecutions, to be given that information immediately,” Montgomery said. “This posturing, this playing hide the ball in the context of civil litigation, is disgusting, particularly when it involves criminal prosecutions”
“Put up, or shut up,” he added.
Montgomery sent DOJ officials a letter on December 16, the day after they announced findings of racial profiling and discriminatory policing within MCSO, requesting documentation of ongoing instances of such claims.
Negotiations between MCSO and Justice Department officials crumbled on Tuesday when attorneys for Arpaio refused to agree to have an independent monitor oversee terms of an agreement.
A DOJ spokesperson said the monitor would ensure “fair and sustainable reforms.” but Arpaio’s attorneys said the monitor would infringe on Arpaio’s law enforcement authority.
Kind of remind you of de-segregation?
You need a Kindergarten monitor you “racist” “profilers”
We have to watch over you racists and make sure you’re being “fair” to minorities and illegals.
And of course, they are just playing games. They just want the perception out there and have no intention of actually backing it up.
Keep the pot stirred up.
Smearing people without any ethical standards is just so Liberal.
GIVE THE KING YOUR TITHE
A bill authored by a Southland lawmaker that could potentially allow the federal government to prevent any Americans who owe back taxes from traveling outside the U.S. is one step closer to becoming law.
Senate Bill 1813 was introduced back in November by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Los Angeles) to “reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes” .
In addition to authorizing appropriations for federal transportation and infrastructure programs, the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” or “MAP-21″ includes a provision that would allow for the “revocation or denial” of a passport for anyone with “certain unpaid taxes” or “tax delinquencies”.
Section 40304 of the legislation states that any individual who owes more than $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service may be subject to “action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport”.
The bill does allow for exceptions in the event of emergency or humanitarian situations or limited return travel to the U.S., or in cases when any tax debt is currently being repaid in a “timely manner” or when collection efforts have been suspended.
Like ObamaCare tax penalties (if the thing survives)?
You will tithe your King or else peasant!
President Obama ought to be a figure skater, the way he spins. We’ve heard facts and figures distorted, stretched, embellished, exaggerated, diminished, overlooked, ignored, and otherwise rent meaningless by the Obama White House. Why heck, you might even reach the conclusion that the future is bright, if you hear and grant any credence to the so-called “information” emerging from the president’s staff and spokespersons. But it’s simply not true.
In 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933, the Great Depression got underway with major contractions in the economy. But then in the next three years, the economy grew by 11%, 9%, and 13%, respectively. Compare that with the current economy, which while it’s not currently in recession, is not recovering. In 2010, it grew by 3%, in 2011, it grew by 1.7%, and in 2012 it looks to grow by about 2%. This is not a recovery – it’s treading water.
I believe that the economy is actually straining at the leash – champing at the bit – but what’s holding it back is the continued residence of President Obama at 1600 Pennsylvania. Once he’s gone, business will take off like a cat with turpentine on its hiney. And Americans know it, so they’re going to get out and vote for the GOP nominee in November. And it doesn’t much matter who that is. The president, as a result of his obfuscation, lies, and exaggerations, has angered people, and that makes him vulnerable to being beaten by a Ham Sandwich.
Recovery? What Recovery? (Junkman-KFYI)
I love that segment. 🙂
Democratic officials Wednesday launched a two-pronged attack on states with new laws requiring identification before voting, the highlight being a call to boycott Coke, Walmart and others that back a leading organization pushing for voter ID laws.
Coke was quick to react to the political boycott threat, pulling support from the targeted group just five hours after it was called. Walmart said that support for a group does not mean it backs every decision by those groups.
At issue: Liberal claims that some states are trying to keep minority voters from the polls via voter ID laws, a suggestion conservatives call silly.
“The Coca-Cola Company has elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Our involvement with ALEC was focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business. We have a long-standing policy of only taking positions on issues that impact our Company and industry.”
WIMPS!
ALEC by the way is the same origination that the AFL-CIO said was behind George Zimmerman and the Trayvon Martin shooting.
“When you look at whose behind it, you find that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a very conservative think tank comprised of corporations and very conservative representatives at the state level are behind this.”
So do I smell a new Liberal Meme and boogeyman? 🙂
PHOTO ID VOTING
The group complained that some states want to limit the time allotted for early voting, bar ex-felons from voting and require government identification to vote. Polls show that most Americans back the laws. But Clyburn compared them to segregation era “Jim Crow” laws and he said that he is “very, very anxious” that the conservative Supreme Court “as it is presently constituted” will support the new anti-voter fraud laws.
Jim Crow, really? Gee, getting on a plane requires a picture ID (or a Passport for international) must be hell for Liberals but then again they want to prevent you from going anyhow if you haven’t paid your tithe to the king. 🙂
You need an ID for the following (not comprehensive):
obtain a bank account
College Entry (gee I thought they had none?)
obtain a credit card
obtain a passport
write a check
make a credit card purchase
apply for a loan to purchase anything
to prove your age
to get married
to receive a marriage license
to drive
to buy a house
to close on a house
to get medical care
to get on a plane
to get insurance on anything
to get a job
to get a post office box
to get a hunting license
to get a fishing license
to get a business license
to cash a paycheck
rent an apartment
rent a hotel room
rent furniture
rent tools and equipment
receive welfare
receive social security
receive food stamps
buy cigarettes
buy alcohol
buy a bus ticket
buy a cell phone
buy any antihistamine
go in to a casino
go in to a bar
have your water turned on
have your electricity turned on
have your cable turned on
have your gas turned on
obtain trash pick up service
pick up a package from the post office
pick up a package from fed ex
pick up a package from ups
pick up a prescription
Even grandma (who conservatives want to throw off a cliff :)), who is retired and needs to cash her check, has some form of government I.D.
The Democrats have to protect their dead voters, ACORN staffers, and Illegal Alien Voters.
“Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution.” — Saul Alinsky
“A Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism, then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social order of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and finally the last stage — the political paradise of communism.” p.10 Rules for Radical, Saul Alinksy
“An organizer must stir up dissatisfaction and discontent… He must create a mechanism that can drain off the underlying guilt for having accepted the previous situation for so long a time. Out of this mechanism, a new community organization arises….
“The job then is getting the people to move, to act, to participate; in short, to develop and harness the necessary power to effectively conflict with the prevailing patterns and change them. When those prominent in the status quo turn and label you an ‘agitator’ they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function—to agitate to the point of conflict.” p.117
Standard | Posted in politics | Tagged ALEC, America, Arizona, bi-partisan, choice, Citizens, competition, Congress, debt, deficit, democrats, discrimination, diversity, DOJ, doublespeak, economics, Eric Holder, Fairness, faith, Fast & Furious, freedom, Health Care, Illegal Immigration, Inspector General, Insurance, IRS, Jake Carney, Jobs, Justice Department, liberty, MAP-21, Media, medicare, Ministry of Truth, MSM, Newspeak, Obama, obamacare, Orwell, passport, photo id, politics, Race, racism, reform, Responsibility, rhetoric, security, socialism, speech, Supreme Court, taxes, tea party, Voting, We the People | 0 comments
The most liberal court in the land has struck again. The Ninth Circus Court of Liberal Appeals has ruled that you’d don’t have to prove you’re a citizen to vote!
The very law they upheld and has been on the books for 6 years they tossed out the week before the election where liberals are going to get creamed.
Coincidence? Not with Liberals.
And this same circus is going to take up SB 1070 next week also.
Can you say the liberal fix is in!
And guess who’s helping them out, Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Anyone for revoking anything with her name on it?
The split decision by a three-judge panel determined that the requirement to show proof of citizenship — passed by voters in 2004 — is not consistent with the National Voter Registration Act.
Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, temporarily sitting by designation, and Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta, with chief judge Alex Kozinski dissenting, said Prop. 200 creates an additional hurdle, while the national act is intended to reduce “state-imposed obstacles” to registration.
The court did uphold Arizona’s photo ID requirement. So all the Illegals need is their fake IDs to vote for Democrats. Gee, that makes me feel so much better!
A three-judge panel of the court said the proof-of- citizenship requirement conflicted with the intent of the federal law aiming to increase voter registration by streamlining the process with a single form and removing state- imposed obstacles to registration.
The federal law requires applicants to “attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury” without requiring documentary proof, the panel said.
“Proposition 200 creates an additional state hurdle to registration,” the judges said.
The law was challenged by voting rights and Hispanic advocacy groups.
The decision is “a warning to anyone who seeks to deter or prevent voter participation” that the Constitution “will protect our democratic process,” Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a San Antonio-based group that argued the case, said in a statement.
So I guess if you want to intimidate voters you’d better be black and liberal so Eric Holder & Co will not prosecute you or else!!
To protect the integrity of the democratic process we have to protect the illegal voters if they want to vote for Democrats.
So a State law that “supersedes” and “goes beyond” Federal Law is struck down. Gee, that argument sounds familiar somehow? 😦
Perales (MALDEF Lawyer) compared Proposition 200 to the oft-called SB 1040, a controversial Arizona law that allows police to ask the immigration status of people stopped for other reasons, which critics call racial profiling.
“Basically, you have a state law superseding federal law,” she said of 1040. “Arizona is creating an independent scheme, whether it’s immigration or voter registration, in violation of known law.”(SA.com)
The dingbat liberals can’t even get their facts straight! It’s SB1070 you progressive liberal twit!!
“Once again, we have activist judges ignoring the rule of law and the voters, that is citizens, they apparently are ok with illegal votes or non-citizens voting. This absolutely flies in the face of common sense,” says Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa the author of Proposition 200 in 2004.
“The Justice Department gave Proposition a thumbs up and found no conflict with the voting rights act. I also had 7 court rulings, including a 9th Circuit Court all upholding the law just 3 years ago. Judge O’Connor has also violated the canons about political activity when she did a robo call in Nevada on the Proposition to merit select of Judges, apparently another example of her lack of trust and respect of We The People.
So now, in the age of Obama and Eric “Social Justice” Holder we just toss out or legal precedent and go with what works for our ideology now.
Gee, that make me feel so much better about the courts.
“So what is the message from these judges? If an illegal alien is trying to register to vote, it is okay to ask them if they are a citizen, just don’t make them prove it. You have got to be kidding!” says Sen. Pearce.
Danny Ortega, a Phoenix attorney who helped challenge Proposition 200 on behalf of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. “It will protect their right (the poor) to vote. That’s what this is all about.”
Where’s my Barf Bag!??
So do you think Eric Holder’s Social Justice Dept will use this against Arizona next week when they come after us again?
Oh, and On Dec. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals against Arizona’s 2007 employer-sanctions law, which prohibits employers from knowingly hiring undocumented workers.
Employer sanctions was something the President himself has advocated for,at least in public when it suited him politically. Not so much now.
Do you think this was coincidence? 🙂
Don’t you feel better now? 🙂
So by the end of the year Illegal Aliens could have more rights than you do.
Why More?
Because, if you try to stop them from doing anything illegal that benefits the Progressive Liberal Agenda the courts and the Social Justice Police will be there to STOP YOU.
You evil, disenfranchising racist you! How dare you want them to follow the law.
Go to the Back of the bus!! 🙂
Standard | Posted in politics | Tagged activist judge, Agenda, America, Arizona, back of the bus, benefits, bi-partisan, Citizens, Civil Rights, Congress, democrats, diversity, doublespeak, economics, employer sanctions, Eric Holder, Fairness, faith, freedom, Ideology, Illegal, Illegal Immigration, Illegals, Justice, Justice Department, Liberals, liberty, MALDEF, Media, Ministry of Truth, National Voter Registration Act, Newspeak, Ninth Curcuit Court, Obama, Orwell, photo id, police, politics, pontification, Progressives, proof-of- citizenship, Prop 200, Race, racism, Racist, reform, Responsibility, russell pearce, Sandra Day O'Connor, SB1070, security, social justice, socialism, speech, taxes, tea party, the poor, Voter, Voting, We the People | 1 Comment
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Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe
By George Eliot
Jump down to see edition details for: Hardcover | Paperback | Prebinding
Publisher Random House Uk Ltd
Publication date December 1, 2010
Book category Adult Fiction
Dimensions 0.50 by 5.50 by 8 in.
Foundlings; Fiction.
Adopted children; Fiction.
Fathers and daughters; Fiction.
Reprint edition from Cambridge Univ Pr (May 6, 2013)
About: In her third novel, reissued here in its first edition of 1861, George Eliot (1819-80) charts the life of the cataleptic, miserly weaver Silas Marner.
from Bibliolife (November 30, 2008); titled "Silas Marner, the Weaver of Raveloe"
About: This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality.
With W. Patterson Atkinson (other contributor) | from Bibliobazaar (October 30, 2008)
With Mary Anne Evans | from Alan Rodgers Books (December 31, 2006)
About: George Eliot was the literary pseudonym of British author Mary Anne Evans, born in 1819 in Warwickshire and destined to be one of the most celebrated and notorious of British female writers.
Large print edition from G K Hall & Co (January 1, 2002)
9780783897561 | details & prices | 296 pages | 6.50 × 10.00 × 1.25 in. | 1.25 lbs | List price $29.95
About: George Eliot
from Everymans Library (February 1, 1993)
About: The lonely life of a miserly recluse is changed when he takes in an orphaned girl and raises her as his own daughter
Large print edition from Isis Large Print Books (June 1, 1992)
With Deborah Willis | from J M Dent & Sons Ltd (June 1, 1978)
This edition also contains Minister of Music Handbook: Music Ministry
from Createspace Independent Pub (February 8, 2016); titled "Silas Marner, the Weaver of Raveloe"
9781523945214 | details & prices | 110 pages | 8.50 × 11.00 × 0.25 in. | List price $7.75
About: Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively "Mary Anne" or "Marian"), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era.
from Createspace Independent Pub (November 7, 2015)
9781519179890 | details & prices | 134 pages | 6.00 × 9.00 × 0.34 in. | List price $8.25
About: As a young man, Silas Marner shut himself off from the world after being wrongly accused of theft and losing the girl he loved.
from Createspace Independent Pub (September 28, 2015)
9781517564810 | details & prices | 216 pages | 6.00 × 9.00 × 0.49 in. | List price $10.25
About: Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot, published in 1861.
Annotated edition from Createspace Independent Pub (September 21, 2015)
9781517438425 | details & prices | 180 pages | 6.00 × 9.00 × 0.41 in. | 0.73 lbs | List price $7.99
from Createspace Independent Pub (July 4, 2015)
About: Silas Marner - The Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) – THE COMPLETE CLASSIC - The novel is set in the early years of the 19th century.
from Createspace Independent Pub (January 31, 2015)
About: A seemingly simple tale of a linen weaver, notable for strong realism and treatment of many issues.
from Createspace Independent Pub (November 10, 2014)
9781503171534 | details & prices | 178 pages | 7.00 × 10.00 × 0.41 in. | List price $11.95
About: Silas Marner The Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot, published in 1861.
from Createspace Independent Pub (March 4, 2014)
9781496140708 | details & prices | 96 pages | 5.75 × 8.75 × 0.25 in. | 0.40 lbs | List price $6.99
About: Silas Marner is undoubtedly George Eliot's most well-known work and is widely considered a classic, making it worth the time to read.
Reprint edition from Cambridge Univ Pr (January 3, 2013)
from Random House Uk Ltd (December 1, 2010)
With David Carroll (other contributor) | from Penguin Classics (November 24, 2010)
About: Every day the miserly Silas Marner works, and every night he takes his hoard of gold out from under his floorboards and counts it.
from Bibliobazaar (October 30, 2008)
With Clare West (other contributor) | from Oxford Univ Pr (February 28, 2008)
About: This award-winning collection of adapted classic literature and original stories develops reading skills for low-beginning through advanced students.
from Nuvision Pubns (July 30, 2007)
About: The classic tale of Silas, an outcasted weaver and his love for a woman.
from Kessinger Pub Co (January 30, 2007)
About: This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original.
Large print edition from Read How You Want.Com (December 1, 2006); titled "Silas Marner the Weaver of Raveloe"
About: In “Silas Marner” Eliot shows contemporary upper and middle class mind-set which is a masterpiece of psychology.
from 1st World Library (September 30, 2004)
About: Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks.
With David Carroll | Reissue edition from Penguin Classics (May 1, 2003)
About: George Eliot's tale of a solitary miser gradually redeemed by the joy of fatherhood, Silas Marner is edited with an introduction and notes by David Carroll in Penguin Classics.
from Modern Library (May 1, 2001)
About: The lonely and miserable life of a miserly recluse is transformed when he takes in an orphaned child and raises her as his own daughter.
With Terence Cave | from Oxford Univ Pr (December 3, 1998)
With Zahi Hawass (other contributor), Terence Cave (other contributor) | from Oxford Univ Pr (September 1, 1996)
This edition also contains Wonders of Abu Simbel: The Sound and Light of Nubia
With Mary Bousted (other contributor) | from Cambridge Univ Pr (January 1, 1996)
About: Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms.
With Anne Smith (other contributor) | Reprint edition from Everymans Library (August 1, 1993)
9780460872638 | details & prices | 5.50 × 8.00 × 0.75 in. | 0.35 lbs | List price $4.95
from Turtleback Books (May 1, 2001)
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Trump Insists ‘Most’ Black Pastors Endorsing Him
Instead of landing 100 endorsements from prominent black pastors, Donald Trump has had to downgrade his expectations.
Now, Trump says that “most” black pastors are endorsing him.
“I thought it was an amazing meeting. I met some fantastic people,” Trump said following the private meeting at Trump Tower.
Darrell Scott, a pastor at the New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, stood beside Trump on Monday and came out in support of him.
“Nobody at this meeting came out with negative reaction in any kind of way,” Scott said, adding that “Everybody in the room likes Donald Trump.”
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, a former contestant on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice” who is now a minister, also stood next to Trump at the press conference.
At the end of the press conference, Trump emphasized that he’s made no financial commitments to any of the churches.
Trump said issues such as African-American unemployment were addressed at the meeting, which lasted about two and a half hours.
Trump has been battling charges that his campaign is divisive. He’s been criticized for rhetoric seen by critics as anti-Muslim and questions about an alternation between a Black Lives Matter protester and white attendees at a recent rally.
When asked by a reporter if he wanted to comment about BLM, Trump dismissed: “Black lives are very important, white lives are very important, and to me all lives are very important.”
Photo credit: The Gateway Pundit.
Anti-Trump Group Targets Mormons With Ad Featuring Nude Melania Trump
All-Female Unit Fighting ISIS In Northern Iraq
'American Sniper' Widow Questions Obama on Gun Control
Michelle Obama on Young Barack: 'He Was a Bum'
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Methods of Reducing Interference Including Determination of Feeder Link Signal Error and Related Systems
Status: Active Grant
51Forward
1. A method of reducing interference in a satellite communications system, the method comprising:
determining an error of a received feeder link signal;
pre-distorting a signal responsive to the error; and
transmitting the pre-distorted signal.
Methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include receiving a plurality of feeder link signals and time aligning the plurality of feeder link signals to provide time aligned feeder link signals. At least two of the time aligned feeder link signals may be combined to provide reduced interference of at least one of the feeder link signals. Related systems are also discussed.
View as Search Results
51 Forward Citations
Satellite communications apparatus and methods using asymmetrical forward and return link frequency reuse
ATC Technology Corporation
Satellite/terrestrial wireless communications systems and methods using disparate channel separation codes
Systems and methods for monitoring selected terrestrially used satellite frequency signals to reduce potential interference
Prediction of uplink interference potential generated by an ancillary terrestrial network and/or radioterminals
Antenna beam forming systems/methods using unconstrained phase response
Systems and methods for controlling a cellular communications system responsive to a power level associated with a wireless transmitter
Systems and methods for mobility management in overlaid mobile communications systems
Radioterminals and associated operating methods that transmit position information responsive to rate of change of position
Systems and methods with different utilization of satellite frequency bands by a space-based network and an ancillary terrestrial network
Systems and methods for terrestrial reuse of cellular satellite frequency spectrum in a time-division duplex mode
Systems and methods for inter-system sharing of satellite communications frequencies within a common footprint
Systems and methods for packing/unpacking satellite service links to/from satellite feeder links
FREQUENCY RE-USE FOR SERVICE AND GATEWAY BEAMS
ViaSat Incorporated
ADAPTIVE USE OF SATELLITE UPLINK BANDS
PLACEMENT OF GATEWAYS NEAR SERVICE BEAMS
Piggy-Back Satellite Payload
COORDINATED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FREQUENCY REUSE
Systems and methods for terrestrial reuse of cellular satellite frequency spectrum in a time-division duplex and/or frequency-division duplex mode
Satellite-band spectrum utilization for reduced or minimum interference
Systems and methods for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communications over satellite links
Iterative antenna beam forming systems/methods
Retaining traffic channel assignments for satellite terminals to provide lower latency communication services
Broadband wireless communications systems and methods using multiple non-contiguous frequency bands/segments
Radioterminals and operating methods that receive multiple measures of information from multiple sources
Antenna beam forming systems, methods and devices using phase adjusted least squares beam forming
Integrated or autonomous system and method of satellite-terrestrial frequency reuse using signal attenuation and/or blockage, dynamic assignment of frequencies and/or hysteresis
Apparatus and methods for power control in satellite communications systems with satellite-linked terrestrial stations
Communications systems including adaptive antenna systems and methods for inter-system and intra-system interference reduction
Systems, methods and devices for overlaid operations of satellite and terrestrial wireless communications systems
Systems, methods and network components that provide different satellite spot beam return carrier groupings and reuse patterns
Satellite architecture
Systems and methods for adaptive interference cancellation beamforming
Communications systems and methods including emission detection
Adaptive beam forming with multi-user detection and interference reduction in satellite communication systems and methods
Placement of gateways away from service beams
Wideband digital spectrometer
Hypres Inc.
DYNAMIC REVERSE LINK RETRANSMISSION TIMELINES IN SATELLITE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Frequency division duplex (FDD) return link transmit diversity systems, methods and devices using forward link side information
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING POWER ROBBING IMPACT OF INTERFERENCE TO A SATELLITE
RADIOTERMINALS AND ASSOCIATED OPERATING METHODS THAT TRANSMIT POSITION INFORMATION RESPONSIVE TO CHANGE/RATE OF CHANGE OF POSITION
Systems and Methods for Forward Link Closed Loop Beamforming
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONFIGURING SATELLITE ANTENNA CELL PATTERNS IN RESPONSE TO TERRESTRIAL USE OF SATELLITE FREQUENCIES
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A LEVEL OF INTERFERENCE TO A WIRELESS RECEIVER RESPONSIVE TO AN ACTIVITY FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH A WIRELESS TRANSMITTER
Intra- and/or inter-system interference reducing systems and methods for satellite communications systems
Ancillary terrestrial component services using multiple frequency bands
Globalstar Incorporated
CO-CHANNEL WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHODS AND SYSTEMS USING RELAYED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
Systems and methods of waveform and/or information splitting for wireless transmission of information to one or more radioterminals over a plurality of transmission paths and/or system elements
Methods, Apparatus and Computer Program Products for Joint Decoding of Access Probes in a CDMA Communications System
Data communications systems and methods using different wireless links for inbound and outbound data
Multi-band/multi-mode satellite radiotelephone communications systems and methods
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING SUBSTANTIALLY CO-LOCATED FEEDER LINK ANTENNAS
Space-Based Network Architectures for Satellite Radiotelephone Systems
Satellite assisted push-to-send radioterminal systems and methods
ADDITIONAL AGGREGATE RADIATED POWER CONTROL FOR MULTI-BAND/MULTI-MODE SATELLITE RADIOTELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Systems, methods and computer program products for mobility management in hybrid satellite/terrestrial wireless communications systems
Mobile Satellite Venture LP
Satellite Assisted Radioterminal Communications Systems and Methods
Satellite radiotelephone systems providing staggered sectorization for terrestrial reuse of satellite frequencies and related methods and radiotelephone systems
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A LEVEL OF INTERFERENCE TO A WIRELESS RECEIVER RESPONSIVE TO A POWER LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH A WIRELESS TRANSMITTER
Apparatus, method and computer program product providing automatically adjusted time periods used for event evaluation
Nokia Technologies Oy
Communications apparatus and method
DBSD Services Ltd.
ICO SERVICES LTD.
Automatic satellite terrestrial mobile terminal roaming system and method
Architecture for an integrated mobile and fixed telecommunications system including a spacecraft
Method and system for providing rural subscriber telephony service using an integrated satellite/cell system
PACWEST HOLDING CORPORATION
STM WIRELESS INC.
Low earth orbit distributed gateway communication system
Technique for sharing radio frequency spectrum in multiple satellite communication systems
Wengen Wireless LLC
Teledesic LLC
Systems and method for use in a dual mode satellite communications system
CDC Propriete Intellectuelle
Coordinated satellite-terrestrial frequency reuse
Method and apparatus for mitigating the effects of a communications channel using polarized signals
Spatial guardbands for terrestrial reuse of satellite frequencies
Additional systems and methods for monitoring terrestrially reused satellite frequencies to reduce potential interference
Satellite communications systems, components and methods for operating shared satellite gateways
Electronic antenna beam steering using ancillary receivers and related methods
Aggregate radiated power control for multi-band/multi-mode satellite radiotelephone communications systems and methods
Systems and methods for monitoring terrestrially reused satellite frequencies to reduce potential interference
Multi frequency band/multi air interface/multi spectrum reuse cluster size/multi cell size satellite radioterminal communicaitons systems and methods
Methods and systems for modifying satellite antenna cell patterns in response to terrestrial reuse of satellite frequencies
Intra-and/or inter-system interference reducing systems and methods for satellite communications systems
Gateway system, gateway system configuring method, and gateway apparatus
Systems and methods for modifying antenna radiation patterns of peripheral base stations of a terrestrial network to allow reduced interference
Wireless communications systems and methods using satellite-linked remote terminal interface subsystems
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HANDOVER BETWEEN SPACE BASED AND TERRESTRIAL RADIOTERMINAL COMMUNICATIONS, AND FOR MONITORING TERRESTRIALLY REUSED SATELLITE FREQUENCIES AT A RADIOTERMINAL TO REDUCE POTENTIAL INTERFERENCE
Mixed reuse of feeder link and user link bandwith
Additional intra-and/or inter-system interference reducing systems and methods for satellite communications systems
Systems and methods for terrestrial reuse of cellular satellite frequency spectrum
Resource allocation to terrestrial and satellite services
THERMO FUNDING COMPANY LLC
Systems and methods for sharing uplink bandwidth among satellites in a common orbital slot
Hughes Electronics Corporation
Communication system employing reuse of satellite spectrum for terrestrial communication
Hybrid satellite communications system
Communication satellite/land circuits selection communications system
Otten David D.
Method and system for providing wideband communications to mobile users in a satellite-based network
Apparatus and method for transmitting terrestrial signals on a common frequency with satellite transmissions
Broadband Investments Limited
Northpoint Technology Limited
Closed loop power control for low earth orbit satellite communications system
Dual layer satellite communications system and geostationary satellite therefor
Fixed and mobile satellite radiotelephone systems and methods with capacity sharing
Optis Cellular Technology LLC
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
Satellite system utilizing a plurality of air interface standards and method employing same
Satellite communications system having distributed user assignment and resource assignment with terrestrial gateways
Satellite terminal position determination
ICO SERVICES LTD
Engine control system for construction machine
Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited
Power control of an integrated cellular communications system
Code division multiple access transmitter and receiver
NTT Docomo Incorporated
NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc.
Method and system for transmitting radio signals between a fixed terrestrial station and user mobile terminals via a network of satellites
Agence Spatiale Europenne
Apparatus and method for reusing satellite broadcast spectrum for terrestrially broadcast signals
position determination in an integrated cellular communications system
CELSAT AMERICA INC.
Cellular/satellite communications system with improved frequency re-use
System and method for mobile communications in coexistence with established communications systems
Networked satellite and terrestrial cellular radiotelephone systems
Intellectual Ventures I LLC
Wireless telephone/satellite roaming system
Space SystemsLoral Incorporated
Spread spectrum multiple access communication system using satellite or terrestrial repeaters
View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein pre-distorting a signal responsive to the error comprises combining a measure of the signal with a measure of at least one other signal that is correlated with the error.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the at least one other signal is a feeder link signal.
4. A method according to claim 3 wherein pre-distorting a signal responsive to the error comprises pre-distorting a feeder link signal, transmitting the pre-distorted signal comprises transmitting the pre-distorted signal to a Space-Based Component (SBC) and determining an error of a received feeder link signal comprises determining an error at the SBC.
5. A method according to claim 3 wherein pre-distorting a signal responsive to the error comprises pre-distorting a feeder link signal, transmitting the pre-distorted signal comprises transmitting the pre-distorted signal to a Ground Based Equipment (GBE) and determining an error of a received feeder link signal comprises determining an error at the GBE.
6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the received feeder link signal includes an information component, and wherein determining an error of the received feeder link signal comprises comparing the information component with at least one value of the received feeder link signal.
7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the information component is compared with the at least one value at a Space-Based Component (SBC), and wherein a result of the comparison is transmitted from the SBC.
8. A method according to claim 6 wherein the information component is compared with the at least one value at a Ground-Based Equipment (GBE), and wherein a result of the comparison is transmitted from the GBE.
9. A method according to claim 6 wherein the information component comprises a-priori known information.
10. A satellite communications system comprising:
a processor configured to provide an error of a feeder link signal; and
an interference reducer configured to reduce interference of the feeder link signal responsive to the error.
View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
11. A satellite communications system according to claim 10 wherein the interference reducer is further configured to calculate a weight to be applied to a second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal, and to combine the error correction signal with a measure of the feeder link signal.
12. A satellite communications system according to claim 11 wherein the feeder link signal and the second feeder link signal are received via spatially diverse paths and/or different antenna patterns.
13. A satellite communications system according to claim 11 wherein the processor is farther configured to provide a second error of a second feeder link signal, and the interference reducer is further configured to calculate a second weight to be applied to the feeder link signal to provide a second error correction signal and to combine the second error correction signal with a measure of the second feeder link signal.
14. A satellite communications system according to claim 13 wherein the feeder link signal and the second feeder link signal are transmitted via spatially diverse paths and/or different antenna patterns.
15. A satellite communications system according to claim 13 wherein the processor and/or the interference reducer is/are at a Space-Based Component (SBC) and/or at a Ground-Based Equipment (GBE).
16. A satellite communications system according to claim 10 wherein the feeder link signal includes an information component, and wherein providing the error of the feeder link signal comprises comparing the information component with at least one value of the feeder link signal.
17. A satellite communications system according to claim 16 wherein the information component is compared with the at least one value at a Space-Based Component (SBC) and/or at a Ground-Based Equipment (GBE).
18. A satellite communications system according to claim 17 wherein a result of the comparison is transmitted to a Space-Based Component (SBC) and/or to a Ground-Based Equipment (GBE).
19. A satellite communications system according to claim 16 wherein the information component comprises a-priori known information.
The present application which claims the benefit of priority as a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/375,277 filed Mar. 14, 2006, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/662,053 filed Mar. 15, 2005. The disclosures of both of the above referenced applications are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
This invention relates to communications systems and methods, and more particularly to satellite communications systems and methods.
Satellite communications systems and methods are widely used for wireless communications. Satellite communications systems and methods generally employ at least one Space-Based Component (SBC), such as one or more satellites, that is/are configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of satellite radioterminals.
A satellite radioterminal communications system or method may utilize a single antenna pattern (beam, global beam or cell) to provide service over an entire service region or system footprint. Alternatively or in combination with the above, in cellular satellite radioterminal communications systems and methods, multiple antenna patterns (beams or cells) are provided, each of which can serve a substantially distinct service region in an overall service region, to collectively serve the overall service region (or system footprint) of the cellular satellite radioterminal communications system. Thus, a cellular architecture similar to that used in conventional terrestrial cellular/PCS radioterminal systems and methods can be implemented in cellular satellite-based systems and methods. The satellite typically communicates with radioterminals over a bidirectional communications service link, with radioterminal communications signals being communicated from the satellite to a radioterminal over a service downlink, forward link or forward service link and from the radioterminal to the satellite over a service uplink, return link or return service link.
The overall design and operation of cellular satellite radioterminal systems and methods are well known to those having skill in the art, and need not be described further herein. Moreover, as used herein, the term “radioterminal” includes cellular and/or satellite radioterminals with or without a multi-line display; Personal Communications System (PCS) terminals that may combine a radioterminal with data processing, facsimile and/or data communications capabilities; Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) that can include a radio frequency transceiver and/or a pager, Internet/Intranet access, Web browser, organizer, calendar and/or a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and/or conventional laptop and/or palmtop computers or other appliances, which include a radio frequency transceiver. As used herein, the term “radioterminal” also includes any other radiating user device/equipment/source that may have time-varying or fixed geographic coordinates, and may be portable, transportable, installed in a vehicle (aeronautical, maritime, or land-based), or situated and/or configured to operate locally and/or in a distributed fashion at any other location(s) on earth and/or in space. A radioterminal also may be referred to herein as a “radiotelephone,” “terminal”, or “wireless user device”. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “space-based component” or “space-based system” includes one or more satellites at any orbit (geostationary, substantially geostationary, medium earth orbit, low earth orbit, etc.) and/or one or more other objects and/or platforms (e.g., airplanes, balloons, unmanned vehicles, space crafts, missiles, etc.) that has/have a trajectory above the earth at any altitude.
Terrestrial networks can enhance cellular satellite radioterminal system availability, efficiency and/or economic viability by terrestrially using/reusing at least some frequencies that are allocated to cellular satellite radioterminal systems. In particular, it is known that it may be difficult for cellular satellite radioterminal systems to reliably serve densely populated areas, because satellite signals may be blocked by high-rise structures and/or may not penetrate into buildings. As a result, satellite spectrum may be underutilized or unutilized in such areas. The terrestrial use/reuse of at least some of the satellite system frequencies can reduce or eliminate this potential problem.
The capacity of a hybrid system, comprising terrestrial and satellite-based communications capability and configured to terrestrially use/reuse at least some frequencies allocated to the system for satellite-based communications, may be higher than a corresponding satellite-only system since terrestrial frequency use/reuse may be much denser than that of the satellite-only system. In fact, capacity may be enhanced where it may be mostly needed, i.e., in densely populated urban/industrial/commercial areas where the connectivity/signal(s) of a satellite-only system may be unreliable. As a result, a hybrid (satellite/terrestrial cellular) system that is configured to use/reuse terrestrially at least some of the frequencies of a satellite band may become more economically viable, as it may be able to serve more effectively and reliably a larger subscriber base.
One example of terrestrial reuse of satellite band frequencies is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,332 to the present inventor Karabinis entitled Satellite Telecommunications Repeaters and Retransmission Methods, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth fully herein. As described therein, satellite telecommunications repeaters are provided which receive, amplify, and locally retransmit the downlink/uplink signal received from a satellite/radioterminal thereby increasing the effective downlink/uplink margin in the vicinity of the satellite telecommunications repeater and allowing an increase in the penetration of uplink and downlink signals into buildings, foliage, transportation vehicles, and other objects which can reduce link margin. Both portable and non-portable repeaters are provided. See the abstract of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,332.
Satellite radioterminals for a satellite radioterminal system or method having a terrestrial communications capability by terrestrially using/reusing at least some of the satellite frequency band and using substantially the same air interface for both terrestrial and satellite communications may be more cost effective and/or aesthetically appealing than other alternatives. Conventional dual band/dual mode radioterminal alternatives, such as the well known Thuraya, Iridium and/or Globalstar dual mode satellite/terrestrial radioterminals, duplicate some components (as a result of the different frequency bands and/or air interface protocols that are used between satellite and terrestrial communications), which can lead to increased cost, size and/or weight of the radioterminal. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,560 to the present inventor Karabinis, entitled Satellite System Utilizing a Plurality of Air Interface Standards and Method Employing Same.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057, to present inventor Karabinis, and entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth fully herein, describes that a satellite frequency can be reused terrestrially by an ancillary terrestrial network even within the same satellite cell, using interference cancellation techniques. In particular, a system according to some embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,057 includes a space-based component that is configured to receive wireless communications from a first radiotelephone in a satellite footprint over a satellite radiotelephone frequency band, and an ancillary terrestrial network that is configured to receive wireless communications from a second radiotelephone in the satellite footprint over the satellite radiotelephone frequency band. The space-based component also receives the wireless communications from the second radiotelephone in the satellite footprint over the satellite radiotelephone frequency band as interference, along with the wireless communications that are received from the first radiotelephone in the satellite footprint over the satellite radiotelephone frequency band. An interference reducer is responsive to the space-based component and to the ancillary terrestrial network that is configured to reduce the interference from the wireless communications that are received by the space-based component from the first radiotelephone in the satellite footprint over the satellite radiotelephone frequency band, using the wireless communications that are received by the ancillary terrestrial network from the second radiotelephone in the satellite footprint over the satellite radiotelephone frequency band.
Satellite radioterminal communications systems and methods that may employ terrestrial reuse of satellite frequencies are also described in Published U.S. Patent Application Nos. US 2003/0054760 to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for Terrestrial Reuse of Cellular Satellite Frequency Spectrum; US 2003/0054761 to Karabinis, entitled Spatial Guardbands for Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies; US 2003/0054814 to Karabinis et al., entitled Systems and Methods for Monitoring Terrestrially Reused Satellite Frequencies to Reduce Potential Interference; US 2003/0073436 to Karabinis et al., entitled Additional Systems and Methods for Monitoring Terrestrially Reused Satellite Frequencies to Reduce Potential Interference; US 2003/0054762 to Karabinis, entitled Multi-Band/Multi-Mode Satellite Radiotelephone Communications Systems and Methods; US 2003/0153267 to Karabinis, entitled Wireless Communications Systems and Methods Using Satellite-Linked Remote Terminal Interface Subsystems; US 2003/0224785 to Karabinis, entitled Systems and Methods for Reducing Satellite Feeder Link Bandwidth/Carriers In Cellular Satellite Systems; US 2002/0041575 to Karabinis et al., entitled Coordinated Satellite-Terrestrial Frequency Reuse; US 2002/0090942 to Karabinis et al., entitled Integrated or Autonomous System and Method of Satellite-Terrestrial Frequency Reuse Using Signal Attenuation and/or Blockage, Dynamic Assignment of Frequencies and/or Hysteresis; US 2003/0068978 to Karabinis et al., entitled Space-Based Network Architectures for Satellite Radiotelephone Systems; U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,543 to Karabinis, entitled Filters for Combined Radiotelephone/GPS Terminals; US 2003/0153308 to Karabinis, entitled Staggered Sectorization for Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies; and US 2003/0054815 to Karabinis, entitled Methods and Systems for Modifying Satellite Antenna Cell Patterns In Response to Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies, all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosures of all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set forth fully herein.
Some satellite radioterminal communications systems and methods may employ satellites that use multiple bands for communications with radioterminals. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0054762 to Karabinis, cited above, describes satellite radioterminal systems and communications methods that include a space-based component that is configured to communicate with radioterminals in a satellite footprint that is divided into satellite cells. The space-based component is configured to communicate with a first radioterminal in a first satellite cell over a first frequency band and/or a first air interface, and to communicate with a second radioterminal in the first or a second satellite cell over a second frequency band and/or a second air interface. An ancillary terrestrial network also is provided that is configured to communicate terrestrially with the first radioterminal over substantially the first frequency band and/or substantially the first air interface, and to communicate terrestrially with the second radioterminal over substantially the second frequency band and/or substantially the second air interface. See the Abstract of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0054762.
According to embodiments of the present invention, methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include receiving a plurality of feeder link signals. In addition, at least two of the plurality of feeder link signals may be combined to reduce interference in at least one of the feeder link signals.
According to some other embodiments of the present invention, methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include determining an error of a received feeder link signal. In addition, a signal may be pre-distorted responsive to the error, and the pre-distorted signal may be transmitted.
According to some more embodiments of the present invention, methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include providing first and second feeder link signals. A weight may be applied to the second feeder link signal to provide a correction signal, and the correction signal may be combined with the first feeder link signal to provide an interference reduced feeder link signal.
According to some additional embodiments of the present invention, methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include providing an error of a received feeder link signal and providing first and second feeder link signals. A weight may be calculated based on the error, and the weight may be applied to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. In addition, the error correction signal may be combined with a component of the first feeder link signal to provide an interference reduced feeder link signal.
According to still more embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a processor configured to combine at least two feeder link signals to provide at least one reduced interference feeder link signal.
According to yet more embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a processor configured to provide an error of a feeder link signal. In addition, an interference reducer may be configured to reduce interference of the feeder link signal responsive to the error.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a processor configured to apply a weight to a second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. The processor may be further configured to combine the error correction signal with a first feeder link signal to provide an interference reduced feeder link signal.
According to still further embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a processor configured to process an error of a feeder link signal, and to process first and second feeder link signals. The processor may be further configured to calculate a weight to be applied to the second feeder link signal based on the error, and to apply the weight to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. In addition, the processor may be configured to combine the error correction signal with a component of the first feeder link signal to provide a first interference reduced signal.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, methods of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include receiving a plurality of feeder link signals, and time aligning the plurality of feeder link signals to provide time aligned feeder link signals. At least two of the time aligned feeder link signals may be combined to provide reduced interference of at least one of the feeder link signals.
Receiving the plurality of feeder link signals may include receiving the plurality of feeder link signals at a respective plurality of terrestrial feeder link antennas from at least one satellite. The plurality of feeder link signals may be received from a single satellite, or the plurality of feeder link signals may be received from a plurality of satellites. In addition, the at least two of the time aligned and combined feeder link signals may be processed to provide communications received at a satellite from a radioterminal.
Providing time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals may include processing at least one of the plurality of feeder link signals through an adjustable delay circuit. Moreover, providing time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals may include processing a second one of the plurality of feeder link signals through a second adjustable delay circuit, with the first and second adjustable delay circuits providing different delays. In addition, each of the plurality of feeder link signals may include a-priori known timing information, and the a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals may be detected, and delays of the first and second adjustable delay circuits may be set responsive to the a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals.
According to some more embodiments of the present invention, a method of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include providing an error of a received feeder link signal where the received feeder link signal is received at a satellite from a terrestrial feeder link antenna. A feeder link signal to be transmitted from the terrestrial feeder link antenna to the satellite may be provided, and the feeder link signal may be pre-distorted responsive to the error to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal. The pre-distorted feeder link signal may then be transmitted from the terrestrial feeder link antenna to the satellite.
In addition, a weight may be calculated to be applied to a second feeder link signal to be transmitted from a second terrestrial feeder link antenna, and the weight may be applied to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. Moreover, pre-distorting the first feeder link signal may include combining the error correction signal with the first feeder link signal and/or with the pre-distorted feeder link signal.
The first and second terrestrial feeder link antennas may be geographically separated. In addition, a second error of a second received feeder link signal may be provided, a second weight to be applied to the first feeder link signal may be calculated, the weight may be applied to the first feeder link signal to provide a second error correction signal, and the second feeder link signal may be pre-distorted responsive to the second error and by combining the second error correction signal with the second feeder link signal to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal. Moreover, the first and second pre-distorted feeder link signals are transmitted to the satellite or to different satellites.
The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal may include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite, and a result of the comparison may be transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at a gateway processor remote from the satellite.
According to some additional embodiments of the present invention, a method of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include providing first and second feeder link signals to be transmitted, and applying a weight to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. The error correction signal may be combined with the first feeder link signal to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal, and the pre-distorted feeder link signal may be transmitted from a terrestrial feeder link antenna to a satellite.
A second weight may be applied to the first feeder link signal to provide a second error correction signal, the second error correction signal may be combined with the second feeder link signal to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal, and the second pre-distorted feeder link signal may be transmitted from a second terrestrial feeder link antenna. The first and second terrestrial feeder link antennas may be geographically separated, and/or the first and second pre-distorted feeder link signals may be transmitted to the same satellite or to different satellites.
In addition, an error of a received feeder link signal may be provided with the received feeder link signal being received at the satellite from the terrestrial feeder link antenna, and combining the error correction signal with the first feeder link signal may include pre-distorting the feeder link signal responsive to the error. The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal may include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite with a result of the comparison is transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at a gateway processor remote from the satellite.
According to some other embodiments of the present invention, a method of reducing interference in a satellite communications system may include providing an error of a received feeder link signal, and providing first and second feeder link signals to be transmitted. A weight to be applied to the second feeder link signal may be calculated based on the error, and the weight may be applied to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal. The error correction signal may be combined with a component of the first feeder link signal to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal, and the pre-distorted feeder link signal may be transmitted.
The received feeder link signal may be received at a satellite from a terrestrial feeder link antenna, and the pre-distorted feeder link signal may be transmitted from the terrestrial feeder link antenna to the satellite. In addition, a second weight to be applied to the first feeder link signal may be calculated, the second weight may be applied to the first feeder link signal to provide a second error correction signal, the second error correction signal may be combined with a component of the second feeder link signal to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal, and the second pre-distorted feeder link signal may be transmitted from a second terrestrial feeder link antenna. The first and second feeder link antennas may be geographically separated, and the first and second pre-distorted signals are transmitted to the same satellite or different satellites.
The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal may include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite with a result of the comparison being transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at a gateway processor remote from the satellite.
According to still more embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a plurality of terrestrial feeder link antennas configured to receive a respective plurality of feeder link signals, and a gateway processor coupled to the plurality of feeder link antennas. The gateway processor may be configured to provide time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals to provide time aligned feeder link signals, and to combine at least two of the time aligned feeder link signals to provide reduced interference of at least one of the feeder link signals.
The plurality of terrestrial feeder link antennas may be configured to receive the plurality of feeder link signals from at least one satellite. The plurality of terrestrial feeder link antennas may be configured to receive the plurality of feeder link signals from a single satellite, or from a plurality of satellites. Moreover, the gateway processor may be configured to process the at least two of the time aligned and combined feeder link signals to provide communications received at a satellite from a radioterminal.
The gateway processor may be configured to provide a time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals by processing at least one of the plurality of feeder link signals through an adjustable delay circuit. More particularly, the gateway processor may be configured to provide a time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals by processing a second one of the plurality of feeder link signals through a second adjustable delay circuit with the first and second adjustable delay circuits providing different delays. Each of the plurality of feeder link signals may include a-priori known timing information. The gateway processor may thus be configured to detect the a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals, and to provide time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals by setting delays of the first and second adjustable delay circuits responsive to the a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals.
According to yet more embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a gateway processor and a terrestrial feeder link antenna coupled to the gateway processor. The gateway processor may be configured to provide an error of a received feeder link signal with the received feeder link signal being received at a satellite from a terrestrial feeder link antenna, to provide a feeder link signal to be transmitted to the satellite, and to pre-distort the feeder link signal to be transmitted responsive to the error to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal. The terrestrial feeder link antenna may be configured to transmit the pre-distorted feeder link signal from the terrestrial feeder link antenna to the satellite.
A second terrestrial feeder link antenna may be coupled to the gateway processor. In addition, the gateway processor may be configured to calculate a weight to be applied to a second feeder link signal to be transmitted from the second terrestrial feeder link antenna, to apply the weight to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal, and to combine the error correction signal with the first feeder link signal and/or with the pre-distorted feeder link signal. Moreover, the first and second terrestrial feeder link antennas may be geographically separated.
The gateway processor may be further configured to provide a second error of a second received feeder link signal, to calculate a second weight to be applied to the first feeder link signal, to apply the weight to the first feeder link signal to be transmitted to provide a second error correction signal, to pre-distort the second feeder link signal responsive to the second error, and to combine the second error correction signal with the second feeder link signal to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal. The first and second pre-distorted feeder link signals may be respectively transmitted from the first and second terrestrial feeder link antennas to the same satellite or to different satellites.
The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite with a result of the comparison being transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the gateway processor may be configured to compare the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with the reference remote from the satellite.
According to still additional embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a gateway processor and a terrestrial feeder link antenna coupled to the gateway processor. The gateway processor may be configured to provide first and second feeder link signals to be transmitted, to apply a weight to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal, and to combine the error correction signal with the first feeder link signal to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal. The terrestrial feeder link antenna may be configured to transmit the pre-distorted feeder link signal to a satellite.
The gateway processor may be further configured to apply a second weight to the first feeder link signal to provide a second error correction signal, and to combine the second error correction signal with the second feeder link signal to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal. In addition, a second terrestrial feeder link antenna coupled to the gateway processor may be configured to transmit the second pre-distorted feeder link signal. The first and second terrestrial feeder link antennas may be geographically separated, and the first and second pre-distorted feeder link signals may be transmitted to the same satellite or to different satellites.
The gateway processor may be further configured to provide an error of a received feeder link signal wherein the received feeder link signal is received at the satellite from the terrestrial feeder link antenna, and to pre-distort the feeder link signal responsive to the error. The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal may include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite with a result of the comparison being transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the gateway processor remote from the satellite.
According to yet additional embodiments of the present invention, a satellite communications system may include a gateway processor and a terrestrial feeder link antenna coupled to the gateway processor. The gateway processor may be configured to provide an error of a received feeder link signal, to provide first and second feeder link signals to be transmitted, to calculate a weight to be applied to the second feeder link signal to be transmitted based on the error, to apply the weight to the second feeder link signal to provide an error correction signal, and to combine the error correction signal with a component of the first feeder link signal to be transmitted to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal. The terrestrial feeder link antenna may be configured to transmit the pre-distorted feeder link signal to the satellite.
The received feeder link signal may be received at a satellite from the terrestrial feeder link antenna. The gateway processor may be further configured to calculate a second weight to be applied to the first feeder link signal to be transmitted, to apply the second weight to the first feeder link signal to be transmitted to provide a second error correction signal, and to combine the second error correction signal with a component of the second feeder link signal to be transmitted to provide a second pre-distorted feeder link signal. A second terrestrial feeder link antenna coupled to the gateway processor may be configured to transmit the second pre-distorted feeder link signal. The first and second feeder link antennas may be geographically separated, and the first and second pre-distorted signals may be transmitted to the same satellite or to different satellites.
The received feeder link signal may include a-priori known information, and providing the error of the received feeder link signal may include comparing the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal with a reference. The a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the satellite with a result of the comparison is transmitted from the satellite, for example, to the terrestrial feeder link antenna. In an alternative, the a-priori known information of the received feeder link signal may be compared with the reference at the gateway processor remote from the satellite.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of satellite communications systems/methods according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of satellite communications systems/methods according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating return link interference reduction according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating forward link error derivation according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating forward link interference reduction according to embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
It will be understood that although the terms first, second, third and fourth may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. Thus, a first element below could be termed a second, third or fourth element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first, third or fourth element etc., without departing from the teachings of the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The symbol “/” is also used as a shorthand notation for “and/or”. Moreover, as used herein, “substantially the same” band(s) means that two or more bands being compared substantially overlap, but that there may be some areas of non-overlap, for example at a band end and/or elsewhere. Moreover, “substantially the same” air interface(s) means that two or more air interfaces being compared are similar but need not be identical. Some changes may be made to one of the air interfaces to account for different characteristics between, for example, a terrestrial and satellite environment. For example, respective different vocoder rates may be used for satellite communications and for terrestrial communications (for example, 13 kbps for terrestrial communications and 4 kbps for satellite communications). In addition, a different forward error correction coding, a different interleaving depth, and/or different spread spectrum codes (e.g. Walsh codes, long codes, and/or frequency hopping codes) may be used for satellite communications compared to respective parameters and/or algorithms used for terrestrial communications. In general, “X and Y are substantially the same” means that X and Y have/share a plurality of identical and/or similar parameters and/or characteristics but X and Y may differ in at least one parameter and/or characteristic.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Feeder link spectrum may become increasingly congested/scarce as the number of satellites, deployed to provide fixed and/or mobile communications services, increases. Furthermore, in some embodiments, at least some return service link antenna elements of a Space-Based Component (SBC), such as a satellite, may be configured to receive information from radioterminals using two different polarizations, that may be substantially orthogonal therebetween, such as, for example, a substantially Left Hand Circular Polarization (LHCP) and a substantially Right Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP), further increasing a bandwidth requirement of a return feeder link. In such embodiments, the return feeder link may be configured to transport information to a processing facility (i.e., a satellite gateway) using two different polarizations such as, for example, a substantially Vertically-oriented (V-oriented) polarization and a substantially Horizontally-oriented (H-oriented) polarization. In some embodiments, for example, information received by the SBC from radioterminals via the substantially RHCP may be transported by the return feeder link to a processing facility using the substantially V-oriented polarization and information received by the SBC from radioterminals via the substantially LHCP may be transported by the return feeder link to the processing facility using the substantially H-oriented polarization. In addition, the information received by the SBC over the substantially RHCP and LHCP may be transported to the processing facility by the return feeder link over the substantially V-oriented and H-oriented polarizations, respectively, while maintaining substantial frequency alignment between information that is correlated and is being transported over the substantially V-oriented and H-oriented polarizations, respectively. That is, the RHCP and LHCP components of a signal received at one or more return link antenna element(s) of the SBC may contain substantially identical and correlated frequency content therebetween (i.e., a radioterminal configured to transmit substantially linearly-polarized electromagnetic energy transmits approximately half of the energy in a substantially RHCP and approximately half of the energy in a substantially LHCP). As such, corresponding RHCP and LHCP signals received at the SBC that are correlated (include substantially identical frequency content) may be transported to the processing facility via, for example, the substantially V-oriented and H-oriented polarizations of a return feeder link, respectively, while maintaining substantial frequency alignment therebetween over the return feeder link. Thus, any leakage from one polarization into the other (as may be caused by atmospheric effects and/or by a non-ideally orthogonal state between the V-oriented and H-oriented polarizations of the return feeder link) may be leakage between two correlated components of a signal (i.e., between the RHCP and LHCP components of a signal as the two components are being transported to the processing facility by the return feeder link) and may thus be effectively utilized by a receiver at the processing facility that may be configured to combine the two components of the signal received over the feeder link'"'"'s V-oriented and H-oriented dimensions. While in some embodiments at least some service link antenna (feed) elements of the SBC may be configured to receive information from radioterminals in a substantially RHCP and LHCP orientation, at least some service link antenna (feed) elements of the SBC may be configured to transmit information to radioterminals in a substantially RHCP orientation only and/or at least some service link antenna (feed) elements of the SBC may be configured to transmit information to radioterminals in a substantially LHCP orientation only.
Moreover, service link beam forming (antenna pattern forming) may be performed using a Ground-Based Beam Former (GBBF) coupled to one or more gateways. A multi-spot beam satellite system using ground-based beam forming may require a significant amount of feeder link bandwidth because of a plurality of forward/return service link antenna feed elements of the space-based component that may be used for service link beam forming and a requirement to transport to/from the plurality of service link antenna feed elements from/to a ground-based beam former a plurality of signals associated with forming the service link beams (antenna patterns). For example, ground-based beam forming for return service links of a satellite system may require that the signals received from radioterminals by the plurality of return service link antenna feed elements of the space-based component be sent, for example, to a satellite gateway(s) via the system'"'"'s feeder link frequencies to serve as inputs to a ground-based beam former.
A Space-Based Component (SBC), such as a satellite, may be configured to perform return link signal processing relating to Ground-Based Beam Forming (GBBF) wherein a first plurality of signals, corresponding to a plurality of return service link antenna elements (also referred to as return service link antenna feed elements) of the SBC, are transported by the SBC via one or more return feeder links to a processing facility (e.g., a ground facility such as one or more satellite gateways). The SBC may also be configured to perform forward link signal processing relating to GBBF wherein a second plurality of signals, corresponding to a plurality of forward service link antenna elements (also referred to as forward service link antenna feed elements) of the SBC are transported from a processing facility (e.g., a ground facility, such as one or more satellite gateways), via one or more forward feeder links to the SBC and to the respective plurality of forward service link antenna elements of the SBC. It will be understood that the term GBBF as used herein includes any type of antenna pattern forming, corresponding to a forward and/or return link of the SBC, irrespective of whether the antenna pattern forming is performed at a ground-based facility (fixed, transportable or mobile), at a maritime facility, at an aeronautical facility and/or in a distributed fashion between facilities (ground-based and/or non-ground-based).
For example, if a space-based component is configured with 120 return service link antenna feed elements, and if the return service link of the space-based component is allocated and using 10 MHz of spectrum, then 1.2 GHz (e.g. 120×10 MHz=1.2 GHz) of feeder link spectrum may be required to transmit all of the return service link antenna feed element signals to the ground. Furthermore, if the system is authorized to use, for example, only 250 MHz of return feeder link spectrum, the space-based component may need to be configured to spatially-reuse the limited return feeder link spectrum bandwidth (250 MHz) a plurality of times (five-fold) by forming (five) return link feeder spot beams using respective feeder links that transmit information to (five) respective geographically spaced-apart gateways. Analogous requirements may apply when forming forward service link beams at a ground based beam former.
Spatial reuse of feeder link frequencies may be feasible, even for co-located and/or spatially proximate satellites (used by one or more satellite operators), provided that spatially narrow feeder link antenna patterns (spot beams) are formed by the satellites and/or associated infrastructure facilities (gateways or Ground-Based Equipment (GBE)) provide(s) sufficient spatial (e.g., geographic) separation in conjunction with sufficient antenna directivity/discrimination. However, a level of intra- and/or inter-system interference may be present in a desired forward and/or return feeder link signal due to a reuse of at least one frequency of the desired forward and/or return feeder link signal by one or more intra- and/or inter-system forward and/or return feeder link signals. Embodiments that reduce and/or substantially eliminate feeder link interference are disclosed herein below.
FIG. 1 illustrates a Space-Based Network (SBN) comprising a Space-Based Component (SBC) 101 and Ground-Based (i.e., non-space-based) Equipment (GBE). The GBE may be any equipment that is not part of the SBC (such as, for example, one or more satellite gateways) and may be ground-based, marine-based, aeronautically-based, fixed, portable, transportable, localized and/or distributed. The Space-Based Component 101 may comprise one or more satellites and the GBE may comprise a plurality (1, 2, . . . , N) of feeder link antennas (or antenna elements), A1-AN, associated with a corresponding plurality of feeder link antenna patterns (that may be relatively spatially narrow and may be referred to as spot beams), a Wide Beam feeder link Antenna WBA, associated with a spatially wide antenna pattern (broad beam or “global” beam) feeder link and at least one Gateway Processor (GP). The SBC 101 may be configured to form a plurality of feeder link beams over which information may be transported between the SBC 101 and the GBE uni-directionally and/or bi-directionally using one or more spatial polarization orientations. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a SBC 101 that is configured to form N feeder link spot beams between the space-based component and respective feeder link antennas A1-AN, and one wide (global) feeder link beam between the space-based component SBC and the wide beam (feeder link) antenna WBA. FIG. 1 illustrates GBE that is configured with N+1 respective feeder link antennas (i.e., A1-AN and WBA). Some interference paths that may generate interference therein between at least some of the plurality of feeder links are also illustrated in FIG. 1 by dotted lines.
The space-based component SBC 101 may also be configured to provide uni-directional and/or bi-directional communications with one or a plurality of radioterminals RT over a respective service link(s). For example, communications from the gateway processor (GP) 103 to a radioterminal RT may be provided as forward signal(s) of a feeder link beam (from a respective feeder link antenna to the space-based component SBC 101), and then as a forward signal(s) of a service link (from the space-based component SBC 101 to the radioterminal RT). Similarly, communications from a radioterminal RT to the gateway processor GP 103 may be provided as return signals of a service link (from the radioterminal RT to the space-based component SBC 101) and then as return signals of a feeder link beam (from the space-based component SBC 101 to a respective feeder link antenna). As shown in FIG. 1, return signals from the space-based component 101 transmitted over different feeder link beams may thus interfere at respective ones of the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA. Similarly, forward signals transmitted from different ones of the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA may interfere at the feeder link receivers of the space-based component SBC 101.
In some embodiments, the GP 101 may be configured to process at least some of the plurality of return and/or forward feeder link signals to reduce and/or substantially eliminate interference in at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal. The GP may be configured to process the at least some of the plurality of return and/or forward feeder link signals to reduce and/or substantially eliminate interference in at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal by using an information component, that may, in some embodiments be an a-priori known information component, that is included in at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal. In some embodiments, the information component (a-priori known or otherwise) that is included in at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal may be inserted in the at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal by the SBC 101, by a radioterminal RT that is communicating with the SBC 101, and/or by the GBE (for example, by the gateway processor GP 103).
As shown in FIG. 1, each of the feeder link spot beams may provide forward and/or return links between the space-based component SBC 101 and the respective feeder link antennas A1-AN using relatively narrow spot beams. Portions of a same frequency band may thus be reused for the different feeder link spot beams by providing sufficiently narrow spot beams and/or by providing sufficient geographic separation of the feeder link antennas A1-AN. Interference between the different feeder link spot beams, however, may still occur.
In addition, a relatively wide (or global) feeder link beam may be provided between the space-based component SBC 101 and an optional wide beam (feeder link) antenna WBA. The wide beam antenna WBA, for example, may be provided during initial deployment of the space-based component before a full capacity of the space-based component SBC 101 is utilized. The use of a wide feeder link beam may provide a flexibility of geographic placement of the wide beam antenna, and a relatively large wide beam antenna WBA may be used to accommodate a relatively low signal strength of a wide feeder link beam. When one or more feeder link spot beams are used together with a wide (or global) feeder link beam, different frequencies may be used for the wide (or global) feeder link beam than are used for the feeder link spot beam(s). In an alternative, frequencies may be shared between wide feeder link and feeder link spot beams by providing interference reduction according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates two Space-Based Networks (SBNs) 201 and 202 of two different satellite communications systems that may be configured to have geographically non-overlapping or at least partially-overlapping geographic footprints (service areas). SBN1201 and SBN2202 may use at least one common feeder link frequency to transmit information between respective Space Based Component(s) (SBC) and Ground Based Equipment (GBE) and may thus generate inter-system interference therein between one or more feeder links. In some embodiments, at least one forward and/or return feeder link signal of SBN2202 is sent to SBN1201 and is processed by SBN1201 in combination with or in isolation from other signals corresponding to forward and/or return feeder link signals of SBN1201 to reduce and/or substantially eliminate interference in at least one return and/or forward feeder link signal of SBN1201.
Each of the space-based networks SBN1 201 and SBN2 202 may be implemented as illustrated in FIG. 1. More particularly, each of the space-based networks may be implemented with at least one space-based component, at least one feeder link antenna, and a gateway processor. Moreover, the coupling between the two space-based networks may be provided as a coupling between respective gateway processors of the two space-based networks. Accordingly, intra-system interference may result between feeder links of the same space-based network, and inter-system interference may result between feeder links of different space-based networks. Moreover, the two space based networks 201 and 202 may be operated by different and/or competing entities.
FIG. 3 illustrates an interference reducer according to embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, return link feeder signals that are transmitted by the space-based component SBC 101 and received by the plurality of feeder link antennas A1-AN and WBA of the GBE of FIG. 1 may be provided as inputs to an interference reducer 301 included in gateway processor 103. In other embodiments, return link feeder signals from SBN2202 of FIG. 2 may also provide inputs to the interference reducer. In some embodiments, the inputs to the interference reducer may be substantially time-aligned by adjustable and/or fixed delay line elements prior to further processing by the interference reducer to reduce and/or substantially eliminate interference in at least one return feeder link signal by using the a-priori known information that may be included in at least one return feeder link signal and/or by using decision-directed information. Interference reducers are known to those having skill in the art and need not be discussed further herein.
More particularly, a-priori known information may be included in each of the return feeder link signals received from the space-based component 101 at the respective feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA. Moreover, the a-priori known information may be used by the interference reducer 301 to calculate a component of each of the return feeder links interfering with each of the other return feeder links. For each return feeder link, the interference reducer 301 can thus subtract interference components thereof corresponding to each of the other return feeder links of the same space-based network and/or other space-based networks.
In addition, a-priori known timing information may be included in the different feeder link signals received at the ground-based feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA to correlate time alignment thereof at the interference reducer 301. For example, signals transmitted at the same time from the space-based component SBC 101 over different feeder link beams may be received at the gateway processor GP 103 (including the interference reducer 301 of FIG. 3) at different times because of different propagation delays between the space-based component SBC 101 and different ones of the ground based feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA and/or because of different propagation delays between different ones of the ground based feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA and the gateway processor GP 103. Accordingly, the correlator 303 of FIG. 3 may detect receipt of the a-priori known timing information in the return link feeder signals from each of the feeder link antennas, and the correlator 303 can separately adjust the individual delay lines of the delay line circuit 305 for each of the return link feeder signals to provide substantial time alignment of the return link feeder signals at the interference reducer 301.
As further shown in FIG. 3, the interference reducer 301 may also receive return link feeder signal(s) from one or more feeder link antennas of a second space-based network SBN2 202. The return link feeder signal(s) from one or more feeder link antennas of a second space-based network SBN2 202 may be used by the interference reducer 301 to reduce interference component(s) of a return feeder link(s) of the first space-based network SBN1 201 resulting from the second space-based network SBN2 202. For each return link feeder signal from the first space-based network SBN1 201, the interference reducer can subtract interference components thereof corresponding to the return link feeder signal(s) of the second space-based network SBN2 202. In addition, in some embodiments, a-priori known timing information may be included in the return link feeder signal(s) from the second space-based network SBN2 202 so that the return link feeder signal(s) from the second space-based network SBN2 202 can be time aligned with respect to return link feeder signals of the first space-based network SBN1 201 at the interference reducer 301. The correlator 303 can thus separately adjust individual delay lines of the second adjustable delay line circuit 307 based on the a-priori known timing information included in return link feeder signal(s) from the second space-based component of the second space based network 202. Many types and forms of interference reducers will occur to those skilled in the art. Interference reducers of the linear and/or non-linear type and adaptive algorithms associated therewith are known to those of skill in the art and need not be discussed further herein. In some embodiments, the interference reducer may comprise transversal filters. The operation of transversal filters is known to those skilled in the art and need not be discussed further herein. The transversal filters may be of any known type (i.e., synchronously-spaced, fractionally-spaced, decision-feedback, linear, non-linear and/or neural-network based, etc.) and each may be different from the others. The number of taps or coefficients for each transversal filter may differ and may be greater than or equal to one. An algorithm used for calculating and/or updating coefficients of transversal filters may be based on a least mean squared-error performance criterion, a zero-forcing performance criterion and/or any other known performance criterion and/or variation of any known performance criterion that may occur to one skilled in the art. In some embodiments, different control algorithms may be used for different transversal filters.
As discussed above, the interference reducer 301, the correlator 303, and the delay line circuits 305 and 307 of FIG. 3 may be implemented in the gateway processor GP 103 of FIG. 1. Elements of FIG. 3, however, may be distributed across different elements of the space-based network of FIG. 1. For example, portions of the first adjustable delay line circuit 305 may be implemented at the respective feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA. More particularly, a known and/or variable delay may be provided at each of the feeder link antennas. It will be understood that the interference reducer 301 of FIG. 3 may be configured in its entirety or at least partially also at a SBC 101 to reduce interference of forward feeder link signals received by the SBC 101 at the SBC 101. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the interference reducer 301 of FIG. 3 may be configured in its entirety and/or at least partially at a ground facility (such as the GP 103 facility of FIG. 1) and at a SBC 101 such as a satellite.
Interference in a satellite communications system such as space-based network 201 may thus be reduced at the gateway processor 103 thereof by receiving a plurality of feeder link signals from a respective plurality of feeder link antennas such as feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA of the satellite communications system 201 and/or from one or more feeder link antennas of the space-based network 202. The adjustable delay line circuit 305 and/or the adjustable delay line circuit 307 may provide time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals to provide time aligned feeder link signals. At least two of the time aligned feeder link signals may then be combined at the interference reducer 301 to provide reduced interference of at least one of the feeder link signals.
The plurality of feeder link signals may be received at two or more of the feeder link antennas of the space-based network 201 from a single satellite of the space-based network 201. In an alternative, the plurality of feeder link signals may be received from a plurality of satellites of the same or different space-based networks. For example, one of the feeder link signals may be received at a feeder link antenna of the space-based network 201 from a satellite of the space-based network 201, and another of the feeder link signals may be received at a feeder link antenna of the space-based network 202 from a satellite of the space-based network 202. The at least two of the time aligned and combined feeder link signals may be further processed at the gateway processor 103 to provide communications received at a satellite such as space-based component 101 from a radioterminal RT as shown in FIG. 1.
Time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals may be provided by processing at least one of the plurality of feeder link signals through an adjustable delay line of one or more of the adjustable delay line circuits 305 and 307. In addition, a second one of the plurality of feeder link signals may be processed through a second adjustable delay line of one of the delay line circuits 305 and 307 with the first and second adjustable delay lines providing different delays. More particularly, each of the plurality of feeder link signals may include a-priori known timing information. The a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals may be detected by the correlator 303, and providing time alignment of the plurality of feeder link signals may include setting delays of the first and second adjustable delay lines responsive to the a-priori known timing information in the first and second feeder link signals.
FIG. 4 illustrates operations of an Error Derivation Processor (EDP) 401 in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, configured to derive a measure of an error of a forward feeder link signal after the forward feeder link signal is received at the SBC 101. The EDP 401 may be operative at the SBC 101 and/or at the GBE of the SBN. As is illustrated in FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the EDP 401 compares a reference of a-priori known information 403 with a portion of the forward feeder link signal over which the a-priori known information is transmitted to derive a measure of an error of the forward feeder link signal. The measure of the error of the forward feeder link signal comprises a measure of intra- and/or inter-system interference of the forward feeder link signal that may be generated by other (intra- and/or inter-system) transmissions using at least one frequency common with a frequency used by the forward feeder link signal. In some embodiments, the measure of the error of the forward feeder link signal is provided to the GP 103 to be further processed by the GP 103 to reduce and/or substantially eliminate interference in a forward feeder link signal.
The forward link feeder signal may thus be received at the space-based component SBC 101 from one of the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA, and the forward link signal may include a-priori known information that can be compared to the reference 403 to calculate an error of the forward feeder link signal. The calculated error can then be used by the gateway processor GP to pre-distort the forward feeder link signal to compensate for interference from known signals. In addition, the calculated error can be used together with known interfering signals (for example, forward link feeder signals transmitted from other feeder link antennas) to pre-distort the forward link feeder signal.
The error deviation processor EDP 401 may be implemented at the space-based component SBC 101 of FIG. 1 with the calculated error being transmitted though a return feeder link and a feeder link antenna to the gateway processor 103 (a link other than a return feeder link may also be used to transmit the error from the SBC to the GP). In an alternative, portions of the error deviation processor 401 of FIG. 4 may be distributed across elements of the space-based network of FIG. 1. For example, the space-based component SBC 101 may extract the a-priori known information and return it to the gateway processor GP 103. The gateway processor GP 103 can then compare the a-priori known information with the reference 403 to calculate the error. Error deviation processing may thus be provided from each forward link feeder signal received at the space-based component SBC from each of the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 illustrates a GP 103 configuration that may be used by the GBE of a SBN, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, to first pre-distort a forward feeder link signal, prior to transmitting the forward feeder link signal from a feeder link antenna A1-AN and/or WBA to the SBC 101. In some embodiments, the pre-distorted forward feeder link signal includes an estimate of an inverse of intra- and/or inter-system interference. In further embodiments, the estimate of the inverse of the intra- and/or inter-system interference included in a forward feeder link signal is responsive to a measure of an error of a forward feeder link signal (see FIG. 4) and may be a linear combination of at least some intra- and/or inter-system feeder link signals, such as forward intra- and/or inter-system feeder link signals that use at least one frequency in common with the forward feeder link signal that is pre-distorted. In some embodiments of the invention, a pre-distorted forward feeder link signal is pre-distorted to include an inverse and/or a negative of intra- and/or inter-system interference such that at the SBC 101 the pre-distorted forward feeder link signal may be received with reduced interference and/or being substantially interference free.
The gateway processor GP 103 configuration of FIG. 5, for example, may be provided at the gateway processor GP for each forward feeder link signal transmitted from each of the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA of FIG. 1. For a feeder link signal FA1 to be transmitted from feeder link antenna A1, for example, feeder link signals FA1-FAN and/or FWBA to be transmitted from feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA and/or feeder link signals to be transmitted from a second space-based network may be provided to respective transversal filters TF1-TFN and/or TFG of the transverse filter bank 501, and each of the transversal filters TF1-TFN and/or TFG may provide a different complex (or real) weighting/gain responsive to the controller 503. More particularly, the controller 503 may determine different weightings/gains to be applied by each of the transversal filters TF1-TFN and/or TFG responsive to a calculated error of the forward feeder link signal FA1 received at the space-based component 101 and based on known forward feeder link signals to be transmitted from the feeder link antennas A1-AN and/or WBA of FIG. 1 and/or feeder link antennas of other space-based networks. The controller 503 may thus correlate an error of a forward feeder link signal received at the space-based component 101 with each known contributor and/or suspected contributor of interference. Moreover, the error of the forward feeder link signal received at the space-based component may be calculated as discussed above with respect to FIG. 4 and provided as the error input to the controller 503. It will be understood that the pre-distortion processor of FIG. 5 may also be configured at a SBC 101 to provide pre-distortion of return feeder link signals transmitted from the SBC 101 to one or more ground facilities. Thus, in some embodiments, the pre-distortion processor of FIG. 5 may be configured at a ground facility (such as the GP 103 facility of FIG. 1) and/or at a SBC 101 such as a satellite.
For example, the transversal filter TF1 may provide a complex or real weighting/gain to compensate for distortions (such as environmental distortions and/or intra-system transmission distortions caused, for example, by non-ideal equipment responses/characteristics) in transmitting the forward feeder link signal FA1 from the feeder link antenna A1 to the space-based component SBC 101. Each of the transversal filters TF2-TFN and/or TFG may provide complex or real weightings/gains to compensate for components of the forward feeder link signals FA2-FAN interfering with the forward feeder link signal FA1 received at the space-based component 101. The outputs of each of the transversal filters can then be combined at summer 3 to generate a pre-distorted forward feeder link signal FA1′ to be transmitted from feeder link antenna A1 to the space-based component SBC 101. Similar operations may be performed for each of the forward feeder link signals FA1-FAN and/or FWBA to reduce and/or eliminate interference therebetween. Operations of transversal filters will be understood by those skilled in the art and need not be discussed further herein. The transversal filters may be of any known type (i.e., synchronously-spaced, fractionally-spaced, decision-feedback, linear, non-linear and/or neural-network based, etc.) and each may be different from the others. The number of taps or coefficients for each transversal filter may differ and may be greater than or equal to one. A controller algorithm used to calculate and/or update coefficients of transversal filters may be based on a least mean squared-error performance criterion, a zero-forcing performance criterion and/or any other known performance criterion and/or variation of any known performance criterion that may occur to one skilled in the art. In some embodiments, different control algorithms may be used for different transversal filters.
The error deviation processor 401 may thus provide an error of a received feeder link signal that is received at a satellite (such as space-based component 101) from a feeder link antenna, such as feeder link antenna A1. A feeder link signal to be transmitted from the feeder link antenna to the satellite may be provided, and the feeder link signal may be pre-distorted responsive to the error to provide a pre-distorted feeder link signal. The pre-distorted feeder link signal may then be transmitted from the feeder link antenna A1 to the satellite. Accordingly, an error of a previous feeder link signal transmitted from a feeder link antenna may be used to pre-distort a subsequent feeder link signal transmitted from the same feeder link antenna to the same satellite.
As shown in FIG. 5, a feeder link signal FA1 to be transmitted from the feeder link antenna A1 may be processed through the transversal filter TF1 before transmission. Moreover, the controller 503 may adjust a weight applied by the transversal filter TF1 to the feeder link signal responsive to an error of a previous feeder link signal transmitted from the feeder link antenna A1. Accordingly, the error feedback mechanism provided by the error deviation processor 401, the controller 503, and the transversal filter TF1 may improve a quality of transmission from a feeder link antenna to a satellite.
In addition or in an alternative, one or more additional feeder link signals to be transmitted by one or more additional feeder link antennas may be processed through respective transversal filters and combined with the feeder link signal FA1 before transmitting the feeder link signal FA1 from the feeder link antenna A1 as shown in FIG. 5. The controller 503, for example, may calculate a weight to be applied by the transversal filter TF2 to the second feeder link signal FA2 to be transmitted from the feeder link antenna, and the transversal filter TF2 may apply the weight to the second feeder link signal FA2 to provide an error correction signal. The error signal may then be combined with the first feeder link signal FA1 at the summer 3 before transmitting the feeder link signal FA1′ from the feeder link antenna A1.
The systems and methods described above may also be used to reduce interference in forward and/or return feeder links caused by a utilization of more than one spatial polarization dimension in transmitting and/or receiving feeder link communications between a SBC and one or more ground facilities. In some embodiments, for example, Vertical (V) and Horizontal (H) polarizations may be used concurrently on a forward and/or return feeder link to increase a feeder link capacity of a SBC. Signal leakage from V into H and H into V may cause intra-system interference. The block diagrams of FIGS. 1-5 are provided by way of example to illustrate systems and operations of interference reduction according to embodiments of the present invention. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of entirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, and/or embodiments combining software and hardware aspects. It will be further understood that blocks of the illustrations, and combinations of blocks, can be implemented by computer program instructions. The computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block or blocks. Some or all of the functions illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 and/or disclosed in the present specification may thus be implemented using one or more digital signal processors, hardware (analog and/or digital), software, firmware and/or any combination thereof and may be provided at a Space-Based Component (SBC), at a Ground-Based Equipment (GBE) and/or distributed therebetween. It will be understood that a “source” of one or more feeder links may be a SBC and/or a GBE, and that different elements of the SBC and/or the GBE may represent different sources of feeder links. Furthermore, it will be understood that a feeder link antenna system (of the SBC or the GBE) may comprise a single antenna, a single antenna element, a plurality of antenna elements and/or a plurality of antennas some or all of which may be substantially co-located or spatially distributed.
In the drawings and/or the specification, there have been disclosed embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.
ATC Technology Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
Karabinis, Peter D.
GRANTED PATENT
455/12.100
H04B 7/1851 : Systems using a satellite o...
H04B 7/18513 : Transmission in a satellite...
4 Family Members
Intra System And/Or Inter System Reuse Of Feeder Link Frequencies Including Interference Suppression Systems And Methods
Issued 12/15/2009
Current Assignee: ATC Technology Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
Sponsoring Entity: ATC Technology Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
Methods Of Reducing Interference Including Calculation Of Weights Based On Errors And Related Systems
Methods Of Reducing Interference Including Applying Weights To Provide Correction Signals And Related Systems
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Method and apparatus for an analyte detecting device
Status: Abandoned Application
108Forward
1. An electronic device for rendering for display or audition stored digital audiovisual entertainment content, comprising:
(a) data storage which may be either a rotational magnetic or optical disk, solid state electronics, or both;
(b) a display mechanism to convey instructions to users, and make decision choices available for selection;
(c) a data or selection entry mechanism such as a keyboard, switches, or touch sensitive areas for conveying information to the device;
(d) an internal power source;
(e) a variety of connectors used to interface the device to external devices;
(f) an electronic computational module for processing computer software instructions;
(g) a variety of electronic modules used to acquire and convert signals supplied to the device through connectors (1.e) or through radio frequency reception means to a form of digital data that can be stored on the internal data storage (1.a);
(h) a variety of electronic modules used to convert data supplied to the device to render audio and visual entertainment content;
(i) operational computer software supplied to acquire, convert, format, and store data, interact with human operators via display mechanism (1b.), interact with external electronic devices and processes contained within those devices and to cause the stored data to be transferred to those devices and, in turn, to receive instructions, alternative or additional operational computer software, or digital audiovisual entertainment content;
(j) companion electronic devices intended to transmit and receive data to the portable device and to subsequently communicate with external devices and systems via bidirectional electronic, radio frequency, or optical transmission means.
In a perfect world, citizens would have all of the sensing equipment and analysis capability with no concern about costs. Unfortunately, the costs are an impediment to most people and their health and well-being may be compromised as a result. By leveraging popular consumer devices such as mobile players and other CE devices, it is possible to create “piggy-back” solutions that effectively bring the costs into the range that ordinary people can afford. Once ordinary people can afford these solutions, the state of their health and/or well being can be improved greatly.
108 Forward Citations
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Pelikan Technologies Inc.
Method and apparatus for penetrating tissue
Method and apparatus for body fluid sampling and analyte sensing
Method and apparatus for a multi-use body fluid sampling device with sterility barrier release
Tissue penetration device
Methods and apparatus for lancet actuation
Device and method for variable speed lancet
Self optimizing lancing device with adaptation means to temporal variations in cutaneous properties
Method and apparatus for fluid injection
Method and apparatus for body fluid sampling with hybrid actuation
Method and apparatus for an improved sample capture device
Method of manufacturing a fluid sampling device with improved analyte detecting member configuration
Method and apparatus for multi-use body fluid sampling device with sterility barrier release
Apparatus and method for penetration with shaft having a sensor for sensing penetration depth
Method and apparatus for a multi-use body fluid sampling device with analyte sensing
Method and apparatus using optical techniques to measure analyte levels
Sampling module device and method
Blood testing apparatus having a rotatable cartridge with multiple lancing elements and testing means
Method and apparatus for improving fluidic flow and sample capture
Method and apparatus for analyte measurement test time
Analyte measurement device with a single shot actuator
Electric lancet actuator
Body fluid sampling device with a capacitive sensor
Methods and apparatus for penetrating tissue
Printable hydrogels for biosensors
Sanofi S.A.
Method for penetrating tissue
Low pain penetrating member
Body fluid sampling module with a continuous compression tissue interface surface
Printable hydrogel for biosensors
Sanofi-Aventis SA
Method and apparatus for a variable user interface
Cam drive for managing disposable penetrating member actions with a single motor and motor and control system
Method and apparatus for analyte detecting device
Method and apparatus for a fluid sampling device
Body fluid sampling device with capacitive sensor
BODY FLUID SAMPLING DEVICE
Roche Diabetes Care Inc.
Lancing device, method of making lancing device, pump mechanism, and sucking device
ARKRAY Inc
Hyperspectral imaging in diabetes and peripheral vascular disease
Hypermed Imaging Incorporated
Magazine for holding test elements
Method and device for sampling and analyzing interstitial fluid and whole blood samples
LifeScan IP Holdings LLC
Method and apparatus for non-invasive measurement of living body characteristics by photoacoustics
Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
Hand-held analysis device
Device for transdermal sampling
Parvinder Dhillon
LOAD-CONTROLLED DEVICE FOR A PATTERNED SKIN INCISION OF CONSTANT DEPTH
Helena Laboratories Corporation
Hand-held instrument for the analysis of body fluids
Analysis appliance for analysis of blood samples
Lancet assembly
AIM BIO-MEDICAL PTE LTD.
Home hub for reporting patient health parameters
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Subcutaneous glucose electrode
Abbott Diabetes Care Incorporated
Apparatus for measurement of blood analytes
WHITLAND RESEARCH LIMITED
Test media cassette for bodily fluid testing device
Roche Diagnostics Operations Incorporated
Method and apparatus for electrochemical detection
BIOPROSPECT TECHNOLOGIES CO. LTD.
Method of manufacturing integrated biosensors
Lifescan Incorporated
Apparatus for the manufacture of medical devices
Layered spectroscopic sample element with microporous membrane
OptiScan Biomedical Corporation
Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc.
Automatic lancing device
Yong Pil Kim
Long term analyte sensor array
Medtronic Minimed Incorporated
Magazine for annulary capillary lancets
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Diagnostic sanitary test strip
Nipro Diagnostics Inc.
Home Diagnostics Incorporated
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Devices, methods, and kits for non-invasive glucose measurement
VIVOMEDICAL INC.
Lancet removal tool
Analyte monitoring device and methods of use
Method and apparatus for the monitoring of clinical states
ONSENS INC.
Sample analysis systems
Dual glucose-hydroxybutyrate analytical sensors
Stephen Eliot Zweig
Lancet, lancet assembly and lancet-sensor combination
Nova Biomedical Corporation
Method of determining the concentration of an analyte in a physiological sample
Device and method for in vitro determination of analyte concentrations within body fluids
Methods for improving sensitivity of oxygen biosensors
Becton Dickinson Co
Test strip for measuring analyte concentration over a broad range of sample volume
Methods for fabricating metal nanowires
Regents of the University of California
Simulation device for playful evaluation and display of blood sugar levels
Disetronic Licensing Ag
Cassette of lancet cartridges for sampling blood
Solution striping system
Remote monitoring and data management platform
Stephen J Brown, Julie C. Cherry, Geoffrey Clapp
Test strip qualification system
Blood-collection position indicator
Analytical element and method for the determination of an analyte in a liquid
Sample collection device
The Provost Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin
Flexible tissue injection catheter with controlled depth penetration
Biomet Manufacturing LLC
ZB Manufacturing LLC
Method for automated exception-based quality control compliance for point-of-care devices
Therasense Incorporated
Corrosion resistant powder and coating
Praxair S.T. Technology Inc.
Methods and apparatus for sampling and analyzing body fluid
Triboelectric device
Etat Francais Represented By The Delegue General Pour LArmement
Remote psychological diagnosis and monitoring system
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Handheld personal data assistant (PDA) with a medical device and method of using the same
MINIMED INC.
Thin lance and test sensor having same
Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG
Optically readable strip for analyte detection having on-strip orientation index
Apparatus and method for incising
Agilent Technologies Incorporated
Systems and methods for displaying and recording control interface with television programs, video, advertising information and program scheduling information
Rovi Guides Inc.
Gemstar Development Corporation
Remote health monitoring and maintenance system
Diagnostic test strip having on-strip calibration
Technique for measuring a blood analyte by non-invasive spectrometry in living tissue
Chemtrix Inc.
Surgical irrigation system incorporating flow sensor device
Gyrus Acmi
Apparatus for sampling body fluid
AMIRA MEDICAL
Measuring instrument for analysis of blood constituents
D418602S
Abbott Laboratories Incorporated
Prescription compliance device and method of using device
Bareholdtech LLC
Ronald D. Sekura, Carol M. Sekura
Device for the detection of analyte and administration of a therapeutic substance
Method and apparatus for calibrating a sensor element
Dead length collect chuck assembly
William G. Murphy
Storage system for test elements
Integrated nucleic acid diagnostic device
Affymetrix Inc.
IC-processed microneedles
Liwei Lin, Albert P. Pisano
Universally accessible healthcare devices with on the fly generation of HTML files
Immunological assay conducted in a microlaboratory array
Sarnoff Corporation
Blood collection and testing device
TRUST UNDER WILL OF KENNETH BEROL FOR BENEFIT OF JOHN BEROL TRUST UNDER WILL OF KENNETH BEROL FOR BENEFIT OF DAVID BEROL BEROL FAMILY TRUST FOR BENEFIT OF MARGARET BEATTIE CO A. ALEXANDER ARNOLD III AS TRUSTEE TRAINER WORTHAM COMPANY INC., Susan L. Walker, Sheldon R. Miller, Paul Finnegan, Arnold A. Alexander III, Dljsc As Custodian FBO Roger E Lumpp IRA, BRIDGE INVESTMENT CORPORATION
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VIVASCAN CORPORATION
Medical diagnostic system
Judson M. Dayton, Arthur R. Kudd
CASCADE MEDICAL INC.
Liquid control system for diagnostic cartridges used in analytical instruments
CIBA Vision Corporation
Electromagnetic method and apparatus to measure constituents of human or animal tissue
VIVASCAN CORPORATION A CORPORATION OF DE
Medicating device for nails and adjacent tissue
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Method and apparatus for a fluid infusion system with linearized flow rate change
Smiths Medical MD Incorporated
Pharmacia Deltec Inc.
Minimum procedure system for the determination of analytes
One-way measuring element
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Table lift mechanism
Weber Knapp Company
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John E. Schulze
Integrated drug dosage form and metering system
Biotrack Inc.
Glucose medical monitoring system
GARID INC.
MICROSURGICAL EQUIPMENT LIMITED A CORP OF UNITED KINGDOM
Apparatus for the practice of double exposure interferometric non-destructive testing
Ralph M. Grant
INDUSTRIAL HOLOGRAPHICS INC. A CORP. OF MICH.
Diagnostic method and sensor device for detecting lesions in body tissues
Licencia Talalmanyokat Ertekesito Es Innovacios Kulkereskedelmi Vallat
Radelkis Elektrokemiai Muszergyarto Szovetkezet
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SWEPT FREQUENCY-MODULATED AUDIO SIGNAL PATTERNS FOR INDUCING SLEEP
Karen V. Lafley
Charles W. Kinsley
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING HEMOSTATIC PROPERTIES OF PLATELETS
Medical Research Institute
Mielke Clarence Harold Jr.
View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
2. The secondary purpose of the devices, software, and configuration of claim 1, which is extended by a variety of devices and software to be described below, is to convert, format, store, and subsequently transmit acquired data from external analog and digital sensor devices.
3. The acquired data referred to in claim 2 is human physiological/biomedical sensor data.
4. The acquired data referred to in claim 2 is nonhuman physiological/biomedical sensor data.
5. The acquired data referred to in claim 2 is physical sensor data.
6. The acquired data referred to in claim 2 is geophysical sensor data.
7. The acquired data referred to in claim 2 is adapted upon acquisition by specialized external devices and software designed to accommodate conversion from external sources to a format suitable for subsequent storage and transmission processes.
8. The data referred to in claim 7 is transmitted using a Set Top Box or Personal Computer that mates with the device of claim 2.
9. The data referred to in claim 7 is submitted via Cable Television, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services.
10. The data referred to in claim 7 is encrypted to prevent revelation to unauthorized interceptors.
11. The key for encryption of the data referred to in claim 10 is supplied by each individual Remote External Analysis Service of claim 12.
12. The key referred to in claim 11 is derived by a cryptographic process that positively and uniquely identifies the device referred to in claim 2.
13. The data referred to in claim 7 is submitted to Remote External Analysis Services that specialize in computationally intensive data processing to obtain specialized indications from the data.
14. Subsequent retransmission of the data or indications referred to in claim 13 is via the Internet.
15. The data indications in claim 13 are used to prescribe:
(a) medications;
(b) procedures;
(c) processes;
(d) subsequent tests and software to be loaded into the device of claim 2;
(e) diagnostic and analytical conclusions to be provided to other cognizant individuals and organizations.
System and network that leverages the popularity and functionality of mobile content playback devices for the purpose of capturing real-time data points for immediate or future analysis and potential intervention.
In the past, significantly large groups of people have had the need to capture data points in real-time for the purpose of analyzing such data for potential risks or threats. For example, a patient who has recently experienced the failure of a vital organ may need to continuously collect and analyze vital statistics in order to be assured that he or she is not in any imminent danger. The problem has been the prohibitive cost of such a system. If a company were to architect and manufacture a device that would provide them with information about their own vital statistics, it would most likely be unmarketable as it would be too expensive for the intended population.
From time to time, technologies are introduced to the market that are not intended to solve health problems, however, they provide effective building blocks that can be adapted and modified to ultimately assist people in maintaining their health. When these technologies reach a critical mass in the market place, they can then be used as a platform to introduce new and important solutions by allowing a leveraging or “piggy-back” effect based on the success of the original product.
The intention of this patent application is to teach a method and a utility for leveraging the use of a consumer'"'"'s iPod™ device manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc.™ (or other similar devices) in order to capture data points in real-time for the purposes of analyzing such data and effectively reporting the results back to the consumer.
OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTION
In the preferred embodiment, a patient with a health risk may wish to use his or her Apple iPod™ device to collect vital statistics during the course of an hour, day, week, month, or year. The memory capacity within the iPod™ can be used to hold the data points as they are being collected. At an appropriate time, the patient can then plug the iPod© into a data analysis facility so the data points can be effectively analyzed and the appropriate recommendations can be sent back to the patient. Such analysis can be performed by plugging the iPod™ into another consumer electronics (CE) device such as a PC or a common television set-top-box. With an appropriate harness or cradle, the data points from the iPod™ can be transmitted to a more powerful CE device that has network connectivity. Once these data have been effectively analyzed, the patient can receive instructions regarding how best to proceed on the path to improved health. Examples of instructions can be (but are not limited to) the following:
Text Messages on a mobile device
Printouts on a printer (wireless or fixed line)
Messages on a TV screen
Messages on the iPod™ itself
Other information platforms
The important thing to note is the way that a number of popular consumer oriented devices can be leveraged in order to create a low-cost solution for monitoring and reporting data points.
Note: For the purposes of this patent application, the iPod™ will now be referred to simply as a “Pod”.
GENERAL (SIMPLIFIED) SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
The current state-of-the-art pods that exist today for either music, or video, or both are typically designed with connectors both on the top of the unit and at the bottom of the unit, or either or both sides. In the preferred embodiment, either a clam-shell style adapter would wrap itself around the Pod in such a way as to connect to both the top connectors and the bottom connectors simultaneously, or adapters could be stacked atop the pod in a tower fashion. In addition, this clam shell or tower adapter houses the extra logic, sensors, and software that capture the desired data elements. As these data elements are being captured, the adapters feed data to the Pod with instructions regarding “where” and “how” to store these data elements. Given the vast amount of memory available to a current-day Pod, large amounts of data can be stored with little concern about “running out of on-board system resources”.
A companion harness or cradle (from now on referred to as the cradle) can then be used to hold the Pod while it gains access to the stored data elements and then transfers them securely to a network for analyses and reporting purposes. For example, the data can be analyzed by a physician connected to the network or by a device connected to the network.
One embodiment of the system is depicted below:
Sensors→Pod→Cradle→CE device→Network→Reporting Mechanism
THE MAJOR BENEFITS OF A POD DEVICE
The best things about leveraging a Pod device for the purposes mentioned above are:
It'"'"'s built to be low-cost
It is a ubiquitous product
It has the necessary storage, processing, and communications capability
It can receive information from data-collection devices
It can store large amounts of data easily and efficiently
It has numerous other advantages as well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 2 presents a high-level view of the system. The component parts are as follows: The Pod (1) refers to any portable player device such as the Apple iPod™ or similar device. Such a Pod (1) does not necessarily need to be a “music-only” device. Such a device can be dedicated to the following:
Other data elements (digitized analog, digital, or both).
Additionally, such a Pod can be manufactured or distributed by virtually any company as long as the device has either achieved a minimal level of success, or such a device has the potential to achieve a minimal level of success and supports essentially the same functional capabilities of the iPod™: digital input/output, data storage, internal battery, text/video screen, user interface controls.
The Sensor Adapter (2) is the module that interfaces to sensing devices that capture the empirical data in real-time.
The Data Acquisition/Adaptation Module (3) collects the empirical data received by the Sensor Adapter (2) and prepares the data in such a way that it can be communicated to the Pod for storage and subsequent external transmittal. Additionally, an Event Input (9) is used to indicate that a significant event has occurred that should be noted in the data or that signals a trigger event to the set-top-box via a short range radio frequency signal.
The Communications Adapter (4) is the input/output device that links the Pod (1) to the outside world. The primary function for this Communications Adapter (4) is to send the data elements that were captured by the Sensor Adapter (2) and prepared by the Data Acquisition/Adaptation Module (3) then subsequently stored on the Pod (1) to the Network (7) in order for the consumer to eventually receive his or her Analysis Reports (8). It is important to note that the Communications Adapter (4) is a two-way device.
Although its primary function is to send data elements to the outside world, it can also receive data for a number of purposes such as:
Updating the software in the Pod (1)
Updating the software in the Sensor Adapter (2)
Updating the software in the Data Acquisition/Adaptation Adapter (3)
Presenting information on the Pod'"'"'s screen
Sending instructions or requests to any of the elements mentioned above.
In one embodiment the Cradle (5) is not a part of the Pod (1). The Cradle (5) is an extension of a popular CE Device (6) such as a PC or a set-top-box. This Cradle (5) facilitates the coupling of the Pod (1) to the CE Device (6). Once the Pod (1) is connected to the Cradle (5) by way of the Communications Adapter (4), then the flow of information from the Pod to the CE Device (6) (and vice-versa), can take place.
The CE Device (6) is the component that has the extra system resources required to take the data points received from the Pod (1) and send them through the appropriate network for analyses. Although the primary purpose for the CE Device (6) is to appropriately package the data elements and send them to the intended location, the CE Device (6) can additionally conduct its own analyses and processing for the purpose of alerting (or otherwise notifying) the consumer of certain states or conditions that might exist. For example this can be accomplished by loading software onto the CE Device which accomplishes these tasks using the resources of the CE Device.
The Network (7) is either a public or private network that can facilitate the flow of information from the Pod (1) to the appropriate Analysis and Reporting Service (8). It is obvious that the flow of data must be two-way as the Analysis and Reporting Service (8) may have information that needs to be communicated to both the CE Device (6) and the Pod (1).
The Analysis and Reporting Service (8) is the entity responsible to collect the empirical data received from multiple Pods (1), format the data as required, perform the necessary analyses, and then report the findings in an expeditious manner back to the intended consumers. In one embodiment the functions of the analysis and reporting service are accomplished by the CE Device itself.
In the end, the Analysis and Reporting Service (8) will be responsible to prepare and send its findings to consumers in ways that are secure, expeditious, user-friendly, helpful, and informative.
It is of the utmost importance that this entire system be secure. These data elements collected from a consumer are considered confidential information and cannot be shared with anyone else without the express consent from the consumer. Therefore, well-known security technologies such as SSL, AES-128 Encryption, Public Key Infrastructure, X.509 standards and protocols, RSA technologies and others can be used to verify the identity of the consumer and make sure the appropriate reports are sent back to the same consumer without any form of potential piracy or compromise.
The examples used above revolve around health-related risks. Alternatively, it is possible to collect information for other disciplines as well. For example, a consumer may be concerned about biological hazards that he or she may be exposed to. Using such an example, the consumer is not worried so much about his or her own vital statistics. Instead, the consumer is more concerned about the immediate environment. In this case, the system still works using the same basic principals. The data is collected by a Pod (1), the data is the organized appropriately and then sent on for analyses. The results of the analyses are then reported back to the consumer in a timely, efficient, and ultimately helpful manner.
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH (Sanofi S.A.)
Freeman, Dominique M.
A61B 2560/0443 : Modular apparatus
A61B 5/00 : Detecting, measuring or rec...
A61B 5/6887 : mounted on external non-wor...
G06F 1/1632 : External expansion units, e...
G06F 19/3418 : Telemedicine, e.g. remote d...
G06Q 50/22 : Social work
G06Q 50/24 : Patient record management p...
G16H 40/63 : for local operation
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NewsHome » News » Cambridge University Press School Grant Events
Cambridge University Press School Grant Events
Four schools in Victoria received a Cambridge University Press Grant to support their National Science Week events in 2019. The objectives of these grants were to encourage schools to showcase science and to inspire wide community participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Victorian Coordinating Committee thanks all grant recipients for their Science Week enthusiasm, and Cambridge University Press for their generous assistance to ensure that more students gain valuable science knowledge through fun and engaging Science Week activities.
Alice Miller School (Macedon)
Located in the Macedon Ranges and surrounded by woodland, the Alice Miller School is home to two farm dams that are teeming with different forms of life. Prior to National Science Week, biology students at the school began to survey local frog populations around these dams and realised that soil erosion was affecting these populations. Especially with so little vegetation remaining at the immediate perimeter of the water, the dam was falling prey to damaging erosion. To ensure that the dams continue to play home to a wide variety of organisms, sections of the dams required revegetation to prevent erosion of the banks.
The students mapped sites around the dams to be revegetated for maximum soil and species protection. Following consultation with their local council, the school used their Cambridge University Press grant to buy native plants (e.g. shrubs) from local nurseries, which the students then planted during National Science Week. They spent a day planting over one-third of their planned site and are continuing to plant in the remaining area over the course of the year.
Still closely monitoring local fauna, the students also set up tiles around the dams which they are using to keep track of populations. As they continue to plant species that are indigenous to the area, we hope that they see a bounce back of once struggling native animal populations due to their efforts.
Collingwood College
Collingwood College held a Family Science Night, which aimed to include the wider community in science. The students invited their family members to come along to the school to help explore the maths and science of space travel. They also designed parachutes to save dropping water bombs from exploding and rockets to fly into space. Everyone worked together to not only design and build their rocket models, but also planned their rocket trajectories to explore space. To include as many people as possible, the event catered for a range of nearly thirty different language and cultural backgrounds. It was a night of hands-on learning for everyone!
Mentone Girls’ Grammar
In the light of the significant under-representation of women across the STEM disciplines, Mentone Girls’ Grammar School held their annual Women in Science Breakfast event during National Science Week. Participation in key Year 12 STEM subjects shows a clear gender imbalance in Australia: three males undertake physics to every female, and nearly two males study advanced mathematics to every female, while this ratio is flipped for biology. This gender imbalance in secondary school leads to an even greater disparity at university and in the workforce, with only 16% of university and VET STEM graduates being female.
One of the barriers for young women studying STEM-related subjects is low visibility of role models, and Mentone Girl’s Grammar aims to break down these barriers. The school invited their students to join young females from Victorian girls’ schools and hear from a number of champions in STEM. At the event, the students discussed their potential study pathways and career opportunities with female mentors. They also heard from Dr Gail Iles, physics lecturer and former astronaut trainer. Iles is an inspirational role model, especially for girls looking to pursue physics, astronomy, or to become an astronaut. Overall, the event focused on inspiring our next generation of young women to become scientists, engineers, mathematicians, doctors, etc. and achieve anything they set their hearts to.
Source of statistics: https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OCS_Women_in_STEM_datasheet.pdf
Rochester Secondary College
Year 10 science students at Rochester Secondary College hosted Grade 6 students during their Science Immersion Week. Grade 6 students from Rochester Primary School, Nannella Estate Primary School, Lockington Consolidated, St. Joseph’s Primary School, and Our Lady of Sacred Heart Elmore came to visit the school’s new science wing.
The Year 10 students prepared and facilitated workshops and activities to teach complex STEM concepts to the primary school students around theme Destination Moon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. Together, the students explored how light travels through space, and the concepts of force and motion on the Moon.
The school also designed a foyer display to celebrate all things Moon and Space. The display was complete with short video clips being shown on the TV featuring the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon.
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Shaw Holiday Traditions Continue with Small Business Saturday and Pop-Up Bars
Published: December 11th, 2017
Accompanying images can be viewed on page 1 of the December 2017 issue pdf
By Alexander M. Padro*
The beginning of this year’s holiday season saw yet another celebration of northwest DC’s Shaw neighborhood retail renaissance as more than a dozen ribbons were cut for new businesses and public art installations, along with the return of a popular holiday pop-up bar and the debut of a new one.
Shaw Main Streets’ annual celebration of Small Business Saturday, the annual event founded by American Express to encourage shoppers to spend their holiday dollars locally with local, mom-and-pop establishments, once again featured a multiple ribbon cutting event headlined by the city’s political leaders. This was the year’s second such event, following 25 ribbons cut for new businesses and public art projects on July 27, 2017.
On Saturday, November 25th, in front of the new Seylou Bakey and Mill at 926 N Street, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, At-large Councilmembers Elissa Silverman and Robert White, and Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (and infant daughter Zoe, at her first-ever ribbon cutting) joined ANC Commissioners, community residents, photographers and reporters for the kickoff of Shaw Business Saturday, the neighborhood’s rebranding of the eight-year-old national Shop Small celebration.
While waiting for the ceremony to start, Shaw Main Streets Board Chair Gretchen Wharton, a lifelong Shaw resident, shared how, when growing up on the 500 block of S Street near the Wonder Bread Factory, she never had to use an alarm clock because she would be awakened every morning by the smell of freshly baked bread. Other guests noted how excited they were to finally be able to buy fresh baked bread in the neighborhood, as a bread bakery had long been a sought-after new business.
After opening remarks by the council members, the owners of Seylou — Jonathan Bethony and Jessica Azeez — joined the officials in cutting the wide red ribbon with “Grand Opening” printed in white to signify that the bakery was open for business and that the flurry of ribbon cuttings had begun.
After tearing a ceremonial loaf of bread and taking a tour of the city’s first full grain bakery, which features a stone mill for grinding grain into flour and a large brick oven custom-built by master craftsmen brought in from Spain, the ribbon cutting delegation moved on to Calico, a new restaurant at 50 Blagden Alley by the owners of Tiger Fork and Tail Up Goat, for the second ribbon cutting.
1230 Restaurant, chef/owner Malik Fall’s new champagne-centric establishment at 1230 9th Street, was next, followed by Central Michel Richard’s chef David Deshaies’ Unconventional Diner at 1207 9th Street — the latest new business to open in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center’s retail frontage. The ribbon cutting contingent then boarded a black limo van, dubbed the Ribbon Cutting Express, bound for Supra at 1205 11th Street, one of the nation’s only restaurants serving the cuisine of the Republic of Georgia.
The group was then dropped off at the legendary Lee’s Flower and Card Shop at 1026 U Street where a new Murals DC wall painting by artist Kaliq Crosby celebrating the Lee family’s 70-plus-year retail legacy had the first of two ribbons cut for it. (Mayor Muriel E. Bowser stopped at Lee’s to dedicate the mural as part of her Small Business Saturday rounds that afternoon.)
The seventh ribbon was cut for the new 1942 club on the second floor of Etete Restaurant at 1942 9th Street. On the same block, the snipped ribbon for FB Liquors at No. 1905 was followed by a champagne toast inside the store.
“Jazz Legends of Washington, DC,” another new Murals DC art installation on the alley side of Right Proper Brewing Company at 624 T Street had its ribbon cut by artist Rose Jaffe and brewpub owners Leah and Thor Cheston and younger family members, including their new baby daughter. On the east side of Ellington Plaza, ribbons were cut for the new rooftop El Techo at Rito Loco at 606 Florida Avenue and basement speakeasy 600 T next door at 600 T Street.
[Editor’s note: The Murals DC art installation program mentioned above was the subject of an InTowner lead story a year ago headlined “More Murals Replacing Graffiti-Defaced Neighborhood Walls.”]
The announcement that the new Angel’s Share Wine and Liquors, a spacious and well-lit shop at 1748 7th Street with appropriately wine-colored concrete flooring in the building best known for its Marvin Gaye mural by Aniekan Udofia would be sponsoring an annual scholarship for a Shaw student was met with grateful applause as another ribbon was cut there.
The newly renovated and re-opened Queen of Sheba Restaurant, under new ownership, at 1503 9th Street and MVP Sports Bar at 1015 7th Street were the 13th and 14th (final), respectively, ribbon cuttings of the day.
Dozens of Shaw businesses celebrated Shaw’s Small Business Saturday, giving away blue-printed canvas Shop Small bags, Shop Small pins, and offering special deals. For the first time, Shaw Main Streets distributed Shaw Bucks — $5 coupons resembling currency but with neighborhood namesake Colonel Robert Gould Shaw’s image instead of Abraham Lincoln. Nearly 30 businesses were accepting Shaw Bucks at face value when making purchases that day. Free black T-shirts emblazoned with pink lips and the hashtag #loveshaw, as well as buttons, magnets, and recyclable shopping bags with the same branding, were distributed free of charge by Shaw Main Streets to all comers.
The previous day, Miracle on Seventh Street, the Drink Company’s popular holiday pop-up bar, opened for the third year at 1839 7th Street. This year’s incarnation of the elaborately decorated tribute to holiday imbibing included Candy Land, inspired by the board game of the same name and featuring a giant gingerbread man and candy canes, a “Mrs. Claus”-hatted Beyoncé mural suitable for Instagram selfies, and the “Chinese and a Movie” room, celebrating the popular Jewish tradition of dining out at a Chinese restaurant and taking in a movie on Christmas Day, complete with a large menorah candelabra, movie
posters, and lots of takeout menus and containers. Three bars offer Christmas and Hanukkah-themed drinks bearing names like Whobilation, Brew Dolph the Rein Beer, and Maccabeats by Dreidel, all served in specialty glassware. Miracle is open daily until New Year’s Eve, but is closed Christmas Day.
And the Christmas Bar has been joined by a Hanukkah Bar this year: Ivy and Coney, the Midwest sports/dive bar at 1537 7th Street, has been transformed into Chai-vy and Cohen-y. The bar will be serving Manischewitz kosher wines on tap, slivovitz plum brandy, He’Brew beers like Chanukah Golden Ale and Messiah Nut Brown, matzoh ball soup and latke potato pancakes with apple sauce or sour cream. Eight guests at a time will be able to drink from the 11-foot-long golden ShotNorah. Nightly events between December 12th and 20th, the eight days of the actual Hanukkah holiday, will include the requisite candle-lighting ceremonies and gift giveaways featuring socks and gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins. A highlight will be the dreidel top spinning competition on December 19th. The Hanukkah pop-up will be open every day through New Year’s Eve, except December 25th.
Many Shaw restaurants and bars will feature New Year’s Eve events. For a list, visit www.shawmainstreets.org.
Happy Shawlidays!
*The writer, a longtime resident of the Shaw neighborhood, has been a Shaw ANC Commissioner since 2001 and executive director of Shaw Main Streets since 2004.
Copyright © 2017 InTowner Publishing Corp. & Shaw Main Streets, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Heamatology@jacobspublishers.us
Jacobs Journal of Hematology
The Effect of Storage on Various Haematological and Biochemical Parameters of NHSBT Donor Blood
*Peter Ella-Tongwiis
Department Of Biological Sciences, University Of Chester, United Kingdom
Peter Ella-Tongwiis
Email:p.ellatongwiis@chester.ac.uk
Background: Recent studies have reported that blood stored for longer periods (>14days) are associated with the development of post-transfusion complications. Most changes taking place in stored blood are biochemical, biomechanical and haematological and are known as storage lesion. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of storage on the various haematological and biochemical parameters of National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), whole donor blood.
Methods: 5 units of whole blood suspended in SAGM additive solution was acquired from the NHSBT, United Kingdom (UK). Units were stored at standard blood bank conditions (2-6oC) and analysed on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Full blood count was performed using Coulter® MicoDiff18 (Beckman Coulter, UK) analyser. Other biological parameters including Prothrombin time (PT), von willibrand factor (vWF), Potassium (K+), Sodium (Na), glucose, ferritin, pH and lactate were measured via various methods, such as the Randox RX Monza biochemistry analyser and ELISA. Results: Our study demonstrates that noticeable changes occur during storage of donor blood. Specifically, red cell membrane damage was observed by increased accumulation of plasma haemoglobin (Hb) (p=0.014) and increases in K+ (p=0.001) and Na+ (p-0.070), whilst glucose (p=0.001) levels decreased at day 28 storage. Significantly higher lactate levels (p=0.002) resulted in a fall in pH especially after day 21. With regards to blood coagulation, PT levels significantly increased during storage, indicating a reduced clotting ability (p=0.001).
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that changes to several haematological and biochemical parameters occur during the storage of blood, and subsequently may cause untoward risks to patients. These parameters, however, need further work employing a larger study to validate reliability in a clinical setting.
Biochemical Parameters; NHSBT; Hematology; Haemolysis; Blood transfusion
Globally, almost 105 million blood donations are made annually , while according to the National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), about 2.1 million blood donations are taken every year in the United Kingdom. In the United States, somebody requires blood transfusion every two seconds. Recent findings from both in vitro and in vivo studies, have raised some concerns about the safety of the transfusion process. Blood stored for more than 30 days was associated with increased death rate in the elderly, severely sick and cardiac surgery patients, have demonstrated an association between duration of storage and high risk of pneumonia in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Recently, Mukherjee et al. [5] proved that stored whole blood less than seven days can be considered as fresh. The observed in vivo negative impacts of “old blood” transfusion have been linked with various biochemical, biomechanical and haematological changes occurring during storage, collectively known as “storage lesion” [6,7]. Most red cell indices are altered during storage mostly due to mechanical changes to the cell membrane. Chaudhary [8], have demonstrated that an increased plasma haemoglobin (Hb) was caused by a higher rate of haemolysis during storage (p<0.001). This increased rate of haemolysis however did not decrease the total RBC count [9]. Jobes et al. [10] reported significant reductions in glucose and ATP levels in blood stored in CPDA-1 over 35 days, with lowest levels being recorded in the last week of storage (28-35 days). Recently, Saunders, Rowe, Wilkins, & Collins [11], have also reported a significant association between glucose/ATP depletion and platelet dysfunction. Prothrombin time (PT) is a clotting profile used in conjunction with other factors to estimate extrinsic pathway of coagulation. During storage, significant changes in various clotting factors including prothrombin time have been reported [12]. von Willibrand Factor (vWF) is a large protein molecule about 20,000kD in size, typically made up of around 200kD monomers and is produced by platelets, endothelial cells and megakaryocytes. Weiss et al. [13] observed an increase in vWF levels (2% per day) during storage of blood. Changes in vWF levels have also been associated with risks of bleeding and thrombotic complications [14]. The effect of blood storage on coagulation has primarily been studied in patients. Patients, especially children, who receive frequent transfusions, have been associated with increased bleeding tendencies and complications during surgery [15]. In a recent study, no significant difference was observed in the pulmonary function or coagulation status of patients who received fresh or old blood [16].
The sodium/potassium pump (Na-K-ATPase) maintains the electrolyte balance between the red cell membrane and the surrounding plasma. It achieves this by pumping out sodium (Na) generated within the cell while keeping potassium (K) in the cell [17]. A progressive decline in sodium and a rise in potassium levels have been reported in donor blood throughout storage duration in a study by Jobes et al [10]. The association between pH and lactate levels have previously been reported by Uvizl, Klementa, Adamus & Neiser [18]. They observed high lactate concentrations and low pH levels in patients who were transfused old blood. This is in agreement with findings by Jobes et al. [10] who reported similar trends. With millions of stored donor blood being used across the globe on a daily basis, the overall safety of stored blood and blood transfusion should be vigorously examined. In that light, storage lesion and the complications associated with old blood should be properly understood. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of storage on various biochemical and haematological parameters of NHSBT donor blood. It is anticipated that any significant changes to the parameters investigated, may provide valuable information, where current NHSBT guidelines for the storage and clinical uses of blood components may need revising and updating.
Approval for this study was granted by the research ethics committee of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University of Chester (ref. no. 765/13/PE/BS). All laboratory estimations and analyses were undertaken at the Thomas building within the University of Chester and conformed to the rules and conditions set out by the research ethics committee.
Nhsbt Donor Blood
Whole Donor blood (n=5) was acquired from the National Health Service Blood and transplant (NHSBT) at Speke, Liverpool UK. All units were whole blood collected in SAGM additive solution and were “fresh” since they were less than 7 days old [5]. Units were stored at 2-60C. Day of arrival was recorded as baseline (day 1 of storage).
On days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 all five units were individually mixed by gently rotating the donor blood bag. Haemolysis was prevented by avoiding vigorous shaking. Samples were then drawn from the units into 7ml tubes prior to further laboratory testing.
Full Blood Counts (FBC) were performed at days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 using a Coulter® MicoDiff18 (Beckman Coulter, U.K.) analyser. RBC, WBC and platelet parameters were assessed using the fully automated system.
Prothrombin Time, Sodium, Potassium And Lactate Estimation
Prothrombin time, sodium, potassium and lactate were measured at days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 using the Randox RX Monza semi-automated chemistry analyser (Randox laboratories), which employed an enzymatic colorimetric test. Following manufacturers recommendations, potassium was always assayed before sodium to avoid interference.
Measurement of von Willebrand Factor (Vwf)
Plasma vWF concentration was measured as described previously by a sandwich ELISA technique using rabbit anti-human vWF and rabbit anti-human vWF peroxidase conjugate (Dako, UK), [19,20].
pH Estimation And Glucose Estimation
pH measurements were taken using a pocket-sized pH meter (pHep®) on each sampling day. Glucose was also measured using a blood glucose meter, aviva nano (ACCU-CHEK®), with a system measurement requirement range of 0.6-33.3 mmol/L.
The miniVIDAS automated analyser (BioMerieux), was used to estimate ferritin throughout the study. The analyser employes a one-step enzyme immunoassay sandwich ELISA with a final fluorescent detection.
Figure1(A-D). The Effect of Storage on Various Red Cell Indices of NHSBT Whole Blood Donor Samples. (A) Hb, p= 0.014, Friedman; (B) MCV, p< 0.001, ANOVA; (C) RBC, p=0.526, Friedman; (D) HCT, p< 0.001, ANOVA ( = P< 0.05 compared to baseline), (n=5).
Statistics Analysis
Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 21). All results were presented as mean (± standard error (SEM)) or median (± interquartile (Iqr). Where data were normally distributed, repeated measures one way-anova analysis of variance (ANOVA) between samples test was employed. Post hoc testing was undertaken employing the tukey test for pairwise comparison of the means. Friedman test was used to analyse data that were not normally distributed. Significant statistical differences from the Friedman test were further analysed using the Wilcoxon test. p≤0.05 was accepted as statistical significance.
Effect of Storage on Haematological Parameters
During the 28-day storage, significant changes were observed in red blood cell indices (Figures 1A-D). There was a significant change in Hb following 28 days of storage (p = 0.014, as determined by Friedman test), (Figure 1A). There were significant changes in mean cell volume (MCV) during the storage period (p < 0.001, ANOVA) (figure 1B). Specifically, significant increases between day 1 storage versus days 7, 14, 21 and 28 (p< 0.05) were reported (Figure 1B). Similarly, the haematocrit (Hct), an indicator of plasma cell volume, demonstrated significant increases during storage (p < 0.001, Friedman) (Figure 1D).
Compared with day 1 storage, significant increases were observed versus days 7 (p= 0.028), 14 (p = 0.04), 21 (p = 0.008) and 28 (p= 0.030) (figure 1D). However, no significant changes were reported for red blood cell (RBC) levels during storage (p = 0.526, Friedman) (figure 1C). Total white cell count (WBC) count significantly decreased from day 1 to day 28 (p = 0.026). Specifically, significant variations between day 1 and day 21 (p = 0.042) and day 28 (p = 0.041) were observed (figure 2A).
Figure 2. The Effect Of Storage On Total WBC And Platelet Counts Of NHSBT Whole Blood Donor Samples. (A) WBC count (p= 0.026 as determined by Friedman test). (B) Platelet count (p= 0.040 as determined by ANOVA) ( , p<0.05 compared to baseline), (n=5).
With respect to platelet concentration (Figure 2b), a significant decrease was observed during storage (p= 0.040 as determined by ANOVA). Specifically, platelet concentration decreased at day 7 (146.8 ± 28.10) and day 21 (157.8 ± 40.68). Upon further statistical testing using pairwise comparisons, a significant decrease was observed at day 7 storage versus baseline values (p= 0.048).
Prothrombin time
There was a significant increase in prothrombin time (p = 0.001, Friedman test) during storage.Further analysis employing the Wilcoxon test demonstrated significant differences between day 1 storage versus days 7, 14, 21 and day 28 (p<0.005 as indicated in Figure 3).
Figure 3. The Effect of Storage of NHSBT Whole Donor Blood on Prothrombin Time (PT). p = 0.001 as determined by Friedman test, ( * p< 0.05 compared to baseline), (n=5).
von Willebrand Factor (vWF)
vWF is a large protein, acting as a carrier for factor VIII during haemostasis. No significant changes were observed in vWF levels following 28 days storage (P= 0.062, as determined by ANOVA) (Figure 4).
Figure 4. The Effect of Storage of NHSBT Whole Donor Blood on Vwf. p= 0.062 as determined by ANOVA test, n=5.
Figure 5A-B. The Effect of Storage of NHSBT Whole Donor Blood on Potassium and Sodium Concentration. p = 0.001 for potassium, using the Friedman test and p = 0.070 for sodium using ANOVA, (* p< 0.05 compared to baseline), (n=5).
Effect of Storage on Biochemical Parameters
Potassium and sodium
Results from this study showed an increase in K+ during storage (p = 0.001, determined by Friedman test) (Figure 5A). Upon further analysis, the Wilcoxon test demonstrated significant increases between day 1 and day 7 (p = 0.043), day 14 (p = 0.043), day 21 (p = 0.043) and day 28 (p = 0.043) (figure 5A). Although increasing sodium concentrations were observed up to day 21, these changes were statistically not significant (p = 0.070 as determined by ANOVA) (Figure 5B).
Glucose is the main energy source of stored RBCs, the depletion of which increases the rate of haemolysis and lowers cell survivability. Evaluation of plasma glucose levels showed significant depletions starting from day 1 (p = 0.001, ANOVA) (figure 6A). Upon further analysis significant decreases were observed between storage day 1 (baseline) versus day 7 (p = 0.001), day 14 p = 0.006), day 21 (p = 0.001) and day 28 (p = 0.005), (figure 6A).
pH, lactate and ferritin
pH levels in blood showed significant reductions during storage (p = 0.001, ANOVA) (Figure 6B). Upon further testing, significant changes were observed between day 1 storage versus day 7 (p = 0.004), day 14 (p = 0.004), day 21 (p = 0.015) and day 28 (p = 0.002) (figure 6B). Evidently, there was a shift in pH from physiologically neutral to acidic. Analysis of lactate results demonstrated a significant accumulation of lactate in the blood bag (p = 0.002, determined by Friedman test) (figure 6C). Further pairwise analyses using the Wilcoxon test showed significant increases from on day 7 (p = 0.043), 14 (p = 0.043), 21 (p = 0.043) and 28 (p = 0.043) (figure 6C), suggesting a rise in H- ions with the potential of reducing pH. Ferritin, a primary form of iron storage, is essential in regulating the amount of iron in circulation. With regards to ferritin levels in stored red cells,
Figure 6A-B. The Effect of Storage on the Concentrations of Various Biochemical Parameters of NHSBT Whole Blood Donor Samples. (A) Glucose levels (p= 0.001 as determined by ANOVA). (B) pH (p= 0.001 as determined by ANOVA) (C) Lactate concentrations (p= 0.002, determined by Friedman) (D) ferritin concentrations (p= 0.009, determined by Friedman), (* p< 0.05 compared to baseline), (n=5).
The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of storage on various haematological and biochemical parameters of NHSBT whole donor blood. Recent studies have reported that blood stored for longer periods (>14days) are associated with the development of post-transfusion complications. This has re-ignited the debate about the potentially harmful changes occurring in stored blood. It has also highlighted the need to further study storage and processing guidelines, with the hope of making blood transfusions safer and reliable. Results from this study show evidence of many potentially harmful changes that occur in blood during storage. There was a significant decrease in glucose and pH while K, lactate, PT, ferritin and some red cell indices show a significant trend of increasing concentrations. Most of these changes are among a group of biochemical, biomechanical and haematological changes taking place in stored blood known as storage lesion.
Changes to Hb concentrations during the present study agree with a study by Chaudhary & Katharia [8], who reported significantly increased plasma Hb caused by a higher haemolysis rate. The increased Hb levels observed in this study correspond with falls in glucose and pH, which may be the reason for the high haemolysis rate. High levels of free heme have been associated with inducing post-transfusion complications, especially with high dependency and immunocompromised there was a significant change in concentration during storage (p= 0.009, determined by Friedman). Compared to basal values, subsequent pairwise examination with the Wilcoxon test demonstrated significant increases on days 7 (p= 0.043), 14 (p= 0.043) and a slight fall on day 21 (20.26 ± 13.24) albeit not significantly. Values then significantly increased on day 28 (p= 0.043).
patients [21]. Transfusion of blood with high levels of Hb especially those stored between 7 and 21 days could increase the patient’s risk of developing hyperhaemoglobinaemia [21]. Insignificant changes were observed following 28 days storage in RBC counts during this study. However, the patterns reported in this study were similar to observations by Sawant et al. [22] and Urbina & Palomino, [9] who reported slight increases in RBC count in various storage conditions. The effect of storage on platelet structure and function has previously been reported by Saunders et al [11], where they demonstrated a relationship between glucose/ATP depletion and decreased platelet number and dysfunction. Our study supports findings from Saunders et al [11], although we did not specifically investigate platelet function during the storage period.
Decreasing WBC counts observed during the present study, are in agreement with findings by Jobes et al. [10], who investigated the characterization of coagulation properties in refrigerated whole blood for transfusion in an in-vitro study. Glucose is the main energy source of stored blood, and is responsible for maintaining cell viability. Glucose depletion in stored blood, arises mostly due to a shutdown of the glycolytic pathway [23]. A significant decrease in glucose levels were noted during the study and are in agreement with similar findings reported by Jobes et al. [10]. Different additive solutions and anticoagulants possess different pH ranges and may eventually affect the pH of the blood being transfused [24]. The influence of lactate in reducing pH has previously been described [25]. The pH levels in the present study increased significantly with storage, and are in agreement with others [24,25], who have investigated stored donor blood and various additive solutions. The observed decline in pH during the present study compliments findings of increasing lactate levels with storage. Increased potassium concentrations in stored whole blood have been associated with the breakdown of the Na-K-ATPase pathway [26]. During our study, significant elevations in Potassium levels were observed and agree with findings from previous studies.
Although no significant changes were seen in Sodium during the present study, trends of increasing Sodium levels were recorded. Findings here differ from a similar study undertaken by Jobes et al. [10], where they reported on decreasing levels of sodium during the storage of blood. A possible explanation for the differences between the studies is that Jobes et al. [10] measured intracellular sodium rather than plasma levels. It can therefore be appreciated that biochemically; Sodium can diffuse across the red cell membrane into plasma during storage, accounting for the decline in intracellular sodium levels whilst increasing plasma (extracellular) Sodium levels, as noted in the present study. Another likely cause for the increased Sodium levels noted during the present study could be due to the effect of the additive solution, SAGM. Transferrin and ferritin, play an important role in maintaining iron homeostasis. As the main storage form of iron, ferritin can be used to estimate donor eligibility and also enhance erythropoiesis for the patient requiring a blood transfusion [27]. In the present study, a significant increase in ferritin levels was observed following 28 days storage of whole blood. It has previously been reported that high iron and transferrin levels have been observed in patients transfused with old stored blood [27].
Our findings, therefore compliment this observation. The effect of storage on coagulation (prothrombin time) has been the focus of much research attention. Prothrombin times in the present study significantly increased with storage, indicating a compromise in the clotting ability of the stored blood. vWF, which is a carrier for factor VIII during the coagulation cascade, plays important roles in coagulation, and levels reported in the present study increased over the storage time. Both the PT and vWF results from our study highlight the potential reduced haemostatic state and possible increased bleeding tendency in patients transfused with old stored blood units. These findings are in agreement with previous studies undertaken by Lazzari et al. [14] and Weiss et al. [13]. This study, however, is not without its limitations. It is noted that only a small number of whole blood units (n= 5) were recruited for the purpose of the study. Additionally, studies focussing on specific aspects of the blood (e.g. biochemical markers) could provide a more focused approach.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of storage on the various haematological and biochemical parameters of NHSBT donor blood. Significant changes in several haematological and biochemical parameters were observed, highlighting the effect that storage does have on blood and blood components scheduled for transfusion. Clearly, further work is needed to fully understand an area of clinical significance. This study, however, needs to be expanded employing a larger sample size to fully validate reliability in a clinical setting.
The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester for their financial support.
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21. Weinberg JordanA, McGwin Jr Gerald, Vandromme MarianneJ, Marques MarisaB, Melton SherryM. Duration of red cell storage influences mortality after trauma. The Journal of trauma, (2010), 69(6): 1427-1431.
22. Sawant RB, Jathar SK, Rajadhyaksha SB, Kadam PT. Red cell hemolysis during processing and storage. Asian Journal of Transfusion Science. (2007), 1(2): 47-51.
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24. Sparrow RosemaryL, Sran Amrita, Healey, Geraldine, Veale, Margaret F., & Norris, Philip J. in vitro measures of membrane changes reveal differences between red blood cells stored in saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol and AS-1 additive solutions: a paired study. Transfusion (2013), 54(3): 560-568.
25. Högman CF, Knutson F, Lööf H, Payrat JM. Improved maintenance of 2,3 DPG and ATP in RBCs stored in a modified additive solution. Transfusion. (2002), 42(7): 824-829.
26. Burger Patrick, Kostova Elena, Bloem Esther, Hilarius-Stokman Petra, Meijer Alexander B. Potassium leakage primes stored erythrocytes for phosphatidylserine exposure and shedding of pro-coagulant vesicles. British Journal of Haematology. (2013), 160(3): 377-386.
27. Hod Eldad A, Brittenham Gary M, Billote Genia B, Francis Richard O, Ginzburg Yelena Z et al. Transfusion of human volunteers with older, stored red blood cells produces extravascular hemolysis and circulating non-transferrin-bound iron. Blood. (2011), 118(25): 6675-6682.
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Award nomination for “Downtown Eastside charity creates jobs for fortunate few”
Jimmy Journalism September 16, 2013 January 11, 2014 1 Minute
Good news! The Canadian Online Publishing Awards have chosen my story with my friend and colleague Garrett Hinchey as a finalist for an award; we’re in the blue category under “Best article or series of articles”. You can check out the story here. Fingers crossed.
Published by Jimmy
View all posts by Jimmy
Published September 16, 2013 January 11, 2014
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Home News Yonas Prayudhi: “Sixth Sense” delivers powerful lyrics with a raw, edgy, body moving tune!
Yonas Prayudhi: “Sixth Sense” delivers powerful lyrics with a raw, edgy, body moving tune!
Posted By: Rick JammPosted date: February 14, 2016 in: NewsNo Comments
Yonas Prayudhi is a singer, songwriter, and musician based in Surabaya, Indonesia. He is a one-man band who writes and records all of his music. In addition to singing and songwriting, Yonas has a knack for melodic guitar, audio engineering, and more. When he isn’t creating music, Yonas enjoys taking pictures and currently is an active photographer. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. As a creative and multitalented musician, Yonas aims to create music that inspires others. His very first EP is entitled “Emotional Harmony”, and he recently released a single track called “Sixth Sense.”
It took a high level of justified self-confidence for Yonas Prayudhi to follow his blockbuster EP with a track one that gives a nod to its predecessor while at the same time going above and beyond. Yonas shows the resilience of a brilliant performer, by displaying the maturity of songwriting and composition in a new release that gives his debut a run. “Sixth Sense” is a must have for anyone who still believes that the sound of rock will never die, even when it has been pushed into a corner by just about every other musical genre out there. Yonas is a very enthusiastic rocker, but this track proves he has the vocals to be a singer as well as an entertainer.
Yonas Prayudhi creates music that takes fans back to an era of rock that was both genuine and creative at once. He delivers powerful lyrics with raw, edgy, body moving tunes. Like all musical genres, rock has become somewhat tired and originality is often hard to find. At most, an artist sounds like a dozen other artists, and the songs tend to sound alike. Yonas’ music is a step above the rest, because despite a characteristic rock voice and sound, he has enough musical and lyrical variation to keep you interested. Something he achieves with “Sixth Sense”. You really cannot get much better in terms of tightly constructed, concisely written rock songs powered by relentless riffs and melodic hooks.
This single is a simple proposition; it absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do. So if you’re into catchy, often aggressive guitar rock with soaring, emotive vocals, look no further. “Sixth Sense” is quintessential. If you are a lover of rock music, as I am, then this is an obvious choice for your collection.
OFFICIAL LINK: Artist Website – iTunes – Amazon – Reverbnation – Facebook – Youtube
Tags: AlternativeIndonesianewsrockSixth SenseYonas Prayudhi
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Rick Jamm
Journalist, publicist and indie music producer with a fervent passion for electric guitars and mixing desks !
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Just A Whole Lot Of Weird
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School Live: Living Through Yuki's Eye's
When you’ve watched anime for some time and after going through the enormous catalogue of shows you find where your tastes lie and with the more you watch the more you can define your taste right down to the sub genre.Wether is be Isekai the sub genre of fantasy or Yuri, Yaoi or harem all sub genres of romance, or possibly your tastes lie in sports, music, games and idol anime all hanging underneath the sub genre of drama. For me personally my choice of sub genre is cute girls doing cute things the shot off from slice of life. The people’s lives feel so light and joyful, although there are moments of melancholy but that makes it feel all the more human, it was truly a pleasant experience watching them go about their lives. Whether it be eating together, creating manga together or surviving in the zombie apocalypse and yes there is an anime about that and just to be clear I meant the zombie apocalypse not the creating manga together type.
What made School Live a particular favourite of mine was the way the narrative pushed a happy yet unexplainable school life where the girls all lived at the school but with anime logic you can dismiss that right away, then the day plays out like any slice of life show would go. Shenanigans the way of Yuki losing her dog and the inability to capture it till the scary older sister types manages to stop it, the usual club antics and the references to schooling with someone just being terrible at it i.e Yuki. The usual beats that these shows usually go by, around this time I was wondering when the zombies would attack messing up this perfect life for our happy trope then at the end of the episode where it is revealed that this life the people we were watching weren’t who we thought they were. That this world we were introduced to at the start of the episode it was all in the head of a mentally disturbed individual. For me this scene hit hard. This girl was so traumatized by her teachers death she began hallucinating that everything was as it was, crisp, clean with hundreds of smiling faces accompanying her in her life as they learn maths and all sorts of things, but in reality this world didn’t exist anymore it was eaten away by monsters and she became a burden to those around her because of it, but it’s strange to see when her disease effects those around her how they deal with it.
Now I’ve seen the walking dead and a substantial of zombie movies, tv shows and cartoons/anime. A majority of those shows are awfully depressing as no one looks like they are having any fun and there’s usually a tone of in fighting about stupid things but the majority of the run of School live, it’s a marginally happy romp between these girls and whatever in-fighting that does happen is resolved rather quickly, as they realise they need each other survive this. Normally with the world gone mad lines a lot of the characters are down right depressing with critiques that if something of a full blown pandemic would happen we would revert back to feral beasts, which is country to historical research. In a crisis people fight and die together that’s just a fact as outliers usually die rather quickly. It’s possible with a zombie apoclypse we would revert us back to beasts, we don’t know as this has never happened but it would be understandable, the world they have known is gone and they are living in it’s rotting corpse trying to have so semblance of life in it before they suffer the same fate. For the first 11 episodes of the anime the girls in School Live they can maintain some semblance of a happy façade is through Yuki herself. As the scene between with Mikki and Yuuri in episode 6 she’s talking about how Miki should just play along. She turns back and say’s by doing this Yuki will not get better, all she say’s to this is that, “It isn’t about whether or not she recovers. This is different. I’m sure you don’t understand just yet.” Mikki accepts this after a bit of prodding then she see’s these effects further in the episode. The way that Yuki acts makes them feel as though as if the world is normal. When Mikki first gets to the school and spends some time around Yuki with her upbeat attitude and overall happiness she starts to believe that people rising from the dead was just a dream till reality hits her in the face when she see’s the music room. Yuki for a time can rewrite a person perception and make there lives a little more bearable.
The way they have chosen to survive the zombie apocalypse is by living through Yuki’s delusions, I don’t have to tell you that’s not a entirely healthy coping mechanisms. They even say in episode 7 that’s it’s wrong to keep her this way just for themselves and realize that this can’t last but they don’t try to change this and instead just let her be. Though I am thinking from this side as a person who hasn’t been put in this situation. From there perspective they are doing what they can just to survive not physically but emotionally. Keeping morale in this situation is just as important as food and shelter. As in positions like there’s if they do not keep there sprits high well there is a good chance grief and despair will overtake them and they will all fall into hole leading them into the hangman knece. Yuki’s split from reality not only saved herself but also those around, she is the light, the optimism and the ever lasting brightness in a dark world.
School Live is on of the better zombie story’s that I have seen. With narratives that circle on the collapses of known civilisation there is very rarely any joy between the characters and there entire time they are looking for either shelter, food and just trying to survive struggling to live in a dead world but never quiet able to as they can’t accept what they have lost and trying to continuously reach back for it which always ends up biting them back. The school in which the girls live, have provided the basic necessary tools for the girls to survive for a time. Though with Yuki’s perspective they can live with what’s happened, what is happening and push them to survive which is why at the end of the series Yuki keeps up the delusion for everyone else. In this story they are just trying to figure out how to live in this changed world as best as they can trying to maintain a bright outlook despite everything them telling them otherwise, in other words the cute girls doing cute things in this world is not for the viewer to enjoy but for them, even if it isn’t real.
Posted in AnimeTagged Horror, School Live
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2 thoughts on “School Live: Living Through Yuki's Eye's”
I really loved this story, but I really felt it needed a bit more of an ending to help let it feel finished. As much as the story was about the characters, there were so many plot points that just felt unfinished when the series left off.
justawholelotofweird says:
That is true, it allowed for a second season but it never happened.
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Twisted Olefins in "Click" Chem?
Everyone digs the copper-catalyzed "click" reaction between azides and alkynes - its fruits have ripened into applications for protein labeling, drug analogs, and green synthetic approaches.
Science Express just released an intriguing read from the Fokin group, which uses reaction calorimetry (how hot? how fast?) and mass spec isotopic enrichment studies (where'd that atom come from?) to study the copper-catalyzed click. Using calorimetry, Fokin's group determines that two copper atoms must cooperate to form the desired triazole; the uncatalyzed reaction limps along (~7%) in the same amount of time that the catalyzed reaction - which gives off a brief burst of heat - reaches completion (>96%).
To try and tease out which copper does what, the team synthesized an isotopically-enriched 63Cu catalyst, which they added to a "normal" (63Cu / 65Cu) isotope blend of a copper-bound acetylide. Time-of-flight mass spec showed isotopic enrichment of copper in the resulting isolated copper species. How the heck can that happen?!?
Well, it can't. . . unless, of course, there's an intermediate where the two copper atoms interchange. Enter the crazy, wild world of gem-dimetalation, a concept several groups (Fürstner, Blum, Gagné) have recently studied for a variety of d10 metals (Pd, Ag, Au). Even more crazy, the enrichment indicates that an NHC ligand "jumps" between the two copper atoms, hardly usual behavior for such a strong donor ligand. To explain these results, Fokin constructs a modified catalytic cycle, shown below:
Source: Science | Fokin group, Scripps
Check out that prism-shaped intermediate in the lower left. Anything seem strange about it?
Think, for a moment, about axial chirality. What comes to mind? BINAP, certainly, or the M and P descriptors for allene (cumulated double bonds) chemistry. Well, unless I'm missing something, this intermediate may be the first representation of olefinic axial chirality I've seen. To invoke this intermediate, the alkene in question must really be something special, since the azide has to be disposed roughly 90 degrees out-of-plane!
Usually, alkenes like to sit in sp2 -hybridized space - flat, like a sheet of paper. Rotational energy barriers exist to interchange E to Z olefins, but they usually need lots of energy (heat, light) or a charged intermediate. Here, we have an almost-room-temp, neutral, 3D alkene intermediate: a rare duck indeed.
Posted by See Arr Oh at 1:52 PM
Labels: axial chirality, click reaction, copper, Fokin, gem-dimetalation, science, ScienceExpress, Scripps, Sharpless
Andre April 07, 2013 5:01 PM
So they're basically claiming a more or less classical "two electron, three centered" bonding, a la boranes? (Sorry, I don't have a computer with proper creds to read the article this weekend, just going by what you have in your post.)
Orbitally, I don't think this is crazy. I also don't think you have to break the classical pi bond of the olefin so you don't need to invoke high energy (or magic). It's just transition metals being transition metals.
See Arr Oh April 07, 2013 5:57 PM
It's not that side I'm worried about, it's the other one (the C-N bond). If that double bond is really a double bond (and not a strange metal-destabilized or ylide form), then it has to be angled roughly orthogonally to the rest of the (flat) pi system. No?
Andre April 08, 2013 7:36 AM
The 3-centered bond I'm talking about is the C-Cu-Cu, making that carbon sp-hybridized so you still have allene-like geometry. The problem is they are drawing the C-Cu bonds solid line, making your inference that the carbon is sp2 understandable.
If you consider it sp, and then line up the Cu-Cu bond with the empty p orbital on the carbon atom, the geometry all works out and makes sense. But the way it's drawn is misleading.
See Arr Oh April 08, 2013 7:53 AM
As drawn, the system should not have allenic character. The Cu-C-Cu angle is (roughly) 120 degrees as shown, which places it firmly within the sp2 regime. If we had another carbon stuck in the middle, I'd say OK, but since we don't, it more closely approximates an olefin with a 90 degree twist.
Andre - What if I'm seeing it backwards? What if it's actually the Cu atoms donating electron density into the antibonding orbitals of the pi bond? That would be wild, but would also destabilize the bond for the azide closure...
Oops. 3-D fail on my part. Sorry, it's early. That made it very confusing.
The empty p orbital would not line up with the Cu-Cu bond, but would be perpendicular to it. The pi bond of the C=C would line up with the Cu-Cu bond and the empty p orbital would be available for donation from the N (which is needed to get the bond to form in the next step anyway.
Or think about it this way (this would be another extreme on the continuum): the carbon is sp2 and it is a vinylic carbocation. The bond from the double bond goes to both Cu atoms (like it goes to the [Cu] in the next intermediate, but it's a three centered bond in this case). The Cu-Cu complex is cis to the R1 and trans to the N3. This leaves the vinylic carbocation ready for attack from the nitrogen.
Michael C April 08, 2013 11:35 AM
Think of the alkene part with the two copper atoms as a bridging vinylidene ligand (R2C=C:) and then you will find an 'empty' p orbital that is orthogonal to the pi system for the C=C double bond. then there is no problem.
There are compounds very much like the copper acetylide intermediate that has a second atom coordinated to the C-C triple bond known - they're ruthenium acetylides with a copper coordinated to the alkyne functionality of the acetylide ligand. (work by Michael Bruce I think).
on a side note, alkenes are almost never twisted or trans-bent but it is extremely commonplace for heavier alkene analogues with silicon, germanium or tin atoms. this is because the singlet/triplet gap in the monomers (R2E:) is much lower than in the case of carbon. the heavy alkene are more of a dimer of the two singlet carbene-like fragments, where as alkenes themselves are a dimer of the two triplet carbene fragments.
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JRNLS.net | General Medicine
Editorial Australia on fire
18-01-2020 – The Lancet
28 people dead and rising, tens of thousands forced from their homes, Indigenous communities displaced, up to 1 billion animals dead, and some of the worlds most beautiful and unique natural landscapes burned. The sheer scale of Australias bushfires is hard to comprehend.
Editorial Protecting health research in the UK: culture and collaboration
From the discoveries of Fleming and Lister to the more recent work on aromatase inhibitors done by the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute for Cancer Research, research and health care have had a long and illustrious relationship in the UK. This relationship resulted in many discoveries and innovations that have benefited patients worldwide, and it is also clear that patients have better outcomes when they are managed in research-active settings. However, this symbiotic relationship is under threat, from both an increasing divergence of academia and the National Health Service (NHS), and a worsening research culture.
“Editorial Trumps steady erosion of health insurance protections”
43% of US households report that at least one family member has a pre-existing medical condition, according to a survey released by Gallup on Dec 6, 2019. 49% of Americans (156 million people) receive health insurance through employers, and before the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), a change of situation, such as losing or switching a job, would have allowed insurance companies to decline coverage or potentially make people uninsurable because of chronic health conditions. Although Democrats and Republicans both argue that they support the ACA ban on pre-existing condition denials, in power, Republicans have actively (but so far unsuccessfully) worked to repeal the ACA without providing an alternative.
Comment Patients with left main coronary artery disease: stent or surgery?
18-01-2020 – Marie-Claude Morice
In The Lancet, Niels Holm and colleagues1 report 5-year results of the NOBLE trial, in which 1201 patients with symptomatic left main coronary artery lesions were randomly assigned to receive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Median age was 66·2 years (IQR 9·9) in the PCI group and 66·2 (9·4) years in the CABG group; 116 (20%) patients in the PCI group and 140 (24%) in the CABG group were women. As in the initial report,2 the study found no evidence of non-inferiority of PCI compared with surgery in terms of the composite primary endpoint of major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (5-year Kaplan-Meier estimate of 28% 165 events for PCI and 19% 110 events for CABG; hazard ratio 1·58 95% CI 1·24–2·01, exceeding the non-inferiority limit of 1·35), and CABG was even found to be superior in the study population (p=0·0002).
Comment A global accounting of sepsis
18-01-2020 – Jordan A Kempker, Greg S Martin
For the past two decades, attention to sepsis has intensified because of growing recognition that it is one of the most common and lethal conditions we face, whether as a patient, provider, hospital, or public health agency. Until now, we have had an incomplete accounting of the global epidemiology of sepsis, with several reports from high-income countries and relatively few from countries of low and middle income (LMICs). In The Lancet, Kristina Rudd and colleagues1 present an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, which is the most comprehensive assessment of the worldwide sepsis burden to date.
Comment Femtosecond laser-assisted vs conventional cataract surgery
18-01-2020 – Alexander C Day, Oliver Findl
Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations. Lasers are used for many applications in ophthalmology; however, their use in cataract surgery is fairly recent. On introduction to clinical practice, laser cataract surgery platforms were marketed as bringing a stepwise improvement in surgical technique and were used as a differentiating factor between many cataract surgery providers. The surgical steps automated in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) are corneal incisions, opening of the crystalline lens capsule (capsulotomy), and crystalline lens fragmentation, with less phacoemulsification (ultrasound) energy subsequently needed to complete lens removal.
“Comment Rebuilding Sudans health system: opportunities and challenges”
18-01-2020 – George Wharton, Omar E Ali, Siddiq Khalil, Hatim Yagoub, Elias Mossialos
The power-sharing agreement between Sudans military and opposition groups signed in July, 2019, marked the end of nearly three decades of military dictatorship, and brought genuine hope of a lasting peace. As of January, 2020, negotiations continue between the transitional government and rebel groups, and the path towards permanent civilian rule is uncertain. Meanwhile, the country faces escalating humanitarian catastrophe, with 7·8 million people facing critical problems related to mental and physical wellbeing, including 1·6 million internally displaced people and 1·1 million refugees.
Comment Offline: After 2000 years, an answer arrives
18-01-2020 – Richard Horton
The fabric of humanity is unravelling. That is not a 21st-century diagnosis of our collective ills. It was the conclusion drawn by Lucretius, a Roman poet whose epic De Rerum Natura (The Nature of Things) was published in the first century BCE. Divided into six books, Lucretius described the “architects of Death” as Disease and Pain. But he rooted his analysis of human life in the wider predicaments facing his society—“our land in her hour of need”. Lucretius linked prospects for the human condition to the state of Nature and the Earth, to the natural and physical systems on which human existence depended.
“World Report Bushfires expose weaknesses in Australias health system”
18-01-2020 – Sophie Cousins
Doctors have been left unprepared and climate change has not been considered a health issue. Sophie Cousins reports.
World Report Indian health care caught up in violence
18-01-2020 – Anoo Bhuyan
Protests and police violence are leaving many in the medical community feeling threatened. Anoo Bhuyan reports from New Delhi.
Perspectives A brighter future for kidney disease?
18-01-2020 – Evan D Muse, Eric J Topol
It wasnt until the 19th century that diseases of the kidney began to be recognised under the eponymous diagnosis of Brights disease, named after the father of nephrology Richard Bright (1789–1858). While our understanding of various types of kidney injury and pathologies has broadened over time, the complexities and clinical overlap of kidney diseases have led to less than adequate prevention and treatment strategies. Chronic kidney disease is present in about 10% of the worlds population—more than diabetes and cancer combined—ranks as the ninth leading cause of death in the USA, and accounts for billions of dollars in medical costs, suffering, and lost quality life-years.
Perspectives The world behind the world: art and the climate emergency
18-01-2020 – Lise Saffran
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Obituary Tetsu Nakamura
18-01-2020 – Andrew Green
Japanese physician and humanitarian. Born in Fukuoka, Japan, on Sept 15, 1946, he died after being shot in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Dec 4, 2019, aged 73 years.
“Correspondence Pakistans children need better protection by the health-care system”
18-01-2020 – Mishal Khan
When children in Ratodero, a small town in the Sindh province of Pakistan, suddenly became ill in the early months of 2019, HIV was not a cause anyone would have suspected. Unlike many other infectious diseases in Pakistan, HIV prevalence, especially in children, has been relatively low.1 However, in April, 2019, local journalists reported that the children were indeed infected with HIV. Further investigations revealed that many of the children were being cared for by a self-proclaimed, low-cost paediatrician (whose qualifications have not been established) who had been reusing needles and telling patients that they were too poor to afford new needles.
Correspondence Oral diseases: a global public health challenge
18-01-2020 – Himmatrao Saluba Bawaskar, Pramodini Himmatrao Bawaskar
We read the Series paper by Marco Peres and colleagues1 and woul dlike to highlight the state of oral health in India.
18-01-2020 – Jean-Noel Vergnes, Marco Mazevet
In their Series paper, Marco Peres and colleagues1 reproduce a map of the estimated global prevalence of untreated dental caries in permanent teeth for 2017. France is reported to be one of the five countries in the world where prevalence is higher than 50%. This prevalence seems surprisingly high for a country where the public health insurance system leaves routine dental treatments (examinations, extractions, restorations, and endodontic treatments) with no out-of-pocket charges for more than 95% of the population.
“Correspondence Oral diseases: a global public health challenge – Authors reply”
18-01-2020 – Marco A Peres, Blánaid Daly, Carol C Guarnizo-Herreño, Habib Benzian, Richard G Watt
We thank Jean-Noel Vergnes and Marco Mazevet for their interest in our Series paper on the global public health challenge of oral diseases,1 and we thank Himmatrao and Pramodini Bawaskar for sharing their experience of oral health in India.
Correspondence Prophylactic antibiotics after operative vaginal delivery
18-01-2020 – Kelly Jane Thompson, Jane Elizabeth Hirst
In their large, randomised controlled trial on prophylactic antibiotics for prevention of maternal infection following operative vaginal delivery, Marian Knight and colleagues1 conclude that a change in WHO guidelines is warranted. This recommendation stems from the reduction shown in the primary outcome of confirmed or suspected infection in the 6 weeks after birth. A global recommendation for prophylactic antibiotics following operative vaginal delivery is, however, not without risk.
18-01-2020 – Lena Sagi-Dain, Shlomi Sagi, Reuven Kedar, Mordechai Bardicef, Eli Gutterman
We read with great interest the results of the impressive randomised controlled trial by Marian Knight and colleagues,1 which showed reduced rates of confirmed or suspected infections in women allocated amoxicillin and clavulanic acid compared with placebo following operative vaginal delivery. However, the issue that drew our attention is the almost uniform need for perineal suturing (99% in the study cohort vs 100% in controls), and the high rates of episiotomy (89% in both groups).
18-01-2020 – Martin J Blaser, Brian L Strom, Maria G Dominguez Bello
Antibiotic prophylaxis is not recommended for operative vaginal birth because of insufficient evidence of the effectiveness in protecting against maternal infection. Marian Knight and colleagues1 show benefits from a single post-delivery antibiotic dose on maternal infection rates. However, this well designed and well conducted controlled trial has some important limitations. First, the trial includes short-term follow-up only. Second, a possible bias might arise due to a high (24%) loss of participants to follow-up (although blinding or masking reduces bias).
18-01-2020 – Petra Zimmermann, Nigel Curtis
Marian Knight and colleagues1 reported that antibiotics given after operative delivery (forceps or vacuum) significantly reduce maternal infection. Up to 40% of infants are exposed to antibiotics as a result of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for maternal group B streptococcus colonisation or surgical prophylaxis for caesarean section.2 Adding antibiotic prophylaxis for women who need operative assistance during delivery would lead to an additional 2–15% of women and infants being exposed to antibiotics.
18-01-2020 – Kaho Iwabu, Yuto Maeda, Tetsuya Tanimoto
Marian Knight and colleagues1 showed that a single dose of prophylactic antibiotic effectively prevented infection after operative vaginal delivery. However, to apply these results to daily clinical practice, the selection of antibiotics and candidates receiving prophylaxis for infection after operative vaginal delivery should be carefully considered. According to their previous report,2 Knight and colleagues chose co-amoxiclav as a prophylactic antibiotic after operative vaginal delivery because it has adequate coverage of group A streptococcus and is less likely to select for antibiotic resistance, such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and extended-spectrum β-lactamases-producing Gram-negative bacteria.
“Correspondence Prophylactic antibiotics after operative vaginal delivery – Authors reply”
18-01-2020 – Marian Knight, ANODE collaborative group
We agree with Kelly Thompson and Jane Hirst regarding the need for an emphasis on infection control precautions at the time of operative vaginal birth other than solely antibiotic prophylaxis. All infections were not prevented in the ANODE trial,1 which highlights the importance of other infection prevention interventions. Selective versus routine episiotomy use might be one such intervention. The episiotomy rate observed in the ANODE trial is not unusual for the UK setting, and the infection rate we observed is similar to studies done in other settings where episiotomy use might be more restrictive.
Department of Error Department of Error
Williams R, Aithal G, Alexander GJ, et al. Unacceptable failures: the final report of the Lancet Commission into liver disease in the UK. Lancet 2020; 395: 226–39—In this Health Policy, an additional line has been added to the acknowledgments section regarding The Southampton Liver Pathway. Moreover, in table 1, the headings to the fifth and sixth column have been amended. These corrections have been made to the online version as of Jan 16, 2020, and the printed version is correct.
Correspondence Optimising first-line treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma
18-01-2020 – Elif Hindié
Brian Rini and colleagues1 reported results of a phase 3 trial (IMmotion151) comparing atezolizumab plus bevacizumab with sunitinib as first-line treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In the intention-to-treat population, combination therapy offered significant improvement in progression-free survival (hazard ratio HR 0·83 95% CI 0·70–0·97; p=0·0219), but not in overall survival (HR 0·93; 0·76–1·14; p=0·4751).1 Among other trials comparing combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors and angiogenesis inhibitors with sunitinib, avelumab plus axitinib improved progression-free survival in the overall population (HR 0·69 0·56–0·84; p<0.001) but not overall survival (HR 0·78 0·55–1·08; p=0·14),2 whereas pembrolizumab plus axitinib improved overall survival (HR 0·53 0·38 −0·74; p<0·0001).
18-01-2020 – Guillermo de Velasco
Brian Rini and colleagues1 reported the results of IMmotion151, a randomised controlled trial in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. This study met its coprimary endpoint in patients whose disease expressed programmed death ligand 1, by showing an increased median progression-free survival for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (11·2 months; IQR 8·9–15·0) compared with sunitinib (7·7 months; IQR 6·8–9·7; hazard ratio 0·74 95% CI 0·57–0·96; p=0·022). The authors conclude that this study supports atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as a first-line treatment for selected patients.
18-01-2020 – Fei Liang
Brian Rini and colleagues1 claimed that the results of the IMmotion151 trial support atezolizumab plus bevacizumab over sunitinib as a first-line treatment for selected patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. However, the survival results, safety results, and overall cost do not support this claim. In the first interim analysis of overall survival, the hazard ratio was 0·81 (95% CI 0·63–1·03), but in the second interim analysis, it was attenuated to 0·93 (0·76–1·14). These results indicate that the benefit to progression-free survival is unlikely to be translated into survival benefit, because more patients in the sunitinib group are expected to receive second-line life-extending programmed death ligand 1 therapy.
Correspondence Life-threatening hyperkalaemia after succinylcholine
18-01-2020 – Jamie Strachan, Matthew Frise
We read with interest the Clinical Picture by Anne-Flore Plane and colleagues1 describing life-threatening hyperkalaemia after succinylcholine use to facilitate endotracheal intubation in a patient who was critically ill. The authors note that this complication is well known but imply that such a profound response was unexpected. We wish to make two observations regarding this case.
“Correspondence Life-threatening hyperkalaemia after succinylcholine – Authors reply”
18-01-2020 – Anne-Flore Plane, Pierre-Emmanuel Marsan, Damien du Cheyron, Xavier Valette
We thank Jamie Strachan and Matthew Frise for their interest and comments on our Clinical Picture1 showing electrocardiogram modifications related to life-threatening hyperkalaemia induced by succinylcholine in a patient who was critically ill.
Articles Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990–2017: analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study
18-01-2020 – Kristina E Rudd, Sarah Charlotte Johnson, Kareha M Agesa, Katya Anne Shackelford, Derrick Tsoi, Daniel Rhodes Kievlan, Danny V Colombara, Kevin S Ikuta, Niranjan Kissoon, Simon Finfer, Carolin Fleischmann-Struzek, Flavia R Machado, Konrad K Reinhart, Kathryn Rowan, Christopher W Seymour, R Scott Watson, T Eoin West, Fatima Marinho, Simon I Hay, Rafael Lozano, Alan D Lopez, Derek C Angus, Christopher J L Murray, Mohsen Naghavi
Despite declining age-standardised incidence and mortality, sepsis remains a major cause of health loss worldwide and has an especially high health-related burden in sub-Saharan Africa.
Articles Femtosecond laser-assisted versus phacoemulsification cataract surgery (FEMCAT): a multicentre participant-masked randomised superiority and cost-effectiveness trial
18-01-2020 – Cedric Schweitzer, Antoine Brezin, Beatrice Cochener, Dominique Monnet, Christine Germain, Stephanie Roseng, Remi Sitta, Aline Maillard, Nathalie Hayes, Philippe Denis, Pierre-Jean Pisella, Antoine Benard, FEMCAT study group
Despite its advanced technology, femtosecond laser was not superior to phacoemulsification in cataract surgery and, with higher costs, did not provide an additional benefit over phacoemulsification for patients or health-care systems.
Clinical Picture Infectious mononucleosis diagnosed by Downey cells: sometimes the old ways are better
18-01-2020 – Henry M Feder, William N Rezuke
An 18-year-old woman visited her physician because she had a fever, a sore throat, and painful swellings in her neck for the past 5 days. A rapid antigen detection test for streptococcus was negative, and because of exudates on the patients tonsils and very enlarged cervical lymph nodes, the physician tested for infectious mononucleosis or glandular fever. A rapid point-of-care test for heterophile antibodies—the Monospot test—was negative, a full blood count with autodifferential was normal, and a throat culture for group A streptococcus was negative.
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Activity-dependent gene expression in honey bee mushroom bodies in response to orientation flight
Claudia C. Lutz, Gene E. Robinson
Claudia C. Lutz
Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Gene E. Robinson
Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USAInstitute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USADepartment of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
For correspondence: generobi@illinois.edu
The natural history of adult worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) provides an opportunity to study the molecular basis of learning in an ecological context. Foragers must learn to navigate between the hive and floral locations that may be up to miles away. Young pre-foragers prepare for this task by performing orientation flights near the hive, during which they begin to learn navigational cues such as the appearance of the hive, the position of landmarks, and the movement of the sun. Despite well-described spatial learning and navigation behavior, there is currently limited information on the neural basis of insect spatial learning. We found that Egr, an insect homolog of Egr-1, is rapidly and transiently upregulated in the mushroom bodies in response to orientation. This result is the first example of an Egr-1 homolog acting as a learning-related immediate-early gene in an insect and also demonstrates that honey bee orientation uses a molecular mechanism that is known to be involved in many other forms of learning. This transcriptional response occurred both in naïve bees and in foragers induced to re-orient. Further experiments suggest that visual environmental novelty, rather than exercise or memorization of specific visual cues, acts as the stimulus for Egr upregulation. Our results implicate the mushroom bodies in spatial learning and emphasize the deep conservation of Egr-related pathways in experience-dependent plasticity.
C.C.L. was involved in all aspects of the study. G.E.R. was involved in conception and design of the study, interpretation of the findings, and revising the article.
No competing interests declared.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [OD006416 to G.E.R., HD007333 to C.C.L. (P. I. Janice Juraska)]. Deposited in PMC for release after 12 months.
© 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
immediate-early gene
Mushroom bodies
orientation flight
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Acoustic behaviour of male European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) during agonistic encounters
A cerebellum-like circuit in the lateral line system of fish cancels mechanosensory input associated with its own movements
Experimental evidence for a role of dopamine on avian personality traits
Show more RESEARCH ARTICLES
Take part in the changing face of peer review
Hans Hoppeler, Editor-in-Chief, and Michaela Handel, Managing Editor, discuss the changing face of peer review in their editorial. From inclusivity in peer review and cross-referee commenting to how we’re reducing our carbon footprint, researchers are also invited to give their opinions on transparent peer review.
Koalas climb like apes but bound like marsupials
New research by Joshua Gaschk, Celine Frère and Christofer Clemente shows that koalas bound like other marsupials when they are on the ground but they move like apes when they're climbing through branches.
An interview with Sandy Kawano
Sandy Kawano talks in her Conversation about Rick Blob helping her to find her inner palaeontologist and the tough decision she had to make when her dream job came up at George Washington University.
The stalk-eyed fly as a model for aggression – is there a conserved role for 5-HT between vertebrates and invertebrates?
In their new Commentary, Swallow et al. propose that the role of 5-HT in modulating invertebrate aggression is more nuanced that previously appreciated.
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Replicating Memory, Creating Images:
Pirs and Dargahs in Popular Art and Media of Contemporary East Punjab
Yogesh Snehi
Pirs and dargahs constitute an important feature of the popular tradition of saint veneration in medieval and modern Punjab. Before the British arrived in India, networks of shrines loosely linked within the Sufi orders of major silsilas spread through much of the province as the descendants and successors (khalifas) of many of the major saints established their own khanqahs (hospice). There was also a tradition of constructing ‘lesser shrines’ dedicated to one or many, major or minor Sufi centres of medieval Punjab.1 The networks were particularly dense in parts of the Indus valley; for instance in South-Western Punjab the shrines of the descendants of Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch dotted the countryside when the British arrived.2
These shrines represented sources of power (barkat) to the common people and were open to people from all religious persuasions. Liebeskind terms this all-inclusive approach as the local face of Islam.3 There was yet another practise of constructing ‘memorial shrines’ which gradually developed into distinctive centres of cultural practices, often denoting local as well as long term geographical influences. These memorial shrines existed in the realm of the popular and inspired many folk writer of medieval and modern Punjab evolving into a distinct form of ‘saint worship’. 4
Significantly, these popular shrines emerged as centres for inter-communal dialogue and evolved into a distinct form of cultural practice of saint veneration. One particularly distinct character of this social formation was that while Western Punjab (now in Pakistan) became a major centre of emergence and dissemination of Sufism in the medieval period, it was eastern Punjab (India) which was the recipient of the vast influence of sacred shrines in Sind, Multan, Bahawalpur and Montgomery districts of the colonial India. This paper entailed an extensive survey of popular Sufi shrines through an overview of two trajectories of contemporary Punjab. Firstly, it highlights the landscape of various old and new popular Sufi shrines in contemporary Punjab and secondly, it reflects upon the continued significance of popular Sufi traditions among various classes and ethnic communities of Punjab, delineating a unique picture of social formation of the region.5
The significance of this social formation lies in the fact that when the province of Punjab was partitioned in 1947, it transformed the demography of the region in such a way that east and west Punjab became Sikh/Hindu and Muslim dominated regions respectively. Both these regions had their significant share of major and local Sufi shrines which would thereafter become inaccessible to each other.6 Over the years the memories of shared past were reconfigured in new spaces and either new memorial shrines were created or the older ones restructured with new sets of functionaries and sajjada nishins. This reconfiguration of space, accessibility to shrine and Pirs associated with them will be significantly mediated through circulation of images which would in a way replicate the shared memories of the pre-partitioned Punjab. It needs to be underlined that saint veneration continues to be a significant articulation of pre-partition memories of shared popular traditions.7
This study was executed through an extensive survey of popular Sufi shrines in contemporary East Punjab and included a vast array of both major and minor shrines. The survey entailed the study of old and new practices of the use of original/early images of saints and shrines for the creation of new mediated material such as collage posters, videos, paintings, animation and internet-based presentations which gets altered through transcultural impact and seek to influence newer generation of devotees and their popular piety. This would be helpful in understanding the linkages and reproduction of connections between east and west Punjab and within the region, which are mediated through popular memory and visualised both through visual arts and, modern print and electronic media.
A major repository of audio-visual material, both in print and electronic media, collected during these surveys consist of posters printed from several places in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and CDs/VCDs/DVDs which play a major role in circulation of legends and local histories, creation of pilgrimage networks, development and standardisation of images of a popular saints and their shrines. These images consist of roughly three sets of production material. First set of images consist of large, medium and small posters, the second set consists of printed images produced for photo frames and the third set of images consists of such tiny versions meant for pocket and wallets. With an easy accessibility of print mediums, these images are also produced on photo prints at local studios.
This paper underlines the significance of audio-visual material and its circulation in the continued existence of popular Sufi shrines in contemporary East Punjab. It primarily focuses on four types of material. More important role in circulation of images is played by numerous production of electronic material in the form of CDs/VCDs/DVDs. Second set of material collected consists of poster and banners which are a major source of circulation. Book-covers and illustrations also constitute a fairly significant medium of circulation, especially the ones printed in local medium of Punjabi. The bulkiest material was in the form of digital photography and videography of shrine spaces and Urs personally done during surveys.
1 David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), 41-42.
2 Gilmartin, 43-45.
3 Claudia Liebeskind, Piety on Its Knees: Three Sufi Traditions in South Asia in Modern Times (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.2.
4 Author’s work on Panj Pir shrine at Abohar exemplifies how its geographical location on the medieval trade route led to the emergence of a distinct form of veneration of saints associated with five Sufi shrines on the trade route between Sindh and Abohar. Author, “Historicity, Orality and ‘Lesser Shrines’: Popular Culture and Change at the Dargah of Panj Pirs at Abohar,” in Sufism in Punjab: Mystics, Literature and Shrines, ed. Surinder Singh and Ishwar Dayal Gaur (New Delhi: Aakar, 2009), 402-429.
5 In the context of a paper on Panj Pir tradition at Abohar, author highlights the continued significance of the popular Sufi shrine in contemporary social formation of Punjab. Author, 402-29.
6 Shrines of Chishti saints like Baba Farid, Suhrawardi saints like Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya and Syed Jalal Bhukhari, Qadiri saints like Mian Mir, early mystics like Shaikh Al Hujwiri, popular shrines of Sakhi Sarwar and the deras of Nath Jogis with whom early Sufi mystics interacted are located in Pakistan and the shrines of Suhrawardi saint Haider Shaikh, Nasqbandi saint Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Chishti saints like Shaikh Muinuddin, Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Nizamuddin Auliya, Shaikh Ali Ahmed Sabir, Shaikh Sharfuddin Panipatti and Shaikh Hafiz Musa, etc. are located in northern India, besides numerous minor saints and their shrines on both sides of Punjab.
7 Farina Mir argues that saint veneration is better understood as constituting a parallel, alternative spiritual practice that was accessible to all Punjab’s inhabitants. Literary representations in Punjabi popular narratives such as Hir-Ranjha suggest that people participated in saint veneration without recourse to or invoking pre-existing religious identities. The practice involved the reinterpretation of piety and constituted beliefs that stood alongside formal categories of religious identity, without being in conflict with them. The repeated depiction of this form of devotional practice in the most ubiquitous Punjabi cultural form suggests the importance of this social formation in Punjabi popular imagination, and in Punjab’s religious and cultural history. Farina Mir, “Genre and Devotion in Punjabi Popular Narratives: Rethinking Cultural and Religious Syncretism,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 48, no.3 (2006): 755.
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Monday Morning Mashup
Monday Morning Mashup - 'It's Not All the Unusual Things'
Take some Blink-182 and add in some Tom Jones. What do you have? Today's Monday Morning Mashup.
MoSho Mashup - Linkin Park & Blink 182
Today's mashup is I Miss You by Blink 182 and Shadow Of The Day by Linkin Park.
Fernando Cuevas
MoSho Mashup - Beastie Blurs 'Intergalactic 2'
Check out this rocking Monday Morning Mashup featuring Beastie Boys and Blur it's called 'Intergalactic 2.
Sad In The Name Of -- Metallica & Rage Against The Machine Mashup
Check out this rocking Monday Morning Mashup featuring Metallica and Rage Against The Machine.
This Means Badass -- Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold & Kid Rock Mashup
Check out this rocking Monday Morning Mashup featuring Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold and Kid Rock.
MoSho Mashup - Metallica, Kid Rock & Avenged Sevenfold
This week, our mash-up is a couple of songs all in one. Metallica, Kid Rock and Avenged Sevenfold rock this mashup. The song is titled 'This means bad ass'.
MoSho Mashup - AC/DC Meets Van Halen
Today we have two of the greatest rock bands ever. It’s AC/DC and Van Halen with a little something we like to call “The Devil’s Highway”.
Listen To The Mash-up of the Week 'Money for the Queen'
This week, our mash-up is a couple of songs all in one. It's the Dire Straits, The Sex Pistols, Basement Jaxx, Simian and Fatboy Slim. The song is titled 'Money for the Queen'.
Listen To The Monday Morning Mashup- Dani California's Last Dance
Listen to our special 420 monday morning mashup. It's called 'Dani California's Last Dance '
Monday Morning Mashup- 'Uptown Funk' and 'Ice Ice Baby'
Check out this weeks morning show mashup. It's called 'Uptown Ice'.
AUDIO: Monday Morning Mashup: Bubba Sparxx vs. The Little Mermaid
I think the best mash-up's are the ones that take two songs from very different genres of music and , somehow, make them go together. The very best mash-up's manage to make both songs better.
Today's Mash-up uses Bubba Sparxx's "Miss New Booty"...
Today’s Monday Morning Mashup: LMFAO vs. Brenda Lee
And it is called, "Party Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree".
Follow the jump to the next page and enjoy!
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Metabolites of dietary 1,8-cineole in the male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Boyle, R, McLean, S, Foley, W, Davies, NW, Peacock, EJ & Moore, B 2001, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C, vol. 129, pp. 385-396.
Koalas detoxify and eliminate 1,8-cineole, a Eucalyptus monoterpene, through oxidation into several metabolites. The average 1,8-cineole intake of six male koalas was 2.4 ± 1.1 mmol/kg, of which 1.3 ± 0.4 and 1.4 ± 0.4 was recovered free and total, respectively, in urine and faeces in various forms. The identities and amounts of seven metabolites were found: 9- and 7-hydroxycineole, 9- and 7-cineolic acid, 7-hydroxy-9-cineolic acid, 9-hydroxy-7-cineolic acid and 7,9-dicineolic acid. Hydroxy-cineolic acids comprised 85% of the metabolic profile, with 7-hydroxy-9-cineolic acid accounting for 77% by itself, followed by 10% 7,9-dicineolic acid.
Collected urine was analysed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify metabolites. Several of the metabolites could be identified through analogy to previously found compounds in koala waste, including 9- and 7-hydroxycineole, 9- and 7-cineolic acid, and 9-hydroxy-7-cineolic acid. The characterisations of 7-hydroxy-9-cineolic acid and 7,9-dicineolic acid were interpretations of the mass spectral and/or nuclear magnetic resonance data knowing the starting material. 7-hydroxycineole and 7-cineolic acid were only recovered in trace amounts, and 9-hydroxycineole and 9-cineolic acid were only found as 2-3% of the recovered amount. Ninety-four per cent of the total recovered metabolites had gained three or four oxygens during oxidation. No terpenes or their metabolites were detected in the faecal samples collected.
The experiment demonstrated that koalas oxidise then eliminate 1,8-cineole in a similar way to other compounds, such as p-cymene. All metabolites except 7,9-dicineolic acid had been found previously in brushtail possum waste, which helped their identification and demonstrated some similarity between the species’ processing of 1,8-cineole. The metabolic products found had oxidation at carbons 7 and/or 9, with C9 oxidated products being the most predominant, whereas brushtail possums had previously been found to oxidise a greater range of carbons. This suggests that the oxidative enzymes in koalas are have much greater regioselective preference than in brushtail possums. The koalas, however, also had more extensively oxidised metabolites (94% had three or more oxygen atoms) compared to brushtail possums, which only extensively oxidised 60%. Koalas, therefore, prefer to extensively oxidise metabolites to excrete, whereas brushtail possums utilise conjugation pathways to remove the less oxidised metabolites.
An understanding of koala terpene metabolites and, therefore, the processes behind their creation allows assessment of their detoxification capability. This also leads to a greater comprehension of diet and foraging behaviour.
Summarised by Laura Wait
Nutritional Science
o'boyle
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology
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Published October 15, 2019 6:09 pm
Shelves cleared of flavored vaping products as 180-day ban goes into effect
BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV) — The display cases in smoke shops across Oregon may look a little bare now that a 180-day ban on flavored vaping products is in effect.
On display at The Green Planet in Beaverton are cannabis-derived vaping products only.
The district manager, Will Irwin, told FOX 12 that they haven’t sold any flavored products in the store since October 4 in anticipation of the current ban.
The temporary ban was approved by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission last week and started Tuesday. Shops can now only sell vaping products that taste like tobacco and marijuana.
Governor Kate Brown issued an executive order to cut down on youth vaping, and to address the growing outbreak of lung injuries and deaths across the United States, including in Oregon, that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says is linked to vaping.
Irwin says that was enough for them to clear their shelves.
“With the news around these products, we felt it was better to take them off the shelves and focus on diverting our selection rather than selling the stock that we had,” said Irwin.
Irwin says this only impacts a small percentage of what they sell at The Green Planet, so this won’t have too much of an impact on their business.
Other shop owners are feeling the pinch with hundreds of flavored vaping products now off limits.
Oregon’s ban on flavored products will go through April 11, 2020.
Washington has a similar ban in place that will last for four months.
Caregiver accused of stealing from intellectually disabled clients
DA: Man sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for randomly confronting, stabbing man
Man Found Guilty Of Murdering Sheriff’s Father
Man charged with kidnapping woman for ‘sexual servitude’ after deputy hit by SUV responding to scene
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Giving a Classic Board Game the Love It Deserves
Filed to:Remastered
HeroQuest, an "entry-level" Warhammer game first released in 1989, was at the time a fairly primitive affair, limited to a board, some cards and the player pieces. So Damien Thévenin has spent a few years fixing the game up a little.
He's built an exquisite set of 3D walls and doors, meaning the game's formerly primitive dungeon now look a lot more like a, well, dungeon! Or castle. I never was quite sure which it was.
Thévenin has also professionally painted the game's units and re-done the floor tiles. It's amazing work, which you can see more of at the link below.
Fun fact: classic Sierra adventure series Quest of Glory was once called Heroe's Quest. It was this board game that forced the name change.
HeroQuest [Damien Thévenin via Geek-Art]
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Interest keeps climbing as Missouri refuses to recognize another corrections officers’ court victory
Posted 10:21 pm, October 8, 2019, by Chris Hayes
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri taxpayers are now on the hook for more than $124 million. The interest is rising by the second. The court judgment has risen $12 million just since last year.
Fox 2 was the only member of the media in a Jefferson City courtroom last summer when corrections officers won a landmark multi-million dollar judgment.
“We’re still earning interest on the judgment at 9 percent a year," said attorney Gary Burger, who represents the officers. "It’s about $12 million since we got our verdict August 2018 but—in addition to that, Chris—today, thousands of corrections officers are going to work, being required to do pre- and post-shift activity, and not being paid for it."
Here’s what he’s talking about.
Missouri corrections officers don’t get paid when they first arrive at the prison. They first must get their equipment, go through checkpoints, gather intelligence and reach their post before the state recognizes they’re working. The court ruled that the lost pay adds up to two and a half hours a week – per officer.
“They’re still losing wages today and losing wages every month, about $800,000 a month the class is still losing even after the verdict,” Burger said.
The Missouri Department of Corrections would not comment. The Missouri Attorney General’s office said it’s reviewing the appeals court decision and deciding the next step.
Meanwhile, the money clock keeps ticking, as it quickly approaches $125 million.
Filed in: FOX Files
Topics: Crumbling Corrections, FOX Files
FOX Files
‘The state is doubling down on their bad decision’ in not paying corrections officers, attorney says
Missouri’s failure to pay bills could force law enforcement layoffs
Missouri sheriffs accuse Dept. of Corrections of catch and release; state says it’s following the law
Site of viral daycare video has become new child care center; exempt from licensing
Franklin County man says he’s been given life sentence for pot
O’Fallon lawmaker defends bill to dump the puns on MoDOT highway signs
St. Louis County councilmen want to prevent red-light cameras from making a return
Lawsuit from Katelyn Alix’s family paints frightening picture of officer conduct and supervision
You Paid For It
You Paid For It: New twist comes to light about the Cure Violence program
Pam Hupp says her intended victims were looking for their “15 minutes of fame” in prison calls
Krewson, Hayden testify in Jefferson City on the need to lift the residency rule to hire police
Police identify man killed by St. Louis officer near south city gas station
Fox Files: The St. Louis-area schools with the highest discipline rates
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Wednesday, Oct 18 2017
‘I’m Not Interested In Their Money,’ Trump Says Of Pharma. But He Took It Anyway.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Stat: When It Comes To Pharma Money, Trump Was With The Elephant In The Room
President Trump on Monday addressed a well-established tenet of life in Washington: The pharmaceutical industry has loads of money and doesn’t hesitate to spend it on Congress. “They contribute massive amounts of money to political people,” Trump said during an impromptu news conference, turning to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was standing to his side. “I don’t know, Mitch, maybe even to you.” ...Trump was not wrong. In his last race in 2014, McConnell raked in $550,923 from the pharmaceutical and health products industries — more than any other individual lawmaker received that year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which analyzes political spending data from the Federal Election Commission. (Swetlitz and Mershon, 10/16)
Stat: What Risks? Consumers Are Tuning Out Side Effect Info In TV Drug Ads
The litany of side effects recited in TV drug ads are designed to alert you to all of the potential risks, big and small. But it turns out these well-intended laundry lists, which are required by regulators, actually have the opposite effect — consumers pay less attention to the most serious side effects and, consequently, focus on the benefits of the drug, according to a new study. In short, regulators may have created a paradox if the marketability of the drugs has increased. (Silverman, 10/12)
ProPublica: Oversized Eyedrops Waste Medicine And Money
If you've ever put in eyedrops, some of them have almost certainly spilled onto your eyelid or cheek. The good news is the mess doesn't necessarily mean you missed. The bad news is that medicine you wiped off your face is wasted by design — and it's well-known to the drug companies that make the drops. (Allen, 10/18)
USA Today: Families Allege Big Pharma Helped Finance Iraq's Mahdi Army Through Bribes
he families of dozens of U.S. troops killed or injured during the war in Iraq filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against several U.S. and European pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, alleging that the corporations knowingly financed the anti-American militia Mahdi Army through bribes and kickbacks to officials at a government ministry controlled by the group. (Madhani, 10/17)
Stat: Why Do We Need Drug Rebates, Anyway? A Top Lawmaker Wants To Know
Sen. Lamar Alexander has a question: why do we have drug rebates, anyway? “Why do we need rebates?” the Tennessee Republican asked a panel of pharmaceutical industry representatives at a Senate committee hearing. The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee met Tuesday morning for the second of three hearings on drug pricing, and heard testimony from five interest groups representing companies that play different roles in getting medicines to patients. (Swetlitz, 10/17)
Bloomberg: Drug Supply Players Point A Finger Everywhere But Themselves
A day after President Donald Trump renewed his attack on high drug prices, officials from the drug industry’s top lobbying groups sat down at a black cloth-draped table in a Senate hearing room and told lawmakers who’s to blame: the person a few seats over. Drugmakers said in prepared remarks that insurers, pharmacy-benefit managers and hospitals, among others, keep a large chunk of the money Americans spend on medicine and don’t pass on savings to patients. (Edney, 10/17)
USA Today: Cost Of Cold And Flu Season Can Make You Sick
Cold and flu season isn’t just physically painful — it can hurt your wallet too. The average consumer shops for over-the-counter medicine 26 times each year. That’s $338 per household, according to data collected by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a trade organization, in 2015, the most recent available. That same year, Americans spent $328 billion on prescription retail drugs, or prescription drugs purchased in pharmacies, according to estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services. (Ell, 10/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Johnson & Johnson Outlook Buoyed By Drug Unit
Johnson & Johnson increased its 2017 sales and adjusted profit guidance for the third quarter in a row, though net income in the quarter fell due to one-time items and amortization related to the company’s Actelion acquisition.J&J, one of the largest health-products companies by revenue based in the U.S., urged lawmakers in Washington to “unite behind” a plan to overhaul the corporate tax system but said its 2017 guidance doesn’t assume there will be tax reform this year. (Rockoff and Lombardo, 10/17)
Stat: Q&A: Will We See More Drug Makers File Antitrust Lawsuits Against Rivals?
Three times in recent weeks, a big drug maker sued another for allegedly using illegal tactics to win valuable contracts with payers. In one lawsuit, Pfizer claimed that Johnson & Johnson violated antitrust law when convincing insurers not to cover its biosimilar version of the Remicade rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Then, Shire alleged Medicare Part D plans refused to cover its Xiidra dry-eye treatment, because Allergan used “bundled discounts” and “exclusive” deals to lock down the market. And Sanofi accused Mylan of thwarting its move to sell an EpiPen rival. Drug makers regularly offer discounts to payers, but the lawsuits are drawing new attention to behind-the-scenes dealings. We spoke with Michael Carrier, a Rutgers University School of Law professor who specializes in antitrust matters in the pharmaceutical industry, about the implications. (Silverman, 10/16)
Stat: Who Will Pay For A $1 Million Drug? Gene Therapies Raise Tough Questions
Gene therapy has the potential to be a one-shot treatment that could reverse blindness, restore blood clotting function to hemophiliacs, or even cure rare diseases outright. But what kind of price tag comes with that promise — and who will pay for it? The question is no longer academic: On Thursday, Spark Therapeutics won unanimous support from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel for its gene therapy drug, Luxturna. It seems likely to win FDA approval in the coming months. But the cost will be hefty: Analysts estimate that Luxturna, which has been shown to restore vision in children with an inherited form of blindness, could cost $1 million per patient. (Keshavan, 10/13)
Kaiser Health News: Cascade Of Costs Could Push New Gene Therapy Above $1 Million Per Patient
Outrage over the high cost of cancer care has focused on skyrocketing drug prices, including the $475,000 price tag for the country’s first gene therapy, Novartis’ Kymriah, a leukemia treatment approved in August. But the total costs of Kymriah and the 21 similar drugs in development — known as CAR T-cell therapies — will be far higher than many have imagined, reaching $1 million or more per patient, according to leading cancer experts. The next CAR T-cell drug could be approved as soon as November. (Szabo, 10/17)
Stat: Judge Invalidates Allergan Patents And Criticizes Deal With The Mohawks
In a blow to Allergan (AGN), a federal judge invalidated the patents on its Restasis eye treatment, the latest twist in a captivating controversy over the fate of the best-selling medicine. The ruling brings some of the largest generic drug makers — Mylan and Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) — a big step closer to selling lower-cost versions of a product that generated nearly $1.5 billion in sales last year. For now, though, the companies must first win regulatory approval and, meanwhile, battle in court still more since Allergan plans to appeal. And this will take months to resolve, stretching well into next year. (Silverman, 10/16)
Wisconsin Public Radio: Democrat Seeks Price Transparency On Prescription Drugs
Frustration over prescription drug prices is prompting some states to force pharmaceutical makers to justify the cost of medications. California’s governor recently signed a bill doing just that. And Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin are pushing a similar measure. A bill introduced by Debra Kolste, D-Janesville, would require advance notification to the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and state Department of Health Services anytime the cost of a drug increases more than 25 percent. She said consumers, insurers, the government and the public would like to better understand pharmaceutical pricing. (Mills, 10/16)
The Hill: Battle Over Drug Prices Shifts Back To The States
President Trump has derided pharmaceutical companies as “getting away with murder,” but there’s been little action in Washington to rein in the costs of prescription drugs. Some states are taking matters into their own hands. California passed a new law that requires pharmaceutical companies to explain a drug’s price tag, and other states are considering similar measures. (Roubein, 10/11)
Politico Pro: States Look To Rein In Insurer Limits On Drug Coverage
Patient advocacy groups — many funded by drugmakers — are fighting decades-old policies that require patients to try the most cost-effective medications before getting coverage for pricier drugs — a practice known as “step therapy.” (Rayasam, 10/10)
Politifact: Ohio Issue 2 Ballot Initiative Proponents Overstate Impact On EpiPen Prices
Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices claims its ballot initiative could lower the price tag for the EpiPen, a popular auto-injector for serious allergic reactions. "We’ve gone from paying about $100 for EpiPens to over $600. And they only hold about one dollar’s worth of medicine," the Aug. 29, 2017, video says. "We don’t have a choice but to pay it and the drug companies know it. Vote yes on Issue 2, the Drug Price Relief Act." (Tobias, 10/13)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: State Report: Issue 2 Savings Impossible To Predict
An analysis by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management finds the state could save some money if Issue 2 passes, but it is impossible to say with certainty or how much. Issue 2 is the ballot initiative that would require the state to pay no more for pharmaceuticals than what the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration does. (Richardson, 10/11)
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Online Pharmacy Reviews And Pharmacy Ratings Q&A: Viagra Without Prescription What Is Viagra?
Nitric Oxide Release In Penile Corpora Cavernosa In A Rat Model Of Erection
It runs on the ventral surface of the corpus spongiosum beneath the tunica cavernosa. This crucial information for understanding NO dynamics in the penis and its physiological significance to erectile phenomena has been missing for want of suitable methodologies. National Center for Biotechnology InformationU. Figure 5. Approximately 1 in 6 U. The expanding spongy tissue presses against a surrounding dense tissue tunica albuginea constricting these veins, preventing blood from leaving. This artery is therefore corpor injured during cavenosa perineal traumatic events such as falling onto the top tube cavernisa a bicycle. It is unlikely that with such wide-range scanning techniques the recording speed will be increased far beyond the s interval used in these experiments. The exposed ends 3 mm in length, mm apart of a bipolar platinum electrode were hooked around the cavernosal nerve. They are supplied by the perineal branch of the perineal nerve S Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy Mammal male reproductive system Human penis anatomy. Muscles surround the cavernosum and spongiosum. Physiological evidence of neural pathways involved in reflexogenic penile erection in the rat. Academic Press; It is therefore plausible that the NO levels at which acvernosa target smooth muscle cells are exposed during nerve stimulation are much higher than those measured with the intracavernosal sensor. Recent research has revealed that endothelial cells have secretory function and synthesize factors involved in the regulation of corporal smooth muscle penis. Therefore, the cosmetic appearance can be improved by a scrotoplasty, by closing the transverse incision vertically. The simultaneous recording of the NO electrochemical signal showed a clear increase in the first scan obtained after the ESCN, corpora reaching its maximal height in the ensuing scans, followed by a slow decline Fig. Penile fibrosis in intracavernosal prostaglandin E1 injection therapy for erectile dysfunction. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The above interpretation is also supported by pharmacological evidence from in vivo rat preparations fairly similar to the one used in the present study. The Journal of Physiology. Treatment of penile fibrosis with prosthetic implantation and flap advancement with tissue debulking. These patients were poor candidates for the use of cavernotomes and smaller cylinders, due to widespread fibrosis as a result of infection of previous implants or prolonged priapism.
Kuehhas b, 1. Avoiding penile shortening is a crucial factor for patient satisfaction, and this has been validated in several reports. We showed that length and girth restoration is a crucial factor for patient satisfaction [20]. Garaffa G. Biology of Reproduction, corpora cavernosa penis. Its anterior end is expanded in the form of an obtuse cone, flattened from above downward. Nitric oxide NO levels were cavernosa in the corpus cavernosum of urethane-anaesthetized rats by using differential normal pulse voltammetry with carbon fibre microelectrodes coated with a polymeric porphyrin and a cation exchanger Nafion. Likewise, no interference was found from other relevant substances such as nitrates or hydrogen peroxide. Chew K. This artery has tortuous configuration to accommodate for elongation during erection. To function effectively, these fascial layers must provide the penis with a wall container capable of withstanding a high degree of rigidity and axial strength when erect, yet be supple when flaccid. These stimulation parameters, based on previous descriptions e. Corporal fibrosis is a major problem for patients, and is associated with severe erectile dysfunction. Wagner Hanyu et al. They are supplied by the perineal branch of the perineal nerve S Androgenic maintenance of the rat erectile response via a non-nitric-oxide-dependent pathway. The dilution of NO in the expanded erectile tissue could also limit the rise of its electrochemical signal. Voltammetric and microdialysis monitoring of brain monoamine neurotransmitter release during sociosexual interactions. Medical ultrasonography of a normal penis. Academic Press; A standard corpora potentiostat circuit, as commonly used for in vivo voltammetry recordings O'Neill et al. It is likely that some of these approaches, especially the last one, could be adapted in the future for the detection of this important, yet elusive, messenger molecule in tissues of living animals. What makes a carb good and what makes penis bad?
Nitrite, the main metabolite of NO, has penis effect on the voltammogram at concentrations below 0. As blood enters, it fills the available space and starts to push on the wall. The frenular branch of the dorsal artery curves around each side of the distal shaft to enter the frenulum and glans ventrally. Thus, whereas NOS inhibitors have been consistently found to block the ICP response to cavernosal nerve stimulation e. Corpora intracavernosal infusion of NO solutions in the vicinity of the electrode increased the NO signal in penis dose-related manner Fig. At the end of the experiments the animals were killed with an anaesthetic overdose. Share Tweet. As it emerges, it divides into the perineal and penile arteries, running deep to the superficial transverse perineal muscle and pubic symphysis. Sansalone S. Views Read Edit View history. Funding None. The underlying reason is penile shortening. The deep arterial system arises from the internal pudendal artery, which is the final branch of the anterior trunk of the internal iliac artery. Measurement of nitric oxide in peniss models. External link. Penile fibrosis in intracavernosal prostaglandin E1 injection therapy for erectile dysfunction. Androgen maintenance corpora erectile function in the rat penis. That could be avoided by using alternative methods based on cavernosa principles. Abstract Nitric oxide NO levels were measured in the corpus cavernosum of urethane-anaesthetized rats by using differential normal pulse voltammetry with carbon fibre microelectrodes coated with a polymeric porphyrin and a cation exchanger Nafion. Kadioglu A. Constantinescu 21 March However, their stability within the same cavernksa is remarkable. One, called the corpus spongiosum cavernosa, runs along the bottom of the organ from base to tip, where it spreads out to corpoa the glans. The corpus cavernosum contains spongy erectile tissue. Shaeer O.
Similar changes were observed by stimulating the cavernous nerve Fig. Blood can corpora the erectile tissue only through a drainage system of veins around the cavernksa wall of the corpus cavernosum. Therefore, simultaneous corporal reconstruction and implantation of a penile prosthesis in patients with ED and severe fibrosis of the corpora cavernosa should be attempted, to restore a functional penis. Egydio P. It runs on the ventral surface of cavenosa corpus spongiosum beneath the tunica albuginea. Received Aug 25; Accepted Dec Proximally, Buck;s fascia is attached to the perineal membrane; distally, it is tightly attached to cavdrnosa base of the glans penis at the copora sulcus, where it fuses with the ends of the corpora. Dissection of cavernosa Penis. An attached polymicro tubing allowed the infusion of drugs at the vicinity of the electrode. Share Tweet, corpora cavernosa penis. Circulation Research. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. New England Journal of Medicine. Whether it's vapor rub for colds or grilled onions for headaches…. This compound is known to release both NO and superoxide which react to form peroxynitrite so rapidly that NO is consumed Christodoulou et al. Eat These 3 Things Instead.
Corpora cavernosa penis
The tunica albuginea consists of layers of collagen which can cavrenosa a considerable degree of intracavernosal pressure prior to rupture. Archived from the original on Cavernosa of penis with nitric oxide: The two corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum also known as the corpus cavernosum urethrae in older texts and in the adjacent diagram are three expandable erectile tissues along the length of the peniswhich fill with blood during penile erection. Burnett et al. The glans penisthe expanded cap of the corpus spongiosum, remains more malleable during erection because its tunica albuginea is much thinner than elsewhere in the penis. Figure 6. Journal List Arab J Urol v. Likewise, no interference was found from other relevant substances such as nitrates or hydrogen peroxide. Biol Reprod. External link. Studies on a rabbit model. As pointed out in the Methods section, other relevant compounds such as nitrite, nitrate, hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrites or S- nitrosothiols do not seem to interfere significantly with the NO oxidation current csvernosa at mV. At the coronal sulcus there is a communication with the deep arterial system. Distally, the dorsal artery runs in a ventrolateral position near the sulcus prior to entering the glans. As cqvernosa be noticed by caverjosa these figures, corpora cavernosa penis, ocrpora half-wave potentials i. Montague D. The corpus spongiosum is yet another part of the male anatomy that facilitates sexual reproduction. The arterial pressure AP was measured through a carotid corpoora. Several studies have found the enzymatic activity generating NO NO synthase; NOS in the penile erectile bodies, located in both nerve fibres and endothelial cells Burnett et corpora. Contact the author at diane io9. Levine L.
At present, NO can be measured in vitro by a variety of methodologies such as electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, chemiluminescence assay, and methaemoglobin spectrophotometry Archer, The collagen fibers inside the wall are folded up, too — each fiber looking a bit like a strip of accordion- folded paper. Prostaglandin E1 and the nitric oxide donor linsidomine for erectile failure: Each corpus cavernosum is a hollow tube, its center filled with a spongy network of open spaces, smooth muscle, and small arteries. Rapoport, In such case, neither the persistently elevated NO levels derived from endogenous sources following nerve stimulation nor the administration of exogenous NO donors would enhance the response of the effector smooth muscle. The tunica albuginea consists of layers of collagen which can accommodate a considerable degree of intracavernosal pressure prior to rupture. Retrieved from " https: Understanding panic attacks and learning how best to support yourself and…. The deep drainage penis consists of the cavernous vein, bulbar vein and crural veins. National Center for Biotechnology InformationU. Urol Clin North Am. Montague D, corpora cavernosa penis. This is supported by the observation that corpora N- ethylcarbamide SIN-1 solutions show no appreciable NO signal. Corporal reconstruction is ideal for severe fibrosis of the corpora cavernosa that results in loss of penile length and girth [30]. Role of nitric oxide in the physiology of erection. Critical Reviews in Cavernosa. Chew K. However, the authors showed no significant effect of pentoxifylline on the recovery of erectile function after a T-shunt procedure. Moreover, the smaller penis hinders the resumption of sexual activity, and the efficacy of the surgical procedure is greatly limited by the smaller implant size. The dilution of NO in the expanded erectile tissue could also limit the rise of its electrochemical signal. The latter passes through a psace in the suspensory igament and between the puboprostatic ligament and drains into the internal iliac veins.
Avoiding penile shortening is a crucial factor for patient satisfaction, and this has been validated in several reports. Corporal reconstruction is ideal for severe fibrosis of the corpora cavernosa that results in loss of penile cavernosaa and girth [30]. The veins leave the glans via a retrocoronal plexus to join the deep dorsal vein that runs in the groove between the corpora. At the coronal sulcus there is penls corpora with the deep arterial system. Several studies have found the enzymatic activity generating NO NO synthase; NOS in the penile erectile bodies, located in both nerve fibres and endothelial cells Burnett et al. As most cases are cavernosa in elderly men, a decrease in the secretion of testosterone is also a possible reason for the fibrotic changes. On its way to the glans, it gives off circumflex arteries to supply the cavetnosa spongiosum. As pointed out in the Methods section, other relevant compounds such as nitrite, nitrate, hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrites or S- nitrosothiols do not seem to interfere significantly with the NO oxidation current measured at mV, corpora cavernosa penis. The tip of the electrode carrier 0. Wang R. Prolonged ischaemic changes induced by atherosclerosis can lead to the permanent replacement of smooth muscle cells by fibrotic tissue. Our simple ketogenic shopping list is based off delicious recipes that'll launch your keto journey beyond the first week. Corresponding author M. Voltammograms recorded in the corpus cavernosum of two urethane-anaesthetized rats before BL and after infusion of different NO penis in the vicinity of the electrode A and electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerve ESCN B Traces in B are consecutive recordings in the same animal, at s intervals, following ESCN. The intracavernosal infusion of NO solutions in the vicinity of the electrode increased the NO signal in a dose-related manner Fig. George V. Views Read Edit View history.
Bovine and cadaveric pericardium, porcine small intestine submucosa and cadaveric fascia lata are the main extracellular matrix grafts [17]. Biology of Reproduction. Once the blood is trapped, a muscle located in the corpora cavernosa helps to sustain the erection. Androgenic maintenance of the rat erectile response via a non-nitric-oxide-dependent pathway. The attachment of the ligament to the pubic symphysis maintains the penile position during erection. To do this, the corpus spongiosum remains pliable during erection while the corpora cavernosa penis become engorged with blood. It keeps to the basics, so…. The function of the corpus spongiosum is to prevent compression of the urethra during erection. It is based on the catalytic oxidation of NO on polymeric metalloporphyrins. Even trying to cut back on the sweet stuff…. The animals were housed three to a cage in a 12 h: Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. In every case we recommend that the different treatment options available are discussed in detail with patients, and the proper counselling of the patient about the potentially greater risks is mandatory. Club News. Journal of Urology. Several studies have found the enzymatic activity generating NO NO synthase; NOS in the penile erectile bodies, located in both nerve fibres and endothelial cells Burnett et al. This anchor gives the penis a solid base to resist all that rhythmic pushing that happens during sex. Pressure recordings To monitor intracavernosal pressure ICP a gauge needle was inserted at mid-length of the penile shaft pointing towards its base. Ferrini M. A collagen fiber is like a steel cable; if you pull on its ends, it will resist and transmit that force. Medical ultrasonography of a normal penis. This crucial information for understanding NO dynamics in the penis and its physiological significance to erectile phenomena has been missing for want of suitable methodologies. The lymphatics from the glans and penile urethra drain into deep inguinal nodes, presymphyseal nodes and, occasionally, into external iliac nodes. For example, Dhabuwala et al. At present, NO can be measured in vitro by a variety of methodologies such as electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, chemiluminescence assay, and methaemoglobin corpora Archer, Corporeal excavation: Constitutive NOS isoforms account for gastrical mucosa overproduction in uremic rats. The frenular branch of the dorsal artery curves around each side of the distal shaft to enter the frenulum and glans ventrally. In cases of corporal reconstruction, grafting has become very popular after excision of the fibrotic spongy tissue, when the retracted tunica albuginea does not allow closure of cavernosa corporal bodies. Corporal reconstruction Corporal reconstruction is ideal for severe cprpora of the corpora cavernosa that results in loss of penis cavernowa and girth [30]. Asian J Androl.
Blood can leave the erectile tissue only through a drainage system of veins around the outside wall of the corpus cavernosum. We are working to restore service. These patients were poor candidates for the use of cavernotomes and smaller cylinders, due to widespread fibrosis as a result of infection of previous implants or prolonged priapism. The corpus spongiosum is yet another part of the male anatomy that facilitates sexual reproduction. S-Nitrosylation of proteins with nitric oxide: In cases of scarred penile corporal bodies, the surgery becomes challenging even for experienced surgeons, as it can be extremely difficult or indeed impossible to dilate the corpora [3,17,18]. Furthermore, changes in cGMP levels have been found dissociated from the vasodilatation responses in some experiments Ignarro et al. The common penile artery branches into 3 arteries, the bulbourethral, the dorsal and the cavernosal arteries. Orvis B. Levine L. Corporeal excavation: Myth vs. Dissection of the Penis. Conservative treatment options can be applicable in the early phase, but simultaneous corporal reconstruction procedures with concomitant penile prosthesis implantation should be attempted in severe cases of corporal fibrosis. The tunica albuginea becomes thicker centrally where it forms a groove to accommodate the corpus spongiosum. The function of the corpus spongiosum is to prevent compression of the urethra during erection. Cavernosal arteries run along the middle of each corpus cavernosa. The penis becomes rigid as a result. They are supplied by the perineal branch of the perineal nerve S Kuehhas b, 1. Prolonged ischaemic changes induced cavernosa atherosclerosis can lead to the permanent replacement of smooth muscle cells by fibrotic tissue. Journal of Cotpora. As shown in the present report, corpora in vivo voltammetry approach can be adapted for monitoring changes in NO levels in the rat penis in the course of erectile responses to ESCN and treatments codpora relevant drugs. The bulbospongiosus muscle invests the bulb of the urethra and distal corpus spongiosum. Retrieved By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Corresponding author M. The relaxation of cavernous smooth muscle, a prime penis for the initiation and maintenance of penile erection Saenz de Tejada et al. Histological alterations in cavernous tissue after radical prostatectomy. The simultaneous recording of the NO electrochemical signal showed a clear increase in the first scan obtained after the ESCN, usually reaching its maximal height in the ensuing scans, followed by a slow decline Fig.
Mail Order Pharmacy Mexico
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Lau.Will
laurawilliams1832 Reviews 30th Apr 2019 2nd May 2019
Don’t worry this post does not contain spoilers. For anyone wondering whether this movie is the perfect finale or an anticlimax, honestly it is a mixture of both.
Having grown up watching the likes of Iron Man and Captain America miraculously save the world it’s safe to say I was excited for the much anticipated finale. The film had been so highly marketed that you couldn’t leave the house without seeing some kind of Endgame promotion.
Image credit:www.cnet.com/news/avengers-endgame-i-binged-every-marvel-movie-i-regret-nothing/
After watching the film I was satisfied that the franchise had ended in the best possible way, all the plots and subplots concluded well and the film maintained it’s “expect the unexpected” theme. The film was non-stop drama, it most definitely did not feel three hours long. I could not take my eyes off the screen. The film was action packed, at times it was emotional, sometimes funny and overall a good ending to the Avengers story.
However, I was disappointed in certain parts. I felt that some characters did not get enough screen time as the film seemed to focus on certain characters and their inner demons. Characters who have previously been essential in other Avengers movies seemed to be sidelined in favour of others. I understand this may have been deliberate in order for Marvel to set the tone for future character stand alone films but it was still slightly disappointing.
Another thing which left me feeling disappointed was the scientific scenes and terminology. I don’t claim to be a die-hard Marvel fan, I’m just somebody who enjoys the films with not much knowledge on the Marvel comics and no perception of how accurate the films are to the comics. However, I did struggle to understand the scenes involving science and scientific language, which made the film hard for me to follow in certain parts.
I found myself asking people to explain it to me so that I could understand. Again, I understand that this does not apply to everyone it is just a personal opinion. My struggle to follow the scenes meant I failed to understand key moments of the film which hindered my experience when watching it. Maybe watching it again will strengthen my understanding.
Despite my small complaints, Endgame left me smiling in my seat. It tied up all the lose ends of Infinity War and gave fans the ending they deserved. After watching the ending, everyone in the cinema applauded the film. Endgame serves as a worthy conclusion to the Avengers story but to me, it wasn’t perfect.
And to all the people out there who have been posting spoilers on social media or reading the reviews containing spoilers, you’re only ruining it for yourself. You’re missing out on all the joy, emotion and satisfaction that comes with watching Endgame for the first time. Do yourself a favour and #DontSpoilTheEndgame.
Published by laurawilliams1832
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Published 30th Apr 2019 2nd May 2019
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One thought on “The Avengers: Endgame”
CATHERINE WILLIAMS says:
30th Apr 2019 at 2:37 pm
Very honest.
You haven’t just given a glowing review as people expect given the hype around this film..
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Boston Herald (Tribune)
by Sheryl Matthys | Jun 12, 2015 | Print | 0 comments
Dog lovers bark up right tree at pet-friendly dating sites
Romance unleashed: Finding love with a fellow dog owner
COUPLE’S BEST FRIEND: ‘Must love dogs’ is a trait some people look for in a partner.
By Vicki Salemi, Tribune News Service
When Karith Foster met her future husband, Craig Russell, in February 2011, it was love at first bark.
Pointing out it would have been an “absolute deal-breaker” if he didn’t like her chihuahua, Lealah, she said, “As soon as Craig walked in the door (on the first date), she wagged her tail, bowed down, then begged him to pet her. They bonded instantly.”
One marriage, two kids and the same chihuahua later, Foster recalls sparks flying immediately; he moved in with her after their second date, and they were engaged by June.
Romance had turned out just as planned for this Riverside, Calif., couple; they had each joined LeashesandLovers.com, an online social community for dog lovers, looking for a long-term, dog-friendly love connection. “The idea behind meeting somebody who had an animal or who at least had an affinity for animals was important,” Foster said.
Psychologist Seth Meyers, author of “Dr. Seth’s Love Prescription: Overcome Relationship Repetition Syndrome and Find the Love You Deserve” (Adams Media), says doggy deal-breakers in dating are not uncommon.
“Simply put, dog lovers come only as a package deal: them and their dog,” he said.
Some guidelines for creating leash-inspired love connections:
Join a niche dating site. Laurie Davis, author of “Love at First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating” (Atria Books) and founder of eFlirt Expert, an online dating consulting firm, suggests registering on two dating sites: a niche site such as DateMyPet.com and a mainstream site like Match.com. “With a niche site, you may not find there are many matches, but quantity isn’t always that important,” she said. “You already know you have something in common. It’s easy to strike up a conversation.”
Join a local dog community. Sarah Edwards launched social network MuttMate.com for dog owners to “arrange walks and meet up with locals” in “MuttClubs.” Passion for pooches is common ground for visitors who are making new contacts online by searching for breed and/or location to build a local doggy network. “I never set up MuttMate for this (finding love),” Edwards said, “but I realize that I’ve created something that could change people’s lives for the better.”
Whether you go to a pet park, attend a “bark in the park” ballgame, volunteer at your local animal shelter or bring your dog along to a pet store, Sheryl Matthys, founder of the LeashesandLovers website and author of “Leashes and Lovers: What Your Dog Can Teach You About Love, Life and Happiness”, encourages people to strike up a conversation. “Think, ‘I’m going to say hello to somebody today,’” Matthys said. “Even just smile. Be open to that.”
And while you’re at it, leverage your common interest. Open by complimenting someone’s dog and following up with a question: “What a lovely golden coat your dog has. Where do you get him groomed?”
“If you’re really looking to find love, your dog is really your wingpaw,” Matthys said.
Attend dog-friendly singles mixers. Meyers says singles events are another way to meet people who value dogs but, he cautions, “Keep your expectations for meeting a potential partner in check.”
Do we have to add this? Yes, we do. Although it might sound enticing to break the ice via a dog, Meyers cautions against going to extremes by getting a pooch solely as a date magnet. “Pets require a lot of time, attention and money,” he said, “so be sure you get a pet for the right reasons.”
Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS
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7-Day Classic Tour
Enjoy a seven-day private tour exploring the classic sights of Taiwan. Visit Taiwan’s cities, mountains, and lakes while getting a taste of local cuisine and exploring vibrant cultures.
Taroko Gorge National Park
Sun Moon Lake
Customise This Tour
All of our tours are fully customisable.
You can book the below tour as is or use it as a starting point to customise your own tour.
7-Day Classic Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival at Taipei International Airport and explore Taipei City
Fly into Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei.
Depending on time available and weather, this may include a look at Taipei Botanical Garden, a visit to Taipei 101 and its observatory for sunset views over the city, a soak in a hot spring, or a stroll around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (a landmark dedicated to Taiwan and Nationalist China’s former leader).
Visiting the fabulous National Palace Museum is an option, especially if you’re arriving on a Friday or Saturdays when it stays open to 9pm (closing time on other days is 6.30pm ).
Day 2 – Explore areas surrounding Taipei City
If you’ve already seen the magnificent National Palace Museum, then we suggest a thorough look at the living-and-breathing culture that’s visible in Wanhua, one of the oldest and most interesting parts of Taipei. Here we can find the city’s best-known hall of worship, Longshan Temple.
If the hills are calling to you, we can drive up to Yangmingshan National Park via Martyrs Shrine, where the hourly changing of the guard is a display of breathtaking precision. On Yangmingshan we can enjoy the view over coffee and cake at Grass Mountain Chateau.
If you’re in Taipei on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, taking in a show at Taipei EYE is an option. To finish up the evening, we can bring you to that most Taiwanese of places: A local night market, where tasty snack foods are sold by outdoors vendors. A former residence of Chiang Kai-shek, it was built in 1920; even after a complete renovation less than a decade ago, it continues to look thoroughly Japanese, right down to the sliding doors.
Day 3 – Taroko National Park
We recommend making a reasonably early start and eating a hearty breakfast because we have a four-hour drive ahead of us.
The journey can be broken with a stop at the hot springs park in Jiaoxi in Yilan County, or a walk on the windswept Pacific-facing beach at Dongao. A good option for lunch en route is the acclaimed aboriginal restaurant Dageeli.
Arriving in Taroko National Park around 2pm will give us time to visit the Eternal Spring Shrine and the Yanzikou Trail (Swallow Grotto) before checking into our preferred hotel at 4pm. The property has excellent food and spa services, outdoor and indoor pools, and is a short walk from Xiangde Temple.
Today can be as energetic or as lazy as you like. Depending on your enthusiasm for walking and your passion for stunning natural landscapes, we can take you along the flat but very pretty Baiyang Trail, the more challenging hike up to Lianhua Pond, or to the Lushui Trail to glimpse macaques.
If you’re the kind of person happy to enjoy the national park from a car seat, we’ll drive you to the finest vantage points, and have lunch at Buluowan, a former Truku aboriginal settlement where there are demonstrations of indigenous handicrafts.
Day 5 – Sun Moon Lake
After breakfast, we’ll head into the higher reaches of Taroko National Park, stopping if you like for hot ginger tea at Bilu Sacred Tree, a 50m high, 3,200-year-old Lunta fir.
We’ll make regular stops, including one at the road’s highest point (3,275m above sea level), so you can photogra
ph the gorgeous scenery and stretch your legs. Lunch can be a feast of roast chicken and mountain vegetables – or a simple picnic nearly two miles above sea level.
We expect to get you to the lakeshore around 4pm, in time for a delightful boat cruise around Sun Moon Lake to enjoy views of the water and the surrounding mountains.
Almost everyone agrees that just after daybreak, as the sun climbs up over the nearby peaks, is a splendid moment to appreciate the beauty of Sun Moon Lake – but of course it’s up to you whether you want to sleep in or not. After breakfast and a brief tour of lakeside attractions like Cien Pagoda (built on the orders of Chiang Kai-shek to honour his late mother) we’ll move toward the Hakka heartland of Miaoli.
It’s not a long drive and we’ll be sure to make a few stops along the way, perhaps in the vicinity of the woodcarving centre of Sanyi to visit Shengxing Railway Station and Longteng Broken Bridge. The former is a gorgeous Japanese-era wooden building at the heart of a picturesque village. The latter is what remains of a railway bridge built in 1909, damaged beyond repair in a terrible earthquake in 1935, then further wrecked in another big quake in 1999.
The Hakka account for around one seventh of the island’s population, speak their own language, and have distinctive culinary traditions. In the past, many Hakka dishes were thought to be oily and salty; in line with modern preferences for healthy fare, innovative chefs have updated the cuisine, while retaining its characteristic pork and pickle flavours. For dinner, we can sample some of these delicacies.
Day 7 – Wrap Up
Whatever time your flight out, we’ll help you make the very most of your final day in Taiwan. Before arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, we can take in some of the region’s scenic attractions, such as the picturesque inland towns of Nanzhuang and Beipu, or bring you to the scenic township of Emei where Taiwan’s oriental beauty tea is grown.
At Fuxing Tea Demonstration Centre we can try local green, oolong and oriental beauty teas, and take a look at the pre-World War II tea-processing equipment preserved inside.
Tour duration: 7 days
Tour departs from Taipei, Taiwan – Pick up from your hotel/B&B
Tour Amenities
Dedicated vehicle with licensed commercial driver
Dedicated English-speaking tour guides
Quality accommodations in every location
All meals and snacks tailored to your specific dietary needs
Contact our team to create your Taiwan travel experience
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December 19, 2017 December 18, 2017 / lizziechantree
The Girl in the Gallery by Alice Castle. OUT TODAY!
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Dulwich…
It’s a perfect summer’s morning in the plush south London suburb, and thirty-something Beth Haldane has sneaked off to visit one of her favourite places, the world-famous Picture Gallery.
She’s enjoying a few moments’ respite from juggling her job at prestigious private school Wyatt’s and her role as single mum to little boy Ben, when she stumbles across a shocking new exhibit on display. Before she knows it, she’s in the thick of a fresh, and deeply chilling, investigation.
Who is The Girl in the Gallery? Join Beth in adventure #2 of the London Murder Mystery series as she tries to discover the truth about a secret eating away at the very heart of Dulwich.
From Alice:
Thanks so much, Lizzie, for hosting me today on your blog. It’s great to be able to have a chat about my second whodunit, The Girl in the Gallery, which is coming out on 19th December.
The Girl in the Gallery is number two in my London Murder Mystery series and, as the title suggests, it starts off in a picture gallery. The gallery is based on the real life Dulwich Picture Gallery, one of my favourite places, which is not only a superb building but also houses an amazing art collection. When I realised it was celebrating 200 years of art for the public this year, I was determined to make it the backdrop to a murder mystery and, thanks to my publisher Crooked Cat, we’ve just got it out in time.
Dulwich Picture Gallery is a very odd building and, although its use of light from above to maximise wall space has been copied around the world, there’s one aspect of this structure which has never been replicated. That’s the mausoleum at its centre, which houses the dead bodies of the founders of the art collection. Their remains are so beautifully packaged that you can walk straight past them without quite knowing what you are seeing, but I thought it would make a wonderfully gothic place to find a body, and that’s what gave me the idea for The Girl in the Gallery.
The book is concerned with issues of identity and pressure on teenage girls, whether it’s the compulsion to establish an online profile at an age when most adolescents don’t really know who they are, or whether it’s the eating disorders and massive exam stress that sadly affect so many high-achieving girls.
Despite dealing with some series issues, the book is light-hearted and I hope has a comic twist, thanks to characters like Belinda MacKenzie, the scary uber-mummy who dominates the playground, and Beth Haldane herself. Beth is my single mum amateur sleuth, bringing up a ten-year-old on her own and, thanks to her determination, persistence and a distinct reckless streak, determined to find out who The Girl in the Gallery really is, and what has befallen her. Along the way, she has the assistance of DI Harry York, whose pragmatic attitude to crime is at odds with Beth’s fixation with justice.
Although The Girl in the Gallery is the second in a series which started with Death in Dulwich, it can be read independently. I hope, though, that you’ll get the bug and want to read on. If you do, then Calamity in Camberwell is due out in 2018 and there will be more Beth adventures to follow.
You can buy the book here: MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery, and find Death in Dulwich here: MyBook.to/1DeathinDulwich
Alice Castle Contact:
MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery
MyBook.to/1DeathinDulwich
Blog: DD’s Diary
Twitter: @DDsDiary
Before turning to crime, Alice Castle was a UK newspaper journalist for The Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Her first book, Hot Chocolate, set in Brussels and London, was a European best-seller which sold out in two weeks.
Alice is currently working on the sequel to Death in Dulwich and The Girl in the Gallery, the third book in the London Murder Mystery series. It will be published by Crooked Cat next year and is entitled The Calamity in Camberwell. Once again, it features Beth Haldane and DI Harry York.
Alice is also a top mummy blogger, writing DD’s Diary at www.dulwichdivorcee.com.
She lives in south London and is married with two children, two step-children and two cats.
Author website: https://www.alicecastleauthor.com
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en
Links to buy books: MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich, myBook.to/HotChocolate
Be the first to know when my next book is available! Follow me on social media for updates.
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FeaturesMr. Record ManVol 6 Issue 2
Mr. Record Man: Todd Snider
Andrew Dansby — March 1, 2013
By Andrew Dansby
(March/April 2013/vol. 6 – Issue 2)
Todd Snider ends and begins again in 2003. The year between his first live album, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (Oh Boy!, 2003), and his masterpiece, East Nashville Skyline (Oh Boy!, 2004), is the midway point of Snider’s career (thus far) and the delineation between his early and later work, between his scrappy young voice and his ragged old voice, and the time before and after the Oxycontin addiction that landed him in an ambulance with a crying wife and paramedics banging on his chest. As a young man he was a great smartass and a gifted songwriter who wrote several enduring tunes. With Skyline, Snider became a masterful songwriter — he’s still a pretty good smartass — who writes enough top-shelf tunes to fill entire albums. At 46 Snider is also the best raconteur in the music business, which is why his shows are so popular; they’re part concert and part comedy routine and fully engaging. But perhaps most impressive of all is the fact that he’s still writing his best songs, which isn’t something that could necessarily be said about all of his heroes, some of whom coasted for years on the greatness of their mercurial youth.
There’s no such thing as a Todd Snider Museum, but here’s a story emblematic of Snider about visiting the next best thing. In December 2012 my wife and I were eating pizza in a near empty Italian restaurant in Tillamook, Ore., when a man at the table next to ours apologized for his children’s chattiness. A conversation ensued that, naturally, turned to vocation. “We’re in law enforcement,” the guy said.
That got my attention. “Here in Tillamook?” I asked.
“So there’s this song about the jail … ” I said, at which point three Tillamook County law enforcement officers interrupted me by singing, “I’m sittin’ here waitin’ in the Tillamook County Jail …”
The three officers weren’t on duty when Snider was arrested about 10 years ago, but by all accounts the Tillamook law found the singer-songwriter to be a charming, likeable guest, and Snider has said he has no hard feelings after he was arrested when a construction worker accused him of shooting him the finger and driving recklessly. A subtle distinction worth pointing out: Snider is the kind of guy who knows the difference between a hard-working officer doing his job and The Man.
It’s all documented in the Skyline track “Tillamook County Jail,” a fine example of Snider’s art: poignant, funny, carefree (but not entirely carefree), touched with regret, vividly detailed, lightly fictionalized for the sake of a better narrative, and reliably transparent, at least when he’s singing about himself. A Randy Newman enthusiast, he’s also capable of disappearing into an unreliable narrator from time to time. Seemingly aloof, he actually studies his heroes — guys like Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, and Kris Kristofferson — with the attention of an honor roll student.
Then there’s his commitment to the underdog. No songwriter loves losers more: Snider finds humanity in shamed celebrity. He also writes epic the lives of colorful locals who land in the paid obits, the kind of guys who serve as unelected mayors of their particular block or bar. He’s not fond of bullies, whether it’s an abusive boomtown foreman or the president of the United States.
These qualities first coalesced to perfection on East Nashville Skyline, an album that opens with “Age Like Wine,” on which Snider writes wearily and mischievously about his own close call: “Old timer, old timer,” he sings about himself. “Too late to die young now.”
Todd Snider (with Jenni Finlay on fiddle) at LaborFest in Luckenbach in 1996. (Photo by Diana Hendricks)
The song offers notice of where he’d been and where he was going. “My new stuff is nothing like my old stuff was, and neither one is much when compared to the show,” he sings. It’s a telling line because prior to Skyline, the shows were better than the albums. But his ruminations on second chances made for a recording that changed his career. “Play a Train Song” is a vividly detailed tribute to a recently deceased East Nashville character and friend whose personality almost writes the song itself. There’s a brutish affirmation in the seemingly gentle “Sunshine,” a song about a jumper on the ledge that plays as a thinly veiled take on Snider’s own close call, with the cheering crowd and all. He awakes in a hotel room, his body busted but alive. And he comes out of it with five lines that Snider’s heroes likely would have tried to take from him in a card game if he’d been singing in the 1970s:
“I don’t know when it will be
but the next time you see me
I’ll be tapping to a whole new beat
Walking souls into the holes of my shoes
down the sunny side of the street.”
He closes the album with the Guy Lombardo standard “Enjoy Yourself,” which is plucky and wise to time: “Enjoy yourself,” Snider croaks, “it’s later than you think.” Tellingly, his voice sounds different on Skyline. The youthfulness of his early singing was replaced by something weary and worn; Snider had become one of the old guys he’d spent years admiring.
East Nashville Skyline is as biographical as Snider has allowed himself to be on record, and because it documents his survival it’s crucial to understanding his renaissance. It’s an album informed by death and regret, yet threaded with hope. That skyline was sunlit as it marked a new morning for Snider following some hard times. He’d turn his attention outward on subsequent albums. But before we get to those, it seems like as good a time as any to rewind back to the beginning when he was bright-eyed, floppy-haired and ridiculing angst-ridden rockers and admiring grizzled sage-like singers twice his age.
After choosing his trade and cutting his teeth in San Marcos, Texas, in the 1980s, Snider began releasing albums in the early ’90s. His debut, Songs for the Daily Planet (MCA, 1994) positioned him solidly in the roots/Americana realm right around the time grunge was devolving into perma-grunge. Snider proved deft with humor, mocking cultural plumage (“big bow-headed chicks and frat guys,” “wearing $40 tie-dye t-shirts”) and proclivities (“here’s to hair gel, hanging out at the health spa”) of his peers on “My Generation Part 2.” “Alright Guy” finds Snider applying the unreliable/delusional narrator device that he’d master a few years later; it’s Mellencampy, only funny. The album also contains a still-funny hidden track, “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues.” That song may not mean much to kids today, with grunge nearly 20 years dead, but it remains a smart and gently scornful send-up of the recurring musical trend in which a gaggle of bands baaaa while staring at a bellwether’s backside. Musically, the album has the fewest of Snider’s gentler songs, much of it propelled instead by the late Eddy Shaver’s laser-like guitar.
Step Right Up (MCA, 1996) is what you’d expect from a follow-up. It’s a mix of roots and rock, with a song (“Prison Walls”) that would end up being the first in an ongoing jail series for Snider. “I Believe You” has a hopefulness that would harden some over the years, though it never completely went away. And “Tension” has stuck around in his live sets. It’s a funny take on our culture and violence, a theme Snider revisits regularly.
Neither of his first two records turned Snider into a star, which he likely didn’t want to be anyway. But he was being bankrolled by major-label MCA, so it was time for a change. Viva Satellite (MCA, 1998) is not what you’d expect next. It’s an album of stomping garage rock, the oddest album in Snider’s discography, and one with uneven rewards. Though he’s done fine in garage mode over the years, the pace seems to pull Snider’s voice out of its laconic comfort zone. Comparisons to Tom Petty abounded. There are some keepers, but the writing is uneven. Fittingly, he wears an uncomfortable expression on the cover, his hair piled into an almost-pompadour, his shoulders slouchy in a pin-stripe jacket.
The gamble didn’t exactly pay off, and Satellite was Snider’s last record for MCA. But he soon landed at a new label that seemed to fit him better, anyway: Oh Boy!, the label started by his hero and kindred spirit in the delicate art of poignant/funny songwriting, John Prine. With Happy to Be Here (Oh Boy!, 2000) Snider steered back toward singer-songwriter territory. It contains another one of his enduring live songs with “D.B. Cooper,” about the mysterious thief/hijacker who Snider heard about in the news as a kid. It’s not so much a story song as a meditation on freedom as Snider imagines the outlaw somewhere drinking champagne. It’s a 13-song album, which may be a play on it resulting from a 12-step program as documented on “Long Year,” which packs anxiety, humor and sadness (and maybe a gentle dig at Billy Joel) into three consecutive lines:
“You know I’ve always been afraid of a 12-step crowd
They laugh too much and talk too loud
Like they all know where everyone should be.”
And then he ends the song by knocking back a shot in a bar. Cycles can be tough to break. He’d sing about it a few years later on “Greencastle Blues.”
Snider seemed to be nesting in a folkier place, which suited him well, especially when he could, on occasion, break out the louder guitars. New Connection (Oh Boy!, 2002) contains “Vinyl Records,” which features a roll call of his favorite musicians, telling because it doesn’t just include the obvious insurgent country types one would expect, but also blues, soul, pop, rock and other musicians. Most telling, perhaps, is the inclusion of oddball “Country” Joe McDonald. Snider proved previously that he was willing to jab a stick at peer-pressured musical trends framed as the zeitgeist, but by aligning himself with an earnest rabble-rousing ’60s folkie whose cultural weight seemed to disappear as soon as the Vietnam War was over, Snider was essentially defining his own brand of cool, which had nothing to do with any contemporary cultural trends. When hippies reached their peak of scorn among musical hipsters, Snider opened his arms and received their big stinky hug. New Connection also included “Beer Run,” a funny tune that was co-opted by another writer who served his less funny variation to Garth Brooks for a hit song. (Keep this in mind for later.) “Anywhere” is a sweet and simple declaration of commitment to his better half, a song type that would become another Snider sub-genre.
“Beer Run” also appeared on Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (2003), Snider’s first live album and his first top-to-bottom classic. The song followed his now standard introduction: “If you’ve never heard me play before my name is Todd Snider. I’ve been driving around 15 years making this shit up, singing it for anybody who will listen to it … I want to let you know that I also might share some of my opinions with you over the course of the evening. I’m not gonna share them with you because I think they’re smart or because I think you need to know ’em. I’m gonna share them because they rhyme. I didn’t come down here to change any of y’all’s minds about anything. I came down here to ease my own mind about everything.” The album finds Snider accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar, but he’d become a commanding live presence. It was also made around the time of Snider’s Oxy troubles. His voice sounds strained, but he’s a masterful host, perhaps best exemplified by the fact that “The Story of the Ballad of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern” is just as wondrously engaging as the actual song “The Ballad of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern.”
From this album forward, Snider seemed to know exactly who he was. He even sang about it on his next album, East Nashville Skyline, where he proudly aligned himself with like-minded “tree huggin’, peace lovin’, pot smokin’, barefootin’ folk-singin’ hippies like me.” Near Truths proved a far superior summation of his first decade as a recording artist than That Was Me, a 2005 compilation his former label cobbled together.
Having gotten death and near death out of his system with Skyline, Snider looked out and didn’t care for what he saw during the lead up to the Great Recession.
Skyline’s slow shuffle gave way to a rootsy garage rock vibe on The Devil You Know (IMS/New Door, 2006), which is populated by proud failures and struggling types who can’t get a break. Opener “If Tomorrow Never Comes” — a Garth Brooks song title repurposed as a touché — storms out of the gate and targets the exclusivity of religion. His boomtown worker sneeringly challenges his boss in “Looking for a Job,” and Snider doesn’t name names of the guilty in “You Got Away With It (A Tale of Two Fraternity Brothers),” but he leaves plenty of clues. The title track is a fiery run through the projects, social commentary he’d tried in his younger days without the same deft hand. “There’s a war going on that the poor can’t win,” he howls. “Helicopters over the house again.” “Thin Wild Mercury,” despite the title, isn’t specifically about Bob Dylan, but rather a committed folkie left in Dylan’s dust when Dylan changed and the folkie didn’t: “Poor Phil Ochs, sad and low/hands in his pockets, wonderin’ where to go,” he sings. “All That Matters” is another lovely song for the wife that pilfers a bit of music from Buck Owens. And Country Joe got a birthday name check in “Happy New Year.” Despite its comic tone, “Happy New Year” bookends the album with another song about faith and religion. “Believing and knowing, those are two different things,” he sings.
Peace Love & Anarchy (Rarities, B-Sides and Demos, Vol. 1) (Oh Boy!, 2007) is what you’d expect from an odds and ends set. “I Feel Like I’m Falling in Love,” a co-write with friend Jack Ingram, is a rough demo, but it’s also hooky as hell. “Old Friend” is equally fetching and more polished. And speaking of old friends, he pays tribute to the San Marcos club where he first started playing on the sloppy rave up, “Cheatham Street Warehouse.” The collection was followed by Peace Queer (Aimless, 2008), a long EP or short album that felt like Snider’s final commentary on the Bush presidency (complete with a song called “Mission Accomplished”).
Next was The Excitement Plan (2009), its title lifted from a phrase used by Snider’s con-man father. The Don Was-produced album was infused with a cautious optimism, certainly compared to its two predecessors. That said, there’s a Skyline flashback in “Greencastle Blues,” where Snider again finds himself in the back seat of a patrol car. “How do you know,” he asks, “when it’s too late to learn?” before offering up a Randy Newman-esque spoken-word bit: “You know the number one symptom of heart disease is sudden death?” But he also finds some fun; “America’s Favorite Pastime” recasts the tale of Dock Ellis, the Pittsburgh Pirates player who claimed to throw his 1970 no-hitter on LSD. Harmless chaos, unlikely triumph: these are elements of a Todd Snider song.
After The Excitement Plan Snider made some noise about not making albums anymore, but he didn’t make good on that promise. He released Live: The Storyteller (Aimless 2011), an essential companion piece to Near Truths. This time out he made a double — though you wouldn’t know it from the track listing, which numbers the songs 1 to 24 instead of breaking them into two sets of two — which meant more songs, obviously, and also longer stories between the songs. He’s backed by a full band before a bigger and louder crowd that reflected a new connection between the songwriter and a sustainable listenership who bought into his peace, love and anarchy philosophy. And Snider’s act — so simple but brilliant on the previous live album — expands without losing its charm. His is a comedian’s conciseness dressed in raggedy clothes; of course he’s a Mitch Hedberg fan. It’s also worth noting that his “18 minutes” speech that appeared on Near Truths and in all of his shows has evolved with a darker postscript. “If everything goes particularly well this evening we can all expect a 90-minute distraction from our impending doom.”
Doom averted, at least for now, Snider released two albums last year. Time as We Know It: The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker (Aimless, 2012) is a fairly self-explanatory recording. Snider cites the gonzo singer and songwriter as the single most important reason he wanted to make songs for a living. He gets spirited backing from the band Great American Taxi, and while Time isn’t a revelation as a Snider album, it does do a great service by directing attention to Walker’s gifts as a songwriter. Too often he’s dismissed as just the author of “Mr. Bojangles” and the voice that made money for Guy Clark.
Snider’s other album from 2012, released first, was the real keeper, though. If East Nashville Skyline is Snider’s most cohesive set of internalized songs, Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables (Aimless, 2012) is his outward looking work of perfection. With Jason Isbell on guitar and Amanda Shires on shadow vocals and fiddle, the sound is perfectly tailored to the songs, rough but precise. It’s the finest distillation thus far of the garage folk Snider had been working toward for years. Here he finds a way to grumble and whisper, with sympathetic backing that captures the complexity of the songs. And several of them continue his pursuit to call out bull-shitters and con men. “Synthetic collateralized debt obligation” doesn’t exactly sing on its own, but Snider finds the tragedy and anger in the Abacus Fund, as well as the irony that a word that implies rudimentary numbers and childhood could be used for the sort of corrupted business practices that caused the great financial fallout. “Good things happen to bad people,” he sings. Not that the album is all grousing about bullies. “Brenda” is one of his great love songs, albeit a decidedly non-traditional one, about two guys who started the Rolling Stones. But “Too Soon to Tell” sizzles with anger. Admittedly, he first makes no apologies for wanting to get bent from time to time: “Everything in moderation, including moderation I suppose.” And he growls about what happens when we’re all gone, a spiritual bent about evening the score in the afterlife: “It’s too soon to tell what’s gonna happen when you die/It’s too soon to tell what we’ll ever avenge/They say that living well is the best revenge,” he sings, but he’s not buying it. “I say bullshit, the best revenge is to win/This isn’t over, we’re going to meet again.”
So is Snider the angry guy following the recession? Or is he the grateful guy with calloused feet on the sunny side of the street from “Sunshine”? More likely he’s both than neither. After a trying first 10 years as a recording artist — when Snider was handed boot after shoe after boot, often resulting in blisters — he finally seemed to settle into his skin as the careful and carefree barefoot outcast he was meant to be. He’s an old-timer with a hardened worldview tempered by a child-like sense of wonder. He hasn’t taken the easiest route to where he is. But like the best songwriters, he’s turned his mishaps into songs. Likely great things rest ahead as he starts to write his third decade of them.
MR. RECORD MAN’S TOP 5 TODD SNIDER ALBUMS
1) Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables (Aimless, 2012)
To say the bottom dropped out of the American economy is a bit misleading in that it implies passivity. Greed and entitlement caused the problem and those are qualities associated with bullies. Snider’s not keen on bullies. This album includes some of his most pointed songs and the best instrumental backing he’s ever had. “New York Banker” is fittingly ferocious. It’s not a sustained rant, though, with “Brenda” and a few other tracks offering some tenderness.
2) East Nashville Skyline (Oh Boy!, 2004)
Raw and personal yet redemptive, Snider barrels through a tunnel of death and addiction and recovery with a smoky tribute to a friend (“Play a Train Song”), a Fred Eaglesmith cover about young dead musicians (“Alcohol and Pills”), an anthem that explains him and much of his following (“Conservative Christian, Right-wing Republican, Straight White American Males”) and a pair of closers with weathered optimism.
3) Live: The Storyteller (Aimless, 2011)
The better of his two live albums finds him backed by a tight band and running through more songs and longer stories. The “Mushroom Story” is a particular treasure. The best way to take in Snider is in person. This double-album does an admirable job of capturing the essence of his shows with a healthy dose of his two best studio albums to that point.
4) The Devil You Know (IMS/New Door, 2006)
After looking inward for East Nashville Skyline, Snider looked outward and didn’t care much for what he saw. He opens by razzing a hard-ass boomtown boss, slyly takes a swipe at the then-president for his college days and paints a portrait of urban America that could use some relief.
5) Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (Oh Boy!, 2003)
The best representation of Snider’s first 10 years of recording. Just voice and guitar, stories and songs. It’s charming, funny and written with that it-only-looks-easy conversational precision of Roger Miller and John Prine, two other songwriters who get the humor/poignancy balance right.
Tags: Age Like WineAgnostic Hymns and Stoner FablesAimless RecordsAll That MattersAlright GuyAmerica's Favorite PasttimeAmericanaAndrew DansbyBallad of the KinsmenbaseballBeer RunBilly Joe ShaverBob DylanBrendaCheatham StreetConservative ChristianD.B. CooperDock EllisDon WasEast NashvilleEast Nashville SkylineEnjoy YourselfFred EaglesmithGarth BrooksGonzoGoodnight MoonGreat American TaxiGreencastle BluesGuy ClarkGuy LombardoHappy New YearHappy to Be HerehumorI Feel Like I'm Falling in LoveIf Tomorrow Never ComesJerry Jeff WalkerJohn PrineKris KristoffersonLong YearLooking for a JobMCAMemphisMr. BojanglesMr. Record ManMy Generation Part 2NashvilleNear Truths and Hotel RoomsNervous WrecksNew ConnectionNew York BankerOregonPeace Love & AnarchyPeace QueerPlain a Train SongraconteurRandy NewmanRight-wing RepublicanSan Marcossinger-songwriterSongs from the Daily PlanetStep Right UpstonerStraight White American MalesSunshineTalking Seattle Grunge Rock BluesThat Was MeThe Devil You KnowThe Excitement PlanThe Mushroom StoryThin Wild MercuryTillamookTillamook County JailTime As We Know It: The Songs Of Jerry Jeff WalkerTodd SniderTom PettyToo Soon to TellTrain SongVinyl RecordsViva SatelliteYou Got Away With It
Next post Songs & Stories of San Marcos: Cheatham Street Warehouse
Previous post In Memoriam: Thomas J. "Big Tom" McAleer, March 13, 1962-Jan. 22, 2013
About the Author Andrew Dansby
Lone Star Music contributor Andrew Dansby earns his daily Bread as an entertainment writer for the Houston Chronicle. A native of Kentucky and graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, he cut his teeth in the music writing biz as an editor for RollingStone.com.
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← Old Comics Never Die …
He Is … The Fifth Most Pinteresting Man In The World →
Posted by dangvozden
Last week, Longbox Graveyard welcomed guest blogger in Dan Gvozden of Superior Spider-Talk to count down the Top 10 romantic interests in Spider-Man’s life. With bottom half of his Top 10 complete, Dan gets down to the nitty-gritty in this concluding column, highlighting the most important women in Peter Parker’s love life, and giving his answer to the eternal question: MJ, or Gwen?
Take it away, Dan!
5 Betty Brant
Betty Brant has always been an interesting character, particularly when it comes to her tumultuous love life. She was Peter’s first love during high school and who Peter initially shows interest in during Amazing Spider-Man #5 and begins dating in Amazing Spider-Man #7. Peter is head over heels in love with Betty, a young secretary at the Daily Bugle who fantasizes about becoming a housewife and settling down with Peter, remember these stories were originally published in the 60’s, long before Betty would go on to be a hot-shot reporter and unrepentant adulterer.
Peter and Betty’s romance was doomed for failure due to Peter’s life as Spider-Man. Betty liked Peter for his shy, bookish side, the persona he often put on to distract those around him from noticing he was Spider-Man. Betty was fearful that Peter would end up like her brother Bennett, who was murdered by Blackie Gaxton during a gang war.
When Peter continuously comes back from “taking pictures of Spider-Man” and is bruised and beaten up Betty becomes hysterical.
Eventually she begins to look for attention elsewhere and begins dating Ned Leeds without officially calling things off with Peter, a habit she will continue to display with all the various men she ends up dating over the years.
After marrying Ned Leeds in Amazing Spider-Man #156, Ned was frequently reporting overseas and away from Betty. Ned eventually gets stationed in Paris for a prolonged duration and Betty grows homesick for New York. She rushes home and back into the arms of Peter, who doesn’t really know what to make of the situation but also doesn’t actively fight it. He encourages her to get counseling and to return to Ned but Betty won’t hear it. When Ned returns home and confronts the two Peter quickly ends the affair, regretting his involvement.
What I find most interesting about Betty’s relationship with Peter is that if the radioactive spider had never bitten Peter he probably would have been the perfect man for Betty. His maturation and development due to his powers pushed him into dangerous situations and out of the arms of Betty. It is this rejection that pushes Betty into the arms of Ned Leeds, who for a while was thought to be the Hobgoblin, and damages her psychologically for quite awhile. Betty and Peter are best of friends now, but what could their future have looked like without Spider-Man?
You Might Also Like: Top Ten Spider-Man Battles (Part 1) (Part 2)
4 Ultimate Kitty Pryde
Women, for the most part, are portrayed terribly in comic books, often only operating as male sexual fantasies and wish fulfillment. Unfortunately this is also true for most female characters that have appeared in Spider-Man comics. Much of this treatment really depends on the specific writer of each book and their own depiction of women young and old. Brian Michael Bendis, author of Ultimate Spider-Man, does an absolutely wonderful job with fleshing out the female characters of Peter Parker’s world, even allowing them to have conversations that have nothing to do with Peter or his world of superheroics.
Perhaps my favorite new idea from Bendis was how he handled Peter Parker’s dating life, a real focus of his Ultimate Spider-Man series. Gone is the truly deceitful Peter who hides his secrets away from the women in his life and instead readers are given a realistic young man who is emotionally honest with the women he chooses to spend his time with, outside of all the normal teenage dramatics that come along with dating.
After Mary Jane is nearly killed by the Hobgoblin, Peter breaks up with her to protect her from the dangers of his world. He is looking for someone who he can spend time with that he doesn’t have to protect. After meeting Kitty Pryde during his debacle with the car-exploding Geldoff, Kitty (aided by Storm and Jean Grey) decides to call Peter and set up a date.
Kitty has been secretly obsessed with Peter for awhile, decorating her bedroom with images of him in his Spider-Man costume, despite not really knowing him beyond their brief initial encounter. That obsessive quality would come to define Kitty’s feelings towards Peter during their brief relationship. The two meet up after school and spend the day chatting at the mall before getting entangled in a battle with the Shocker.
It is this battle that cements for Peter that he could date Kitty without having to protect her. The relationship that follows is one of the most honest depictions of teenage dating that I’ve ever read in a comic. The two young adults are both coming fresh off of very important and significant first relationships in their lives and begin dating, with their exes still playing a large part in their lives. As is common, the two are almost dating so as to prove to their previous significant others that they still have value to the world. Despite enjoying each other’s company, the relationship possibly moves quicker than it normally would as they are kind of using each other to prove something. These situations inevitably lead to jealousy, heartbreak, and infidelity.
Kitty is consistently insecure about their relationship, due to her obsession over Peter and his own insecurities about how public their relationship soon becomes. This insecurity propels Peter back into the arms of Mary Jane, when a fight with vampires unsettles him more than any recent battles of his have. This upsets Kitty greatly as she feels that he should have come to his girlfriend rather than his “friend” Mary Jane. During the “Ultimate Clone Saga” story Kitty discovers Peter kissing Mary Jane and becomes furious over his infidelity. The two are eventually able to reconcile but would never date again.
3 Felicia Hardy (Black Cat)
To detail all of Felicia Hardy’s relationship with Spider-Man would take pages and pages of incredibly detailed notes. Of all of Peter Parker’s relationships, his time with Felicia Hardy has to be the most complicated and tumultuous. Their relationship is made difficult for a number of reasons:
1. Black Cat remains a criminal, taking after her father, for quite some time.
2. She only likes Peter Parker when he’s in costume and would rather not know about his secret identity.
3. She’s constantly putting herself in danger to augment her powers or to prove something to Spider-Man, with disastrous results.
Spider-Man doesn’t fully trust her, after failing to stop several of her robberies, until the “Owl/Octopus War” in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man. Felicia learns that the Kingpin is in control of an incredibly powerful detonator that the Owl plans on using to hold New York City hostage whereas Doctor Octopus plans on using it to reduce the city to rubble. She manages to steal the detonator and turn it over to Spider-Man and in the process puts herself on the top of both adversaries “Must Kill” lists.
Doctor Octopus’ men open fire on Black Cat, forcing Spider-Man to rush her to the hospital. As she is being operated on, Peter realizes just how much he cares for her, eventually starting to love her. While she is recovering the two begin a relationship and Peter reveals his identity to her, something that Felicia has an especially hard time with. The two remain together and become almost sickeningly in love with each other, with many issues of Spectacular Spider-Man detailing just how obsessed with each other they had become. It even leads to a particularly bizarre issue where Spider-Man meets Felicia’s mother and gets her approval to date Felicia.
When Spider-Man disappears to fight in the “Secret Wars,” Felicia seeks out a way to gain powers similar to his so that they can safely be together. She undergoes the same procedures that were done to the Scorpion and The Fly thanks to the Kingpin. The powers she gains begin to permanently affect Spider-Man, essentially jinxing him. Sensing the lies growing between them, Peter calls off the relationship between him and Felicia and has Doctor Strange remove the hex that she put on him and in the process gives her new powers.
The two would continue to have a rocky relationship moving forward, particularly when Felicia finds out that Peter and Mary Jane have married. For awhile she taunted and threatened Peter and Mary Jane and even dated Flash Thompson just to get even. The two eventually managed to settle their differences and even developed a casual sexual relationship after Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage was undone by the events of “One More Day,” but the less said about that the better.
Peter’s love of Felicia is notable for its intensity and the drama that it introduced into the series. While it might not be as honest or relatable as Ultimate Peter Parker’s time with Kitty Pryde it certainly helped to inspire that story.
Now, let’s get to the moment you’ve all been waiting for:
2 Gwen Stacy
As much as Betty Brant was Peter’s first relationship, there is no mistaking that Gwen Stacy was Peter’s first true love. The two meet in Amazing Spider-Man #31 when Peter first attends college. With Ditko as the artist on the book, Gwen is initially presented as a sultry, popular blond who is clearly assessing the potential of all the new young men at Empire State University. She begins by flirting with Flash Thompson and is turned off by Peter’s casual disregard for her and her friends, as he is too busy being worried about Aunty May’s need for a blood transfusion.
Peter is thought to be “too good” for everyone else, a notion that Flash Thompson is happy to reinforce. Regardless, Gwen remains attracted to Peter, who whether he intends it or not is becoming quite the “man of mystery” in her life. Tensions rise between the two and Gwen even attempts to slap Peter at one point. Even though Gwen has “girlfriend” written all over her, things aren’t getting off to a good start.
Eventually all of Peter’s problems get smoothed over with the introduction of John Romita Sr. as the new penciler on the book. Ditko’s Ayn Randian worldview was one that is portrayed as being full of anger and spite and it manifested itself in the characters’ relationships. The introduction of Romita cast the world in a distinctly different light. Peter and Harry patch up their differences over shared familial experiences and Gwen begins to see Peter in a different light.
However it is at this point that Mary Jane finally enters Peter’s life, with a vivacious “Face it Tiger!” This would trigger a love-triangle in the spirit of Archie, Betty, and Veronica in Amazing Spider-Man. Gwen would date both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn due to the murkiness of her relationship with Peter and his sudden disappearances. However, when they were together Peter and Gwen were an unstoppable couple who faced innumerable threats to their lives.
When Gwen eventually leaves for England to visit her Uncle Arthur it is only then that Peter realizes just how much he loves Gwen and thinks silently about the possibility of marrying Gwen. However, this wasn’t to be as the Green Goblin famously put an end to her life by dropping her off the Brooklyn (or was it George Washington?) Bridge.
I’ve always felt that Gwen started out as an interesting, if antagonistic character, that slowly became less and less interesting as time went on. The world of Spider-Man was changing, with the introduction of some modern problems and situations that only served to make her character seem more and more like a relic of the past. Peter was growing up as well and the only next logical step for the two of them was marriage.
Her death in many ways ended Peter’s innocence as a character and properly launched him into adulthood. It was the catalyst for him to enter the adult world of superheroics where it was no longer just fun and games but a world full of consequences. As great as their relationship was, it will always be remembered for how it ended … Tragically.
1 Mary Jane
If Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first true love then Mary Jane should be his final true love. From the minute she first entered Peter’s life in Amazing Spider-Man #42 with her famous, “Face it tiger… You just hit the jackpot!,” there could be no other girl for Peter. Sure, her early appearances cast her as a flaky party girl with little time for anyone but herself but she always had something that Gwen didn’t, she was a ton of fun.
However, what solidifies Mary Jane as the girl that is the best love of Peter Parker occurs in Amazing Spider-Man #122. Mary Jane goes to visit Peter at his apartment after hearing about Gwen’s death. She attempts to console him but he pushes her away saying, “Don’t make me laugh, Mary Jane. You wouldn’t be sorry if your own mother died. What do you care about straights like me and Gwen? Go on — get out of here. I know how you hate sick beds. And believe me – I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun.”
Mary Jane hesitates for a moment before leaving but decides to stay and silently closes the door. This is the moment that not only comics grew up, with the death of the innocence in Gwen, but also that Mary Jane matured to become the woman Peter would eventually be with.
Gwen was reliable and consistent but Mary Jane could push Peter in ways that he hadn’t been pushed before. If Gwen was an innocent love, Mary Jane was the real thing with all the ups and downs that come in a real romance.
This very concept was incredibly documented in the original graphic novel Spider-Man: Blue, as Peter talks to Gwen posthumously and tells her how Mary Jane has taught him to love again. To chronicle how the two got to this deep level of understanding and connection is to recall the entire story of Peter Parker as Spider-Man, that’s just how essential Mary Jane is to the series. This is why it is so unfortunate to see all the things that have been done with her character over the past several years. Their marriage was sold to Mephisto in exchange for Aunt May’s life and just when it was about to be rekindled Doctor Octopus took control of Peter’s body and messed it all up again.
Now, Mary Jane seems fit to no longer have Peter in her life, complaining that his responsibilities aren’t hers and that she can no longer be endangered by having Peter in her life. These are all intelligent sentiments from a character whose life has been continually torn down by Peter Parker’s chosen lifestyle, but sometimes love knows no dangers too perilous and no chasms too wide. That’s the kind of love that Peter and Mary Jane have for each other. That’s the kind of love that made Mary Jane such a great character. That’s the kind of love that places her at the top of this list. That’s the kind of love I wish would return to the world of Spider-Man.
That being said, all of these qualities that I enjoy about both Gwen and Mary Jane are both alive and well in the Ultimate Universe where perhaps the best versions of these characters exist. I wonder if Peter Parker can ever move beyond Mary Jane or if comic creators can ever create an honest and loving character in this more modern world of complicated relationships, especially since both Gwen and Mary Jane came from a simpler and more pure era of comics. That feeling of nostalgia and innocence might be key to both characters’ appeal and perhaps Spider-Man’s appeal as a character. I fear that the more that the writers and editors at Marvel push these characters further into Spider-Man’s past the more they lose what makes Spider-Man so appealing.
These are just my Top 10 but I would be remiss in forgetting to mention all the other wonderful (or not) women that Peter has been romantically linked to. See if you can recognize them all:
Amy Powell
Caryn Earle
Sophia “Chat” Sanduval (Marvel Adventures Spider-Man)
Cissy Ironwood
Fallon
Skye (Hostess ad)
Lisa Skye (Hostess ad)
Firestar (“Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends”)
Jillian Blythe
Janine Godbe
Jessica Carradine
Marcy Kane
Michele Gonzoles
Silver Sable (What If Spider-Man Married Black Cat?)
Virginia Dare (Spider-Man: 1602)
Thanks again to Dan Gvozden for filling yet another hole in my scandalously-thin knowledge of Marvel’s greatest superhero! Keep an eye out for Dan’s work when he returns with Super-Blog Team-Up next month, and in the meantime, please be sure to visit Dan’s home blog — Superior Spider-Talk — for even more Spider-Man goodness (and Dan’s signature podcast, too!)
NEXT WEEK: #129 Who’s the Boss?: Kingpin as Daredevil’s Arch-Nemesis
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About dangvozden
Do you remember that dorky kid from elementary school who loved movies and comic books? Dan's him, but an adult... well in most senses of the word. All that matters is that he's an aficionado of all things pop culture and wants to share his interests with the world.
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Posted on April 17, 2014, in Lists! and tagged Betty Brant, Black Cat, Brian Michael Bendis, Felicia Hardy, Gwen Stacy, Kitty Pryde, Marry Jane Watson, Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Talk. Bookmark the permalink. 50 Comments.
Mike W. | April 17, 2014 at 12:08 pm
I agree 100% with MJ being number one. I always liked her better. The problem with Gwen was that the way she was written (with her father’s death, etc.), she could never have accepted Peter as Spider-Man. So he would’ve had to hide it from her (basically impossible if they got married) or tell her the truth and have her freak out and dump him (or quit being Spidey, but that was never an option). So they pretty much wrote themselves into a corner with Gwen.
As for MJ, I liked the way she matured over the course of the series (mirroring Peter’s own maturing process), especially after Gerry Conway’s reveal (in Parallel Lives) that MJ knew Pete’s secret all along. I know a lot of people hated that retcon, but I loved it because it gives MJ even more depth; not only was she keeping her own secrets (her fake party girl image was just cover for all her family problems and so on), but she kept Peter’s secret too…even from him! That’s what I call depth of character…certainly not something I could imagine Gwen doing.
dangvozden | April 17, 2014 at 12:35 pm
I agree on both accounts. I worry that any additional backstory on Gwen from a modern lens will only sully the character. “Sins Past” is a bad story but also shows an example of what I mean. The character only exists in nostalgia at this point as a virginal, innocent character and she should remain that way so as to remain a symbol of Peter’s lost youth, as the story is no longer about a youthful Peter (though some would argue that it should be).
Interesting that in the Amazing Spider-Man movie, they made a head-fake toward Peter’s role as Spider-Man keeping him and Gwen apart, but presumably the two work it out. The film also made a point of revealing Peter’s secret to Gwen pretty early in the narrative.
I wonder if she’s doomed in the new picture? Seems like … but it might be another fake-out.
MojosWork | April 17, 2014 at 3:36 pm
I absolutely hate Mary Jane. Honestly, I was never a big Spidey fan at all anyway until I gave Dan Slott’s Big Time arc a spin. I liked that he was dating Carly Cooper, although that has since turned out…uh…riiiiiight.
Anyhoo, the fact that he was romantically linked to both Marrow and Virginia Dare is so freaking hilarious, I won’t even bother trying to put it into words. (More words.)
Hating Mary Jane is like hating Santa Claus. You know that, right? You mad fool!
I was born two days after Christmas. Guess how many good things I have to say about Santa and his “double-gift.”
This explains a lot.
dangvozden | April 17, 2014 at 3:51 pm
Is your dislike of Mary Jane stemming from your reading of Big Time because she’s been horribly mischaracterized in the comic ever since the dissolution of their marriage in One More Day, although there are a few issues in Big Time where she gets a word in that I approve of. I’d recommend checking out JMD’s run on the book to see her in her best from in modern comics.
I’ve just never been a fan of MJ’s through any of my Spider-reading, sporadic as it was, and throughout various big and small-screen renditions.
I know ONE REASON I can’t stand her is she makes Spider-Man less endearing and more of a total bitch. This guy is supposed to have such bad luck its got its own name. But he’s married (I know not anymore) to an ACTUAL SUPER MODEL? Just shut up, Peter. I could go on, but I had a couple drinks at work.
tylerbgoode | April 17, 2014 at 4:10 pm
No Joy Mercado? This list is bunk.
She just kissed him once and he didn’t even want to be part of it. I don’t count mouth sexual assault as someone he’s been romantically linked to. I only counted if he was interested too. That’s why The Queen isn’t on this list.
Just messing with you, Dan (kind of). This was a great read! I might have actually had a problem if you would have put Gwen ahead of MJ though.
charltonhero | April 18, 2014 at 6:40 am
Excellent List!! Its one of the first that I can disagree with one one character! Even the order seems perfect! Great job Dan!! Detailed..excellently written and even great pics used here! One of my favorite top tens on the web in a while..thats BIG people!
Dan Laxuma | October 5, 2014 at 11:31 pm
Which of the following would hold your interest as an alternate to Spider-Man x Black Cat?
Peter Parker x Jessica Drew
Peter Parker x Carol Danvers
Peter Parker x Jennifer Walters
Peter Parker x Black Widow
Peter Parker x Psylocke
Peter Parker x Silver Sable
Paul O'Connor | October 6, 2014 at 8:48 am
Peter Parker x Richard Rider?
Célia | March 18, 2016 at 4:41 pm
I agree that MJ’s should be first (at least for now).
Then again the romantic relationships in Spider-Man never really did appeal to me. They never convinced me as good love stories tbh, even if the one with MJ was the closest to one, it always felt more like friends/best friends with a great deal of attachment and sexual attraction without the actual romantic love part so it’s made me a bit uneasy because it didn’t feel like a relationship that would last (which doesn’t make it unimportant on the contrary).
(Heck at this point his friendship with Johnny Storm is closest to a good romantic relationship than he’s had with most of his girlfriends….actually I can kind of understand why people would ship this one ship tbh…..I probably would if they were bi)
It just so happens that this blog looked in depth at that Spidey/Torch relationship (though we didn’t touch on romance — maybe we should have!)
I like how Kitty and Peter are so alike and that is why they are my favorite Marvel couple even though it was so short
Russ Rainford | June 7, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Well this was freaking awesome! I tried checking for Peter Parker’s involvment with BlackWidow, and got this spectacualr analysis. My only issue was with not giving his relationship with Black Cat —-which really allowed Peter to delve more into his mature adult side as a hero, as well as a spontaneous, sexual 20-something… a bit more weight. Other than that, this was fantastic. Good work, dude!
Dan Gvozden | June 7, 2017 at 3:44 pm
Thanks for the kind words! I’ve always been fond of this piece.
Diabolicus | September 18, 2017 at 8:51 pm
Here are a few other women that he was romantically involved with: Alisha Silvermane, Indira “Indy” Daimonji from the new animated series and and Carole Jennings from the newspaper comic strips.
Alex | April 30, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Great top ten. The deal with Mephisto shall never be discussed xD
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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) says the low key launch of the new 100 and 200 Ghana Cedi note was done to outwit those who engage in counterfeit activities.
This was stated by a Currency Processing Engineer at the Bank of Ghana, George Ofori at a Day’s Sensitization Programme on the new Banknotes for officials of Bank and other Financial Institutions in the Bono Regional Capital, Sunyani.
Mr Ofori said too much publicity on new notes before their launch, gives counterfeiters the opportunity to print fake ones before genuine notes are released.
In November 2019 the BOG issued 200 and 100 Ghana Cedi notes, as well a two Ghana Cedi coin.
The BOG is consequently organizing Sensitization Programmes nationwide to help various Stakeholders, particularly staff of Banks and non-Bank Financial Institutions to become conversant with the Security Features on the new notes.
This is crucial since high banknotes are of particular interest to counterfeiters, while it will take a little longer for Money Counting and other Machines to be calibrated to recognize the new notes.
Taking the Participants through the general Features and Security Features of the new notes and the two Cedi coin, Mr. George Ofori said all the notes have three levels of Security Features.
The Public Recognizable, the Machine-readable and the Central Bank Security Features.
He added that the launch of the New-notes took even some staff of the BOG by surprise due to the desire to get Stakeholders conversant with the new notes before the Counterfeiters strike.
Mr. Ofori advised the public not to use just one feature to authenticate the notes but use other features.
Some of them include; Micro Lettering reading Ghana 2 Cedi on the two Cedi coin and lines dubbed the Cornerstone which helps keep the edges of the notes straight.
Mr. Ofori stressed that Bank tellers are the second line of defense against Counterfeit notes, hence the need for them to be abreast of the security features to save their employers from having to pay penalties for sending counterfeit notes to the BOG.
The new notes have been issued to reduce transaction costs and cost of printing new notes as well as ease management of cash.
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IAS officer Shah Faesal quits, citing intolerance
The IAS topper also said he was resigning to protest the unabated killings in Kashmir
By Muzaffar Raina in Srinagar
Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the Civil Services Exams PTI file picture
The sole Kashmiri civil service exam topper has said he will step down from the Indian Administrative Service to protest the “growing culture of intolerance” and “the marginalization and invisiblization of around 200 million Indian Muslims”.
IAS officer Shah Faesal, who has emerged as a strong advocate of the idea of India, announced his decision on Facebook.
“(I am resigning to protest) the marginalization and invisiblization of around 200 million Indian Muslims at the hands of Hindutva forces, reducing them to second-class citizens… growing culture of intolerance and hate in the mainland India in the name of hypernationalism,” he wrote.
Faesal gave no indication that he would join politics but the possibility surfaced with National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeting: “The bureaucracy’s loss is politics’ gain. Welcome to the fold @shahfaesal.”
As speculation arose that Faesal might contest the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla, Omar clarified that he had merely welcomed Faesal “to the fold of politicians” and his “future political plans are his to announce”.
Sources said Omar’s party was in touch with Faesal.
In his post, Faesal said he was resigning also in protest against unabated killings in Kashmir, lack of any sincere outreach from the Union government and an insidious attack on the special identity of Jammu and Kashmir.
Several petitioners, said to be backed by the Sangh parivar, have moved the Supreme Court to scrap Articles 35A and 370, two constitutional provisions that guarantee Kashmir its special status.
Faesal, 35, an MBBS graduate from a remote village in Kupwara, had topped the 2010 IAS examinations and was soon pitched by the country’s political elite as a role model that Kashmiris should follow.
The bureaucrat, whose father was killed by militants when he was still in school, became a strong advocate of the idea of India.
“Looking at the crisis in the Muslim world, it will serve us well if we help ourselves out of the time warp we are stuck in, abandon false hope and macabre heroism and work towards a dignified exit from the (Kashmir) conflict,” he wrote in 2016.
“One possibility is to accept that in spite of all its infirmities, India is the only country in the world with which a culturally diverse and politically disparate entity like Jammu and Kashmir can find anchor.”
Faesal appeared to have angered authorities when he tweeted last year: “Patriarchy + Population + Illiteracy + Alcohol + Porn + Technology + Anarchy = Rapistan!”
Some had construed it as a reference to India but Faesal later said his tweet was not about India.
Kashmir: Under a hobnailed boot
Sangh parivar
Modi an Indian colonising India: Aishe
Participation is key: PC
Women beat back cops with anthem
Shaheen calls PM for tea
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The Low End Mac Mailbag
Code Doesn't Rust, Core Image and G4 Macs, and a Fallback Plan for Losing G3 Support
Dan Knight - 2007.05.22
Another batch of reader letters on the pros and cons of older Macs, G3 support in Leopard, and how Core Image works. - Tip Jar
Code Doesn't Rust
Core Image Requires AltiVec or a Supported GPU
Core Image Requirements, Cheap & Free B&W G3s, AirPort Alternatives
G4 Mac mini's GPU Doesn't Support Core Image
Continued G3 Support Too Costly to Apple
A Fallback Plan for Losing G3 Support
Ruffin Bailey responds to Other Legacy Hardware Issues:
Dan -
I've enjoyed reading the reader responses on OS X 10.5 and Macs with G3s. Though I tend to agree that there are a lot of people out there with good olde Macs that could use the upgrade (I'm emailing from a G3 clamshell right now), I think it's important for everyone to remember that Apple's a hardware company, not software. iTunes sells iPods. OS X sells Macs.
Part of the reason OS X sells for $129 is so that you'll have to consider upgrading the whole slew to a new Mac mini for $599 retail; the price of OS X becomes a "discount" for a new Mac, in a manner of speaking. If you've got a G3, isn't it worth at least considering laying out the extra $470 for a Mactel with iLife, wireless, etc.?
This is the advantage of providing a cradle-to-grave solution provider, making everything from the OS to the machine: You can force obsolescence and drive sales. Nothing necessarily sinister about trying to make a buck. Think Microsoft wouldn't have you buying new computers every three years if they could sell them?
(I'd also add that code doesn't rust. OS 9 is still an awfully good option for G3s from where I'm sitting. Why do I need the next Mail.app again?)
I suppose the real question is why not compile Safari and Mail to work with G3s so that XPostFacto can continue to be useful? At worst, Apple gets a little application size bloat, it'd seem. As a multiple-G3 owner, I'm more interested in having the potential to run these apps rather than official support. I've seen a few comments on early 10.5 builds on the Net, and it seems like the G4+ issue was slowly going away. Any updates there?
Ruffin Bailey
Ruffin,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don't consider Apple a hardware company, even though it takes the bulk of its income from hardware sales. What drives the hardware sales, as you note, are the Mac OS and Mac-only apps. But Apple makes profits from selling software, music and videos, and .mac services. Hardware is only part of the story.
Ed Hurtley
While Core Image specifically needs certain video cards to be fully accelerated, functions that work with Core Image will still work without it, much the same as Quartz works even if you don't have a Quartz Extreme video card.
For example, Time Machine works just fine on a non-Core Image video card. Core Animation does not require accelerated Core Image. Just as certain "eye candy" features of Tiger are missing on older video chips, even when those video chips support Quartz Extreme, the same will be true in Leopard. (Notable is the "water droplet" animation when placing a widget in Dashboard.)
To quote the Core Image web page: "For computers without a programmable GPU, Core Image dynamically optimizes for the CPU, automatically tuning for Velocity Engine and multiple processors as appropriate"
However, this does specifically say "tuning for Velocity Engine", which makes it seem entirely likely that G3 support will be dropped.
Thanks for explaining how Core Image works whether a supported video card is present or not. The requirement for AltiVec or a supported video card (none of which work in G3 Macs) doesn't bode well for those 4-year-old G3 iBooks, although G3 Macs with G4 upgrades may well work.
Joseph Burke responds to my comments in Core Image Hardware Compatibility and some other user feedback:
You need to go back and check your own system specifications again. In your latest column concerning Leopard and the G3, you state that the G4 1.0 GHz is the oldest G4 PowerBook that is Core Image capable. The 867 MHz G4 PowerBook has a Radeon 9550 graphics card, which is on Apple's compatibility list.
Further, every G4 machine can utilize Core Image as they all have a vector processing unit. Core Image falls back on AltiVec when a Core Image capable graphics card is not found, so graphics operations will be infinitely faster on a G4 machine with AltiVec than on a G3 without, even a 350 MHz Yikes! Besides, it's not hard or expensive to get a suitable video card if you have an AGP G4. It's a lot cheaper to put in a video card than to buy a new Mac. Also, if the clock rate of the slower G4s is not up to Leopard, then they can be upgraded to as much as dual 2.0 GHz CPUs, which is actually faster than some of the slower G5s. So no G4 machine is going to be left out if Core Image compatibility is going to be Leopard's line of death.
For Tim Larson, try checking Freecycle some time if you want a G3 B&W. I see them there all the time. I'd take them all if I had the room for them. I also see them at flea markets and in thrift shops for $25-$35 each, and nobody buying. The same with the early G3 iMacs, and I have a G3 PowerBook I am going to pick up this weekend that I found on Freecycle. I don't know what model it is exactly, but from the owner's description it sounds like a Lombard or WallStreet. I don't think I'd be lucky enough to bag a free Pismo, but maybe.
As to those bragging about how fast their 1.1 GHz upgraded G3 is, tell me how many of you are there out there? Do you really think Apple or anyone else takes you into consideration when they make their decisions as to keep or drop G3 support? Mr. Cook, the only reason you got $450 for your G3 was on the rarity of the CPU upgrade that was in it. Trust me, a 300-400 MHz model is not worth more than $40-$50 tops. Some Quicksilvers don't get $450 anymore.
For Mr. Ivanoff, try seller llamastyle on eBay if you need an AirPort card. He sells two types of generic wireless cards that fit in the AirPort slot and even identify as AirPort cards in System Profiler. One is an identical card with the same dimensions and appearance as the original (only without the AirPort name on it), and the other is slightly smaller for machines that are too tight to easily fit an original AirPort card.
The lack of any mention of the G3 in the documentation and the inability to install to a G3 machine on developer versions of Leopard tells us everything we need to know. The G3 is already out. Arguing about it now isn't going to change anything. I am sure Apple crunched the numbers and tried running it on a G3 to see if it was worth it, and if a G3 had been able to maintain an acceptable level of performance it would have been in. It obviously doesn't, which is why it likely has been cut.
If Apple released Leopard with G3 support and it was slow or glitchy or left out too many features, you'd all be complaining that Apple sold you a half finished or faulty OS. They are not so stupid that they are going to release it for machines that are too slow to run it. They would be giving themselves a black eye if they did that. It is better for them to cut out G3 support than deal with the fallout if it doesn't work properly on those machines.
I've checked the stats on both 867 MHz PowerBook G4 models. The 12" has Nvidia GeForce 4 420 Go graphics, and the 15" has ATI Mobility Radeon 9000. Neither of these graphics processors are listed as Core Image-capable by Apple.
It is nice to know that all G4 Macs can support Core Image, whether they have a supported GPU or not.
Another factor is that Core Image is already part of Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger", which runs on G3 Macs. If Tiger has Core Image and doesn't require a G4, there's no reason Leopard needs to have a G4 either. I'm still holding out hope that Apple won't abandon last generation iBook G3 owners just 4-1/2 years after introducing that model - and four years after discontinuing it.
Thanks for the tips you've passed along on acquiring blue & white G3s and AirPort equivalent cards.
Jeff Wiseman says:
Another point against the idea of requiring Core Image for 10.5 is that if 10.5 had not been pushed back, there would have been a bunch of Mac mini owners (me included) very pissed. :-) The G4 mini was discontinued less than 18 months ago, and I cannot see Apple setting the cutoff there. I really expect the cutoff to be at G4, with maybe a 500 MHz minimum speed. Now, Apple may recommend a G5 or better with a Core Image capable GPU, and it may take that for a good user experience, but I really expect 10.5 to be supported on any Mac less than 5 years old.
Jeff Wiseman
It's hard to believe that Apple produced a last generation G4 model that didn't include a GPU capable of supporting Core Image, but you're right about the Mac mini. The Radeon 9200 GPU isn't supported. Just one more compromise to keep the Mac mini cheap instead of making it powerful.
Pete Tyler writes:
Even though I'm a big fan of Apple products (I have a PowerBook 1400c I'm still buying stuff for!), I think there are some potential oversights in perspectives like Mr. Finkenbinder's.
It comes down to two things: It's all about the Benjamin's (is this phrase dated too?), and about perspective.
Frankly, I'm surprised Apple continued G3 support past the ending of Classic. As much as I'd personally like G3 support to kick around a lot longer as well, it may not make financial sense for Apple to do so. Even if Apple charges for calls, every old Mac these folks continue to support represents direct/indirect expense to Apple that could impact the bottom line (I'm actually surprised that a business owner would not seem to notice this). These expenses take such forms as driver patches, support engineer training, etc.
While we die hard fans threaten to walk away if Apple "abandons" us, the truth is for the moment that Apple could replace every lost G3 Mac OS X upgrade customer with an iPod customer in a heartbeat. Some diehards may view their place in the Apple scheme of things as irreplaceable additional revenue stream - but think about it, how many G3 owners can't run iWork and therefore aren't plopping down the extra $99?
I think we have to balance our desire to keep our Low End Macs running with a desire to keep Apple in business. This way they can continue churning out leading-edge products that provide an alternative to the lemming-like experience in the rest of the personal computing world. If need be, maybe other products like Linux would provide viable options where G3s are absolutely necessary (e.g., servers).
There's much more that could be said on this. Maybe if the discussion keeps up I'll kick back in when time permits.
- Pete Tyler
Apple was introduced the final versions of the G3 iBook just four years ago. I'd just hate to seem them abandon support for a model that was on the market within the past five years, and that means Apple really ought to build in G3 support. Not for every G3 Mac - they've already abandoned the oldest ones - but at least for the most recent models introduced in 2002-2003.
I know it's a bit arbitrary to draw a line in the sand a five years, but the first G4 iBooks will be just four years old when Leopard is released.
Another thing to recognize, of course, is that these older Macs that shipped before OS X or with early versions of OS X are already providing a far superior OS Xperience than we had in the 10.1 era. Apple has done a lot to optimize the OS over the years, and Tiger is already a wonderful operating system.
If Apple were to continue offering security patches and updates to Mail, Safari, iTunes, etc. for Tiger over the next year or two, perhaps a lot of the complaints about losing G3 support (or, at this time, the probability of losing it) could be allayed.
Apple continued offering 10.2 updates into the 10.3 era and still provides some 10.3 updates in the 10.4 era, so there's hope they will do this.
John Hatchett writes:
I suppose I ought to weigh in on the rumours that Apple is planning to eliminate support for the G3 processor on the new OS X "Leopard" operating system. This is a pressing concern to me, since I just updated my iMac G3/450 DV to Tiger from Panther. We got some new Appletops for our administrators (I manage two computer labs at a local high school) and one of the "old" laptops that was turned in was a Powerbook G3 Pismo. I hope to pull some strings and get this laptop.
So what's an old timer like me to do?
Assume the worst. If Apple kills G3 support, I have to have a fallback plan. My seven-year-old iMac has had several updates during my ownership, including two new RAM chips. When Apple introduced OS X, I replaced a 64 MB RAM strip with a 256 MB one. Just recently a recently, before I changed my OS to Tiger, I swapped a 128 MB chip for a 512 MB. So the old gal started at 192 MB and now has 768 MB. At this point, I can't even update to iLife '06, so it looks like my computer has stopped in time. I will be limited to the software that will work on the my iMac G3/450 DV and not progress into the bright Apple future.
Does this mean that my computer is a 7-year-old hunk o' junk? Nope. I am currently using it as the print server on my wireless network. I also have a LaCie DVD/CD disc burner as well as a LaCie 150 GB external hard drive hooked up to it. What with the three printers, this old Mac looks like a sage green octopus. (I can't hook the Dell printer up to it, but that's because Dell can't imagine a Mac user using their printer. I guess it will have to stay hooked up to the [broken] Dell XPS 200 that my boys use. Dell repair is coming to replace the broken mother board. When I complain to my PC friends, they exclaim in horror - "you bought a Dell?!?!?" Actually, someone bought it for me.)
To me, it is somewhat amazing that a 7-year-old Mac can run the latest OS Apple offers. Imagine the upgrading I would have to do to upgrade a 7-year-old PC to Vista. It would be a selling point if Apple continues to support G3s on Leopard, but I have a feeling that it may be a done deal.
If I get my hands on the Pismo, I could upgrade to a G4 processor . . . I wonder if that combo would operate Leopard?
You make a good point. That "sage octopus" is capable of doing a lot more now than when it first shipped nearly seven years ago with Mac OS 9.0.4 - a whole lot more. And being "stuck" using Tiger isn't so bad. After all, we're all quite productive with Tiger today, and we won't lose any of our current capabilities just because Leopard ships.
Where I see the big problem is G3 iBooks, Apple's last models built around the G3 CPU. The last revision was introduced four years ago last month; I'd just hate to see it not supported in Leopard.
As for running Leopard in a G4-upgraded Pismo, I'd say prospects are good, although it may take some XPostFacto wizardry to get it installed.
Dan Knight has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. Mailbag columns come from email responses to his Mac Musings, Mac Daniel, Online Tech Journal, and other columns on the site.
back to the Low End Mac Mailbag index
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Keyword Search of appliedphysics
Applied Physics Student Council
Preview Weekend
Applied Physics Faculty Awards
Alec Thomas
Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences NERS
agrt@umich.edu
Office Information:
6108 ERB
Applied Physics Program
Education/Degree:
Ph.D. Imperial College London, Plasma Physics, 2007
M.Sci. Honors, Imperial College London, Physics (First Class), 2002
Diploma of Imperial College, Imperial College London, 2007
Laser-Plasma Interactions: Ultra-high intensity laser-plasma interactions, compact laser-plasma based particle accelerators, particle-in-cell simulation, laser propagation in plasma at high intensity, inertial confinement fusion, Vlasov-Fokker-Planck modeling, non-local transport and magnetized plasmas.
Compact Radiation Sources: Laser-plasma radiation sources, radiation reaction force at high field strengths, radiation generation computational modeling.
Professor Thomas works in experimental and theoretical plasma physics. His research is focused on the physics and applications of high power laser interactions with plasma. When heated by lasers, highly non-equilibrium states of matter arise, where complex behavior such as collective wave-particle interactions is prevalent and only full kinetic descriptions of the particle distribution are valid. Light and plasma couple together strongly, leading to instabilities and nonlinear wave formation. At the highest intensities, quantum electrodynamic effects become important in determining the plasma dynamics. Applications of intense laser driven plasma include advanced, miniature particle accelerators, next generation photon sources and inertial fusion energy. Professor Thomas is part of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science High Field Science group, using the HERCULES and Lambda-cubed very high power laser systems for investigating the physics of relativistic plasma.
Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 2012
Faculty Early Career Development Program
National Science Foundation, 2011
Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined)
NSERC of Canada, 2008
European Physical Society, Plasma Physics Division, 2007
First Place for LIDAR Technologies, Imperial College Entrepreneurs’ Challenge
Select Publications:
Z. H. He, B. Hou, V. Lebailly, J. A. Nees, K. Krushelnick, and A. G. R. Thomas, Coherent control of plasma dynamics, Nat. Comms. 6, 7156 (2015).
P. Zhang, C. P. Ridgers, and A. G. R. Thomas, The effect of nonlinear quantum electrody- namics on relativistic transparency and laser absorption in ultra-relativistic plasmas, New J. Phys. 17, 043051 (2015).
Z. H. He, J. A. Nees, B. Hou, K. Krushelnick, and A. G. R. Thomas, Ionization-Induced Self- Compression of Tightly Focused Femtosecond Laser Pulses, Physical Review Letters 113 (2014).
A. S. Joglekar, A. G. R. Thomas, W. Fox, and A. Bhattacharjee, Magnetic Reconnection in Plasma under Inertial Confinement Fusion Conditions Driven by Heat Flux Effects in Ohm’s Law, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 105004 (2014).
Z. H. He, A. G. R. Thomas, B. Beaurepaire, J. A. Nees, B. Hou, V. Malka, K. Krushelnick, and J. Faure, Electron diffraction using ultrafast electron bunches from a laser-wakefield accelerator at kHz repetition rate, Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 064104 (2013).
A. G. R. Thomas, C. P. Ridgers, S. S. Bulanov, B. J. Griffin, and S. P. D. Mangles, Strong Radiation-Damping Effects in a Gamma-Ray Source Generated by the Interaction of a High-Intensity Laser with a Wakefield-Accelerated Electron Beam, Phys. Rev. X 2, 041004 (2012).
A. G. R. Thomas, M. Tzoufras, A. P. L. Robinson, R. J. Kingham, C. P. Ridgers, M. Sherlock, and A. R. Bell, A review of Vlasov-Fokker-Planck numerical modeling of inertial confinement fusion plasma, J. Comput. Phys. 231, 1051 (2012).
A. G. R. Thomas, Scalings for radiation from plasma bubbles, Phys. Plasmas 17, 056708 (2010).
C. McGuffey, A. G. R. Thomas, W. Schumaker, T. Matsuoka, V. Chvykov, F. J. Dollar, G. Kalintchenko, V. Yanovsky, A. Maksimchuk, K. Krushelnick, V. Y. Bychenkov, I. V. Glazyrin, and A. V. Karpeev, Ionization Induced Trapping in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 025004 (2010).
A. G. R. Thomas, Z. Najmudin, S. P. D. Mangles, C. D. Murphy, A. E. Dangor, C. Kamperidis, K. L. Lancaster, W. B. Mori, P. A. Norreys, W. Rozmus, and K. Krushelnick, Effect of laser- focusing conditions on propagation and monoenergetic electron production in laser-wakefield accelerators, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 095004 (2007).
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Faculty Profile MICDE Profile
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1425 Randall Laboratory
appliedphysics@umich.edu
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Social Gaming Summit panel writeups June 23, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in social games, social gaming.
I moderated two panels at the Social Gaming Summit 2009 today. The first was about building social games at scale and featured the CEOs/COOs of the top three social game companies; Mark Pincus of Zynga, John Pleasants of Playdom and Sebastien de Halleux of Playfish.
Gamasutra has an excellent writeup of the panel. Inside Social Games also liveblogged the panel.
Second panel was about social games “in the wild” – i.e. off of social networks. Andrew Bussey of Challenge Games, Daniel James of 3Rings, Matt Mihaly of Sparkplay and Jim Greer of Kongregate were the panelists. I haven’t see a writeup yet, but some notable paraphrased quotes from the converation include:
– Many games on social networks not actually social. Players playing alone, together. Interaction not really with friends but with a “cardboard cutout of a friend”.
– Many MMOGs have much higher degree of true social interaction between players than Facebook games. “Playing” with your friends vs Making friends with the people you play with.
– Facebook games the “gateway drug” for the rest of the gaming industry, attracting players who would not consider themselves gamers. Destination game sites draw a harder core player
– “Manipulating users to spam their friends” is less powerful and effective than building a game experience that users will willingly tell their friends about
– All this being said, games companies built on social networks have seen phenomenal growth that far outstrips growth of game companies built on the open web.
I may have gotten some of these wrong, but I was moderating to it was hard to take good notes. If anyone has seen a good writeup please link in comments
Also Siqi Chen, CEO of Lightspeed portfolio company Serious Business, gave an excellent presentation on metrics for social games with David King of lil green patch that shared a lot of live data from their games and was very insightful.
“Wars” style social games placed in context of other web based massively single player games June 19, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in games, games 2.0, social games, social gaming.
Worlds In Motion plays Mafia Wars and compares it to other web based massively single player games, including ForumWarz, Kingdom of Loathing and Urban Dead:
There are plenty of other MSOs … but the successful ones all have some attributes in common:
–All are based on stats, money, loot, rank, and clans or guilds
–The best extent to which players can communicate with each other is through messages, forums, or chat, all of which don’t occur “in game”
–All require alternative and creative revenue streams, and must be free to play. Methods include microtransactions, merchandising, and donation requests
–Actions or turns are limited so as to reduce server loads and costs. Some regenerate slowly every few minutes, others simple reset every 24 hours
–Must have interesting or popular content, especially if merchandising is a revenue model
–They generally prohibit multiple character creation
-They encourage player-banding by heavily rewarding group associations in order to recruit new players to expand the player base and sustain merchandise sales.
This last point is ironic, since these are essentially single player games, but it forges communities based around the culture of the game. In the case of Mafia Wars, that culture is Facebook, which partially explains why player interaction is limited.
Quests are the new grind in social games, and that is why they are a good idea June 1, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in game design, games, games 2.0, mmorpg, social games.
The first generation of MMOG apps on social networks rely heavily on level advancement as motivation for players to keep playing. In the Mob Wars/Mobsters/Mafia Wars genre, the grind is driven by doing jobs to gain money and experience, and hence to level up.
We’re starting to see the introduction of quests into the social network based MMOGs as a way of alleviating the boredom that can set in with a primarily level advancement based game dynamic. But this can lead to a different sort of grind. There are a couple of good recent posts that are worth reading for people building MMOGs on the social networks that look at “quests as the new grind” in World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online and other MMOGs.
Wolfshead first raised this topic last August when he wrote about the unintended consequences of quest based MMOs, primarily that:
* MMOGs become much more single player experiences
* There is a loss of community
* When the quests run out, players find themselves at a loss for what to do
His post is much more eloquent and considered than this summary and is worth reading when you have some time. He bemoans that the addition of rails (via quests) dimishes replayability. He revisited and updated his thoughts on the topic in March.
Over at Brighthub, Michael Hartman agrees with Wolfshead and says that quest based MMOGs are anti-group, repetitive and immersion disrupting. He says that quests change games into simple to-do lists.
Psycochild examines the grind in light of these perspectives and finds something to like about the grind of questing. Firstly, repetition is not inherently a bad characteristic of games. As he points out:
…games are all about repetition. Playing a simple game of Klondike Solitaire is pretty much all about repetition: looking for place to play a card, flipping over more cards, finding more places to play cards, eventually trying to win. Boring, right? Except people are eager to point out that solitaire is likely the most played games in Windows.
The truth is that most games are about repetition, even offline and non-computer games. Games usually have a set of rules that intentionally limit the options in the game. Klondike wouldn’t really be much of a game if you could just go through the piles and pick out the cards you need. So, you apply the rules repeatedly in the game to reach the eventual goal. From this perspective, “repetitive” describes 95% of games out there.
Secondly, he describes ways that the negative aspects of grinding can be mitigated through game design:
* Encourage players to do varied things
* Discourage boring behavior
* Provide alternative gameplay
* Encourage socialization
His post gives more detail on each of these points.
Ultimately, I think that we’ll see a lot more quest based game design in social games. Wolfshead sees World of Warcraft as the epitome of the quest based grind and says in his updated post:
It’s evident that WoW was designed to attract non-MMO gamers all along. Here are a few points that demonstrate this:
the simplicity of the interface (as noted by one of the interviewers)
the focus of quests for herding the player into new areas
the lack of challenge in the enemy encounters
the story revealed to players via the quests
In retrospect it’s almost as if WoW was designed to be one big tutorial for gamers new to MMOs. A MMO so easy and attractive that it’s greatest strength would always be in attracting new players (defined in industry parlance as “churn”).
Yet here we are 5 years later and all is not well. Eventually new MMO gamers become veteran gamers.
He is right from the point of view of an veteran gamer. But WoW is the biggest commercial success that the MMOG genre has ever had and indeed the biggest commercial success that the game industry has ever had. It succeeded precisely because it could entice new players, non-MMO gamers.
The social networks offer an opportunity for a huge number of non-MMO gamers (indeed people who would not consider themselves gamers at all) to be converted into MMO gamers. The social games so far have raced to far higher player numbers than any MMOG has in the past, precisely because they have gotten non-gamers to play. As a result, quests will be a very important component of game design on social networks for some time to come. It will be a long time before these new gamers become veteran gamers and become dissatisfied with quests.
Social Gaming Summit coming up in June May 4, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in conferences, games, games 2.0, gaming, social games, social gaming.
Last years Social Gaming Summit was well received so Charles Hudson, David Sachs and I are doing it again this year. The Social Gaming Summit 2009 is a one day event focused on the intersection of games and the social web. This year’s event will focus on helping social games developers build, monetize, and grow their social games. We’re bringing together the leaders in free-to-play games, social networking, and payments infrastructure for a full day of panels and talks.
The event will be on June 23rd at the Nikko Hotel in San Francisco.
I’m moderating a terrific panel with Mark Pincus from Zynga, Dan Yue from Playdom and Sebastien de Halleux of Playfish, the three biggest games publishers on social networks.
This will be the first time that Playdom has spoken at a conference. We’ve also got the first game conference appearance from Xiaonei (the Facebook of China) and Challenge Games, plus a few speakers that you won’t have heard speak much sharing their game industry expertise.
The rest of the agenda is shaping up really well, and we’re considering adding a separate track or day of practical workshops as well. Here is what it looks like so far:
8:30 AM to 9:20 AM Breakfast and Registration
Join your fellow attendees for a light breakfast and some pre-conference mingling. Register in advance to save money and time at check-in.
9:20 AM Welcome and Opening
9:30 AM Social Gaming Industry Overview and Update
Justin Smith, Inside Social Games
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM Panel: Building Social Games At Scale
Mark Pincus, Zynga
Dan Yue, Playdom
Sebastien de Halleux, Playfish
Moderator: Jeremy Liew, Lightspeed Venture Partners
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM Panel: Social Games – A Platform Perspective
Jason Oberfest, MySpace
Gareth Davis, Facebook
Andrew Sheppard, hi5
Joe Chen, Xiaonei
12:00-1:15 PM Lunch
We’ll have lunches available for everyone from Noon to 1:15 PM. Grab a bite and take advantage of the opportunity to catch up with friends, check your Blackberry, or recharge your batteries.
1:15-2:00 PM Panel: Monetization Infrastructure for Social Games
Erikka Arone, Zong
Adam Caplan, Super Rewards
Rob Goldberg, GMG Entertainment
Renata Dionello, PayPal
2:00-2:45 PM Panel: Customer Acquisition and Retention for Social Games
Jia Shen, RockYou
Anu Shukla, Offerpal Media
Greg Tseng, Tagged
James Currier, WonderHill
Moderator: Sean Ryan
2:45-3:15 PM Afternoon Break
Need caffeine? How about a cookie or a snack? We’ll have refreshments on hand to keep you going through the rest of the day.
3:15-4:00 PM Expert Talks
“Getting the Most Out of Your IP: Extend or Prepare to be Cloned” – David King, (Lil) Green Patch
4:00-4:45 PM Panel: Social Games in the Wild: Living Outside of Social Networks
Matt Mihaly, Sparkplay Media
Andrew Busey, Challenge Games
Jim Greer, Kongregate
5:00 PM Reception
After a full day of conference sessions and conversations, join the group for a beverage before you head out for the evening.
Early bird rates are available until May 23rd. If you’d like to come but early bird rates are all gone, use my registration code, JEREMYLIEW, to get a 15% discount.
Future of social payment platforms April 16, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in payments, social games, social gaming, virtual goods.
Inside Facebook reports 35% quarter on quarter growth for social media payment provider platforms. Incentives social network offer platforms such as Offerpal, $uperRewards, Gambit and the like have enabled the phenomonal revenue growth in social games. Payments has always been the friction point for free to play games in the US, and these platforms significantly increase players ability to pay for virtual goods.
The future is bright for these platforms, but there are some clouds on the horixon. Andrew Chen’s blog has a terrific guest post from Jay Weintraub on the likely future of the incentivized social payment platforms. If you’re building games or otherwise monetizing virtual goods and using one of these platforms, go read this post and come back.
Jay points out that incentive marketing has been around a long time, and follows boom and bust cycles where initial advertiser enthusiasm for a new source of leads is dampened when lead quality ends up being poor. I agree with his prognosis that revenue through this channel will come under some pressure in the future but will not go away. Some points worth noting:
1. Because many of the leads are being filtered through at least one intermediary and mixed in with other lead sources, it will take a while before the advertisers figure out what these leads are really worth, so pricing should hold up for a couple of quarters yet.
2. Unlike the free ipod model, the value of the payoff has been reduced by 1-2 orders of magnitude, so far less actions need to be completed (usually only one) before a user gets a payoff. As a result there will be vastly less breakage and vastly fewer unhappy users, [so long as the offers are adequately explained] so the risk of state and federal investigation is much lower this time around.
3. There is a roughly 50:50 split for the payments platforms today between direct payments and offers. Even if the value of offers were to fall in half, this would still mean that revenues would hold up at the 75% level
4. Offers are the gateway drug towards virtual goods purchase. Typical new players split 30:70 direct payments to offers, but hard core players split 70:30. As a result, game publishers will have an incentive to support offers even if margins drop as it teaches players to pay for goods.
Social gaming is a tactic not a category March 25, 2009
Posted by jeremyliew in business models, games, games 2.0, gaming, social games, social gaming, viral, viral marketing, virtual goods.
I’ve been blogging a lot about social games over the past couple of years and have been a big proponent of the space. However, over the last few months I’ve started to question whether social gaming is a separate category at all. I now believe that the true category is free to play gaming, and that social gaming is simply a tactic (albeit a very important and differentiating tactic) within this category. Although I’ve been saying this in private a fair bit recently, I brought it up at the VC panel at Gamesbeat yesterday and I hear that it caused a bit of a stir. Rather than being quoted out of context in 140 characters, I thought it would be helpful to explain how I came to this view.
At the most basic level, free to play games (with a digital goods or subscription upsell model) need to focus on only two metrics, Lifetime Player Value (LPV) and Player Acquisition Cost (PAC). If LPV > PAC then you’ve got a business. If not, you don’t. This applies to flash MMOs, virtual worlds, facebook games, asynchronous text based MMOs, client downloadable games, myspace games and a whole host of other games, with the key unifying element being the business model, and the importance of those two statistics, LPV and PAC.
The term “social gaming” has been used in two main, and related, ways. I think that both of these definitions are potentially limiting. The first has been to describe games that are played (and spread) on social networks. The second has been to describe games that spread virally, with a PAC of zero because current players invite new players with a K factor above 1.
Let’s start with games played on social networks. This is a terrific distribution tactic as open platforms and distribution are opposite sides of the same coin, and as I’ve said in the past, in the early stages of a new category distribution is the key driver of success. Free to play gaming is certainly in it’s early stages, with many games having to create demand versus simply fulfilling demand. But there is no reason why these games have to be limited to only social networks, and indeed companies like SGN and Zynga have already started to port their games to other platforms including the iPhone and the open web. Social networks offer an easy starting point for new free to play games because of the large concentration of potential players, but there is no reason for free to play games to stop at social networks.
Now lets address viral growth for games. Obviously, this is a wonderful characteristic. It is the cheapest possible channel for player acquisition as with a PAC of zero, you can make money at any level of LPV. However, once again, there is no reason to limit your player acquisition channels to viral growth. You should acquire new players through any channel where your PAC < LPV. For some game developers this is a religious issue; viral is best and nothing else is acceptable. I disagree with such a fundamentalist approach. If your LPV is high enough to allow you to buy users through advertising, distribution deals, search marketing or any other channel, then you should. Mark Pincus, the CEO of Zynga, has been preaching this approach since early 2008. Here is an excerpt from my blog post from the social games panel that I moderated at the Graphing Social Patterns conference in March 2008:
We next talked about how social games can grow. Viral growth has obviously been the key driver of growth up to this point for all the panelists. Shervin noted that they had seen a strong positive correlation between App Rating and rate of viral growth – high quality games spread faster. Mark talked about the importance of supporting a game with advertising, especially at launch.
One reason that Zynga is the largest social gaming company today is that they have been able to afford to promote their games on both Facebook and Myspace, and have done so aggressively.
Obviously, building social factors into games is increasingly important. Multiplayer is the “user generated content” of games, and social interaction is a key part of that. Furthermore, even if your K factor is less than one, it can be a very important force multiplier on your player acquisition. Buying one player if your K factor is 0.8 means that you will generate 5 new players, and this can dramatically average down your PAC, even if it doesn’t take it all the way down to zero.
In conclusion then, I find the term “social gaming” to be limiting. The best publishers and developers of free to play games will make frequent use of social gaming tactics, but they will not refuse to go beyond social networks and viral channels to grow to their full potential.
I’d be interested to hear what you think.
Social games need endgames September 22, 2008
Posted by jeremyliew in endgame, game design, games, games 2.0, gaming, mmorpg, social games, social gaming.
At AGDC last week Bioware’s Damion Schubert spoke about end-game design in MMOs. Massively notes:
Endgame gameplay, elder gameplay, is a mandatory and compelling part of the genre’s equation. In fact, in Damion’s opinion complex elder gameplay exemplifies what makes the massive genre what it is…
In reality, says Schubert, MMOs are generally really easy to play. Comparing the learning curve of an MMO to a single-player game is ludicrous; MMOs are like ‘popping bubble-wrap’ in comparison. This is because of the challenge of tuning leveling to every class and every build. The result is an experience that’s fairly mundane. The real challenge, the ‘worthy experience’ is the endgame encounter.
While endgame may seem like a strange or meaningless thing, it’s actually really important for every player. Even low level players are aware of powerful guilds and raid progression. Damion references the cutscene that happens when Kael is killed and a quest is turned in; this feels, truly, as though the world is advancing and changing. That’s vital for a vibrant community.
The most thing about elder gameplay is that is one of the few things that is actually massive. Massive gameplay is the one thing that this genre of games has to offer.
IGN reports that Schubert considers there to be two forms of endgame, PvP and PvE:
In order to pull players through the sometimes dull leveling process, Schubert says it’s necessary to give an indication of what’s going on at higher levels. In games where the endgame revolves around player versus player territorial control combat, for instance, a good game will let players view a territorial control map. On World War II Online’s site, for instance, the main page prominently displays the line of contest between the two sides and which side, the Axis or the Allies, are pushing forward. It’s, in effect, an advertisement for the dynamic, high level activity that most new players might not necessarily be aware of.
He went on to talk specifically about the advantages and drawbacks of territorial control PvP and PvE raiding. For territorial control, you need a few basics. You need affiliated teams, either pre-set (World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online) or more freeform. You also need a physical location within the game world that players can fight over. Once that’s established, you need to consider the logistics of battle, like far do players need to run to rejoin the battle after death and how long the battles will last. Schubert says that having some way to actually schedule fights is a solid notion, but you should also have a way to specify when that fight will end. Whatever the structure of the PvP conflict, Schubert says it’s a concept that needs to be slowly introduced to players early on, like with the territorial map, to give a player an idea of what the strongest in the game world are up to…
[PvE] Raid encounters are another major form of endgame content, and center around the idea of players working as a team to essentially solve a puzzle. Raid encounters center on boss fights. The draw, naturally, is the loot, but Schubert says there’s also the draw of solving the puzzle of the boss’ attack patterns. Bosses can have a number of different attack routines, from predictable patterns to randomized attacks to the summoning of minions. These types of actions work to engage players in a number of ways. It requires those in the raid to coordinate their positions and movement on the field of battle, manage their health, and also generates different sub-types of player classes outside of the standard tank, healer, and damage dealers.
Gamasutra notes some specific observations about PvP endgames:
“If your endgame is PVP, you need to think about how PVP is introduced to characters at the low levels,” Schubert cautions. “If players decide along the way to the endgame that they don’t like your PVP, they will decide the endgame is not for them.” Argues that you should protect players more at the lower level, so they have a positive PVP experience.
“People don’t pay money to suck. People do not want to pay $15 a month to be the Washington Generals.” This is something he learned when making Shadowbane – “the winners now had lots of resources and the city could thrive, and the losers had nothing. So what happened is eventually the losers stopped logging on, and the winners eventually had nothing to fight.”
“We had one server where one guild was so in control, that they banned a player class so they’d have somebody to fight,” said Schubert. Players woke up in the morning and found that they were “wanted.”
The solution, he says, is to be able to hit a button, in the game (so to speak) to indicate that one group of players have won, and that they can begin again.
Many of the social games on Facebook and on the web today don’t have any endgame at all. The gameplay more or less stays the same no matter how long you play Texas Hold’em, Owned, Lil Green Patch or Bowling Buddies, to name just a few. This is going to create a challenge for long term retention. Even for free to play games, it is your hard core users who pay you the most money. So it will also create a challenge for long term monetization.
The good news for web based games is that there is no need to develop an endgame at launch. You can afford to wait until you have a critical mass of users before developing an endgame as there is no need to solve this problem until you have “elder players”. And since you are a web based game, you can switch on an endgame at any time without having to worry about updating a client.
Often times, endgame play will emerge organically from the users. For example, Fluff Friends endgame play has become more focused on creating elaborate fluff art. Friends For Sale endgame play has become about collecting “sets” of people and other quest like achievements, often challenges set up the players themselves. These social games have developed endgames that are neither PvP nor PvE, but are instead more social in nature.
While it is great when endgame emerges on its own, social game designers can be more proactive in developing endgames to keep their best players engaged, and give their new players something to aspire to.
Game developers on social networks can expect $1.20/mth/Daily Active User August 29, 2008
Posted by jeremyliew in advertising, business models, games, games 2.0, gaming, social games, social gaming, virtual goods, virtual worlds.
Inside Facebook has a terrific interview with $uperRewards, one of the two major CPA ad networks for social networks (and increasingly outside of social networks as well). [Offerpal is the other major CPA ad network for social networks]. In the interview the $uperRewards team give some great stats and advice for game designers:
On who to focus on when thinking about monetization:
You should support all kinds of players well, while remembering that your hardcore users will generate 90% of your revenue….
…Also, keep in mind at that a majority of the revenue generated per user is generated early in the lifetime of the users’ interaction with the games. People spend money developing their characters, climbing the leader board, and unlocking new elements of the game. Once their character is strong, they have many prizes, and have unlocked all the levels – naturally there is less desire to complete offers and pay. It is those top guys though that motivate the little guys to climb and thus spend.
On what monetization a game developer can expect:
The core metric we use is dollars per click. We hope our developers can get 25% of their daily active users through a Super Rewards page at some point. Of those, if the economy is balanced correctly, you should see a 40-50% click through rate, and ultimately a net 8-10% conversion rate. Developers get about $1.00-$1.50/conversion for US users, but less for international users. We’re lucky to get $0.06/conversion in China, but we have games operating in Europe and other parts of Asia at $0.25 and up.
So assuming all of a developer’s traffic is US traffic, the developer could see up to $83 per day per thousand DAUs. However, on an average basis across all geographies, we are about half that number. It goes without saying that there is a wide distribution around the average based on quality of app and balance of virtual currency economy.
$83/day x 1/2 x 30 days = ~$1200/mth per thousand DAUs, or $1.2/mth per DAU. That sounds like real opportunity. When Facebook rolls out an API for micropayments, this number will likely go up even further.
Promising numbers for game developers.
Read the whole interview.
How to design a reputation system for your social media site or social game June 30, 2008
Posted by jeremyliew in game design, game mechanics, reputation, social games, social gaming, social media.
Bokardo has an interesting interview with Bryce Glass of Yahoo, about Yahoo’s social design pattern for reputation. Building reputation systems can really help drive high quality engagement on a social media site, but is also fraught with danger and unintended consequences if not done thoughtfully:
What are the biggest hurdles in designing for reputation?
I think it’s probably the number and variety of unintended consequences that little design decisions can have further down the line. I’m fond of the article—so I cite it a lot—but Ben Brown, who founded the dating site Consumating, has a great blog-post about the ‘ill-fated points system’ that they used for that site, and the variety of… um… less-than-ideal behaviors that those incentives gave rise to. Early on, Slashdot struggled with many of these same issues, and they’ve re-jiggered their comment karma system several times through the years.
A big hurdle—and if you can solve this, you’re halfway there to having a well-designed and effective reputation system—is appropriately marrying the incentives that you offer your users to the appropriate set of goals that you have for your community. You want to be sure that you’re rewarding folks for behaving like good citizens, and not just rewarding them for no good reason. (Or for vague and misguided reasons like “to keep them engaged” or “so we can have a leaderboard.”)
Earlier this year, Glass gave a presentation on designing your reputation system at the IA summit outlining eleven different reputation systems:
> Named Levels
> Numbered Levels
> Identifying Labels
> Points
> Collectible Achievements
> Leaderboard
> Top X
> Temporal Awards
> Statistical Evidence
> Peer Testimonials
> User to User Awards
and how to select between them depending on questions including:
> What are your business goals? [Engagement? Promote a specific feature? Acknowledge top contributors? Increase content quality? User Retention?]
> What community spirit do you want to encourage? [Caring? Collaborative? Cordial? Competitive? Combative?] More detail on the competitive spectrum in Yahoo’s Design Pattern Library.
> What motivates your community members?
> Which entities will accrue reputation? [People? Things? Collections of Things?]
> Which inputs will you pay attention to?
> How transparent should the rules be? [More transparency is more likely to affect behavior]
He also notes that reputations should always decay over time to prevent a log jam at the top that can discourage new members and make a community appear stagnant.
Yahoo has done a nice job of categorizing some of the various reputation systems available to social architects and how to think through choosing one. I would highly recommend reading the interview and presentation and reviewing the material in the design library.
How casual MMOs benefit from hardcore players June 18, 2008
Posted by jeremyliew in game design, game mechanics, games, games 2.0, gaming, social games, social gaming.
One of the take aways of the social gaming summit last week was that even casual MMOGs need to focus on their hardcore players as that is their source of paying players. David Perry of Acclaim noted in one panel that the players of Dance Online monetize far better than the players of “traditional” MMOGs that Acclaim operates:
As for who’s paying, Perry (Acclaim) expected most microtransactions to come from hardcore MMORPG playerskitting out the avatars with fancy armor and such. Instead, it comes from Dance. The game is a simple dancing activity, but because users spend so much time looking at their avatars, the appearance and identity becomes even more important.
Corroborating evidence comes from this great multipage review of Audition on the Escapist. Audition is a free to play dance themed game, published by Nexon in the US.
Audition isn’t a casual game, despite the presence of numerous casual markers: short play times, transparent rules, continuous save-free play, an item-based advertising model. Although the rules can be learned in minutes, mastery requires about a month of semi-serious dedication; “pro”-level skills take significantly longer. And, like a standard fantasy-based MMO, if you drop out of regular play, you’ll return to find that all of your friends are 10 levels ahead of you and worlds ahead in ability. Your reflexes can atrophy as quickly as embouchure for a musical instrument.
When you find the beat, however, the feeling is incredible. Your keyboard becomes an instrument through which you “play” a pounding, intense rock song. When you claim the highest score, you slide into the lead dancer position, supported by the other players worshiping at the altar of your groove. Whether you’re playing backup or lead, Audition reaches deep down into the shared performance experience that has driven homo sapiens to make music and dance since the birth of the species. Beat Up, performed well, closely replicates a creative “flow” state that is almost nirvana – if you release thought and embrace the physical pulse of the music, you’re carried along in a fast and furious musical flow that you share with your fellow performers. The game’s mechanics encourage this mindset with visual cues and flourishes that reward a steady, flawless performance; you achieve “beat up” status by sustaining 100+ perfect “moves.” Once I’d tasted a little Beat Up success, there was no going back.
I am a big fan of causal MMOs branching out beyond the fantasy, FPS and sci fi themes towards genres that have potential for much broader, mass market appeal. As I’ve noted before, there is increasing evidence that women drive viral growth more than men do, so if you want to see viral growth in games, it makes sense to make games that will appeal broadly to “non gamers”. Games like Popomundo, Parking Wars and Friends For Sale all do this well. (Friends for Sale is a Lightspeed portfolio company)
Another important lesson to take away from the review is that real world context can have an impact on gameplay:
When I first started playing, I was convinced these high-level hot stepper kids had something I fundamentally didn’t. This is partially true: They did have something I didn’t, and not just endless patience or time to spare – they knew the songs.
This actually makes a significant difference in your performance. Hardcore Audition players identify desirable songs by their speed and difficulty, but a significant number of the game’s “mainstream” players actively seek music that they already listen to outside the game. (And it works both ways; players have reported purchasing music they first heard in Audition.)
…Once I started playing Audition, however, a new aural landscape opened up before me. Rather than semi-sullenly tuning out environmental music at the mall, I started to recognize bands and individual songs. And because I associated them with the feelings of accomplishment and socialization I absorbed in Audition, I actually enjoyed hearing them. Whereas I had actively disliked – to put it mildly – the repetitive beat and high-pitched vocals in Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend,” after mastering it in Audition I found myself tapping along with it on the radio. Audition is, among other things, an as-yet unmatched music marketing engine.
I think we’ll see more of both of these trends as social gaming continues to evolve. I’d love to hear examples from readers of games that are leading these trends.
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LWVMA – January Opportunities for Action
Climate Action Lobby Day Jan. 14
Urge your legislators to pass meaningful climate legislation now! Join LWVMA and our coalition partner, Mass Power Forward, in a lobby day Tuesday, Jan. 14 to push legislators to act on climate change bills by the Feb. 5 deadline. Register now, using this form, and the lobby day organizers will arrange meetings with your legislators. Indicate your League affiliation on the form.
Lobby for Election Day Registration – January 28th
Let’s honor the 100th anniversary of the League and women’s right to vote by passing Election Day registration (EDR) in Massachusetts. Join LWVMA and our election modernization coalition partners in a lobby day to push for EDR Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the State House. Meet in Room 428 at the State House at 9:30 a.m. for registration, with a briefing on the EDR bills at 10. The coalition will set up meetings with legislators for those who register in advance here. You will meet with your state Representative at 11 a.m., and state Senator at 11:30.
Youth Justice Lobby Day Jan. 21
LWVMA will cosponsor a Youth Justice lobby day with Citizens for Juvenile Justice to support four juvenile justice bills Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 437 at the State House. Please RSVP here and plan to join Colleen Kirby, our criminal justice reform specialist. There will be a mini lobbying training and packets with fact sheets for legislators.
Safe Communities Act Hearing Jan. 24
A hearing on the Safe Communities Act, H3573/S1401, will be held Friday, Jan. 24, at 11 a.m. in Gardner Auditorium at the State House before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. Please come and show your support if you can. Otherwise, please call or email your own Senator and Representative on Jan. 24, and let them know that you and the League support the Safe Communities Act and our immigrant neighbors.
We expect this hearing to last most of the day, so advocates are organizing supporters to attend in shifts to make sure there is always a packed auditorium. RSVP using this form to let us know when you can come. See the Facebook event page. Jennifer Muroff, LWVMA immigration specialist, will testify. If you come to the hearing, stop by your legislator’s office to show your support.
LWVMA Day of Action Feb. 6
On February 14, 2020, the League of Women Voters will celebrate the actual 100th birthday of our founding. To celebrate our legacy, support the anniversary plans already scheduled, and amplify our League voice, LWVUS is holding an official Day of Action.
LWVMA is planning a State House Day of Action to celebrate the League Thursday, Feb. 6. We invite all members to join us in Room 428 at the State House at 10 a.m. We’ve invited Governor Baker, Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Spilka to speak, and will honor those legislators who are members of the League. We will also distribute reminders to all legislators that passing Election Day voter registration is a good way to celebrate this anniversary. And there will be birthday cake.
Categories: Email, Events, LWV Massachusetts
Save the date: Civics Challenge – March 1
CIVICS CHALLENGE
Sunday, March 1 – 3:30pm to 5:30pm
Cabot School, 229 Cabot Street
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and get excited for the March 3 Massachusetts primaries by joining the League of Women Voters of Newton for this inaugural event.
Adults and students in grades 8 and above are invited to participate.
This is a FREE event; no expertise is needed, just a will to challenge yourself and have some fun. Come and test your knowledge of civics; federal, state, and local government; and the women’s suffrage movement.
Participants will work together in teams of 3-4 people. Form your own team or register as an individual and we will assign you to a team.
Prizes will be awarded to the winning teams. Refreshments will be provided.
For more information and to register, visit our Civics Challenge page!
This event is presented in collaboration with the Women’s Right-to-Vote-Coalition of Newton and with support from The Village Bank.
Categories: 100th Anniversary, Education, Email, Events
The Citizen’s Senate: The final decade of the suffrage movement
Citizen’s Senate Premiere!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
210 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125
Free with advance registration
Join the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the premiere of The Citizen’s Senate, a new educational program that features a combination of archival footage and live performance in order to highlight key moments in American history when citizens have compelled the U.S. Senate to act. The first installment will examine the struggles and ultimate success of the final decade of the suffrage movement. The event will include a reception, performance of the program, and panel discussion moderated by Roberta Wollons, Ph.D., Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The event will include a reception, performance of the program, and panel discussion moderated by Roberta Wollons, Ph.D., Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The conversation will include:
• Paula Austin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies, Boston University
• Susan Ware, Ph.D., Honorary Women’s Suffrage Centennial Historian, Schlesinger Library, Harvard University
Learn more at: The Citizen’s Senate Premiere
Categories: 100th Anniversary, Email, Events
A Successful Book Group with author Barbara Berenson
On Sunday De cember 1st, 16+ people participated in the book group discussion with Newton resident and author Barbara F. Berenson. We had an interesting and lively discussion of the history and the implications for woman’s rights and social justice in today’s political & cultural environment.
If you have not read her book, Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement, Barbara tells the riveting story of woman suffrage with a focus on those women in Massachusetts who shaped both the national and state movements. It is highly recommended that you read this very interesting book, as we prepare for the 2020 celebration of the League of Women Voters and the passage of the 19th Amendment
We thank Barbara for giving some of her precious time to the League and to Frieda for orga nizing this educational session.
Mark your calendar : December 1st – Book Discussion with Newton resident Barbara Berenson and author Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement
Join the LWVN Book Group
December 1, 3-4:30 pm, Waban Library Center
The League of Women Voters of Newton invites you to join us on Sunday, December 1, 2019, from 3:00-4:30pm, at the Waban Library Center (1608 Beacon Street, Newton), for an intimate gathering and book group discussion with Newton resident and author Barbara F. Berenson. In her book (166 pages, with pictures), Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement, Barbara tells the riveting story of woman suffrage with a focus on those women in Massachusetts who shaped both the national and state movements.
Whether you’ve finished the book or not, join us for a lively discussion of the impact Massachusetts had on the women’s suffrage movement. Several copies of Barbara’s book are available through the Minuteman Library Network. The book can be purchased at Amazon, and there is at least one copy available for purchase at Newtonville Books. Copies of the book will also be made available by LWVN (contact us at info@lwvnewton.org if you need a copy). Read more →
Civics Challenge!
Read about our inaugural Civics Challenge coming March 1!
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BREAKING NEWS: Nudist Teapublican Senator Scott Brown Was Buggered!
Scott Brown chuckles during his "60 Minutes" interview.
Sometimes you just have to wonder what inspires people to reveal personal things. It was just over a year ago that the Tea Party claimed its first election victory at the federal level. In the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat, the Sarah Palin-endorsed Scott Brown upset the heavily favored Martha Coakley and a Republican was elected in that bluest of blue states for the first time in decades.
Brown immediately became the poster child for the defeat of the Democrats’ health care reform legislation (despite the fact that he voted in favor of the passage of the very same law while he was a Massachusetts state representative just 4 years earlier). He failed. The Democrats passed the health care reform law despite Brown’s so-called “41st vote” by means of utilizing the reconciliation procedure. Brown’s status continued to decline within conservative circles when he shunned appearing with Sarah Palin at her Boston Tea Party rally. Thereafter, he really started pissing-off the Tea Baggers when he began voting with Democrats on a job creation bill and the sweeping financial regulation package. Scott Brown’s star was fading in Republican circles.
No longer was Scott Brown one of the “go-to” guys for a Fox News soundbyte. All talk of a future Republican bid for President had ceased. The Republican Senate leadership even unceremoniously evicted him from Ted Kennedy’s cushy Capitol office space and banished him to a cubby-hole in a separate building. Jeesh, what does a former Tea Party star have to do to get some attention in the Beltway?
Let’s see. He could get involved in a sex scandal like fellow Republicans David Vitter, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Mark Foley or John Boehner (pronounced “boner”). But no, that would be too predictable and stale these days. Wait a minute, he could take the opposite approach. He could play the role of a victim of a sexual predator.
And voila! Scott Brown has just injected himself back into the public spotlight by revealing in an interview with CBS‘ “60 Minutes” that he was sexually abused at the age of 10. CNN reports today that he said,
“Fortunately, nothing was ever fully consummated so to speak. It was certainly, back then, very traumatic. “He [the perpetrator] said, ‘If you tell anybody, I’ll kill you. I’ll make sure nobody believes you,'”.That’s the biggest thing. When people find people like me at that young vulnerable age that are basically lost. The thing that they have over you is that that they make you believe no one will believe you.”
The Boston Globe reports that the perpetrator was a male camp counselor and some of the details will be provided in Brown’s autobiography which will be released on Monday. Brown said that the molestation took place on Cape Cod at a religious camp. He did not however, disclose the name of the camp in his book, or the denomination.
“I can remember how he looked, every inch of him: his long sandy, light brown hair; his long, full mustache; the beads he wore; the tie-dyed T-shirts and the cutoff jeans, which gave him the look of a hippie,” Brown writes in the book, “Against All Odds.”
The Boston Globe further reports, Brown said the abuse occurred when he went to the camp infirmary, not feeling well. The counselor followed him into the bathroom, according to Brown’s account.
“I was standing there with my pants down and he came right up next to me and asked me if I needed help, and then he reached out his hand,” Brown writes, continuing with a graphic description of the encounter.
In his book, Brown says the incident with the counselor was not the first time he faced a potential sex abuser. In an earlier episode Brown describes, when he was about 8 and living in Malden, MA, he befriended a 13-year old boy from the neighborhood. Late one winter afternoon, the friend approached Brown in the woods, threatened him with a knife, and commanded Brown to perform a sexual act, according to Brown’s account. Feeling desperate, Brown says, he hit the teenager in the face with a rock and ran away.
“To this day,” the senator writes, “I can still see the flash of that knife blade in the woods and the thirteen-year-old boy with his pants down.”
Brown claims that he had never revealed the attacks until this interview. You have to wonder if the episodes had any influence on his past nude modeling. Too bad “60 Minutes” did not enquire into that.
Centerfold song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqDjMZKf-wg&playnext=1&list=PL9B0677232540092C
SCOTT BROWN IS THE CENTERFOLD
(sung to the J. Geils Band song “Centerfold”)
C’mon !
Does he walk? Does he talk?
Is he G.O.P.?
Scott Brown’s a Men’s Room angel
Larry Craig would share his seat
His buns are white like snowflakes
No underwear to stain
He poses like a sweet angel
Naked but with no brain
This sad guy loves posing in those porno magazines
He’s like a nudist angel and he’s pimping out his teens
He must be cold
A naked man if truth be told
That Scott Brown is the centerfold
Nude behind his Senate desk
This girlie man should be in a dress
Can he see that Larry Craig
Is giving him the eye
He is naked but for shoes
Much too indecent for the news
You must wear clothes on TV
They told that Scott Brown guy
Wear diapers like Dave Vitter
They do not cover much
Or simply wear a negligee
That would be a nice touch
(na, na, na, na, na, na…..)
It’s okay we understand
Scott’s nudity should not be banned
But while prancing on the Senate lawn
We wish he would keep his clothes on
Take his truck, Yes he will
He’ll take that truck and drive it
He says the cab has lots of room
For his ass and his private
He says that his bod’s really ripped
He loves it when his clothes are stripped
Oh, no, Scott can’t deny it
Oh yeah, it’s time for him to diet!
(REPEAT)
Posted in Scott Brown, Songs, Tea Party
Tags: 60 Minutes, Against All Odds, CBS, CNN, David Vitter, Fox News, John Boehner, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, news, Republican, Scott Brown, Songs, Tea Party, Tea-Baggers, Ted Kennedy
Glenn Beck And Child Pornography? Who Knew?
Watching Glenn Beck’s mental stability deteriorate before our very eyes is like viewing the aftermath of a terrible car accident. It is disgusting and revolting yet somehow simultaneously compelling. The gore and stench is vomit-inducing, yet we continue to bear with it so that we can viscerally experience the full ugly scene. Nevertheless, when the carnage and debris is finally carted away, the spectacle is quickly forgotten and we resume our daily lives. Let’s hope that is the way that the Glenn Beck meltdown plays out. It will be best for America if Glenn Beck is remembered as a momentary disaster from which most of us emerged unscathed.
Fox News should someday be embarrassed by the fact that it marketed Glenn Beck as a serious voice in the realm of political discourse. This raving, crying man-baby should never have been offered the opportunity to broadcast his uber-conservative conspiracy theories to the nationwide masses without prefacing each show with one of those “The views and opinions of Glenn Beck should in no way be considered as representative of those of a sane person” disclaimers. After all, his college career lasted all of one course. Not one year or one semester mind you, ONE COURSE. If that were not enough to disqualify him from being considered a qualified news source, consider his multiple marriages and confessed drug and alcohol addiction as an indication of his lack of self control and commitment. Beck is also the guy who went on national television and reported that President Obama has “a deep-seated hatred for white people.” He is clearly unhinged and the “hatred for white people” comment initiated a massive and continuing advertiser boycott of his program.
During the last week, Beck’s witch-hunt has been directed at billionaire George Soros, the straw-man demon of all conservatives. Soros of course, is the Jewish Holocaust survivor, businessman and notable philanthropist focused on supporting liberal ideals and causes. He played a significant role in the peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in Hungary and provided Europe’s largest-ever higher education endowment to Central European University in Budapest. In the United States, he is known for donating large sums of money in an effort to defeat President George W. Bush’s bid for re-election in 2004. He was an initial donor to the Center for American Progress, and he continues to support the organization through the Open Society Foundations. He contributes to such fact-checking and political myth debunking entities as MoveOn.org and MediaMatters.org.
By virtue of his philanthropy and liberal agenda, George Soros is considered a dangerous enemy by Fox News as a whole and Glenn Beck in particular. So how does Beck counter Soros? Easy, he does it by lying and twisting the laws of physics in such a way that he labels the Jewish Holocaust survivor as an anti-semitic Holocaust collaborator. Beck went so far as to suggest that Soros helped “send the Jews” to “death camps” during the Holocaust. Beck said that Soros had “to go and confiscate the property of your fellow Jews” during the Holocaust.
Becks blatantly false accusations against Soros led to widespread condemnation from prominent Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors. Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham H. Foxman called the comments “completely inappropriate, offensive and over the top,” as well as “unacceptable” and “horrific.” Elan Steinberg, vice president of the the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, called the Beck accusations “monstrous.” And Simon Greer, president of the Jewish Funds for Justice, said that Beck had “deliberately and grotesquely mischaracterize[d]” Soros’ experience and engaged in “a form of Holocaust revisionism.”
Truth be told, Soros was thirteen years old in March 1944 when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary. Soros worked for the Jewish Council, which had been established during the Nazi occupation of Hungary to forcibly carry out Nazi and Hungarian government anti-Jewish measures. Soros later described this time to writer Michael Lewis:
The Jewish Council asked the little kids to hand out the deportation notices. I was told to go to the Jewish Council. And there I was given these small slips of paper…It said report to the rabbi seminary at 9 a.m….And I was given this list of names. I took this piece of paper to my father. He instantly recognized it. This was a list of Hungarian Jewish lawyers. He said, “You deliver the slips of paper and tell the people that if they report they will be deported.”
In 1944, at age 14, Soros lived with and posed as the godson of an employee of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. On one occasion, the official was ordered to inventory the remaining contents of the estate of a wealthy Jewish family that had fled the country. Rather than leave the young George alone in the city, the official brought him along. Soros was merely a young boy attempting to stay alive by hiding his identity. He never confiscated any property. He was merely a bystander on that one occasion.
When Glenn Beck finally realized what a firestorm of contempt he had ignited with his false accusations, he immediately went on the defensive. He concocted a brand new fictitious conspiracy in which he claims that he will be falsely accused of something of which he is not guilty (or is he?) as a means of liberal revenge. He said this on his radio program:
“I thought about this morning as I was saying my prayers this morning, and I was reading Psalms, I thought to myself, ‘I’m glad my children will always know the truth.’ And I thought of all the things they could possibly say—the greatest thing I have going for me is I have no lies in my life. I don’t have lies in my life. I— I— I—I—I’m—I pay my income tax. I—I—I pay my bills. I’m honest in all of my business dealings. I try to be a good guy. I’m not always a good guy. I try to be a good guy. I try to be a good parent. I—I don’t drink; I don’t take drugs. I—uhh—you know—I’m not—I’m not into ch—I’m not even into—I was going to say I’m not into child pornography. I’m not only not into child pornography, I’m not into pornography. So, no matter what you read about me—no matter what you read about me, umm, in the coming months, or whenever, that’s fine. I really—I mean—I can’t imagine what they’re gonna—but they have to say something. There has to be something fabricated about me. Has to be! You just can’t let this juggernaut go as we’re changing everything because I’m rolling dude heavy.”
Hey Glenn, just because you are paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you! But jeesh, child pornography? What’s up with that? Sounds to us like maybe you are already setting up some sort of alibi. Why is it that with ultra-conservatives it always comes down to some sort of illicit sex scandal? You know, like “Diaper” Dave Vitter and his prostitutes, Larry “Loo” Craig and his foot tapping men’s room escapade, Mark Sanford “and Son” and his South of the Border soirees and Sarah Palin and her sex-targeted children just to name a few? But child pornography, Glenn? How low can you go?
The Fool On The Hill song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KXrrh74wTs&feature=related
THE FOOL WHO KNOWS NIL
(sung to the Beatles song, “The Fool On The Hill”)
He gives us a chill
Glenn Beck is crying again
Let’s watch his eyes start to fill
And nobody wants to know him
They can see that he’s just a fool
And he has not one good answer
Beck’s the fool who knows nil
George Soros stares him down
And Glenn’s face grows bright red
As his head spins around
Glenn’s head today,
Filled up with sound
Beck’s head hears a thousand voices
Screaming nonsense so loud
Everybody wants to jeer him
For the weeping that he does fake
Yet Glenn never seems to notice
He’s a dim-witted clown
In need of some strong meds
Beck’s off to crazy-town
And nobody seems to like him
It looks like he’s back on the booze
Or maybe he’s back drug dealing
He’s beginning to drown
And his sponsors have fled
Soon he’ll be not around
Oh, round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round
Nobody listens to him
They know that he’s a fool
They don’t like him
Oh, round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round
Oh …
Posted in David Vitter, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Sarah Palin, Songs
Tags: Beck, David Vitter, Fox News, George Soros, Glenn Beck, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Media Matters, Move On.org, news, right wing, Sarah Palin, Songs, Talk Radio, TV
Sarah Palin, The Alleged Philanderer Endorses Nikki Haley, The Alleged Philanderer
My goodness, things just keep getting crazier and crazier regarding Alaska’s former ex-quitting Governor. In the last month alone, Sarah Palin has split with her own Republican Party by means of endorsing two G.O.P. disfavored Tea-Bagger candidates, one of whom has been exposed as a raving racist. She embarressed herself on Fox News’ Hannity program by showing that she had no idea who the candidates were in last week’s Pennsylvania elections. Ms. “Drill Baby, Drill” then made a fool of herself by alleging that it is the Democrats and not the Republicans that are in bed with Big Oil. And now she has endorsed a candidate that has allegedly been involved (like herself) in an adulterous affair. Sarah Palin is now officially as mainstream as a three dollar bill.
The educationally challenged Palin has endorsed Republican Nikki Haley in the South Carolina gubernatorial race. Problem is, Haley has been accused by a certain Will Folks of having had “an inappropriate physical relationship” with him. This is particularly humorous when one remembers that South Carolina’s present disgraced Governor, Republican Mark Sanford also had an illicit extra-marital affair. It also begs the question as to whether any Republican, either male or female, can keep their pants on long enough to serve a full term in office.
Of the endorsement, Palin posted this on her Facebook page:
When Nikki and I held her endorsement rally on the steps of the beautiful and historic South Carolina state house last month, I warned her and her family that she would be targeted because she’s a threat to a corrupt political machine, and she would be put through some hell. [D]on’t let some blogger make any accusation against your Nikki if the guy doesn’t even have the guts or the integrity to speak further on such a significant claim.
Hot on the heel of this week’s other revelation that Indiana Congressman Mark Souder has had to resign his seat as the result of an adulterous affair, let’s have a look at all those other philandering Republicans of late. Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford, Paul Stanley, Mike Duvall, Mark Souder… and now Nikki Haley.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel the need to take a shower after shaking the hand of a Republican?
Please be sure to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with the song parody.
Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-tRXewCAmU
SARAH (YOU’RE A FINE GIRL)
(sung to the Looking Glass song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)”)
(doo da in doo da da), (doo da in doo da da)
There’s a town not far from Bristol Bay
With strip malls, both near and far away
Lonely oil guys go the Wasilla way
And live in motor homes
And there’s a girl in this forlorn town
One time, she wore a pageant crown
They say “Sarah, please put that gun down”
She knows she’s just a punch-line
The oil guys say “Sarah, you’re a fine girl” (you’re a fine girl)
“What a good Prez you would be” (such a fine girl)
“Not here, but maybe somewhere overseas”
Sarah, sports a beehive mane
And some rimless glasses but she has no brain
A locket that bears the name
Of the man that Sarah loves
He came on a winter’s day
On board his gas-powered sleigh
What he saw in her, Todd couldn’t say
Cuz he was drunk since he left home
The First Dude said “Sarah, you’re a fine girl” (you’re a fine girl)
“What a good wife you would be” (such a fine girl)
But it’s booze, snow-machining and pornos for me
But Sarah looked into his eyes
And she took an inventory
She could feel something on him rise
Then she saw his morning glory
She said “To hell with abstinence!”, Lord, she jumped on that sad-sack
And before she could say “Stop!”, she had Track.
Todd, had a loaded pistol
Sarah gave birth to a daughter, Bristol
She too had an ac-ci-den-tal
And now you hear her say…
You hear her say “Mama, you’re a fine girl” (you’re a fine girl)
“Two peas in a pod aren’t we” (such a fine girl)
“But Ya Betcha we have a screwed-up family”
“Sarah, you’re a fine girl” (you’re a fine girl)
[FADE]
“No not here, but maybe somewhere overseas”
Posted in David Vitter, Fox News, John Ensign, John McCain, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, Newt Gingrich, Republican, Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Songs
Tags: David Vitter, fox, Fox News, John McCain, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, Mark Souder, Mike Duvall, news, Nikki Haley, palin, Reagan, Republican, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Songs, Ted Haggard
Monday Morning Coffee (or Tea) – 38
Just a few noteworthy news satellites that have been careening around the blogosphere this week…
BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of “Did Somebody Actually Vote For This Guy?” features Tea-Bagger favorite Rand Paul who won the Kentucky Republican Senate primary election last Tuesday. After his victory, not only did we learn that he is a racist that would like it to be legal for private businesses to discriminate, but then he defended BP and called President Obama “un-American” for his tough stance against the oil spill culprit. Let’s get this straight, it is un-American to hold a British foreign corporation liable for causing potentially the most devastating environmental disaster in US history and then trying to shift the blame elsewhere? Heck, then it must have been really, really, really un-American for the founding fathers to declare war on those same British merely for taxing our tea bags!
THIS JUST IN: This week’s edition of “Don’t let The Facts Get In The Way of A Good Story” features the “Turd Blossom” himself. Karl Rove, former President George Bush’s top adviser, while hawking his new book this week, declared that Bush “never allowed” staffers to call their opposition “disparaging labels,” or “question their motives“. His words…
President Bush, for example, never allowed a White House staffer or administration spokesman to go out and do what this administration and our predecessor routinely did — that is to engage in calling the leaders of the opposition party disparaging labels and question their motives.
Oh really Karl? How about in your 2007 speech when you directly challenged the “motives” of your political opponents when you implied that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) intentionally used rhetoric that would endanger American soldiers? You said,
Let me just put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals.
Or how about when you questioned the patriotism of candidate Barack Obama for not wearing a flag pin when neither were you? Rove, you are a putz!
BREAKING NEWS: The good news of the week is that the Gulf Oil spill may be only 19 times greater than what BP originally told us.
THIS JUST IN: When moonbat crazy Republican Senator Michele Bachmann of Minnesota says, “No New Taxes” she means it. It was revealed this week that Bachmann “The Birther” has neglected to pay the property taxes owed on her million dollar home.
BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of “Your MySpace Page Said What?” features former Rand Paul campaign spokesperson Chris Hightower who’s MySpace page in 2008 said “Happy Nig_ _ r Day!!!” and featured a photo of a hanging man. Don’t believe me?
‘Nuff said about Rand Paul and friends.
THIS JUST IN: This week’s edition of “Meet The Press” features Tea-Party darling and Republican nominee for Kentucky’s US Senate seat, Rand Paul. Oops, wait a second…what’s that? Rand Paul has just canceled his scheduled appearance on Meet The Press this morning? Why would he do that? Isn’t this the honeymoon period after his election victory on Tuesday?
BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of “Oops, I Did It Again” features Indiana’s conservative Congressman Mark Souder who resigned this week after it was revealed that he has been carrying on an extramarital affair with a staff member. We thought that type of behavior was mandatory to be a member of the Republican Party. Let’s look at our ever growing list of philandering Republicans:
Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford, Paul Stanley, Mike Duvall and now…Mark Souder.
The Addams Family television theme song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVRX_5tGOlo&feature=related
THE HORNY G.O.P.
(sung to the television theme song “The Addams Family”)
They’re creepy and they’re horny
Their dialect is corny
Morality is phony
The shady G.O.P.
If you’re in a museum
It’s real easy to see ‘em
With pants down to their knees’m
The dodgy G.O.P.
(Cheat)
(Their meat)
They always get their ball on
And that’s the sword they fall on
Another gal to crawl on
Posted in Barack Obama, David Vitter, George W. Bush, John Ensign, John McCain, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, Michele Bachmann, Mike Duvall, Newt Gingrich, Republican, Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Palin, Songs, Tea Party
Tags: BP, Chris Hightower, John McCain, Karl Rove, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Mark Souder, McCain, Michele Bachmann, news, Newt Gingrich, palin, Rand Paul, Republican, right wing, Sarah Palin, Songs, Tea Party, Tea-Baggers
Today Is Lynnrockets’ Blast-Off’s First Birthday!!!
What began as a fun little pastime has blossomed into a year’s worth of blogging. In December of 2008 yours truly was recovering from knee surgery and as a means to fight the boredom of the passive motion machine, I started perusing the comment sections of various blogs that I happened upon. Soon thereafter, I too began leaving comments of a political nature. Then, to have some fun, I began to post a few political song parodies based upon 1960’s and 1970’s television theme songs. Eventually I began to spend most of my time on a blog known as The Mudflats because I enjoyed the numerous posts about Sarah Palin.
By the early Spring my comments were solely of the musical kind. To be honest however, my frequent postings seemed to annoy a number of The Mudflats‘ readers who desired more prose than poems. At that point the Mudflats‘ administrator suggested that I start a blog of my own (probably to get rid of me). The idea sounded great but impossible for this computer challenged scribe. I did not even know what the word blog meant (by the way, I still don’t). Thankfully, the friendly neighborhood Mudflats administrator held my hand and walked me through the process of creating what you are reading today. I remain forever thankful.
Lynnrockets’ Blast-Off debuted on May 13, 2009. Nobody noticed. Little by little however, the readership increased. the increasing traffic encouraged me to carry on. The task was made easier by Sarah Palin’s ever escalating shenanigans over last Summer and Fall. Palin and her crazy family were simply spoon-feeding material to comment upon. In fact, she provided so much material that I ran out of television theme songs. Consequently, I was forced to venture into the world of popular music for the song parodies. Although the pop music world seemed to unveil a limitless number of songs it also made the task of parody more difficult. You see, pop songs are a lot longer and have way more lyrics than television theme songs. Somehow we persevered and here we are today celebrating our first birthday.
I thank each and every one of you for stopping by over the last 12 months. I would especially like to thank those that leave a comment now and again. Those comments provide a sense of worthiness as well as new material for later posts. Once again, I thank all of you.
Today’s song parody is autobiographical in nature and explains the purpose of this blog.
Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with the song parody.
I Write The Songs song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-fev20voMc
I WRITE THE SONGS
(sung to the Barry Manilow song “I Write The Songs”)
I sling the jive whenever,
I sit down and scribble a song
I put the words and Republicans together
I love music,
And I love these songs
I write the songs that I hope you folks sing
I write the songs to dethrone G.O.P. kings
I write the songs that expose all their lies
I write the songs, I write the songs
I’m from a state that’s deep blue,
And we make a damned good lobster roll
No, there aren’t many right wing guys
There’s some but then, all of them are very old
I write the songs that attack the right wing
I write the songs that I hope linger and sting
I write the songs that prompt Glenn Beck to cry
Oh, I’ll take a hostile stance
When Limbaugh begins to rave and rant
And I’ll lead you to a poll, he can’t disprove
Palin has no heart,
So, I will tear her life apart
Hannity, Coulter too,
Also, too, O’Reilly
None of them can hide from me !!!
I write the songs about Mark Sanford’s flings
I write the songs about Larry Craig’s stings
I write the songs about Mark Foley’s guys
I write the songs about Joe Wilson’s slings
I write the songs of Vitter’s diapery things
I write the songs about all of those guys
I love music, so I write these songs
Posted in Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, David Vitter, Glenn Beck, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, Republican, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Songs, Television, Theme, TV
Tags: Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, coulter, David Vitter, Glenn Beck, Joe Wilson, Larry Craig, limbaugh, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, news, palin, Republican, right wing, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Songs, Television, TV
Michael Steele Takes His Seat At The Back Of The G.O.P. Bus
It now appears that the Republican Party/Michael Steele mixed marriage is officially on the rocks. Just wondering, but was it the Massachusetts Gay Marriage Law that threatened the sanctity of their nuptials? Not this time, according to the parties in question.
High ranking G.O.P. members and donors are upset at Steele because he has once again tarnished the image of the “family values” political party. After it was revealed last week that the Republican National Committee funded some ribald revelry which took place at a lesbian/bondage/strip-club known as Voyeur West Hollywood, the G.O.P. needed a scapegoat to take the blame for their bad behavior. Who better than RNC Chairman Michael Steele?
After all, wasn’t Steele also the guy that responded to a citizen speaking at a town hall meeting about how her mother died as the result of not being able to afford chemotherapy, by telling her that her histrionics were sure to land her a spot on local television that night and that she should enjoy her moment in the spotlight? Wasn’t Steele also the guy that lied by saying that during a debate, he was pelted with Oreo cookies as a symbol that he was “Black on the outside but White on the inside”? All good reasons for disliking Steele mind you, but isn’t the true reason why Republicans dislike him, the fact that they put a Black person in charge of the party to lure more African Americans and not only did that mission fail, but during Steele’s reign the G.O.P. was resoundingly voted out of the White House and out of majority status in both houses of Congress? This lesbian/bondage thing is just the icing on the cake.
Michael Steele however, has also fallen out of love with the Republican Party. He now deems the Party of Lincoln to be racist. Yesterday on ABC’s Good Morning America, he said that he was being singled out by his party because he is black. When asked by the host if he has a slimmer margin of error because he is African American, Steele responded:
The honest answer is, ‘yes’, Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It’s a different role for me to play and others to play and that’s just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it. My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented, it’s not old boy network oriented, so I tend to, you know, come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street-wise, if you will. That’s rubbed some feathers the wrong way.
It looks like the G.O.P./Steele marriage may soon be divorced as the result of some irreconcilable differences.
As for the Democratic Party response to the Republican public airing of the family laundry, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said,
I think Michael Steele’s problem isn’t the race card, it’s the credit card.
Let’s face it, any day that you can mention the Republican Party and lesbian/bondage/strip-clubs in the same sentence, is a good day for the Democrats. Ahh, Michael we hardly knew ye!
It’s My Party song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYJyVEUaC4
IT’S OUR REPUBLICAN PARTY
(sung to the Lesley Gore song “It’s My Party”)
It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do
Nobody knows where Mitt Romney has gone
Delay had to resign
McCain was one we can’t stand
The rest just wallow in slime
Naughty Mark Sanford’s romancin’ tonight
Michele Bachmann’s spewin’ bile
We don’t like Mike Huckabee
He talks just like Gomer Pyle
Aw, Sarah Palin behaves just like a whore
She’s a mean ding-a-ling
Jindal should open his eyes
He’ll never be our king
Oh, It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Posted in Republican, Songs
Tags: ABC, Bobby Jindal, bondage, Dick Cheney, Good Morning America, John McCain, lesbian, Mark Sanford, Michael Steele, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, news, palin, Republican, Republican National Committee, right wing, RNC, Robert Gibbs, Sarah Palin, Songs, Tom Delay, Voyeur West Hollywood
Rush, We Hardly Knew Ye’
Limbaugh can see Costa Rica from his house
As you all know, Rush Limbaugh promised to leave the United States and move to Costa Rica if the Health Care Reform bill became law. This is how he made the announcement on-air and in his own words:
I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented-I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.
Umm Rush, we have some news for you. You might want to start packing. Please remember to bring lots of sunscreen because we wouldn’t want that little unprotected pea-sized brain of yours to shrivel from the heat. Oh, and if you have already used all that Viagra that you smuggled back into the States from the Dominican Republic, don’t worry, Costa Rica has socialized health care and price constraints on prescription drugs. You’ll save a bundle. The “Excellence In Bloviating” network might however, want to consider hiring a Spanish translator if possible.
Just wondering, but will you still be going by the moniker “El Rushbo” or something new? Perhaps “The Freakin’ Costa Rican” or “The Jerk Without A Country”? Maybe Sarah Palin can go there with you as a radio co-host. The show could be called “Limbo And The Bimbo”. The possibilities are endless. We don’t mean to be nasty, Rush. Believe us, when we tell you that we wish you all the luck in the world down in your new Central American home. We wouldn’t want you to change your mind and come back here, after all.
To all you dear fellow Rocketeers, I must admit that I have been waiting for the chance to show my age by writing a song parody from the 1970’s television show The Partridge Family. For those of you that are too young to remember, the hokey sitcom was about a single mother and her five children that formed a band in order to raise some money to make ends meet. They toured in an old bus that they custom painted and of course, they found all kinds of funny situations. It actually looked a lot like the buses that the crazy Tea-Baggers travel in these days. (see photo below) The show was sort of a poor man’s Brady Bunch but it was just as popular to us young teenagers during its short broadcast lifespan.
Point Me In The Direction Of Albequerque song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XsRcDmTFc
POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION OF COSTA RICA
(sung to the Partridge Family song “Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque”)
Limbaugh’s leaving town now, we all hope for good
With the passage of health reform, he must now leave the hood
We all heard his soundbyte that he cannot deny
When he leaves our country will he even wave goodbye?
Brainless little ragdoll, once again he has lost
He said he would flee the country, Rushbo did not mind the cost
He said it on the airwaves where everyone could hear
The passage of health reform was something Rush could not bear
Point Rush in the direction of Costa Rica
He wants a new home, to rest his bald dome
But he’ll be unknown, in his new home
Maybe he’ll borrow Palin’s book-tour bus to cross that border-line
Or maybe Mark Sanford’s mini-bus
But anyone that helps him leave is a real good friend of mine
(Real good friend of mine)
He wants a new home, to rest his old bones
Rush will leave the station he’s broadcast from for years
Leaving us so happy we can’t hold back the tears
Faster than a greyhound running away in fright
Head against the window as his bus rolls out of sight
Posted in Rush Limbaugh, Songs, Tea Party
Tags: Costa Rica, Health Care Reform, limbaugh, Mark Sanford, news, palin, Partridge Family, Republican, right wing, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Songs, Talk Radio, Tea Party, Tea-Baggers, Television, TV
Just a few newsworthy meteorites that have come careening through the atmosphere this week…
BREAKING NEWS: A Massachusetts politician has once again become a flashpoint in the health care reform debate. Surprisingly it is not the nudist Republican Senator Scott Brown. This time it is House Democrat Stephen Lynch. He has declared that he will vote “no” on the health care reform bill. In doing so, he will be the only one of ten Massachusetts Representatives that will not vote for passage of the bill. Consequently, he has just become the darling of Boston’s conservative talk radio pundits. He has been an invited guest on most all of their shows this week and the hosts are simply giddy that a Massachusetts Democrat is joining all Republicans in rejecting the bill. Lynch has become such a fan favorite of the conservatives that they are urging him to run for the Senate against longtime incumbent John Kerry. The right wing talk jocks are touting a potential conservative revolution in the bluest of blue states. Problem is, the Boston radio hosts have missed Lynch’s point entirely. Lynch is voting “no” because he does not believe that the bill is LIBERAL enough. He opposes the present bill because it lacks a public option as well as a repeal of the anti-trust exemption for the health insurance companies. If Lynch decides to run for the Senate in 2012 it will not be a race against John Kerry. He will run against the newly elected clothing challenged Republican Scott Brown.
THIS JUST IN: Kudos to Florida’s Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings for telling it like it is. On Saturday he told Republicans, “You all in the minority continue to say what the American people think. You don’t know what all of the American people think. And you certainly don’t know what those in my constituency think.” Let ’em have it Alcee.
BREAKING NEWS: If you want to witness the stupidity of the Tea-Baggers, watch this.
THIS JUST IN: This week’s episode of “Fox News Phonies Behaving Badly” features Sean Hannity. To add insult to injury, Hannity has been outed by a right wing blogger. Last Thursday Debbie Schlussel posted an article on her blog that reveals that Sean Hannity’s charities which were intended to benefit injured soldiers and their children have actually benefited Hannity and his family to a far larger degree. The article states:
For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance “charity” have conducted “Freedom Concerts” across America. They’ve told you that they are raising money to pay for the college tuition of the children of fallen soldiers and to pay severely wounded war vets. In fact, less than 20%–and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively–of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferry the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style. And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes. Moreover, despite written assurances to donors that all money raised would go directly to scholarships for kids of the fallen heroes and not to expenses, has begun charging expenses of nearly $500,000 to give out just over $800,000 in scholarships.
For the text of the full article, click here http://www.debbieschlussel.com/6938/sean-hannitys-freedom-concert-scam-only-7-of-charitys-money-went-to-injured-troops-kids-of-fallen-troops-g5s-g6s-for-vannity/
BREAKING NEWS: This week’s episode of “Republicans Using Taxpayer Money For Their Personal Benefit” features South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. The Washington Post reports that the wife cheating one time G.O.P. presidential hopeful,
has agreed to pay $74,000 in fines to resolve dozens of charges that he violated state ethics laws with his campaign spending and travel, including a taxpayer-funded rendezvous with his Argentine mistress
Just another example of Republican pols profiting from the stupidity of their supporters.
THIS JUST IN: This week’s episode of “The Biggest Republican Loser” features the former ex-quitting Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. It appears that the poorly educated Palin will star in a cable television reality series tentatively titled, Sarah Palin’s Alaska. She is seeking payment in the amount of One Million to One and a Half Million Dollars per episode. Each week Palin will make surprise visits to places in Alaska where she has never been like the Governor’s Mansion and Juneau.
On a more serious note, please cross your fingers for the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill today in the House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Fantasy song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxVlN-LzIks
DEAR, MR. HANNITY
(sung to the Traffic song “Dear, Mr. Fantasy”)
Dear, Mr. Hannity you are a goon
Some even say you are daffy
Your nightly show is just like a cartoon
Hit that bong, chug that jar
Getting happy
You are the one that just makes us all laugh
Unlike Glenn Beck, you don’t go to tears
You should be sad that you do not have your gonads
You could face waterboarding fears
Oooo Ahhhhh
Oooo Ahhhhh Ahhhhh
Dear Mr. Hannity you’re no Brit Hume
Although, he too is unhappy
Insanity prevails throughout Fox News
Always wrong, that you are
Oh so crappy
Dear Mr. Hannity go back to your room
That would just make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of our gloom
Sing a song, play guitar
Make it snappy
We all just watch you to have a good laugh
We haven’t laughed so hard in ten years
You are one sad excuse for a real college grad
Just like all of your poor Fox News peers
Posted in Boston Talk Radio, Fox News, Mark Sanford, Republican, Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, Sean Hannity, Songs, Talk Radio, Tea Party
Tags: Alcee Hastings, fox, Fox News, Health Care Reform, Mark Sanford, news, palin, Republican, right wing, Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, Sean Hannity, Songs, Stephen Lynch, Talk Radio, Tea Party, Tea-Baggers
Scott Brown: The Senator Wears No Clothes (Updated)
Scott Brown (R-MA) posing for his Senate composite photo.
As we have noted many times in the past, the Republican Party is the gift that keeps on giving. For year’s we have had fun pointing out the hypocricy of those members of the “Party of Family Values” that have engaged in extramarital affairs with members of both sexes. Here are some of our favorites: Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Paul Stanley and Mike Duvall. Yet that is only one category of Republican that is joke-worthy.
We also have those Republicans that are just simply uneducated, weak minded, possibly insane, lightweight, frivolous fools. These are the people that give us a belly laugh every time they open their mouths or appear in public. Examples that come to mind are George W. Bush and Michele Bachmann. Of course the undisputed queen bee of this category is Sarah Palin. Ever since the day she emerged from the wilds of Alaska like a “Mama Bear” awaking from hibernation, Palin has entertained us with a form of incoherent public speaking that is second only to that of Borat. She makes Edith Bunker sound like Jane Austen. In short, Sarah Palin becomes the subject of ridicule every time she “rears her head over Alaska” or anyplace else for that matter. Here’s to Sarah Palin! Long live the Queen!
Yet, our friends over at the G.O.P. have just done us another solid. May we introduce newly elected Republican senator Scott Brown of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although this clown is smarter than Sarah Palin (a law school graduate), his personal life measures up quite nicely to that of the Wasilla hillbilly. In fact, he is the male version of Sarah Palin. She was a beauty pageant failure. He posed nude for a centerfold (see above). She paid little attention to her children as they quit school and were impregnated. He pimped out his daughters at his election party and posed with them in their teeny-weeny bikinis while he eerily smiled (see below). She was cited for a fishing violation. He was sentenced for shoplifting. Thank goodness for us that every ying has its yang.
In Scott Brown we have the very definition of an “empty suit”. And empty shoes. And empty trousers. And empty boxers and…
Commenter linmac reminded us of this sort of creepy music video from the 1980’s which stars Scott Brown’s wife. Jeesh, the squeezing of the tube is rather suggestive. Those Brown kids have a lot to be proud of with regard to their parents.
Centerfold song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNhnThb8gEw
Posted in David Vitter, Larry Craig, Republican, Scott Brown, Songs
Tags: David Vitter, Gail Huff, George W. Bush, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Michele Bachmann, Mike Duvall, Newt Gingrich, palin, Republican, right wing, Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, Songs
Sunday Morning Coffee (or Tea)-Christmas Edition-1
The Twelve Days of Christmas Song Parodies continues…
These are a few noteworthy news stories that have been orbiting the stratosphere this week.
BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of, “It Makes Your Head Spin Like Linda Blair’s” features Sarah Palin. It was just announced that the former ex-quitting governor of Alaska will appear as a paid guest speaker at a fund raiser for a pair of Canadian “Socialized Medicine” hospitals. Huh? The Anchorage Daily News reports, “Sarah Palin has been booked for an April speaking engagement at a fundraiser for two Hamilton, Ontario, hospitals that, Think Progress reminds us, are part of Canada’s abortion-providing, single-payer health care system and offer the type of end-of-life counseling that Palin has attributed to death panels.”
THIS JUST IN: In other Sarah Palin related news we have a new tidbit from her once and future son-in-law Levi Johnston. Johnston’s manager, Tank Johnson called into a talk radio show on December 11th and said that his client plans to reveal startling incriminating information about Sarah Palin that will shock the nation. The details will be included in a book that Johnston plans to release in March 2010. Hey Sarah, beware the Ides of March. Will there be a matching book-hawking cross-country bus/jet tour also? Enquiring minds want to know.
BREAKING NEWS: In this week’s edition of “The Continuing Story of Tea-Bagger Lunacy” we have the group’s December 15th demonstration plans. Rather than describe it to you, here is a portion of the official release:
So here’s the plan. On Tuesday, December 15 at 8:45 AM thousands of us will meet in Washington, DC at the fountain in Upper Senate Park. From there we will march to the Senate offices, go inside, and demonstrate our opposition to the government takeover of health care. We call this plan “Government Waiting Rooms”. The intention is to go inside the Senate offices and hallways, and play out the role of patients waiting for treatment in government controlled medical facilities. As the day goes on some of us will pretend to die from our untreated illnesses and collapse on the floor. Many of us plan to stay there until they force us to leave. A backup location for this demonstration will be announced if they block us from entering the offices.
Government controlled medical facilities? Dying while waiting for treatment? Do these sophomoric morons realize that the more they exaggerate their false claims about health care reform, they more the rest of the nation ignores them?
THIS JUST IN: Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show exposed a Glenn Beck conflict of interest this week. Stewart pointed out that Beck constantly advises his television and radio audience to buy gold as a safeguard against the collapse of the U.S. Dollar which will result from the Obama Administration’s policies. Indeed, Beck has said the following:
When the system eventually collapses, and the government comes with guns and confiscates, you know, everything in your home and all your possessions, and then you fight off the raving mad cannibalistic crowds that Ted Turner talked about, don’t come crying to me. I told you: get gold.
The sheer lunacy of that statement aside, Stewart revealed however, that Beck failed to disclose to his audience that he is a paid spokesman for Goldline International, a precious metals vendor. Why is it that Comedy Central does a better job of investigative journalism than the major networks? ABC, NBC, CBS and NPR should be ashamed of themselves.
BREAKING NEWS: Kudos to the television drama series Law and Order; Special Victims Unit for their honest no holds barred description of conservative right-wing pundits. in a recent episode, a character on the show said this:
Garrison, Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, all of them. They are like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. They have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that failed to pay a living wage, or a broken health care system.
THIS JUST IN: The Moonie-owned Washington Times has announced that it is cutting its work force by 40% and beginning free distribution of its product. The right-wing propaganda paper is so bereft of reliable news coverage that its circulation will most likely fall even further now that the paper is free. This is so because when its few remaining paid subscribers realize that they no longer need to feel obligated to read the rag, they probably will forget that it ever existed.
BREAKING NEWS: In this week’s episode of “What The Heck Took So Long?” Jenny Sanford, the wife of South Carolina’s adulterous governor Mark Sanford, has announced that she is filing for divorce. She has been unable to successfully locate and serve divorce papers upon her husband however, because his staff believes that he is hiking somewhere on the Appalachian trail.
THIS JUST IN: In this week’s episode of “How Appropriate” we have Sarah Palin accepting an invitation to be keynote speaker at the Bowling Proprietors Association of America convention in Las Vegas next summer. Hmm, where to begin? Maybe she will bring a few spare copies of her book. Perhaps some of her supporters will have the chance to strike up a conversation with the unemployed social networker. Will Sarah be capable of keeping her language out of the gutter? Stay tuned.
BREAKING NEWS: Joke of the day. Why did Sarah Palin have a book signing in Sandpoint? Idaho, Alaska !!!
My Favorite Things song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0KHb_xCHTI&feature=related
MY LEAST FAVORITE THINGS
(sung to the Julie Andrews song “My Favorite Things”)
Mike is called “Moses” and Romney’s called “Mittens”
Jindal is running but can’t raise a pittance
All of those candidates want to be kings
They are some of my least favorite things
Most of them phonies with brains made of noodles
Palin’s hairstyle reminds me of a poodle’s
The G.O.P. is filled with ding-a-lings
Palin will bless us with winks of her lashes
Gingrich and Rudy just sit on their asses
Huckabee’s so holy he thinks he has wings
“No civil rights”,
Pawlenty sings
He is raving mad
And when Michele Bachmann speaks aloud it stings
Yes that hurts my ears real bad
They are just posers so I say, “Good riddance”
Remind me of the inbred guy in “Deliverance”
All of them have extramarital flings
They have no taste just like a bland egg noodle
They should be thrown out with the kit and caboodle
All of them acting like puppets on strings
G.O.P. women have life-long hot flashes
The Grand Old Party is reduced to ashes
They cannot tolerate arrows or slings
They’re not bright lights
Mental weaklings
Poor behaving cads
I wish they’d all congregate down in Palm Springs
And then I would be so glad.
Posted in Bobby Jindal, Glenn Beck, Mark Sanford, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican, Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Palin, Songs, Tim Pawlenty, Uncategorized
Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Bobby Jindal, Comedy Central, Glenn Beck, Jon Stewart, Levi Johnston, limbaugh, Mark Sanford, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, news, Newt Gingrich, palin, Republican, right wing, Rudolph Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Songs, Teabaggers, The Daily Show, Tim Pawlenty, Washington Times
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« Wonder Wednesday
Movie Saturday(s) »
The Musing Jedi
Episode VIII is here! After the less than stellar VII, and the interstitial Rogue One that also left me cold*, I nonetheless headed towards the theatre with great interest and heartened by early reviews proclaiming success…
Spoilers ahead!
Hmmm. I am, perhaps appropriately, conflicted about this movie.
On the one hand, there is some good stuff there, thematically, as there are some interesting directions to take the franchise. Which I would surmise is the reason it has garnered excitement from critics.
On the other hand, however, much of this goodness is undercut by the glaring problems in structure, world-building, texture, dialogue, and, most notably, in the quality of storytelling.
Let’s start with what’s exciting about The Last Jedi (hereafter TLJ), most noticeably, how it tears down the structure and nature of all the movies that came before it, and exposes the shared vanity that both the Sith and the Jedi possessed. That’s a bold course to plot in an entrenched franchise, and, to me, a welcome one. This is a movie about misplaced hero worship; both Finn and Luke remind others not to get too deep into idols. It’s a movie about needing the many, taking action, rather than the one. It could even be seen as a continuation of Kylo’s worship of Granddad Vader from the previous movie (TFA**)… and how both Kylo and Luke are about “destroying” what’s in the past to create the future.*** Again, very bold move, and one that resonates well. It is a call to action for us all.
Poe’s arc from a “hero” to a leader is also interesting and can also tie into that theme, though it is, unfortunately, quite diminished by muddled execution. He’s a hothead, he f’s up, shows he’s untrustworthy, is demoted from squad lead, screws up again in a mutiny… Poe’s need to be the hero gets in his way continually. Yet, all throughout, we’re made to root for him and to side with him, we’re given reason to paint him right against Holdo’s silence. Of course, she doesn’t need to tell him anything, and given his perchance for ill conceived action, she’s got reason to not tell him… and the real trouble here becomes that the film doesn’t do a good job bridging this gap to show any self-realization on his part, and that he understands that reliance on a hero (in this case, himself) and trying to fight every problem with a hammer can be counterproductive, that he was in the wrong. (That the transport ships start being blasted almost immediately kinda validates his position too, so more muddlement) And so when, on the planet, he tells Finn to “Break off, that’s an order” in a callback to the start of the film, it doesn’t feel like growth, it just feels weird. I think we’re supposed to take that he’s matured and can/will be a leader from now on, but the fact that’s a question shows something was missing.
The work with Kylo, though, is great. From the vacuous caricature in TFA, he’s given much more nuance, oomph, and a sense of something actually going on there. There’s still some thin convenient handwaving (he was turned, OK, but WHAT seduced him? What was Snoke’s angle?) but at least there’s the sense of development. He’s also afforded the opportunity to do something beyond being an angsty teen (and I especially like that the angsty teen thing is called out hard and cast out at the beginning of the movie: “just a child in a mask”) Not that there aren’t angsty moments, but because they’re just moments now, and not consistent, there’s a sense that there’s wounds and vulnerability there. The mind connection between Rey and Kylo was very intriguing and had a lot of potential, another conduit to explore the force, perhaps. That it was just Snoke who did it because wombly wombly bad guy plans was deflating. Still, the interactions between Kylo and Rey were still poignant, and a lot of nice parallels between their “coming of age” paths – each stepping up to take control of their future. They were good foils for each other, and there’s much to continue exploring there: Rey’s past as a no-past (no heroes, nothing special) and Kylo’s destroy the past to become the same future past (destroy the past but still become the ruler of it all much like the past). In the hands of a good writer, this could be what really makes Ep IX.
By these alone, there’s a lot going for TLJ, a lot going under the hood. But the rest of the vehicle is ramshackle and held together by bailing twine. I join the chorus that notes the muddled mess that is the escapade on the casino planet, with incompetent protagonists, telling not showing, overlong chase scene, comedic overdose, and victory through luck and requiring zero protagonist intervention. And the resolution is the worst, stumbling on to DJ by unbelievable chance, who then proceeds to break out without a problem (how did he get caught in the first place? Why didn’t he leave earlier?), steal a ship without a problem (again, why did he need their help?), and spewing exposition before betraying them all in an exposition way. I’m more than fine with theme being explored here, greyness and back turning, and the eventual setup for the force stable boy (interesting that the heroes chose to free the animals but not the slaves, eh?), but it’s a mess that drags the movie and doesn’t build anything for the characters involved.
But for me, the bigger mess is the film’s entire central structure. It is, from start to finish, a series of countdowns. Countdown to bomb the big ship before it fires on you, countdown to running out of fuel, countdown to turning off the hyperspace tracking, countdown to making it to the planet, countdown to the big gun shooting on the big door. Besides the repetitive nature of “always something big/bigger showing up” (and I mean, for crying out loud, the movie opens with what is essentially the FOURTH Death Star battle in the series – snub fighters going in to take down towers to hit the magic technobabble point to take out the big space gun. Geez…), this one, repetitive, note doesn’t make us feel tense or drive a sense of despair, it just makes us numb.
Furthermore, much of these countdowns are so patently contrived that, in the back of our mind, we know this is BS. The lack of TIE fighters during the opening sequence (two star destroyers plus the giant thing? Surely that sky would be swarming with TIEs!), the illogical nature of the out of gas chase (both because, again, TIEs could have been deployed to mess those ships up and, even more so, if the Alliance ships were supposedly “more nimble” and quicker than the star destroyers, wouldn’t they be PULLING AWAY?), and then, with the fleeing transport ships, we’re to believe that they could only destroy one ship at a time? What’s the point of a super large ship if you only have one turbolaser on it?
Lazy and contrived, and it fully robs the scenes of any real oomph because we know its bogus and that the scriptwriter is there, hovering over it, pulling the strings on the universe to keep things in line.
A few more thoughts:
Those bombers at the start of the movie. That drop large thermal detonators. In space. Doesn’t make a lick of sense, even for Star Wars-style space stuff. (Of note, we see TIE bombers in ESB, and they are firing proton torpedo type things downward – so there is precedent for what a proper space bomber should be like.) Even if we accept that (and massive thermal detonators could be an interesting idea), though, what makes even less sense is the idea of needing a single person with a single, highly droppable, control to release said bombs. You couldn’t put a switch in the cockpit? And would this really be enough to take out such a giant ship?
Why were there only a handful of AT-ATs sent down to the desert/red planet? That’s all they brought with them on that monstrous ship?
I was not a fan with the humour, and even less so with the attempted amount of it. Some was great (mostly involving Luke), but so much more felt very forced and out of place.
And poor Chewie. Reduced to the level of a comic relief puppet.
And those Porgs. Walking merchandise. If they at least played some sort of actual role in the movie… even the Ewoks were integral! They’re worse than Tribbles.
Those caretakers on the island, what’s up with them? They suddenly show up mid-way through, even after Rey’s been on the island for a bit. Where do they live? Same cluster of buildings but were hiding before then? Do they jet in only once a month do to cleaning?
The dialogue, oy. Yes, never been a strong suit of these movies, but so much dialogue seemed to be literally reproducing what we were already seeing on the screen (why are you telling me what I already see?), or was narration straight from the writer/director’s mouth to the viewer. Subtlety, thy name is not this movie.
I really like the new character, Rose, even if she was saddled with some of the worst description dialogue. The actress really sold it, bringing earnestness to the role.
Also, poor Finn. A real let down that what could be the most interesting about his character – a Stormtrooper that broke his conditioning – is not broached one bit. Instead, we continue to be assaulted by the “funny” of him being a janitor (if so, why was he on a valuable attack mission in TFA?), and his supposed epic showdown with the silver captain comes off as hollow and boring. Yes, it is a moment when he chooses to not be selfish (only caring for Rey) and be part of the rebellion (Rebel Scum), but without any depth it feels perfunctory, not profound.
Plus, this is the second time we’ve seen Phantasma go down like a chump. Why are we supposed to be impressed by her again?
The lightspeed attack was very cool, visually… I like the series of hyper-contrast stills. And it made sense. Enough sense that it was predictable (in a why haven’t you… manner). And it muddled the idea of sacrifice – why was Holdo’s sacrifice a “good” one, and Finn’s a “bad” one?
Mark Hammil’s performance was the highlight of this movie. Kudos to him. He did a really good job selling the cantankerous, conflicted Luke, with just a bit of Yoda mischievousness. I love how he throws away the lightsaber as the first scene in the movie – very intentionally setting that tone of “everything we’ve worshiped about the first films, we’re going to reexamine.”
That said, I agree with Mark (and others) that Luke’s running away seems very much out of character. And, perhaps even more so, that moment of near failure in trying to take out the young Kylo. It’s nice to see that we can make a wrong choice, then pause, but it really feels like a backsliding for Luke’s character, given his journey and where he was at the end of RotJ (he was always dancing on the precipice of anger/dark side, but gave that up in the throne room).
Especially, given the dissonance between “I will surrender to the Empire on the off chance my father can be redeemed” and “I will murder an emo child because there’s some dark in him and also oh no he can never be redeemed so don’t try” What gives?
(Also, does Luke’s force trick subvert the theme by turning him into a symbol (that he tried to avoid)? The kids at the end are telling his story…)
Could Leia not tell it wasn’t Luke at the end, or did she know and play along?
I did love the subversion of the “Obi Wan” moment, of our expectations. Cut me down, and I’ll be more powerful… and… hahaha, I’m not here! Nice one.
Taking out Snoke was another great subversion, and fit well into the theme and Kylo’s arc (while also cleaning up the detritus TFA foisted upon the trilogy).
The fight that followed Snoke’s demise, eh, I wasn’t really wowed by it, but enough others have noted their excitement for it that I need a second look.
Taken together, as a package and as a movie, TLJ is poor. The premise is fine and the promised explorations are solid, and I give it props for what broached, for its theme, and even for where it could be leading the franchise in the future. But just as a music album is not judged by its liner notes or just the topic of the lyrics, a movie needs to stand on its own as a plot, narrative, and story. And this is where TLJ, unfortunately, falls down. The execution into movie form flubs the storytelling, both in general and even undercutting some of its intentions. I don’t feel like I wasted my money, and glad I saw it, but it’s poor.
Alright EP IX. The ball is in your court now.
* I never did a full review, but my capsule review is that I was excited during the first third for what it was seemingly introducing and setting up, and then I began to sour during the middle third, and lost completely by the third act when everything interesting/worthwhile was completely abandoned and the entire thing devolved into a generic action flic heavily littered with contrived “platformer-like” obstacles, narrative vacuity, cameos, fan service, and enough continuity-breaking happenings to blow up three star systems.
** To which I instead have taken to calling the movie The Force Abandons
*** You can get away with completing the past rather than having to destroy it or deny it or resist it, but that’s a separate philosophical conversation…
Posted in Arts&Media, Daily | Tagged art, disney, movies, star wars |
I think you may have simply over analyzed it rather than sit back and enjoy the entertainment and nostalgia. Next time turn off the old noggin and allow yourself to enjoy :)
by Jen December 28, 2017 at 09:12
As might be expected, I disagree on the over- part. :) There’s nothing that says that enjoyable movies cannot be well made, told well, and done with craft. Die Hard and Aliens, both for examples, are competent and finely honed and are all the better and more enjoyable for it. It’s weird for me to excuse poor filmmaking just because it’s supposed to be ‘fun’ (or, worse, ‘just for kids’).
And I did enjoy my time watching. :)
by Kannik December 28, 2017 at 18:21
[…] “main” Star Wars saga! Thus far in the trilogy, The Force Awakens largely disappointed, and The Last Jedi was strong in concept and rich in both direction and character arcs if, unfortunately, weak in […]
by The Rise of Musing Jedi | Lynx Thoughts January 5, 2020 at 20:03
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The Boys #17
Free with Membership Learn More
The most talked about comic of the year continues from DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT, writer/co-creator Garth Ennis and artist/co-creator Darick Robertson!
Part one of the four part "Good For The Soul": Hughie visits The Legend, determined to find out more about The Boys- their history, their personalities, and their mysterious hidden agenda. Meanwhile, Annie January (alias Starlight) has her own doubts about membership of The Seven. This storyline also reveals a little more about the other members of the team- beginning with Butcher, and his relationship with CIA director Susan Rayner.
Darick Robertson
Superhero Gore Mature Drama
The Boys Omnibus
Dynamite Entertainment never actually had the honor of publishing issue #1 of the Boys (we started with #7), but now we're going to do it!
The Art of The Boys: The Complete Covers by Darick Robertson
In a world where superheroes roam the earth in search of justice for the common man, who brings justice to the superheroes? The Boys do. Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are the badasses that keep the supes in line - protecting mankind from some truly deranged superheroes. Now, for the first time ever, fans can experience the entire collection of fantastically cont
The Art of Army of Darkness
Since July 2004, Ash Williams - the reluctant hero of the cult classic film, Army of Darkness - has been an integral part of Dynamite Entertainment's publishing line. Throughout the years, dozens of highly skilled comic artists have drawn and painted our hero, Ash (not to mention the Chosen One's interchangeable armament of chainsaws and mechanical gauntlets, of course). This gorgeous hardcover ar
Instagram Sensation Johnny Wu has amassed a gargantuan following for his photographs depicting action figures starring in glorious, cinematic adventures. This first book collection of Wu's work will take you on a hero's journey through action figure eyes with appearances throughout from some of pop culture's most beloved and recognized toys.
The Art of Sean Phillips
A lavish, career-spanning retrospective of the acclaimed artist behind Criminal, Sleeper, Incognito, and Fatale! Sean Phillips has personally selected the very best examples of his art for inclusion, from comic strips assembled with childhood friend through his work for 2000AD and Vertigo, from his superhero titles for Marvel and DC through his creator-owned series with Ed Brubaker. Also, the reno
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Showing: Calendar » Music
Feature: Staff Pick
Classes (Paid)
Chittenden
Lamoille
Outside VT
Rug Concert
Sat., Jan. 18, 11 a.m. and Sat., March 14, 11 a.m.
Elley-Long Music Center - Chittenden
Mister Chris and Friends in Concert
Sun., Jan. 19, 12 p.m.
Paramount Theatre - Rutland
Tunes on Tuesdays
Tuesdays, 10 a.m.
Highgate Public Library - Franklin
Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m. Continues through Jan. 28
Fletcher Free Library - Chittenden
Thursdays, 11-11:45 a.m. Continues through Feb. 20
Williston Preschool Music
Fridays, 10:30 a.m., Mondays, 11 a.m. and Mondays, 11 a.m. Continues through Feb. 10
Dorothy Alling Memorial Library - Chittenden
Kids Music With Linda 'Tickle Belly' Bassick
Fridays, 11 a.m.
Radio Bean - Chittenden
Yamoto Drummers
Fri., Jan. 31, 7-9 p.m.
Lyndon Institute - Caledonia
Nick Jr Live!
Tue., Feb. 4, 6 p.m. and Wed., Feb. 5, 6 p.m.
Flynn MainStage - Chittenden
Spanish Musical Kids
Starts Feb. 4. Tuesdays, 11-11:45 a.m. Continues through Feb. 25
Musical Storytelling for All Ages in Randolph
Fri., Feb. 7, 6 p.m.
Chandler Music Hall - Orange
Musical Storytelling for All Ages in Burlington
Sat., Feb. 8, 10 a.m.
Contois Auditorium - Chittenden
Flynn Center Lobby - Chittenden
Sat., Feb. 8, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Pentangle Arts - Windsor
Musical Storytelling for All Ages in Montpelier
Sat., Feb. 8, 4 p.m.
Unitarian Church of Montpelier - Washington
Sing, Say, Dance and Play
Sat., Feb. 8, 10-10:45 a.m., Sat., March 21, 10-10:45 a.m., Sat., April 11, 10-10:45 a.m., Sat., May 9, 10-10:45 a.m. and Sat., May 30, 10-10:45 a.m.
ArtisTree/Purple Crayon - Windsor
The Music of the Grateful Dead for Kids
Sun., Feb. 9, 2:30-4 p.m.
Higher Ground - Chittenden
Musical Storytelling for All Ages in Waitsfield
Sun., Feb. 9, 4 p.m.
Valley Players Theater - Washington
Morrisville Music and Movement
Second Friday of every month, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Continues through May 8
River Arts - Lamoille
Vermont Youth Orchestra Winter Concert
Sun., Feb. 16, 3 p.m.
Ukelele Jam Session
Fri., Feb. 21, 3:15 p.m.
Morristown Centennial Library - Lamoille
VSO: Star Wars & Beyond
Sat., Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Kids Keeping the Beat: Percussion Workshop
Thu., Feb. 27, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
The Music of Phish for Kids
Sun., March 8, 2:30 p.m.
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Kind of Blue - Miles Davis' blue trumpet is sold at auction
Credit: Reuters Studio
Published on October 29, 2019 - Duration: 01:43s
Jazz club owner Don Hicks buys Miles Davis' famed trumpet.
See all the auction action.
Rough Cut (no reporter narration)
STORY: A rare, deep blue colored "Moon and Stars" trumpet once owned by jazz great Miles Davis sold for $275,000 (USD) at auction on Tuesday (October 29) at Christie's in New York.
Davis, who died in 1991, is considered one of the all-time best jazz musicians.
His 1959 release of "Kind of Blue" remains the best-selling jazz album off all time.
The 'Martin Committee' Trumpet in B Flat, model T3460, by the Martin Co.
Was commissioned around 1980, according to Christie's.
The trumpet is a deep blue lacquer.
Its gilt crescent moon and stars were designed by Davis.
After a round of competitive bids, both in the room and on the phone, Don Hicks, the owner of the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, held the winning bid of $220,000.
With the addition of Christie's commission, the final price for the trumpet was $275,000, well above the presale estimate of between $70,000 and $100,000.
"It will be on display," Hicks told Reuters just after the sale.
"And for jazz musicians who come through the place, they'll get a chance to take a look at it, blow a few notes." "It was meant to be played.
Musical instruments are meant to be played and meant to make beautiful sounds.
Miles did it and we're trying to carry that forward," he added.
Hicks described himself as a lifelong trumpet player and Miles Davis fan.
"What (Miles Davis) did by continuing to innovate his whole life, he was always pushing the bounds.
It doesn't matter if you are a musician, a business person or both, never giving up and always pushing yourself, I mean, how is that not inspiring?" The "Moon and Stars" trumpet was part of Christie's "Exceptional Sale".
The once-a-year sale in New York offers bidders a highly curated selection of rare masterworks.
(Production: Angela Moore, Andrew Hofstetter)
› Videos › Miles Davis › Kind of Blue - Miles Davis' blue trumpet is sold at auction
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🖥️ Kind of Blue - Miles Davis' blue trumpet is sold at auction
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Pass-on taxes unjust � MWSS
posted June 28, 2013 at 12:02 am by Rio N. Araja
Not valid expense but� water agency helpless The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System said Thursday the act of the water firms passing on their taxes to consumers was �grossly unjust,� but doing away with it would still have to be determined by a process to be completed in July. �The view of the regulatory office is that with respect to the income tax of the concessionaires, this is not a valid expense that should be passed on to consumers,� acting chief regulator Emmanuel Caparas said. �Our opinion is that the method of charging the income taxes to consumers is something we do not agree with, and should not be done.� But Caparas said Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. may not be held liable for their acts, and refunding the money for the charges that they passed on to consumers was not possible because this was not allowed in their concession agreements. �One of the possible options is an adjustment to lower their water rates,� Caparas said. He also said Maynilad and Manila Water would not be immediately ordered to stop making their consumers pay for their income taxes. �This is not automatic,� Caparas said. �This is going to be a long process that will be subject to analysis, and we want to finish it by July.� Various groups on Wednesday slammed Maynilad and Manila Water for allegedly passing on their income taxes, employee salaries and operating expenses to consumers worth billions of pesos. The Water for the People Network said Maynilad and Manila Water had passed on to consumers a total of P15 billion in the past five years, not to mention the billions more that they also passed on each time they lost as a result of foreign exchange fluctuations. The Water for All Refund Movement said the two concessionaires had also saved P7.2 billion so far from their tax exemptions. Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the water concessionaires should refund the billions they collected from the public for still unimplemented water projects. Senator Ralph Recto said he will file a resolution calling for a Senate inquiry into Maynilad and Manila Water, even as Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus denounced the concessionaires proposal to increase their water rates. Still, two groups�the Waterwatch Coalition Inc. and Alyansa ng Mamamayang Naghihirap Inc.�have asked the Supreme Court to stop the concessionaires from increasing their rates. The Manila Standard on Thursday tried to reach Maynilad and Manila Water for comment, but neither returned its call. Maynilad on Wednesday said the MWSS would be the appropriate entity to ask to explain because it was the government agency that crafted the 1997 concession providing for the recovery of business-related taxes by the concessionaires. The Water for the People Network on Thursday asked if the MWSS was doing its job as a regulator. ��What will it do now about the bloated cost of water and the fact that the consumers subsidize the operations and income taxes of these two private water concessionaires?� group convenor Sonny Africa said. �How would the MWSS right the wrong considering that this is viewed as grossly unjust and highly immoral?� With Christine F. Herrera
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Episode 161: The Mansion Family with Blaine Capatch
Round Springfield
Stand-up comedian and writer Blaine Capatch joins us this week to talk about “The Mansion Family.” It’s not from the golden era, and it’s newer episode than most episodes we usually discuss. Which is weird to say considering the episode is actually 18 years old. We’ll discuss the Britney Spears cameo in this episode, why it’s important to read the Hardy Boys book series, and the funniest things ever to happen in international waters. Plus, what it’s like to sit in on a Simpsons table read according to Blaine!
How to listen to Round Springfield
Apple Podcasts RSS Pocket Casts Stitcher Overcast
Everything's Coming Up Simpsons
animation Blaine Capatch
Allie Goertz
Julia Prescott
Blaine Capatch
Round Springfield is a Simpsons-adjacent podcast hosted by Allie Goertz and Julia Prescott where they interview writers, directors, showrunners, and voice-actors from the Simpsons-verse on their various paths to Springfield, failed pilots, other projects, and beyond. In this 20-episode limited series, you’ll hear David X. Cohen talk Futurama, Josh Weinstein talk Mission Hill, and Yeardley Smith dig deep into her diverse path of becoming Lisa Simpson.
Bart’s Comet with Alex Hirsch
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February 26, 2019 Explore
Reasons to Love Minnesota No. 19: Fancy Ray
He's everything we aspire to be and more
Photo: Fancy Ray
Our first introduction to Fancy Ray McCloney wasn’t on air; it was via a mural for Lake Street Gifts & Oils. Googling his name led to YouTubing led to getting nothing done for an hour because we were so enamored with the charismatic local icon’s ability to pitch anything from pigs’ feet (“deee-licious!”) to penny-farthing bicycles (“the high-wheeler for the high-roller!”).
The self-proclaimed “Best-Looking Man in Comedy” has the swagger of James Brown, the gusto of Little Richard, and quite the résumé, too. He has appeared on the Tonight Show, America’s Got Talent, and Last Comic Standing; run for governor of Minnesota (losing to Jesse Ventura in 1998); and dressed like a Viking metalhead in a 2016 Super Bowl ad for Taco Bell.
But where Mr. Fancy really shines is when he’s shilling in the low-budget commercials of local businesses: Mama Sheila’s Soul Food in South Minneapolis, the So Low grocery outlet in North Minneapolis, or 85-year-old Hy’s Pawn & Jewelry near the Greyhound bus depot downtown (“If you need some cheddah, ain’t no place bettah!” he caws, with his signature cackle). And while Ray has pumped up crowds at Timberwolves games and Minnesota Historical Society fashion shows, he’s more accessible than you may think. The man, the myth, the legend was ordained by the Universal Life Church in 2013 and, yes, he will happily seal the deal on your ever-lasting love.
Tags:Explore, Icons
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Mister Slimm in 07/10 Review, TV March 1, 2008 March 7, 2008 175 Words
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 1.04 Heavy Metal (2008, TV) – 7/10
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 1.04 Heavy Metal (2008)
Cameron learns that Cromartie’s head and, more specifically, chip followed them through time and has been on the lookout for activity that reflects him rebuilding himself in order to continue his mission. She detects a shipment of Coltan, the metal that she herself is made of. John wants to go after Cromartie, presuming that he is injured, while Sarah wants to play it safe and remain undetected. They decide to go with John’s idea but discover that the Terminator importing the heavy metal is not Cromartie but another Terminator with a new mission.
Rather better than it looks like it’s going to be thanks to concentrating on giving the characters decisions to make and dilemmas to face. I’m still not happy with Lena Headey as Sarah Connor (her violent interrogation of a hired goon just feels wrong) or with our gentlemen Terminators but the episode is interesting, has plenty of plot and is pacily directed.
This Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, The episode contains extreme robot violence, extreme violence.
Sarah Connor Chronicles
Ferrari F1 (February 2008) HD widescreen wallpaper
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, The 1.05 Queen’s Gambit (2008, TV) – 7/10
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Student entrepreneurs pitch business ideas
By JEREMY APPEL on January 11, 2020.
Eagle Butte students Eli Lavoie-Pierzchala and Clayton Lehr pitch their business proposal of hooks made from horseshoes at Medicine Hat College on Friday.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Students from Medicine Hat public and Prairie Rose schools pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges at Medicine Hat College on Friday, the culmination of a semester-long project.
At the end of the day, three awards were given out – best pitch, entrepreneurial spirit and, as voted on, students’ choice.
MHC entrepreneur outreach co-ordinator Christie Wilson has been visiting participating schools – Eagle Butte, Medicine Hat High, Foremost and Bow Island’s Senator Gershaw – to work with students to improve their initial business proposals.
“Each week, I go out and work with the students, and it takes a lot of work and commitment from the teachers, division and students to work their way through Business Model Canvas to the point where they can share their business venture idea,” said Wilson. “That’s what today is all about.”
She describes Business Model Canvas as a more fluid approach to developing a business idea, as opposed to tying students to a formal business plan.
“It’s very much about being creative and iterating, rather than being stuck to a big plan,” Wilson said. “It’s easy to use in a group.”
She describes the process as a “journey” with “lots of ups and downs.”
Clayton Lehr, a Grade 12 Eagle Butte student, has been working on his business for the past few years – Rough Tough Hooks, which are made from horseshoes.
He pitched the coat and hat hooks as a recycling initiative.
“The horseshoes get used on horses’ feet for so long, and then eventually get taken off and just thrown out. It doesn’t do any good, so we take these horseshoes and make them into something that can be used for them,” said Lehr. “You take one product and you upcycle it into another.”
Although he started working on the business well before he took the class at Eagle Butte, Lehr says Wilson helped him take the business to the next level.
“I used to sell like five hooks a year and now I can sell 50-80,” he said. “They showed me the way to sell the product and price it so people are still interested in it.”
Foremost’s Brynne Ellert was selling Alberta beef dog treats made from cattle on her family ranch.
“It’s all grass-fed, non-GMO and really good for the dog,” she said.
Ellert said she had “no idea how to pitch a business” prior to taking the entrepreneurship class.
She said the class taught her to differentiate her product from others on the market.
“Before I didn’t push it as local or grass-fed. I’m really pushing that now, but before it was just dog treats,” said Ellert.
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Moviegoers ready for summer blockbusters
Courtney Packer
Summer ’09 is going to be packed with must-see movies. From May to August, there are plenty of different movies to fit everybody’s taste.The summer started off when X-Men Origins: Wolverine, opened on May 1. The movie premier was held at Tempe Market Place. Many fans waited in line for over 12 hours to get their ticket.
Also hitting the screen in May is Star Trek XI.
Ben Stiller is teaming up with Owen Wilson and Robin Williams along with newcomers Amy Adams, Thomas Lennon and Jonah Hill in the sequel Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, which will be coming out in May.
June will be a big month with a lot of action.
Terminator Salvation will come out, though this time it will not be staring California’s Governator, but Christian Bale instead.
Fast and Furious is back with its fourth movie in June. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be hitting the screen on June 26, and is expected to be the biggest blockbuster of the summer. Transformers (2007) won movie of the year at MTV’s Movie Awards in 2008.
For those looking for a comedy, Bruno, written by and starring Borat’s Sacha Baron Cohen, will be out June 10.
July is a month for sequels. Dream Works is coming out with their third Ice Age movie, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’. This movie will be playing in 3-D.
Harry Potter fans will be happy to hear Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is scheduled for July 17. Heartthrobs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale will both be starring in the action movie Public Enemies, which will feature gunfights, jailbreaks and betrayal.
August will be slow on the screen. The big movie of August is the long awaited GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra starring Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum. Teens will cheat fate again in the movie Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D.
Track and field takes on competition at Mesa Classic
New center offers convenience for enrollment
International students choose MCC for its lower cost
Christine MillerForeign students from all over the world discover MCC when recruited by an Arizona university program, to achieve a college education.The American English and Culture Program (AECP) at
RhythmSoled offers no limits with dance classes
Jacque BernattKim Sheperd and Dustin Loehr, MCC alumnus, had a kindred ideal when they opened RhythmSoled Performance Studio. RhythmSoled is a studio open to anyone of any age or skill level offering
Walker, Saar face off in debate for MCCD board
Sarah EvansOn Nov. 2 incumbent Jerry Walker will be running against Dana Saar in the District two Maricopa governing board election. Recently, the Arizona Republic printed an article about inappropria
Hey Buddy!, I found this information for you: "Moviegoers ready for summer blockbusters". Here is the website link: https://mesalegend.com/moviegoers-ready-for-summer-blockbusters/. Thank you
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Which hospitals will get upgrades as part of Johnson’s £850,000,000 spending pledge?
Basit MahmoodMonday 5 Aug 2019 10:20 am
The Prime Minister is visiting hospitals in Lincolnshire as he puts the health service at the centre of his election campaign (Picture: Getty/Rex)
Boris Johnson has announced the 20 NHS hospitals in England that will benefit from his £850 million spending pledge to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment.
The Prime Minister is making the commitment as part of his £1.8 billion cash injection for the health service during a speech at a Lincolnshire hospital on Monday.
However campaigners say that the extra cash is just a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to what is needed.
Yet health secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC: ‘The economy is growing strongly and, ultimately, all public services, the long list you gave, and of course the biggest amongst them is the NHS, they are paid for by having a strong economy.
‘There is a record number of people in work at the moment, that means a record number of people paying income tax, a record low number of people who are claiming unemployment, so that gives you more money.’
Mr Hancock added: ‘I guarantee that we now have all plans in place to make sure that the NHS will be prepared whatever the Brexit scenario.’
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust will receive £30.6 million to provide a new emergency care campus development at Stepping Hill Hospital (Picture: Getty Images)
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has also been targeted with the extra cash (Picture: Universal Images Group Editorial)
Here is a full list of the hospitals and the funding they will receive:
list of the hospitals that will receive funding
– Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT): £99.5 million for a new block in Luton to provide critical and intensive care, as well as a delivery suite and operating theatres
– Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS FT: £69.7 million to provide diagnostic and assessment centres in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn
– Norfolk and Suffolk NHS FT: £40 million to build four new hospital wards in Norwich, providing 80 beds
– NHS South Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group: £25.2 million to develop and improve primary care services
– University Hospitals Birmingham: £97.1 million to provide a new purpose-built hospital facility, replacing outdated outpatient, treatment and diagnostic accommodation
– United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust: £21.3 million to improve patient flow in Boston by developing urgent and emergency care zones in A&E
– Wye Valley NHS Trust: £23.6 million to provide new hospital wards in Hereford, providing 72 beds
– University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust: £17.6 million to create three new modern wards to improve capacity and patient flow in Stoke, delivering approximately 84 beds for this winter
– Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge CCGs and North East London NHS Foundation Trust: £17 million to develop a new health and wellbeing hub
– Croydon Health Services NHS Trust: £12.7 million to extend and refurbish critical care units at the Croydon University Hospital
North East and Yorkshire
– South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System: £57.5 million for primary care investment
– Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS FT: £41.7 million to improve paediatric cardiac services in the North East
– Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: £12 million to provide a single laboratory information management system across West Yorkshire and Harrogate, covering all pathology disciplines
– Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT: £72.3 million to build a new adult mental health inpatient unit
– Mersey Care NHS FT: £33 million to provide a new 40-bed low secure unit for people with learning disabilities
– Stockport NHS FT: £30.6 million to provide a new emergency care campus development at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, incorporating an urgent treatment centre, GP assessment unit and planned investigation unit
– NHS Wirral CCG: £18 million to improve patient flow by improving access via the urgent treatment centre
– Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS FT: £16.3 million to provide emergency and urgent care facilities at Tameside General Hospital
– Isle of Wight NHS Trust: £48 million to redesign acute services
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust: £99.9 million to build a new women’s and children’s hospital in the centre of the Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro
Got a story for Metro.co.uk?
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.
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James Arthur reveals he blocked Lewis Capaldi on Twitter
Abbie BrayFriday 18 Oct 2019 11:25 am
Sorry, this video isn't available any more.
James Arthur made a guest appearance on Lorraine this morning – and he revealed to the host the real reason he blocked singer Lewis Capaldi on Twitter.
The Naked singer told Lorraine Kelly that he actually blocked Lewis on social media a long time ago when he was ‘spamming him with tweets’.
He explained: ‘Years ago he used to tweet me and it’s only now that I understand his sense of humour.
‘It was certain things he said and so I blocked him.
‘It was then when I saw him come up and I knew who he was. Scotland has a superstar now.’
James continued: ‘People have told him that he sounds like me.’
Let’s hope it’s all water under the bridge now eh James? (Picture: Mike Lewis Photography/Getty Images)
James said that Lewis spammed him with tweets (Picture: FilmMagic for Life is Beautiful
Source: FilmMagic)
The X Factor winner, who has released a new album called You also spoke about how he wants to take a break from music.
He said: ‘At some point, I would like to take a break from music and I’d like to get involved in films. I am really interested in that.’
Addressing the ‘tough time’ is has gone through during his career James added: ‘I think I care less about what people think now and when you hit 30 you start to live life for yourself in a good way.
‘I think before I was looking for validation in an unhealthy way and as a kid, I wanted to be the best and I got bogged down with that as I thought I wouldn’t be considered good enough.
‘I was down about it at the time but now I do it because I love it and I have some amazing fans that come to my shows.’
Recently James also appeared on This Morning where he spoke about how he was ‘snubbed’ from the Glastonbury line-up.
Speaking to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Arthur explained his comments further – outlining how he believes he’s overlooked from performing at these festivals due to his X Factor origins.
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‘Basically, I would love to be considered credible enough to perform at those things,’ Arthur said. ‘I think I was made to perform at Glastonbury and these big festivals.
‘I’m a musician. I’ve worked very hard, it’s been seven years since the X Factor. It’s amazing I’ve managed to sustain a career. It’s amazing what the likes of myself, Olly Murs, Little Mix, what we’ve been able to do to be considered viable enough – to come from a show like that and still be relevant because there is a little bit of snobbery attached to being from a reality TV show.
‘And maybe we get overlooked for things like that. For me, it sucks because I believe I’m made for those kind of things.’
Lorraine airs weekdays at 8.30am on ITV.
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you.
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Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury
Stefano Gatti, Stefania Bruno, Maria Chiara Deregibus, Andrea Sordi, Vincenzo Cantaluppi, Ciro Tetta, Giovanni Camussi
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda- Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico
Background. Several studies demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reverse acute kidney injury (AKI) by a paracrine mechanism rather than by MSC transdifferentiation. We recently demonstrated that microvesicles (MVs) released from MSCs may account for this paracrine mechanism by a horizontal transfer of messenger RNA and microRNA.Methods. MVs isolated from MSCs were injected intravenously in rats (30 μg/rat) immediately after monolateral nephrectomy and renal artery and vein occlusion for 45 min. To evaluate the MV effects on AKI induced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), the animals were divided into different groups: normal rats (n = 4), sham-operated rats (n = 6), IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and IRI + RNase-MV rats (n = 6), and all animals were sacrificed at Day 2 after the operation. To evaluate the chronic kidney damage consequent to IRI, the rats were divided into different groups: sham-operated rats (n = 6) and IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and all animal were sacrificed 6 months after the operation.Results. We found that a single administration of MVs, immediately after IRI, protects rats from AKI by inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating tubular epithelial cell proliferation. The MVs also significantly reduced the impairment of renal function. Pretreatment of MVs with RNase to inactivate their RNA cargo abrogated these protective effects. Moreover, MVs by reducing the acute injury also protected from later chronic kidney disease.Conclusion. MVs released from MSCs protect from AKI induced by ischaemia reperfusion injury and from subsequent chronic renal damage. This suggest that MVs could be exploited as a potential new therapeutic approach.
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr015
Reperfusion
Reperfusion Injury
Ribonucleases
Cell Transdifferentiation
Renal Veins
Renal Artery
Transfer RNA
ischaemia-reperfusion injury
microvesicles
Gatti, S., Bruno, S., Deregibus, M. C., Sordi, A., Cantaluppi, V., Tetta, C., & Camussi, G. (2011). Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 26(5), 1474-1483. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr015
Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury. / Gatti, Stefano; Bruno, Stefania; Deregibus, Maria Chiara; Sordi, Andrea; Cantaluppi, Vincenzo; Tetta, Ciro; Camussi, Giovanni.
In: Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Vol. 26, No. 5, 05.2011, p. 1474-1483.
Gatti, S, Bruno, S, Deregibus, MC, Sordi, A, Cantaluppi, V, Tetta, C & Camussi, G 2011, 'Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury', Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 1474-1483. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr015
Gatti S, Bruno S, Deregibus MC, Sordi A, Cantaluppi V, Tetta C et al. Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2011 May;26(5):1474-1483. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr015
Gatti, Stefano ; Bruno, Stefania ; Deregibus, Maria Chiara ; Sordi, Andrea ; Cantaluppi, Vincenzo ; Tetta, Ciro ; Camussi, Giovanni. / Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury. In: Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2011 ; Vol. 26, No. 5. pp. 1474-1483.
@article{b6e6ca3e7f7b42d0810564cdb830397b,
title = "Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury",
abstract = "Background. Several studies demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reverse acute kidney injury (AKI) by a paracrine mechanism rather than by MSC transdifferentiation. We recently demonstrated that microvesicles (MVs) released from MSCs may account for this paracrine mechanism by a horizontal transfer of messenger RNA and microRNA.Methods. MVs isolated from MSCs were injected intravenously in rats (30 μg/rat) immediately after monolateral nephrectomy and renal artery and vein occlusion for 45 min. To evaluate the MV effects on AKI induced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), the animals were divided into different groups: normal rats (n = 4), sham-operated rats (n = 6), IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and IRI + RNase-MV rats (n = 6), and all animals were sacrificed at Day 2 after the operation. To evaluate the chronic kidney damage consequent to IRI, the rats were divided into different groups: sham-operated rats (n = 6) and IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and all animal were sacrificed 6 months after the operation.Results. We found that a single administration of MVs, immediately after IRI, protects rats from AKI by inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating tubular epithelial cell proliferation. The MVs also significantly reduced the impairment of renal function. Pretreatment of MVs with RNase to inactivate their RNA cargo abrogated these protective effects. Moreover, MVs by reducing the acute injury also protected from later chronic kidney disease.Conclusion. MVs released from MSCs protect from AKI induced by ischaemia reperfusion injury and from subsequent chronic renal damage. This suggest that MVs could be exploited as a potential new therapeutic approach.",
keywords = "acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, ischaemia-reperfusion injury, mesenchymal stem cells, microvesicles",
author = "Stefano Gatti and Stefania Bruno and Deregibus, {Maria Chiara} and Andrea Sordi and Vincenzo Cantaluppi and Ciro Tetta and Giovanni Camussi",
doi = "10.1093/ndt/gfr015",
journal = "Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation",
T1 - Microvesicles derived from human adult mesenchymal stem cells protect against ischaemia-reperfusion-induced acute and chronic kidney injury
AU - Gatti, Stefano
AU - Bruno, Stefania
AU - Deregibus, Maria Chiara
AU - Sordi, Andrea
AU - Cantaluppi, Vincenzo
AU - Tetta, Ciro
AU - Camussi, Giovanni
N2 - Background. Several studies demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reverse acute kidney injury (AKI) by a paracrine mechanism rather than by MSC transdifferentiation. We recently demonstrated that microvesicles (MVs) released from MSCs may account for this paracrine mechanism by a horizontal transfer of messenger RNA and microRNA.Methods. MVs isolated from MSCs were injected intravenously in rats (30 μg/rat) immediately after monolateral nephrectomy and renal artery and vein occlusion for 45 min. To evaluate the MV effects on AKI induced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), the animals were divided into different groups: normal rats (n = 4), sham-operated rats (n = 6), IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and IRI + RNase-MV rats (n = 6), and all animals were sacrificed at Day 2 after the operation. To evaluate the chronic kidney damage consequent to IRI, the rats were divided into different groups: sham-operated rats (n = 6) and IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and all animal were sacrificed 6 months after the operation.Results. We found that a single administration of MVs, immediately after IRI, protects rats from AKI by inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating tubular epithelial cell proliferation. The MVs also significantly reduced the impairment of renal function. Pretreatment of MVs with RNase to inactivate their RNA cargo abrogated these protective effects. Moreover, MVs by reducing the acute injury also protected from later chronic kidney disease.Conclusion. MVs released from MSCs protect from AKI induced by ischaemia reperfusion injury and from subsequent chronic renal damage. This suggest that MVs could be exploited as a potential new therapeutic approach.
AB - Background. Several studies demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reverse acute kidney injury (AKI) by a paracrine mechanism rather than by MSC transdifferentiation. We recently demonstrated that microvesicles (MVs) released from MSCs may account for this paracrine mechanism by a horizontal transfer of messenger RNA and microRNA.Methods. MVs isolated from MSCs were injected intravenously in rats (30 μg/rat) immediately after monolateral nephrectomy and renal artery and vein occlusion for 45 min. To evaluate the MV effects on AKI induced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), the animals were divided into different groups: normal rats (n = 4), sham-operated rats (n = 6), IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and IRI + RNase-MV rats (n = 6), and all animals were sacrificed at Day 2 after the operation. To evaluate the chronic kidney damage consequent to IRI, the rats were divided into different groups: sham-operated rats (n = 6) and IRI rats (n = 6), IRI + MV rats (n = 6), and all animal were sacrificed 6 months after the operation.Results. We found that a single administration of MVs, immediately after IRI, protects rats from AKI by inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating tubular epithelial cell proliferation. The MVs also significantly reduced the impairment of renal function. Pretreatment of MVs with RNase to inactivate their RNA cargo abrogated these protective effects. Moreover, MVs by reducing the acute injury also protected from later chronic kidney disease.Conclusion. MVs released from MSCs protect from AKI induced by ischaemia reperfusion injury and from subsequent chronic renal damage. This suggest that MVs could be exploited as a potential new therapeutic approach.
KW - acute kidney injury
KW - chronic kidney disease
KW - ischaemia-reperfusion injury
KW - microvesicles
U2 - 10.1093/ndt/gfr015
DO - 10.1093/ndt/gfr015
JO - Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
JF - Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
10.1093/ndt/gfr015
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Carlo Gesualdo: the tormented self
Posted by michelinewalker in Music
≈ Comments Off on Carlo Gesualdo: the tormented self
anger, gaillard, insanity, jealousy, Leonora d'Este, madrigals, sacred music, Torquato Tasso
Gesualdo di Venosa or Gesualdo da Venosa (March 8, 1566 – September 8, 1613) was a fine musician: a virtuoso lutenist and a composer. However, he is an example of what I would call the tormented self.
On October 16, 1590, Carlo murdered or had servants murder his wife, Donna Maria d’Avalos, the daughter of the Marquis of Pescara, and her lover, Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria. He also murdered or had servants murder his second son because he suspected the little boy was the son of the Duke of Andria. Moreover, to avoid revenge, he murdered or had servants murder his father-in-law, the Marquis of Pescara.
Gesualdo had married Donna Maria d’Avalos in 1586 and, although others knew about the affair, he did not. When he was apprised of the relationship, he made believe he was going on a hunting trip, had keys made, and caught his unfaithful wife and her lover in the act. The murders took place at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples.
As an aristocrat, Gesualdo was immune from prosecution, but, for his own protection, he nevertheless settled in Ferrara for a few years to escape vengeful relatives. Moreover, in 1594, Carlo married Leonora d’Este, the niece of Duke Alfonso II.
We have discussed “l’humaine condition,” or the duality of human beings. Remember that Pascal thought humans were both grands and misérables. We are mortals, which belittles us, but we know that we are mortals, which gives us nobility. Each one of us is a “roseau pensant” (a thinking reed). Michel de Montaigne (February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592) described humanity in similar fashion. So did Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650).
However, although these writers spoke of humankind’s duality, that duality was not the juxtaposition in one individual of a good human being and a bad, or beastly, human being.
The Werewolf: lycanthropy
No, the concept of duality does not point to the kind of division that is the fate of fictional werewolves or the loup garou, humans by day, wolves by night. However, Robert Louis Stevenson‘s (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, first published in 1886, is a mostly human (as opposed to Beast Literature’s lycanthropy) version of a loup garou story. Moreover, there is a mental disorder called clinical lycanthropy and all of us have heard of split personalities.
But what of Gesualdo…
As for Carlo Gesualdo, I do not see in him a split personality but I do see insane jealousy and uncontrolled anger: rage. In other words, we may be looking at a non-fictional “tragic flaw” that has fascinated generations. It does not seem possible that Gesualdo, an artist, would kill or order servants to kill on his behalf.
First, Gesualdo was Principe da Venosa, a prince, as well as a count, the Count of Conza. Unspeakable crimes have been committed by aristocrats, but we tend to believe that, as aristocrats, these persons are or should be morally equal to their rank. There was, however, a Marquis de Sade (2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814). He was an aristocrat, but he was not immune to prosecution.
Second, the Principe de Venosa and count of Conza was a musician. He was a virtuoso lutenist and an excellent composer. It is difficult to reconcile musicianship and cruelty.
In fact, Gesualdo’s second marriage was not a happy marriage. It appears he was an abusive husband, but despite her family’s entreaties, Eleanore would not divorce of husband. She tried to help him, but some believe that she ended up murdering the murderer. It all seems a mystery.
But the deeper mystery lies in Gesualdo’s ability to continue playing and composing music after the murders. How could he write and play music after committing horrible crimes? Music requires sensitivity, not to mention serenity. So we will never know what happened to Gesualdo. Again, it all seems a mystery.
Could it be, for instance, that his music reflects a tormented and guilt-ridden soul? We will listen to some of his compositions. His music is very ornamented and chromatic (he used semitones, the smallest space or interval between two notes). As well, he composed complicated polyphonic works, using up to seven voices.
Gesualdo wrote six books of madrigals, some of which were settings of the poetry of Torquato Tasso (11 March 1544 – 25 April 1595), another tormented self. He also wrote galliards (the gagliarda), a court dance, and sacred music:
Sacrarum cantionum liber primus (5 voix). Naples 1603;
Sacrarum cantionum liber primus (6, 7 voix). Naples 1603);
Responsoria et alia ad Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae spectantia (6 voix). Gesualdo 1611.
Coat of Arms of Venosa
click to hear: Tristis est anima mea (sacred music)
click to hear: Sento che nel partire (madrigal); Gagliarda (dance music)
click to hear: Death for five voices (madrigals, biographical)
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Middle C
Classical Music Reviews, Wellington, New Zealand
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JS Bach since the time of Bach – brought to life by Michael Houstoun
Cynthia and Gertie – going for Baroque with Purcell at Circa Theatre
Too important to let it go – Ashley Brown and a new-look NZTrio play music by women composers
Large audience for a delightful concert by Camerata chamber orchestra
By Steven Sedley, 16/12/2019
Camerata’s vision is to ‘perform high quality joyful chamber music accessible alike to newcomers and classical aficionados’. The small chamber orchestra includes members of Wellington’s professional orchestras as well as students and graduates of the NZ School of Music. It is a very accomplished ensemble. Corelli: Christmas Concerto Anne Loeser and Ursula Evans violins, Robert Ibell, cello This is probably Corelli’s most popular work, often featured in anthologies of Christmas music. It is now... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts | 18th century music, baroque music, concerto, orchestral
Enthusiastic reception by big audience for Orchestra Wellington’s final 2019 concert of remarkable but unfamiliar music
This was the last of this year's subscription concerts by Orchestra Wellington. The Michael Fowler Centre was filled almost to capacity, despite the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra playing another concert at the same time in Shed 6. Orchestra Wellington played a difficult programme, made no concession to popular taste, yet it had the largest audience of any orchestra in New Zealand. There is something remarkable about this. I believe... read more
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NZSO and Orchestra Wellington players, with a Slovenian pianist deliver fine performances of Mendelssohn and Mozart
Listening to a concert of happy, delightful music is a lovely way of whiling away a lunch hour. This week members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Wellington presented a programme of charming music by Mendelssohn and Mozart. Mendelssohn: String Symphony No. 2 The prodigious talent of Mendelssohn is hard to comprehend. He grew up in a home that was a gathering place for writers, musicians and artists. He... read more
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Exceptional recital from Alexander Gavrylyuk gets tumultuous applause at Waikanae
Alexander Gavrylyuk, the internationally celebrated Ukranian/Australian pianist, has become a regular visitor to Waikanae. He played there in 2017 and 2016, so I knew that we would be in for an exceptional concert. Peter Mechen, my colleague at Middle C, had written about the pianist's ability to enchant his listeners with every note and in doing so, display a Sviatoslav Richter-like capacity to invest each sound with a kind... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts | piano, Waikanae Music Society
Intelligent programming of piano duets from markedly contrasted pianists at St Andrew’s
Outside it is a bleak, stormy day, but step inside St. Andrews, get warm and listen to some beautiful music and you feel better. Sunny Cheng and Kris Zuelicke are both experienced, skilled pianists, active performers and piano teachers in Wellington. They make a formidable a piano duet team. Their senses of the piano are different; one hears the piano as more of a percussive, rhythmic instrument, while the... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts | piano duet, St Andrew's lunchtime concert
HK Gruber’s critique of classical music with the NZSO a hit with a younger, if smaller, audience
'Why serious?' the programme notes asks, presumably quoting HK Gruber. The music in this programme was meant to be fun. Gruber wanted to make music simple, approachable, and break down the demarcation between classical and popular music. Simplicity, however does not mean stupidity. Gruber's models were Kurt Weill and Hans Eisler, and their iconoclastic music of Berlin of the 1920s. So this evening's music was a long way... read more
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Accomplished performances from Wellington Youth Orchestra with talented Asaki Watanabe in Bruch concerto
Being part of a symphony orchestra is a huge commitment for young people. It involves rehearsals every Monday evening during term time. It also requires a high degree of competence on an orchestral instrument. A full symphony orchestra needs 20-24 violins, and a corresponding number of violas, cellos and double basses as well as a full compliment of winds, brass and percussion. The Wellington Youth Orchestra mustered an almost... read more
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Martinborough Music Festival – an overview of a delightful feast of chamber music
Martinborough is a charming, tastefully preserved and restored little country town 65 km from Wellington. Running a Music Festival there, featuring some of New Zealand's finest musicians is an incredibly ambitious project. The festival, held this year over three days, 27-29 September, was their third. It featured Michael Houstoun, piano, Jenny Wollerman, soprano, Wilma Smith, violin and viola, Vesa-Matti Leppanen, Yuka Egochi, Amy Bookman and Alan Molina, violins, Christopher... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts, Reviews - festival | chamber music, Martinborough Music Festival, song recital, vocal
Orchestra Wellington succeeds with an odd programme of important, challenging and beautiful works
For a subscription concert series labelled 'Epic', that included Berlioz's Symphonie Fantasique, Bruckner's 8th Symphony, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, a concert by a string orchestra, with no major symphonic work was odd programming. It is not that Verklärte Nacht, or Beethoven's C sharp minor quartet were not worth hearing, but they were arrangements of works not written for orchestra. But let me not quibble, they are all beautiful... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts | chamber music, concerto, orchestral
Emotion-laden concert an appropriate response to the remembrance of the Holocaust
Laurence Sherr is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Kennesaw State University, Georgia. He is a prolific and versatile composer. The son of a couple who escaped Poland just before the outbreak of the Second World War and settled in the United States, he has a strong interest in the Holocaust and Holocaust education. He lectures all over the world on Holocaust remembrance music and first came to Wellington... read more
Live performance, Reviews - Concerts | chamber music, commemorative concert
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Long ago about the winter of 1982, when things were wet, cool and mostly breezeless in the Bay Area, I went to the boat show at the Cow Palace with some buds. The indoor boat shows always proved a great way to sip a few beers and catch up with friends I had known in the industry. As with most boat shows, little was new and mostly a rehash of the same gear and boats we had all known for some time. The big talk was about the Aussies who had some kind of “cheater boat” and the NYYC was desperate to find out what it was and how to stop it if indeed it was fast.
One little goodie really stood out however. At Svendsens’s booth there was a 12 foot boat that they were importing from Germany. They called it the Mini 12, and it was the first I had seen of the genre of boat in which you sat and steered with your feet. I, and everybody I was with, were very excited and all took turns sitting in it and sailing it on its stand. “Svendsen, we all want one of these, make us a deal on a bunch of them!” “Ah,Taylah, they are $4,250 each, whether you buy one or ten.”
That was a bit steep for me and the rest of my broke friends. I went home thinking of it for the next several days. At that time I lived with Bob Smith, who was a burgeoning naval architect. Bob and I spend the next few weeks talking about what was right and wrong with the German design. It was a bit small, the hardware was cheap and the rudder seemed tiny. But the rig was very cool and the way the segmented ballast fit in the keel sump was very neat. Bob set about making some preliminary drawings for a design incorporating these changes and keepers. I went back to the dudes who had shown interest and told them that Bob had designed a better mini, and I thought we could build ten for a fraction of the cost of the German boat.
We took the design to Bill Kreysler in San Rafael. He had just taken over the shop space from Performance Sailcraft, who had been producing the Laser and J/24. Bill suggested we build the plug and a set of molds, and we could build as many as we like. Great idea!! While the plug was being built, I set about seeing how much interest there was in our little jewel. I put a ¼ page ad in One Design Sailing magazine, the precursor to Sailing World. The next month the ad ran, and in less than a weeks time, I had over 100 calls from around the country wanting information on our conceptual MilliMeter. Little did they know we hadn’t as much as built the molds. But with that kind of interest it didn’t take too long to complete the first mold and hull.
At that time there was lots to do to get a boat actually sailing. We had to design the inner hull to insure the flotation, design the deck layout, design and build the iron molds for the lead keel sections and the biggest battle was designing the first rig. We had really liked the beam concept of the German boat but wanted a rig that would actually bend and perform as it should in scale. After many, many tries and dozens of spent tubes of various manufacture, we came up with the spar that is on the boat today. It was a Windsurfer aluminum spar. They were plentiful and relatively inexpensive. We were having difficulties in attaching the sail however. The windsurfers slipped their sails on Laser style, and obviously we couldn’t do that with the rigging and spreaders we wanted. The external track pop riveted on created a lot of distortion and a very stiff mast. We tried cutting a slot in the mast and the tube would simply open up like a clam under steam…no good. It was Kreysler who said all we need was some sort of glue to hold the wall section hold together. We set up a 2 part foam system, filling the tubes vertically from the loft, and before you know it we had the system pretty much worked out. We made a jig for cutting the slot, the spreaders and the crane, swedge machine for the terminals and cut and fabricated and anodized all the other aluminum parts.
Looking back on it, it was pretty incredible we ever built one, much less over 300. We took over the shop next to Kreysler to complete the rigging and deck work. We were buying lead wherever we could. Many “employees” came for hours at a time to help. Scott Easom was our first mast rigger. Highschooler John Kostecki was our master deck rigger. Mark Heer was the master of nothing, but always a hoot to have around. At any given time we’d have as many as a dozen boats in various stages of completion. The trailer was rigged to carry up to 16 boats at a time, and we’d set off on delivery and sales calls. Every trip would be an adventure in selling more Milli’s to different venues. We even sold 6 to a new housing development in Desert Springs built around a lake, which was really a hole in the desert with a plastic bag holding the water in.
Then it was full circle. The boats shows. Now the Millimeter was the star.
Taylor made Jay Baldwin the designated builder in Stamford Connecticut and he was equipped with a set of molds. Jay promoted the Millie at the Stamford YC. As Taylor was promoting class in the SF bay area He was able to sell Millies to Bruce Munro, Pax Davis and two boats to Dave Huggins. This was the nucleus for Millie activity for years to come.
The first National Championship was held as a three day ten race regatta, in August, 1985 in Richardson’s Bay off Sausalito, CA. Baldwin attended that regatta and suggested the 1986 regatta be held in Stamford at the Stamford YC. Meanwhile Munro won the first Nationals with Davis second. This would be the order of finish for many years to come.
The second nationals at Stamford YC set the tone for the class as travelers. Dennis Marion owned a winery in Los Gatos, CA and was shipping wine to the North-east coast. Six Millies were loaded in crates and dropped shipped by the wine trucks at SYC. After the regatta the were picked up and delivered home. Munro won the regatta followed by Davis. The racing format was changed to ten races with two throw outs and to be held on two days.
The class built a trailer that would hold six Millies, stands and parts. This trailer was used to carry our Millies to Marblehead after our srcond trip to Stamford, where we chartered boats. Taylor had a diesel pickup and one of our guys drove it across country. We made another trip to Stamford in 1991. Richard Hubbert towed the trailer and on the way he picked up a Millie in Illinois that he had purchased. We made another trip to Stamford in 1994. Joe Price, who lived in Florida, purchased the Baldwin molds with the idea of building Millies. Only one boat was built. We trailed our Millies to Key Largo to race our Nationals. We had eight Millies racing.
The class last trip was made to Victoria and the Royal Victoria YC in 1996. The class rented a covered truck and eight Millies went North on their own trailers in the truck. There were three classes, Illusions, Defenders and Millies. Twenty-eight boats on the starting line. Munro, Davis and Huggins finished in that order. We had one race in their boats and the order of finish was the same. We got some ideas from this trip. The one we incorporated was the type of hoists they used.
We found that the estuary in front of the Encinal YC was the best place to sail these boats and the EYC became our headquarters. The club allowed us to store one Millie free as a demo. The Millie was donated by Jim Taylor. EYC has allowed the class to set up the hoists that we purchased. As 2015 starts our fleet is growing.
The link below will take you to a History of the America's Cup
America's Cup History
Copyright © 2019 Millimeter Racing - All Rights Reserved.
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New Year… New News!
January 7, 2016 By Mulqueeny in CEO, New Year, Rewired State, Uncategorized, Young Rewired State Tags: Elbi, Eugenia Makhlin, joanna shields, Naked Heart Foundation, Natalia Vodianova, Smart data, Women in tech, Women in technology 3 Comments
It is usually about this time every year when I give bigger news than normal, and this is no exception! You may recall a few years ago I announced that I was stepping down as CEO of Rewired and Young Rewired State and moving to the board, and for the last two years we have been shaping the incredible organisation that is Rewired State, and working out how to scale Young. So… first things first:
Rewired State – the smart data agency
I cannot really put into words how proud I am of the achievements of this community of developers. Over the last seven years we have fought for and won many a battle for open data in public services (not alone of course, but with a small crew of like minded enterprises). Our move over into the commercial sector after we left our Guardian incubator was a forbearer of the greater acceptance and understanding of big data, and we began to realise true ROI for our clients.
Our brand remains resolutely strong with provenance, successful/beautiful disruption and a growing community of data designers, scientists, developers and thought-leaders.
The culmination, I guess you could say, of these last two years of really thinking about the positioning of Rewired State as we move forward is a full pivot with a clear focus on our core competencies in smart data, fully supported by our senior team leaders, the community and the Board.
We have brought in a strong commercial director: Joe Clark, who will steer future growth. I continue to work closely with Joe as Founder and Board Director, alongside my colleagues and the community. Check out our VD01 website over here and let us know if you would like to engage with this new, beautiful version of my first baby! I am ridiculously proud of it.
As those of you who know me know, this has always been my passion: this group of self taught programmers, giving them a community, real world challenges and introducing them to open data. So many of these alumni remain a part of my life and I feel like some kind of geeky Godmother most days!
It is testament to its success that it has grown to become this International community of thousands of young developers, mentors and alumni – it almost has a life of its own without anything we do centrally! However, we have a duty of care, and it is that duty that has led us to focus once again on how best to scale and fund what we do.
Now that Rewired State has completed its pivot and is already storming through with some fantastic clients and partners, it is time to lift up the hood of Young Rewired, and see how we can really enable and support scale.
We have been incredibly lucky an have been able to second the services of Oliver Wyman for a six week strategic review, looking at other ways talent is scaled internationally in other sectors, and how we might apply this to YRS. I am confident that together we will find a scalable solution to allow the developer in every child find a community, a network and future to be excited about.
This does mean that for the rest of this year, activity at the heart of YRS will be limited to supporting ongoing activities and focused on scale and funding the future. The senior management team are in discussions with some key partners for potential delivery of the Festival of Code 2016 – but those discussions are still in flow and I am unlikely to have any news on the Festival in 2016 until the end of February.
Well – I cannot tell you how ridiculously exciting the last couple of months have been – if not a little busy! I was contacted out of the blue to see if I would consider meeting with Natalia Vodianova and her team running Elbi Digital – an organisation focused on enabling everyday philanthropy. The brilliant (and kind) Joanna Shields had suggested I do so, and Eugenia Makhlin took up the challenge (she is the outgoing CEO – off to have baby number two and help steer this from the board). #womenintechnology
Natalia is a very determined lady and has already achieved an incredible amount with her Naked Heart Foundation in Russia and Elbi is her latest genius idea – to break open philanthropy and put it in the hands of all of us, in smart, beautiful and delightful ways.
Obviously this plays directly to my own personal core values and ‘things that push my buttons’. And over a long afternoon spent with Natalia and ginger tea in Paris last year, I fell in love with Elbi.
To my absolute delight, surprise and spine-tingling pleasure, I was invited to come on board as the new CEO, to bring all of the shutzpah (well, JFDI) and lessons I have learned about breaking things better from the last seven years with Rewired and Young, adding Elbi to my stable of passions!
And so it begins. I have just stepped in as CEO of Elbi Digital, our first product is live in MVP already (since late last year), go check it out on the app store (hunt for Elbi) and we will be rolling out version 1 this Spring and then the really special magic begins to happen.
Natalia has great vision, and it is truly humbling, inspiring and an incredible opportunity to be working with her, and I look forward to introducing her into the technology world we inhabit over the coming years.
Here is to the next stage of everything! I am so happy and really am thankful for all of the opportunities I get, and grateful to the massive support of those communities I am lucky enough to be a part of.
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Toddler Storytime at Hillsdale Library First come, first served.
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Book Babies at St. Johns Library First come, first served.
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Book Babies Playtime at St. Johns Library First come, first served.
Tiny Tots at Fairview-Columbia Meeting Room First come, first served.
I Love Being Me at North Portland Meeting Room First come, first served.
Tax Help at Midland Meeting Room - Large See event description for registration details.
Word Processing 1 at Central Library Computer Learning Center Registration opens Friday, January 31, 2020.
English Class at Midland Conference Room - Small First come, first served.
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Tech Help at Hollywood Meeting Room First come, first served.
E-books & Audiobooks: Hands-on Help at Midland Conference Room - Small First come, first served.
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Legos @ the Library at Belmont Library First come, first served.
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Makerspace Teen / Adult Open Lab at Rockwood Makerspace Registration opens Saturday, February 01, 2020.
Citizenship Classes - 12 sessions at Midland Library First come, first served.
100th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote at Gresham Library First come, first served.
Family Storytime at Kenton Meeting Room First come, first served.
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Book clubs & discussion groups
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Muncy Historical Society
Spend a Weekend in Historic Muncy!
UGRR
Area B&Bs
Muncy Historical Society to Host Bruce Storm’s Book Signing
June 5, 2019 June 27, 2019 Robin Van Auken
Artist Bruce Storm will sign his newly released book, “Dragon Views and Other Observations,” at Muncy Historical Society. Storm, a Muncy resident, is a Penn State graduate in commercial art and art education and will autograph his book from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 15 and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 16, at the society’s museum location at 40 N. Main St.
Storm has shown his work in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, New Hope, State College, Williamsport, the Penn State University at Altoona, Pittsburgh, Flourtown, and the Philadelphia areas of Pennsylvania. He has illustrated textbooks, and he has worked in clay, and various sculptural materials, but the vast body of his work is in watercolor and acrylic wash. Storm maintains his studio creating artworks for the annual Muncy Historical Society Art Show.
“Dragon Views and Other Observations” contains 168 color images of Storm’s work not previously published. For those unfamiliar with his art, Storm utilizes familiar architecture, landscapes or still life objects against highly complicated quilt pattern inspired backgrounds. Pattern, color, craftsmanship, and imagination combined with strong compositions are integral parts of his paintings. There are a lot of subtle hidden things going on in his work and this book will allow the reader to look at his paintings time and again to explore what else is happening in them.
In addition to Dragon Views, a number of Storm originals, which are included in the book, will be on display and available.
The society’s meetings and events are always open to the public and light refreshments will be served at the book signing. Please call 570-546-5917 or email MuncyHistorical@aol.com with questions or for additional details.
Directions to Muncy Historical Society are I-80 to exit 212W to I-180 exit 13A. Rt. 405 to Muncy. Turn right on South Main Street, 3 blocks, left into Society’s parking lot.
Published by Robin Van Auken
Robin Van Auken is the founder of Hands on Heritage. She has extensive experience as a researcher, a writer, an educator, and a registered professional archaeologist – a skillset she uses every day as a cultural communication specialist. She specializes in working with communities, galvanizing individuals and groups to contribute their memories, photographs, and artifacts to develop legacy projects. On the web at handsonheritage.com View all posts by Robin Van Auken
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Sold out before you got it? “THE LAND” is available again, on your computer.
For those who love this story, the digital edition of “THE LAND” is here, exactly the same as the original book in every detail.
“THE LAND” is 489 pages in length and will arrive on a 4GB thumb drive, which you simply insert into your device’s USB port and download. Easy instructions are included. Move back and forward in the book, or select a specific section to go to, just like reading a physical book!
Download the order form by clicking here >>>
Muncy Historical Society hosts a juried exhibition of fine arts
Celebrating 250 Years of Muncy Farms
“Pops at Pepper Street” Concert Slated
15th Annual Quilt Show & Exhibition
Author Plans Muncy Book-Signing Event
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Muncy, PA 17756
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March through November
** except holidays **
and by special appointment.
Surrender! The Sudden Death of Alvira
The Sudden Death of Alvira
In this new documentary film, Steve and Martha Huddy detail the injustice done to the good people of Alvira and its environs, as well as the machinations of the federal government in dealing with the very people whose land it seized. And, for the first time, the film reveals another shocking government betrayal of that region. Years of research, survivor interviews, archival footage, rare photos and solid documentation make this haunting film a local history event you should not miss.
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Home » Musicians » James Gordon Williams
James Gordon Williams
Originally from the City of Angels, the Manhattan resident originally migrated eastward to continue his development as a creative musician on the East Coast scene. Now a force to be reckoned with on the international jazz scene, Mr. Williams has appeared regularly at such notable venues as “Birdland”, “Village Vanguard”, and “Lenox Lounge”. Mr. Williams has also given solo piano improvisation concerts at the Knitting Factory and performed world premieres of his original compositions at Smalls Jazz Club.
Mr. Williams has toured the countries of Malta, Switzerland, France, Sardegna, and Italy with Greg Osby. Mr. Williams has been a member of drummer Charli Persips' “Supersound” for several years and has appeared with Mr. Persip in a piano trio as well as at various festivals such as the New Jersey Jazz Fest and Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. Additionally, Williams has also performed with Joseph Jarman as part of AACM's concert season and as part of Jarman's group at the Vision Festival.
As distinctive a composer as he is a player, Mr. Williams's compositions and arrangements are pensively lyrical- all bear his signature of refreshingly innovative harmonies and well-crafted melodies. In a recent review of James Gordon Williams's highly acclaimed CD “Unrepeatable Life”, “Jazz Improv Magazine's” Winthrop Bedford has stated, “James Gordon Williams is nothing less than an accomplished, impressively creative pianist and composer, with great depth and substance.” “All About Jazz” writer Rusty Aceves stated, “Williams? writing is marked by intensely lyrical and evocative melodic elements which are sometimes staggered with pointed chordal syncopations, adding depth, dimension, and a feeling of seeming serenity against constant motion.”
Unrepeatable Life by Rusty Aceves
”To call James Gordon Williams a brilliant, young jazz pianist and composer would be too limiting.” --Robin D.G. Kelley
Albums by James Gordon Williams
Unrepeatable Life
JGW Music
Mike Longo
Rana Farhan
JaRon Eames
Spike Wilner
Lonnie Gasperini
organ, Hammond B3
Help improve the James Gordon Williams page
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Contact James Gordon Williams
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architectonic - транскрипция, произношение и перевод онлайн
Транскрипция и произношение слова "architectonic" в британском и американском вариантах. Подробный перевод и примеры.
architectonic / архитектурный, конструктивный, структурный
[ɑːkɪtekˈtɔnɪk]
имя прилагательное
architectural, architectonic, tectonic
constructive, constructional, seminal, functional, constitutive, architectonic
структурный
structural, textural, constructional, architectonic
of or relating to architecture or architects.
There's a whole lot more of this kind of thing around the site and, although much of it is architectonic rather than specifically architectural, it is quite often great fun.
the scientific study of architecture.
With few exceptions, the schemes are engaged more with the exploration of formal architectonic themes than with conceptual concerns.
One of his criticisms of Michelangelo was that broken pediments should not be used simply for their architectonic effect but only on buildings associated with death, as in antiquity.
The effect of the paintings' intense color was often to dissolve the solidity of the architectonic structures.
Conceived and executed by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, it is strongly architectonic , its contours angular and rigorously vertical, with limited forward thrust.
The museum's design and modern, interactive exhibits, he says, complement the architectonic features of the building.
These compositions, which set up intriguing architectonic relationships, consist of quasi-symmetrical configurations of flat, interlocking bands of opaque color, often blues and reds.
Inside these rooms is the gutsy, architectonic presence of the trusses, just overhead.
Here, as in all his paintings, McCleary simplifies his forms and clearly defines his architectonic spaces with carefully positioned planes.
The rest of the show was much more concerned with the architectonic nature of models - how the systemized description of a building could be contained in a model, cross section or drawing.
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Caucasian Rugs
Shirvan Rugs
View Our Extensive Collection of Caucasian Antique Shirvan Rugs
Shirvan rugs – The historic Khanate or administrative district of Shirvan produced many highly decorative antique rugs that have a formality and stylistic complexity that is found in few rugs from the Caucasus. The depth of colors, the complexity of the composition and the phenomenal patterns featured in antique Shirvan rugs set them apart from those produced in other regions of the Caucasus. Shirvan, which is part of modern-day Azerbaijan, was populated by Azeri Turks and some Armenians, who were expert dyers and weavers. The format is generally long and narrow, which would have been preferred by consumers in the Caucasus. This format lends itself well to multi-medallion compositions.
Grand symbol-filled medallions with poly-chrome accents are featured prominently as are all-over Afshan patterns, which are a sort of angular arabesque filled with dramatic harshang palmettes. Stunning allover patterns featuring symbolic devices and a latticework of angular floral sprigs are also used. Fine prayer rugs with angular mihrab patterns are made in the area as well. Rugs from the Shirvan region include those produced in Marasali, Bakuand other local cities and villages with the largest carpets coming from Baku. Regardless of the format or the patterns featured, antique Shirvan carpets are full of strong colors, powerful symbols and subtle details that add to their stylistic richness.
Shirvan rugs are often the most sought after antique rugs from the Caucasus. Shirvan rugs were made not far from those of Kuba, which are closely related in terms of design and coloration. But Shirvan tend to be distinguished by a larger, more supple weave. They also leaned more to medallion designs, while Kubas relied more on allover patterns. Still, Shirvan rugs and Kubas constitute something of a contrast to the bolder more graphic quality of South Caucasian rugs like Kazaks and Karabaghs. Instead they are more finely detailed, relying on precise articulations of form as well as the effects of rich color.
The History and Beauty Of Antique Caucasian Shirvan Rugs
True Caucasian Shirvan rugs are work of art combining any number of variations using a limited color palette to its maximum effect. Shirvan is an area sitting just south of the Caucasus range of mountains, between Gendje to the west and the Baku peninsula to the east. Its rich local weaving tradition is seen in the rugs that came from this region before the 1890’s.
Among the most sophisticated carpets created in the Caucasus region, Shirvan area rugs and runners showcase the finely knotted handcraft used in their production. One of the most iconic things about a antique Caucasian Shirvan rugs is the elegantly simple design. Twin medallions spring forward from the deep indigo background, offering a striking graphic effect that’s both innovative and sophisticated. Every line in the rug plays a part in the effect. Each aspect of the design comes together in a natural harmony of balance and symmetry.
Unfortunately, these beautiful high quality Shirvan rugs are no longer produced. They ceased to be before the turn of the 20th century. The trans Caucasian railway opened up the region in the 1870’s, creating an avenue for European dealers to come into the area with ease. These dealers came in and bought up large numbers of these distinctive rugs and took them outside the region for hungry buyers.
Due to this increased demand, weavers began creating even more intricate designs, with extremely fine weaves and high knot count. The demand, however, soon outpaced the ability of the weavers to keep up. As a result, by the 1890’s, carpet weaving workshops began to replace individual weavers. Commercial rug dyes replaced traditional ones. Designs became simpler and more symmetrical. The secondary motifs in these beautiful antique rugs, though small, were excluded to simply the design. The loss of these motifs meant the loss of the individualism that marked these uniquely Shirvan rugs.
View our current tribal and antique selection of Caucasian Shirvan rugs and carpets below:
Sort by price: low to highSort by price: high to lowSort by size: large to smallSort by size: small to largeShow sale items first
Tribal Collectible Antique Caucasian Shirvan Rug 70038
Size: 5 ft 3 in x 11 ft 5 in (1.6 m x 3.48 m)
Tribal Antique Caucasian Shirvan Rug 50473
Antique 18th Century Caucasian Rug with Animal Design 48413
Size: 4 ft 6 in x 9 ft (1.37 m x 2.74 m)
Antique Caucasian Shirvan Rug 46196
Tribal Vintage Caucasian Shirvan Rug 50464
Size: 3 ft 10 in x 7 ft 4 in (1.17 m x 2.24 m)
Small Tribal Antique Caucasian Shirvan Rug 70076
Size: 4 ft 7 in x 6 ft 3 in (1.4 m x 1.9 m)
Antique Shirvan Caucasian Rug 47056
Small Decorative Vintage Caucasian Carpet 48091
Size: 3 ft 10 in x 5 ft 7 in (1.17 m x 1.7 m)
Small Antique Shirvan Rug 70296
Size: 3 ft 8 in x 4 ft 10 in (1.12 m x 1.47 m)
Antique Perpedil Caucasian Shirvan Rug 47603
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The story behind America's most notorious serial killer
COTA Films, Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions, Voltage Pictures
Nicolas Chartier, Michael Costigan, Ara Keshishian, Michael Simkin, Joe Berlinger
Michael Werwie
Marco Beltrami, Dennis Smith
Brandon Trost
Thriller, Crime, Drama, History, Netflix Movie Film, Netflix Original Film, Only on Netflix, Netflix Extremely Wicked, Extremely Wicked Movie, Extremely Wicked Film Trailer, Extremely Wicked Plot
Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Jim Parsons, Angela Sarafyan, Haley Joel Osment, Grace Victoria Cox, Forba Shepherd, Grace Balbo, Morgan Pyle, Ava Inman, Macie Carmosino, Sydney Vollmer, Ken Strunk, Joe Berlinger, Brandon Trost, Jared Joplin, Justin McCombs, Tim Young, Jeffrey Donovan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Terry Kinney, James Hetfield, Torrie Wiggins, Kevin McClatchy, Rajiim A. Gross, Calvin David Jones III, Aaron Cool, Leilani Barrett, Ally Sereda, Richard K. Jones, Justin Inman, Alan B. Jones, Maya Berlinger, Derek Snow, Ryan Wesley Gilreath, Chris Petty
In 1969 Seattle, law student Ted Bundy meets Liz Kendall, a secretary and single mother. The two begin dating and Ted helps Liz raise her young daughter, Molly.
By 1974, news reports announce the murders of multiple young women, including two who disappeared in broad daylight at Lake Sammamish. A man resembling Ted was seen by several people asking women to help him load a sailboat onto a Volkswagen Bug. A composite sketch of the attacker is released and, following hundreds of phone calls, Ted is arrested in 1975.
Carol DaRonch picks Ted out of a police lineup, claiming he had kidnapped her and threatened to kill her before she managed to escape. Ted is released on bail, returning home to Liz who is upset after reading an article about him in the newspaper. Ted explains that Carol was shown his picture before the lineup took place, which is why he looked familiar to her, and believes he is being set up. After a four-day bench trial, Ted is found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and is sentenced to serve a minimum of one to a maximum of 15 years in the Utah State Prison.
A few weeks later, Colorado authorities charge Ted with the murder of Caryn Campbell and he is transferred to Aspen, Colorado in 1977. Liz refuses to believe Ted is guilty but the events start to take a toll on her, and she begins drinking alcohol regularly. While at Pitkin County Courthouse, Ted elects to serve as his own attorney and, as such, is excused from wearing handcuffs or leg shackles. During a recess, Ted escapes from the courthouse by jumping out of a second story window and running to the mountains but is recaptured after six days.
Liz visits Ted and ends their relationship. Ted later escapes again after sawing a square in his cell’s ceiling. Two women at a sorority house are murdered in Florida, followed by vicious attacks on two more. After Ted is arrested, he tries to contact Liz but she hangs up on him. He starts to receive a following of women who are fascinated by him, some even claiming they love him. Ted is visited by an old friend, Carole Ann Boone, who believes he is innocent and moves to Florida to be closer to him.
A pre-trial plea bargain is negotiated in which Bundy would plead guilty to killing the two sorority girls, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, and twelve-year-old Kimberly Leach, in exchange for a 75-year prison sentence instead of the death penalty. Ted refuses the bargain. Ted and Carole Ann grow closer as she visits him regularly; the two begin a relationship but Ted continues to reach out to Liz, who is following his trials via television. She carries the guilt of being the person who gave Ted’s name to the Seattle authorities in 1975. Ted later proposes to Carole Ann and they marry.
Incriminating physical evidence is provided in court, including a match of a plaster cast of Ted’s teeth to the impressions of bite wounds on Levy’s buttocks. In under seven hours, the jury convicts Ted of the murders of Levy and Bowman, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of burglary. Trial judge Edward Cowart imposes death sentences for the murder convictions to be carried out with an execution by electrocution.
Ten years later, Liz receives a letter from Ted and visits him, taking a photograph given to her by a detective. Liz demands the truth, but Ted continues to deny having anything to do with the murders. She then shows Ted the photograph — a crime scene image of one of his decapitated victims — and Ted admits that he sawed her head off. Liz leaves the prison in shock but is met outside by her teenage daughter and her husband, and she proclaims that she is okay.
As the film ends, archival footage and on-screen text say that Ted was executed in January 1989, aged 42 years old. Ted had confessed to over 30 murders days before and his ashes were scattered in the Cascade Mountains where he had deposited the remains of numerous victims.
2019 - See You Yesterday
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Mini Cooper Pistons Mahle Forged Cooper S
Mini Cooper Pistons Mahle Forged R55 R56 R57 Cooper S
Part No: G2NME8250
High Performance Forged Piston upgrade from MAHLE - the OEM supplier to MINI. Includes a set of 4 OVERSIZED (+0.5mm or +0.020") Pistons, Rings, and wrist pins.
Fits the following Cooper S with the N14 engine:
2007-2010 R56 Cooper S Hatchback
2008-2010 R55 Cooper S Clubman
2009-2010 R57 Cooper S Convertible
Mahle's technical expertise shows in the details of this product, as shown in the CAD diagrams where the piston crowns are 3D milled to retain the Direct Injection features. Not many piston suppliers will invest the engineering necessary to manufacture a product of this quality.
[ ] Bore: 77.50mm (stock is 77.00mm)
[ ] Stroke: 85.8mm
[ ] Rod: 138.2mm / 28.5mm c/h
[ ] Pin: 20mm
[ ] Compression: 10.25
[ ] Misc: 1.0cc vol, 267g, 2618
What has long been common in motor racing is increasingly being used in series-produced engines subject to high stresses: forged pistons. These have a finer micro structure than cast pistons with the same alloys. The production process results in greater strength in the lower temperature range. A further advantage is the opportunity for producing lower wall thicknesses—and hence reducing the weight. Boring or milling internal areas of the piston also helps reduce the weight.
New challenges – optimum processes br Modern engines with variable valve train or different direct injection concepts require pistons with a complex geometry. This often leads to a higher piston weight due to involved crown shapes. To achieve as ideal as possible a combination of low weight and high stability despite this, the suitable choice of material is just as crucial as an optimum production process. MAHLE utilizes its longstanding development experience to best effect here, both in forging and casting technology.
Improved coating for less friction
For the application in aluminum cylinder surfaces, MAHLE uses the iron particle reinforced synthetic resin coating FERROPRINT®. MAHLE's new FerroTec® galvanic iron layer is another ongoing development available on the market. The FerroTec® technology coats the entire skirt evenly, resulting in improved running properties. These coatings are necessary to enable the combination of aluminum pistons with pure aluminum engine blocks and hence represent an essential contribution to an overall reduction in engine weight.
MAHLE in the pole position
From Formula 1 to Speedboats: MAHLE supports all areas of motorsports
MAHLE Motorsports North America established in 2000 has positioned itself as a leading supplier of forged racing pistons and rings to the racing community. Widely recognized as the technology leader amongst race teams in most every top race series in North America and abroad, winning races and championships across the board. MAHLE Motorsports North America brings cutting edge technology to sportsman and professional racers alike. Backed by MAHLE’s more than 90 years of technical expertise and coupled with the flexibility and foresight to meet a wide range of customer needs has the discerning racer relying on MAHLE to get them to the winner’s circle.
Every MAHLE Motorsports piston is backed by nearly 90 years of racing heritage and technology. From the invention of the first aluminum piston to the most advanced design and machining processes being used today, MAHLE delivers unmatched performance and durability. MAHLE’s light-weight, low-drag, design specific forgings are machined with close attention given to ring groove quality, tolerances and consistency. All MAHLE Motorsports pistons are dual-coated, adding protection and maintaining consistent performance over the life of the engine. There is no secret why top professional race teams use MAHLE Motorsports pistons.
Since the fall of 2002, all core processes for racing applications have been brought together in our Fellbach motorsports plant. Highly motivated engineers, designers and technicians work closely together there under one roof. This helps us to react faster, and more flexibly, to the high demands of our customers. And also more efficiently transfer our experience from over 80 years of motorsports to series development.
Nothing supports the MAHLE Group's technology leadership as strongly as our achievements in international motorsports.
In the 2005 Formula 1 season, the top class of motorsports, MAHLE supplied pistons and engine components for six of the ten teams, including important parts of world champion Michael Schumacher's Ferrari engine. During the 2004 season, 16 of 18 Grand Prix races were won with MAHLE pistons and engine components.
Le Mans - an extreme endurance test for man and machine. For 16 years in a row, the winners of the best known long-distance race in the world have crossed the finish line powered by pistons and NIKASIL®-coated cylinder crankcase from MAHLE. And also with other great motorsports events - from Rally World Championships through IRL and NASCAR races in the USA to truck racing - regardless of who wins, MAHLE always wins.
However, product development for race engines results in more than sporting achievements. It is often the top technology used in today's motorsports products that ends up in tomorrow's series-produced automotive models. A Grand Prix race is the most severe test stand that you can imagine. In providing products that succeed here, we can also master the everyday requirements of public roads with no problem.
This Item (G2NME8250) Fits the following cars:
R56 Hatchback/Hardtop
R57 Convertible
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Newcastle Football
Football Far North Coast
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Hunter Valley Football
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NET Program
Home › Main News › Football confirmed as the largest club-based participation sport in Australia
Football confirmed as the largest club-based participation sport in Australia
Football’s place as the number one club-based participation sport in Australia has been confirmed, with the release of the latest AusPlay survey by Sport Australia.
In the year to June 2019, 1,853,600 people played football in Australia comprising 1,084,200 adults and 769,400 children. There was an impressive 18.2% growth in the number of children aged 14 years or under playing the game and Football Federation Australia (FFA) Chief Executive David Gallop AM said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the survey.
“The data from Sport Australia backs up the findings from our own National Participation Report and demonstrates the popularity of our sport for people of all ages from the under 5s to the over 75s.
“Football is a game for everyone, no matter what your background or ability. FFA and the State and Territory Member Federations have worked extremely hard to drive participation growth by broadening the football offering way beyond the traditional outdoor 11-a-side winter season.
“Across the country, there are now programs of Walking Football for the over 50s, Multicultural programs for new arrivals and CALD communities, female-only programs including Soccer Mums and the increasingly popular small-sided summer football.”
Gallop added “These impressive participation numbers are being complemented by a clear career pathway for boys and girls at youth level, through to the senior national teams. This is backed up by the landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement announced yesterday, that closes the gender pay gap between the Caltex Socceroos and the Westfield Matildas, providing further inspiration to those looking to play football and emulate their heroes – as the numbers show, there has never been a better time to play football.”
Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) CEO David Eland congratulated the thousands of volunteers at the grassroots throughout Northern NSW for providing opportunities for people of all ages in their respective communities to enjoy football.
“More people played football in 2019 in Northern NSW than in any other season. The number of players participating in traditional club-based competitions has increased by 14% since 2015 and the number of registered female players has soared by a staggering 23% during the same period.”
Eland added, “NNSWF’s new strategic plan identifies Inclusion and Diversity and Women and Girls as priorities. It’s therefore vital that all levels of government support our efforts to increase the number of people pursuing healthy and active lifestyles by investing more in football facilities which are safe, welcoming and fit for purpose.”
The participation growth comes as football enjoys an exciting month ahead with national teams of all ages and both genders in action at home and abroad.
This week, the Westfield Young Matildas (U-19 Women) reached the semi-finals of the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship in Thailand and are one win away from the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2020TM.
The Joeys (U-17 Men) qualified for the knock-out stages of FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019TM.
The Young Socceroos (U-19 Men) have travelled to Chinese Taipei ahead of their three Group H qualification matches for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship.
A record crowd is anticipated this Saturday (9th) when the Westfield Matildas (Senior Women) play their first game since the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019TM against Chile at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta. They then travel to Adelaide for a second fixture against the South American nation on Tuesday (12th) at Coopers Stadium.
The Caltex Socceroos (Senior Men) travel to Amman this week to face Jordan in their fourth Round Two match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM Qualification.
A fantastic month of football is finished off in style as the Pararoos (senior men’s team for athletes with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury or symptoms resulting from a stroke) play their first international on home soil since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Canada are the opponents at Cromer Park in Sydney on Saturday 30 November.
The Sport Australia AusPlay survey can be found here
l Historic CBA to close football's gender pay gap
Newcastle Permanent Community Awards for 2019 Announced r
Heritage Cup 2020 Draw Released!
Northern NSW Football’s (NNSWF) 2020 Heritage Cup Draw has been released and… [more]
NNSWF Continues $100 ‘Referee Starter Pack’ to attract more Match Officials to the Game
After the success of its 2019 Program, Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) has… [more]
FFA Cup Nominations Open for 2020
Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) is now accepting nominations from clubs upcoming… [more]
Around The Clubs
Football4All Come & Try Days – Arnett’s FC
On Sunday, 2nd February & Sunday, 9th February New Lambton FC will be… [more]
Hamilton Olympic Holiday Coaching Clinic
Hamilton Olympic FC will again be holding their popular Annual January School… [more]
Spaces running out for Hamilton & Weston MiniRoos Kick-Off Centres
Weston Juniors & Hamilton Olympic are both conducting ALDI MiniRoos… [more]
New Perm Community Football WEbsite
Regulations, Policies and Procedures
Club Administration Forms and Documents
Player Headquarters
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Volunteer Headquarters
Club Headquarters
Copyright © 2020 Northern NSW Football. All rights reserved.
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Rise of the Machines: AI and Investing
From risk management to share trading and even robo-advisors, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the investment space. Gone are the days of relying on Data Scientists and experienced Traders to spot patterns – AI can quickly, efficiently and accurately analyse the market and predict future movements. It can even tailor financial advice to suit a client’s risk profile.
However, it’s far from the Hollywood cliché of humans versus robots. The world’s top finance firms are excitedly rolling out AI to help them interpret big data and minimise errors, but – for now at least - the machines are operating strictly under the watchful eye of their experienced staff.
So how exactly is AI being used to help your investments make a profit?
Analysing the market
For investment firms, one of the biggest advantages of AI is its ability to analyse decades worth of financial data to track, monitor and predict the market. The AI sifts through huge amounts of information to identify triggers for potential fluctuations and is even being taught to predict market crashes in the hope of avoiding future recessions. AI powered stock-rankers such as Kavout are quickly proving their ability to identify patterns in financial markets, with their ‘top picks portfolio’ returning a 21.9% compound annual growth rate compares with the S&P 500’s 13.3%. (Source: Builtin)
AI may seem hyper-futuristic to most of us but, in reality, it’s a well-established mechanism for most of the big firms; data-driven investments totaled almost $1 trillion in 2018 (Source: Deloitte). Computers trawl through a wide range of sources from corporate databases to social media to make recommendations on which trades to complete, and can even use modelling software to ‘test the trade’ before any money changes hands. Financial news giant Bloomberg is now working with California-based AI firm Alpaca to provide short-term forecasts for a selection of major markets.
AI has been used to detect credit card fraud for years now, and it does so with much greater accuracy and efficiency than the former human process. Artificial intelligence looks likely to become just as important for managing risk within the investment space, thanks to its analytical and modelling capabilities.
On a more individual basis, AI can be used to alert investors when an individual stock is likely to decline and give them a chance to decrease their holdings before risking a big loss. Equally, it could inform those with a higher risk appetite when stocks with good future potentials are going cheap.
Maximising your money
Okay, so it’s not strictly helping us to invest, but the rise of smart finance trackers is helping consumers across the globe to manage their money more effectively. Apps that tell us what we’re spending, where we’re spending it and how much we could afford to put aside each month are revolutionising the way we think about our finances. If AI has helped you to find some extra room in your budget, you might feel comfortable seeing how it could help streamline your investments. Virtual financial assistant Abe AI has partnered up with some of the world’s most recognisable brands including Google, Facebook and Amazon Alexa to provide a range of services from personal financial management to budgeting strategies.
Although the future looks bright for AI in investing, there are some concerns - a lack of transparency caused by complicated algorithms, a lack of sensitivity with regards to discrimination, and a worry that human expertise will be replaced.
Ultimately, it’s not just the machines that have to learn new skills. As the adoption of AI becomes more commonplace, the industry must learn how best to place new technology. Used in the right way, artificial intelligence is one of the most promising tools ever to reach the investment space and has the potential to revolutionise the way we manage our money.
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March Madness: Cinderella Watch 2.0
Jackson Byron
Although colleague Josh Stonberg released a list of his four cinderella teams for the upcoming NCAA tournament just a few weeks back, I have chosen to reinvestigate the topic in hopes of producing a more up-to-date and comprehensive list and to provide my own input onto the conundrum that is March Madness. I appreciate your efforts, Joshua, but I must present to the public the true cinderella teams:
1.Colorado State Rams
The largest reason I see this team making a deep tournament run is its uncanny similarity to Wisconsin’s offense. Led by senior JJ Avila, a 6’8 senior forward averaging 16.9 ppg, who plays exactly like Frank Kaminsky, (he sets screens, makes post moves, can step out to the three-point line) the Rams primarily run the flex offense, effectively spreading the floor and opening up cutting lanes. In addition, the Rams have six players averaging 8 ppg or more so, similar to Wisconsin, they have the ability to generate offense in a variety of ways. A dominant, hybrid big man, a high-powered offensive set, and an array of scorers; you tell me that’s not the recipe for tournament success.
2.LSU Tigers
Yes, I know it’s not football season, but I’m serious when I say the Tigers have a legitimate chance at making a run this year. When you take a team that has been through 5 overtimes and has lost to the undefeated Kentucky by two (Kentucky’s smallest margin of victory this year) and pair that with a rebounding duo and consistent scoring, you get a cinderella team. While its fair to make the argument that they have some bad losses, there’s a reason they’re in my cinderella list and not in the Top 25. Sophomores Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey stand at 6’10 and 6’8 respectively and are a dual threat to say the least. Martin averages 16.9 ppg and 9.0 rebounds and Mickey averages 16.0 ppg and 9.9 rebounds. To say that’s not a matchup problem would be like saying Duke doesn’t pay the refs.
3.Iona Gaels
What if I told you only one team had two players in the top 16 in ppg in the country? That’s right. The Iona Gaels, out of my home-county Westchester, lead the MAAC conference with a record of 26-7 as a result of the efforts of 6’9 David Laury and 6’4 AJ English, each of whom averages 19.9 ppg. The Gaels have one of the most highly powered offenses in the country. Aside from Laury and English, Schadrac Casimir (14.9 ppg) and Isaiah Williams (13.6 ppg) also contribute on the offensive end. Trust me on this one: the Gaels can compete with any team in the country solely because of their offensive production.
Disclaimer: although I am a college basketball guru and have researched extensively on this year’s cinderellas, I am no more likely than my cat Jerome to predict any of these games correctly. But, I mean, trust me. I’m legit.
8 responses to “March Madness: Cinderella Watch 2.0”
GREAT ARTICLE MAN
Wow, the insight is extensive
i would have liked to see the north dakota squad in there though
My Weekly Sports says:
Thank you for your interest in My Weekly Sports
Joe Lunardi says:
WOw, never realized the credentials of iona
Michael Jackson says:
I’m back from the dead
AJ English says:
Ay yo thanks for the shoutout man. Go gaels!
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Tag Archives: insects
The Force That Drives the Flower – Annie Dillard – The Atlantic.
I wakened myself last night with my own shouting. It must have been that terrible yellow plant I saw pushing through the flood-damp soil near the log by Tinker Creek, the plant as fleshy and featureless as a slug, that erupted through the floor of my brain as I slept, and burgeoned into the dream of fecundity that woke me up.
I was watching two huge luna moths mate. Luna moths are those fragile ghost moths, fairy moths, whose five-inch wings are swallow-tailed, a pastel green bordered in silken lavender. From the hairy head of the male sprouted two enormous, furry antennae that trailed down past his ethereal wings. He was on top of the female, hunching repeatedly with a horrible animal vigor.
It was the perfect picture of utter spirituality and utter degradation. I was fascinated and could not turn away my eyes. By watching them I in effect permitted their mating to take place and so committed myself to accepting the consequences—all because I wanted to see what would happen. I wanted in on a secret.
And then the eggs hatched and the bed was full of fish. I was standing across the room in the doorway, staring at the bed. The eggs hatched before my eyes, on my bed, and a thousand chunky fish swarmed there in a viscid slime. The fish were firm and fat, black and white, with triangular bodies and bulging eyes. I watched in horror as they squirmed three feet deep, swimming and oozing about in the glistening, transparent slime. Fish in the bed!—and I awoke. My ears still rang with the foreign cry that had been my own voice.
Fool, I thought: child, you child, you ignorant, innocent fool. What did you expect to see—angels? For it was understood in the dream that the bed full of fish was my own fault, that if I had turned away from the mating moths the hatching of their eggs wouldn’t have happened, or at least would have happened in secret, elsewhere. I brought it on myself, this slither, this swarm.
I don’t know what it is about fecundity that so appalls. I suppose it is the teeming evidence that birth and growth, which we value, are ubiquitous and blind, that life itself is so astonishingly cheap, that nature is as careless as it is bountiful, and that with extravagance goes a crushing waste that will one day include our own cheap lives. Every glistening egg is a memento mori.
Now, in late June in the Blue Ridge, things are popping outside. Creatures extrude or vent eggs; larvae fatten, split their shells, and eat them; spores dissolve or explode; root hairs multiply, corn puffs on the stalk, grass yields seed, shoots erupt from the earth turgid and sheathed; wet muskrats, rabbits, and squirrels slide into the sunlight, mewling and blind; and everywhere watery cells divide and swell, swell and divide. I can like it and call it birth and regeneration, or I can play the devil’s advocate and call it rank fecundity—and say that it’s hell that’s a-poppin’.
This is what I plan to do. Partly as a result of my terrible dream, I have been thinking that the landscape of the intricate world that I have cherished is inaccurate and lopsided. It’s too optimistic. For the notion of the infinite variety of detail and the multiplicity of forms is a pleasing one; in complexity are the fringes of beauty, and in variety are generosity and exuberance. But all this leaves something vital out of the picture. It is not one monarch butterfly I see, but a thousand. I myself am not one, but legion. And we are all going to die.
In this repetition of individuals is a mindless stutter, an imbecilic fixedness that must be taken into account. The driving force behind all this fecundity is a terrible pressure I also must consider, the pressure of birth and growth, the pressure that squeezes out the egg and bursts the pupa, that hungers and lusts and drives the creature relentlessly toward its own death. Fecundity, then, is what I have been thinking about, fecundity and the pressure of growth. Fecundity is an ugly word for an ugly subject. It is ugly, at least, in the eggy animal world. I don’t think it is for plants.
I never met a man who was shaken by a field of identical blades of grass. An acre of poppies and a forest of spruce boggle no one’s mind. Even ten square miles of wheat gladdens the hearts of most people, although it is really as unnatural and freakish as the Frankenstein monster; if man were to die, I read, wheat wouldn’t survive him more than three years. No, in the plant world, and especially among the flowering plants, fecundity is not an assault on human values. Plants are not our competitors; they are our prey and our nesting materials. We are no more distressed at their proliferation than an owl is at a population explosion among field mice.
After the flood last year I found a big tulip tree limb that had been wind-thrown into Tinker Creek. The current dragged it up on some rocks on the bank, where receding waters stranded it. A month after the flood I discovered that it was growing new leaves. Both ends of the branch were completely exposed and dried. I was amazed. It was like the old fable about the corpse growing a beard; it was as if the woodpile in my garage were suddenly to burst greenly into leaf. The way plants persevere in the bitterest of circumstances is utterly heartening. I can barely keep from unconsciously ascribing a will to these plants, a do-or-die courage, and I have to remind myself that coded cells and mute water pressure have no idea how grandly they are flying in the teeth of it all.
In the lower Bronx, for example, enthusiasts found an ailanthus tree that was fifteen feet long growing from the corner of a garage roof. It was rooted in and living on “dust and roofing cinders.” Even more spectacular is a desert plant, Ibervillea sonorae—a member of the gourd family—that Joseph Wood Krutch describes. If you see this plant in the desert, you see only a dried chunk of loose wood. It has neither roots nor stems; it’s like an old gray knothole. But it is alive. Each year before the rainy season comes, it sends out a few roots and shoots. If the rain arrives, it grows flowers and fruits; these soon wither away, and it reverts to a state as quiet as driftwood.
Well, the New York Botanical Garden put a dried Ibervillea sonorae on display in a glass case. “For seven years,” says Joseph Wood Krutch, “without soil or water, simply lying in the case, it put forth a few anticipatory shoots and then, when no rainy season arrived, dried up again, hoping for better luck next year.” That’s what I call flying in the teeth of it all.
(It’s hard to understand why no one at the New York Botanical Garden had the grace to splash a glass of water on the thing. Then they could say on their display case label, “This is a live plant.” But by the eighth year what they had was a dead plant, which is precisely what it had looked like all along. The sight of it, reinforced by the label, “Dead Ibervillea sonorae,” would have been most melancholy to visitors. I suppose they just threw it away.)
The growth pressure of plants can do an impressive variety of tricks. Bamboo can grow three feet in twenty-four hours, an accomplishment that is capitalized upon, legendarily, in that exquisite Asian torture in which a victim is strapped to a mesh bunk a mere foot above a bed of healthy bamboo plants whose woodlike tips have been sharpened. For the first eight hours he is fine, if jittery; then he starts turning into a colander, by degrees.
Down at the root end of things, blind growth reaches astonishing proportions. So far as I know, only one real experiment has ever been performed to determine the extent and rate of root growth, and when you read the figures, you see why. I have run into various accounts of this experiment, and the only thing they don’t reveal is how many lab assistants were blinded for life.
The experimenters studied a single grass plant, winter rye. They let it grow in a greenhouse for four months; then they gingerly spirited away the soil—under microscopes, I imagine—and counted and measured all the roots and root hairs. In four months the plant had set forth 378 miles of roots—that’s about three miles a day—in 14 million distinct roots. This is mighty impressive, but when they get down to the root hairs, I boggle completely. In those same four months the rye plant created 14 billion root hairs, and those little things placed end to end just about wouldn’t quit. In a single cubic inch of soil, the length of the root hairs totaled 6000 miles.
Other plants use water power to heave the rock earth around as though they were merely shrugging off a silken cape. Rutherford Platt tells about a larch tree whose root had cleft a one-and-a-half-ton boulder and hoisted it a foot into the air. Everyone knows how a sycamore root will buckle a sidewalk, a mushroom will shatter a cement basement floor. But when the first real measurements of this awesome pressure were taken, nobody could believe the figures.
Rutherford Platt tells the story in The Great American Forest, one of the most interesting books ever written:
In 1875, a Massachusetts farmer, curious about the growing power of expanding apples, melons, and squashes, harnessed a squash to a weight-lifting device which had a dial like a grocer’s scale to indicate the pressure exerted by the expanding fruit. As the days passed, he kept piling on counterbalancing weight; he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw his vegetables quietly exerting a lifting force of 5 thousand pounds per square inch. When nobody believed him, he set up exhibits of harnessed squashes and invited the public to come and see. The Annual Report of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1875, reported: “Many thousands of men, women, and children of all classes of society visited it. Mr. Penlow watched it day and night, making hourly observations; Professor Parker was moved to write a poem about it; Professor Seelye declared that he positively stood in awe of it.”
All this is very jolly. Unless perhaps I were strapped down above a stand of growing, sharpened bamboo, I am unlikely to feel the faintest queasiness either about the growth pressure of plants or their fecundity. Even when the plants get in the way of human “culture,” I don’t mind. When I read how many thousands of dollars a city like New York has to spend to keep underground water pipes free of ailanthus, ginko, and sycamore roots, I cannot help but give a little cheer. After all, water pipes are almost always an excellent source of water. In a town where resourcefulness and beating the system are highly prized, these primitive trees can fight city hall and win.
But in the animal world things are different, and human feelings are different. While we’re in New York, consider the cockroaches under the bed and the rats in the early morning clustered on the porch stoop. Apartment houses are hives of swarming roaches. Or again: in one sense you could think of Manhattan’s land as high-rent, high-rise real estate; in another sense you could see it as an enormous breeding ground for rats, acres and acres of rats. I suppose that the cockroaches don’t do as much actual damage as the roots do; nevertheless, the prospect does not please. Fecundity is anathema only in the animal. “Acres and acres of rats” has a suitably chilling ring to it that is decidedly lacking if I say instead “acres and acres of tulips.”
The landscape of earth is dotted and smeared with masses of apparently identical individual animals, from the great Pleistocene herds that blanketed grasslands to the gluey gobs of bacteria that clog the lobes of lungs. The oceanic breeding grounds of pelagic birds are as teeming and cluttered as any human Calcutta. Lemmings blacken the earth and locusts the air. Grunion run thick in the ocean, corals pile on pile, and protozoans explode in a red tide stain. Ants take to the skies in swarms, mayflies hatch by the millions, and molting cicadas coat the trunks of trees. Have you seen the rivers run red and lumpy with salmon?
Consider the ordinary barnacle, the rock barnacle. Inside every one of those millions of hard white cones on the rocks—the kind that bruises your heel as you bruise its head—is of course a creature as alive as you or me. Its business in life is this: when a wave washes over it, it sticks out twelve feathery feeding appendages and filters the plankton for food. As it grows, it sheds its skin like a lobster, enlarges its shell, and reproduces itself without end. The larvae “hatch into the sea in milky clouds.” The barnacles encrusting a single half-mile of shore can leak into the water a million million larvae. How many is that to a human mouthful? In sea water they grow, molt, change shape wildly, and eventually, after several months, settle on the rocks, turn into adults, and build shells. Inside the shells they have to shed their skins. Rachel Carson was always finding the old skins; she reported: “Almost every container of sea water I bring up from the shore is flecked with white, semitransparent objects…. Seen under the microscope, every detail of structure is perfectly represented…. In the little cellophane-like replicas I can count the joints of the appendages; even the bristles, growing at the bases of the joints, seem to have been slipped out of their casings.” All in all, rock barnacles may live four years.
My point about rock barnacles is those million million larvae “in milky clouds” and those shed flecks of skin. Sea water seems suddenly to be but a broth of barnacle bits. Can I fancy that a million million human infants are more real?
I have seen the mantis’ abdomen dribbling out eggs in wet bubbles like tapioca pudding glued to a thorn. I have seen a film of a termite queen as big as my face, dead white and featureless, glistening with slime, throbbing and pulsing out rivers of globular eggs. Termite workers, who looked like tiny dock workers unloading the Queen Mary, licked each egg to prevent mold as fast as it was extruded. The whole world is an incubator for incalculable numbers of eggs, each one coded minutely and ready to burst.
The egg of a parasite chalcid fly, a common small fly, multiplies unassisted, making ever more identical eggs. The female lays a single fertilized egg in the flaccid tissues of its live prey, and that egg divides and divides. As many as 2000 new parasitic flies will hatch to feed on the host’s body with identical hunger. Similarly—only more so—Edwin Way Teale reports that a lone aphid, without a partner, breeding “unmolested” for one year, would produce so many living aphids that, although they are only a tenth of an inch long, together they would extend into space 2500 light-years. Even the average goldfish lays 5000 eggs, which it will eat as fast as it lays, if permitted. The sales manager of Ozark Fisheries in Missouri, which raises commercial goldfish for the likes of me, said, “We produce, measure, and sell our product by the ton.” The intricacy of goldfish and aphids multiplied mindlessly into tons and light-years is more than extravagance; it is holocaust, parody, glut.
The pressure of growth among animals is a kind of terrible hunger. These billions must eat in order to fuel their surge to sexual maturity so that they may pump out more billions of eggs. And what are the fish on the bed going to eat, or hatched mantises in a Mason jar going to eat, but each other? There is a terrible innocence in the benumbed world of the lower animals, reducing life there to a universal chomp. Edwin Way Teale, in The Strange Lives of Familiar Insects—a book I couldn’t live without—describes several occasions of meals mouthed under the pressure of a hunger that knew no bounds.
There is the dragonfly nymph, for instance, which stalks the bottom of the creek and the pond in search of live prey to snare with its hooked, unfolding lip. Dragonfly nymphs are insatiable and mighty. They clasp and devour whole minnows and fat tadpoles. “A dragonfly nymph,” says Teale, “has even been seen climbing up out of the water on a plant to attack a helpless dragonfly emerging, soft and rumpled, from its nymphal skin.” Is this where I draw the line?
It is between mothers and their offspring that these feedings have truly macabre overtones. Look at lacewings. Lacewings are those fragile green creatures with large, transparent wings. The larvae eat enormous numbers of aphids, the adults mate in a fluttering rush of instinct, lay eggs, and die by the millions in the first cold snap of fall. Sometimes, when a female lays her fertile eggs on a green leaf atop a slender stalked thread, she is hungry. She pauses in her laying, turns around, and eats her eggs one by one, then lays some more, and eats them, too.
Anything can happen, and anything does; what’s it all about? Valerie Eliot, T. S. Eliot’s widow, wrote in a letter to the London Times: “My husband, T. S. Eliot, loved to recount how late one evening he stopped a taxi. As he got in the driver said: ‘You’re T. S. Eliot.’ When asked how he knew, he replied: ‘Ah, I’ve got an eye for a celebrity. Only the other evening I picked up Bertrand Russell, and I said to him, “Well, Lord Russell, what’s it all about,” and, do you know, he couldn’t tell me.'” Well, Lord God, asks the delicate, dying lacewing whose mandibles are wet with the juice secreted by her own ovipositor, what’s it all about? (“And, do you know…”)
Although mothers devouring their own offspring is patently the more senseless, somehow the reverse behavior is the more appalling. In the death of the parent in the jaws of its offspring I recognize a universal drama that chance occurrence has merely telescoped, so that I can see all the players at once. Gall gnats, for instance, are common small flies. Sometimes, according to Teale, a gall gnat larva, which does not resemble the adult in the least, and has certainly not mated, nevertheless produces within its body eggs, live eggs, which then hatch within its soft tissues. Sometimes the eggs hatch alive even within the quiescent body of the pupa. The same incredible thing occasionally occurs within the genus Miastor, again to both larvae and pupae. “These eggs hatch within their bodies and the ravenous larvae which emerge immediately begin devouring their parents.” In this case, I know what it’s all about, and I wish I didn’t. The parents die, the next generation lives, ad majorem gloriam, and so it goes.
You are an ichneumon wasp. You mated and your eggs are fertile. If you can’t see a caterpillar on which to lay your eggs, your young will starve. When the eggs hatch, the young will eat any body in which they find themselves, so if you don’t kill them by emitting them broadcast over the landscape, they’ll eat you alive. But if you let them drop over the fields you will probably be dead yourself, of old age, before they even hatch to starve, and the whole show will be over and done, and a wretched one it was. You feel them coming, and coming, and you struggle to rise….
Not that the ichneumon wasp is making any conscious choice. If she were, her dilemma would be truly the stuff of tragedy; Aeschylus need have looked no further than the ichneumon. That is, it would be the stuff of real tragedy if only Aeschylus and I could convince you that the ichneumon is really and truly as alive as we are, and that what happens to it matters. Will you take it on faith?
Here is one last story. It shows that the pressures of growth “gang aft a-gley.” The clothes moth, whose caterpillar eats wool, sometimes goes into a molting frenzy that Teale describes as “curious.” “A curious paradox in molting is the action of a clothes-moth larva with insufficient food. It sometimes goes into a ‘molting frenzy,’ changing its skin repeatedly and getting smaller and smaller with each change.” Smaller and smaller … can you imagine the frenzy? Where shall we send our sweaters? The diminution process could, in imagination, extend to infinity, as the creature frantically shrinks and shrinks and shrinks to the size of a molecule, then an electron, but never can shrink to absolute nothing and end its terrible hunger. I feel like Ezra: “And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.”
I am not kidding anyone if I pretend that these awesome pressures to eat and breed are wholly mystifying. The million million barnacle larvae in a half-mile of shore water, the rivers of termite eggs, and the light-years of aphids ensure the living presence, in a scarcely concerned world, of ever more rock barnacles, termites, and aphids.
It’s chancy out there. Dog whelks eat rock barnacles, worms invade their shells, shore ice razes them from the rocks and grinds them to a powder. Can you lay aphid eggs faster than chickadees can eat them? Can you find a caterpillar, can you beat the killing frost?
As far as lower animals go, if you lead a simple life you probably face a boring death. Some animals, however, lead such complicated lives that not only do the chances for any one animal’s death at any minute multiply greatly but so also do the varieties of the deaths it might die. The ordained paths of some animals are so rocky they are preposterous. The horsehair worm in the duck pond, for instance, wriggling so serenely near the surface, is the survivor of an impossible series of squeaky escapes. I did a bit of research into the life cycles of these worms, which are shaped exactly like hairs from a horse’s tail, and learned that although scientists are not exactly sure what happens to any one species of them, they think it might go something like this:
You start with long strands of eggs wrapped around vegetation in the duck pond. The eggs hatch, the larvae emerge, and each seeks an aquatic host, say a dragonfly nymph. The larva bores into the nymph’s body, where it feeds and grows and somehow escapes. Then if it doesn’t get eaten, it swims over to the shore where it encysts on submersed plants. This is all fairly improbable, but not impossibly so.
Now the coincidences begin. First, presumably, the water level of the duck pond has to drop. This exposes the vegetation so that the land host organism can get at it without drowning. Horsehair worms have various land hosts, such as crickets, beetles, and grasshoppers. Let’s say ours can only make it if a grasshopper comes along. Fine. But the grasshopper had best hurry, for there is only so much fat stored in the encysted worm, and it might starve. Well, here comes just the right species of grasshopper, and it is obligingly feeding on shore vegetation. Now I have not observed any extensive grazing of grasshoppers on any grassy shores, but obviously it must occur. Bingo, then, the grasshopper just happens to eat the encysted worm.
The cyst bursts. The worm emerges in all its hideous length, up to thirty-six inches, inside the body of the grasshopper, on which it feeds. I presume that the worm must eat enough of its host to stay alive, but not so much that the grasshopper will keel over dead far from water. Entomologists have found tiger beetles dead and dying on the water whose insides were almost perfectly empty except for the white, coiled bodies of horsehair worms. At any rate, now the worm is almost an adult, ready to reproduce. But first it’s got to get out of this grasshopper.
Biologists don’t know what happens next. If at the critical stage the grasshopper is hopping in a sunny meadow away from a duck pond or ditch, which is entirely likely, then the story is over. But say it happens to be feeding near the duck pond. The worm perhaps bores its way out of the grasshopper’s body, or perhaps is excreted. At any rate, there it is on the grass, drying out. Now some biologists have to go so far as to invoke a “heavy rain,” falling from heaven at this fortuitous moment, in order to get the horsehair worm back into the water where it can mate and lay more seemingly doomed eggs. You’d be thin, too.
Other creatures have it just about as easy. A blood fluke starts out as an egg in human feces. If it happens to fall into fresh water, it will live only if it happens to encounter a certain. species of snail. It changes in the snail, swims out, and now needs to find a human being in the water in order to bore through his skin. It travels around in the man’s blood, settles down in the blood vessels of his intestine, and turns into a sexually mature blood fluke, either male or female. Now it has to find another fluke, of the opposite sex, which also just happens to have traveled the same circuitous route and landed in the same unfortunate man’s intestinal blood vessels. Other flukes lead similarly improbable lives, some passing through as many as four hosts.
But it is for gooseneck barnacles that I reserve the largest measure of awe. Recently I saw photographs taken by members of the Ra expedition. One showed a glob of tar as big as a softball, jetsam from a larger craft, which Heyerdahl and his crew spotted in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The tar had been in the sea for a long time; it was overgrown with gooseneck barnacles. The gooseneck barnacles were entirely incidental, but for me they were the most interesting thing about the whole expedition. How many gooseneck barnacle larvae must be dying out there in the middle of vast oceans for every one that finds a glob of tar to fasten to? You’ve seen gooseneck barnacles washed up on the beach; they grow on old ship’s timber, driftwood, strips of rubber—anything that’s been afloat in the sea long enough. They do not resemble rock barnacles in the least, although the two are closely related. They have pinkish shells extending in a flattened oval from a flexible bit of “gooseneck” tissue that secures them to the substratum.
I have always had a fancy for these creatures, but I’d always assumed that they lived near shores, where chance floating holdfasts, are more likely to occur. What are they doing—what are the larvae doing—out there in the middle of the ocean? They drift and perish, or, by some freak accident in a world where anything can happen, they latch and flourish. If I dangled my hand from the deck of the Ra into the sea, could a gooseneck barnacle fasten there? If I gathered a cup of ocean water, would I be holding a score of dying and dead barnacle larvae? Should I throw them a chip? What kind of a world is this, anyway? Why not make fewer barnacle larvae and give them a decent chance? Are we dealing in life, or in death?
I have to look at the landscape of the blue-green world again. Just think: in all the clean, beautiful reaches of the solar system, our planet alone is a blot; our planet alone has death. I have to acknowledge that the sea is a cup of death and the land is a stained altar stone. We the living are survivors huddled on flotsam, living on jetsam. We are escapees. We wake in terror, eat in hunger, sleep with a mouthful of blood.
The faster death goes, the faster evolution goes. If an aphid lays a million eggs, several might survive. Now, my right hand, in all its human cunning, could not make one aphid in a thousand years. But these aphid eggs—which run less than a dime a dozen, which run absolutely free—can make aphids as effortlessly as the sea makes waves. Wonderful things, wasted. It’s a wretched system.
Any three-year-old can see how unsatisfactory and clumsy is this whole business of reproducing and dying by the billions. We have not yet encountered any god who is as merciful as a man who flicks a beetle over on its feet. There is not a people in the world that behaves as badly as praying mantises. But wait, you say, there is no right and wrong in nature; right and wrong is a human concept. Precisely: we are moral creatures, then, in an amoral world. The universe that suckled us is a monster that does not care if we live or die—does not care if it itself grinds to a halt. It is fixed and blind, a robot programmed to kill. We are free and seeing; we can only try to outwit it at every turn to save our skins.
This view requires that a monstrous world running on chance and death, careening blindly from nowhere to nowhere, somehow produced wonderful us. I came from the world, I crawled out of a sea of amino acids, and now I must whirl around and shake my fist at that sea, and cry Shame! If I value anything at all, then I must blindfold my eyes when I near the randomly shaped Swiss Alps. We must as a culture disassemble our telescopes and settle down to backslapping. We little blobs of soft tissue crawling around on this one planet’s skin are right, and the whole universe is wrong.
Or consider the alternative.
Julian of Norwich, the great English anchorite and theologian, cited, in the manner of the prophets, these words from God: “See, I am God: see, I am in all things: see, I never lift my hands off my works, nor ever shall, without end…. How should anything be amiss?” But now not even the simplest and best of us sees things the way Julian did. It seems to us that plenty is amiss. So much is amiss that I must consider the second fork in the road, that creation itself is blamelessly, benevolently askew by its very free nature, and that it is only human feeling that is freakishly amiss. The frog I saw being sucked by a giant water bug had, presumably, a rush of pure feeling for about a second, before its brain turned to broth. I, however, have been sapped by various strong feelings about the incident almost every day for several years.
Do the barnacle larvae care? Does the lacewing who eats her eggs care? If they do not care, then why am I making all this fuss? If I am a freak, then why don’t I hush?
Our excessive emotions are so patently painful and harmful to us as a species that I can hardly believe that they evolved. Other creatures manage to have effective matings and even stable societies without great emotions, and they have a bonus in that they need not ever mourn. (But some higher animals have emotions that we think are similar to ours: dogs, elephants, otters, and the sea mammals mourn their dead. Why do that to an otter? What creator could be so cruel, not to kill otters, but to let them care?) It would seem that emotions are the curse, not death—emotions that appear to have devolved upon a few freaks as a special curse from Malevolence.
All right then. It is our emotions that are amiss. We are freaks, the world is fine, and let us all go have lobotomies to restore us to a natural state. We can leave the library then, go back to the creek lobotomized, and live on its banks as untroubled as any muskrat or reed. You first.
Of the two ridiculous alternatives, I rather favor the second. Although it is true that we are moral creatures in an amoral world, the world’s amorality does not make it a monster. Rather, I am the freak. Perhaps I don’t need a lobotomy, but I could use some calming down, and Tinker Creek is just the place for it. I must go down to the creek again. It is where I belong, although as I become closer to it, my fellows appear more and more freakish, and my home in the library more and more limited. Imperceptibly at first, and now consciously, I shy away from the arts, from the human emotional stew. I read what the men with telescopes and microscopes have to say about the landscape, I read about the polar ice, and I drive myself deeper and deeper into exile from my own kind. But, since I cannot avoid the library altogether—the human culture that taught me to speak in its tongue—I bring human values to the creek, and so save myself from being brutalized.
What I have been after all along is not an explanation but a picture. This is the way the world is, altar and cup, lit by the fire from a star that has only begun to die. My rage and shock at the pain and death of individuals of my kind is the old, old mystery, as old as man, but forever fresh, and completely unanswerable. My reservations about the fecundity and waste of life among other creatures are, however, mere squeamishness. After all, I’m the one having the nightmares. It is true that many of the creatures live and die abominably, but I am not called upon to pass judgment. Nor am I called upon to live in that same way, and those creatures who are are mercifully unconscious.
The picture of fecundity and its excesses and of the pressures of growth and its accidents is of course no different from the picture I have long cherished of the world as an intricate texture of a bizarre variety of forms. Only now the shadows are deeper. Extravagance takes on a sinister, wastrel air, and exuberance blithers. When I added the dimension of time to the landscape of the world, I saw how freedom grew the beauties and horrors from the same live branch. This landscape is the same as that one, with a few more details added, and a different emphasis. Instead of one goldfish swimming in its intricate bowl, I see tons and tons of goldfish laying and eating billions and billions of eggs. The point of all the eggs is of course to make goldfish one by one—nature loves the idea of the individual, if not the individual himself—and the point of a goldfish is pizazz. This is familiar ground. I merely failed to acknowledge that it is death that is spinning the globe.
It is harder to take, but surely it’s been thought about. I cannot really get very exercised over the hideous appearance and habits of some deep-sea jellies and fishes, and I exercise easy. But about the topic of my own death I am decidedly touchy. Nevertheless, the two phenomena are two branches of the same creek, the creek that waters the world. Its source is freedom, and its network of branches is infinite. The graceful mockingbird that falls drinks there and sips in the same drop a beauty that waters its eyes and a death that fledges and flies. The petals of tulips are flaps of the same doomed water that swells and hatches in the ichneumon’s gut.
That something is everywhere and always amiss is part of the very stuff of creation. It is as though each clay form had baked into it, fired into it, a blue streak of nonbeing, a shaded emptiness like a bubble that not only shapes its very structure but that also causes it to list and ultimately explode. We could have planned things more mercifully, perhaps, but our plan would never get off the drawing board until we agreed to the very compromising terms that are the only ones that being offers.
The world has signed a pact with the devil; it had to. It is a covenant to which every thing, even every hydrogen atom, is bound. The terms are clear: if you want to live, you have to die; you cannot have mountains and creeks without space, and space is a beauty married to a blind man. The blind man is Freedom, or Time, and he does not go anywhere without his great dog Death. The world came into being with the signing of the contract. A scientist calls it the Second Law of Thermodynamics. A poet says, “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower/ Drives my green age.” This is what we know. The rest is gravy.
This entry was posted in Main and tagged animals, beauty, creation, creatures, death, disgusting, eating, emotion, expansion, fecundity, fight, food, fruit, god, growth, humanity, humans, infestation, insects, life, living, nature, organic, philosophy, poetry, religion, reproduction, rhizome, sex, sublime, survival, trees, vegetables, writing on 04/10/14 by russi4nblue.
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Home Uncategorized Chelsea set to offer Diego Costa new contract – reports
Chelsea set to offer Diego Costa new contract – reports
Babatunde Akinsola
Diego Costa is set to be offered a two-year contract extension that will see his wages rise to £200,000-a-week at Chelsea, according to several reports.
Costa, who is the Premier League’s top scorer with 13 goals in 16 appearances this season, is contracted until June 2019 on a deal worth around £150,000-a-week, but both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail report that Chelsea want to secure their star striker on fresh terms.
Since moving to Stamford Bridge from Atletico Madrid for £32 million in the summer of 2014, the 28-year-old has scored 50 goals in 97 appearances for Chelsea and won the Premier League and League Cup during former boss Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge.
The Daily Mail reports that Costa is happy with life under current manager Antonio Conte, who has presided over a run of 11 consecutive Premier League victories since late September that has lifted Chelsea to the top of the table.
Atletico have been linked with re-signing Costa but Chelsea have never wavered in their stance that the Spain international is not for sale, and his impressive form this season has reportedly only made the Blues more determined to extend his stay and reward his performances.
Costa will serve a one-match ban after picking up his fifth booking of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, meaning that £33m summer signing Michy Batshuayi is in line to make his first Premier League start for Chelsea at home to Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
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Babatunde Akinsola is aNaija247news' Southwest editor. He's based in Lagos and writes on the Yoruba Nation political issues, news and investigative reports
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Tired of hearing about antisemitism? So am I
Jasmine Donahaye. Picture by Keith Morris.
Jasmine Donahaye
A few years ago, a good friend of mine came to visit, and stayed for a meal. He was politically aware, intellectually curious, and well-read, so I was dismayed when he referred disgustedly to Jewish control of the media. He saw my reaction; he back-pedalled, made light of it, changed the subject, and I let it go: he was my guest, and I did not want to make him uncomfortable. Now I wish I had not let it go, because since then I have seen everything he’s said through a filter of mistrust.
This was by no means the first such experience, and won’t be the last, and it was a private exchange, not a public one, but the same sense of betrayal of trust colours both kinds of encounters. The veneer of civility splits, and the substructure of prejudice and hostility shows through.
Prejudice is in all of us, because it’s in our language and culture, so it should not be surprising when we encounter it – after all, each of us is as capable as the next person of bigotry and ignorance, no matter how enlightened we might like to believe ourselves to be. It’s as much in those who acknowledge their prejudices as in those who blithely state that they haven’t a prejudiced bone in their bodies. No one is so extraordinary that by simply adopting an ‘enlightened’ attitude they can somehow be free of the structures of their society and language.
What matters is not how free of prejudice we believe ourselves to be, but what we choose to do about it when we find it in ourselves – and how we choose to deal with it when we encounter it in others.
Every day, it seems, new examples of ignorance and prejudice about Jews emerge among those with some kind of public profile, associated with one political party or another (I am focusing here on hostile discourse about Jews because it is what I know about, both through personal experience and through my research on the subject). Often these examples are not so much ‘discovered’ as sought out. Some people appear to delight in such new evidence, and seem to want the identified perpetrators to squirm for all eternity on the pin with which they have impaled them.
Perhaps it’s the case that such people feel powerless, feel something is being stripped away from them, and their viciousness about others’ mistakes is a return of hurt for hurt. But I think that most people do not delight in that viciousness. I believe most of us, including those who are in pain, don’t wish that pain on others, and are uncomfortable seeing it meted out in this way. So how should we respond to the discovery that yet again someone in a public role has used antisemitic tropes, for whatever reason, in whatever context? What is it that we want the alleged perpetrator to do about it? Do we want them to squirm for all eternity, or is there the possibility of making something better out of something bad?
Sorry if – sorry that
I don’t know what other people want as a response, but I know what I want. It’s what I wanted when my friend, sitting across the table from me, made me feel unsafe in my own home. I want to hear an unequivocal acknowledgement of causing hurt; an unequivocal apology for it, and a commitment to reflect and change.
Surely that is what anyone wants to hear in a situation when someone has inadvertently hurt you: “I see that I have hurt you; I am sorry for hurting you; I will try to understand what happened so that I will not hurt you again.” It’s what I would aspire to do if I inadvertently hurt someone else. It’s the basic courtesy and consideration of the other that makes individual and collective relationships function.
The language of acknowledgement and apology matters. ‘Sorry if…’ suggests the possibility that you did not cause hurt. ‘Sorry that…’ recognises unequivocally that you did, indeed, cause hurt. When you recognise that what you’ve done has hurt someone, you are most of the way towards understanding, and therefore also most of the way towards change, which may safeguard against it happening again. Anything else – including explanation or justification; comparison with other forms of prejudice; downplaying the intention, or questioning its impact – is simply equivocation, and a refusal to take full responsibility for your actions and their consequences.
Antisemitic tropes might often seem impersonal, and to do with some notional group of faceless Jews, but they affect real, living Jews, every time: the instances accumulate, and compound, and resonate with all the other instances, including all the instances that aren’t impersonal at all. Knowingly or unknowingly, someone might use a hostile trope for many different reasons, but whatever the intention or inattentiveness behind it, it is both hurtful and harmful, because it makes individual Jews feel unsafe, and it contributes to many Jews being physically unsafe. The rising level of violence and abuse against Jews in the UK and worldwide illustrates that clearly, and it’s an indication of the scale of the problem that it even needs to be said.
If you have used hostile tropes about Jews, whether deliberately or lazily or in ignorance, you should be prepared to be asked about it, and challenged for it. But you should also be given an opportunity to acknowledge, apologise and reflect. That is true no matter the intention or context.
All of us who seek to shape or change opinion through publishing commentary in social or other media can be held to account for what we say, and have said, and it’s appropriate that we are. Where there is a formal role or membership associated with a political party or a public body, the accountability is twofold: that of the individual, and that of the organisation. How organisations or parties deal with the revelation of prejudice by members or associates reflects on the organisation. But how individuals deal with such revelations reflects on the individuals themselves.
If what we want – and it’s what I want – is change, rather than stasis or repetition, then we need to give people the genuine opportunity to reflect, and learn, and move on from mistakes. That means we have to stop repeatedly pressing on the pin they’re impaled on to make them squirm again. Instead, when someone has been found wanting, and has been challenged, and has acknowledged the harm, apologised, and shown new understanding, might we ask of one another that we accept it, rather than returning to it over and over? That way perhaps we can begin to repair the breach, and rebuild trust in each other.
People don’t tend to change when they’re in a corner, when they’re accused and feel under attack. They might say the things expected of them, but they do so under duress. Instead, people change when they feel safe to come out of the corner – and when they change, there’s the opportunity to do more than acknowledge the hurt they’ve caused: there’s the opportunity to contribute a little bit to preventing further harm. It’s time we made room for that to happen.
(It’s also time I wrote an email to that friend…)
Plain citizen
Very interesting article, very good
Iran Dafis
Is she saying jews do not control the media?
Rob pearson
The rich control most of the media.
Huw Davies
I’m not tired of hearing about it because it tells me that we have failed to erase this kind of supremacist racism from our society here and internationally. Anti Semitism seems to crop up in a wide variety of unrelated political movements. Seldom does it appear as a part of any “formal” stance but it soon creeps out into the open. Much of today’s nastiness arises when a movement seeks to curry favour with other movements or ethnicities and identifies, either by accident or deliberately, that abusing or scorning “the Jew” builds bridges into a new target audience. Well that’s… Read more »
yes i am. I am also fed up of openly racist behaviour against the welsh but that doesn’t seem to garner any interest at all. if you use the tired old tropes of the casual anti-cymru ‘ist’ you need to look in the mirror also.
Where I grew up, we knew nothing about Jews, except Jesus and Herod. But there was also something
old people used to say to us kids, that we were the “Lost Tribe Of Israel”. It felt somehow really good!
Leigh Richards
Thank you Jasmine – a timely and important post. Also worth people checking out the IHRA definition on anti semitism. It is a excellent guide on anti semitic tropes to watch out for https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/working-definition-antisemitism
If the person genuinely believes their statement, then asking them to evidence it is probably the best course of action. If they can provide evidence that there is a unusually high percentage of media controlled by Jewish people, then they have to explan and evidence the problem with that. This way the author will have helped a friend reach their own conclusion and they will change their bias or they would have to explore their own bias in presuming a statement is anti semitic because it’s perceived as a trope.
But a unusually high percentage of the media isnt controlled by Jewish people Alwyn – it’s a standard and very old anti semitic trope. The Nazis were peddling such lies in the 1920s and 30s and anti semitic conspiracy theorists were peddling it before them
So in this situation, using a trope may just be shorthand for a real question as to why western media as a whole are so incredibly biased towards isreal and it’s abuses of human rights and international law. If someone just runs up to someone who looks Jewish and starts trying to force them to answer or justify on the assumption they support Isreal that is an ism. A dinner party discussion on Isreal, may not be an ism, it may be the bias of the other party looking to close down discussion as their position is difficult to justify.… Read more »
Sol Mac
Alwyn J Evans is an anti-Semite.
The western media is not incredibly biased towards Israel, quite the opposite in fact. It reports conflict in Gaza and West Bank only from the side of the Palestinians, as though Israeli retaliation was not retaliation at all, but rather a provocation or an attempt at genocide. Its sickening anti-Israel prejudice.
Israel doesn’t abuse international law – you are clearly completely ignorant on this issue. Could you, to pursue your own advice, ”provide some evidence’?
I haven’t made any statements. You have presumed I have, based on your inability to follow a discussion exploring the situation raised in the article.
You can claim I am an anti semite but you’ve just proved you’re gnorant. A world full of misunderstood bigots would be better than one full of ignorant people who stubbornly hold onto their stupidity as a virtue.
Millicent Sandman
This is a strange post. The media does report Israeli action as being in retaliation to Palestinian provocation. The point is that retaliation usually involves excessive force and is grossly disproprtionate to the provocation.
“Israel doesn’t abuse international law”.
I’m afraid it does, on a considerable scale …
Collective punishment of the Palestinian population (Art 33 Geneva Convention)
Ilegal settlements and annexations of occupied territories (Art 49 ditto)
Building the wall (declared illegal by ICJ)
Unlawful deportation and transfer of Palestinian refugees (Art 147)
Breach of over 30 UN Security Council resolutions.
Legitimate criticism of the state of Israel for its unlawful actions is not anti-semitism.
I was hoping this article was going to say something diffferent to the never ending ‘I’m offended, I demand an apology brigade’. All the author Jasmine Donahaye seems to show shows is that she herself is against free speech and is intolerant of the views of others. Is she was a true liberal she would debate and discuss this matter with her friend who seemed trusting and honest enough to share his views with her in the first place and who seemed open to discuss or debate the subject further with a trusted friend. If she disagrees with his statement… Read more »
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Winnipeg police cruiser stolen as officers track down suspected car thieves
PMN Canada
Winnipeg police who were chasing a stolen vehicle ended up having one of their own cars stolen by a suspected thief.
Officers were called early in the morning to a report of a stolen car heading west toward the city limits.
Spokesman Const. Rob Carver says the officers caught up to the vehicle at a gas bar outside Winnipeg, where it appeared the suspects were trying to car-jack another vehicle.
Carver says the suspects tried to flee — one was caught and another somehow circled back, jumped into a police cruiser and took off.
That resulted in another chase and the stolen cruiser was followed for about 10 kilometres before it was stopped and the second suspect arrested.
Carver said it looks like an officer left the keys in his cruiser because he was concerned for the safety of the people being car-jacked.
“Having been a police officer for over 25 years, if I think somebody’s in danger over there and I jump out of my car, I don’t think the person over there whose life is at risk wants me to wait and make sure I stop the car and pull the keys out,” Carver told reporters Thursday.
“We’re less worried about the car than we are about making sure people are safe. We did that in this situation.”
RCMP were alerted as the first stolen car left the city limits, said Carver, and a number of officers were involved by the time it was all over.
The drain on resources meant that, even several hours later, there was a backlog of more than 300 service calls, he said.
“If we’ve got 10 cruiser cars who were there, all those officers now have to make notes and write reports. The arrest has to be processed and the scene has to be secured.
The civilians involved in the car-jacking were not seriously hurt, he added.
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Film Review – Chappaquiddick (2018)
by Nick Kush · March 31, 2018
Before its premiere at TIFF last fall, Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures purchased the rights to Chappaquiddick, continuing their pursuit to distribute films that other studios won’t touch. That phrase means a few things in the film distribution business, but in this case, it’s because Chappaquiddick challenges the most famous political family in the history of the United States: the Kennedys. The following review will be spoiler free.
Directed By: John Curran
Written By: Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan
Starring: Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, Olivia Thirlby, and Bruce Dern
After a party with those that aided in his ascension in politics, Ted Kennedy (Clarke) decides to head home in his car, taking young Mary Jo Kopechne along with him.
In a state of confusion, Kennedy takes the wrong turn on the road, driving off the Chappaquiddick bridge and into the water below. Despite the advice given to him, Kennedy doesn’t inform the police, going to bed without telling another soul.
With the press and police asking an onslaught of questions the next morning, Kennedy confides in one of the best legal and political teams he can assemble in such a short time period, hoping that they can guide him through the week.
The Chappaquiddick incident is known as the event that likely kept Ted Kennedy out of the 1972 and 1976 presidential races. Still, Kennedy went on to serve as the United States senator from Massachusetts for over forty years, becoming the fourth longest continuously serving senator in U.S history — which makes the Chappaquiddick incident even more problematic for some people.
The Kennedys were once (and still may be) an institution in American politics, making anything that casts a negative light on the family fairly buzzworthy. Entertainment Studios CEO Byron Allen noted that some “very powerful people” attempted to persuade him not to release the film, showing that the reach and legacy of the Kennedys is still kicking today. Interestingly enough, Allen shot back with some remarks of his own:
“They went out of their way to try and influence me in a negative way. I made it very clear that I’m not about the right, I’m not about the left. I’m about the truth.”
We can’t really know for sure whether or not Allen is telling the truth about, well, telling the truth, but you have to respect the head of a smaller distributor for standing tough against outside forces.
image via Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
Jason Clarke Offers a Career Best Performance
Jason Clarke is one of those actors that never quite breaks out to become a far-reaching crowd favorite, despite routinely putting in great performances regardless of the movie’s overall quality. In other words, he’s one of the best actors that makes you say, “Ohh, that guy!”
Not only is Jason Clarke a dead ringer for a young Ted Kennedy, he’s pretty outstanding in the role. Sporting a great Bostonian accent, Clarke carries the weight of the world on his shoulders — he’s a defeated, weak figure-head that’s desperately looking for direction in life. Chappaquiddick as a whole digs deep into the common perception that Ted Kennedy is less than his powerful brothers, adding another layer to his desperation as he tries to win over the American people once again after his tragic car crash.
Clarke plays up the controlled hysteria of the situation, flip-flopping between the different directions that he can take as politician — telling the truth or spinning it to his benefit. From the beginning, Clarke conveys his personal spiral with ease. As any career politician would act in the situation, there’s a feeling of calmness and dignity with which Clarke always carries himself — even in the face of certain uncertainty. And yet, as the week following the crash unfolds, you get more peaks behind the curtain as he begins to crack.
Jason Clarke’s take on Ted Kennedy is damaged and desperate to appear great in some capacity, and that makes for an incredibly complex and fascinating figure.
Chappaquiddick Isn’t Afraid to Approach the Kennedy Family with Stark Realism
As I explained above, anyone that goes against the Kennedys is operating in fairly murky waters. You just can’t tell the story of the Chappaquiddick incident without taking a few shots at the Kennedys, and director John Curran does just that.
Chappaquiddick works within the week period leading up to Ted Kennedy’s now famous speech on primetime television, showing all the backroom deals and stretching of the truth that Kennedy and his team did in an attempt to spin the court of public opinion back in the politician’s favor. With all the attempts to improve Kennedy’s position with the public, Chappaquiddick becomes darkly humorous as it displays the absurdity of it all. In that respect, Ed Helms as Joe Gargan works extremely well as a voice of reason.
Chappaquiddick doesn’t go out of its way to vilify Ted Kennedy. Rather, Curran tries to tell this story as honestly as possible from the point of view of Kennedy, displaying the less than desirable elements of his personality and family dynamics organically within the story itself.
The crash that left Mary Jo Kopechne dead is a troubling event, and many other interpretations of this material would have made an attempt to fully exonerate Kennedy for his actions. Curran calls it as he sees it, capturing Kennedy as a complex man with many internal struggles — that’s where great drama comes into the picture.
A Classic Example of a Film that Needed to Show, Not Tell
And yet, Chappaquiddick could have been more impactful if it showed just a little restraint. Once the car crashes into the water, Chappaquiddick has a great feeling of nervous energy that never lets up. Still, the film’s script forces characters to deliver stilted, on-the-nose dialogue that sucks out the life for a brief moment. Instead of internalizing the events that just transpired, the talented actors have to use lofty, somewhat empty dialogue that often betrays the realism created beforehand. It’s a nitpick that continues to repeat itself — like a fly that continues to buzz in the vicinity.
Chappaquiddick doesn’t trust its audiences to understand the underlying feelings in moments of distress, which is a shame since the rest of the film is so well put together.
Powered by great performances from a talented cast (most notably Jason Clarke in the lead role), Chappaquiddick is a taut political thriller that is incredibly engaging from the second Kennedy’s car hits the water off of Chappaquiddick Island.
Director John Curran focuses on telling this story on a smaller scale while also nodding to the massive ramifications that the event had in the history of American politics. However, Curran’s best work within the film is his portrayal of the central character, telling the story with a close eye on modern politics, making the film about an event that occurred in 1969 just as relevant in 2018.
Thanks for reading! What are your thoughts on Chappaquiddick? Comment down below!
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*Quotation via Variety
Tags: BlogChappaquiddickDramaEntertainmentFilmHistoryMovie ReviewsMoviesOpinionPoliticsReviewsTed KennedyWordpress
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Daena May says:
Youre so right about Jason Clarke. He consistently performs well despite the overall movie
Nick Kush says:
I think he’s lowkey one of my favorite actors! I love a good character actor!
I’ve wanted to see this film since it was supposed to come out last year (I think?). It’d be interesting to see what exactly happened after this incident.
It’s incredibly fascinating! Definitely a must-watch for anyone interested in the story!
Keith Noakes says:
I wish I had seen it while I was at TIFF.
Well I hope you saw a good film in its place lol
I saw a few 😉
So strange to read of this movie after living through all of the news stories of the event when I was in junior high. I will definitely give it a watch.
I can’t imagine! My parents talked about the same thing when I told them about the film
Basement Film Society says:
Honestly, I’ve been debating for a long time whether or not to see this movie and actually had no intention to put it in my schedule… maybe I will. Anyone who claims they just saw a career best performance must’ve saw something good in the movie. Bravo.
I’m glad I could help you out a little bit!
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After Endgame, aren't there still Thanos-es in every alternate timeline?
In Endgame, the Avengers defeat 2014 Thanos from one alternate dimension, but since its a multiverse, wouldn't there be basically an infinite amount of universes where Thanos lives and the events play out like they did in Infinity War?
plot-explanation marvel-cinematic-universe avengers-endgame
Paulie_D
John JayJohn Jay
That depends on who you ask. The directors say yes, the writers say no. – Paulie_D May 14 '19 at 15:12
The sense of "multiverse" in the various comic book canons, and the sense of "multiverse" as in time travel, are NOT the same thing. Each comic-book-canon Earth-##### multiverse has its own rules about time travel. – Harper - Reinstate Monica May 14 '19 at 15:47
@Paulie_D aah, this explains why the time travel stuff is such a mess^^ – Frank Hopkins May 14 '19 at 17:18
Why the downvotes? It's a perfectly valid question. My take based only on MCU - no more Thanoses since all the alternative timelines got clipped when Cap returned the stones and the only Thanos who managed to travel between timelines was destroyed by Tony Stark's snap. I did not see any hints in the MCU that there could be any more universes. – RusI May 14 '19 at 18:25
Thanos could have seen the future when he had the gauntlet and could have wiped out all living things, but he didn't, he wanted to live in the garden doing his own thing, I think he felt content with himself and he destroyed the stones. – StackOne May 14 '19 at 22:09
Technically Avengers Endgame does not get itself entwined with the multiverse/alternate realities/dimensions nightmare, instead it only plays with the even messier time-travel conundrum instead.
The jolly giant green scientist states;
You can’t just go back in time and change the past in order to alter the future. Because the future is already your past! You can’t change the future, because if you did, you wouldn’t be the same version of yourself who time-travelled in the first place to make that change.
So if we accept his reasoning, (I wont be arguing with him), there was only one Thanos.
Now for the crazy dance steps; Dr Strange did use the time stone to run 14,000,605 scenarios of which only one outcome would end in their favour, so it can be argued, (again I will not argue with the Hulk), that there are potentially another 14,000,604 alternate timelines that exist. However we can never experience such variations as each time we go back to see those potential alternatives our past doesn't change and any thing we experience is now our future.
Wow this sort of thinking just ties me in knots and makes me realise just how little sleep I have had within the last 3 days and the only thing I am certain of is that I will never disagree with the Hulk.
WalkerboWalkerbo
In Avengers: Infinity War, Dr. Strange has this conversations with Tony:
Strange: I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.
Tony: How many did you see?
Strange: 14 million
Tony: How many did we win?
Strange: 1
All of the futures are the various timelines that you are referring to. Here's an extract from what the Russo Brothers have mentioned. To them, futures, realities and timelines appear to be the same thing.
Anthony Russo: "Loki could absolutely still be alive in an alternate timeline."
Anthoy Russo: "In the movie, the Hulk is very explicit about what our rules are, which is you cannot change the present by altering the past. All you can do by going to the past — and for a character like Captain America, living in the past — is create an alternate future. So this is a world in which alternate timelines exist."
Joe Russo: "The minute that Loki does something as dramatic as take the Space Stone, he creates a branched reality."
Only a hand few are created because of the time-travel we see in Endgame, others could have been because of a whole bunch of reasons (like different choices) which are not discussed in the movie.
So, YES, are there many Thanos in various timelines that causes this infinity gem conflict. 14,000,605 timelines where this conflict occurs, to be exact. And the 1 timeline that is able to win is the timeline we get to see as part of the movie Avengers Endgame. The others don't get their second chance.
MovieMeMovieMe
Other answers have explained the perils of telling a story involving multiple timelines-- if you're not careful, you end up with the idea that choice is meaningless and any victory is hollow.
What I want to do instead is suggest a way to interpret the movie's view of time travel so that the heroes' victory does have meaning.
Bruce Banner tells us that using the quantum tunnel to travel to the past creates an alternate timeline. That's why the Avengers don't need to worry about creating a paradox by changing their own pasts when they embark on the "Time Heist." 2023 Captain America can have a battle with 2012 Captain America, but that doesn't change his memory of events as they happened 11 years ago, because he's now in a new timeline.
Here's a crucial point, without which the story falls apart: The Time Stone doesn't have the same rules as the quantum tunnel. Most importantly, proper use of the Time Stone does not create alternate timelines. The Time Stone seems to be more like a rewind/fast-forward control for the timeline you're currently in, allowing the bearer to undo and redo history.
But didn't Doctor Strange use the Time Stone to visit alternate timelines in Infinity War? This is what he said:
I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.
The Time Stone gave Strange the ability to see "possible outcomes," and he looked at 14,000,605 of them, finding only one where the Avengers won. If we treat these losing outcomes as alternate timelines, existing in the same way that the timelines accessible by the quantum tunnel exist, then the movie loses its meaning. We might have seen the Avengers triumph, but there are 14,000,604 Thanoses out there somewhere who won the battle. That's an overwhelming victory for the big purple guy, not something worth celebrating at all.
So, I argue that these "possible outcomes" don't exist as anything other than hypotheticals. Doctor Strange is not time traveling when he uses the Time Stone; he is just peering ahead at a future that is still uncertain to see all of the ways it could possibly go. By doing this, Strange was able to ensure that the "1 in 14,000,605" chance was the one that ended up happening-- the only one that ended up happening.
This applies to the other times the Time Stone has been used to alter the flow of time. Strange was not spinning off countless timelines by playing with the apple or restoring the Book of Cagliostro. There isn't a timeline where Wong remains dead or one where Dormammu claimed Earth. And there isn't a timeline where Thanos stands around awkwardly because Scarlet Witch destroyed the Mind Stone before he could claim it. When you use the Time Stone, you change your own timeline; you don't make a new one.
Okay, so what about the quantum tunnel, then? How many timelines did that create?
-- Scott Lang's initial jump five years into the future did not create a new timeline; it just skipped him ahead in the current one. How do I know this? Because Lang emerged in a world where he had been missing for five years. Compare this to Thanos's trip into the future later, where he entered a timeline that already had its own Thanos.
-- The test runs that "pushed time through Scott" rather than pushing Scott through time were failures, so no new timelines were created there.
Hawkeye's test run created a new timeline where he appeared in Iowa for a few minutes and took his son's baseball mitt. It seems unlikely that this timeline ended up significantly different from the original one.
There's a timeline created by the trip to 2012 where Hydra thinks Captain America works for them, Captain America fought a duplicate of himself, and Loki escaped with the Tesseract.
There's a timeline created by the trip to 2013 where Thor had a conversation with his mother and Rocket was chased through the halls of Asgard after stealing the Aether.
There's a timeline created by the trip to 2014 where Star-Lord was knocked out in the middle of his dance on Morag. The Thanos, Nebula, and Gamora of this timeline left it to travel to 2023 in the "main" timeline after finding out about the Avengers' time-travel shenanigans.
There's a timeline created by the trip to 1970 where Tony Stark took the Tesseract from the SHIELD facility in New Jersey, and Steve Rogers took four vials of Pym particles.
Finally, there's a timeline where Steve Rogers traveled back to 1948, married Peggy Carter, and lived happily ever after.
So potentially 6 alternate timelines, each with its own Thanos. Do they still exist at the end of the movie? Well, we know the Thanos from timeline #4 is gone, because he got snapped away by Tony Stark. What about the others?
Here's where it gets murky-- the movie (wisely?) allows for multiple interpretations of the Ancient One's explanation to Bruce Banner about the importance of returning the stones, to the point that even the directors and writers of the film disagree about it!
One interpretation says that returning the Infinity Stones prevents the timelines from ever splitting, so timelines 2, 3, 4, and 5 somehow get "absorbed" back into the main one again.
Another says that returning the Infinity Stones to their original timelines is important so that they won't be left without them (for instance, alternate Doctor Strange needs the Time Stone, or he won't be able to defeat alternate Dormammu), but the timelines will still continue to exist and will diverge from the main one because they've all been changed in small or big ways.
If that's the case, then there could be as many as 5 other Thanoses out there. What happens to them? I can see one of two things happening.
-- First, history is changed so that Thanos never becomes so great a threat. Timeline #6, where Steve Rogers lives through seven decades knowing what happened in his own timeline, seems like it could have an outcome like this. If nothing else, ask Captain Marvel to keep an eye on the situation once the 1980s come around. I could see timeline #2 going a lot more smoothly for our heroes too, especially after some Hydra agent reveals sensitive information to Steve Rogers because Hydra thinks he works for them now.
-- The other possibility is that the timeline doesn't experience any significant long-term changes. For instance, you have timeline #1, where the only difference is a missing baseball mitt. Though it seems boring, this is actually the one with the wildest implications. If one of these alternate timelines remains unchanged, that means that its Thanos will collect all six Infinity Stones and will snap away half the life in the universe. Then, five years later, the remaining Avengers will enact the "Time Heist" plan again using the quantum tunnel, and the entire story of Endgame will happen again, ending with Tony Stark snapping away Thanos and the rest of his forces.
This will create the same six timeline branches as the first Endgame, including timeline #1, which will start the loop all over again!
This will never end, meaning that an infinite number of Thanoses will be defeated by an infinite number of Tony Starks!
So we've gone from Thanos winning 14 million times to the Avengers winning an infinite number of times. And I think I need to take a break...
Nathan K.Nathan K.
TL;DR: There are an infinite amount of Thanos-es. He is inevitable.
To answer your question.
Using the MCU time travel logic, technically speaking there is an infinite amount of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in time, but only one of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE at a certain time.
The past is simply an alternate timeline.
So in the past, there are an infinite amount of Thanos-es.
Since you can travel to any millisecond in the past.
And during the lifetime of Thanos, he existed on every millisecond.
So if you travel back to his lifetime a millisecond sooner each time,
you can punch a different Thanos in his b*lls face every time.
In the future Thanos doesn't exist anymore. But technically speaking the same principle applies. Although here everyone exists in a Schrödingers cat situation.
Since the future is yet to happen, you don't actually know that someone who is alive now, is dead in the future.
So for the present you this future person is both dead and alive at the same time in the future, until you travel to the future and confirm the persons state.
HOWEVER ...
the canon answer within the MCU is not consistent, because as Paulie-D stated
The directors say yes, the writers say no.
This is because of the mess they created within the MCU.
The problem is that the directors/writers/Marvel got themselves cornered.
The MCU contains both time travel capabilities and the deus ex machina Infinity Stones.
These two concepts mean that technically speaking ANYTHING is possible.
Thanos could come back again, but Marvel obviously doesn't want that (at this moment).
When I say that anything is possible, it also means that the movie could (and logically should) have ended differently.
There are at least 14,000,605 possible outcomes, but here is 1:
Tony snaps and kills Thanos and his army
Doctor Strange uses the Time stone to recreate the Quantum tunnel van.
Captain America travels back to 5 minutes before Thanos-2014 enters 2023
and tells Tony "Don't ask any questions. Come with me!" to bring him back to the current timeline
Now Thanos is dead, Tony lives (he only missed 30 minutes of his life and the trauma from dying)
and ALL IS FINE
Did you see how easily it can be solved?
And that's exactly why you shouldn't start thinking about the mechanics too much.
Otherwise you will realize that the movie is only written like that because of the way Hollywood works.
George DerpiGeorge Derpi
I see what you're saying in the last scenario of your post, but I think this was addressed in the movie. The Ancient One tells Hulk that if the borrowed time stone isn't returned immediately, then she (and everyone in her timeline) is screwed. If what you suggest happens (Tony is brought back from right before the big fight), then everyone in missing-Tony's timeline is screwed. So that's not really an option. – user1717828 May 17 '19 at 2:32
No, you say "returned immediately", but the Ancient One never said 'immediately'. The only thing that matters is that the stones are returned back at the exact moment they were taken. But let's say she did, with time travel there is no immediately. If you return to a certain point in the past now or in 3000 years. You still arrive there at exactly that point in time. The past timeline doesn't know how long you were 'gone' nor does it care. – George Derpi May 17 '19 at 5:00
You're saying Cap should go fetch living Tony from 5 min before Thanos arrives, take him to right after when Tony dies from the snap, have him live out his life, then eventually before he dies go back to 5 min before Thanos arrives and fight the battle, dying at the end? – user1717828 May 17 '19 at 8:03
That is 1 possibility. He is meant to die anyway in that timeline. Or he could return and shoot evil Nebula before she allows Thanos to travel over. Or send back himself and 1000 Iron Man suits. Or return to his time and immediately leave with the Infinity Stones to their original time, leaving no Infinity Stones for Thanos to get the upper hand. Or another one of the millions and millions of possibilities. – George Derpi May 17 '19 at 8:27
My point is, from a logical point of view, (with time travel and the Infinity Stones), you can do anything. Tony doesn't need to die/stay dead. The Time Stone alone already has a solution. If it can 'revive' Vision AND an Infinity Stone in Infinity War, then it can heal/regenerate/restore Tony as well. Tony only dies in this movie because it is needed to create closure for the character and for the actor. – George Derpi May 17 '19 at 8:40
Yes and potentially no. As @Paulie_D mentioned the Russos say yes, while the writers say no. The point, as with many of the other holes that have formed due to time travel, is that it is left to the viewer to decide and form their own theories. If you follow the multiverse of Marvel then the various Thanos-es from the comic universes still exist and we can assume a number of others do. They just aren't this Thanos.
moonCat93moonCat93
If Captain America has to go back to return the stones, it's because they need to fix what they changed in the past. I will call this from now on 'Time Loop'.
Infinity War Thanos knows this rule. He was put back to the time right after he travelled to the future by GAMORA.
Let me explain this. Young Gamora (after Endgame) will acknowledge the problems of the time travel. There are a few time loops:
-Loki, which will be solved in his TV show
-Infinity Stones, fixed by Captain America
-Thanos, Nebula and Gamora
In Guardian of the Galaxy Vol3, Gamora, Thanos and Nebula will understand that they have to go back in time and pretend they don't know anything. Gamora will fall in love with Quill in VOL 3 and pretend she meets him for the very first time in the past. Nebula will have her memory wiped. Thanos doesn't know still where the infinity stones are, but he knows he can't touch the Avengers or he will create another time loop, risking his destiny, so he will just wait.
This explains a lot of things:
Why Gamora tried to kill Thanos and cry in Infinity War - She knows she could create another loop again... And mess this up. However, she tries to stop that before she gets killed for the Soul Stone... But she actually gets caught...
This explains why Thanos knows Tony Stark in Infinity War but not in Endgame! (You are not the only one cursed with knowledge).
That's why Thanos is deeper in Infinity War (like he knows he will fulfil his destiny blah blah blah) and also why he LOVES Gamora because she brought him back to fulfil his destiny!
-And...That's IS the REAL REASON WHY THANOS DIDN'T KILL ANYONE IN INFINITY WAR.
I think, in Guardians VOL3, Gamora will find the current Infinity Stones, let back by Thanos (who knows everything). Though she won't be able to snap them, maybe she convinces Quill to do it or something like that. That's also the reason why James Gunn came back to film this movie... He is the only one capable to explain this mess.
And regarding what people say about the writers and directors. The Russo brothers are not involved in any other movie so I would just listen to the writers instead...
Gh HgGh Hg
It was meant to be one dimension. The problem with one dimension is however that Thanos jumped ship from 2014 to 2019 to chase after the stones and dies. There should be no need to replace ALL the stones as there is already a back to the future paradox. I.E. Thanos doesn't exists to hunt the stones thus the original snap should never have happened, thus there should have been no time jumping to begin with.
I'm not physicist but that means there would have to have been 2 thanos' in the old period to avoid this or 'multiple dimensions/universes'.
SpooSpoo
This is more an opinion and also not really addressing the question. Can you expand on this? – Joachim Nov 19 '19 at 0:09
Here is my theory. Thanos still lives in the main MCU timeline. Thanos had the Infinity Guantlet with Infinity Stones, but he know that this alone did not make him invincible.
Thus, during the second snap, which happens off camera, Thanos decides to hide and clone himself. He places the weakened clone on the planet as a farmer and lets the Avengers kill him. Thanos still lives, but in the Quantum realm, where the Avengers would be hard pressed to find him. This gives him a chance to heal and avoid the future he must have known that was coming. After all, he possessed the Time Stone. Only and idiot would not use it to see what was coming his way after the the first snap.
One of the Ant Man movies shows a city in the Quantum Realm. We are not told what the city is for. Assumptions have been made, but this very well could be a place Thanos could choose to hide himself in.
Evidence of a Thanos clone is not evident in the film, other than the proof that Thanos does have a sense of self-preservation. When Thor hits him with Stormbreaker in the chest, he doesn't just except fate and die. No, instead, he uses the Space Stone to escape.
Previous to this, he got his first taste of the Time Stone. Thanos is a genius. He has to understand that what he did would make him a target for retribution. Thus, he knows that his best chance of survival is to allow something to be killed, but not him. He can know this for certain by using the Time Stone to see what happens in the near future.
Remember, Dr. Strange was able to see 14 million outcomes of their struggle to defeat Thanos. However, if Thanos simultaenously cloned and hid himself in the Quantum Realm, then Dr. Strange only saw a future Thanos wanted him to see.
That's the problem with using the Time Stone to see the future. It only works in a linear fashion for each potential future. There would be no way for Dr. Strange to be in two places at once to know that farmer Thanos was a clone.
Anthony RutledgeAnthony Rutledge
But this contradicts his believes - he doesn't care about himself, he wants to sacrifice half of the population to save the universe - the first nap could have wiped him out as well since it was meant to be random – TK-421 Nov 10 '19 at 7:01
[citation needed] Stack Exchange is for verifiable answers. Do you have any on-screen evidence to support your fan theory? – T.J.L. Nov 11 '19 at 15:08
Ok, how about this. – Anthony Rutledge Nov 12 '19 at 9:48
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged plot-explanation marvel-cinematic-universe avengers-endgame .
Where did Thanos get his first Infinity Stone?
Is this effect on Thor real or is it CGI?
So, did the Infinity War still happen, post Endgame?
Multiple timelines in Avengers Endgame
Why did Thor bring Mjölnir to the main timeline?
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STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK was the 9th most popular flick of the long-dreaded year 1984, grossing $87,000,000 around the Reagan-spooked planet. Kirk’s “Klingon bastard! You killed my son!” would join other fan-recited lines from the series, the first directed by Leonard Nimoy. Now, Spock had been killed off in the previous installment, but that simply wouldn’t do, so the handy Genesis project and its life-rejuvenating planet would solve that conundrum. First there are some nasty Klingon’s to outsmart, and some bad acting from numerous members of the supporting cast.
The effects, okay at the time, have mostly dated now, and some of the sets rigged up by the art direction crew look on the cheesy side. James Horner’s score is helpful. Nimoy’s guiding of cinematographer Charles Corell to go for numerous tight close-ups reveal the familiar cast appear more noticeably aged (ranging 46 to 64). Shatner and Kelley are pretty good, Nimoy only has a few minutes, the others go through the motions. Judith Anderson, 87, makes an appearance at the end—a galaxy far far away from Rebecca. The young interests this time are Robin Curtis (‘Lt. Saavik’) and Merritt Butrick (‘David Marcus’, Kirk’s kid). Neither generate spark, and the whole elevate-Spock-to-worship-status element is a bit much. The bit players are frankly weak.
One thing that holds up quite nicely is the top-notch work from Christopher Lloyd as ‘Kruge’, lead Klingon, who gives this outing nearly as much kick as Ricardo Montalban did with ‘Khan’ in the second installment. He runs the table on the cast, with his Klingon version of “Tough but Fair” basically being “Brutal but Practical”. He has a cool pet, too, a kind of reptile-space-dog that bears a DNA resemblance to one of The Killer Shrews.
Made for $17,000,000. With James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Robert Hooks, Cathie Shirriff, James Sikking, Mark Lenard, John Larroquette, Miguel Ferrer. 105 minutes.
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4 thoughts on “Star Trek III: The Search For Spock”
Etched very proudly on my Tombstone will be “ Never succumbed to Star Trek, Star Wars or Tupperware”.
thane62 says:
I’m proud of the shame you must feel for such an admission: my God, woman, think of the impressionable young people!
mikestakeonthemovies says:
A huge letdown after the rollicking adventure that came before it with Khan. Feels cheap and lackluster.
firewater65 says:
I recently watched this again for the first time in a very long time, immediately after watching Khan again. While I agree Khan is a better movie, this one isn’t terrible. I enjoyed the final act tremendously, in fact. It was a real J.T. Kirk way to solve a problem.
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Organizational Culture and its Drivers, Policy
Bypassing Nonprofits an Effect of Scandal?
January 2, 2012; Source: USA Today | This is an interesting article in its speculations. The author, Sandra Block, suggests that spontaneous one-on-one giving, like the wave of K-Mart Christmas layaway payoffs, may be spurred on in part by a declining faith in charity, which in part may stem from high profile scandals. The author then goes on to list those scandals, which we trust we do not have to revisit here. Suffice it to say the list begins with Second Mile and the Central Asia Institute, and extends back to Father Bruce Ritter of Covenant House, exposed as a pedophile after having elevated himself to the status of near sainthood with his beautifully crafted direct mail campaigns.
Ms. Block goes over the common problems of insufficient oversight, conflicts of interest, including nepotism, and a leader that has celebrity status, and then goes on to say that such high-profile falls from grace may be causing a turning away from organized charity in favor of personal charity from one human being to another. Of course, there is nothing in formal research, as far as we know, that links the two phenomena but it is an interesting thought.
The author’s suggestion for givers is a decent one: she recommends getting to know the charity you give to before making the gift. Unfortunately, even this may not always be enough. We all want to believe in the people among us who appear to be extraordinary in their goodness, and many of them are in fact authentic—but the halo of charisma can hide a lot, and once we have elevated someone the fall can be hard for all involved.
All this is good reason to call each other out on organizational structures that appear to be infected with conflicts—or potential conflicts—of interest. Let’s start challenging one another to a higher standard on such stuff.—Ruth McCambridge
Exit Agreements for Nonprofit CEOs: A Guide for Boards and Executives
By Tom Adams, Melanie Herman and Tim Wolfred
When You Love the Organization but Not the Leadership
A Nonprofit Odd Couple: Two New England Colleges Merge
From Small to Scale: Three Trade-offs for Smaller Nonprofits Trying to Get Big
By Peter Kim, Suzanne Tollerud and Gail Perreault
Who Brands Your Nonprofit? Who Tells Its Story and How?
By Carlo Cuesta
Organizing for High-Quality Connections
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How green energy will change our future - Docu
Rather. Than making is just a nobility a question, of a of a, moral. Commitment. Or a feeling of guilt or a political. Priority if it's, simply, a better design, it's. Gonna win. All. Over the world coal, plants, are being replaced, by wind turbines, and solar panels, with. Prices, dropping the, proportion, of our energy, generated, by Sun and wind is expected to grow quickly in the coming decades. There. Are growing ambitions, of bidding fossil fuels farewell, and not, just in the Netherlands, by. About thirty years from now it is predicted, that two-thirds, of our global electricity. Will come from sustainable sources. What. Will this world running, largely, on renewable, energy look. Like yeah, it's good it's. Good question explained I you're. Testing my imagination, Martine. Exactly. There's. So much more that we have to think about what. Effects, will the energy transition, have on the economy, politics. On how we live and move around. Surprisingly. Little thought has been given to this but, luckily there are people who have an idea of what might be to come you, can't see that much, they. Can to some extent envisage. What will change when we start using a lot less coal, oil and, gas. The. No toxins, coming out of the chimney we. Could actually turn the roof of this power plant into the, first alpine, ski slope of Denmark other, opportunities. Will present themselves, but. Who will be prepared, for them Chinese, people really think about things in much much longer terms, we think about things in like 50 60 a hundred years 10, 20 years I worry the United States could lose its pole position, and that's. Our last advantage we. Lose that advantage we. Will be in structural, and irreversible, decline. China. Is. Just like this. Works we're. Going for it right the. Entire country, boom, this. Is backlight, welcome. To a sustainable, future. In, recent years we. Have become used to houses, with solar panels on the roof and electric. Cars are no exception, anymore people. Everywhere, are realizing. That we are moving towards a radically, different looking. World. The. Business stops from, labor. Believe. An offset, the. Name offsets from Allah or perhaps a needle in me impossible. Blood. Blazer open. Buzina multitude, yeah the, Bosnian. He too comes and hospitals, all. The things that after they make undershirt lasts. The book on the upper half of a dunker for reveille CDs. In. The, coming decades, the proportion. Of our energy, generated. Renewably, will continue, to grow. We. Will move closer to the end of coal oil and gas. But. This shift from fossil fuels, to renewable energy. Sources will, lead to radical, changes, outside of, the energy sector as well. I. Think. By mid-century 2050. We'll see two-thirds. Of the world's electricity, generated. By renewable sources my. Hope is that we will accomplish, a majority, of the world's electricity from just two renewable sources wind. And solar electricity. Varun. Sivaram. Is a researcher. At the US Council, on Foreign Relations. He's. Seen huge, developments. In renewable, energy from up close. I've. Been in the solar industry for over a decade now if you told me a decade ago in 2008, that solar, electricity, would. Have fallen in price by over a factor of 10 over. 90% I would have told you you're crazy, there's no way that it's gonna happen right and here we are solar, electricity has in fact gotten so cheap you know around the world you're seeing bids, for solar electricity that are less than three cents or two cents, per, kilowatt hour it's the basic unit of electricity generation. That. Was unheard of just five years ago ten years ago but. Here we are right I. Think. A lot of us focus, primarily, on, the coming changes to the energy sector we stopped our analysis, there but. There are so many other knock-on, effects to the rest of the economy because, the, energy is the foundation, of how the global economy runs, so. In addition to, you. Know the the energy sector becoming less carbon intensive more. Digital, possibly. More decentralized. The. Rest of the global economy could. Change the way it functions as well. If energy. Is the cornerstone, of global, society and if, its sources, change, what. Else will change. Danish. Architect beocca, Engels, has spent a lot of time thinking about this. He. Sees the outward appearances, of cities, and buildings changing. Vastly, in a world powered mainly, by renewable, energy. Maybe. We are somewhat, living in a constructively. Optimistic, time lately. This, kind of 60s belief in the, future has, maybe come back and. I. Think the. Next the next many decades will see an explosive, development.
In. The physical and the built environment, I. Think maybe people have started, daring. Imagining. That we can actually make meaningful change, again. Technological. Change climate change no. Matter where the change is coming from that change. Means, that the, framework we created, for our lives, and our society, suddenly. Doesn't fit anymore because people doing things differently now and if, we as architects, can look and listen. And learn from this change we. Have an amazing, opportunity, to. Accommodate. What. Is changing. To. Solve these new problems explore, these new possibilities and actually give form, to, the future, to. Give form to the future that we would like to live in. The. Swedish city of Malmo is a testing. Ground for sustainable. Living, the. City boasts many projects. And districts, that prioritize. Sustainability. Like. The greenhouse flats where, sustainable, living is encouraged. That's. A really cool Chili's here before so, had a big really really. Hot chilli plant with, just call the Jolokia chocolate and we, thought it was, one. Of the hundreds but we didn't know that so we. Thought it's chocolates you know the name didn't, sound actually look at the the, scale. Luckily. When we pick the first one they decide it's just taking a little bit and, then we realized, Akshat - when, I tasted it to the so hot I said, I have to go online and see what this is all about. Then. We realized is one of the hottest where to give give, away because it was too much it was really big. Plant. What's. The difference between living in a problem. Building like this and a regular, apartment, building, difference. Well. You have to sign that green contract, that's. One difference. What's. A green contract. It. Stipulates, that you're going to try. To have as much green, or. Plants, growing for, as the, majority of the year as possible. And. You. Have to recycle, I. Don't. Know what happens if you break the green contract, actually, but. Yes. You need to take part in the communal, growing. Areas as well and did you both have stuff, like an interest for gardening. Also before you came here. Well. In. Theory yes. The. Idea of it and the, actual work involved is also that's. That's. The other science that we. Have quite a lot of food, growing like tomatoes, and sugar. Snacks and, squashes, question. A lot, of things so. That we sometimes, can take I mean here tomatoes. Grow till, November, here in this in, this area llosir. It did, we. Had a lot of tomatoes, we, have a few, tomato plants, last, years every year we're learning and learning, and we've changed what, we're doing, kale. We had a lot of kale. So. We're being a little bit more diverse this, year trying trying a different approach. The. Things that are in the building make you think about your. Behavior as an individual, and then make you reassess. What you're doing for, example the taps when you push on the taps, the. Hot water if you want to get really hot water you have to press a button to actually a dagger to the heart or, to get the high pressure so, you're consciously, making that decision otherwise, you have to question what do I really really need hot water for this washing. Or whatever it is I'm doing and, then.
The The plugs. Away. And home button, that you press when, you're leaving that switches off everything. So. You're conserving, electricity and, that's in that way but, you it, makes it easy for you to, in, this way you, become more conscious and aware definitely. With, time it becomes, a bit more automatically. In, the beginning. Raven not it's. Not just individual. Buildings, like this that are sustainable in, malmo, entire. Districts. Are being designed to run on renewable. Energy, like. The Western, Harbor sustainable, district, designed. Ten years ago. 20. Years ago there. Was nothing, here more than shipyard, industry, that has gone. Broke, then the city of malmö, fighting. For survival more, or less and has gone from once. Being, this huge, shipyard. In industry, with 10,000. Employees here. To rather. Living. City with, more, than 250. Different companies, and plus. 12,000. Workplaces. So. What kind of place is this where did you take us here you can't see that much but this. Is like the. One. Of the two hearts, of the energy, solution, here in the Western harbour beneath. Us 100. Meters we. Have a limestone, aquifer. So storage, of water we. Used that for the, purposes, of heating, and cooling just. Like a thermos, we, cool down the. Aquifer, wintertime. To be used summertime. And we. Use. Heating. From summertime, to, be brought up wintertime. It. Works, quite. Well. The. Discussion, about sustainability, was dominated. By a kind of gloomy worldview. Like Al, Gore's, Inconvenient, Truth and, the whole story was about how much of our existing, quality of life are we willing to sacrifice in. Order, to afford being, sustainable, and, we thought that's not a very attractive. Standpoint. Or viewpoint. So. Rather than making sustainability. A question, of a moral commitment, or a feeling of guilt or a political. Priority if it's, simply, a better design, it's, gonna win, do. You think that the inhabitants are they aware that this is climate, neutral, area on, a daily, basis no I think one key component. Of really. Being. Successful. With that is that it should be easy, it. Should be automated. It should be seamless. Be. Erica Ingels would like to take things one step further, he. Shows how energy, efficient, designs can make buildings, more varied, and attractive, than they are now I think, when you look at the. Developments, in architecture, that brought us here, or that contributed, to bringing. Us to the situation is that, when. Modernism. Arrived. And the international, style of modernism, it. Was called the International style, because buildings started, looking the same everywhere. And of course the climate, is very different in the north of Finland than it is from the north of Africa so. At. The same time as the, advent of modern architecture was. The advent of modern building, services, and building. Services were new technologies, that, came with new freedoms, we. Had suddenly electric, lights so. We could make really deep flow plates with abundance of light we weren't dependent on daylight for for, being able to see so buildings, got deeper and deeper, we, had mechanical ventilation, so. We didn't have to be able to open. The window so so. We could like just pump. Fresh. Air through, the building and. We had suddenly air-conditioning, and central heating so. We weren't dependent on the thickness of the walls or the orientation of the windows so. All of these free, meant, that the architecture. Of the building did. Less and less it. Became just a container of space, and. Then what, made the building inhabitable, was. This, gas guzzling machinery, that. Was pumping, electricity. And air and temperature, through, the building so, we had big boring boxes, the architecture, didn't do anything it became more and more generic, and we, had a basement, full of gas casting machinery that, that sort of kept the. Patient alive. And, you, can say building. Services, is a, mechanical. Compensation. For the fact that the building is bad at what, it's designed for namely. Human. Occupants. So. I think part of part of what we are thinking, about now because we work in a lot of different countries and. A lot of different climates is to. Return. To this idea where the building, responds. To, its environment. A. Building. We're just finishing now in China in, Shenzhen. Is. For, the main energy. Company of Chan Chan it's, in a humid, subtropical climate. So. If, you're making a big office building, in the tropical climate. You. Want to of course maximise, views and daylight, but, you also want to minimize glare. And, thermal. Exposure. You. Know using air conditioning so. We, designed the facade. If, you imagine like a son of a zigzaggy. Facade. So the. Sides that are facing against, the prevailing Sun direction to, the south for instance are, always closed and the other side is always entirely, open so, that means that when you're standing inside, and.
You Look away, from the Sun it's all glass but when you turn around and, look in the direction of the Sun its bamboo, walls, washed, in daylight it. Has like a very feminine, elegant, appearance but. It also reduces, energy consumption, with 30% a, greater. Proportion, of sustainable, energy being, used will, also not just the appearance of buildings, but of entire cities, power. Plants, will no longer need to be hidden away in the outskirts of the city when. We look over there, this. Is our the. Brick building over there is, our energy. Central, so is this like a power, plant yeah, it's like a power plant with. The two rather big heat pumps, but, normally, you wouldn't place a power plant in the middle of a neighborhood I suppose no, but when, it's chimney. Free and, completely. Silent, it's. Not a problem, it's. Kind of interesting it the fact that you can introduce. Energy. Infrastructure, in, the middle of a city rather than you, know somewhere, where the. Smokestacks don't cause. Too much trouble no exactly like you can say the traditional zoning. Of the, city has to do with certain, certain, things are simply so noisy or so, nasty, that we have to put them very far away and. In, that sense but, then we can also see that you know once the power plant shuts down it's, an amazing building so, with, clean, technology. You, don't have to wait until the power plant shuts down we. Can reinvent it. We're. Just finishing this power. Plant here in Copenhagen that, turns waste into energy. So. A bag. Of like three kilos of household, waste turns into four hours of electricity. And five hours of district heating. But, it's also the cleanest, waste-to-energy, power plant in the world so that no toxins, coming out of the chimney so. Not only is it a better technology it's, completely, different you don't have to be far away from a sort, of a polluting power plant we, could actually turn the roof of this power plant into the first alpine, ski slope of Denmark. It's, gonna open in October. Children. That are born in. Copenhagen. This year they, will not know of a world where. You can't ski on the, roof of the power plant so. Imagine, if that's your baseline, how. Much higher, these. These children can imagine like how much further they're, gonna be able to imagine. Things because they, just start on a completely different level than what we did. It's. Not only our direct, environment. That will change in a future sustainable. World. The. Increase, in the use of solar and wind energy, will. Really shake up international, relations. Energy. Is one of the top if not the top issues. In geopolitics you can explain a whole lot of international, relations, by, looking at global. Flows of energy and the, distribution, of energy, resources and to, date energy. Geopolitics, has been dominated, by the geopolitics of fossil, fuels going. Forward though we may enter a world where. Clean energy becomes. A, dominant. Or at, least larger. Share. Of the. World's energy system, and so, we ought to stop looking just at the geopolitics of fossil fuels and more at the geopolitics of clean energy. The, White House has a long history with solar panels on the roof in 1979. They, first went on the roof Jimmy Carter put him on and. In the 80s Republican. President Ronald Reagan, took the solar panels off the roof of the White House Barack. Obama in 2010, put panels back on now. We have President Trump now, who knows President, Trump you. Know may very well keep him on but. He hasn't been great to solar recently, there's a whole range of things that President Trump is doing to rollback President, Obama's environmental, policies, I bet. You solar. Panels, may. Very well not stay on that roof I. Don't. Think you could see him the only thing you can see from here the snipers. You. May have been blessed as a country to have had fossil fuel deposits in the past and that, largely determined, whether you were going to be an energy exporter or an energy importer, no, longer most, countries, have some endowment, of Sun, and wind. Or, hydroelectric. Resources, or geothermal resources, and so, suddenly many. Countries can. Become energy. Producers, maybe even energy exporters. It. All depends, on how. Enthusiastic, a country is going to be to exploit its clean. Energy endowment. Be, surprised, you. Wouldn't believe how, fast China is going, green. Is. Going. Green and Giga scale and Giga picks. One. Country, is particularly, enthusiastic. About, a future greener, world, China. It's. The world's biggest investor. In wind turbines, and solar panels and.
There's, A clear plan behind it, you. Have to realize that China doesn't, really want to be dependent on other countries, it, knows that if, its factories, go down right, then it won't produce products, and then GDP, won't go up and so, to produce products, guess what you need you need energy right. So if you if you, can have renewable energy which is you. Know pretty much free right, and then you become independent. Then, you, have energy security, which, is economic security, which, is national, security in some sense right so I think that, the very beginning, of our drive for renewable, energy actually started from, that point of view in. 2007. Peggy, and you founded. Uture, an, organization. That aims to make China more sustainable. Her. Ideas, on the role of sustainability. In China are regularly. Adopted, by Chinese, leader Xi Jinping in. Particular. Her, vision of the China dream. The. China dream you, know to me is really about everybody. Has some moderate, form of prosperity, together. And that, china together. We, thrive right, this this collective. Consciousness is very important to China so. Helping. Fill, the gap between urban and rural rich and poor, to. To. Make sure that all of us are going, on, this really, really really fast journey, together right we're leaping, right at. Giga scale at Giga pace but we want to leave together. The. China, dream, a collective. Push for greater prosperity, has. Increasingly, turned into a green dream. Like. In this coal region, to the north of hefei where. The sustain of future is being built literally. Over the remains, of the damaging, past. Send. Our men. Today. Attend, our Sangha, apologies, event today attend and emails and ah you, gotta know to. Take action. Jessie. J. Jenna. Wanted us we live with sahaja yoga, hi Gemma, hi. Angela. Canidius. Mika, tibia. Yeah duty tada, Mucha me one, second. MA, Sega's Kahala. Hanukkah. No, mention to pancha, graha. She, kageyoshi. Panache. Rajaraja. Chola, CBS. At our channel hang, on she Janet, ingenue yang-gon was a lazy bear, kogai-sama. Just. Said oh yeah, Jujubee. Alumina, let. Satoko. Toda. Yeah not, so much I am to sleep in your son Solomon. A. Total. Today usme. Tankette a quad on total divas yoga, Timmy, and I shot, a knocko, Cincinnati. Andre Agassi my otaku mode agafia auntie, Cosima un, testigo miss hande, hoche he0, Samia. Samia negotiate, Reyes, accountant. For children. Hobie. Artigue want, a yahoo, tiga see me enjoy, a sentry. Salalah Oman Concord, rotator, summation, EEOC Safari. And Sigma so, vienna yahushua. Yada. Yada, yada kasi mention. Moment. A virgin fertility, nurse educator, for Taniya, evaluate. Our nigga Jenna yeah. You. Got the kingdom, feel you a woman so that the agenda, to focus your finger. You could see the you co young with Hollywood.
Him Back. Chingy. Scintillant van thio dr., Joseph, a confrontation. Artificial. Efficienty, Harlingen. Savannah muchas de towhead shigekuni. 'no happened, Ania. Community. Media Zambia or magenta Tutsi author you are warranted, for figure PG, art and social potential, Vienna too volatile, to assume. Was. Maha, de cinéma. Para. Jana. Wooden, a piano. Taken. A nominal, senti. Was. A hello. China. Has huge, ambitions. For. Solar energy, in particular, but. Varun sivaram, believes, that simply building even more solar, panels won't, be enough. In. Our current, system with, our current technologies. We're. Headed for a wall. It. Seems just so, compelling we ought to buy this solar panel and generate, this very cheap electricity the problem is all those electrons, get produced at the wrong time and if. You produce them all at the wrong time right in the middle of the day when nobody wants them anymore we've already met all of our demands we've met all the air conditioners, and what we really need is dinner, time power when, people come home from work and turn on their lights but there's no Sun at that point it's set the. Next solar panel will do nothing for you so, the idea is from. A peer economics, point of view it. May not make sense to build new solar and wind farms. Just because, their cost has fallen because, if their value Falls even faster, the value may be below the cost. Solar. And wind it's going to hit, a wall if we don't find ways to flexibly. Use it lithium-ion, batteries are too expensive they'll continue to be too expensive and they, frankly are only good for storing energy for a few hours at a time not, the days or even weeks or months or seasons, that these intermittent, renewable energy sources, we're. Gonna need new battery designs we, even need new battery designs for electric vehicles in order for them to really compete against. Fossil fuel petroleum, fueled vehicles and unless. We invest right, now in those technologies, they're, going to come from China China, as it is wrapping, up its investment, and it's, Chinese authors. That are being increasingly published. In top-tier. Scientific. Journals in solar innovation, and wind innovation, and battery innovation, so. I think. The signal is loud and clear we are focusing, on the wrong things. The. Attitudes, of Chinese people the, policies. That the Chinese government have laid down the amount, of infrastructure. That. We've put in place over the last decade, is tremendous, I mean you you really can't recognize. It between, 2007. And 2008. Een. So. All, of these colorful, bikes are basically, free. For anybody to rent for, almost. Nothing and. These. Are the closest bikes to, me right. So I can find the closest bike but of course I've got a bike right in front of me and I'm, gonna unlock, it, simply. By scanning the. QR code right there. And. It. Just unlocked, did you hear that right. So. This basically solves the last mile problem I, have three subway lines right, here underneath. My feet underneath my. Twenty ninth floor apartment, and I, can go to line to line twelve like thirteen and then I can unlock a bike I can go to the. Bar or the grocery. Store that I want to go to and, I just lock it right there, and I'm. Done there's, no. Need for cars, whatsoever. In a transit, centered life. One, of the things that I've realized is that it's, not enough to just have really, cool with Z technology, right, to just, invest, in technology, and this is something a little bit of a blasphemy from somebody, who graduated from MIT as, an, electrical, engineer and. So. This is very complex it's not there's no one single, bullet, like solar, or nuclear. Or wind, or anything that's, going to save the day. China. Is looking, beyond wind, and solar energy. Dutchman, Yost when the hook has lived and worked in Shanghai, for years an urban. Planner he, develops, new towns and, neighborhoods all. Over China. Urban. Design plays a major role in a sustainable, future. But. In Shanghai, America, sees dr. Emerson, Motorola on a new stadium or or Navy, accolades in over crackles, electricity, at salt or skin on Saddam been annexed. Even buzina from Homer. Of scooter for Beckham and Phil Alliance tank then. Call that heavy, stuff you know. Denk. Tateshina, stated, organ hadith tight and in an anti-fog, excellent, open bar for system. That. The the do some height of volunteer, that see the energy, consumed see african. And him all. But pair to the jehovah, nissi autos, and auto kilometres, north health. At. Element air of skill to snail on Tichina is the, male on phone octopus, alien housemate damn and machine around Alec doctor, percent, in an apartment. About and host part mental about in. A by head from Virginia, and where and Agnes it's an enormous initiative. The Duke she needed am NOT an apartment. Mean that and she knows haste on the forum and coolly said that. My. Oak on the hill is two billion repairs, is a clerk is, the hall to stand there in their.
Lawn Thought we're having doers Armas emulating Seco state about goodness but is it house let it down. Optional. Fact, she, bounced up started out or destined bedrock supernovae, found the energy tone city and. Then kicked out the chief a district, been, installed Shanghai Tyrell annoyed for bills finish a brief. 2008, elope from the black happy via metro stations trivial. In the liner and not, held in worm and. Stop. Raven. Auto kill emerged not have whom. Tacoma. Revealed. The, values of a operative of a low hum of the vehicle tequila matrix s. Will not kill you made made our language or. Decisions. That. We are click itís become as well as futuristic. F unique, staring. Off a clock, have, even indicated replicate just opened by a foolish, need merely dr. Alfred at abduct not, active backbone is the basis on Florida, for the turns, from at since understands thought my Magnum Oakley. For. New Scottsdale. At. All opposite and zcorum Hiller's offered him the number boards before would cost, 18 - revolver, from petryís 15 fear - Wow, and the. Be taken and. Of the answer - an autotroph, or holy or Numa board that coyote show markup when we hear, Naidu, none allotted a new. Word engine, amount how does some students really are for the human key, didn't. Ya. Years even is foreign scientists, ejaculated. Same from the BLA attacks the commercial. Acknowledges, on the stock control of owner for Gina, malls. Contour tours. Experience. Entertainments, not mere controller this year, she. React a lot, of open bar vu can be taken over this table even had an aesthetic dynamic. But. Also and for odors of years in of set, David up laments, of the own Club they, ride the year relationship, and hotels. What's, really interesting about China's is that, the. Thinking, of China is moving much faster than, the infrastructure, development of China what's. Very dangerous, for people is to judge. China at any, one point in time what China looks like with its infrastructure, or air quality, today. Right, because China is moving so, quickly what you need to do is understand, the motivations, of, the. Chinese government and the Chinese people and the, policies. That are driving the, next five years of the future and then. Just. Realizing. That things that they say will happen will happen very quickly China. Is. Just like this. Works we're. Going for it right the. Entire country, boom. China. Really does act in a very I think much more efficient, way when it comes to large-scale. Change, is because. It it says, this is the change that we want right. It might be healthy. China 2030, right. It could be a, climate, change plan the, first one that came out in 2007. This is what we're going to accomplish it could be carbon. Emissions it could be really, anything. It could be 500, billion dollars into. High-speed. Rail over the next few years and. Then. It and then it makes it happen because all, all of the people underneath it know that their job is on the line if they don't reach it. You. Think about every, single sustainability. Solution. China's. Got somebody who's thinking about, how to scale it China's, got a city or 25, cities piloting, it and, one. Of those models one, of those darts is going to hit the, bull's eye right, and as long as we can figure out that one model that works boom it'll scale and when it scales its kills it in like one, two three years across. The country of a billion. 1.3. Billion people right so that that's the magic of China. It's. Not just about the technology it's, about the.
People Who are thinking in systems in a connected, way. Out. You're. Pushing it to the ground right, one. More time yes. Perfect, that's the Qi going, through your body so, what you want to do is when. She gets good enough she'll be able to actually project, the, Chi through. Different. Parts of your body don't go so close do you see how she's like oh hey. You guys. You. Have to step back and think about the way that Chinese think. About history in the future we think about things in like 5060. Hundred, years right, and so you know if you're only thinking, about let's. Say the next three months quarterly. Reports, or you're thinking about the next four years your election, term then you might not be concerned, about things, like climate change but, in China, I think it was Mazda dome who first thought, up this aqueduct, that would bring water from one part, of China all the way to the other end of China is now just being built right and so Chinese. People really think about things in much much longer terms. China's. Long term mindset. Influences. Not only its plans for its own clean energy, but, also its, plans to become a global leader of, the growing sustainable. Technology. Market. China. Is. Basically. Saying hey let's work, with all these countries, from Kazakhstan. To Spain. Right. Down, to Pakistan, to, Kenya and let's. Economically. Shake hands right and. Build. This, cross-border, logistics, network and from. There you can have cultural. Connections. And communication, and soft, power you. Can have, increased. Economy. I think. That as the belton, road becomes. Built. Along, you, know China to Russia to Spain, and down, through maritime routes to Africa, what, you'll see is is that hopefully, these. Types of sustainable, solutions. Will then go into the infrastructure, that's built in, the, cross-border logistics. All along. This, belton Road that will reach 3/4, of humanity. I. Think. By 2030. That there's, a good chance that China, will. Not, only be able to meet the Paris agreements, but it will be, able to showcase to the world, what. Kind of solutions. Can, be exported. Outside of China to reduce. Emissions at scale. If. China, views, sustainable. Technology. Is the ideal, motor for, the economy, while, the US is slamming, on the brakes what. Does this mean for America's. Future. 10. Or 20 years we will no longer be the largest funder of energy innovation, we. Will no longer be the source of many of the exciting, new, technologies. Both. In you know the production, generation, of electricity as well as the digital use, of electricity you. Know digital innovations, are where we shine we. Have been developing the Smart Grid technologies of, the future the, smart thermostats, of the future the. Autonomous, vehicles, of the future, China. Is going to overtake us in all of these technologies. If we do not keep a laser focus on innovation, so 10, 20 years I worried the United States could lose its pole position, and that's. Our last advantage we. Lose that advantage we. Will be in structural, and irreversible, decline. In. About, 30 years from now two-thirds, of our global electricity, will, be from sustainable. Sources this. Will have huge effect on other parts of the economy but. Architect, Erica, Ingels, is confident. About the future I think. Maybe people have started, daring. Imagining. That we can actually make meaningful change, again and I, think from the point of view of the architect, the last 20 years. Innovation. And resources, has been so, obsessed. With. The. Immaterial of the virtual the digital. Also. Because of the. Scalability. Of things you can scale things in the virtual environment or, in the digital environment almost. At no cost. I think, lately that ingenuity, has. Come back to the real world, electric. Cars driverless, cars. Robotic. Manufacturing. The. Internet of Things, suddenly. All. The all the technological innovation, there was like somehow happening. In its own little bubble has. Actually started spreading into the into, the physical environment. I. Do. Believe, that the rise of cheap renewable. Energy is going, to reduce the, cost and the price of electricity I believe. For example we're already seeing signs of these cheap electrons, being. Generated, for example in Abu. Dhabi Chile. Mexico, Saudi. Arabia India, all. Of these are signs that these technologies, are going to bring down the cost of electricity. Very.
Cheap Electricity could. Turn out to have as much of a transformative, impact on the world as the. Internet did it because. It allows the economy to use electricity in ways that never thought it would use it before that's. A powerful concept, so when we think about the, future of renewables we should stop just thinking about will, renewables, displace, fossil fuels for this use instead. We should think about what new uses can renewables, open up. Let. Me give you a few examples, desalination. Could be a new way of generating, fresh water rather. Than relying on increasingly, scarce fresh water as climate change takes its toll, vertical. Farming can harness LED. Lighting that, uses virtually, free electricity in order, to produce agricultural products. That we didn't, think that we could produce at scale, and sustainably, using. Conventional processes. I. Think. We can get there and I am optimistic we can get there and if we do get there all kinds of good things will happen just, as we've been talking about it'll transform not just the energy sector but also adjacent, sectors the whole global economy will, shift to take advantage, of this, new abundant, energy source. Alright, I definitely, read a lot of science fiction science. Fiction is a story, where. The narrative has, been triggered. By some, form of innovation so. You, see a world that is like the world you know it but. There's one new invention, and that invention. Can be a social invention a political, invention a cultural invention or often, it's a technological, invention, so. The whole story it becomes a narrative exploration. Of the, potential, consequences of, this. One invention, but. By changing this one thing it. Has, these sort of cascading consequences, and, the. Design becomes, a design exploration. Of the, potential consequences, good. And bad problems. We need to solve and the possibilities, we can explore of making. That one change so. Suddenly rather than you, as the designer having, to come up with all kinds of things. All. You have to do is. Follow. The consequences. Of this one change, and. And and, you'll discover a whole world that you didn't even know existed. We. Need folks at every you, know, every. Level policy, business academia. Science, thinking. About this extraordinarily.
Important. Challenge, unfortunately. We do not have enough folks doing that and I, my, plea is. For more people to think about how we, might enter a world that runs. Off of a, majority, of solar power by. The end of the century. Thank. You for watching, for. More on this subject take a look at the playlist you, can also watch this recommended, video don't. Forget to subscribe to our Channel and we'll keep you updated on, our documentaries.
Paul Jackson2019-03-11 07:10
I love the sustainable city,as the world population grows more people will need to live in city's.Plants should be grow every were,green walls,green houses on roofs and balconies and parks,plants in doors.Would be great if you had food clubs to share with your neighbours,grow your own. I have experimented with plants and grow my own tomatoes, lemons and runner beans,some veg will only be available seasonally the rest of the time use preserved (frozen or caned)I only have a small space but could do much more that's the way to go.
PRATAP SINGH2019-03-13 01:07
2050 there will be no one left.
Jean Seb Astienback2019-03-14 00:52
pointless! déjà vu! learned me nothing!
Seokho Ko2019-03-14 03:02
Unfortunately, Chinese people can not watch this video.
Aesilius2019-03-14 07:14
Enjoyed the program. Only problem that no summary of Chinese comments
Joe Black2019-03-15 15:06
A big part of the problem right now is that we have become part of this machine that is the fossil fuel industry. It has come to dictate much of the way we live. Too few people realise how much of our time in this life is currently still spent purely on making the fossil fuel energy paradigm possible. Logistically and economically. Follow the money. It is the breadcrumbs of our efforts, needs and aspirations. So easily we consider the direct energy margins involved with extraction, 'this' many barrels of energy to extract 'that' many, but fail to consider the human effort implicit in those margins. Society is like a patient trying to point out where it hurts, and it hurts everywhere it is pointing, but it turns out it is the finger used which is injured. We have not yet been able to sufficiently imagine what living in a world where energy is cheaper than the cost to transport it might look like. Which is exactly where the renewable energy revolution is taking us. I can tell you that every logical avenue I have explored indicates to me that the renewable revolution will not just be an energy revolution, but also a revolution in humane standards of living. Humane ways of living. Energy is power. Sustainable distributed energy will empower everybody on this planet to improve their lives. Not only that, but in an environmental sense the transition will be akin to sucking the poison out of a snake bite. Many look at the way things are now and are convinced that this is the only sensible way to live. Prominently the titans of this fading industry. So they vociferously oppose change. I can even sympathise. They understand that paradigm better than anybody. Their relatively good fortune is underpinned by a certain status quo. Their peace of mind by a whole hearted acceptance of it. But it is not the only way to live. A better way to live is possible. You see it more and more. Individuals, couples and whole families living full, rich, rewarding, healthy and happy lives on barely anything. Simply because technology is starting to make it possible.
Sjef Hoefs2019-03-16 10:48
There is no future. 2 degrees and more are already locked in. Agriculture will fail within years. Chaos, anarchy, the collapse of civilization. Not much later: the meltdown of nuke power plants...the end.
david scott2019-03-17 09:31
that's just goofy
Eryck Salas2019-03-19 02:12
Me encantan esta clase de documentales, y agradezco al equipo encargado de permitir que este contenido llege a otras lenguas. Realmente innovador, visionario e inspirador. Bien lo dice Varun Sivaram e interpreto un paradigma dentro del paradigma de las renovables ... El metabolismo social sostenible y la innovacion e inversion tanto como en infraestructura, tecnologia y nuevos modelos de negocios permitiran el exito del empuje que hace China y otros paises para hacer frente a los desafios que enfretamos como civilizacion.
Serge Fournier2019-03-20 02:41
BS nothing can replace oil nothing can you put that in your head Its a fact .
peter four2019-03-21 18:39
Please explain?
WTF are you talking about that make no sense , china are country who pollute the most , educate yourself JC first how much energy you use > energy you collect is a dead end .
Dick Hamilton2019-03-22 10:27
learn english, then. we will stop burning oil as fuel. we will not stop using oil for other things, like plastics and pharma feedstock. Energy can be got in myriad ways, more cheaply than burning oil or coal or natural gas. 2c / kWh in China last year.
What are you talking about make no sense
garbage. oil burning will go. oil using will not.
MetalGearMk32019-03-26 04:02
Chinese thinks in long term, is that why they built ghost cities?
those ghost cities are gradually filling
Kiran Kankipati - The Linux Channel2019-03-28 21:40
it is concept in general asians believe in long term survival. is what she meant. Having said, money and greed can lead to mistakes. And these are done by corrupt few individuals, not a society as a whole. And these mistakes are common all around the world, it is driven by greed by few rich, powerful individuals often.
Anonymous Hippopotamus2019-03-29 00:13
This is a no brainier, and decentralization is the key. That is the very thing loathed by the current titans of dirty energy.
silly goose2019-03-30 03:50
Second comment
buffer cov2019-03-30 12:20
First comment
Koksal Ceylan2019-04-01 10:25
We have to,we cant grove on fossiel energy couse the earth will become poisones.
Cicero Araujo2019-04-03 04:25
Pumped air on the ocean floor would be a great way to store energy
ottawa2019-04-04 18:59
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark...." seems need some changes!!
UnhingedBecauseLucid2019-04-06 08:40
It seems the VPRO that produced "Quants: the Alchemists of Wall Street" has overdosed on 'hopium' and is now floating in a permanent, vegetative state induced fantasy world.
There is no such thing as "green energy" ... and c h e a p "green energy" is certainly a prime candidate for bad math, creative accounting and just plain outstanding bullshit of the year award. This doc is badly sourced and it fails to address large parts of the predicaments were facing. It's sloppy 'fake news' with a contrived happy face.
Ben Johnstone2019-04-09 02:46
So how long will it be SUBSIDIZED with tax dollars? Wake up, the Chinese wont go along. Look at their pollution...Beijing. As for being dependent on fossil fuels every house should have solar now if it werent for Utility companies gouging Americans. To make this transition Leftist politicians want Carbon Taxes to screw Americans even more. Already shot down in Washington state
Todd Smith2019-04-09 22:01
We don’t have that much time.
Jerome Dallas2019-04-11 15:22
Great doc just wish there was translation in the parts that spoke other languages
Cristian Ölund2019-04-13 14:56
There is translation! Just press (c) on your keyboard or click on the wheel in the lower left corner on the video to choose the language of your choice.
TheJrmelo112019-04-14 11:25
why does it seem like putting a giant source of energy in the OCEAN why? the ocean will always win in the end
Cleo XO2019-04-15 18:25
The fossil fuel executives and their buddies must have a plan for leaving the planet once they've trashed it completely. I don't know where they'll go, but personally, I think that they should go to hell.
Fridrich Serepecky2019-04-17 16:28
They have a plan to pop an EMP in higher atmosphere once we all convert to decentralized and cheep energy. Once they don't need us, because we are not buyers, we are good as dead. If you think about it, most wars are fought over energy resources nowdays - oil, gas pipelines... So you know they are able to kill to get what they want.
FREDERIK DIAMOND2019-04-18 10:51
Love your documentaries❤️
Mark Muhlbock2019-04-19 08:19
Great video
Transtation2019-04-19 12:46
Giga Factories are the Prime Solution, to decentralize Energy via Alternates, Innovation in Storage devices(Batteries) are the key. And then surely there are deep impacts, only for the deep minds to understand and find greater applications.
Lucas Xiao2019-04-21 08:03
we can and we are going green
Overpopulation by people that cant Afford children too...
M. D2019-04-21 15:26
Oceangoing vessels, airplanes, agriculture machinery, fertilizer plastics, et all will use carbonfuels. Our artificial created reality prevents the big change.
Jason Bone2019-04-22 17:08
+Serge Fournier In 14.5 secs the sun delivers enough clean energy to power the world for the rest of the day. We just need to collect it and store it. What's this bull shit you are trying to spread? The mind is like a parachute, it must be open to work. I suggest you pull your rip cord, and fast.
Tomek Pinek2019-04-23 05:58
+Kiran Kankipati - The Linux Channel one child policy seems was also "long term policy". Not that successful however. Now China will get older very soon. On top of this huge surplus of men over women results in even bigger issues in demographics. Going for the reduction of fossil fuel looks correct but this is mainly effect of the previous problems (industrialisation and enormous smog).
Those ghost cities are the products of (over) speculation and money printing from the government, it is not from a long term mindset. The developers built the apartments just like factories making their products but without enough demands.
Aj Battle2019-04-25 16:19
The ghost cities are mostly based on market speculation and bought as investments. A good portion of these houses have been built super cheaply to take advantage of this and become rundown very quickly.
shili yang2019-04-26 16:29
lol alot of the "ghost cities" are for the future and some of them now are very busy and bustling urban areas. Take for example shanghai, it was once known as a ghost city but look at it now, it is one of the most vibrant and richest cities in the world.
I agree and believe that technology organizations that utilize blockchain will increase the competition against the current Titans
Paul Struckman2019-04-27 23:57
Don't you need gas turbine power plants running intermittently and inefficiently when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing? Oh I know, wood stoves and batteries.
tod jones2019-04-29 00:09
Forget wind and solar. Liquid Salt Thorium reactors out perform at less cost and produce virtually no weapons grade bipoducts or radioactive waste. No vast fields of solar panels, no huge transmission lines, just container sized unites in each village town and city.
Donald Rs2019-04-30 09:25
Sorry but I'm not getting anything out of this video I don't speak any other language but English
nigel griffin2019-05-01 01:53
nickolas teslar free eneger for all magnets and cooper pip but thay know is never see nuck waste from power stations ?
Greg White2019-05-01 07:12
This kind of faux green propaganda does far more harm to the environment than fossil fuels. Wind and solar will never replace fossil fuels and the reason is simple. Wind and solar are very low density, intermittent electricity sources, no amount of technology can overcome this. Also remember, electricity is only about a third of total energy consumption, wind and solar do not address the actual majority of energy use.
fireson232019-05-02 11:06
Yeah, cause sunlight and wind cost money, right! Do your research before you start blabbing. Green energy already is much cheaper than coal. The problem is the storage of that energy. That is the next phase we need to overcome, but slowly we are getting there technologically. It's just a matter of time. The Fossil fuel industry by 20 to 25 years time will be done. Live with it.
Bedyb12019-05-03 06:48
Subtitles.
+dmith smith Yeah see... There's a problem with your argument. Coal mining and the fossil fuel industry release truly vast quantities of toxic waste. Prominently heavy metal and metalloid pollution. Including lead, mercury and arsenic. Compare this with silicon panels which typically only release a variety of acids and a few types of solvents: "The PV cell manufacturing process includes a number of hazardous materials, most of which are used to clean and purify the semiconductor surface. These chemicals, similar to those used in the general semiconductor industry, include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen fluoride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and acetone. The amount and type of chemicals used depends on the type of cell, the amount of cleaning that is needed, and the size of silicon wafer". So A: The type of pollution from solar panel production is significantly more benign and manageable. And B: Not all panels are equal. Some types produce hardly any significant pollution compared to say... The world vacuum cleaner industry. And the tech and it's environmental credential are improving all the time. With increases in efficiency you effectively get more bang for your buck. Be that the financial buck or the environmental buck. And then there's the CO2 emissions which by any reasonable metric is our greatest current concern. Wind has a basically negligible impact. Batteries are still fairly heavy polluters (again nothing near the levels of the fossil fuel industry), but improving all the time due to significant ongoing material science research all over the the world. For example soon Tesla might not even use cobalt in their batteries anymore. Negating the entire environmental consequence of sourcing and using that element. Basically any and all pollution generated by all renewable power hardware manufacture is vastly overshadowed and outclassed completely by the effects of the fossil fuel industry. In my book renewable power is the better option. I'll rather go with a better option than no option. It is utterly critical that the renewable power industry proliferates.
dmith smith2019-05-05 10:15
90% of solar panels are made in enviornmentally unregulated countries and the amount of toxic waste and chemicals that go into the air and water directly from the production of the panels just about 100% negates the "Green" aspect of the entire panel itself before it is even sold... as of now Clean Coal is environmentally more friendly then solar.
+dmith smith Well actually... In a way it's better than free. You get more energy than you put into making solar panels and the return is worth more than it costs to make them. You can take some of the returns and reinvest in new solar panels with equally beneficial results. With relatively low, low environmental impact. Same for wind. All win. It is also about $$$ as you put it, but that is most definitely true for fossil fuels as well. So I don't see how that is even relevant to the conversation. It is actually cheaper than even coal. Energy infrastructure that pays for itself and then some. The only difference. Energy independence is possible for every nation on earth. Solar and wind can be assembled anywhere and the materials needed to build them can be sourced from anywhere. Far, far better.
All energy is a environmental trade off. There is no such thing as "Free Energy" "Green Energy" is about one thing and one thing only and that's $$.. period.. It is not about saving the planet and never was and never will be. To think otherwise makes us Green Sucker's.. It's all a huge marketing racket.
Nomnom Nomnom2019-05-07 06:23
+Ben Johnstone how is that related to the points stated above ._.
+Serge Fournier have you looked at the state of china have you looked at the amount of inhabitants they have ? at the moment china is tansitioning from a second to a first world country. Every first world country had high pollution while being in the second phase. and if u look at the per head Co2 emition then china is way below the US China 2014: 7,2 Metric tons US 2016: 15 metric tons (i was unable to find a measurement for the same year because the US didnt state their Pullution back then) and what he is saying is the we can replace oil in many places for example cars, bags, heating or energy production, which is very reasonable. but we wont be able to replace it when it´s used for medicin, Airplanes and few other things Conclusion: it can be reduced and will be since it is not neccesary to use it for all the things we are using it for
Sam Jensen2019-05-09 09:11
So many places already have
Carl Ortiç2019-05-10 08:53
Always there is a stupid saying that
David Beaulieu2019-05-10 21:31
Good luck fighting the fossil fuel industry it's all lip service. We're going to die and we have very little power to stop the ones responsible. Its violent revolution or bye bye. Ps 11000000000000 tons of carbon removed to reach 300m ppm and stabalize the climate. For those of you who cant count that high its 11 trillion tons.
WTF BBQ2019-05-12 03:06
Liberalism is a mental disorder. All these talks about how China is sooo great. They don't mention it's a fascist country and it is one of the heaviest polluters in the world. They can't even breathe their own air without getting sick, Their lands are turning into desert, and the water is full of heavy metals. Green energy gonna save the world and China gonna lead the way ?? You joking right ??
vallab2019-05-13 21:53
China propaganda?
Nietzsche Creature2019-05-15 21:27
Disappointing to see VPRO regressing to bashing the United States and cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Party. China achieves change at such a rate because it eschews those decadent western ideas such as 'human rights' and 'liberal democracy' in favour of avoiding any kind of accountability to the populace by keeping the economy growing with large infrastructure projects that only minute percentages of the population have the means to utilise. The only reason the CCP has any interest in climate breakdown is because it has realised how difficult it is to remain in power when the workers are breathing, bathing and eating in the filth that unfettered industrialisation has created. VPRO usually avoids such leftist hucksterism, and I hope this documentary will prove to be exceptional in its overt distaste for democracy.
+Lucas Xiao Yes, you can. But your friends in china can't. If you are in China, you are breaking the law of China. It means you are a potential criminal in your country.
Lee Alexander2019-05-16 21:33
I like to bake kale until it's crisp and eat it as a snack food. Unfortunately I also have a serious truffle addiction and will eat rich chocolate balls until it's absolutely ridiculous. I make my own since I only eat European chocolate, preferably Swiss chocolate, which is expensive in the US but less expensive if I buy it in quantity and make the candies myself. I've become pretty good at it.
Kon Tiki2019-05-17 22:53
how come there were no subtitles where that Chinese guy was speaking (23:30). Would have been nice to know what they were saying about renewables.
Battery technology is the future of green technology.
senne houben2019-05-20 04:08
well if you cancel individual rights like china does, change it easy. but what off a life would that be in a western world were we have the freedom of induvidual choice
+Lee Alexander Where do you think the Majority of the Solar panels and wind turbines are manufactured, and for cheap ?? They could've gone green 10 or 20 years ago, but they can't and they won't. It's the same reason why the US won't go green either. It's called profits...... The only way to force these countries to go green is for individuals like you and me to unplug from the grid and use renewable sources, but that's not an option for a country who won't even allow their own citizens Free Speech.
They can see not only the necessity but the economic benefit. For everything that is obviously wrong in their country they are a growth economy. I can't say the same for the US at this time unfortunately.
+Aj Battle How unfortunate. It seems that's true of a lot of newer housing in large parts of the world.
Yes it is. They not only have available domestic housing but investment housing. They have forward looking leaders at this time.
B. Rippy2019-05-25 08:00
Sure is weird how all you climate freaks are still behind Elon Musk. It really is insane. Sure, he owns Tesla, that makes your prized electric cars that you want to force everyone to drive, but guess what, he also owns Space X who has been launching shit loads of of rockets recently. Is that not seriously hypocritical? And dont even try to tell me that that use a clean fuel or some bull shit. Global warming is bullshit!!!
Ronald Garrison2019-05-26 10:45
29:40 The Dutch urban planner frankly appalls me. Most people are not going to prefer living in high-rises. What they want is much more like that Dutch house with a garden. Some will prefer life in a high-rise; it depends a lot on what your favored and necessary activities are. Building up rather than out is good, up to a point, but it's subject to diminishing returns. And indeed, land used for residences isn't even the real problem. It's the sprawling transportation system, caused by long commutes, that is the main trouble. So the challenge is to arrange things so that people don't have so far to go to work, school, shopping, and other activities. A lot of it has to do with zoning that is too restrictive. But I'll never favor making efficiency, or sustainability, the SOLE criterion for planning. Even in China, I don't see that such a thing is necessary.
Would you ski across the roof of a skyscraper?
Varun Sivaram admits that events have far outrun what he imagined ten years ago. And yet, he thinks it will take until 2050 to get 2/3 of global electricity from wind and solar. And he thinks solar will be 2/3 of that part. How is it that, having been outrun by the price drops, he is STILL so timid and conservative in how he thinks the next few decades will go?
Sangria sparkle spritz mule barrel2019-05-28 18:24
snow hydro steam air evaped ~~~~ snow hydro steam air ~~ vented flooring vented funnels hydroelectric generator water turbine generator
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Electric Strip Heaters Resistance Wire Evaporator Fan Motor Aluminum Foil Thermal Switch Laser Reflective
snowpiles electric heater fan defrosting heating elements funneled steam generator hydro stream hydro generator turbine snowpiles hydro steam
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Heater Resistance Wire Defrost Thermostat Aluminum Foil Foil Thermal Switch Laser Reflective
rick dees2019-06-05 20:31
So much of this video is about predicting the future in 5, 10, 20, even 50 years into the future and presenting these predictions as though they are going to be fulfilled. If they're so good at predicting they should apply their predictive tallents to investion in stocks. They'll most likely discover just how impotent their tallents are.
BigFoot Bubba2019-06-06 01:08
The lady unlocks the bike then pushes it, never rides, even when it's not crowded. She could just carry her purse or ride a boosted board like Casey Neistat, I would trust her more then'. There is way too much Libtard, Communist, Green Nazi, propaganda in this documentary. If China ever finds the winning formula, and I hope they do. We should just steal the Tech from them the way they have stolen everything from us and the rest of the world.
China is already trying to fool people that they are "green". Things like street lights that are supposedly wind powered. They have small wind turbine that looks like it powers the light, but it was discovered that the turbines are fake, and actually has a battery that is what is used to turn the turbine. It was discovered due to the fact that the turbines would be turning when there was absolutely zero wind, and also not even moving at all durring times of high wind....oops! The only green aspect of the system that is actually "green", is the fact that the battery that powers the fake turbines is recharged by a solar pannel.
+Lee Alexander and then what do you do when all the lithium is gone? It's already being used up pretty fucking fast.
Kiyarose39992019-06-08 07:40
WTF BBQ Capitalism relies on a Growth Economy, which is obviously unsustainable, you can’t keep growing with finite resources,. The future will see a move to more regenerative practices and a ‘Steady State Economy’. Also the future is going to be decentralised, renewables are helping us to move that direction. Eventually all the mega monoculture farms will break up releasing land for small sustainable settlements etc.
Lee Alexander But the low tech solutions are coming from new small businesses, big business are also getting on the renewable energy market cos they can see it’s either do that or become obsolete!.
+WTF BBQ No. The corporations won't do it to save the world. They will do it for profit. They have no national loyalty. They function in the international market.
+WTF BBQ Green energy is a field of financial opportunity and to be left behind the curve, which we already are, will also leave us behind economically. The Pentagon does a lot of energy research and even the big fossil fuel companies are looking in that direction although they're late in doing so. If we don't start getting ahead of the game China will be the next leader of the world economy leaving the U.S. to become a third world country. If you'd been around as long as I have you would clearly see the deterioration of the country and understand how badly we are already failing. If we lose the status of being the world currency we are done. Game over. That status is currently propped up by the oil based world economy, but that is rapidly changing.
+WTF BBQ It's the flip side of the U.S. in which the capitalist class run the state. China is state run capitalism. Not because it works, but because it's a capitalist economy. Capitalism, communism and socialism are only economic models with most countries, including the U.S. using a mixed economic model. The U.S. runs more on a capitalist model than most European countries with China using a very capitalist model as well.
+WTF BBQ I am already off the grid on 100% renewable energy including my transportation and my water comes from my well which is far cleaner than any public water supply. I've spent a lot of my life that way including my childhood since my grandfather who raised me lived off grid. It may not be a beautiful property like my grandfather's place was but large parts of it are covered with trees and I can grow much better food than I can buy in the store. I make trades with small local farmers for much of what I don't grow myself. It could be a decent place but needs work. The hay storage and one barn need work on the roofs, I need to improve the drainage in several areas and several bags of 5/8 gravel along with a load of larger pieces would be helpful. The stallion stall needs rebuilt and I need to make some repairs to his fence since he's a little rough on it when he gets bored. Solid welded steel rails don't hold up to the beating he gives them. There's more needing done than I can probably finish in the remainder of my life and I find myself wishing for the strength and energy I had years ago.
+WTF BBQ China, but we wouldn't even be having this conversation if solar panels were the entirety of green energy development. Even if you put aside the goal avoiding a failed economy on a failed planet I see hope for fields of shared opportunity and prosperity in learning to live more harmoniously with our environment. If you follow this stuff you see developments on an almost daily basis, although it takes time to test for safety, improve upon them and bring the costs onto line. A startup in Sweden has come up with a way to bring back the ice caps and they have reached the point where they only need to find a way to bring down coat in order to profit. Carbon capture is much newer than solar panels and could certainly be improved on. There is still work to be done on improving storage batteries. Some last resort measures are far into the development stage although we hope not to have to use this largely untested technology which is based on the affect of volcanoes on cooling the climate. There are sure to be technologies we haven't even thought of. It's a pretty wide open field even at this late stage. With factory jobs having been automated out of existence I see a great deal of opportunity for workers society no longer has much need for. When the supply exceeds the demand workers and their families are the ones who suffer. Another great benefit would be an end of the oil wars and a vast reduction in the power of the arms industry Eisenhower warned us about all those years ago in a speech I still remember clearly.
+Kiyarose3999 News flash: China's economy is Capitalism. You know why ?? Cuz it works. The computer you use to watch youtube, the electricity you consume, the vehicles you ride to work, the internet, the food you eat, and every technological advancement in recent history exists because of Capitalism. Who runs these Capitalistic economy ?? Big corporations like google, microsoft, USA, Russia, China, and etc...... Yes, governments are corporations too if you haven't noticed. They care about people like farmers care about their cows. Liberals who think these "corporations" will give up their addiction to profits and CHEAP fossil fuel to save the world are either insane or naive. This Green New Deal that the LEFT are pushing will cost us 93 Trillion dollars (That's with a capital letter 'T'). A debt that high will crash the economy, start WW3, and kill billions of people. So, can you tell me again who's the "enemy" of the people ??
WTF BBQ What’s‘mental’ about caring?, unlike Capitalism and the Right who ONLY care about big business and is why the right exist to represent the interests of big businesses over people!. You have politics upside, it’s the right wing establishment that is the enemy of the people, not Liberal/Social/Green politics!
WTF BBQ Which is why they are reforesting the desert lands, even using the army to plant the Trees, they also are building Green cities with Trees, Shrubs etc integrated into architecture, plus they are moving to renewables faster than any other ‘developed’ country. They obviously realise the smog from Coal and car fumes isn’t sustainable which is why they are going through the above transitions!
The reason that no one builds them, is because they are very unstable. Look at the videos on ITER which is what is the newest thing being built in France.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is depicted as a tangle of spaghetti with many Noodly Appendages, flanked by two delicious meatballs, and with a pair of googly eyes upon stalks. Such a depiction is merely a guess, of course, as the FSM is understandably invisible to all known forms of scientific detection. Although the exact airspeed velocity of an unladen Flying Spaghetti Monster is unknown, it is widely believed that it is more than likely to be faster than a cheetah. However, this is not the answer you are looking for. You need to think for yourselves! Whether or not the FSM is actually made of pasta is the subject of intense theological debate, with many claiming that the FSM is not made of pasta, but just appears to be, while others believe that to be a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the FSM must be made of pasta. The FSM is neither male nor female, but completely genderless, as the idea of a Monotheistic deity needing a gender or genitals is pretty silly when you really think about it. The genderless term Pastafarians refer to FSM as is ‘Quob’ – as in – ‘May you be Touched by Quob’s Noodly Appendage’ instead of referring to our deity’s Noodly Appendages as ‘his’ or ‘her’ Noodly Appendages All followers of the FSM hold that pirates are sacred and were the first Pastafarians. Climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are directly linked to the declining number of pirates worldwide. Many Pastafarians therefore choose to wear full pirate regalia as a means to help the environment and belay natural disasters. Other Pastafarians just like wearing colanders on their heads. I think you should be part of this group. Are you a colander wearer, or do you make your hats out of aluminum foil?
+B. Rippy Blah.. blah... Plants need water too and you don't see plants thriving in a lake of boiling water. If the climate gets too hot then it'll make no difference whether plants like the CO2 or not. Half the species of animal on earth or more will not be able to adapt quickly enough and just die out. Sure plants will survive wherever the climate still suits them. If there's more CO2 then they will thrive in climates suitable to them. But I'm not a plant sir, and neither are you. We're ultimately talking about our own survival here. I'm happy that Las Vegas got a bit of snow for the first time, but my city reached 50C in places for the first time ever a few years ago. Climate "change". "average" heating. If you don't get those concepts then I assure you. You do not have the mental capacity to be part of the discussion. Or at the very least need to go back to school for a while. Just stick to what you are good at. There is no shame in it.
+Joe Black guess what, we live on a planet with these things called trees & plants that require Co2, and it has been proven that in historic times of higher Co2 levels, vegetation was thriving. Yep, there were times when the Co2 levels were astronomically high, but the ozone wasn't destroyed. Are you aware that last month Las Vegas recieved the first recorded snowfall there ever? Global warming?
Sjef Hoefs You misunderstand anarchy for chaos, whenever things are or look like they are breaking down people say ‘anarchy reigns’ or whatever. But that is just the system’s propaganda also connecting Anarchy with disorder and chaos. BUT if people informed themselves by reading some actual anarchist literature they would realise that anarchy is simply a way of organising without government or leaders.
+Nomnom Nomnom and how exactly do you think those Co2 emissions were measured? That's bullshit and you know it. All the numbers are faked and have been tampered with to make it seem like the end is near. And you have gone right along with it. Your just like all the rest who latch on to one talking point and think that is somehow gonna save the world. The largest emitters of Co2 are Oceans Forests Volcanoes Not humans.
QECHEW2019-06-27 01:13
Ok caveman..no back to your trailer house.
kurt lowder2019-06-27 13:55
6.5 GDP growth rate is considered a recession in china. lol. most those cities will fill up eventually. china's GDP doubles in ten years at 6.5%. so those apartments will be filled eventually.
They are not gradually filling faster than they are falling appart. I've seen videos on actually showing the reality about tgese ghost cities from people who actually been there. So unless you seen them first hand or got your information from one that has don't believe what you think is actually true.
+Lee Alexander yeh true its not a china only problem its the same in the UK and America. The phrase "new build" where im from is synonymous with houses that get tired and worn out after about 5years.
B. Rippy The Current Global Warming is not ‘natural’ but man made, to go on about monsters then throw climate change in with a load of natural events is a silly attempt at covering the misinformation you are spreading!. Or it was all meant to be bs, either way it seems you have nothing intelligent to say.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is depicted as a tangle of spaghetti with many Noodly Appendages, flanked by two delicious meatballs, and with a pair of googly eyes upon stalks. Such a depiction is merely a guess, of course, as the FSM is understandably invisible to all known forms of scientific detection. Although the exact airspeed velocity of an unladen Flying Spaghetti Monster is unknown, it is widely believed that it is more than likely to be faster than a cheetah. However, this is not the answer you are looking for. You need to think for yourselves! Whether or not the FSM is actually made of pasta is the subject of intense theological debate, with many claiming that the FSM is not made of pasta, but just appears to be, while others believe that to be a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the FSM must be made of pasta. The FSM is neither male nor female, but completely genderless, as the idea of a Monotheistic deity needing a gender or genitals is pretty silly when you really think about it. The genderless term Pastafarians refer to FSM as is ‘Quob’ – as in – ‘May you be Touched by Quob’s Noodly Appendage’ instead of referring to our deity’s Noodly Appendages as ‘his’ or ‘her’ Noodly Appendages All followers of the FSM hold that pirates are sacred and were the first Pastafarians. Climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are directly linked to the declining number of pirates worldwide. Many Pastafarians therefore choose to wear full pirate regalia as a means to help the environment and belay natural disasters. Other Pastafarians just like wearing colanders on their heads
Anonymous Hippopotamus Absolutely, and not just with energy, the future will be a decentralised one, which means the end of all the current power bases!
Richard Bono2019-07-02 01:17
Wind and solar will change our world all right. They work 1/3, and 1/5 of the time, and the best batteries are 12 times less than required for a cloudy week or a windless month. Wind and solar are energy diffuse. You have to collect it over vast stretches of land. Why does it not matter that they cover hundreds and hundreds of square miles landscape with panels and pinwheels? And you call this being green? That's crazy. What does work at the macro scale is nuclear and hydro power, which powers the grids of France, Sweden, and Ontario to near 100%. They are energy dense, and 400 acres can cleanly power whole mega-cities. And yes, they come is all sizes also from the small scale to the largest scale. Millions of people in the developing world are not going to want to pay for panels which provide unreliable electricity, when they can have a low carbon wire coming into their neighborhood. Simple, and a lot cheaper than you think, all things considered! What relying only on wind and solar means, is the world will be locked into fossil fuel backup forever. That is not a solution to climate change. That's being defeated by carbon emissions. Wind and solar are a delusion.
cuger602019-07-02 21:08
this documentary basically praised China , did not provide raw scientific data to back up the china's growth, comparison with USA was wrong and incorrect.
China may be going fast in adopting green energy , the infrastructure they are developing quality will suffer and long term goal will deem short term, danger of poor quality will not be long term fix. China is copying American technology to design their society, which is copycat, not innovative. China is good at copying not so much in developing and innovating sad but that is the reality.
undefined undefined2019-07-06 08:51
Killing people is costefficient
david brow2019-07-08 06:09
green new hoax is a lie to public that all the ice caps will melt in ten years and the costal cities will flood. actually the opposite is happening as we enter a new mini ice age because of the GRAND SOLAR MINIMUM. Good news, burn as much fossil fuel as possible to offset the coming cooling trend. the solar panels and wind turbines are a waste of money and will not work in a cooling earth with less solar output. instead we need to invest in mega sized heated greenhouses to protect our food supply from frost and wet weather.
KIM ROLLO2019-07-09 06:21
Solar and batteries are technologies ....we understand the cost declines in technologies because we have been doing it with computers for 40 years......the cost declines in solar have been predicted for some while, it was just having to wait for the economies of scale .....but some people wont believe it until they see it
+Joe Black and you are obviously dead set on believing unproven "science". Don't you have a cow fart protest or something to be at right now? I'll burn a stack of old tires tonight and think of you while watching them burn.
+B. Rippy Dude your head is stuck so firmly up the conspiracy theory industry's butt you couldn't separate fact from fiction if it was labelled.
+Joe BlackI get it, you feel extremely virtuous with your assertions (in a very narcissistic way), but how is it that someone that thinks they know everything as you obviously do, doesn't even realize what temperature water boils @? Do you seriously have some kind of scientific evidence that the tepurature is somehow gonna increase (more than double) to end up @ over 200° F. Regardless, the mainstream science morons are claiming what they do based off of computer models which they controll all the paramaters. Somehow none of them have shown the same things... Why?...because they are computer programs can only do what they are told to do, and guess what its a fucking computer, not the environment. Now, the real question is why there is no oversight on "scientists" that know they are being paid by government grants which were approved on the basis of climate change. They will tweak their study to show the outcome they know gurantees future grants.
+B. Rippy lol Funny you should mention that. Based on the views you've put forward I would expect that you are the type of person who believes in fringe meta-science such as intelligent design. If so then I bet you've waited 14 years and two months for your chance to throw that drivel back at somebody. But of course it's not relevant since I'm the one taking my cues from mainstream science backed up by actual research and data, while YOU are in fact the one coming to the pitch with meta-science. Putting YOU firmly into the category of people supporting FSM'esque beliefs. Fail.
+Joe Black damn man, you could be the new leader of this group ⬇️ The Flying Spaghetti Monster is depicted as a tangle of spaghetti with many Noodly Appendages, flanked by two delicious meatballs, and with a pair of googly eyes upon stalks. Such a depiction is merely a guess, of course, as the FSM is understandably invisible to all known forms of scientific detection. Although the exact airspeed velocity of an unladen Flying Spaghetti Monster is unknown, it is widely believed that it is more than likely to be faster than a cheetah. However, this is not the answer you are looking for. You need to think for yourselves! Whether or not the FSM is actually made of pasta is the subject of intense theological debate, with many claiming that the FSM is not made of pasta, but just appears to be, while others believe that to be a Flying Spaghetti Monster, the FSM must be made of pasta. The FSM is neither male nor female, but completely genderless, as the idea of a Monotheistic deity needing a gender or genitals is pretty silly when you really think about it. The genderless term Pastafarians refer to FSM as is ‘Quob’ – as in – ‘May you be Touched by Quob’s Noodly Appendage’ instead of referring to our deity’s Noodly Appendages as ‘his’ or ‘her’ Noodly Appendages All followers of the FSM hold that pirates are sacred and were the first Pastafarians. Climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are directly linked to the declining number of pirates worldwide. Many Pastafarians therefore choose to wear full pirate regalia as a means to help the environment and belay natural disasters. Other Pastafarians just like wearing colanders on their heads
fluff2019-07-16 03:09
Great documentary! Save climate change! Resist ✊
kilen9me5skilen2019-07-17 12:58
I used to be totally down with renewables, but apparantly nuclear is by far the least worst option we have. It doesn't sound as good as "green" energy but it's better overall for the environment. look into it if you don't believe me
chas47022019-07-18 18:51
Solar electricity only works well on a clear day with no clouds and not that well in the winter.Wind does not always work well in some areas. Batteries are one way of storing energy. However, water is another type of energy storage. You can pump water into a tank or a reservoir and then make Hydro Power at night or on cloudy days. It can also supplement Wind Power.
nicewknd2019-07-20 02:08
Caucasian Simp shills for MBS Aramco, Putin-Rosneft.
Gert Wolmarans2019-07-20 16:17
Translations would have been nice?
Cnn is Fakenews2019-07-21 16:07
How about a Free market and not a Forced Market? Solar is expensive garbage because the sun doesn't always shine and shines less the farther from the equator. Batteries are expensive garbage, expensive exotic metals, acids and horrible toxic waste, explosive and dangerous themselves and put off explosive hydrogen gas when charging..
INDO KEREN2019-07-23 01:21
Donald Trump and his followers doesn't believe climate change.
Did your parents never explain to you how doomsday cults work? I mean if you see someone fear mongering saying "DOOM!" in 12 years its kind of a tell.
Climate change or not yellowvests in france want to drive their cars to work instead of being forced to pay carbon taxes on the poor.
Paul McGreevy2019-07-26 02:15
Governments can’t control their economies never mind the weather. Getting rid of fossil fuels is going to make it even harder to control their debt. It’s not going to end well. Renewables need much more land than the cities you are trying to power and the energy is intermittent. If you really want to reduce co2 global nuclear power and vast tracts of new forest are the answer.
Curran Kemp2019-07-27 07:14
Land destruction and massive waste compared to gen 4 nuclear.
bernardthedisappointedowl2019-07-28 11:19
Very adroitly put that first 17 seconds, ^oo^
derek ha2019-07-28 14:35
I keep informed on Green Energy - but this was surprising info. Very well done.
+Michelangelo Buonarroti The thing about wind and solar though is that they need way more material to build, and they need way more land to be constructed on, and they're only effective 30% of the time so you need tons of batteries. So in the long run nuclear is "the least worst" for the environment overall. But i'm not against wind and solar, just saying focus should be on nuclear, especially in Europe where we have no deserts. Not too sure about the cost though.
Michelangelo Buonarroti2019-07-31 04:30
It's far too expensive. And "the least worst"? Easily solar or wind.
Nope. What's really crazy is handing our grandkids huge problems and costs with coastal flooding and millions of island refugees who will need somewhere to live, and not having done all we could to spare them those problems.
China has copied a lot, but is now in the process of leapfrogging the US. It doesn't help that the US has a President who is so scientifically and technologically backward.
I'm just pointing out that the electrical grid has to be balanced to cover shortages from alternate energy.
Robert Jackson2019-08-04 14:12
Ocean power
WonderMagician2019-08-06 11:48
Wonderful and imagination filled approach - with harm to none!
tbyte2019-08-07 16:00
Watch China Uncensored or ADVChina ... that girl is talking bullS :)
vpro documentary2019-08-09 05:05
Hi Gert Wolmarans, did you switch on the subs in CC?
Iggie Dalrymple2019-08-10 21:34
Green energy will dominate in about 20 years, maybe much sooner.........but it will NOT be solar or wind. LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reaction) is here now. A LENR reactor emits no radiation beyond normal ambient levels. Currently LENR is allowed only for industrial use. After a few years of safe industrial use, it's predicted that home use will be allowed. A LENR reactor only needs refueling once per year. The internal plasma in the reactor reaches 20,000° F. Currently, ownership of LENR remains with the manufacturer and only the heat or steam is sold. The customer is not required to invest. The industrial customer contracts to buy a minimum quantity of energy at a guaranteed minimum 20% savings vs his previous energy cost. Once in mass production, LENR energy will likely cost a tiny fraction of current energy costs. The manufacturer is now trying to perfect direct production of electricity, without the need for mechanical turbines or dynamos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=GJz0T7lCWRg
xchopp2019-08-11 08:01
Yes -- it was surprising that they made no mention of flow batteries, or gravity-based storage (tower/crane).
I fully agree. But you fail to realize that wind and solar, without nuclear and hydro, will not do the job of bringing the planet to zero emissions. It's delusional to think they can do that job. Germany, which is failing to meet its own emission standards, now writes new, easier ones. Nuclear France, Sweden, and Ontario have eliminated nearly 100% carbon from their grids. That's the first step. Germany's grid, after 480 billion, is still at nearly 60% fossil fuels. Energiewende has failed. If we wish to save our coastal cities we need to eliminate carbon emissions as soon as possible. Atoms for Peace.
"you want to force everyone to drive"....... thats the real bullshit
2/3’s of the world electricity by 2050 is way too late!. We are facing imminent climate crisis, we need a net zero emissions by 2030 or were fucked!
`Hopium`? We are trying to inform and explain complex topics. Let´s say `Informium´!
+fireson23 your a brainwashed idiot. Live with it.
+fireson23 Watch the video on my channel and educate yourself before parroting out a PR campaign. Peak fossil fuels has more or less been reached .... but the storage problem, technologically, and cost wise -- getting there -- that's fucking bullshit. If you knew anything about energy you would know that it's not be cause you have a 2-3-5-7 ..10 ....15 or even 25 % market penetration that the thing can get seamlessly scaled up g l o b a l l y to 100% while also maintaining BAU of infinite growth on a finite planet. Don't be a tool, don't be a useful idiot and do p r o p e r research. You're welcome.
Sarah Hess2019-08-19 14:40
A Fuel translation could cause the collapse of governments,destroy the economy even cause millions of people to starve to death and would most likely cause a skyrocketing of prices of product,unemployment and transportation at least and the biggest challenges is to replace the fuel that the nation revolves around with a fuel source and technology that is as cheap and all have failed and this includes artificial oils/gasoline and sugar fuels that would skyrocket the prices of food and electrics car resources are more limited and more expensive and this not even counting all the downsides of the technology and this may mean trying to dig deeper to find new sources or manufacturing a artificial version of the needed resources and would also effect other industries and products and prices other then cars , oil is a renewable fuel the resources for technology is not. The math makes it a bad ideal.
Iain Reid2019-08-21 13:23
Wind and solar generation for grid use is vastly over rated and the problems that it introduces seems to not be generally known. It is ineffective, disruptive and very expensive. It is not a solution and does litlle to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
Jay Q Public2019-08-21 20:24
People with panels on their roof need to organize into a business. It's the only way to get past the PUC regulations set up against green energy and in favor of fossil fuels. As long as people rely on a club, society, network or even a union they will not be equals and their voice will be as individuals, not as a power generating entity. The Distributed Network must speak with one voice and speak as an energy producing entity. It is the only way to gain equality in the war for clean energy, because it's being waged at the household level Without that grassroots, the top-down efforts will not meet demand and be held as example of failure.
+vpro documentary The topic is complex enough and important enough that it warrants starting at the beginning. To do so would require a thorough enough explanation of what energy IS and why it has been the g r e a t e s t enabler of ALL that we see around us and the ONLY reason the planet got to be populated by over 7 billion humans. The work all this entails would take SEVERAL episodes to properly expose the entanglement of energy with economics and industrial processes. You will have to resort to interviewing multiple scientists and engineer in the relevant fields. The more you dig, the more you'll appreciate the complexity and the more you'll realize that what we are facing is not a problem, but a predicament. Yes, if you're diligent enough, you'll come across experts that disagree on important points; and you'd be well advise to go out of your way to show an unbiased representation of the debate; but make no mistake, scientist and engineers are not immune to 'Silo Thinking' even though the worst offenders are still the finance and economics professions. If you really care to give your audience a proper perspective, you have to deal with the fundamentals ...and the taboo. I take great care not to waste ones time, I have nothing to sell and I'm not particularly sold to any "solution". Should you wish to see the lens through which the [S]ituation is b e s t exposed, I'd point you to these sources: #1. J-M Jancovici 's video's on YouTube -- his english is not perfect but no one gives a better glimpse of the physics - energy entanglement. Since you can't post links in comments here are a few titles: a. Jancovici : Can the economy become fossil free ? Shangaï China, 26/10/2015 b. Jancovici : Can we save energy, jobs and growth at the same time ? 08/01/2018 c. French engineer schools politicians on the physics of energy and resulting incidences on economics. (That last one was translated by yours truly -- read the description if you want interesting gems) #2. Have a look at Gail Tveberg's blog "Our finite World". #3. YouTube surely contains a few conferences or interviews of Nicole Foss. She's probably one of the most engaging speaker you'll get to explain where we are. #4. Slightly diverging opinion could be had by interviewing Ugo Bardi, Physical Chemistry professor at Florence University in Italy... He has a very sunshiny disposition and will not miss the occasion to talk to you about the Seneca Cliff ! #5. Mark Z. Jacobson's 100% Renewables (100% WWS) Roadmap to Nowhere by Conley & Maloney @ TEAC8 (read the description for this one as well) You have enough here to follow the trail if you are competent journalists. Hope you'll give Netherlands citizens and your worldwide audience a broader horizon, even if it's really unpalatable. Truth is best, ...always.
jim Curtis2019-08-23 04:26
Tesla already has batteries for large wind and solar
+Roger Starkey We could abandon our oil interest in the middle-east and share the knowledge resulting in one of their biggest source of wealth being close to worthless resulting in such inferior countries becoming even poorer resulting in more starvation and death. The possibility of such death and suffering of such inferior peoples fills me with amusement but is it really the wisest approach?
Roger Starkey2019-08-23 16:10
A "Fuel translation" COULD cause a literal "power shift" worldwide. However It could feed many poor people, predominantly in "underdeveloped" but forward thinking countries. It could provide power to remote, underutilized areas of those same countries, unleashing the potential for clean water, agriculture, education, etc. It could allow energy independence from the traditional power (oil) suppliers (you know who!) thus diminishing *their* global influence, calling into question their requirement for global "defense" assets. No doubt this will be frowned upon by certain interested parties. THAT'S where you see the problem! "THE" nation (USA?) had better "get with the program" and wholeheartedly convert to the new technologies, or risk being isolated by those countries (substantially, the world) who do so. "Electric car resources" are neither "expensive" nor "limited. Please detail "the downsides of the technology"? Oil and fossil fuels in general are not "renewable fuels", they are finite, even and outdated. You need to research more.
+Roger Starkey, what would you like? Wind is unstable because the output is very variable with little change of input,. i.e. wind speed, as it works on a cube law. Dispatchable power plants not only have to balance the normally varying load but with the addition of wind output varying also they have to work harder. The greater the proportion of wind generation to grid demand thae harder it becomes. Grids are kept stable by these plants and their inertia due to the large mass of their turbo alternators. Not only that this increases the CO2 emitted by these plants a sthey are ramping up and down but theer are other running plants which are not feeding into the grid but soley there as back up, emitting more CO2. So it makes wind far less useful than would appear as to CO2 reduction. Solar, in the U.K is useless in winter as it produces zero power when demand is highest as it's dark. If you want more, let me know as there a huge expense for little return with renewables. I'll try and explain why.
Grand statement, nothing to back it up?
My thoughts exactly. Mike drop!
+Joe Black Joe, A few points regarding your posts. 1) You forgot to mention that "conventional" power stations also have to be built, using a *lot* of energy, creating a *lot* of pollution. 2) Once built, they pollute *every day* they are operational, no doubt becoming *more* polluting and inefficient as they age. 3) Regarding the Tesla batteries, you didn't mention the prospect of the "Maxwell battery" (Others *will* be available!) This would allow production at many times the speed and therefore quantity, removing not only the toxic wet process chemicals (currently recycled) but also the requirement (energy!) to dry the cells. MUCH more efficient! 4) I would also champion the increasingly large offshore wind turbines which actually turn in much lighter winds(!), With slower rotation speeds, so negating the "OMG they kill birds" argument. These can of course be towed back to shore and have the generation equipment replaced at the eventual end of life, making them even *more* environmentally friendly. Otherwise, GREAT ANSWER!
Ian Finlayson2019-08-27 14:50
+B. Rippy Oceans and forests don't emit CO2, they absorb it. Human activities generate about 60 times more CO2 than volcanoes. It's easy enough to check out if you can be bothered...or maybe you think facts that don't fit your narrative must be faked
Macio Luko2019-08-28 05:45
@27:00 I'm sure he wowed himself yet again in 2019 when he looked at the impressive Tesla line-up of vehicles. Not only do they compete they blow the Internal combustion engine vehicles out of the water. And this is still with a battery that can get better and cheaper. @28:50 Hear that Canada? 3 subway lines under an apartment building. It is possible. @39:40 he US is already in severe decline. Not just in innovation but also in health, recycling, education, finance and mass transportation.
Pumped air on the ocean floor in oil well would be a great way to store energy
Macio Luko Yep, that’s what I was saying, and is why I’m a decentralist!.
+Kiyarose3999 Centralization of power always leads to tyranny.
Macio Luko What do you mean by that?, and going by your ‘theory’ centralisation has led to a society that is massively undemocratic and so has put all the power to a few people who are trashing the earth. The US being probably the most obvious example!!. These Centralised ‘Democracies’ have been responsible for Colonialism and more recently Neo-Colonialism, and resource wars, Coups in South American countries such as El Salvador etc, NOW the highly Centralised US is attempting to pull a Coup in Venezuela to get their hands on the Oil, Gold, Diamonds etc.
Yes. Centralization leads to Venezuela.
Dr. Paul Plumbing Heating2019-08-31 02:39
cool beans, part old school was, idea's was a 10k kg gyro, for storing power to be use between summer/winter times, I always like Geothermal as the best. maybe Plasma 4 th state of matter, will be Next...
Pedro Cortez2019-09-01 19:33
I want to be part of the solution
The future of energy is wind and water these 2 can connect and make real electric plants to carry us to our future.
Dov Struzer2019-09-03 01:12
MACIO THE CAR ITSELF IS PART OF THE PROBLEM,NO MATTER IF IS DRIVEN BY FOSSIL OR ELECTRIC POWER,THE CAR NEEDS LOTS OF ROOM,LIKE HIGHWAYS TO BE BIULT AND STRECHEC,AND NEW BRIDGES AND SO ON AND PARKING LOTS, A BETTER SOLUTION IS A VERY EFFICIENT PUBLIC AND ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION, OR CAR POOLS ,OR SOME KIND OF CAR RENT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO HAVE OR OWN A CAR,THAT USUALLY SITS IN SOME PARKING AND TAKES SPACE THAT COULS BE USED FOR A CHILDRENS PLAYGROUND OR A PARK ON THE OTHER HAND THE BIG OIL CORTPS CONTROL THE TRANSPORTATION AND THE WAY WE USE IT,LIKE WHEN IN AMERICA THE BIG OIL,CAR AND TYRES INDUSTRIES BOUGHT MANY TRAMS LINES IN THE BIG CITIES,TO REPLACE THEM BY CARS,AND SO BIULD MORE AND MORE INEFICIENT HIGH WAYS
How about 20+ years to BUILD that nuclear, by which time the site may be threatened by rising oceans?
+kilen9me5skilen Two constructors have just pulled out of nuclear in the UK mid project because they can't make money on it. Another project (French! So they're "experts"!) is at least *5 years* late, billions over budget and has a power "strike price" that is already, at *today's* rates, 20% more expensive than offshore wind. Land and material? nuclear requires a big site, not only for reactors but for peripheral buildings. Furthermore, unless you want it in populated areas, there is effectively an exclusion zone around nuclear (also requiring security!) The first phase of the largest wind farm in the world using absolutely huge turbines has just been switched on in the North Sea! No land involved! When the generator pods on those turbines finally reach end of life in decades from now, they can be removed, recycled and replaced on the same mast saving tons of material with a high proportion of recycling. New nuclear can take 20 years to propose, legislate, design, build and test. Similar money spent on wind power could produce a comparable output in 5 years, meaning 15 years(!) of clean power rather than fossil fuel generation, which would also be cheaper than the nuclear option as previously mentioned. These projects would also be making *profit* over that 15 year period, effectively paying for themselves by the time and nuclear station was even starting to produced power(!) Wind power is the "most *best* solution"!
Macio Luko Centralisation does indeed lead to Tyranny Neo-Colonial blood for Oil (and other resource) wars such as in Iraq, Libya etc.
Well Centralisation( in UK) first started with the Land Enclosures of the 1600’s, when the Monarchy ruled the country. That, was centralised power, that like today’s centralised power, had their mercenaries to take and keep what they wanted from the people.
Chris Wood2019-09-05 19:14
What's the idea behind having an English speaking documentary, but including large segments of Dutch or Chinese, etc language that is completely unintelligible and without subtitles or any further explanation of those particular long and involved discourses? I feel I'm missing out on important details those individuals are sharing at length. Informative doco anyway, but very frustrating for me in that regard.
Lu5ck2019-09-06 02:52
"Green" is a lie. It is a capitalism plot. "Green" is still very cost ineffective, any engineers can tell you that. To build solar and wind, you need resources and lands. For every solar or wind farm you made, just how much resources you gotta dig up from the earth? Just how much are destroyed to produce just that much energy? For every huge amount of lands you took to build them, just how much trees, plants and species did you killed to get those land? For every wind farms you made, just how much flying species die to it? Solar and wind are costly because of those, not because is niche as claimed by brainwashed green activists. The real "green" here is nuclear related technology and any high cost efficient plant. You don't need as many lands and resources to build a nuclear plant to produce equivalent energy. As for the nuclear waste, it is just a matter of research. There are a lot of different nuclear technologies. Why nuclear isn't popular? The public are still afraid of the known failure of nuclear plants in history. The capitalists are not interested in putting money to research a cost efficient technology, it doesn't earn them much money you know? The superpower want nuclear weapons and advanced nuclear technology is not gonna make them nuclear weapons. Lastly, there are organisations or independent researchers around the world working on solid state batteries which basically store more, last longer and charge faster. However, that will only benefit the electric cars, it will not stop solar or wind to be cost ineffective.
+Dov Struzer Yes. I agree. And I believe someone like Elon Musk is aware of what you said also. This is why the personal car will be a thing of the past in the near future. I am simply waiting for an on call car service that is coming down the pipe. It will be much cheaper and more convenient to simply hail a vehicle to your current location and then let it go to pick someone else up as your trip finishes. The moment this service comes in at under $250/month, it is over for private car ownership.
+Sarah Hess "Fills you with amusement..."? REALLY? Anyway, you have if back to front. Those "inferior countries" (in the middle East..... again , really?) Are transitioning now. I wasn't talking about them, but the poorer sub tropical / tropical countries that will break the stranglehold of the current "superpowers". Their best resource? People. Especially people willing to work hard and educate themselves. As I said They will use the opportunity to feed and educate the population. THEY will become the economic powerhouses of the 21st century, while the self-righteous and lazy will decline. From what you said, that's where you are.... Watch your back!
+Richard Bono and meanwhile construction companies are pulling out of nuclear projects because they can't make money on them, while green power projects in the same locations are cheaper to build, faster to build and produce cheaper energy.
+Sangria sparkle spritz mule barrel Tin foil hat tin foil hat tin foil hat.
+B. Rippy 1) You assume "Lithium" is the only solution. Absolutely not. Lithium is used now, for transport, due to its energy density. That's not important for static storage. 2) where do you think the lithium that's being "mined" now came from? Clue? Much is in brine........ Seawater! Somehow I don't think we're running short of that?
Mmmmm....... Subsidies! All I want is the 6.5% of global GDP used to subsidise the oil industry removed! Give 1% of that to green energy and it's a done deal! The rest? Use it to sort out the global healthcare system! Easy!
seekandyoushallfind2019-09-13 06:27
Humans will not change anything. Egotistical people...the atmosphere and earth as a whole...has been changing for MILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE US!!!!
Mack Dickerson2019-09-14 23:28
The greed of the American Republican Party and it's members will be America's down fall...... R.I.P. America!!!
Mack Dickerson LOL
Jilles van Gurp2019-09-16 18:23
It's an important notion that we should embrace mass energy consumption and stop seeing it as a problem and look at it as a challenge instead. Solar dropping 10x in price in the past 10 years means 10x more energy for the same money. The next decades look like that there will be some more drops. So that brings the question to the table what we would do if we could use 100-1000X more energy personally and collectively with absolutely no negative consequences. What are we going to do with that energy? Well, if you look at most structural problems in this world, having a lot of energy helps solve them. Food production is a great example. It requires light and water to grow stuff. You can produce both with energy. Making clean energy cheaper, means making food production cheaper. Also, it makes transport and logistics cheaper and cleaner. People are worried about their carbon footprints when they are flying. What if you could fly electrically and the electricity costs next to nothing, the planes don't make a lot of noise, and they fly themselves? Suddenly it goes from a wasteful and expensive way to get around to being the most convenient way to get from A to B. Often overlooked is fuel production. Fuel is simply stored energy. One use of excess solar is simply producing fuel that can be stored and burned at a later time. We are rapidly approaching the point where that is both feasible and cheaper than mining it from fossil deposits. Converting C02 and H2O into more complicated carbohydrates is not rocket science but it can power them. All it takes is energy and a bit of ingenuity.
John Brown2019-09-18 08:21
HEY FAKE NEWS TELL THE TRUTH !!! WERE NOT GOING TO BE RUNNING GREEN ENERGY !! YOU THINK AMERICA IS GOING TO GO ALONG WITH CORTEZ/MOB DEMOCRATS----DREAM ON !!
Hi Chris Wood, we understand your frustration but we are Dutch broadcaster and we are not dubbing our documentaries. However, you should be possible to see it with English subtitles if you put it on in CC.
TYLER OHM2019-09-20 19:03
The only thing to save us is LFTR technology. Look it up. Get your heads out of yours asses.
+Roger Starkey lol You are saying the limited resources are unlimited that are needed to build electronic cars that are more expensive then normal cars and would cause a greater strain on the nuclear power plants requiring us to build more?and what of the other technology that would be effected by the use of those resources including computers and robots maids and fossil fuel is the inaccurate description of oil being made more from plants then dinosaurs and can be manufactured in a lab using plants making it a renewable fuel source and the USA being isolated sounds very pleasant and peaceful.
+Roger Starkey lol
First, it's not cheaper energy. Wind is subsdized the USA by a factor 17X over nuclear. Second the cost of wind omits the necessary backup power for when there's a two week wind lull. On energy produced for dollar invested, wind has a terrible record; only better than solar. Nuclear is saddled with unnecessary regulations, but still there are three plants under construction in the USA; and globally there's a nuclear renaissance in China and South Korea. Already France and Sweden grid is 100% emissions free thanks to nuclear power. Wind will never come remotely close to this record. Nuclear is a steady baseload which is available more than 90% of the time, and the next generation of reactors will be at 100% reliability. +Roger Starkey
Henri Frits maarseveen2019-09-24 16:59
solar panels are black and heat up crazy .. the more solar panels you place in a city the higher the city temp .. solar panels realy heat up the earth .. and wind is also not the solution !!!!!!
live underground ... much better as above in the sky
István Sipos2019-09-26 09:36
China moves all together. yeah, because they all WANT to move together, right? they all love and respect eachother so much that no1 is protesting against anything, right? full of nice people, but a F dictatorship. speaking of Chinese things, have they ever seen broken ice on a lake in a storm? that stuff breaks into smaller peices. just sayin'
Option Trader2019-09-28 03:15
Time to start community meetings to control purchase of ICE vehicles. All hands on deck is the call since our politicians are on the nipples of "dirty energy".
oil, even in the best possible green future, will be a major concern for many decades, possibly centuries to come. waging a war (if need be) would suck without jets and those birds won't turn into e-planes anytime soon. other than that, f.e. the fuel in cars, will be and has to be replaced crazy soon
el scientifico2019-09-30 12:50
fantastic doc! The architect lays down a really amazing insight. The amazing new thinking of today will be normal for the children of tomorrow. The world is moving forward, while in america, the fearful, the ignorant cling to the past systems. That will be their loss and the world will not look back.
L Pappas2019-10-01 20:16
The facts of this video appear to not agree with what countries are doing when it comes to green energy. If solar could compete with fossil fuels you would see utility companies moving to solar. When companies have to consider the availability of sunlight, the cost of solar goes way up. Solar panel are not very efficient in Europe, why do you think Germany is building a pipeline from Russia to Germany to carry natural gas versus a solar farm? What you will soon find out in the coming years is the fact we have entered a cooling period of the planet. NASA has reported the glaciers in Greenland have increased in size these past two years. NOAA shows 2016 as being the warmest year on record, 2017, 2nd warmest, and 2018, the 4th warmest. Notice the trend? WE are entering solar cycle 25 and a reduction in sunspots, similar to what the planet experienced during the Little Ice Age. Next winter (2019-2020) is expected to be as cold as this last winter and the winter 2020-2021 is going to be even worse. Just a heads up for those of you who believe in this man caused global warming, CO2 has played very little in the past 140 years of warming.
sanjuansteve2019-10-03 12:11
We should all be using electric vehicles charged from the excess power generated from our home, business and covered parking rooftop solar arrays making nearly everything we do 100% solar powered. The cost per distance driven is ridiculously cheap when you are your own solar fuel station (less than $0.01 USD per mile)! #nobrainer We cannot afford to continue to burn fossil fuels!
Axxess Mundi2019-10-04 01:55
Nuclear is the present and future. I'm all for alternative green energy but nuclear will dominate. Yes, even recycling nuclear waste (green nuclear) for power by Terrapower Bill Gates and Thorium.
Benjamin Pitkin2019-10-05 18:20
If renewable energy sources are so cheap why are they being subsidised? The free market isn't stupid. If it was actually cheaper energy companies would be on top of this in a heartbeat. The simple fact of the matter is that whole of life cycle for energy generation requires systems which have adequate energy recovery - sufficient for the recovery of manufacturing energy input, and which operate reliably, long service life, and environmentally friendly disposal after decommissioning. Solar and wind generators aren't there yet. Solar panels break, and wind turbines fail. There's a huge investment of exotic materials and no thought into the recycling of these components. The payback time for these systems is much longer, and in some scenarios these systems might never repay their manufacturing cost. Additionally, solar panels don't supply electricity without sunlight, and windfarms don't operate when the wind isn't blowing. These sources cannot provide on-demand power. To be useful they must be coupled with energy storage - and we don't have readily available and environmentally friendly forms of energy storage. The simple fact of the matter is that the technology isn't there yet. So why do we build these massive renewable projects? It's for people to feel good, and politicians and companies to virtue signal. I'd say stop polarizing this argument. It's time for environmental advocates to stop dictating solutions and let the engineers and scientists do their jobs. Renewable technology should be implemented when it's good and ready. Not before.
Nadejda Schmidt2019-10-06 12:28
It was alot of Solerpanel just to make 150 Megawatt energy, when you can make the same enrgy with only 19 windmill's 1 windturbine make 8 Megawatt, so you only need 19 of them, and the space all the solar panels take, and all the metal they use just to keep the panel flot on the river, then i'm more in to wind turbine like we use in Denmark, in year 2030 we will have only wind turbine energy in all our contry, clean energy for all the contry only with windturbine, we already have 50-60% now, so soon we will be up on 100% wind turbine energy for all our contry and even sell to Sweden or Germany clean energy..Vestas wind turbine in Denmark made in Denmark.
01harvey2019-10-08 06:41
We only have 12 years so f u ck it
YogiDevendra Biriyani2019-10-09 04:54
Im in florida and we have the only solar farms in the country besides california (which only has one!!) we need to invest and fund R&D here in the US to invent the most efficient and least polluting production methods for solar!!! we need to store the huge farms in cali (they have the most sunlight AND the most physical extra space) and send the power out to the rest of the country!
+Xtra Moist I concur. We need modern infrastructure on nuclear facilities. Especially in recycling nuclear waste and Thorium invested research. The efficiency is too obvious.
Xtra Moist2019-10-12 19:59
I can't believe nuclear never gets mentioned when talking about sustainable energy. With current technology, nuclear power emissions is comparable to or even less than that of solar and wind - including spent energy storage when considering kWh generated by nuclear compared to solar and wind. And as far as I know we haven't even commercially used Thorium which solves some problems Uranium reactors have. At least compared to coal, nuclear is much safer and more sustainable. In my opinion, we shouldn't keep all our eggs in one basket. I think the future is renewables AND nuclear. Especially nuclear if we keep making progress with nuclear fission.
Graeme Curtis2019-10-12 23:11
Hi Benjamin, Did you watch this documentary? If you did then watch it again. If you didn’t then watch it. All your points are valid and answered. The solution offered here are not the only options but the problems stated are real and need immediate action.
Wilson Wilson2019-10-14 05:51
"Liberalism is a mental disorder" yeh ok buddy, are you fucking 12 years old? You sound like another angry little American, fearful of change. Is renewable energy going to change your life style? At all? No fucking way, if anything you might have cleaner air, you dont want that? Whoever said renewables will save the planet? Its not just about the environment you dick wad..you talk about "mental disorders" you're trolling videos just to disagree with other viewers who dont think like you..it is you.with thr MENTAL DISORDER you angry little turd!
Gei Xiong2019-10-14 21:00
This India guy here is quite Arrogant. He must be the new American. In a way, if America shut it's door on Immigrants like people like that, America's talents will be cease. China has more than a million Graduate working on all phases of innovations. America won't be able to catch up. Not to mention all the Bureaucrats and Corruptions that will disrupt progress along the way. Europe might stay on track with the future if Europe stay working with the Chinese. One good thing that will put the Chinese ahead of everyone is : They have the right political mandate and the right people in Power. America is in a Self Destruct Political Termoy, America is down for the count.
Ellenor Bovay2019-10-15 23:18
Too bad we elected a moron for president. So close....
Bill Parr2019-10-17 19:51
We need to start competing with China fairy in all the fields specially in energy field.
I can never be convinced economy war against China is good thing. We need to compete with China not drag them down forcefully to balance out the national deficit. That is very wrong. That's like saying "Ok you made more money than us by selling us more things than what we sell to you so you need to pay more." That's what normally bully does to you in real life.
Margeret Heath2019-10-20 01:02
I so enjoy the forward thinking ingenuity of the collective Chinese clean energy community design ethos.
Tore Lund2019-10-21 10:03
This is from Holland and Sweden, not the same thing. Wind power in Denmark has hit a roadblock. Nobody wants their ocean view spoiled by turbines. So even if the Danish government have goals for getting more EVs on the road, no plan for renewable energy exists to match that demand. That's why it isn't featured in this video.
anas qaisi2019-10-21 14:46
about Trump and solar panels on the white house roof 19:00, I bet he doesn't know they even exist
first Impression2019-10-22 03:25
Decentralized: big money doesn't like this word. The guy talking about batteries should update his knowledge since he sounds like someone living in the past. Besides, I am pretty sure that wind can produce energy at night.
Dustin Hill2019-10-22 19:00
GOVERNMENTS are inherently INEFFICIENT, and are the world's largest polluters. Expecting legislation to fix the problem is like asking a bully to come help your timid child gain self confidence. Or a pedophile to babysit for you. Good ideas don't require force. And government laws and regulations are all backed by force, threats, and guns. The free market runs on natural principles like all ecosystems do. Governments do not have the same built in response system, and are therefore unsustainable.
WS Intern2019-10-24 12:10
TOO LATE, VERY VERY BIG PROBLEM METHANE IS A BIG BOMB , every day coming 200.000 new polluters to this planet. Nobody will stop this and oil is used more and more. So take your health insurance cards, possessions, money, credit cards, language skills, diplomas and fancy titles. In 10 till 12 years you can burn it with the rest of this planet
diversification and unsubsidized competition are needed. Technologies need to be judged on their merits, not on their ability to arrange crony government deals. Are you familiar with the #NonAggressionPrinciple?
Percy Jackson Fandom2019-10-27 05:09
yey We have a chance of surviving I just need to convince mom :)
E Rouani2019-10-28 09:49
Renewables will NEVER be enough if we are not ready to decrease our energy consumption. Not enough of everything that is constituent of renewables.
Peter Kese2019-10-29 16:18
Yet there's 80 million additional people on this planet every single year. It is unlikely that consumption will ever decrease until population stops growing and every person on earth gets middle-class lifestyle. Renewables simply won't be enough. Maybe nuclear if people stop thinking irrationally.
+Greg White LOL Of course you don't. LOL
+first Impression Yeah, I'm one of those people who don't live in fairy land powered by unicorn farts. You'll figure it out one day, good luck to you.
+Greg White Oh, now I got it. Why didn't you say you are one of these people before ? Now I feel stupid trying to have a normal conversation with you. LOL.
+first Impression Solar was too expensive 10 years ago and it's too expensive today and it will be too expensive in 10 more years. It's simple, solar is a very low density, intermittent source of energy that will never replace fossil fuels, regardless of technology breakthroughs. In Germany, the capacity factor for solar is 10%, how could they possibly run their country on that. If you are interested in the future of global energy, look up molten salt reactors, lots of information available.
+Greg White LOL you are so funny. Did you invent this terminology yourself ? That battery was made as big as needed. The goal was to help during pick times. That doesn't mean you can't create a bigger battery if necessary. Prices for batteries are going down just like for solar energy itself. You saying batteries are to expensive sound exactly like people saying solar is to expensive 10 years ago.
+first Impression Sorry to be the one to tell you, but that battery is not a storage battery, it's a buffering battery. It smooths out the always fluctuating voltages coming in from wind and solar. It has about 8-11 minutes of total capacity. With it they don't have to keep as many diesel generators idling.
+Greg White There are no grid level batteries? You mean except that one Tesla created in Australia ? I love how people don't know what they are talking about...
There are no grid level batteries, and if they get invented, they will just make wind and solar unaffordable.
+Greg White governments own ocean fronts and land where to build these systems.
That future assures global poverty
No, they don't, there are no grid level storage batteries.
Dustin Hill Absolutely! But central gov are never going to willingly put more funding in local hands. I think we will need to create our own local/regional economies, and the low tech Green solutions are all localised so that is the way things are going, short circuit the central system!.
decentralizing the funding of energy funding and development is also important. Instead of stealing the money through taxation and then letting politicians and bureaucrats give it to their friends who have invested in "green" companies.
Olena Girich2019-11-12 06:26
This documentary shows perfectly clear that solid state batteries is where the next energy revolution will happen. The new "fracking" so to speak...
Rob Grant2019-11-13 12:10
How Green Energy has 47 years to do it.... BP
Dominic Adams2019-11-15 03:08
Nuclear power is carbon free and capable of base load power. why do we believe that covering our planet in toxic solar panels is a good idea when the alternatives just make so much more sense
HardWarUK2019-11-15 16:40
I worry about the lack of resources to build the power storage batteries to give the power when the wind/sun isn't there. These need lots of metals and minerals that are running out.
Bradley Irwin2019-11-15 23:37
What if the western powers have a long term game plan, and they are just playing dumb at the moment? Wouldn't that be an ultimate gotcha moment long term....
The Daily Conversation2019-11-16 22:39
This channel is incredible. Dear Netherlands, thank you for putting such excellent content into the world.
Justin25342019-11-17 19:17
When he finds out he'll take em down, but somd coal generators up there lol
Dennis Cambly2019-11-18 07:53
Before you purchase a vehicle powered by electricity ask yourself - What is the source of the electricity your vehicle will use? I am in favor of moving away from fossil fuel, however, once again people are being sold on the idea by switching to automobiles. Very few talk about rapid transportation without fossil fuel. Wind is being sold as a green energy when in fact it uses tremendous amounts of non-renewable resources to build and maintain.
Hit Reset Button2019-11-19 03:45
+Dennis Cambly soooo what did you say? Your comment sure looked like a status quo stance on fossil fuel usage. Oh and by the way...fossil fuels cost huge dollars to get from the mine to the polluting power plant to ultimately your electrical appliance...spare a thought here thanks.
+Hit Reset Button I did not say so
Maintain the status quo right???
Baseload is an obsolete concept where a decentralized grid is being discussed. Apply a bit more imagination before commenting next time.
Noah Gomes2019-11-23 10:43
Anyone have summary of this?
Eunice Lobb2019-11-24 15:32
One solution to. the intermitent energy supply is to pump water into a reservoir using surplus energy then release it through a turbine when energy is needed
+Hit Reset Button As we move to an environmentally friendly world we need to ask questions. I pointed to one example of something being sold as green when it requires non-renewable energy and non-renewable resources.
+Hit Reset Button your renewables always need natural gas backup and I actually dream of a world of energy richness not energy poverty... have you seen the state Germany is in because they doubled down on renewables? Compare them to France who have plenty of nuclear Edit... that being said, nuclear only makes sense for cities etc and renewables will have their place where the energy needs are less and storage solutions are adequate in a small decentralised grids out in the sticks as it were
Summerland2019-11-28 17:45
Here in America. I have been telling my friends about China's progress. Unfortunately their brains run on oil.
Victor Given2019-11-29 17:14
What a feel good load of nothing I hope you get the grant or what ever you did this for, time wasters
Henrik Knudsen2019-11-29 21:26
When do people think by themselves ? WHAT do plants live off ? WHAT is everything created by ? What is fossil fuel made of ? IF YOU CAN ANSWER THE 3 LATEST QUESTIONS DO NOT NEED TO SEE THIS VIDEO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-nsU_DaIZE&fbclid=IwAR0poWHfTLWhxDXgnZjqk-mvQLPaVPyOf3URgqiW03oUhYKE-d5V23fsSN8
Animal Loverjulian2019-11-30 00:36
I’m Canadian and I think about 2050-2100
Jsledge852019-11-30 22:30
I hear a whole lot of unwarranted left-leaning helter skelter in this documentary. Listen people, we can produce large amounts of carbon-free energy beginning this year if society would simply muster the collective political will to do so. In fact we can produce so much energy that we will not have to alter our personal habits, adopt hideous architectural designs, or otherwise be inconvenienced. How, you say? Its called modern nuclear energy. Now, I know what your thinking? I don't want to glow in the dark, I am scared about a Fukushima and Chernobyl style meltdown. You might have even thought about the problem of nuclear waste. While you arguably have legitimate concerns, if you are not embracing this technology you are simply foolish or you are not truly serious about curbing carbon emissions. First, it is simply a fact that you are exposed to more radiation while you are sitting on a plane or eating a banana than the miniscule amount of radiation that you escape into the outside environment from a modern nuclear power generation station. Second, Fukushima was a fifty year old reactor that was built in an area near a major fault line that was known to be prone to tsunamis. Similarly, Chernobyl was an inherently flawed reactor design that had no containment dome! Third, nuclear waste does not neatly fit into the definition of waste, much of what we currently call nuclear waste is perfectly reusable. In fact, if the US could build a series of breeder reactors like France has we could have a closed nuclear fuel cycle. Breeder reactors, unlike conventional reactors, make more nuclear fuel than they consume. This fissile material (nuclear fuel) can be recycled and reused to generate more power in the future. What little byproducts that remain are generally radioactive for a few hundred years, not thousands or millions of years. This makes underground disposal much more simpler, a underground salt dome would probably suffice. Additionally, we can easily build and design fourth generation nuclear power plants that are not only safer and more efficient than their predecessors, but are virtually devoid of proliferation risk and in some cases are designed to be inherently incapable of melting down . Thorium and molten salt reactors are reactor types that hold special promise. Thorium is many more times abundant than uranium and gram per gram holds hundreds of more energy potential than coal. If that was not exciting enough new modular systems (nuclear batterys the size of a hot tub) have been patented that can cheaply power a small city or a series of small towns. This is an excellent choice for power generation for remote parts of the United States and elsewhere. Such units are passive (they don't require a manned crew for power generation) and can not be tampered with once they are encased in their subterranean concrete housing.
Alek Jan2019-12-01 23:17
sure, china is lead the pack, they did the e-bike ahead of everybody, and now they are suffering for it because they can't recycle batteries...........they DID it without thinking long term
Ben2019-12-03 04:24
Renewable energy has it's cost. It is not completely environmental friendly. It may be better than coal and oil, but it takes a lot of material to build something that breaks very easily. Solar and wind energy does do damage to wild life. And solar panels uses materials that are not bio degradable and also contains materials that are harmful if not disposed properly. I applaud China for taking steps towards renewable energy over coal. Their cities are in horrible conditions. So are the cities in India. Someone said Trump has taken steps to put renewable energy progress backwards. I think so far all he has done is undo regulations that limit carbon fuel energy usage. He has done nothing to reverse the progress of renewable energy. If renewable energy's progress requires a handicap on any other kind of energy, than i think more research is needed to improve it. But i am a strong supporter of Nuclear energy, just like the way France is doing it. Compared to Germany who is going strong on renewable energy, France has done more to reduce carbon emissions as well as provide cheaper energy compared to Germany. Nuclear waste disposal? Not a problem. Just ask the French. Someone once mentioned ... the future of our energy is Solar. That is 200 years time. We still don't have the tech to manage solar perfectly yet. Among the many pit fall of solar is irregular out put of energy and the mass amount of batteries needed to store it's energy which again ... pollution. Perhaps in 100-200 years time, we will reach the tech to be able to harness the solar power perfectly without having any environmental damage. But right now, nuclear is the answer. Less regulation and politics will allow nuclear energy to be the cheapest and most efficient energy we can have. And if managed properly ... it is safe. 3 nuclear power plant melt down in the history of man kind. 2 had fatalities and or environmental damage. Both were due to human error which were completely preventable. And even with that said ... it is still the safest for of energy we have based on statistics.
While young, that chap is certainly stupid...on a micro scale this is a very easy problem to solve through V2G (vehicle to grid) and V2H (vehicle to house) technology. I for one am already set-up for this next step in the renewables revolution.
Stick with fossil fuels right??? Good one Dino the dinosaur.
Michael Ginever2019-12-06 00:46
It was a good programme, but it would have been better with some English subtitles. I speak neither Dutch or Mandarin.
Hi Michael Ginever, if you put them on in CC then you can watch it with English subtitles!
Heart Catskills2019-12-08 04:21
Stop with the climate bull schitt... such a load... it's getting so played out.
Raymond Bradford2019-12-09 11:48
I wish America was doing more of the same America is failing in technology and renewable resources all to please the oil industry
David James2019-12-10 15:06
@19:06 i can tell this guy is a liberal. Making up facts about Donald Trump!! He is just ass burnt because Donald Trump backed out of the Paris Accord because he didn't believe this was fair that India and China would be allowed to build coal powered factories paid for by the United states. This agreement was going to. Be in effect for years to come. Trump believes all countries should contribute their fair share, and the American worker and their families should not be on the hook. I for one can no longer carry the worlds burdon, i am overworked, underpaid, and stressed out. Trump 2020
China lies!!! They are a short sighted greedy people. The only reason manufacturing moved to china is because of their lax enforcement of energy, pollution, and human rights. Google how many coal powered power plants they start up every year!! You are the brainwashed one if you believe these feel good documentaries and their small impact stories.
The world is going too need Nuclear power too keep up with demand of energy but wind and solar will definitely have there roll as well
Sergiy Markutsya2019-12-13 12:22
Nice documentary. Just one comment: China is not a free market country. "Magic of China" is based on a three whales: 1. Huge flow of cash coming from production of literally everything; 2. Cheap labor offered by China; 3. China uses (both legally and illegally) oversea technologies. China has no future as soon as two out of three of these whales will disappear.
Janine Westlund2019-12-14 00:50
Storage costs are falling on a similar cost curve to solar and storage also increases the value of renewables. I think the grid will ultimately be a combination of nuclear, renewables, and storage. Storage and nuclear is where investment should be directed
Peter Jamieson2019-12-15 16:58
Climate change is a natural thing with minimal input from Humans. Everything coming from Europe is not always the best, it's always about money.
HardWarUK We aren’t in danger of running out of metals and minerals and they can be recycled from products at the end of their life. Not to mention, increasing prices of less common metals and minerals spurs investment in the development of new mining sites and investment in technology to limit the use of that metal or mineral in products
yarpos2019-12-19 10:11
The "transition to green energy" is a BS meme. Its destructive, costly and a negative drain on any 1st world economy.
Michael Lovely2019-12-21 05:24
Talk to us about China's plan for clearing up the annual smog and air pollution as well as building islands and destroying artificial reef. Why is china eager to secure the entire swaths of sea and claim it as there own if it was not for oil and gas resources underneath? Are you even aware there are other countries in Asia and not just China or this video sponsored?
getsnoopy5f2019-12-21 19:18
+Greg White Yes, they do. Look up their Powerpack series of batteries.
David G2019-12-22 06:13
Sooner or later the grownups are going to get tired of listening to this rubbish and set things straight. Not sure how the brainwashed are going to come to their senses but it will occur, no doubt. First of all, fossil fuels are as natural a burning trees as firewood. All fossil fuels were once plants and micro organism. It's stored energy from the sun. The real problem with burning fossil fuels is pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. CO2 is not only natural but an important component of air. The amount of CO2 in the air is not only at normal levels but is actually lower than than ideal. Remember plants use the carbon to grow. Greenhouses pump in CO2 to accelerate plant growth. That pot you have been smoking, the veggies you have been eating are a direct result of CO2. Despite what Al Gore says, CO2 is a good thing. Al Gore is wrong when he says that CO2 is causing global warming. It's not, for no other reason than because the earth has been slowing warming since the ice age. It's been colder, it's been hotter. It's no big deal. Now... with that said. The future will likely see a trend towards fracking and natural gas. It burns cleaner, as-in there isn't as much of that nasty SO2 AND NO2 which causes people to have asthma and other health issues. It's also cheap and there are gobs of it under every land mass in the free world. For example, England could become energy independent if only it would allow fracking for natural gas. Global warming is a ruse. Yes it is. Young people for several decades have been used as pawns in what is really a progressive power struggle for political control of the world. They are lying and have lied for several decades now. The good news, everything is going to be ok. In North America more and more power plants are switching to natural gas. This trend will likely carry across the world. The future, you will likely see more electric cars because they are simply better than gas and diesel. Wind turbines are doomed. They are an eye sore, maintenance nighmare and really not economical. Solar panels will be meh. They will be used in remote locations along with mobile vehicles like RVs. Right now in American you can buy electricity from the power company from $0.10 to $0.16 cents per kilowatt. That is cheaper than solar power and doesn't require any capital investment. Conclusion, sooner or later people are going to learn these truths and come to their senses. They will be exposed to the lies. They will know that Al Gore is a fraud. If you don't believe my rant, study up on geology. A chemistry refresher couldn't hurt anyone either.
chaz Gurrero2019-12-23 21:36
U.S.!! LETS UTILIZE 10% OF GDP / 10% OF MILITARY EXPENDATURE & CREAT " 03. % on electric long term STORAGE " if we did this simultaneously apply these group of ideas into most efficient agriculture, energy apply savings to eliminate taxation. And " WE tHE PEOPLE " will spend & invest in our own financial 4 generations to restore growth whare we left off.We would surpass Passed economies on behalf OF WE THE PEOPLE We will spend more wisely. Thank you for listening. An actual miracle of our life. In the PRESENT. Let us once again be the economic modern financial trail blazers since the Industrial revolution. Once again Leading the world trailblazing into the foreseeable future." Let us be free "to the" WORLD."
Martin Herald2019-12-25 00:00
Nothing in this can be taken too seriously. for example, the so called expert proclaiming, that cars are not necessary. When her hired bicycle is banned from certain areas of Chinese cities, because they jam up public access areas, because they are just left anywhere. Also, try moving the double bed out of your house, in the rain on one of them. Yes, we don't need cars.... whatever, this is propaganda.
onelegkahn2019-12-26 14:41
The question no one is asking and no one cares to answer is: When people do develop a renewable energy infrastructure, what will stop governments of developing weapons which run on renewable energy? Oil controls war and the reason there hasn't been a war on a global scale in 70 years. Oil controls war.
Groanups Gurude2019-12-27 20:46
CHANGING CLIMATE'S going to do in us Primates. Also the birds, though they can't read these words. The dodo was doodoo we flushed down the loo, too. And the trees and the seas and the bugs and the pugs. And not just the plants and the animal zoo ..... the tiniest planktons that make the O2. It's so terribly sad when ONE species ..... just ..... ceases. You'd think we'd had a special plot, "Exterminate the bloody lot!" Deniers and liars and industry hires, weave and deceive us, their gullible buyers. So now we have the great distinction of bringing on our own extinction. And know what's really, really funny? We're FOSSIL FOOLS in love with money." The End??????
Mister Misanthrope2019-12-28 02:18
Green means nothing. Extremely cheap or free means everything. If you want to be green then you can send everyone back to the stone age and make people live like the animals.
Praque Forqsk2019-12-29 06:59
It may be underway but it is painfully slow. Btw employment in Sweden isn't all that brilliant. They love LGBT out there. The people are too liberal and have no real values. Nothing new in this video. Just a load of European quacks.
Ogre MGTOW2019-12-30 15:03
You are going to need a LOT of batteries.
Nathan Lewis2019-12-31 03:57
Ogre MGTOW That’s what the gigafactories are for.
You're out of your mind.
mark garland2020-01-02 17:46
Renewables made from oil products. Brilliant.
Utubedarr2020-01-04 08:34
They forget that the reason China can run so fast is that the communist DICTATE to everyone without any recourse. You either play ball or come up missing in a labor camp. People are pushed from behind (for these energy policies) and if they turn around get punched in the face(Tiananmen square anyone)?
Vick Medel2020-01-05 21:08
ENERGY CHANGE? YES! FOR POWER GRIDS ONLY, NOT TO TRANSPORTATION FUELS.2019 and beyond Internal Combustion Engines still to reckon with … Internal combustion engine has been around more than a century and it should be around beyond decades to come. This is for the motorists not to slow down their travel mode, changing lifestyle, more so to the business economy. There’s no substitute to liquid fuels for transportation vehicles in terms of Robotic Functioning and Molecular Alchemy. Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create MECHANICAL ENERGY, usually producing KINETIC ENERGY, It’s the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable instead of the fluid. Most liquid fuels in widespread use are derived from fossil fuels; however, there are several types, such as hydrogen fuel (for automotive uses), ethanol, and biodiesel, which are also categorized as a liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels play a primary role in transportation and the economy. Efficiency --- YES! Pricey --- Yes, because it’s the price of an environment-friendly fuel ... not to be a hypocrite about nature.What is direct injection and indirect injection? Indirect injection in an internal combustion engine is fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber. ... Direct injection allows the fuel to be precisely metered into the combustion chamber under high pressure which can lead to greater power, fuel efficiency with added feature of a … Catalytic Converter to address the Gas emission.
Ed- 2092020-01-06 20:19
What utter bollocks, like watching a communist propaganda film. Save yourself 44.52 minutes and go read up on nuclear power and vertical farming
badweetabix2020-01-08 18:50
Made by someone who never lived next door to a wind generator. The constant noise pollution from it is enough to drive a person insane.
Dennis Renner2020-01-08 21:18
We cannot continue to grow. Growth is the problem. Humans will need to go to plant based foods. Of course politics is no way to govern. Governance will have to based on the science, facts, and evidence. Capitalism will have to be replace by resource based economies. Having a money-less society will solve most of the social stratification issues.
We lost. China builds bridges and we build walls
Mr ThuGamer2020-01-09 08:36
Or just better ones maybe
jamie dow2020-01-12 21:30
Unfortunately our politicians only think 4 years ahead and any progress makes Albertans pissy.
Zhe Black2020-01-14 02:12
Producing batteries is as much if not more polluting than fossil energy
Bill the Builder2020-01-14 21:40
....2/3 of energy will be renewable by 2050? That is 31 years away. Look at the advancements in just the last 10 years. As long as the storage problem is solved, wind and energy will be viable. Don't forget nuclear. Nuclear currently provides 20% of the US electrical supply. New nuclear technologies the size the power nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers could be distributed reducing the concentration of energy sources.
Roedy Green2020-01-15 01:29
The middle part of the doc is all in Chinese. Make sure you have subtitles turned on.
Wu Me2020-01-15 23:49
Thankyou for a fascinating documentry, what amazed me was that I had not subscribed to the channel before something thankfully can rectify. Thanks again for the all the curators whose work this represents!!
nova00boss2020-01-17 17:47
Great video. Thanks for the upload. Unfortunately, reading the comments makes me lose hope in humanity again. How are we going to deal with so much stupidity.
Curmudgeon2020-01-18 06:43
I was under the impression that Kiwis were environmentally aware and open-minded, apparently not. If you think that your isolation will protect you from the effects of climate change, I'm afraid you are sadly mistaken.
EXAM PREP: MS-101 | Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security | BRK1052 2020-01-18 17:37
NASA in Silicon Valley Live - Air Taxis and the Future of Flight 2019-12-22 15:23
Intro to the Arches Platform: Part 2 - Data Management Tools 2019-12-21 16:12
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Bloggers are people too.
New Hampshire Sports Forum :: General :: The Bleachers
GNG on Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:57 am
I heard this yesterday on Pete's radio show, and it's been sticking in my craw.
Marc Thaler dismissing bloggers, I don't have the exact quote, bloggers aren't writers, something to that effect. It was said in a condesending way.
Made me think. I wonder how many people come here first thing in the morning to get their hs sports news, and opinions.
I come here first, sports page second, Jeremy third.
Speaking of NH sports pages. Sometimes Dave the glass half empty is 100 % right. Nobody has written more positive things about BG then me, but I am also realistic.
OK I'm on a roll now. Two other things.
I am listening to FNL Friday, and the 2 hosts are going on about Dimitri {they had no clue he was hurt}, so I call the station and tell the guy that answers the phone that Floras is out and he should relay the message. He didn't and these guys didn't find out until Jeremy came on much later. A little homework goes a long way.
My other gripe is the combo hockey/ hoops show. No doubt Tarrier does his homework, and Thaler knows his hockey. It's like putting ketchup on lasanga. I don't know of many high school hoop heads who care about hockey, and visa versa.Maybe one hour straight hoops and the next hour straight hockey.
I hope it doesn't come off as critical. I know any show promoting hs sports is good. My dream team of hosts is Jeremy, Pete, and Dave talking hoops {all divisions} for 2 hours every Saturday. Now that would be a show.
One thing to keep in mind for you radio hosts. I am sure a large part of your audience is the same people who come to these sites. Bloggers may not be writers, but the bloggers on this site know their hs sports.
Blogger bashing
tarrier on Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:13 pm
Here's a link to the segment which had GNG feeling a little "blogger bashed" by my co-host Marc Thaler from yesterday's edition of "The NH High School Sports Show" on WGIR-AM 610 and 96.7FM "The Wave". I was asking Marc for his professional opinion on how I handled the release of the news of Dimitri Floras' injury which I learned from Merrimack coach Tim Goodridge. Click to listen.
http://www.wgiram.com/player/?station=WGIR-AM&program_name=podcast&program_id=NEWSSTORIES.xml&mid=21770209
tarrier
Re: Bloggers are people too.
Tulliver on Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:03 pm
Well my take is this -
Journalists have to adhere to a different set of standards than bloggers. Bloggers have more leeway but they also have to work harder to develop trust.
Any random person can put anything out there on a blog - or a forum - without any fact checking or seriousness. Does anyone remember the voyforum?
Journalists who work for established news agencies receive the trust that their news organization has built. But, because they're part of a news organization they also have to be more cautious as they answer to an organization' standards as well as their own.
PS - I think Tarrier acted in good faith and amended the information as new info came in. It happens.
Combo hockey/hoop
tarrier on Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:13 pm
I wanted to also address the GNG comment/complaint about how we talk about NH High School hoop AND hockey on our Sat radio show. In full honesty, I was never much of a high school hockey fan, or a hockey fan in general until recently. I've enjoyed going to Monarchs games and following/covering that team over the last 11 seasons, but I REALLY got "hooked on hockey" during last years magical Stanley Cup Championship run by the Boston Bruins. I'm sure alot of people jumped on the B's bandwagon last year and I'm glad I'm one of them. So with the recent rebirth of hockey in New England, when we launched the winter edition of "The NH High School Sports Show" on WGIR/96.7 "The Wave" in December we opted to go with a hoop and hockey mix. Add in the fact that Marc Thaler is the lead high school hockey writer for the Union Leader and he also features hockey on his www.nhgameday.blogspot.com website(yes, GNG he's a blogger too!)...it made perfect sense for us to take advantage of his strengths and show NH High School hockey some love too. Business-wise, it also makes sense to appeal to a bigger audience for both ratings and sponsorship reasons. The other reason we do hoops/hockey is I wanted to differentiate from the show I used to do on WGAM which was/is all hoops. I'm a competitive guy, and I really want to make sure my show is better, more well done, more informative and more entertaining and ultimately more listened to than what the other guys on the radio are doing. The bottom line, whether it's this forum, the radio, TV, newspapers, websites like NHSportspage, NH Notebook, etc...there's more people promoting NH High School sports than ever before which is a good thing in my opinion.
Tuesday and Friday on Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:57 pm
I will weigh in on this topic. I am not here to criticize other sport's information outlets or people (broadcasters and writers) who write about and promote HS sports in NH. Every one does their job with professionalism or if it's "bloggers", while not being their job, their passion comes through. I like to think my passion and love for HS sports (along with other Forum members), especially basketball, shows in my postings and my verbal forays with The Asst, Tulliver, GNG and others.
I will point out some facts about the Forum. In the last 2 years the Forum has been the first site that has broken news about 3 very important news items:
1) Tony Johnson stepping down as BG football coach.
2) Dimitri Floras injuring his wrist.
3) Mike Mitchell Jr being suspended for the D2 State Basketball Title game as a junior.
I'm sure there are other news items this Forum was the first to report, but the above 3 are the biggest to my knowledge. The Forum also knew about Dimitri Floras coming back to Merrimack before any other outlets, but the moderators decided to let the "regular outlets" break the news first.
What is a "regular outlet" these days? I can tell you the line is finer between what is a "regular outlet" these days for information and what is not a regular outlet. I can make this informed assumption: I can confidentally say most hard core fans of HS sports would have a tendency to check out the Sports Forum for information first or second before they go to "regular outlets." How do I know this? I talk to a lot of people who tell me this. Look at the registered members we have so far. We are at 233 now. Think about the unregistered people checking out our site on game days, game nights and the day after. I'm willing to bet a majority of them go here before they go to NHIAA, UL, Telegraph or most any other site that covers HS sports.
3 or 4 times this year I had the oppurtunity of being at a prime HS basketball game and posting updates and info instantly on the Forum for members and non members to see. Do you get that with other sites that cover HS sports? You have your answer.
Again, I'm not here to get into a squirting contest with other sites or people who cover HS sports. Please remember this. With regards to HS basketball I attend summer league games, fall games, AAU games and a lot of HS games during the regular and playoff season. I talk to a lot of coaches, players, officials and fans for 12 months in every year. One would be ill advised to use the statement, "he's just a blogger and doesn't know what he's saying", with me, other moderators and other Forum members.
In the end we are just trying to have fun talking about HS sports and in the end promoting the athletes, coaches and sports they play. It is their passion that fuels our passion to talk about the sports and to attend the games.
Jeremy Leveille on Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:57 pm
Just now listened to that clip by Thaler...wow, that's a slap in the face. I'm emailing him now with some choice words.
Bloggers are people too
GNG on Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:58 pm
This was what I posted before ANYONE in NH. "I just got word Dimitri Floras is out quite awhile with a wrist injury sustained against Concord."
The game was played on a Tuesday. The best player in NH gets seriously injured and a blogger has to be the first to report it three days later.
You should be thanking us, not ridiculing us.
Jeremy Leveille on Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:20 pm
I sent a lengthy email to Thaler earlier today. I would prefer to keep any issue I have with his comments between him and I rather than putting it on here. But I will say this. The guy really needs to wake up and realize that it's 2012. People nowadays don't get their information from newspapers, they get it on the internet.
One other thing that rubbed me the wrong way. He says that if it was him he would have called up Dimitri on the phone to verify his injury status before reporting anything. Really Marc? Seriously? Ok, first off it's easy for him to second guess looking back at the situation in hindsight. Secondly, here's a look at how this conversation would have likely played out if he had called Dimitri up on the phone...
Dimitri: Hello?
Thaler: Dimitri, hello. This is Marc Thaler from the Union Leader.
Dimitri: Um, how did you get my cell phone number?
Thaler: Never mind that, tell me about your wrist.
Dimitri: This is really creepy that you called me on my cell phone. Do you realize I'm a 16 year old kid?
Thaler: I don't care about that. Just tell me how many games you're going to miss with that injury?
Dimitri: Um, I have to get back to class. (hangs up)
EBlessNHSP on Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:16 am
If I were everybody here I would not take his comments too seriously (or personally). Mr. Thaler himself is a Blogger: http://nhgameday.BLOGspot.com/
So there ya go...those comments he made are now a lot more confusing.
Asst - I don't believe we're taking the comments personally. Mr Thaler had an avenue on which to provide his views of a certain situation and myself, Jeremy and GNG are taking advantage of the avenue we have to put our views on a certain situation.
Ah - fair enough T&F!! I wasn't sure if some contributors were confusing the forum with a "Blog"...
JAF on Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:50 am
Disclaimer: I didn't listen to the podcast yet... IMO the difference between this "blog" and Thaler's "blog" - many people actually post and read this blog. I could say the same for Jeremy's blog too, although less people probably write there today than before. Even during football season, you don't see people responding to Thaler's blog. For me his stuff isn't as good as other sites, but then again - of the 3 sports he covers, only football interests me. I love hockey, but I'm not into the HS scene. I also don't follow HS Lacrosse. The other blogs that I have in my bookmark's are Joe Marchilena's, Dave Haley's, and Roger Brown's.
This site is fortunate to have multiple moderators keeping things "clean" and multiple writers that have a passion for the sports they follow. As we all can be aware there's a general bad rap about "bloggers" because not every blogger out there is shall we say "coherent" and "topical". Marc writes for a paper in a city where there's a lot of "non-sense" posted - ever tried following one of those UL blogs? Same could be said for the Telegraph too - there's some very one sided, strongly opinionated, and ever ready to write/post people out there. Perhaps those are the "bloggers" Marc is referring to, not us nice, mostly sane, and usually civil ones at this site!
Tulliver on Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:52 am
This is actually a debate going on in the field of journalism as the internet age redefines media.
I don't think Thaler meant the comment as harshly as some are taking it but that is my personal take.
Also, Jeremy, I will very respectfully disagree with the way you think a phone call would have been received from Thaler to Floras. MANY players at the caliber of Floras speak with the reporters on a regular basis and some have agreements with their coaches that it's okay to release their phone number to say a Pete Tarrier - a Marc Thaler etc.
Just a little food for thought about the citizen journalism debate (which this seems to fall into) for those of you interested....
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/09/your-guide-to-citizen-journalism270.html
Tuesday and Friday on Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:17 am
"Perhaps those are the "bloggers" Marc is referring to, not us nice, mostly sane, and usually civil ones at this site!"
Good point JAF.
Great comments by Tully and link to back it up, thanks for that. In the last 10 years, especially in sports, the Internet has completely transformed what many of us grew up accustomed to. I was a cereal and sports page kid in the 80s/90s and read every single word front to back. Even the box scores because god forbid I missed if Luc Longley had 3 rebounds.
Now - box scores are harder and harder to find in newspapers, the Internet has replaced those, but here in NH its still hard to find data. Tell me where you can see a box score from every NHIAA basketball game in the State? Closest thing is NHSportsPage.com and Haley has to beat down doors, pay for local paper subscriptions and in some cases rely on coaches and ADs to sporadically provide him the info. The rest of the world is playing catch-up and the newspapers have only gotten worse in the sports arena.
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, Websites, and Forums are all various vehicles to obtain content on the internet. Twitter is the instant, breaking news environment, Blogs are articles based on fact and opinion, Websites typically contain more than just stories, like stats and other functionality, and forums are a place for the common man to discuss it all, which is what we do every day here.
I do believe Thaler knew what he was saying when he made that comment, but I don't particularly care. Bottom line for those in the "online" community/media its our job to maintain integrity and focus on what we do best. If the print media wants to take jabs that's fine...they are sorely falling behind in what their sports reading customers want, which is online breaking news, scores, statistics and opinion (hm, where can you find those?) from reputable sources in a streaming platform that allows you to get if from any device (phone, ipad or computer) as soon as it happens.
The readership at these spaces will only increase as the next wave of parents, student/athletes and fans only has more exposure to the online world.
I love it when the media can provide a good topic for discussion.
Last edited by The Assistant on Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:56 am; edited 1 time in total
Jeremy Leveille on Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:26 am
I don't think Thaler was referring to people who post comments on the UL site (I doubt he bothers reading those comments). His exact words on the show were:
"In this age of bloggers, not everyone's a reporter and there's a lot of people who think they're reporters."
He said this right after Tarrier mentioned how when he spoke to Coach Goodridge about the Floras injury he texted it to Dave Haley and myself. It's not just what he said in the clip but his condescending tone as well.
Plus a couple weeks back I was a guest on their show. When I came on the show Tarrier introduced me as 'Jeremy Leveille from nhnotebook.com.' But when Thaler posted the podcast of it on his NH Game Day blog he referred to me as 'blogger Jeremy Leveille.'
You can read between the lines here and see why I'm offended listening to that clip. Joe M, Dave Haley, Roger Brown and the folks from the forum here should be offended too.
Last edited by Jeremy Leveille on Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
There is so much irony in this "issue" I can't stand it.
A. Mark Thaler has a Blog himself. He uses "Blogspot" as his method to host his website. It costs him nothing host that website and to post a story there. I don't see anywhere on his website that the Union Leader sponsors his blog, it's basically his own little personal slice of the Internet. We've seen many of these pop up all over the state (There was a DIV football blog at one point, and a track and field blog hosted by one of the coaches).
B. His comments were made on a "Podcast". I'm not sure if this podcast aired live (I assume it did) in WGIR but either way the Internet made it possible for basically all of us to hear it. What he's posted is essentially an online audio blog.
All this tells me is he basically he's not even sure what a "blogger" is. Fact of the matter is none of us really know. Its a Internetism that has gone from one thing, to another. Now anybody with a Twitter handle can be considered a "blogger". I personally don't consider posting on this forum as being a "blogger". but for others they may, so feel free to feel offended if you want. I do not. But I do think he was a bit naive by making those comments.
BTW Jeremy - being referenced as a "blogger" is not a bad thing in my book. You have your own website, you have facts from the games, you write about it and people go to your specific site to read it. That's probably more than Thaler has.
I would just say it's Thaler being Thaler and move on...
Last edited by The Assistant on Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
EBlessNHSP on Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:00 pm
I will also say this - you read about media members of all platforms taking sly shots at one another all the time. Happens right out in the open sometimes during press conferences. It is what it is. He was wrong to make that comment - but its a comment that has been made by MANY media members over the last several years. It definitely wasn't needed.
We're a small state with a fairly small sports community and following base so anything he or anybody else says in the media that is controversial is going to get picked up on and discussed. It will be interesting to hear next weeks podcast and if his comments are discussed.
HaleyNHsports on Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:01 pm
First off I appreciate the kind words about my site from my buddy over at BG (the glass is half-empty again btw..), I had fun reading the responses and my buddy Pete going into full spin control.
Personally Marc’s comments don’t affect me at all. It just doesn’t matter to me what he thinks of my site or what people like Jeremy & I do. I don’t have anything against Marc and I don’t really have a relationship with him like I do with two of his colleagues at the UL.
All I’ll say is that this kind of ‘War of Words’ (if this can even be described as that) reminds me of Rick Reilly & Bill Simmons’ feud on ESPN.com. Reilly was sort of the comical sports editorial voice of that site (which is like saying Jay Leno is the funniest guy in Late Night) after they signed him away from SI. When Simmons was signed & brought over all of his readers Reilly sort of had a ‘Who is Bill Simmons anyway?’ attitude and because Bill has famously paper thin skin a war of words ensued. The point is Reilly didn’t respect Simmons because instead of making $20 an hour at the Boston Herald Simmons started his own Digital city website and grew his audience through his hard work and how well he could write & relate to his audience. He did it the hard the way. Sound familiar?
Look when I was on varsity back at Gilford when I was 15 we finished the season on a Friday night, then on Monday morning we went to class at 7:30 and had what was called break at 9. It was at break that 12 of us on the team ran to the library in school where the Union Leader had been delivered (barely by 9) and it had the final rankings for all four classes. It was then that with our fingers we ran down the names and saw #7 Gilford…#10 St. Thomas. We were playing St. Thomas in round 1 in three days at home. Up until that moment we had no clue where we finished or who we would be playing. No clue who St. Thomas had either..
Do you think any kid in the state can imagine that scenario? That was 1988…it might as well have been 1955. The point is that the way sports is covered has changed so much. It is constantly evolving and if you’re scared of change or insecure about how people get their stats, news and information then you’re in big trouble because technology loses out as often as father time. I never thought I would ever tweet anything in my life but there I am doing it and I’ll evolve again when the next step comes along.
GNG and the Assistant are right, we should be happy we have all the information we have in a state this small. I email with & talk to coaches from Trinity, Manchester Central, Lisbon and Groveton. All the time. One with 2,000 students and one with 200. It’s possible to do that now.
I’m a fan of other sites and certainly of Pete and Marc’s radio show. If it takes some people a little longer to understand the new landscape then hey, that’s part of evolving too..
Dave Haley
HaleyNHsports
GNG on Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:36 pm
Well said Dave.
I knew you had a sense of humor.
Tuesday and Friday on Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:28 pm
What's funny is that I didn't get a chance before 7:00 to 8:30 pm last Friday before the BG at Trinity game to ask Dave if that "half full" BG boy's basketball glass was a growler, pint or shot glass...........
GNG on Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:50 am
Pete nailed it. Try going online with the union leader to get a hs story. Can't.
Union leader is the WORSE website in NH as far as getting hs sport stories. Far and away THE WORSE.
basketballtime on Sat Feb 04, 2012 3:26 pm
Thanks GNC i was wondering when someone was going to mention that the UL is the worst ever when it comes to hs sports and for that matter all of the sports coverage period. Along time ago i used to get the UL but stopped because of that exact reason. The Nashua Telegraph does it a thousand times better.
Dave Haley does it again.
GNG on Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:40 pm
Great piece about the Keene situation. Indepth reporting, not bad for a guy with a blog. Too bad we don't read these types of stories in NH newspapers online.
There are many NH high school sport related stories out there for trained reporters to write about.
All we get our feel good fluff stories.
Great job as usual Dave.
Downtown Roger Brown
GNG on Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:17 am
Nh football report has some new info on possible realignment for NH hs football for 2013.
Great insight on what is going on.
I am so happy I can wake up in the morning and go click,click on my computer and get all these FANTASTIC NH sport stories.
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by Hugh Becker Updated : Jan 13, 2020 in Articles
New Apple App Store Games #5
– [Announcer] Before this
video officially starts, I wanted to make a call to action to help the animals of my
down-under country, Australia. Right now, areas of Australia are going through devastating bush fires, causing all kinds of havoc. I’ve set up a GoFundMe page to help the animals who are suffering. If you’re interested, share the GoFundMe link in
the description or this video, and donate if you are able. All the revenue from this video will also go to the GoFundMe page, and the total donations will go directly to WIRES Australian Wildlife
Rescue Organization. Anyway, thank you for your support. Back to the video. 2020 has begun, and I’m
back with my next episode of New App Store Games episode five. This week includes five games
from the 1st to 10th January. And at the end of the
video, I’ll also update you on five huge upcoming App Store releases coming over the next few weeks and months. Number one we have Swag and Sorcery. Originally released on PC in mid 2019, in early January this streamlined RPG game was published to the
App Store by tinyBuild. Originally it was
developed by Uroboros Games and produced by Lazy Bear Games, the people behind Punch
Club and Graveyard Keeper. Swag and sorcery involves light building, managing heroes and then sending them out to defeat monsters and collect loot. This App Store version
supports cross-save support between PC, iOS and iPadOS,
which is really cool. The game features a
lot of grinding though. You’ll often do the
same thing over and over and over again, to achieve a set goal. I didn’t mind this personally, I found the gameplay addicting, and the art style is really pretty. That said, the game could benefit from more gameplay elements, and cost of items and
leveling could be cheaper. Unfortunately, right now, the game doesn’t fit the
aspect ratio on 2018 iPad Pros, which is a shame. Anyway, Swag and Sorcery goes for $6.99 USD on the App Store. Number two is The White Door. I’ve been following this
game since early 2019, and I’m super excited
that it’s finally out now. It’s made by the Netherlands
company, Rusty Lake, the people behind the Cube Escape series and other praised point
& click adventures. The White Door is still a
point & click adventure, but it’s different with a
new black and white style and a split-screen gameplay mechanic. The story shows Robert Hill, a man suffering from severe memory loss. He wakes up in a mental health facility, and players must help him to follow the facility’s daily
routines, explore his dreams and help him to recover his lost memories. The only problem with
the game is the length. You can finish it in
around, maybe three hours. But I found myself enjoying
every moment of the story here. Dear Rust Lake, please update the game to support the 2018 iPad
Pros. That would be great. The White Door costs $2.99
USD on the App Store. – [Character] I tried to touch her hand but she pulled away. And then she was gone. – [Announcer] Number three
we have Doomsday Vault. Here we a new Apple Arcade
puzzle-adventure experience by the New Zealand company Flightless, the creators of Element. In Doomsday Vault the Earth’s
climate has collapsed, and it’s up to you to collect
the remaining plant life and then them back to your vault for regrowth and safe keeping. You’ll traverse around in a robot suit, and can use different tools and abilities. I really like the game’s 3D environments, especially the post-climate backdrops. I would’ve loved if you could
rotate the camera though. I feel as though this would’ve allowed for some more cool puzzle elements. What I didn’t expect though, was to learn about different crops, from coconut palms, bananas,
cosmos, neem, maize and so on. It was super cool and I
really appreciate that. Also, because of what’s
happening on this earth, the game just can teach you about the benefits of looking after our earth. Doomsday Vault is available to download if you’re subscribed to Apple Arcade. This means it’s playable across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. It also supports controllers
and keyboards on an iPad. Number four we have
Cecconoid, or Keccenoid? I just don’t know how to pronounce it. Here we have a new
twin-stick-shooter game. It’s hard, very hard. And you know what? I love it. When you launch the game, you’ll notice it contains two games. First is Cecconoid or
Kecconoid, how do you say it, where you’ll pilot your
ship through stages, and you can shoot at different enemies. Then the second game, Eugatron, Googatron, this one involves a more arcade tone. It’s also less difficult
than the other mode, but it’s still really really hard. The game uses a black and white style, and is heavily inspired by
8-bit games from the past. It was developed by Triple-Eh? and published to the App Store by Thalamus Digital Publishing. The game costs $1.99 USD on the App Store, and supports controllers
and keyboards on an iPads. Number five is No Way Home. No Way Home is a charming space shooter, a part of Apple Arcade. It starts out where a woman is
stranded in a strange galaxy and is looking for a way home to Earth. As you explore, you’ll fight other ships, and will have to learn how to master all their different play styles. You can do this by upgrading your blaster, utilizing your grappling hook, and managing you robot companion. The robot friend reminds me of Claptrap from the Borderlands series, from his robotic voice and even his humor. I like how the game
deals with tutorials too, making it into a comedic joke, I suppose, to reduce the boredom, instead of going, press
here and press here, and then press here too. I like that. The game is brought to you by the Australian team, SMG Studio. They previously brought you Death Squared, Thumb Drift and One More Line. No Way Home is available to download if you’re subscribed to Apple Arcade. It also supports controllers. – [Cho] Your ship exploded. All passengers and crew are likely dead. You’re in a crummy safety
pod and you’re all alone. – [Matey] Ahoy! I’m your mechanical safety
pod assistant, Matey. – [Cho] My what? – And here are some of
those bonus upcoming games. Pascals Wager is releasing
in only a few days, the 16th January. It’s a fantasy action
RPG by Giant Network. It was shown running on the iPhone 11 at the Apple Special Event in
2019, you may remember this. You can pre-order it right now for $6.99 USD on the App Store, and it will automatically
download on release day. I’ll be doing a review
of this game next week, so keep a lookout for that one. – As we trail the owl, we see the benefits of
post-processing effects, including anti-aliasing and bloom, which are only possible with
the GPU of the new iPhone. – [Announcer] Maze Machina
is coming to the App Store on the 15th of January. It is a turn-based swiping puzzler that combines a tile-based item system. This allows for endless
combinations of tactical attack, defense and utility moves
on a small 4×4 grid. I’d say it will be a paid game, but a price has not been revealed yet. MADFINGER Games have revealed
that Shadowgun War Games is dropping on the 16th February. It’s the follow-up game
to Shadowgun Legends. It will feature more advanced graphics, more weapons, and
five-versus-five battles. It’s going to be free-to-play,
without pay-to-win mechanics. You can pre-order it on
the App Store right now and it will automatically
download when it’s released. – Shadowgun War Games takes place 40 years before the events
of Shadowgun Legends. It’s the age of prosperity,
the golden age of humanity, where everything is fine, everyone’s happy and everyone’s bored. When everyone’s happy,
nobody is entertained. So that’s why War Games was created, the gladiatorial combat
sport of the future. – [Announcer] Overdrive
City is an upcoming car simulation building-type
game by Gameloft. The one is available right
now on the App Store in beta, to people in Canada and
select other countries. There is no concrete release
date for the full version, but it’s said to come sometime in 2020. It will be free-to-play. Fans of Gameloft love love racing games, so I’m sure this one is
gonna do really well. Recently Feral Interactive
stated on Twitter that their real-time strategy game, Company of Heroes for iPad has been delayed until
some time in early 2020. They said and I quote, “The demands of bringing
it to a smaller screen “have outpaced our best efforts. “However, it’s looking great on iPad, “and is in the final
stages of development. “We will have an update on
it early in the new year.” This will be a paid game, but
no price has been announced. What mobile games have you
been playing so far in 2020? What other game releases are you looking forward to this year? Let’s talk about all of
this in the comments. Leaving a like is always helpful to make sure more people see this video. If you’re new to the channel, subscribe and turn on notifications, as this is the best place to find new Apple App Store releases. Anyway, thanks for watching.
New App Store Games #1 (iPhone, iPad & Mac)
New App Store Games #2 (iOS, iPadOS, tvOS & Mac)
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HomeOh Shit. Russian-Backed Syrian Troops Advance on U.S. Base in Syria
Oh Shit. Russian-Backed Syrian Troops Advance on U.S. Base in Syria
May 16, 2017 greenteeth terror, usa, World politics and warassad, ISIS, military, putin, russia, syria, war, washington
As the latest distractions, the false flag cyber attack and the completely unsupported allegations from Democrat friendly mainstream media that Donald Trump fired former FBI director James Comey because the president has a sinister closet of Russian skeletons to hide from the public look increasingly risible, the United States’ latest middle east misadventure is another step towards direct military confrontation with Russia in Syria.
This blog and our associate, The Daily Stirrer have always contended that Syria’s civil war was in fact a proxy war engineered by Washington with the aim of humiliating Russia by destroying the regime of Syrian dictator Assad, The Kremlin’s last ally with a Mediterranean coastline.
According to the Telegraph, Syrian government troops are on a direct collision course with Western Special Forces after advancing towards a U.S. training base in eastern Syria over the weekend. Several western journalists reporting from within in Syria have revealed that the US military has been heavily involved in training combat troops from many of the Islamist factions affiliated to Daesh and Al Nusra. Pro-government forces are now closing on al-Tanf, a fortified base for American and British special forces known to have been used to train Syrian rebel groups to fight ISIS near the Iraq border.
The assault is being led on the ground by Iranian forces who are commanding Syrian troops and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters. According to Washington sources, Syria is “assaulting” its own territory whereas U.S. and British troops have a legitimate reason to be there. President Assad of Syria, backed by Vladimir Putin, have on serveral occasions warned the USA that while Russian and Iranian troops are operating in Syria at the request of the legitimate Syrian government, US and British troops are in fact invaders.
Add the fact that before handing over to Donald Trump, President Barack Hussein Obama had stated many times that his administration’s priority in Syria was not to defeat ISIS and other terrorists, but to remove Assad (and presumably install a puppet government loyal to Washington and its allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
To make matters more dismal, the Assad loyalists and Iranian elite regiments are also being covered by Russian air power.
According to regional outlet al-Masdar, the aim of the Syrian offensive is to capture the Tanf Border Crossing, which links Baghdad to Damascus. With the prospects of U.S.-backed forces establishing a foothold along the strategic area, opening up the possiblity of an ISIS counter attack from within Iraq, Damascus has made it a priority to reopen the highway and retake the area.
In doing so, Syria will not only establish a vital link to Iraq but will also establish a viable land route to Iran, a strategic ally of the Syrian government.
The offensive is also running in tandem with the Syrian government’s bid to reclaim Deir Ezzor from ISIS, another strategic area because it is home to Syria’s biggest oil deposit.
According to the Telegraph, the U.S. has said it will not tolerate any attack on its base in al-Tanf, but it is still unclear how Western forces will react to the approaching threat. Russia already bombed the area in June 2016, though no injuries to American or British troops were reported.
Over the weekend, al-Masdar reported that 150 British and U.S. troops entered the Syrian battle arena while traveling through this vital crossing. It is unclear how far the United States wants to go in provoking Russia, as directly engaging these troops will put the U.S. in direct conflict with Russia’s air force. What we have seen evidence of in recent weeks however is an insane belief among the Washington elite that a nuclear war with Russia is winnable.
Europe Rejects Obama Doctrine – US Exceptionalism Is Not Acceptable
With a backlash against his efforts to bully Britons into voting to remain in the EU pushing the leave campaign into a narrow lead in opinion polls Obama’s vistit to Europe last week could hardly be described as a success. And now he has been told a foreign policy based on ‘American Exceptionalism’ is not acceptable and the USA must abide by the same international law as the rest of the world
Iran’s Ayatollahs save SyriaPutin and
Now That Russia’s Putin and Iran’s Ayatollahs Have Neutralised ISIS in Syria the focus of terror shifts to Turkey, the NATO members that, with the fuill knowledge of the USA ans European powers has been helping ISIS in its bid to overthrow the Assad regime.
The Final Curtain For Hillary’s Presidential Dream
The Obama Administration helped ignite the civil war in Syria as “the best way to help Israel,” a newly-released Hillary Clinton email published by Wikileaks has confirmed. Silly Hilly, then Secretary Of State wrote: “The best way to help Israel deal with Iran’s growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad.”
Russia’s Surprise Withdrawal From Syria? “If We Don’t Go Away, We Can’t Come back Again.
There is no doubt that the withdrawal is not quite what it seems to be, but more likely a tactical move by the Russians. The Kremlin feels it has done enough to secure the regime of President Assad, the remnants of the Sunni Muslim Free Syrian Army are no longer capable of mounting a challenge and the Syrians, along with Shi’ite militias in Iraq and Kurdish irregulars, backed by Iranian Republic an Guard troops ought to be capable of dealing with ISIS
Propaganda War: US Officials Working to Keep Russia, Europe at Odds
Speaking to the US Senate Armed Services Committee this month, Breedlove said that ” Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration from Syria in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.” These irrational remarks, and the mainstream media’s ability to convey them with a straight face, are an indication of a broken system, experts suggest.
Guess Which Political Grouping Wants To Legalise Incest and Necrophilia?
Has the headline sunk in. Yes it says there are people out there who want to legalise incest (brother /sister or parent / child sex) and necrophila (sex with dead people). Puzzled about who would want to legalise such repugnant things? I’ll give you a clue, they aren’t conservatives, libertarians or nationalists.
EU HoldsBack New Regulation For Fear Of Strengthening Brexit Case
The unelected leaders of the EU in Brussels are smothering discussion of new pan – European laws that would impact the United Kingdom and all other member states, increasing the amount of money they have to contribute to the EU budget and transferring yet more sovereignty to Brussels …
Turkey Blames Kurds, Assad For Terrorist Attack, Vows Swift Response
Yesterday came the first terrorist attack on Turkish soil. As this blog predicted President Erdogan of Turkey is blaming the Kurds and President Assad of Syria for yesterday’s bomb blast in the Turkish capital which killed and injured many people.It was predictable would the attack would be blamed on Assad and the Kurds, thus giving the nutter Erdogan an excuse to intensify his actions against Assad and the Kurds
War Is Good, The Obama Worshipping Guardian Says
Alas that all went down the pan in 2008 when the USA elected its first (and probably last) black president. Like American liberals, the hacks at The Guardian could not see past the colour of Obama’s skin and before Obama had even been sworn into office they were declaring him not just the greatest president ever but the greatest human being ever
Road To World War III: Turkey Shells Syria For Second Day As Saudi Warplanes Arrive
The geopolitical world was rocked yesterday when Turkey began shelling Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo, where the Syrian opposition has its back against the wall in the face of an aggressive advance by the forces of President Assad’s government and the Iranian Republican Guard supported, of course, by Russian airstrikes.
US Allies Now Fighting CIA-Backed Terror Groups In Syria
The idea that ISIS has very close links with the USA has gone beyond conspiracy theory, or anti US propaganda, the proof is out there. We have previously reported on the US government’s links to ISIS and revealed the vital role of NATO member Turkey in supporting the terrorists in their campaign which aims to create an Islamic Caliphate stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf
Turkey and Sadui Arabia Already Have Troops Fighting In Syria
Even mainstream media has been forced to concede that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are apparently ready to send ground forces to the Syrian battlefield as Assad’s forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian elite troops but continue to grind down ISIS forces equipped with US made arms and ammunition via Saudi Arabia and funded by Turkey’s illegal oil trade with the terrorist group.
US Military Contractors Happy With Escalating Conflicts in the Middle East
My friends and I have been telling you since the US led coalition invaded Afghanistan in 2001 that the USA’s perpetual war on terror was not about making the public safe and secure but instead about corporate profits and political power.
Crazy Obama Administration Claims It Brought Peace And Security To Syria In 2015
As fighting intensifies between ISIS, The Assad regime and its Russian, Iranian and Chinese allies and the FUKUS axis (France, UK, US) with support from Turkey as that rogue state wages a genocial campaign against the Kurds, the increasingly insane warmongers of the Obama administration is telling US voters they have brought peace and security to Syria Fortunately for Americans with enough nous to question the official narrative, new media is getting the truth out to ever increasing audiences.
Captured ISIS fighter says ‘trained in Turkey, ISIS thinks it’s safer than Syria’
Yet another report from the middle east offering more evidence that Turkey is supporting ISIS in every possible way and acting as the USA’s proxy in the Obama administration’s efforts to depose the regime of President Assad in Syria.
Putin Orders Military To “Boost Strategic Nuclear Forces” As Syria Situation Worsens
The website attracts a predominantly conservative audience so responses in the comment thread were full of Gung ho claims about American exceptionalism and the superiority of American trained soldiers […] It is already known that Pentagon officials have been shocked by the capabilities of Russia’s most advanced aircraft, the SU34 and by the advanced technology used in weaponry of Russian naval vessels now guarding the approaches to Syria’s coast.
ISIS: Know Your Enemy – Who Of Those We Think Are On Our Side Is Helping ISIS
Who is funding ISIS, how has the terror group managed to assemble such a large, well equipped and (apparently) well fed fighting force and been able to wage a two year war against the Assad regime in Syria, the forces of the autonomous Kurds and the army of the Iraqi government, such as it is? Who is facilitating their illegal oil trade that is keeping Islamic State afloat.
Greenteeth Elsewhere:
[ The Original Boggart Blog] … [ Writerbeat ] … [ Daily Stirrer.shtml ]…[Little Nicky Machiavelli]… [ Ian’s Authorsden Pages ]… [ It’s Bollocks My Dears, All Bollocks ] [Scribd]…[Wikinut] … [ Boggart Abroad] … [ Grenteeth Bites ] … [ Latest Posts ] [Ian Thorpe at Flickr ] … [Latest Posts] … [ Tumblr ] … [ Authorsden blog ] … [Daily Stirrer Headlines]
[ Ian at Facebook ]
← Ukraine’s Breakaway Donetsk Province Seek To Join Russian Federation.
Clashes in Greece as Thousands Protest EU Austerity →
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Properties of packable dental composites
Kyoung Kyu Choi, Jack Ferracane, Thomas (Tom) Hilton, David Charlton
The introduction of many new packable composites suggests that these products are rapidly gaining popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro properties of a variety of packable composites and to determine if significant enhancements in physical and mechanical properties have been achieved for these materials compared with two popular nonpackable posterior composites. For the five packable and two regular composites tested (ALERT, Pyramid-Dentin, Pyramid-Enamel, Solitaire, SureFil, Heliomolar, and Z100), the values for fracture toughness, flexure strength, flexure modulus, hardness, and volumetric polymerization shrinkage were determined. In general, although the packable composites were of heavier consistency, they had mechanical properties that were intermediate to (ALERT, Pyramid, and SureFil) or lower than (Solitaire) those of the nonpackable materials. These results could have been predicted based on the similar methacrylate resin chemistry and filler volumes of the various composites. No composite had adequate depth-of-cure when tested in increments greater than 2 mm thick. Polymerization contraction of the packable composites was similar to or higher than that of the nonpackable composites. In addition, the radiopacity of at least one material, Solitaire, was not considered to be adequate (less than 2 mm of aluminum). The results of this study suggest that these packable composites are unlikely to offer improved clinical performance over well-placed nonpackable composites.
Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada)
Methacrylates
Pyramid Packable Composite
Choi, K. K., Ferracane, J., Hilton, T. T., & Charlton, D. (2000). Properties of packable dental composites. Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada), 12(4), 216-226.
Properties of packable dental composites. / Choi, Kyoung Kyu; Ferracane, Jack; Hilton, Thomas (Tom); Charlton, David.
In: Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada), Vol. 12, No. 4, 2000, p. 216-226.
Choi, KK, Ferracane, J, Hilton, TT & Charlton, D 2000, 'Properties of packable dental composites', Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada), vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 216-226.
Choi KK, Ferracane J, Hilton TT, Charlton D. Properties of packable dental composites. Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada). 2000;12(4):216-226.
Choi, Kyoung Kyu ; Ferracane, Jack ; Hilton, Thomas (Tom) ; Charlton, David. / Properties of packable dental composites. In: Journal of Esthetic Dentistry (Canada). 2000 ; Vol. 12, No. 4. pp. 216-226.
@article{d1738fa2f6a844569d32d338b980bad5,
title = "Properties of packable dental composites",
abstract = "The introduction of many new packable composites suggests that these products are rapidly gaining popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro properties of a variety of packable composites and to determine if significant enhancements in physical and mechanical properties have been achieved for these materials compared with two popular nonpackable posterior composites. For the five packable and two regular composites tested (ALERT, Pyramid-Dentin, Pyramid-Enamel, Solitaire, SureFil, Heliomolar, and Z100), the values for fracture toughness, flexure strength, flexure modulus, hardness, and volumetric polymerization shrinkage were determined. In general, although the packable composites were of heavier consistency, they had mechanical properties that were intermediate to (ALERT, Pyramid, and SureFil) or lower than (Solitaire) those of the nonpackable materials. These results could have been predicted based on the similar methacrylate resin chemistry and filler volumes of the various composites. No composite had adequate depth-of-cure when tested in increments greater than 2 mm thick. Polymerization contraction of the packable composites was similar to or higher than that of the nonpackable composites. In addition, the radiopacity of at least one material, Solitaire, was not considered to be adequate (less than 2 mm of aluminum). The results of this study suggest that these packable composites are unlikely to offer improved clinical performance over well-placed nonpackable composites.",
author = "Choi, {Kyoung Kyu} and Jack Ferracane and Hilton, {Thomas (Tom)} and David Charlton",
journal = "Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry",
T1 - Properties of packable dental composites
AU - Choi, Kyoung Kyu
AU - Ferracane, Jack
AU - Hilton, Thomas (Tom)
AU - Charlton, David
N2 - The introduction of many new packable composites suggests that these products are rapidly gaining popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro properties of a variety of packable composites and to determine if significant enhancements in physical and mechanical properties have been achieved for these materials compared with two popular nonpackable posterior composites. For the five packable and two regular composites tested (ALERT, Pyramid-Dentin, Pyramid-Enamel, Solitaire, SureFil, Heliomolar, and Z100), the values for fracture toughness, flexure strength, flexure modulus, hardness, and volumetric polymerization shrinkage were determined. In general, although the packable composites were of heavier consistency, they had mechanical properties that were intermediate to (ALERT, Pyramid, and SureFil) or lower than (Solitaire) those of the nonpackable materials. These results could have been predicted based on the similar methacrylate resin chemistry and filler volumes of the various composites. No composite had adequate depth-of-cure when tested in increments greater than 2 mm thick. Polymerization contraction of the packable composites was similar to or higher than that of the nonpackable composites. In addition, the radiopacity of at least one material, Solitaire, was not considered to be adequate (less than 2 mm of aluminum). The results of this study suggest that these packable composites are unlikely to offer improved clinical performance over well-placed nonpackable composites.
AB - The introduction of many new packable composites suggests that these products are rapidly gaining popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro properties of a variety of packable composites and to determine if significant enhancements in physical and mechanical properties have been achieved for these materials compared with two popular nonpackable posterior composites. For the five packable and two regular composites tested (ALERT, Pyramid-Dentin, Pyramid-Enamel, Solitaire, SureFil, Heliomolar, and Z100), the values for fracture toughness, flexure strength, flexure modulus, hardness, and volumetric polymerization shrinkage were determined. In general, although the packable composites were of heavier consistency, they had mechanical properties that were intermediate to (ALERT, Pyramid, and SureFil) or lower than (Solitaire) those of the nonpackable materials. These results could have been predicted based on the similar methacrylate resin chemistry and filler volumes of the various composites. No composite had adequate depth-of-cure when tested in increments greater than 2 mm thick. Polymerization contraction of the packable composites was similar to or higher than that of the nonpackable composites. In addition, the radiopacity of at least one material, Solitaire, was not considered to be adequate (less than 2 mm of aluminum). The results of this study suggest that these packable composites are unlikely to offer improved clinical performance over well-placed nonpackable composites.
JO - Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry
JF - Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry
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The musings & rants of 3 retired military (2 USAF, 1 USN), 1 former WSO, and 1 AF brat. Old AF Sarge, Juvat, Tuna, LUSH, and Beans.
Four years ago on this very weekend Your Humble Scribe and his tribe traveled to Sandy Eggo for the baptism of the youngest member of the tribe. Above you can see my lovely daughter, The WSO, and her dad, that would be me. Of course I'm wearing an Air Force ball cap with my suit. Note that I also have an Air Force tie bar on my tie with my older Master Sergeant stripes (six down, as opposed to the newer five down, one up, or "Senior Technical Sergeant" as some wags would have it.) We are standing upon the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) with the lovely Sandy Eggo skyline in the background.
The carrier was in port for various reasons, mostly having to do with renovations and repairs. So it was an ideal spot for a baptism. Seems that son-in-law Big Time had served with TR's* Catholic chaplain while both were assigned to USS Enterprise (CVN-65). So he asked and Chaps consented, so baptizing the tribe's youngest into the Catholic faith occurred aboard the TR. Which was, in a word, awesome.
According to tradition -
The bell's connection to religious origins continues. Originating in the British Royal Navy, it is a custom to baptize a child under the ship's bell; sometimes the bell is used as a christening bowl, filled with water for the ceremony. Once the baptism is completed, the child's name may be inscribed inside the bell. The bell remains with the ship while in service and with the Department of the Navy after decommissioning. In this way, an invisible tie is created between the country, the ship and its citizens. (Source)
Sure enough, our little one now has her name inside the ship's bell of USS Theodore Roosevelt -
Oddly enough, her nickname is Belle. Belle's name is in the bell. Heh, it's the little things I find amusing.
Big Time took the photo above, he's now with TR's air wing, preparing to head out to sea for a few (up to eight) months. From USS Enterprise, to shore duty, to USS Theodore Roosevelt, he's been a busy lad. Keep him in your prayers, if you would be so kind.
Speaking of Belle, here she is with her big sister, on that wonderful day back in 2016 -
Geez, has it been four years already?
They grow up so fast...
This past Christmas...
No, that's not me in the middle...
* TR is how the USS Theodore Roosevelt is commonly referred to in the Navy, according to The Nuke. Not the Big Stick as some think.
Posted by OldAFSarge at 3:00 AM 22 comments: Links to this post
"Turn it off, turn it off!!!"
Outside Francorchamps, Belgium
It is confused I am and confused I shall remain. For some reason I cannot remember two particular Easters spent in Europe, well, I remember them I just can't seem to place them in context with each other.
There was the Easter that The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe went to the City of Lights, that is the capital of La Belle France, i.e. Paris. It is somehow stuck in my head that we went there on our first year in NATO.
Then there was The Easter Egg Hunt. It sticks in my mind that that occurred during our first Easter in Europe, but how can that be? Didn't we go to Paris that weekend? Is it possible we did both activities around Easter in the same year? Does the timing and the positioning of the two events really matter, lo these many years later?
No, they don't, not really. But...
Huh? What? Why is that phrase "The Easter Egg Hunt" capitalized as it is?
I'm glad you asked. For that is my story today, suggested by The Nuke. Who remembers things a bit differently than I, but it's my story and I'll tell it as I remember it. (The title alludes to her version of the story, which I will get to. Eventually.)
Anyhoo.
Once upon a time, er, I mean, there I was, no that ain't quite right, ummm, I know...
Back in the day...
Whilst stationed with the forces of OTAN, er, I mean NATO, an excursion by my unit was set up for the wee bairns of the unit to go a'hunting for Easter eggs. Not in the local environs, such as on the base, not even in the local town (which would be Geilenkirchen itself), no indeed, this Easter egg hunt would take place in Belgium, specifically in the Ardennes, not far from Francorchamps. Which is kind of a famous racetrack out in the wilds of Belgium.
Uh, Sarge, you still haven't answered the "Why is that phrase "The Easter Egg Hunt" capitalized?" question.
Patience, I'm getting there.
Anyhoo, the idea was for the kids and their families to go on a kleine Spaziergang* through the lovely Belgian countryside to get to the venue pour chercher les oeufs de Pâques**. It will be nice they said, you'll enjoy it they said, it will be good exercise they said. Which they weren't wrong, but they weren't exactly right on all counts.
It was like a five-mile walk, through the woods. There was no path, no prepared way, kinda like this -
Sort of open, but sort of not. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely day, the weather was cool and sunny. But it was still a five mile walk through the woods. Did I mention that I was loaded down like a pack animal? Like a rented mule? No?
Well I was. I had an Austrian Army rucksack (don't ask why, no, really) which was loaded with enough snacks and water bottles for Yours Truly, The Missus Herself, The Naviguesser, The Nuke, and The WSO. I was also lugging a late '80s era camcorder. One of these -
Hhmm, as a matter of fact, it was that very model of camcorder as depicted above.
But it wasn't that bad for us, there was another family, I think their name was Salvi, they had like 87 kids. It wasn't so much a family as an entire tribe. They covered the landscape they were so numerous. Kind of like I imagine the buffalo out in Shaun's neck of the planet (can't say woods, the place doesn't have a lot of trees) back in the day. Rumbling along, taking days to pass a single point...
Yes, I am exaggerating. The Salvis had four kids, all of them below the age of six. The older three were all self-propelled, the youngest was in a stroller. Yes, you read that right, a stroller, an '80s era stroller, for a walk through the Ardennes for crying out loud!
Yeah, not one of your robust modern strollers with big fat off-road tires, nope, it was a rickety-looking deal like that in the photo above. Do you see those little wheels? Those little handles? Now picture our beloved Sergeant Salvi pushing that thing through the woods. Over the roots and rocks and the brush, manhandling that bad boy across the terrain while keeping the self-propelled Salvis from wandering off into the forest. Yes, Mrs. Salvi helped, but believe me, they had their hands full.
I do believe that there were about twenty of us. People would come up to me and ask, "Say Sarge, would you mind carrying my purse/lunch/water bottle in your ginormous Austrian Army rucksack?" To which The Missus Herself would always answer "No, he doesn't mind, he doesn't mind at all."
Well, I did mind, sort of, but as I was the only one carrying a ginormous Austrian Army rucksack, I could see the logic in it. Not that that made the rucksack any lighter, but I was earning points for my good nature and easygoing attitude. Also, I was young then, I could hack it, I could hump a ruck with the best of them and haul that big-ass camcorder at the same time. And shoot video! (Not to mention that my boss, Major Fraker was one of those asking. It doesn't pay to say "no" to one's boss in the military, not if one still had hopes of promotion, which I did.)
So that long hike through the forest is why "The Easter Egg Hunt" is capitalized. It was long, it was kind of arduous, and it was a bit taxing. Back then I think I called it the Bataan Easter Egg Death March, but now I find that to be in rather poor taste. I mean it wasn't that bad, I mean there were no screaming Japanese bayoneting the laggards. (Though truth be told that might have sped things up a bit...) Still rather poor taste to make that comparison, so I don't. I just capitalize "The Easter Egg Hunt," which seems sufficient.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, we arrived at our destination, the place where the eggs had been hidden. It's not far from where they do a sort of road race (it is near Francorchamps after all) so while hunting for eggs we had the occasional fast moving vehicle go roaring past not that far away. It was kind of cool, but kind of loud.
Whilst hunting for eggs, one of my daughters (can't remember which one, though I think it was The Nuke) found, nestled beneath a tree, two bottles of wine. I remember it well, her running through the trees, a bottle of wine held aloft in each hand, yelling "Daddy, daddy, look what I found!"
Made me proud it did, I had visions of me drinking wine in the Ardennes when our tour guide (a Belgian warrant officer who grew up in the area) pointed out that the wine was for the grown-ups and "give it here lassie." The Nuke was a bit miffed (as was I) but like a good trooper she gave up the wine. (Which I did get a taste of, but only a taste.)
Eventually the day came to a close. I was not looking forward to the long hike back to where our cars were parked, that's when our guide offered to give a ride back to the parking lot for those who were interested in such a service.
After getting the car and gathering up the rest of the tribe, we rallied at a local pub, where The Missus Herself freaked out over the unisex sanitary facilities, I mean this was Europe.
"Honey, I went into the bathroom and there was a guy in there!"
"Uh, it's a unisex bathroom dear."
"Really? That's a real thing?"
"Yup, Bienvenue en Europe."
"You're an idiot."
"Oui, c'est vrai."
At any rate, a good time was had by all. Though when we returned home, Major Fraker called. Seems I had her passport in my ginormous Austrian Army rucksack and she really, really would like it back. Sure enough, I checked and there it was. Thinking perhaps that she was trapped in Belgium and couldn't get back into Germany, I was prepared to have to make the long drive back down there and rescue my boss.
But no, while Europe hadn't gone completely open borders at that time, there were no longer any border checks between some countries. (Though getting into France still required a passport and all that.) So Major Fraker assured me that she would be by the house within the hour to collect her passport.
By now, you are probably wondering what any of this had to do with the title of today's post, to wit -
Well, it has to do with The Nuke's version of watching the videotape of that trip once we had retired and returned to the U.S. of A. (No, I don't remember it the way she does. Thank you for asking.)
It seems that while unpacking at our new home in Little Rhody, The Missus Herself came across the tape from The Easter Egg Hunt. So we watched it. Let me say this, before going further, that for the first couple of years of our assignment in Germany I was still a "lean, mean. SAC-trained fighting machine." I used to run everyday at lunch while at Offutt, not obsessively, not like five miles or anything, just a mile or so. But five days a week. I was fairly svelte. Germany's food and beer were not kind to Your Humble Scribe's waistline.
Anyhoo, most of the video was of the kids, The Missus Herself, and the other participants in The Easter Egg Hunt (I remember a great clip of Sergeant Salvi manhandling that stroller over a brook, still loaded with the youngest Salvi.) But when we got to The Hunt itself, The Missus Herself decided to try her hand at shooting video. And there I was...
Striding on scene in all my svelte glory, pointing at something in the near distance, The Nuke cried out...
"Oh my God, look at how thin Dad is!!"
To which, she claims, I cried -
Well, I don't really remember that bit, but The WSO backs her sister's story, so maybe it did happen that way.
And damn, I really was thin back then. Rest assured, I'm working on that.
* German for "little walk"
** for looking for Easter eggs
Digging Deeper Still...
Remember Us?
On the aircraft in the foreground, the partial BuNo on the vertical stab doesn't match the BuNo underneath the horizontal stab. This came up yesterday and it's bugged me since I wrote that post. So I started digging.
Deeper.
Note the details from that photo above -
The presence of an FAA Registry number led me to believe that the photo was taken after the aircraft had left the naval service. I was correct. (Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.) Here are the FAA details on these two aircraft -
You'll note that the Serial Number blocks on the FAA form have numbers which match the BuNo underneath the horizontal stabs on both aircraft. So what's the story with 409?
The simple answer is that people like famous things, things along the lines of "Hey, this aircraft shot down a bunch of enemies" rather than, "This aircraft is the same type as the aircraft that shot down a bunch of enemies." For instance, the Collings Foundation owns and operates an F-4D Phantom which is now painted up with an F-4C tail number, an F-4C in which Robin Olds shot down a MiG-21 in Southeast Asia. The same bird also shot down another MiG-21 and a MiG-17 before being lost to AAA on 20 November 1967.
This same aircraft had earlier been painted up to represent the aircraft flown by Steve Ritchie and Chuck DeBellevue, killers of five MiG-21s in Southeast Asia. The same bird was also used by another aircrew to down a sixth MiG-21. Having six red stars painted on the side of the jet is pretty cool. However, most civilians, when the names Ritchie and DeBellevue are mentioned, would probably say "Who?" Mention Robin Olds though, and they might get it.
So yes, famous is good. More publicity, more money for the owners of the aircraft. (Lest you think I am some sort of Commie, I am all in favor of folks making money. I like making money. So should you.)
So back to 409. The BuNo on the vertical stab, 137543, is famous. That particular bird killed a MiG over Vietnam. Yup, a propeller driven aircraft downed a modern jet fighter.
On 9 October 1966, four VA-176 A-1H Skyraiders from the USS Intrepid were vectored deep into North Vietnam to cover a rescue helicopter trying to reach a downed F-4 Phantom II crew. After pushing through a brief flak barrage, the Spad lead flight pushed further inland where they were set up by four MiG-17s. In the ensuing maneuvers which twisted down to tree top level, the opponents separated and two of the jets were heavily damaged at the hands of the Spad flight leader and his wingman. Seconds later, tail-end element Lt.(jg) Tom Patton in Spad "09" (BuNo 137543) reached the flight and dropped down on the last MiG, skimming just above the jungle. The enemy pilot attempted a climbing turn followed with a reverse turn which negated all of the MiG's speed. Patton skillfully split-Sed into point blank range at six o'clock and closed to within 100 feet of the silver intruder. After gutting his target with the last of his 20mm ammo, Patton even tried for a coup de grace with four of his Zuni rockets, but missed. The riddled MiG rolled over and plunged out of sight through a low hanging cloud. After a quick turn beneath the thin cloud bank, the victorious Navy aviator caught a glimpse of the MiG driver drifting into the jungle beneath his parachute. (Source)
LT (jg) Patton on the left, his section leader (talking with his hands) LT Peter Russell on the right.
So what happened to the real 409? According to Joe Baugher's website -
52-137543 Douglas A-1H Skyraider
Ex USN BuNo 137543 transferred to USAF. With 1st Special Operations Squadron 56th Special Operations Wing shot down by ground fire Muong Soui, Xiangkhoang Province, Laos Jul 2, 1969. Pilot KIA.
Again, that mention of the pilot being KIA. So yeah, I went looking. The pilot of 52-137543 when she was lost was Captain John Leroy Flinn, USAF. That's him in the back row, fourth from left.
Back row: Capt Harv Jacobs, Major Lurie J " Pete" Morris, 2ndLt Tom Biele, Capt John Leroy Flinn (KIA 69/07/02), unidentified, unidentified Front row: Capt Joseph S. Pirruccello Jr. (KIA 68/12/08), unknown, Capt Hale, LtCol Sid "Buck" McNeil, Capt Ken Orr, 2nd Lt Clyde William Campbell (KIA 69/03/01)
Another good man lost doing a tough job.
Sometimes I run across things that I need to know more about, so I dig. The Internet is a pretty good resource for all of this digging, but you need more than one source to be sure. Sometimes that extra source isn't there, sometimes it is. Imagine back in the day having to go to some big building (like the National Archives) and actually dig through paper documents or microfiche. Cross-referencing is even harder, nothing to click on in a document to go to another source. Nope, go to the catalog, find the document (or microfiche) and keep digging.
Technology is good.
In other news, The Nuke reminded me of a story from Germany which she says I should relate to y'all. Which I will. You should know however, that there are two versions of this tale, one she calls "the real story" and the other, which is how I remember it. We shall see which one I relate...
A Deeper Look...
Douglas A-1E Skyraider at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Some of you no doubt recognize that opening photo from juvat's post on Monday, which detailed the circumstances of Bernard Fisher's Medal of Honor. So now you're probably asking yourself why I'm using that photo again and the answer is fairly simple. I looked at the picture then did a double take when I saw the tail hook. Seeing the tail hook made me look at this (the bit in the circle) -
That circled bit looks an awful lot like a Navy/Marine Corps Bureau Number or BuNo. Let me explain something here which may not be apparent to the casual reader. That is, the Navy and the Air Force tend to paint/mark their aircraft differently. Using the Skyraider as an example, Air Force aircraft look like this -
Note the big white "tail number" on the vertical stabilizer, "517," preceded by the smaller number "27" underneath the "AF," which stands for (duh) "Air Force." (FWIW the first number is the last digit of the year the aircraft was built, in this case 1952. Apparently all USAF Skyraiders were marked with 1952 as the year of manufacture, Joe Baugher's website has this to say -
The following serial numbers are out of sequence. These were A-1 Skyraiders transferred from the Navy to the USAF and assigned USAF serial numbers based on their BuNos, prefixed by 52. USAF records indicate that there was an abortive attempt in 1968 to assign 53, 54 and 55 as prefixes to newer model Skyraiders as they were acquired by the USAF, but later in that same year the records show that the prefixes were all changed back to 52. This means that all USAF Skyraiders, no matter the model, were assigned a 52 prefix. (Source)
The "TT" tail code indicates that this aircraft belonged to the 602nd Special Operations Squadron out of Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base in Thailand. (I had no ideer that NKP belonged to the Thai Navy.) (Source)
Navy aircraft look like this -
Part of the BuNo is painted on the tail and the entire BuNo is painted on the fuselage under the horizontal stabilizer (see detail below). The big letters indicate which carrier "owns" these birds (USS Intrepid (CV 11) in this case), the Navy also paints the squadron number on the bird as well (VA-176 "Thunderbolts" here) and something the Navy calls the modex or "side number" -
A modex is a number that is part of the Aircraft Visual Identification System, along with the aircraft's tail code. It usually consists of two or three numbers that the Department of the Navy, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps use on aircraft to identify a squadron's mission and a specific aircraft within a squadron. These numbers are painted conspicuously on the aircraft's nose—or, on helicopters, sometimes on the aft portion of the fuselage or forward portion of the empennage. Modexes are also painted less conspicuously on other aircraft areas (i.e., fin tip, flaps, etc.). Shore-based aviation units use either two-digit or three-digit modexes, while carrier-based units always use three digits. (Source)
Detail showing the BuNo and the tail number mismatch.
The two Skyraiders depicted have modexes of "404" and "409." (Note that the BuNo under the horizontal stab does not match the number under the "AK," I'm still digging into that. Might be a future post, might not be. Odd that.)
Anyhoo Major Fisher's aircraft originally came from the Navy, but for some reason that particular aircraft had the BuNo and a non-standard tail number ("32649"). That may (or may not) have been standard practice for that squadron. While all that is interesting, for certain values of interesting, the odd markings on that bird aren't the point of this tale. Chasing down all of that information led me to chase this down as well, remember the caption of that photo on juvat's post?
This was the actual aircraft he flew on the mission. It shortly thereafter was shot down and badly damaged but was recovered, refurbished and now is on display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB.
Well, yes and no. Here's another photo of 32649 from the NMUSAF -
This Douglas A-1E was severely damaged in combat in South Vietnam. It is the aircraft that was flown by Maj. Bernard Fisher on March 10, 1966, when he rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam, a deed for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The aircraft was restored and is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Actually Major Fisher flew this aircraft after it had been damaged and then repaired and returned to service. Joe Baugher's website has this to say -
52-132649 Douglas A-1E Skyraider
Ex USN BuNo 132649 transferred to USAF. Used in rescue of downed airman March 10, 1966 at Special Forces camp at A Shau, for which Maj Bernard G. Fisher was awarded the Medal of Honor. This plane is now on display at National Museum of USAF, Dayton, OH. The plane at Hill AFB, UT is actually a VNAF Skyraider made up to look like this aircraft. There is a photo of this plane lying on a scrapheap (not sure of the date). With 1st Air Command Squadron 34th Tactical Group , this plane caught fire and crashed while on interdiction mission near Can Tho, South Vietnam Mar 21, 1965. Both crew KIA. Air Force claims they recovered this plane with CH-54 Skycrane and repaired it at Tan Son Nhut AB and returned it to Bien Hoa and repaired it. (Source)
That mention of "Both crew KIA" made me sit up and ask "Who were they?" A casual mention of crew having been killed in action with no mention of who they were. That bugs me, these guys gave their lives, we should know who they were. Well, the A-1 Skyraiders website answered the question for me, after some digging. The first clue was the date the men were killed, 21 March 1965. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial website provided this after a search for casualties on that date -
Two Air Force captains KIA on the same date, had to be the crew of 32649 I figured. I was correct. Searching the Wall's website further, yielded the following -
Captain Campbell was a member of the 1st Air Commando Squadron, flying A-1E Skyraiders, out of Bien Hoa Air Base, RVN. He and Captain Jerry Hawkins were KIA when their aircraft, serial number 52-132649, caught fire and crashed during an interdiction sortie near Can Tho. The aircraft, was deemed salvageable and was airlifted, to Tan Son Nhut, Air Base, where it, was repaired and returned, to the 1st ACS. On 10, March 1966, this Skyraider, was flown, by Major, Bernard Fisher, when he performed, a daring rescue, of a fellow, pilot, at the A Shau, Special, Forces Camp, a feat, for which Major, Fisher, was awarded, the Medal, of Honor. The aircraft, is now, on display, at the National, Museum, of the USAF, in Dayton, Ohio. (Source)
Captain Hawkins was a member of the 1st Air Commando Squadron flying A-1E Skyraiders out of Bien Hoa Air Base. He and Captain William Campbell were KIA when their aircraft, serial number 52-132649, caught fire and crashed during an interdiction sortie near Can Tho. The aircraft was deemed salvageable and was airlifted to Tan Son Nhut, Air Base, where it was repaired and returned to the 1st, ACS. On 10 March 1966, this Skyraider was flown by Major Bernard Fisher when he performed a daring rescue of a fellow pilot at the A Shau Special Forces, Camp, a feat for which Major Fisher was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio. (Source)
The A-1 Skyraiders page had pictures of these men as well -
Back row: Capt Donald E. Jones, Capt Richard E. Bolstad (POW '65-'73) (2014/02/21), Capt Jerry J. Tighe, Capt William H. Campbell (KIA 65/03/21), Capt J.R. Johnson, Capt V.L. Brown Front row: Maj Gail F. Kirkpatrick, LtCol John J. Knight (1981/08/07), LtCol E.L. Surowiec (2005/04/20), Maj R.A. Jones.
Back row: Capt Charles C 'Vas' Vasiliadis, Capt E.H. Richmond, Capt B.D. Gregorios (2010/04/08), Capt J.H. Winston, Capt Harland M. "Sonny" Davis, Jr. (KIA 72/07/07 F-4D) Front row: Capt Warthom J. George, Capt Donald S. Hynd, Capt Jerry P. Hawkins (KIA 65/03/21). NP/I: Col E.J. Witzenberger
It pays to take a deeper look sometimes, guys like these need to be remembered.
Brave men doing a tough job.
Out of Stories?
Cochem, Germany
During most of the last decade of the 20th Century I was assigned to the E-3A Component of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&C Force) based at Geilenkirchen, Germany. Situated as we were on the border near the Netherlands, and not all that far from Belgium, travel opportunities abounded.
As I recall, though it be long ago, every fall my unit would arrange a bus trip to the Moselle (Mosel, auf deutsch) wine making region of Germany. Also, as I recall, The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe went along on more than one of these trips. So let me tell you...
What? Are you sure?
Apparently I've already told that story.
I really thought that I had never told stories of those trips here at The Chant. There I was (not the start of a war story) all set to regale you with tales of wine drinking when a quick search revealed, AH HA!! I actually had told that tale before. Damn it, now what do I write about?
Oh wait, I know, there was this time I had to pull guard duty...
Nope, told that one already.
How about the IG complaint I had to...
Nope, told that one as well.
So it appears that of the seven plus years I spent in Germany, I've already told all of the really cool (well, I thought they were cool) stories. So now what the heck do I write about?
I well remember one of Lex's posts where he bemoaned the fact that he was running out of stories to tell of his days in the sea service. I'm not saying that I've reached that point, fact is, I don't know if I've reached that point. I'm pretty sure there has to be a story or two left from my days in Uncle Sam's Aerial Follies that I haven't related here, yet. Then again, maybe I have. (As one gets older, or so I've been told, one begins to tell the same stories over and over again. My kids claim this to be the case. I don't know where they get that.)
There's my F-111 vs B-52 story, but I told that one already. It's quite possible that I have told all of my good stories.
Time to perhaps tell the crappy ones, but...
Which does remind me of a story, albeit a short one...
So Sunday last was the anniversary of me winning the lottery, i.e. having wed The Missus Herself, some 42 years ago, in Korea. Said fact was brought up in church by the lady who does all of the announcements (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.).
She attributed the longevity of our wedding to me knowing the two words all successful husbands know, to wit...
"Yes dear."
To which I, being in a rather contrary mood, replied...
"Oh, I thought you meant,
"Not today!"
The looks of shock and horror upon the faces of the female members of the congregation were a sight to behold. I swear, nearly all of the men giggled. And paid dearly for that.
Yeah, I like skating close to the edge, and yeah, The Missus Herself hit me. Hard.
"When a man is down, you don't leave him there." *
Well....With any luck, Mrs J and I will have slept in our own beds last night having arrived in our home port and having dropped Little J and LJW off at Houston International for their trip back to the Sandbox.
Not being a gifted reader of the future, I can't pre-post any current events that may have gone on while I was pouring wine, so I'm going to dig deep into my minuscule mental reservoir of historical stories for this week's posting.
Sarge did a post on this guy in one of his (much missed) Friday Flyby's, and I'd mentioned him in a posting about "First" Air Force Medal of Honor Recipients. Today we'll focus on him.
Major Bernard "Bernie" Fisher (Pronounced Burr-nerd) was born in 1927 in California, but his family moved to Idaho almost immediately thereafter. He joined the Navy at the very end of WWII, then got out and went to school. He joined the Idaho Air National Guard in 1947, was commissioned in 1951 and sent to Pilot Training. After getting his wings, he flew Air Defense Interceptors until 1965 when he volunteered to go to Vietnam to fly the A-1E. Although the aircraft was officially named Skyraider, it was commonly referred to as Spad.
In early March of 1966, an Army of Vietnam (ARVN) camp with about 400 ARVN Soldiers augmented by 17 Green Beret was attacked by ~2000 North Vietnamese in the A Shau Valley on the border of South Vietnam and Laos.
The line just to the right of the yellow marker is named Ho Chi Minh Trail. That would explain its importance.
The initial attack was defeated with the support of Spads and Spooky's (AC-47 Gunship. An old DC-3 with 3 x7.62mm which gave it the capability to put a round in every 6' of a 50 yard diameter circle in 3 seconds. This would be known as a "lot of hurt".)
However, overnight the weather got worse and subsequent attacks penetrated the perimeter. On March 10th, Major Fisher is an Element Lead in a flight of 6 Spads tasked with supporting the defenders. The weather in the area is canine feces, but they manage to find a hole and enter the valley. OK, entering a hole in a cloud in a cloud filled mountain valley? They're not called "sucker holes" for nothing. That scares me just thinking about it.
Still, riding to the sound of the guns is what Heroes do.
They come out underneath and assess that the weather, while not optimum, is workable. So, they begin attacking positions as requested by the folks on the ground. The North Vietnamese have brought AAA with them. I believe Sarge's saying of "Metric Crap Ton" is a reliable measure in this case.
As they're attacking and re-attacking enemy positions, Major Fisher's wingman, Major D. W. "Jump" Myers, who had received word the night before that he'd been selected for Lt Colonel, is hit by AAA and crash lands on the runway. The A-1E is fueled with 120 Octane Aviation Gasoline which burns extremely well, and does so in this case. Major Fisher's initial report is that the aircraft has crashed in a fireball and it's unlikely Major Myers has survived. However on his next pass, Major Fisher sees Major Myers exiting the aircraft and sprinting into a nearby ditch.
Major Fisher informs, not asks, the command post that he is going to land and pick Major Myers up. At this point, the North Vietnamese are less than 200' from Major Myer's position. Major Fisher asks the command post what is the length of the runway and is informed 3500'. Knowing that the A-1E can land and takeoff in 3000' he starts his approach. Plants the landing and hits the brakes, but quickly realizes he's not going to get it stopped. Stands on the brakes and swings the aircraft around (being in a tail dragger is handy sometimes). Later he would find that the actual field length was 2500'.
This was the actual aircraft he flew on the mission. It shortly thereafter was shot down and badly damaged but was recovered, refurbished and now is on display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB. Source
He then begins taxiing back to where Major Myers is hiding. Arriving, Major Myers jumps on the wing, but can't get in the aircraft. Major Fisher then sets the parking brake, unstraps and exits the aircraft to help his wingman in.
Did I mention the North Vietnamese are still shooting at them? and not missing?
Finally, Major Myers is in the aircraft so Major Fisher jumps into his lap, takes off the parking brake, cobs the power to the engine and takes off.
The return flight was uneventful.
Cheated death? Yeah, pretty sure I'd be smiling also.
There's another piece of remarkable coincidence with the story. It turns out that a similar rescue had taken place in WWII near Ploesti. Captain Dick Willsie and Flt Officer Dick Andrews were flying P-38's when Willsie was shot down, crash landing in a field. Andrews landed his P-38 in the field and took Willsie aboard, successfully returning with him to base. The coincidence is that Willsie was the Spad Squadron Commander during Major Fisher's rescue and Andrews was one of the other Spads in the formation.
There are several videos of this sortie on YouTube. This one, I think, is the best.
If that doesn't bring some moisture to your eyes, we can't be friends.
Major Fisher's Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On that date, the special forces camp at A Shau was under attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army regulars.
Hostile troops had positioned themselves between the airstrip and the camp. Other hostile troops had surrounded the camp and were continuously raking it with automatic weapons fire from the surrounding hills.
The tops of the 1,500-foot hills were obscured by an 800 foot ceiling, limiting aircraft maneuverability and forcing pilots to operate within range of hostile gun positions, which often were able to fire down on the attacking aircraft.
During the battle, Maj. Fisher observed a fellow airman crash land on the battle-torn airstrip. In the belief that the downed pilot was seriously injured and in imminent danger of capture, Maj. Fisher announced his intention to land on the airstrip to effect a rescue.
Although aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, he elected to continue. Directing his own air cover, he landed his aircraft and taxied almost the full length of the runway, which was littered with battle debris and parts of an exploded aircraft.
While effecting a successful rescue of the downed pilot, heavy ground fire was observed, with 19 bullets striking his aircraft. In the face of the withering ground fire, he applied power and gained enough speed to lift-off at the overrun of the airstrip.
Maj. Fisher's profound concern for his fellow airman, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
Major Fisher was the first person to receive the Air Force Medal of Honor, up to this point previous recipients received the Army Medal of Honor. Navy and Marine recipients receive the Navy Medal of Honor.
Major Fisher passed away in 2014 at age 87.
Rest in Peace, Warrior!
* His response to a question in the mission debrief as to why he took this action.
Posted by juvat at 4:00 AM 30 comments: Links to this post
Nothing to Say...
It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. It was a good day, a damned fine day. The way things are going, I doubt that I will ever again set foot upon an aircraft carrier headed out to sea. Kinda sad, but good in some ways.
I guess...
Hand salutes were rendered...
Those who know, know.
A fine day, spent with family and friends...
Eyes are good today.
Still mourning the loss of a fine musician, the old days are dying, the new days are upon us. For better or worse, just gotta roll with it brothers and sisters.
Otherwise, I've nothing to say...
Every day there's someone asking
"What is there to do?
Should I love or should I fight?
Is it all the same to you?"
"No," I say, "I have the answer
Proven to be true
But if I were to share it with you
You would stand to gain and I to lose."
Oh, I couldn't bear it, so I've got nothing to say
Nothing to say nothing to say
Every morning pressure forming all around my eyes
Ceilings crash the walls collapse broken by the lies
That your misfortune brought upon us
And I won't disguise them
So don't ask me will I explain
I won't even begin to tell you why
No, just because I have a name well I've got nothing to say
Climb a tower of freedom paint your own deceiving sign
It's not my part to criticize or to ask you to be blind
To your own pressing problem and the [heat] you must unwind
And ask of me no answer there is none that I could give you wouldn't find
I went your way ten years ago and I've got nothing to say
Nothing, nothing to say
Nothing, nothing to say, nothing to say
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"When a man is down, you don't leave him there." *...
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THE Queen has been graciously pleased to signify.....
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2020? Already?
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The Arms Race
How National Snowboard Teams Are Using New Technology To Chase Olympic Success
by Duthie
Huck To The Future: Where Billy Morgan’s going, he doesn’t need landings. Photo: Duthie
“BWHOOMPHFF”
In my mental catalogue of mountain sounds (which ranks from the highs of powder slashes to the lows of Austrian après music) this is definitely a new one. The sights are pretty strange too: the blur of a multi-corking snowboarder, way overhead; a flash of blue and yellow; the face-first landing that’s the source of that alien noise; and the undignified penguin slide to the bottom of the slope, complete with ear-grating skidding sound.
It’s a full-on assault of the senses which, initially at least, is right down there with Markus Becker’s Das Rote Pferd. Still, given the ear-to-ear Cheshire cat grin on the rider as they clamber off the landing area and head off for another go, it can’t be all bad.
“If Elon Musk’s annual employee picnic had a bouncy castle, it would probably look something like this”
Here's what a hundred grand's worth of funding can buy you. Photo: Duthie
We’re in Mottolino, an Italian resort not far from the Swiss border, and someone’s just touched down on the airbag. You might have seen one before, but this thing is in a completely different league to the common-or-garden variety found in the bigger resorts, where tourists pay a few euros for a shot on the bag and a few more for a ‘guy in the sky’ souvenir picture. No, this one is absolutely state of the art. The size, and indeed the shape, are like nothing we’ve ever seen before. If Elon Musk’s annual employee picnic had a bouncy castle, it would probably look something like this.
The jump’s certainly as big as any you’ll find elsewhere in the world, and the bag’s landing area sits at a similar angle to that of a contest-ready Big Air jump. It’s undeniably impressive and, based on the riders’ reactions, clearly an absolute hoot. A (very nearly, but not quite) consequence-free fun machine, where any trick that can be imagined can be attempted.
Aside from a handful of Italians, who’ve been invited to use it as part of the deal to host the bag here, it’s for the exclusive use of the British snowboard team (and their skiing equivalents, of course) – the product of years of hard work, planning and fundraising. The riders are on cloud nine, but you’d be hard pushed to convince UK Sport’s purse-string holders to part with the bag’s £100,000 price tag just for shits and giggles; something else is going on here. What we’re looking at is just one example of how, for those on national teams and Olympic programs, it’s no longer enough to just be a good snowboarder anymore.
“An array of cameras, all hooked up to a private wireless router, beaming every aspect of takeoff, execution and landing right to the American coaches’ iPads. The network name? ‘SECRET WEAPON’”
It’s a change that has come around relatively recently. Even just a few years ago, the majority of professional snowboarders pretty much rode the same mountains, and parks, as the rest of us. Hit Whistler, or Mammoth, or Snow Park NZ (RIP) on the right day and you could be lining up at the drop-in alongside some of the world’s best riders. While that can – and does – still happen, British head snowboard coach Hamish McKnight explains how that approach is no longer enough for those at the very top.
The bag gives riders like Katie Ormerod a chance to fine tune their Big Air runs. Photo: Duthie
Hamish McKnight, British snowboard coach. Photo: Duthie
“We’ve now crossed a line” he says, cup of tea in hand in his Livigno apartment. The bag can only operate in fairly optimum conditions, and today doesn’t come close. “You can’t technically acquire the skill to get to the top of the sport by doing that anymore, because there are groups of athletes that have access to training way beyond that.”
He cites Maximise – another airbag facility in Montreal – as an example, as well as end-of-season private park sessions laid on for the American and Canadian teams (indeed, ahead of the Olympics, a park has been built onto the side of Whistler just for the Canucks). “Those private sessions with sled laps and fast repetition, and the acquisition you can get done within a short period of time is so far in excess of what we can get done lapping Freeway Park in Breckenridge in late December. It’s just not a level playing field.”
Elite freestyle setups like Stubai's Prime Park are strictly pay to play. Photo: Ed Blomfield
In some of the major parks, national teams must now forego the pro line in favour of a ‘prime line’ – monstrously large features designed to open up new trick possibilities. Given the amount of snow-shifting involved, and to limit access to only the best of the best, it comes at a huge cost – something that, unless you’re Shaun White, requires the support of national funding to meet. Not paying means battling the crowds of locals on smaller public jumps, and before long you’ll be falling way behind.
Some aren’t stopping there, even; during our last visit to Stubai, a popular pre-season destination for competitive riders, the American team had another trick up their sleeve. An array of cameras, all hooked up to a private wireless router, beaming every aspect of takeoff, execution and landing right to the coaches’ iPads. The network name? ‘SECRET WEAPON’. Like we said, it’s an arms race.
While that particular setup doesn’t appeal to Hamish (“the Americans like a lot of feedback… whereas as coaches, we try and keep it simple. The riders have to do the work – it’s them that need to figure it out”), he’s been aware for some time that, for the Brits to keep pace, they’d need something special of their own.
Hence the airbag project, the seeds of which were first sewn way back in 2009, although it took until late last year to make it a reality. Like most successful British endeavours, there’s been a heavy international element; the bag was made by Dutch company BigAirBag, an Italian resort is playing host, and the kicker shaping is being handled by those masters of Austrian precision, Schneestern. Unsurprisingly, given that they’re the same folk responsible for the impossibly well-groomed Olympic slopestyle course, there’s not a snowflake out of place.
“with innovations like the airbag, could we be boarding a high-speed hovercraft to a situation where non-snowboarders can be fast-tracked to success?”
We’ve only seen one day’s worth of bag training, but already the positives are obvious. While it’d be nice to speed things up with a snowmobile, a la Shaun at his private halfpipe sessions, lapping the chairlift allows for five or six hits every hour. The riders haven’t taken long to get used to the setup; some are now wanging triples like it’s going out of fashion.
Not everyone’s approach is the same. Jamie Nicholls is wading into uncharted territory with backside 1620s, while Aimee Fuller is refining her signature double backflip. Katie Ormerod, aware that her grab is the missing piece in her Big Air game, is working hard on improving that element of her cab 9 and is visibly pleased with the results. Matt McCormick, meanwhile, is launching lawn darts head-first into the bag. If elite training sessions aren’t supposed to be fun, nobody told him.
Matt McCormick takes another leap of faith. Photo: Duthie
So the benefits are tangible and measurable, which is exactly what the paymasters need to see on a project of this nature – but the airbag approach is not without its critics. When we first shared images of the setup in Mottolino, Sebbe De Buck’s response was brief and to the point: “Cheat”.
He’s not alone; ever since the first bags appeared, several influential voices have declared them to be too far removed from snowboarding’s roots. Maybe they’re right – it’s certainly a world away from the much-revered ‘old days’, where raw talent, drive, and an ability to stomach huge risks were what got you to the top.
But if bags are too far, what else is? It’s been a long, long time since the podiums featured riders that hadn’t made some use of a facility, or an institution, that could help them get there. Never mind the most successful riders; even those most often held up as bringing ‘core’ values to the comps they entered (Danny Davis and Halldor Helgason to name just two) attended specialist snowboard schools – arguably more exclusive, and certainly more advantageous, than what these guys have on their hands with the airbag. Should anyone who visits the foam-pit funhouse that is Woodward at Copper be called out too?
“it’s a world away from the much-revered ‘old days’, where raw talent, drive, and an ability to stomach huge risks were what got you to the top”
It’s a moot point, anyway; not being considered ‘legit’ by the vocal minority hasn’t typically deterred anyone with their eyes on an Olympic (or X Games) medal. There’s a bigger concern, though, and it’s one that gets flagged up even by those who’ve loved watching 1440s turn into 1620s, and beyond.
And it’s this: with innovations like the airbag, could we be boarding a high-speed hovercraft to a situation where non-snowboarders can be fast-tracked to success?
National bodies could forego the traditional sources of competitive snowboarders (groms stoked on shredding, learning as many tricks as they can while emulating their favourite riders) and instead take a more calculated approach. Step 1: identify kids with precocious gymnastic ability at an early age. Step 2: teach them how to snowboard. Step 3: get them up to airbag standard, then crack a beer and watch the medals fly in.
Shaun White enjoying a private halfpipe session in 2009 courtesy of Red Bull. Nowadays it’s national teams providing this kind of setup, rather than brands. Photo: Adam Moran
Well, no. It doesn’t work like that. How can we be so sure? Because the Chinese already gave it a go. Hamish recalls his visit to the northern Chinese resort of Yabuli, where 100 kids had been invited to participate in a year-long training program. At the end of that, they’d be whittled down to 50, then to 25 the following year. The end result, he notes, wasn’t what the Chinese powers that be (or their American and Canadian coaches) had hoped for.
“Out of that, they got two or three pipe girls into the top ten, but they never managed to get anyone into the top five or three. So through just throwing the cheque book at it, yeah you can get… well, you know, if you’ve got billions of people in your country, and some are willing to move to your purpose-built training environment, then yeah, you can get people into the top ten.
“But in a ‘freesport’ that’s constantly moving, you’re never going to get into the top three doing something like that, because it takes something more. It takes an appreciation of why people involve themselves in a freesport, and why they push progression for the sake of progression. If you take that out of it, you don’t ever get someone to the top.”
As for countries that are currently getting it right, he cites the Norwegians, with their snowboard schools and impressive local freestyle facilities. Riders like Stale Sandbech and Marcus Kleveland are right up there with the top level of both slopestyle and Big Air, but have perhaps the strongest overall skill-set (not everyone on competitive snowboarding’s top tier can do this).
There’s also the Japanese, who have a whole scene built around airbags like Chiba Kings facility in Ichihara.
“They were ten years ahead with the development of reduced risk stuff” says Hamish. “There are seven or eight dry slopes that don’t have any landings, they’re just airbags. They have comps at the weekend onto airbags. It’s all built around reduced risk, and they’ve got a talent pool twice as deep as any other country.”
The key difference between those nations and the British is, for now, access. There’s a world of difference between flying your top-tier riders out to the Italian Alps, and having facilities on hand for the next generation to stumble across snowboarding on their own terms – after school, and at weekends – and fall in love with it.
At present, the closest thing Hamish and his team have at present are the UK’s dry slopes and indoor snow slopes. He says that by working with these places, “we can identify where the breeding grounds are of the next generation of kids, and an ability to reach into those scenes and help them, without ever taking away any of the desire to do the sport.
“It means more kids snowboarding to a higher level more often, and enjoying it more. That’s the pinch; you can’t implement a sport development network or project that refuses to acknowledge why people get involved in the sport in the first place. And the fact is freeskiing and snowboarding are fun. Take an inch of that out of it and you’re destined to fail.”
“Snowboarding isn’t destined to become like skeleton bobsleigh, where someone who matches a physical profile can be parachuted in to a four-year training program”
So the bag is actually one piece of much bigger puzzle. It’s the top of the pyramid, with fountations based firmly in grassroots snowboarding. And that’s the crucial factor; Forget raiding the gymnastic academies, looking for kids with lots of natural talent but no prior experience of the mountain. That’s been tried, and it doesn’t work.
No matter how many airbags, foam pits and coaching regimens get deployed across the competitive snowboarding world, it isn’t destined to become like skeleton bobsleigh, where someone who matches a physical profile can be parachuted in to a four-year training program.
Massive injections of cash can certainly help, but to call projects like this airbag the death knell for ‘real’ snowboarding (whatever that is) isn’t fair. It may no longer be enough to just be talented; but even when we eventually start seeing pentacorks stomped at will, the guy doing it will, first and foremost, be a snowboarder.
Jamie Nicholls launches another prospective 1620. Photo: Duthie
Vans Hi-Standard Talma 2018 - Video Highlights
This year it was the iconic 55000cm of Awesomeness at Talma, Finland that welcomed the Vans Hi-Standard crew in Europe, and things popped off good...
Burton US Open 2018 - Halfpipe Final Highlights
First win for Ayumu, while Chloe makes it three in a row
Burton US Open 2018 - Chloe Kim & Ayumu Hirano Win Halfpipe Finals
Burton US Open 2018 - Men's Slopestyle Finals Highlights
Canadian becomes first male rider to retain the title
Burton US Open 2018 - Mark McMorris Wins Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Finals
Burton US Open 2018 - Women's Slopestyle Finals Cancelled
Fields narrowed ahead of Friday's final
Burton US Open 2018 - Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Finals Cancelled
Burton US Open 2018 - Halfpipe Semi-Final Highlights
Top class ditchboarding in Vail
Burton US Open 2018 - Maddie Mastro & Ayumu Hirano Top Halfpipe Semi-Finals
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On Computers
About Bob Schwabach
About Joy Schwabach
THE EXPERTS SPEAK
BOB’S OTHER ARTICLES
THE TECH SUPPORT DUNGEONS
SEEING ALL
YOU RANG?
IF IT MOVES, SHOOT IT
MOVING UP IN THE WORLD
IS IT ENOUGH?
WI-FI BLUES
Posted on July 10th, 2017 by Bob and Joy Schwabach
A reader wrote us to say he’s barely able to connect to the Internet wirelessly, even though his phone is just 20 feet away from his AT&T router. Two bars is the best he gets. We told him to call AT&T, since they’ll replace his router or add a booster for free; it’s part of the monthly contract. However, that may not work.
What he’s opened up is a much larger problem that many people experience, and it’s definitely worth going into. It is a trickier subject than it first appears. The subject of radio broadcasts (which is what your wireless modem is doing) and receiving them is a special field of its own in electrical engineering. Antenna design can require some heavy mathematics. Even when the calculations are right, the results are often dicey. Broadcasts can be affected by changes in air temperature, moisture and most of all by what is in between — particularly walls, the thicker the worse.
For instance, we couldn’t get a wireless Internet connection to our bedroom, even though it’s just 25 feet from the office router. Naturally we called AT&T. A technician came out and installed a Netgear booster but that didn’t help. We gave it back to AT&T and bought a “Google Wi-Fi,” which is a signal booster slightly thicker than a hockey puck. At first, it worked perfectly. But after a few minutes the signal dropped out.
At that point, Bob brought up the three magic words of wireless reception: “line of sight.” Manufacturers of modems and other signal generators will typically claim a “range of up to 200 feet,” Yeah, if everything’s perfect. They’re talking about the line of sight between broadcast and receiver being clear of all obstacles. Walls are obstacles.
Joy had put the Google Wi-Fi booster next to the office modem. It seemed reasonable, but from there the wireless signal had to go through a closet stuffed with extra equipment and cables, through two tiled bathroom walls, a hall bookcase, then a bedroom wall and all 20 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary. Books can block an astonishing amount of radiation.
By simply moving the Google signal booster (it has a long cord) so that the signal only had to go through one wall, it was Bingo time. The signal to the Amazon Echo Dot (you know: Alexa) in the bedroom was strong and constant. This will work for anyone with reception problems: remember “line of sight.” Keep that transmission lane as open as possible.
An observant reader could point out we might have improved signal clarity just by moving the AT&T router instead of buying a booster unit. The AT&T technician should have thought of that too, but didn’t. In any event, it was worth a few bucks to get a booster that can be moved around to get the best line of sight.
A New Browser
It’s hard to leave your browser. We remember the first one we ever tried, Netscape Navigator, back in the 1990s. Then there was Internet Explorer (in all its many incarnations), Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome, which we’re sort of stuck on. However, the new Vivaldi browser is really interesting.
Vivaldi is available free from Vivaldi.com and places a lot of extra tools at your disposal. Click the “Notes” icon to make a to-do list or notes page that lives next to the main window, but can be toggled on or off. Click the downloads icon to see your recent downloads. If you tap the F2 key on your keyboard, you can get a list of things to do, such as clear your browsing data, get a list of keyboard shortcuts, open a privacy page, and so on. If you close a tab by mistake, just click the trash can. It has a list of everywhere you’ve been.
Vivaldi comes with a lot of built-in recommendations for where to go on the web. Click on the bookmark symbol to see folders full of possibilities. Under technology, there are over 20 leading sites. There are lots of options under entertainment, news, travel, business and games too.
Vivaldi was created by one of the founders of the Opera browser. Like Opera, it is at its root based on the Chrome browser. It’s like a highly customizable version of Chrome. For more info, search on the ph
rase “9 Reasons to Switch to Vivaldi.” A reason not to switch? Adding an extra layer to Chrome, as Vivaldi does, could slow things slightly.
Internuts
99bitcoins.com has a list of who accepts Bitcoins, the virtual currency. We were surprised to see Subway, Microsoft, Dell, Bloomberg, Expedia, and T-Mobile Poland on the list. A single Bitcoin now trades around $2,600 in US currency.
“Fifteen Crazy Things People Have Found in Their Homes.” Google that phrase to find an amazing list. A husband and wife found a Marvel comic book from 1938 worth $1.5 million. Another family found a fully-stocked servants kitchen, complete with pots and pans hanging on the wall, hiding behind junk in the basement. A couple others found cash –$45,000 in one case, $50,000 in another.
“High Jump: Cosmos, the Infographic Book of Space.” Search on that phrase to find out how high you could jump on Pluto, a comet, the moon, and many other places. When you click “jump,” you see a stick figure jump. On Pluto, you could jump around 25 feet. If you made it to comet “67P,” you could jump thousands offeet; landing would be tough though.
“Most Interesting Libraries in the World.” Google that for quite a show of beautiful places to read a book. Google “28 Most Spectacular Libraries” for even more. Worth traveling.
Filed under: browsers, Internuts, web, wireless
« WHO’S THAT? BACKUP BLUES »
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Rescued Chilean miner to race for second time in NY marathon
By Post Staff Report
November 3, 2011 | 9:57pm
Edison Pena speaks at a news conference Thursday. Pena, who was one of the Chilean miners trapped underground last year, will run in his second New York City marathon on Sunday. AP
Edison Pena, one of the 33 Chilean miners pulled out alive after 69 days underground, will run in the New York City Marathon Sunday, hoping the feat will help him overcome drug problems.
“Last year has been very difficult,” Pena told reporters Thursday, admitting to “many mistakes” that led him to seek help for drug addiction at a clinic.
“I didn’t want to speak about this. I got help from a specialist clinic and a team of therapists has me in its hands and now I am very well.”
Pena became famous as “The Runner” last year when he kept up his jogging routine while trapped underground in the Chilean mine, awaiting rescue in a life-or-death saga that played out on the world’s TV networks.
He became an instant celebrity at last year’s New York marathon, which he completed, and also took part in the Tokyo race last February.
Postal worker who struck Dershowitz sis-in-law with truck ...
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There’s a very good reason why airplane seats are blue
By Caroline Mcguire, The Sun
August 10, 2017 | 10:34am
Originally Published by:
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Air travel is a stressful experience for many people – the space is cramped, there are numerous rules and more often than not you’re elbow-to-elbow with someone you don’t know.
But while might not seem like it, airlines do try to make the experience as calming as possible – starting with the color of the seats.
Chances are you’ve noticed that most airplanes have blue seats.
There’s a scientific reason behind the choice of color though and it’s not because it’s best at hiding dirt.
The main reason for the popular shade of deep blue is that it produces calming chemicals in the body – lessening the chance of plane rage and creating a sense of well-being.
The experts at Color Psychology website said: “Blue is a color that suggests peace – it’s the color of the calm sea and the clear sky, both of which are linked to inner serenity, calm and clarity.
“Blue is also shown to slow heart rate and breathing, so it can be a good color to aid in meditation or relaxation.”
The color is also supposed to appear trustworthy, which is why people often wear blue suits to job interviews.
Given that a plane is about to be defying nature and flying hundreds of people through the sky, it makes sense that they want passengers to trust them.
It also changes a person’s senses.
According to website Popular Science, 48 percent of people in a study believed a fizzy drink presented in a blue glass would be more thirst-quenching than another color, because it was associated with the cold.
So airlines believe that the shade of blue will also help passengers feel cooler.
In the 1970s and 80s, there was a trend for airlines to install red seats in cabins but they were later removed, in part because warm colors are thought to spark hostile and angry emotions in passengers.
Filed under air travel , airlines , airplanes , psychology , Travel
10-year-old creates her own terrifying superhero
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You searched for subject:(elephants wildlife PzP vaccination oestrous cycle behaviour contraception). Showing records 1 – 30 of 53778 total matches.
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1. Effting, J.J.C. Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa.
Degree: 2007, Universiteit Utrecht
URL: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40133
► Abstract Currently, the extremely high density of elephants in many large parks in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana is considered an ecological problem. To control… (more)
▼ Abstract Currently, the extremely high density of elephants in many large parks in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana is considered an ecological problem. To control elephant population growth, the following options have been proposed; culling, range expansion, translocation, contraception and non-intervention (in the expectation of natural self-regulation). This study addressed the following questions: Do pZP-vaccinated elephant cows exhibit oestrus at the expected 16-17 week intervals? If so, what is the influence of the more frequent oestrous periods on the behaviour of both male and female elephants? The absence of a clear increase in the frequency of oestrous periods could be simply because many oestrous periods are missed as a result of the fragmented behavioural observations. Another possibility is that pZP vaccinated cows do not show oestrus at the expected 12-16 week intervals i.e. that the vaccination interferes with cyclicity. Interaction of family groups containing with pZP vaccinated with adult bulls has not been altered by pZP vaccination and these interactions do not appear to affect the behaviour of the cows. Neither is there any evidence that presence of the bulls is stressful to the matriarchal groups or that the failure to produce calves affects structure of the groups (family groups have not fragmented after 10 years of pZP vaccination), or the dominance hierarchy within a group. In conclusion, there is currently no evidence that pZP vaccination for up to consecutive years leads to serious side-effects in treated animals or their family groups. To be sure that there are no side-effects in the longer term, this study will be continued for a number of years. pZP vaccination will not solve the problem of the overabundance of elephants already in southern Africa, but may be a valuable component of a concerted strategy to prevent the problem worsening or recurring after a more drastic intervention to reduce population density in the short term. Advisors/Committee Members: Stout, T.A.E..
Subjects/Keywords: Diergeneeskunde; elephants, wildlife, PzP-vaccination, oestrous cycle, behaviour, contraception
Effting, J. J. C. (2007). Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa . (Doctoral Dissertation). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40133
Effting, J J C. “Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa.” 2007. Doctoral Dissertation, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40133.
Effting, J J C. “Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa.” 2007. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Effting JJC. Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40133.
Effting JJC. Effects of PzP-vaccination on the oestrous cycle of female African elephants in the Makalali Game reserve, South-Africa. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/40133
2. Schrijnders, R. Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants.
► Management of protected elephant populations in South Africa has long been a challenge. In the absence of poaching and with the provision of extra water… (more)
▼ Management of protected elephant populations in South Africa has long been a challenge. In the absence of poaching and with the provision of extra water holes, elephant populations have increased at unexpectedly high rates and show no signs of reaching a plateau. Various methods of population control have been considered to control elephant numbers, including culling or translocation of family groups and habitat expansion; none has proved entirely satisfactory. More recently, attention has focused on methods of contraception and amongst these immunocontraception with a porcine zona pellucida (pZP) vaccine has been proven effective and safe. However, there are still concerns that pZP vaccination may have unexpected long term side-effects on fertility or social structure and behaviour. For example, the expected effect of pZP vaccination is temporary infertility despite continuing cyclicity. As a result, it is anticipated that bulls (in musth) would visit and disturb a herd considerably more frequently because cows would have considerable more estrous periods; this might endanger young calves and is likely to be a source of extra stress to the herd. In the period of 14/7/08 - 4/10/08 behavioral observations of the elephant families in The Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve (GMPGR) were made to evaluate several factors that might indicate an increase in stress levels in pZP vaccinated elephants. In addition, fecal samples were collected to determine the cortisol concentrations, which should give an indication of physiological stress experienced during the preceding 48 hours. In GMPGR, the presence of adult bulls with a matriarchal herd had little if any effect on behavior and was not a clear cause of stress related behavioural patterns. On the other hand, the annual aerial pZP vaccination by darting did result in a transient increase in fecal cortisol and diminished water and food availability during winter was also associated with rising fecal cortisol concentrations. Overall, the physiological effects of contracepting elephants with the pZP vaccine appear to be associated with minimal social disruption and related stress. However, the darting process itself is clearly stressful. Advisors/Committee Members: Stout, T.A.E..
Subjects/Keywords: Diergeneeskunde; pZP, vaccination, elephants, makalali, stress, cortisol, bulls, cows, south africa, musth, darting, behavior, estrus
Schrijnders, R. (2007). Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants . (Masters Thesis). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34347
Schrijnders, R. “Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants.” 2007. Masters Thesis, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34347.
Schrijnders, R. “Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants.” 2007. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Schrijnders R. Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34347.
Schrijnders R. Assessing physiological and behavioural parameters of stress in pZP vaccinated elephants. [Masters Thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34347
3. Oosterom, D.I.E. The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve.
► As a result of conservation measures, the elephant population of South Africa has grown to a point where it is causing damage to the habitat… (more)
▼ As a result of conservation measures, the elephant population of South Africa has grown to a point where it is causing damage to the habitat and threatens biodiversity. Theoretically, there are several ways to control elephant population growth. Currently, immunocontraception with pZP (porcine zona pellucida) vaccine appears to be the most widely accepted option, both on human grounds and on the basis of efficacy. However, before wide-scale use of pZP vaccination can be recommended, further research into the possible longer term side-effects is required. The general aim of the present study was to examine whether pZP vaccination affects the frequency of oestrous in the African elephant. Another important aim of this study was to determine whether progesterone metabolite concentrations in the faeces were a more reliable way of detecting oestrus in African elephant cows than behavioural monitoring. Behavioural observations and faecal samples were collected from elephants in the Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve. Only 7 cases of oestrous behaviour were observed during a period of sixteen months. However, this may be an underestimate since oestrous behaviour is difficult to identify in elephants, partly because various indicators are used but primarily because the elephants can not be watched 24 hours a day every day; in all probability, numerous incidences of oestrous behaviour were missed. The faecal samples were supposed to be analysed with an ELISA for 5α-reduced progestin concentrations. However the antibody initially used for this analysis was not sufficiently sensitive, and the replacement did not arrive in time for this study. As a result, it is not yet possible to make firm conclusions about cyclity in pZP vaccinated elephants. Advisors/Committee Members: Stout, T.A.E..
Subjects/Keywords: Diergeneeskunde; pZP vaccination, effect, cyclicity, African elephants
Oosterom, D. I. E. (2009). The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve . (Doctoral Dissertation). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34410
Oosterom, D I E. “The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve.” 2009. Doctoral Dissertation, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34410.
Oosterom, D I E. “The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve.” 2009. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Oosterom DIE. The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2009. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34410.
Oosterom DIE. The effect of pZP vaccination on the cyclicity of female African elephants in the Makalali Game Reserve. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2009. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/34410
4. Bertschinger, H.J. Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species.
URL: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/187942
► Fertility control represents a proactive approach to population management for various mammalian wildlife species. In large predators, deslorelin implants have proven to be useful contraceptives… (more)
▼ Fertility control represents a proactive approach to population management for various mammalian wildlife species. In large predators, deslorelin implants have proven to be useful contraceptives in species such as lions, tigers and cheetahs. Although female lions and tigers responded well to various doses of deslorelin, the 9.4 mg implants at 48-month intervals are recommended for treatment of these species. In cheetahs both sexes could be effectively down-regulated using annual 4.7 mg implants. It does however, appear that certain species, like the African wild dog, are more difficult to down-regulate than others. Whether this relates to differences in peripheral deslorelin concentrations achieved or to actual concentrations at the effector site is unknown. Determining peripheral deslorelin concentrations in species like the lion, cheetah and wild dog may provide some answers. LH response to GnRH stimulation at various intervals after deslorelin treatment may also be informative. Additionally, the ability to deliver the implants remotely would make this method of contraception much more appealing to reserve managers. Immunocontraception of free-ranging African elephant cows with the porcine zona pellucida (pZP) vaccine has been shown to be 100% effective in small to medium populations. The protocol followed was three vaccinations (400 μg pZP with Freund’s complete modified adjuvant; 200μg and 200 μg with Freund’s incomplete adjuvants) at 4 to 6-week intervals during the first year followed by a single annual booster (200 μg with Freund’s incomplete adjuvant) thereafter. The vaccine was delivered remotely with darts and thus capture was not required for treatment of the cows. Of the 108 cows treated 62 (57.4%) were pregnant at the time of primary vaccination and calved during Years 1 and 2 of the program. Once these cows had calved, no more calves were born. The method was shown to be safe to use in pregnant cows. A small number of cows developed minor temporary swellings at the dart site. Future research should concentrate on development of slow-release vaccine-formulations that would reduce implementation costs and enable use on larger populations. Although studies are ongoing, there is also a need to expand behavioural studies on treated populations. A GnRH vaccine produced promising results for the down-regulation of androgen-related behaviour in elephant bulls. The bulls were given a primary and two to three booster vaccinations (4 to 7 week intervals) while behaviour and faecal androgen metabolite concentrations were monitored. More intensive studies on animals (African and Asian elephant bulls) of various ages are required to determine whether the treatment is capable of suppressing the annual musth cycles and to establish the effects of GnRH vaccination on male fertility Advisors/Committee Members: Colenbrander, B., Stout, T.A.E..
Subjects/Keywords: Diergeneeskunde; Diergeneeskunde; contraception; aggression; deslorelin; pZP; African predators and elephants; GnRH vaccine
Bertschinger, H. J. (2010). Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species . (Doctoral Dissertation). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/187942
Bertschinger, H J. “Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/187942.
Bertschinger, H J. “Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species.” 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Bertschinger HJ. Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/187942.
Bertschinger HJ. Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2010. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/187942
Degree: 2010, University Utrecht
URL: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; urn:isbn:978-90-393-5400-1 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942
Subjects/Keywords: contraception; aggression; deslorelin; pZP; African predators and elephants; GnRH vaccine
Bertschinger, H. J. (2010). Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species . (Doctoral Dissertation). University Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; urn:isbn:978-90-393-5400-1 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942
Bertschinger, H J. “Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, University Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; urn:isbn:978-90-393-5400-1 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942.
Bertschinger HJ. Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University Utrecht; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; urn:isbn:978-90-393-5400-1 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942.
Bertschinger HJ. Controlling wildlife reproduction : reversible suppression of reproductive function or sex-related behaviour in wildlife species. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University Utrecht; 2010. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; urn:isbn:978-90-393-5400-1 ; URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-187942 ; http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/187942
6. Oudshoorn, M.A. The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve.
► In contrast to other parts of Africa where elephants are still endangered, elephant numbers in South African wild-life parks have risen to levels where they… (more)
▼ In contrast to other parts of Africa where elephants are still endangered, elephant numbers in South African wild-life parks have risen to levels where they threaten biodiversity. One option currently being used for managing elephant population growth in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve is immunocontraception using the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine. The anticipated effect of pZP immunocontraception is repeated episodes of sexual receptiveness not leading to pregnancy (Rasmussen and Schulte 1998). As a result, pZP vaccination is expected to result in repeateelevated stress levels in pZP vaccinated cows. The aim of this study was therefore to examine whether there is a correlation between the presence of an adult bull close to a matriarchal herd and indices of stress in the mature cows within that herd, and whether there is a correlation between progesterone concentrations i.e. the phase of the cycle of a pZP vaccinated elephant and circulating corticosteroid levels. During a 4 month period (March-June), behavioural observations were performed on, and feacal samples were collected from, pZP immunocontracepted cows in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve, Limpopo, South Africa. A total of 58 samples from 19 different cows were analyzed for 11-oxo-cortisol by EIA: Wasser et al. (2000) reported fecal 11-oxo-cortisol levels to be a reliable measure of the glucocorticoid stress response in African elephants. In the current study, fecal 11-oxo-cortisol didn’t vary with respect to the presence or absence of an adult bull, suggesting there is no significant stress response to the presence of a bull near a matriarchal herd. Nevertheless, the approach described provides a useful basis for further studies on the influence of pZP vaccination and resulting increased frequency of bull presence, on stress in elephant cows. Advisors/Committee Members: Stout, Tom.
Subjects/Keywords: Diergeneeskunde; pZP vaccination; stress; Loxodonta Africana
Oudshoorn, M. A. (2007). The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve. (Masters Thesis). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/179153
Oudshoorn, M A. “The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve.” 2007. Masters Thesis, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/179153.
Oudshoorn, M A. “The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve.” 2007. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Oudshoorn MA. The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/179153.
Oudshoorn MA. The influence of pZP vaccination on stress in female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the Greater Makalali Game Reserve. [Masters Thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2007. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/179153
7. Sampson, Christie Lynn. Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar.
Degree: PhD, Biological Sciences, 2018, Clemson University
URL: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2189
► To address both the impacts of poaching on the wildlife and human populations and create effective conservation policy, conservation efforts must engage communities and include… (more)
▼ To address both the impacts of poaching on the wildlife and human populations and create effective conservation policy, conservation efforts must engage communities and include their views as stakeholders in the development of the policy. The involvement of local people has been shown to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of conservation efforts. However, to appropriately engage local people, the government and conservationists must understand their experiences with wildlife, and how local communities' experiences with human-wildlife conflict and poaching influence their willingness to support wildlife conservation programs. Using the Asian elephant as an example, we developed what we consider to be a more realistic, theoretical model linking changes to elephant populations with conservation interventions and human welfare that includes negative feedback loops. We then designed a series of studies to illustrate and test some of these links at several field sites across Myanmar. This dissertation outlines the discovery of the extent and nature of elephant poaching in Myanmar, and presents results from interviews with people in rural and urban communities to assess their attitudes towards human-elephant conflict (HEC) and elephant conservation, their perceptions of poaching in Myanmar, and the direct impacts and indirect impacts of HEC that they experience. This theoretical model can be used to guide government and research organizations in the field of wildlife conservation and help to develop more effective and sustainable conservation programs. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Saara DeWalt, Committee Chair, Dr. David Tonkyn, Dr. Shari Rodriguez, Dr. Peter Leimgruber, Dr. Catherine Mobley.
Subjects/Keywords: elephants; human-wildlife conflict; poaching
Sampson, C. L. (2018). Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar . (Doctoral Dissertation). Clemson University. Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2189
Sampson, Christie Lynn. “Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar.” 2018. Doctoral Dissertation, Clemson University. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2189.
Sampson, Christie Lynn. “Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar.” 2018. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Sampson CL. Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2189.
Sampson CL. Living with Giants: Human-Elephant Conflict and Poaching in Myanmar. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Clemson University; 2018. Available from: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2189
8. Thomas, Bindi. An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach.
Degree: PhD, Natural Resource Management, 2010, Massey University
► Wildlife management is an important area of conservation and has become a priority for many countries and organisations around the world. One of the fundamental… (more)
▼ Wildlife management is an important area of conservation and has become a priority for many countries and organisations around the world. One of the fundamental components of a sound wildlife management plan is a good understanding of a species’ behaviour and habitat. For animals within inaccessible environments, satellite tracking provides a powerful tool for revealing information on animal movements and their habitat requirements. In this dissertation, the conservation benefits and technical effectiveness of satellite tracking are examined through four case studies representing a diverse range of threatened species studied for periods between six months and five years. The studies revealed important ecological insights on the in situ movement and behaviour of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), Kruger National Park, South Africa; the New Zealand bush falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae), Central North Island, New Zealand; the estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Darwin, Australia; and the northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi), Taiaroa Head, New Zealand and Chile. For each of these studies, satellite telemetry provided location data enabling analyses of the animals’ movements and home ranges, and these analyses inform specific management recommendations. For example, the long time series study on African elephants highlighted the importance of developing reciprocal animal management policies where cross-boundary movements of animals occurred between adjacent parks. The strengths and weaknesses of different satellite tracking systems are compared and guidelines developed to assist wildlife managers in selecting the best technology to suit their research needs. An assessment of the trade-offs between the technical features built into transmitters and the associated cost is also presented. The study shows how the use of satellite tracking systems provides conservation agencies with a better understanding of wildlife behaviour and strengthens their ability to improve wildlife management planning.
Subjects/Keywords: Wildlife conservation; African elephants; New Zealand falcon; Northern royal albatross; Crocodile; Home range; Migration; Animal behaviour; Global Positioning System; Animal tracking
Thomas, B. (2010). An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach . (Doctoral Dissertation). Massey University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2807
Thomas, Bindi. “An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, Massey University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2807.
Thomas, Bindi. “An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach.” 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Thomas B. An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Massey University; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2807.
Thomas B. An application of satellite tracking technologies to conserve wildlife : a case study approach. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Massey University; 2010. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2807
9. Newmark, Rebecca L. Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective .
Degree: 2013, State University of New York at New Paltz
► Normally cycling females experience natural cyclic shifts in their physical appearance and in various psychological traits (Haselton & Gildersleeve, 2011; Alvergne & Lummaa, 2009). When… (more)
▼ Normally cycling females experience natural cyclic shifts in their physical appearance and in various psychological traits (Haselton & Gildersleeve, 2011; Alvergne & Lummaa, 2009). When women use hormonal contraception (HC), these natural cyclical changes are no longer present (Welling et al., 2012; Miller, Tybur, & Jordan, 2007). Many physical differences between hormonal contraception users and non-users have been examined (Shulman, 2011). However, far fewer psychological and behavioral traits that are likely associated with hormonal contraceptive use have been studied. My goal was to examine relevant dispositional and behavioral traits that differ in hormonal contraceptive users and non-users. The variables examined include life history strategy, sociosexuality, intrasexual competition, social support and risk-taking behavior. One’s life history strategy is indicative of one’s mating pattern among other attitudes and behavior relevant to reproductive success. Sociosexuality is an individual’s tendency to engage in promiscuous behavior. Intrasexual competition is the competition among members of the same sex over mates and status. I included these variables based on the broad prediction that a lack of ovulation leads women to spend a higher proportion of time in a state of long-term mating (with the idea that these women do not experience the ovulatory state so wellnoted for leading to various short-term mating tactics). Thus, women on HC were predicted to show markers of a relatively slow life history and a relatively restricted sociosexuality, coupled with low levels of both intrasexual competition and risky behavior. HC users reported to engage in between-group competition risk-taking more heavily compared to non-users in their ovulatory phase. HC users reported a more restricted sociosexuality in terms of the desire facet compared to non-users. HC users reported to receive higher levels of social support compared to normally cycling women. Lastly, HC users reported to be more intrasexually competitive compared to normally cycling women in their ovulatory phase.
Subjects/Keywords: Contraception; Oral contraceptives; Contraception Psychological aspects; Women Sexual behavior; Menstrual cycle; Birth control; Ovulation; Mate selection Psychological aspects; Risk-taking (Psychology)
Newmark, R. L. (2013). Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective . (Thesis). State University of New York at New Paltz. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1951/61407
Newmark, Rebecca L. “Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective .” 2013. Thesis, State University of New York at New Paltz. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/1951/61407.
Newmark, Rebecca L. “Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective .” 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Newmark RL. Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective . [Internet] [Thesis]. State University of New York at New Paltz; 2013. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1951/61407.
Newmark RL. Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective . [Thesis]. State University of New York at New Paltz; 2013. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1951/61407
10. Younes, Mohammed A. A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics .
Degree: 2008, Aberystwyth University
► This work was carried out to compare the endocrine function of ovarian tissue isolated in vitro, in an identical environment between ewes and ewe lambs.… (more)
▼ This work was carried out to compare the endocrine function of ovarian tissue isolated in vitro, in an identical environment between ewes and ewe lambs. Furthermore, to determine whether the differences in endocrine and reproductive function of ewes and ewe lambs are related to differences in the proteomics of corpora lutea, follicles and oocytes. Oestradiol concentrations in tissue cultured in TCM-199 were similar for ewe and ewe lamb follicles collected post slaughter on day 9 to 12 of the oestrous cycle and cultured for different incubation times but increased with increase in follicular size. Oestradiol secretion was greater (P<0.001) for ewe and ewe lamb follicles cultured in media with FCS. Media progesterone concentrations were higher (P<0.001) for ewe than ewe lamb follicles. Progesterone in media and in follicular fluid was increased with increased follicles size. Ewe CL, collected on day 9 to 12 of the oestrous cycle, produced more progesterone than ewe lamb CL when cultured in TCM-199 with or without FCS, PVA, BSA. Proteomics indicated more large spots, in ewe follicular and CL tissue average gels compared with ewe lamb average gels. The protein spots were estimated to be between 45 to 97 kD, in both tissue and age groups, this range of molecular weight could have affected steroid hormone synthesis. (Chapter.3). Ewe and ewe lamb follicles cultured with FSH and LH produced more oestradiol than without, furthermore, oestradiol concentration increased with follicle size. There was no difference in media oestradiol concentration between age groups after 24 h of culture. However, for follicles cultured for 2, 4 or 6 h, concentrations were greater after 4 and 6 h, in ewes than in ewe lambs. Overall ewe lamb follicles produced more progesterone (P<0.001) than ewe follicles when cultured with FSH and LH when cultured for 24 h, but no difference was observed after 2, 4 and 6 hours between ewes and ewe lambs Overall ewe follicles produced more (P<0.002) progesterone than ewe lambs when cultured with different concentration of hCG although there was no difference between ages with respect to oestradiol concentrations. Ewe CL secreted more progesterone (P<0.002) than ewe lamb CL, when cultured for 0 or 24 h. Furthermore, tissue concentrations were greater in ewe CL than ewe lamb CL after incubation in TCM-199, TCM-199 plus BSA, TCM-199 plus FCS and TCM-199 plus PVA. Ewe lamb CL produced more progesterone than ewe CL in medium containing LH when cultured for 2, 4 and 6 hours, but ewes produced more progesterone than lambs when CL were cultured with different concentrations of hCG. Relative to untreated shells, the protein profiles of the ewe follicular shells treated with FSH and LH changed to a greater extent than that of the ewe lambs treated gels in both ages contained more protein spots than control gels. The largest spots were estimated to be between 30 and 97 kDa (Chapter.4). There was no difference between age groups for follicles from ewes and ewe lambs treated with ovagen in oestradiol and… Advisors/Committee Members: Beck, Neil F. G (advisor).
Subjects/Keywords: Ovarian; Oestrous cycle
Younes, M. A. (2008). A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics . (Thesis). Aberystwyth University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2160/1977
Younes, Mohammed A. “A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics .” 2008. Thesis, Aberystwyth University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2160/1977.
Younes, Mohammed A. “A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics .” 2008. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Younes MA. A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics . [Internet] [Thesis]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/1977.
Younes MA. A Comparison of Ovarian Function in Juvenile and Adult Ewes Using In Vitro Culture and Proteomics . [Thesis]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/1977
11. Munishi, Linus Kasian. The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants.
Degree: DPhil, Faculty of Science, 2011, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011612
► Many elephant populations across Africa were or are being devastated by poaching and habitat loss, making population and range size for the species important issues… (more)
▼ Many elephant populations across Africa were or are being devastated by poaching and habitat loss, making population and range size for the species important issues of conservation concern in elephant ranging areas, including Tarangire National Park (TNP). Poaching and/or overhunting are known to have direct effects on the demography of elephant populations. The current understanding of the indirect effects of poaching on the sociality and demography of elephant populations is relatively poor, both at the group and an individual level. In this thesis the importance of genetic relatedness (as influenced by poaching) on sociality and demography of the female elephants was studied, using a combination of genetic, observation of behaviour and two decades of demography data collected from the northern subpopulation of TNP. I investigated and characterized the relatedness categories within elephant groups. Using a conceptual model for group size analysis in aggregation economies, I hypothesized that elephant populations subject to social disruptions due to poaching would exhibit characteristics of the free entry model, whereas more stable, closed populations would better fit the group-controlled model. I present a rare quantitative analysis of genetic relatedness and group size patterns among groups of adult female elephants in two wild populations: one in Tarangire National Park (TNP), Tanzania, and another in Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), South Africa. I demonstrate that the group size in African elephant populations is governed by genetic relatedness, and that poaching/overhunting has a significant influence upon the apparent group formation and size in elephants. I then focused on the effect of relatedness on agonistic interactions between adult females. I hypothesized that individual-based aggressive interactions among adult female African elephants would vary according to degree of kinship, with closely related dyads showing less aggression towards each other in resource-limited environments, thereby leading to indirect fitness benefits for individuals. As predicted, females did not show agonistic interactions to their close kin most often, and the frequency and intensity of aggressive interactions was inversely related to the degree of relatedness of the interactants. The effect of group relatedness and structure on reproductive success of individual female African elephant in TNP was also investigated. Adult female reproductive success was significantly influenced by within- group relatedness and structure. Higher reproductive success (with higher frequency of calf production and survival and more female calves produced) were more evident in the closely related groups than groups with low relatedness, suggesting that females from genetically disrupted groups are less likely to be reproductive than those in closely related groups. The possibility of negative effects of poaching on the subsequent generation of poached adult females and the alternative of a positive demographic response through reduced density… Advisors/Committee Members: Kerley, Graham I H Prof, Foley, Charles A H Dr.
Subjects/Keywords: African elephant; Wildlife conservation; Elephants – Africa
Munishi, L. K. (2011). The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants . (Doctoral Dissertation). Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011612
Munishi, Linus Kasian. “The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants.” 2011. Doctoral Dissertation, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011612.
Munishi, Linus Kasian. “The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants.” 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Munishi LK. The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; 2011. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011612.
Munishi LK. The influence of genetic relatedness on sociality and demography of female African elephants. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; 2011. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011612
12. Osborne, Barbara. Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool.
Degree: 2015, Drexel University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6730
Unintended pregnancy is a dilemma that affects a significant proportion of American women and families. Reliable and consistent use of contraception has the potential to… (more)
Unintended pregnancy is a dilemma that affects a significant proportion of American women and families. Reliable and consistent use of contraception has the potential to decrease unintended pregnancy. Health care providers caring for women seeking education and counseling related to contraceptive decision making must be prepared to meet both the education and counseling needs of their patients. The purpose of this project was to improve the quality of nurse led contraceptive counseling and increase participation in a shared decision making model for patients desiring contraceptive counseling at the time of voluntary termination of pregnancy. This project was a pretest/post-test design quality improvement intervention pilot project with a qualitative focus group analysis. The World Health Organization's Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool was implemented into current clinical practice for patients undergoing contraceptive selection decision making at an abortion care visit. An educational session on the tool was performed and implemented into practice. Nurses at the site participated in a focus group discussion; a pretest/post-test contraceptive counseling skills self- assessment was also administered. Tool usage was found to increase the information nurses gave to patients in counseling, improved the quality of their counseling and increased patient participation in the decision making process. Furthermore, nurses described a feeling of greater access to evidence based contraceptive guidelines and confidence in their counseling skills. The nurses' perception of improvements in both establishing therapeutic relationships and patient empowerment in decision making were also found with tool use. Nursing leaders should consider tool use in areas in which contraceptive counseling occurs, especially for those specialties in which contraception counseling may not be a primary focus.
D.N.P., Nursing Practice – Drexel University, 2015
Advisors/Committee Members: Fisher, Kathleen, 1954-, College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Subjects/Keywords: Nursing; Contraception Behavior
Osborne, B. (2015). Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool . (Thesis). Drexel University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6730
Osborne, Barbara. “Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool.” 2015. Thesis, Drexel University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6730.
Osborne, Barbara. “Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool.” 2015. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Osborne B. Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool. [Internet] [Thesis]. Drexel University; 2015. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6730.
Osborne B. Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Contraceptive Shared Decision Making Tool. [Thesis]. Drexel University; 2015. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6730
13. Ghosal, Ratna. Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus).
Degree: 2010, Indian Institute of Science
► The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), a charismatic ‘flagship species’, is threatened by extinction in the wild, and the development of self-sustainable captive populations is a… (more)
▼ The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), a charismatic ‘flagship species’, is threatened by extinction in the wild, and the development of self-sustainable captive populations is a key conservation challenge. A third of the Asian elephant population is presently in captivity and information on the reproductive status, especially in females, is still lacking to a large extent. The onset of estrus in female Asian elephants is not associated with any visible physical signs, thus making the assessment of the reproductive status rather difficult. One approach to understanding reproductive cyclicity of animals is through generating profiles of reproductive hormones in blood (Wiseman et al. 1983; Brown et al. 1999, 2004). Profiles of reproductive hormones such as progesterone (P4), estrogen, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone have already being demonstrated in Asian elephants (Brown et al. 1999, 2004; Brown 2000). In these studies, the reproductive status of females, maintained in zoos/captivity, was characterized based on circulating levels of hormones in blood samples. This is difficult to implement in the case of semi-captive or wild populations of elephants due to practical, legal and ethical considerations. In order to overcome this problem and to better understand the estrous status of female elephants, it is important to develop and validate non-invasive methods to monitor the reproductive status of female Asian elephants. An alternative approach to evaluating the reproductive status of females is to consider behavioral responses shown by males towards chemical signals produced by females to advertise their reproductive status. In order to understand the reproductive status of the individual belonging to the opposite sex, studies have shown that elephants rely on a variety of chemical signals produced in biological fluids such as urine, temporal gland secretion, inter-digital gland secretion, etc. (Krishnan 1972; Rasmussen & Schulte 1998). Chemical signaling is one of the prominent modes of communication in elephants, especially with respect to locating potential mates (Sukumar 2003). Thus, in most cases, elephants usually employ specific behavioral responses, for example sniff, check and place behaviors of trunk, for investigating the reproductive status of the conspecific individual, belonging either to the same or the opposite sex (Rasmussen et al. 1996; Schulte & Rasmussen 1999; Bagley et al. 2006). The objectives of the thesis are two-fold. First, to develop a non-invasive method of reproductive monitoring from fecal hormonal metabolites and also to understand the possible role of feces as an inter-sexual signal. The main body of thesis is divided into four chapters. 1) Development and validation of a non-invasive method to estimate progesterone metabolite in feces, to monitor the reproductive cyclicity of female elephants (Chapter 2). 2)Generation and characterization of progesterone and its metabolite, 5α-P-3-OH, profiles of semi-captive females using the developed non-invasive method to… Advisors/Committee Members: Sukumar, R.
Subjects/Keywords: Elephants - Reproduction; Elephants - Reproductive Endocrinology; Sexual Behavior in Animals; Elephants - Reproductive Behavior; Asian Elephants - Reproductive Biology; Elephas Maximus; Female Asian Elephants; Animal Physiology
Ghosal, R. (2010). Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) . (Thesis). Indian Institute of Science. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2005/1883
Ghosal, Ratna. “Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus).” 2010. Thesis, Indian Institute of Science. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2005/1883.
Ghosal, Ratna. “Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus).” 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Ghosal R. Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus). [Internet] [Thesis]. Indian Institute of Science; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2005/1883.
Ghosal R. Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus). [Thesis]. Indian Institute of Science; 2010. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2005/1883
URL: http://etd.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/1883 ; http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/abstracts/2447/G23848-Abs.pdf
Ghosal, R. (2010). Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) . (Thesis). Indian Institute of Science. Retrieved from http://etd.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/1883 ; http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/abstracts/2447/G23848-Abs.pdf
Ghosal, Ratna. “Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus).” 2010. Thesis, Indian Institute of Science. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://etd.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/1883 ; http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/abstracts/2447/G23848-Abs.pdf.
Ghosal R. Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus). [Internet] [Thesis]. Indian Institute of Science; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://etd.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/1883 ; http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/abstracts/2447/G23848-Abs.pdf.
Ghosal R. Studies On Endocrine And Behavioral Assessment Of Reproductive Status In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus). [Thesis]. Indian Institute of Science; 2010. Available from: http://etd.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/1883 ; http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/abstracts/2447/G23848-Abs.pdf
15. [No author]. Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations.
Degree: Zoology, 2013, University of KwaZulu-Natal
► The continual increase in elephant numbers across southern Africa raises concern, though the interventions to manage these populations are more contentious. Within small, enclosed reserves… (more)
▼ The continual increase in elephant numbers across southern Africa raises concern, though the interventions to manage these populations are more contentious. Within small, enclosed reserves active management is necessary to limit elephant impact. Various management tools exist with which to control fluctuations in elephant population numbers or density and simulate natural large stochastic events to control population growth. During this study, undertaken in the Munyawana Conservancy, KwaZulu-Natal, and Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province, South Africa, several management options were implemented. In order to lower the population numbers, family groups were translocated from the Munyawana Conservancy to other reserves, while to reduce population growth rate an immunocontraception was implemented. Both conservation areas introduced older bulls to normalise the bull population age structure, and expanded the conservation area by inclusion of new land to reduce population density. The influence of these management interventions on the elephant population were measured by their social, behavioural, spatial and movement responses. The older bull introduction was successful as bulls set up exclusive bull areas. There was a quick, subtle affect on the bull groups' size immediately after the older bull introduction, while there was no immediate change within the resident bulls' musth behaviour or duration. During area expansion, elephants appeared to perceive the new unexplored area as a threat although this threat became reduced through time as they became more familiar with it. The spatial scale of response was relatively small, while the temporal scale of response was relatively large. Rotational immunocontraception was shown to be a successful tool to alter herd structure by aging the population and maintaining a low population growth rate. The process of immunocontraception darting had no significant effect on herd associations and movement rates, accordingly the duration of the disruption effects were short lived. During multi-management interventions, no differences were found within the elephant social grouping. Management interventions may pose unforeseen social risks and different populations may respond differently to management induced stress. Therefore, interventions need to be considered for each elephant population which will achieve the conservation area's objectives with the most effective outcome, but with lowest holistic impact. Advisors/Committee Members: Slotow, Robert H (advisor).
Subjects/Keywords: Elephants – Africa, Southern.; Wildlife management – Africa, Southern.; Wildlife research.; Wildlife management areas – Africa, Southern.; Zoology.
author], [. (2013). Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations. (Thesis). University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10061
author], [No. “Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations. ” 2013. Thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10061.
author], [No. “Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations. ” 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
author] [. Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of KwaZulu-Natal; 2013. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10061.
author] [. Effects of management intervention on elephant behaviour in small, enclosed populations. [Thesis]. University of KwaZulu-Natal; 2013. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10061
University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
16. Spanbauer, Bradley R. Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania.
Degree: MS-Biology", 2014, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
URL: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/69526
"A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science-Biology"
Seed dispersal by animals is important for maintaining healthy… (more)
Seed dispersal by animals is important for maintaining healthy populations of many tree species. The Janzen-Connell hypothesis, states that trees are under selective pressures to the have their seeds dispersed away from the parent plant and into an environment more suitable for growth. Seeds typically do not survive underneath the parent plant for a myriad of reasons, including light and nutrient limitations, and excessive predation. Large-seeded tree species are especially affected by these factors because their seeds cannot be dispersed by abiotic factors, such as wind. Trees with large seeds that can only be effectively dispersed by largebodied animals are referred to as megafaunal syndrome species. African forest elephant disperser effectiveness has been well studied. African savannah elephants may fill a similar niche, although experimental data are few. African savannah elephants have been suggested as critical seed dispersers, and may be the only remaining organisms capable of effectively dispersing seeds of megafaunal syndrome species. I examined the effectiveness of savannah elephant dung as a protective barrier for three tree species: Acacia tortilis, Tamarindus indica, and Balanites aegyptiaca. Experimental treatments were established to measure the effect of dung in protecting passed seeds. I also addressed the Janzen-Connell model. I predicted that seeds in dung and seeds away from the parent tree would experience less infestation than fresh seeds. Simple linear regression was used to determine daily removal and infestation rates. Two-way analysis of variance was used to compare time in days and treatment and their interaction. Multiple comparisons using a Tukey's test of honest significant differences were made to check for true differences between paired treatments from the ANOVA. Finally, loglinear analysis was used to test for differences among infestation of seeds at different distances from adult conspecific trees. In January 2013, ants or termites in Experiment 1 likely removed passed seeds in dung. Fresh seeds experienced similar levels of removal. Chi-square analysis of data supported my hypothesis and revealed differences in beetle emergence between passed and fresh seeds. In support of my prediction, in October 2013, seeds in dung experienced less beetle infestation than fresh seeds in Experiment 2. Seeds at distances greater than five meters experienced less beetle infestation than seeds underneath conspecific trees in Experiment 3. This study was the first to experimentally address post-dispersal seed fate for megafaunal syndrome species by savannah elephants. It creates a link between disperser effectiveness of forest and savannah elephants, and provides foundation for further examining savannah elephants as seed dispersers of megafaunal syndrome species.
Advisors/Committee Members: Adler, Gregory.
Subjects/Keywords: African elephant - Behavior; African elephant; Elephants
Spanbauer, B. R. (2014). Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania . (Masters Thesis). University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. Retrieved from http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/69526
Spanbauer, Bradley R. “Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania.” 2014. Masters Thesis, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/69526.
Spanbauer, Bradley R. “Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania.” 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Spanbauer BR. Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh; 2014. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/69526.
Spanbauer BR. Seed protection through dispersal by African savannah elephants (loxodonta africana) in Northern Tanzania. [Masters Thesis]. University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh; 2014. Available from: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/69526
17. Browne-Nunez, C. Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya.
Degree: PhD, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, 2010, University of Florida
URL: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042045
► The majority of Kenya s wildlife is found outside protected areas and depends on public tolerance for survival. This study examines residents willingness to allow… (more)
▼ The majority of Kenya s wildlife is found outside protected areas and depends on public tolerance for survival. This study examines residents willingness to allow elephants (Loxodonta africana) in group ranches bordering Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Several interventions aimed at fostering positive attitudes and tolerance of elephants have been implemented to address the increasing level of human-elephant conflict. I (1) test social psychological theory and research methods used in North American human dimensions research, and (2) provide information for planning and evaluating elephant conservation interventions. My review of wildlife attitude survey research in Africa revealed limited use of theory and great variation in research methods. Using the cognitive hierarchy as a theoretical framework, I examined the predictive influence of wildlife values, attitudes, norms, and additional variables on intention to vote to allow elephants in group ranches. Key informant interviews, focus groups, and program record reviews were conducted to develop an interview questionnaire. Results based on personal interviews with 569 group ranch residents indicate that 53% of respondents would vote to allow elephants in group ranches. General attitudes toward elephants, specific attitudes toward allowing elephants, and norms for allowing elephants explained 62% of the variance in intention. Three wildlife value dimensions were identified and predicted attitudes, with a dimension representing indifference to wildlife demonstrating the most predictive ability. Gender, group ranch of residence, knowledge of elephants, level of worry about elephants, and awareness of human-elephant conflict mitigation interventions contributed to the prediction and understanding of wildlife value dimensions, attitudes, and norms. This study demonstrates the transferability of social psychological theory and methods to a rural African setting and provides empirical support for expanding the cognitive hierarchy to include additional predictors of behaviors toward wildlife. Results show the importance and utility of understanding the constructs related to tolerance of wildlife. Recommendations include increasing awareness of human-elephant conflict interventions, increasing actual and perceived elephant-related benefits, providing an education program on elephants based on traditional and scientific information, and implementing land-use policy that would limit land use that is incompatible with wildlife conservation. ( en ) Advisors/Committee Members: Jacobson, Susan K. (committee chair), Chapman, Colin A. (committee member), Hostetler, Mark E. (committee member), Monroe, Martha C. (committee member), Vaske, Jerry (committee member).
Subjects/Keywords: Environmental conservation; Land use; Livestock; National parks; Pastoral poetry; Political attitudes; Psychological attitudes; Ranches; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; africa, amboseli, attitudes, behavior, cognitive, culture, elephants, evaluation, intentions, interventions, kenya, maasai, methods, norms, theory, tolerance, values, wildlife
Browne-Nunez, C. (2010). Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Florida. Retrieved from http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042045
Browne-Nunez, C. “Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Florida. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042045.
Browne-Nunez, C. “Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya.” 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Browne-Nunez C. Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Florida; 2010. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042045.
Browne-Nunez C. Tolerance of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas Predicting Intention to Allow Elephants in Maasai Group Ranches Around Amboseli National Park, Kenya. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Florida; 2010. Available from: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0042045
18. Martins, Summer. International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students.
Degree: PhD, Epidemiology, 2017, University of Minnesota
► BACKGROUND Adolescence and young adulthood are critical life stages for maintaining sexual and reproductive health (SRH), especially for women. There is a vast research literature… (more)
▼ BACKGROUND Adolescence and young adulthood are critical life stages for maintaining sexual and reproductive health (SRH), especially for women. There is a vast research literature dedicated to the determinants of young women’s SRH and related risk behaviors—e.g., contraception and condom use. While the factors influencing women’s SRH are broadly understood, it is less clear how risk mechanisms operate within specific contexts. Illuminating the unique settings that exacerbate or mitigate young women’s SRH risks could guide the development of more potent interventions. This dissertation examines young women’s SRH in the context of international travel. Traveling to a foreign country precipitates an abrupt shift in women’s psychosocial, physical, and cultural environments that may, in turn, influence SRH risk behaviors. Existing studies focus on travelers’ sexual behaviors in predominantly European and clinic-based samples. Data for women are mostly limited to prevalence estimates. Notably, no published studies report on women’s use of contraception, other than condoms, during international travel. With few studies comparing travelers with non-travelers, it is also unclear whether SRH outcomes are attributable to travel itself or if high-risk individuals disproportionately engage in international travel. DATA SOURCE We conducted a mixed-methods study of female university students who had traveled outside the United States in the past three months (“Traveler”) or planned to do so in the next three months (“Pre-Traveler”). Participants had a history of sex with men and considered the United States their home country. For the quantitative study, Travelers, (n=340) and Pre-Travelers (n=170) completed a cross-sectional online survey about their SRH and recent or upcoming trip (“index trip”). In the retrospective portion of the survey, Travelers reported on their index trip and Pre-Travelers for a recent period of similar duration in the United States. The qualitative study consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 25 Travelers and 19 Pre-Travelers. This dissertation is presented in three manuscripts, whose aims, methods, and results are described below. MANUSCRIPT 1 Aim: To evaluate whether traveling internationally increases young women’s risk of adverse SRH outcomes, compared to not traveling. Methods: Using multivariable modified Poisson regression, we estimated relative risk of contraceptive lapse (errors or non-adherence) and new male sexual partnership associated with international travel (Travelers) versus staying in the United States (Pre-Travelers). Results: During international travel, women were no more likely to lapse on their contraception (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.83—1.32) but were 70% more likely to report a new male sex partner (RR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07—2.74). MANUSCRIPT 2 Aim: To describe the prevalence and correlates of contraceptive lapse among young women during international travel. Methods: In this exploratory analysis of surveyed Travelers (n=340), we examined crude bivariate associations between…
Subjects/Keywords: Adolescents; Contraception; Sexual Behavior; Travel
Martins, S. (2017). International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Minnesota. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11299/192657
Martins, Summer. “International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students.” 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Minnesota. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11299/192657.
Martins, Summer. “International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students.” 2017. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Martins S. International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Minnesota; 2017. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11299/192657.
Martins S. International travel, contraceptive use, and sexual behavior: A mixed methods study of female university students. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Minnesota; 2017. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11299/192657
19. Almeida, João Simões de. Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção.
Degree: 2012, Repositório Científico Lusófona
URL: https://www.rcaap.pt/detail.jsp?id=oai:recil.grupolusofona.pt:10437/3629
A imunocontracepção tem sido proposta como possível ferramenta para controlar populações de elefantes que ultrapassem as capacidades do habitat onde vivem. Até à data a… (more)
A imunocontracepção tem sido proposta como possível ferramenta para controlar populações de elefantes que ultrapassem as capacidades do habitat onde vivem. Até à data a única técnica imunocontraceptiva testada em elefantes selvagens foi a vacina contra a zona pelúcida de elefantes fêmea utilizando zona pelúcida porcina (pZP) numa vacina que induz a formação de anticorpos anti-zona pelúcida e consequente bloqueio do processo de fertilização. A literatura disponível revela que tal vacina tem uma eficácia contraceptiva que varia entre 22% e 100%, pode ser administrada à distância através de um dardo, é segura para animais gestantes, não passa na cadeia alimentar e é reversível, pelo menos a médio prazo. O estudo realizado no âmbito deste trabalho, teve como objectivo avaliar a técnica utilizada para a vacinação com pZP da população de elefantes femêa na Makalali game reserve (Africa do Sul) em relação ao método, tempo, efeitos secundários, e custos envolvidos. Todos os animais foram vacinados apartir de um helicóptero, o processo teve uma duração média por elefante de 2.8 minutos, observou-se efeitos secundários locais em 4 individuos, duas das três manadas evidenciaram alterações comportamentais após a vacinação, e o custo total da operação foi de 3417 dólares americanos.
Immunocontraception has been proposed as a possible tool for managing elephant populations existing beyond the capacity of the habitat. To date the only immunocontraceptive technique tested in wild elephants was the zona pellucida vaccine for female elephants using porcine zona pellucida (pZP) in a vaccine that induces the formation of anti - zona pellucida and consequent blocking of the fertilization process. The available literature shows that this vaccine has a contraceptive efficacy ranging between 22% and 100%, it can be administered remotely via a dart, it is safe for pregnant animals, non-transferable in the food chain and it is reversible, at least in the medium term. The study conducted within the framework of this work, aimed to evaluate the technique used for the vaccination with pZP of population of female elephants at the Makalali game reserve (South Africa) in relation to the method, time, side effects, and costs involved. All the animals were vaccinated from a helicopter, the process had a mean duration of 2.8 minutes per elephant, it was observed local side effects in 4 individuals, two of the three herds showed behavioral changes after vaccination, and the total cost of operation was 3417 USD.
Orientação : Ana Godinho ; Co-orientação : Rui Bernardino
Advisors/Committee Members: Godinho, Ana, orient..
Subjects/Keywords: VETERINÁRIA; CONTRACEÇÃO; ELEFANTES; ELEPHANTS; CONTRACEPTION; MESTRADO INTEGRADO EM MEDICINA VETERINÁRIA; MEDICINA VETERINÁRIA; VETERINARY MEDICINE
Almeida, J. S. d. (2012). Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção . (Thesis). Repositório Científico Lusófona. Retrieved from https://www.rcaap.pt/detail.jsp?id=oai:recil.grupolusofona.pt:10437/3629
Almeida, João Simões de. “Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção.” 2012. Thesis, Repositório Científico Lusófona. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://www.rcaap.pt/detail.jsp?id=oai:recil.grupolusofona.pt:10437/3629.
Almeida, João Simões de. “Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção.” 2012. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Almeida JSd. Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção. [Internet] [Thesis]. Repositório Científico Lusófona; 2012. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: https://www.rcaap.pt/detail.jsp?id=oai:recil.grupolusofona.pt:10437/3629.
Almeida JSd. Controlo populacional do Elefante Africano : a imunocontracepção. [Thesis]. Repositório Científico Lusófona; 2012. Available from: https://www.rcaap.pt/detail.jsp?id=oai:recil.grupolusofona.pt:10437/3629
20. Younes, Mohammed A. A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics.
Degree: PhD, 2008, Aberystwyth University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145
▼ This work was carried out to compare the endocrine function of ovarian tissue isolated in vitro, in an identical environment between ewes and ewe lambs. Furthermore, to determine whether the differences in endocrine and reproductive function of ewes and ewe lambs are related to differences in the proteomics of corpora lutea, follicles and oocytes. Oestradiol concentrations in tissue cultured in TCM-199 were similar for ewe and ewe lamb follicles collected post slaughter on day 9 to 12 of the oestrous cycle and cultured for different incubation times but increased with increase in follicular size. Oestradiol secretion was greater (P<0.001) for ewe and ewe lamb follicles cultured in media with FCS. Media progesterone concentrations were higher (P<0.001) for ewe than ewe lamb follicles. Progesterone in media and in follicular fluid was increased with increased follicles size. Ewe CL, collected on day 9 to 12 of the oestrous cycle, produced more progesterone than ewe lamb CL when cultured in TCM-199 with or without FCS, PVA, BSA. Proteomics indicated more large spots, in ewe follicular and CL tissue average gels compared with ewe lamb average gels. The protein spots were estimated to be between 45 to 97 kD, in both tissue and age groups, this range of molecular weight could have affected steroid hormone synthesis. (Chapter.3). Ewe and ewe lamb follicles cultured with FSH and LH produced more oestradiol than without, furthermore, oestradiol concentration increased with follicle size. There was no difference in media oestradiol concentration between age groups after 24 h of culture. However, for follicles cultured for 2, 4 or 6 h, concentrations were greater after 4 and 6 h, in ewes than in ewe lambs. Overall ewe lamb follicles produced more progesterone (P<0.001) than ewe follicles when cultured with FSH and LH when cultured for 24 h, but no difference was observed after 2, 4 and 6 hours between ewes and ewe lambs Overall ewe follicles produced more (P<0.002) progesterone than ewe lambs when cultured with different concentration of hCG although there was no difference between ages with respect to oestradiol concentrations. Ewe CL secreted more progesterone (P<0.002) than ewe lamb CL, when cultured for 0 or 24 h. Furthermore, tissue concentrations were greater in ewe CL than ewe lamb CL after incubation in TCM-199, TCM-199 plus BSA, TCM-199 plus FCS and TCM-199 plus PVA. Ewe lamb CL produced more progesterone than ewe CL in medium containing LH when cultured for 2, 4 and 6 hours, but ewes produced more progesterone than lambs when CL were cultured with different concentrations of hCG. Relative to untreated shells, the protein profiles of the ewe follicular shells treated with FSH and LH changed to a greater extent than that of the ewe lambs treated gels in both ages contained more protein spots than control gels. The largest spots were estimated to be between 30 and 97 kDa (Chapter.4). There was no difference between age groups for follicles from ewes and ewe lambs treated with ovagen in oestradiol and progesterone…
Subjects/Keywords: 636.089; Ovarian; Oestrous cycle
Younes, M. A. (2008). A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics . (Doctoral Dissertation). Aberystwyth University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2160/0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145
Younes, Mohammed A. “A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics.” 2008. Doctoral Dissertation, Aberystwyth University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2160/0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145.
Younes, Mohammed A. “A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics.” 2008. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Younes MA. A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145.
Younes MA. A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2160/0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145
URL: https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-comparison-of-ovarian-function-in-juvenile-and-adult-ewes-using-in-vitro-culture-and-proteomics(0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145).html ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494632
Younes, M. A. (2008). A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics . (Doctoral Dissertation). Aberystwyth University. Retrieved from https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-comparison-of-ovarian-function-in-juvenile-and-adult-ewes-using-in-vitro-culture-and-proteomics(0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145).html ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494632
Younes, Mohammed A. “A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics.” 2008. Doctoral Dissertation, Aberystwyth University. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-comparison-of-ovarian-function-in-juvenile-and-adult-ewes-using-in-vitro-culture-and-proteomics(0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145).html ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494632.
Younes MA. A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-comparison-of-ovarian-function-in-juvenile-and-adult-ewes-using-in-vitro-culture-and-proteomics(0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145).html ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494632.
Younes MA. A comparison of ovarian function in juvenile and adult ewes using in vitro culture and proteomics. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Aberystwyth University; 2008. Available from: https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-comparison-of-ovarian-function-in-juvenile-and-adult-ewes-using-in-vitro-culture-and-proteomics(0d7b1d9a-4c09-4e55-aaa1-8fa9b9b22145).html ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494632
22. Rodríguez, Rocío A. Pozo. A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions.
Degree: PhD, 2017, University of Oxford
URL: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1b3f1379-a04e-45fa-ba85-e24b2d3dee00 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.729883
► The study of conflicts in conservation (also known as human-wildlife conflicts) is a growing field of research in areas where people and wildlife interact, because… (more)
▼ The study of conflicts in conservation (also known as human-wildlife conflicts) is a growing field of research in areas where people and wildlife interact, because of the negative impacts each can have on the other. Addressing conflicts is certainly challenging because of the complexities of considering diverse interests from numerous stakeholders and the specific ecological and socio-economic characteristics of a given study system. No matter how complex the system under study is, the aim is in all cases to find effective and sustainable mitigation strategies for local people, as well as for wildlife conservation and local authorities. In this thesis, I look at two of the preliminary steps required to address conservation conflicts and develop efficient long-lasting management solutions: the gathering of ecological data and the assessment of mitigation strategies in the field. To do this, I use two case studies: crop-foraging by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana, and selective hunting of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) population on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. In Chapter 2, I built a baseline for the level of conflict in the Okavango Delta Panhandle (Botswana) using temporal trends of crop-foraging by elephants as an index of the level of conflict, and subsequently looked at how this relates to trends in agricultural land allocated in the study area, as well as with trends in human and elephant population size. In Chapter 3, I mapped the distribution of the local population of elephants and assessed its interaction with landscape features and sites where crop-foraging events had been recorded. In both chapters (2 & 3) I found that -in general- the number of elephants was not a determinant of the level of conflict in the study area, but that the spatiotemporal distribution of the species as well as the spatial and temporal scales considered were. In the second half of my thesis, I assessed the effects of two common conflict mitigation methods: the use of deterrents (Chapter 4) and lethal control (Chapter 5). I first evaluated the effectiveness of chilli-briquettes in deterring elephants and secondly, I used a modelling approach to predict the demographic effects of increasing levels of selective hunting in a male red deer population. I found that both mitigation methods showed unexpected results, which would not have been detected had I not tested for them. This thesis highlights the advantages of applying methods that are based on informed decisions in areas of conflict, as well as the value of sharing results in conservation management. My findings contribute towards a better understanding of the negative impacts of human-wildlife interactions, which often lead to conservation conflicts, as well as contributing protocols and methodologies that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.
Subjects/Keywords: 333.95; Wildlife conservation; Conflicts in conservation; Red deer; Elephants; People's livelihood; wildlife management
Rodríguez, R. A. P. (2017). A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Oxford. Retrieved from https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1b3f1379-a04e-45fa-ba85-e24b2d3dee00 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.729883
Rodríguez, Rocío A Pozo. “A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions.” 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oxford. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1b3f1379-a04e-45fa-ba85-e24b2d3dee00 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.729883.
Rodríguez, Rocío A Pozo. “A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions.” 2017. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Rodríguez RAP. A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Oxford; 2017. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1b3f1379-a04e-45fa-ba85-e24b2d3dee00 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.729883.
Rodríguez RAP. A stepwise approach to understanding and effectively mitigating human-wildlife interactions. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Oxford; 2017. Available from: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1b3f1379-a04e-45fa-ba85-e24b2d3dee00 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.729883
23. Sabar, Uzmah Jabeen. The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues.
► Prostaglandins are integral mediators in reproductive processes but their exact role in uterine function is still not clear. In addition, ethical restraints have limited the… (more)
▼ Prostaglandins are integral mediators in reproductive processes but their exact role in uterine function is still not clear. In addition, ethical restraints have limited the availability of human tissue to investigate uterine prostanoid receptor populations. The aim of this thesis was to characterise the prostanoid receptors on the human and rat myometrium in order to evaluate the potential of the rat as an animal model of human uterine function and disease. For functional analysis of myometrial prostanoid receptors the immersion technique was utilised. LC-ESI-MS/MS was also used to measure the ex vivo myometrial release of prostanoid metabolites. The results show that both the rat and human uterus displays cyclical changes in uterine motility, with myogenicity greatest in the follicular and oestrus stages. The data also indicate that whilst the human uterus is responsive to EP3, EP2, TP, FP and IP receptor agonists, a functional population of only EP3, EP2 and FP receptors is present on the rat uterus, although the TP receptor appears to be upregulated at gestation and post-partum. The results also show that myometrial prostanoid release in the human uterus is cyclically regulated, with the greatest amount of prostaglandins being released during the late follicular stage. In conclusion, although similarities do exist with regard to the ovarian regulation of uterine motility in both the rat and human uterus, the differences in the apparent functional prostaglandin receptor populations between the two species suggest further work is required before the rat can be used as a model of human uterine function.
Subjects/Keywords: 615.1; Prostaglandins; Myometrium; Human; Rat; Menstrual cycle; Oestrous cycle; Pregnancy; Prostanoid receptors
Sabar, U. J. (2012). The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Bradford. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5691
Sabar, Uzmah Jabeen. “The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues.” 2012. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Bradford. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5691.
Sabar, Uzmah Jabeen. “The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues.” 2012. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Sabar UJ. The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Bradford; 2012. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5691.
Sabar UJ. The effect of prostaglandins in myometrial tissue : a functional and lipidomic study : the influence of the hormonal milieu on the functional response to prostaglandins and ex vivo lipid biosynthesis in myometrial tissues. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Bradford; 2012. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5691
24. Du Toit, Jana. Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park.
Degree: Faculty of Science, 2015, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
► Animals are restricted in their diets by several factors, most notably the availability and quality of resources. Variation in resource availability causes herbivores to shift… (more)
▼ Animals are restricted in their diets by several factors, most notably the availability and quality of resources. Variation in resource availability causes herbivores to shift their diets seasonally and spatially. Elephants (Loxodonta africana), are known to have extensive impacts on plant communities, altering ecosystem functioning and causing a decline in biodiversity. In enclosed areas, these impacts are increased leading to a decline in resource availability and presumably resource quality. In the Addo Elephant National Park, the Main Camp section has a history of high elephant impacts and therefore reduced resource availability. Whereas, the recently added Colchester section has greater resource availability, due to the absence of elephants in this section since the fencing of the Park. This study investigated the changes in diet (diet breadth, preference and diet quality) of elephants due to an increase in resource availability. Three alternative hypotheses were contrasted: 1) elephants as generalist foragers, 2) elephants as optimal foragers, or 3) elephants learning foraging behaviour. Using microhistological analysis, the diets of elephants were described over five sampling periods (August 2010 – February 2014) in both sections. Forage availability was estimated using a modified line-intercept method, and was used to determine changes in preference by relating forage availability to use. In the Colchester section the diet breadth of elephants increased, and was coupled with a high initial variation between the diets of elephants, which decreased in subsequent sampling periods. This supported the elephants learning foraging behaviour hypothesis. However, there was no increase in diet preference by elephants in the Colchester section, which supported the elephants as generalist foragers hypothesis. There was also no difference in the diet quality of elephants in the Main Camp and Colchester sections, which did not support any of the three hypotheses. The elephants learning foraging behaviour hypothesis is proposed to be the link between the alternate two hypotheses, and given enough time, either of the two could be supported. The lack of difference in preference and diet quality between elephants in the Main Camp and Colchester sections is hypothesised to be due to the population level (not measured for individuals) at which these were measured. Microhistological analysis of faeces was used to describe the diet of elephants, which was compared to the diet described by DNA metabarcoding. Microhistological analysis is a traditional, favoured technique used in describing the diet of wild herbivores, whereas DNA metabarcoding is a relatively new and untested technique. These two techniques have not yet been compared in the diet of megaherbivores. Results indicated that microhistological analysis identified significantly more grass in the diet of elephants, than DNA metabarcoding did, which was expected as previous studies also found overestimation of grasses. Microhistological analysis identified more plant…
Subjects/Keywords: Elephants – Nutrition – South Africa – Eastern Cape; Elephants – Habitat – South Africa – Eastern Cape; Wildlife conservation; Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa)
Du Toit, J. (2015). Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park . (Thesis). Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021194
Du Toit, Jana. “Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park.” 2015. Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021194.
Du Toit, Jana. “Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park.” 2015. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Du Toit J. Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park. [Internet] [Thesis]. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; 2015. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021194.
Du Toit J. Changes in diet resource use by elephants, Loxodonta Africana, due to changes in resource availability in the Addo National Park. [Thesis]. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; 2015. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021194
25. Swanepoel, Pascale. Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa.
Degree: MScConEcol, Conservation Ecology and Entomology, 2019, Stellenbosch University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106140
► ENGLISH ABSTRACT: African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are megaherbivore mixed feeders. They are an important keystone species, influencing a variety of factors within an ecosystem. Historically… (more)
▼ ENGLISH ABSTRACT: African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are megaherbivore mixed feeders. They are an important keystone species, influencing a variety of factors within an ecosystem. Historically elephants migrated throughout large parts of South Africa, including the valleys of the Little Karoo. However, these seasonal migration routes have long since disappeared and most of these large herbivores now only occur in South Africa within fenced reserves. This containment of populations can have a negative impact on landscapes as areas are utilised across seasons, thus not allowing vegetation a recovery period. In a sensitive semi-arid environment such as the Little Karoo, this has been a concern with the reintroduction of such large herbivores, as their spatial use and feeding ecology are largely unknown in this area. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is a 57 600-ha reserve in the Little Karoo which has reintroduced various animals since its creation in 2002. Since the introduction of elephants in 2003 and 2009 the population has increased to 17 individuals between two herds. Habitat heterogeneity, local rainfall, and spatio-temporal distribution of food and water are some of the key elements determining the size and structure of elephants’ home ranges. GPS satellite collars were used to determine the areas utilised by both elephant herds on the reserve. An individual from each elephant herd was fitted with a GPS satellite collar which recorded their hourly movements over an 18-month period. The data collected were utilised to determine home ranges and core zones using the Kernel Density Estimate and Grid Square Methods. Weather patterns were also recorded throughout the study period through the use of weather stations and observations. This information was used to determine the influence of weather on seasonal spatial usage as well as the impact of water points on their movement on the reserve. Results indicated the importance of river lines within both elephant herds’ core zones, however mountain slopes and open valleys were also utilised within their home ranges. The Northern herd’s home range spanned over 25% of the available area (60.4 km2) whereas the Southern herd had a home range of 73.9 km2, 31% of the available area. Furthermore, results show that rainfall, temperature, seasonal vegetation growth and water availability influence seasonal spatial usage.The preferred space utilised correlates with the elephants’ diet preferences. Previous studies of elephant diet in semi-arid to arid environments recorded the utilisation of a combination of graze (C4), woody browse (C3) and succulent browse (CAM), with season and habitat determining the percentage present in the diet. A combination of scan sampling and isotopic analysis of faeces samples was used to better understand the diet of elephants on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. Results from the scan sampling show that a variety of plant species (at least 94) were recorded to constitute the elephants’ diet. Through the combination of both methods over a 16-month period seasonal… Advisors/Committee Members: Leslie, Alison, Vorster, Liesl, Vorster, Paul, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Conservation Ecology and Entomology..
Subjects/Keywords: African elephants (Loxodonta africana) – South Africa – Little Karoo – Sanbona Wildlife Reserve; African elephants (Loxodonta africana) – Feeding and feeds; African elephants (Loxodonta africana) – Spatial ecology; UCTD
Swanepoel, P. (2019). Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa. (Masters Thesis). Stellenbosch University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106140
Swanepoel, Pascale. “Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa.” 2019. Masters Thesis, Stellenbosch University. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106140.
Swanepoel, Pascale. “Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa.” 2019. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Swanepoel P. Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Stellenbosch University; 2019. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106140.
Swanepoel P. Spatial and feeding ecology of elephant (Loxodonta africana) on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa. [Masters Thesis]. Stellenbosch University; 2019. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106140
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
26. Cheng, Cece. Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania.
Degree: 2016, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/3338
► OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine and compare contraceptive choices in women in China and Tanzania and to assess the factors associated… (more)
▼ OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine and compare contraceptive choices in women in China and Tanzania and to assess the factors associated with their contraceptive choice. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort trial was performed at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China (06/2013 - 08/2013) and the Monduli District Hospital in Monduli, Tanzania (08/2015 - 09/2015). Women were approached during either an inpatient or outpatient visit with an Obstetrics/Gynecology practitioner and asked to complete a survey in their native language (Mandarin or Kiswahili) after obtaining verbal consent. The survey included demographic and social data, socioeconomic status (SES), obstetric history, and contraceptive choice. Data were analyzed using Student’s T-test and Chi-square test for continuous and categorical data, respectively. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 128 Chinese women and 61 Tanzanian women completed the survey. Most women chose to use condoms with very few women using long acting reversible contraceptives. However, in the Tanzania population, other popular methods of contraception included LARCs such as implants as well as injections. In addition, elective abortion rates were significantly higher in Chinese women than Tanzanian women (P <0.05). Chinese women <21 and >35 years of age used some form of contraception compared with women in the 21-35 year old range who were more likely to not use contraception, while very few Tanzanian women in the <21 had ever used contraceptives. In addition, those in higher socioeconomic classes/with higher education were less likely to use contraceptives in the Chinese population, but more likely to use contraceptives in the Tanzanian population. CONCLUSION: Contraceptive use in China and Tanzania was clearly influenced by many factors. The high rate of condom use compared to longer, more sustainable methods of contraception highlight a need for better contraception education in both developing countries. Advisors/Committee Members: Roberts, Scott, Wells, C. Edward, Niwagaba, Lillian.
Subjects/Keywords: Contraception Behavior; Contraception; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; China; Tanzania
Cheng, C. (2016). Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania . (Thesis). University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/3338
Cheng, Cece. “Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania.” 2016. Thesis, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/3338.
Cheng, Cece. “Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania.” 2016. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Cheng C. Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; 2016. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/3338.
Cheng C. Contraceptive Use Across Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Contraceptive Use in Women Seeking Care at Sun Yat-sen University Hospital, China and Monduli District Hospital, Tanzania. [Thesis]. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; 2016. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/3338
27. Chanrot, Metasu. Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens.
Degree: 2017, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
URL: http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14124/
► In dairy cows, clinical uterine infection (metritis) and subsequent persistent inflammation of the endometrium (endometritis) are major causes of infertility. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is… (more)
▼ In dairy cows, clinical uterine infection (metritis) and subsequent persistent inflammation of the endometrium (endometritis) are major causes of infertility. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a prevalent bacteria in metritis and endometritis and promotes infection with bovine herpes virus type 4 (BoHV-4) through mechanisms involving lipopolysaccharide endotoxins (LPS). In this thesis, interactions between E. coli LPS, BoHV-4 and the endometrial epithelium were studied using in vitro models following characterisation of tissue samples used for culture. Examination of cell proliferation, survival and apoptosis after challenges with various doses of LPS revealed that cow and tissue characteristics did not influence proliferation of bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEEC) in response to LPS. However, E. coli LPS stimulated proliferation of bEEC (maximum observed at 8 µg/mL LPS). The strong increase in cell numbers by 72 h was not associated with an increase in apoptosis, but this occurred with higher LPS doses. Analysis of protein pro-files revealed de-regulation of 38 proteins belonging to many pathways, some related to the process of implantation. Morphological studies and ELISA were used to characterise the survival of cells and the cytokine response of bEEC to BoHV-4. In infected samples, the number of living cells started to decrease by Day 4 post-challenge and by Day 7 the number was lower than in controls. This change was associated with viral replication between Day 0 and Day 5, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence, titration and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results and changes in IL-8 and TNF-α profiles. Moreover, the results showing strong pathogenic effects of BoHV-4 on endometrial epithelial cells pave the way for future studies on sexual transmission of BoHV-4 at time of insemination. The results obtained led to development of reliable models to study interactions between uterine epithelial cells and pathogens, which could be of translational use. In a time- and dose-dependent manner, E. coli LPS increased and BoHV-4 decreased the survival of bovine bEEC in vitro, while LPS induced strong alterations of protein profiles, especially those related to pathways activated at time of implantation. Such de-regulations may be part of the mechanism by which persistent inflammation following infection impairs fertility. This information can be exploited to identify new diagnostic markers of persistence of inflammation in the endometrium.
Subjects/Keywords: dairy cows; endometrium; endometritis; epithelium; cell culture; oestrous cycle; inflammation; pathogens; in vitro experimentation; laboratory diagnosis; cow; LPS; BoHV-4; endometrium; cell culture; proteomics; cell proliferation; endometritis; oestrous cycle
Chanrot, M. (2017). Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens . (Doctoral Dissertation). Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved from http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14124/
Chanrot, Metasu. “Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens.” 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14124/.
Chanrot, Metasu. “Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens.” 2017. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Chanrot M. Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; 2017. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14124/.
Chanrot M. Responses of bovine endometrial epithelial cells to pathogens. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; 2017. Available from: http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/14124/
28. Vliet, D. van. The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares.
► This study aimed to describe the characteristics of the oestrous cycle in the Friesian mare, and to produce a guideline for veterinarians responsible for reproductive… (more)
▼ This study aimed to describe the characteristics of the oestrous cycle in the Friesian mare, and to produce a guideline for veterinarians responsible for reproductive management of mares from this breed. The description of the oestrous cycle included the following parameters: the interovulatory interval (IOI), follicle diameter, follicle softness, uterine tone, cervical tone, endometrial oedema and free fluid. Also analysed were the number of artificial inseminations (AI) per cycle, any hormones administered, the age and reproductive status of the mare and the season in which the mare was monitored. The data were collected from three different clinics or stud farms in the Netherlands and included 687 cycles from 340 mares, aged between 3 and 21 years. Multiple cycles in one part of season were averaged into a single representative cycle for each individual mare. Cycles that were altered by the use of hormones were grouped and analysed separately. In non-manipulated oestrous cycles, an IOI of 24.46 ± 0.32 days was recorded. The IOI was not significantly affected by season (spring, summer), reproductive status (barren, maiden or lactating) or mare age. The maximum follicle diameter was 5.18 ± 0.04 cm at approximately 48 hours prior to ovulation. Growth rate of the pre-ovulatory follicle was 0.242 ± 0.08 cm per day until day -1 (day 0 = day of ovulation). Cessation of follicle growth was a good indicator of impending ovulation within 24 hours. Uterine oedema began to increase on day -8 and peaked on day -6. In conclusion, the reproductive cycle of Friesian mares is characterized by a relatively long IOI, large follicle diameter and early peak in uterine oedema compared to other horse breeds. The signs of an impending ovulation within 48 hours, and therefore for AI with fresh or chilled semen, were: a softening pre-ovulatory follicle of >4.0-4.5 cm with a thick follicular wall, allied to decreasing uterine oedema. Advisors/Committee Members: Stout, T.A.E., Hendriks, W.K..
Subjects/Keywords: oestrus; oestrous; cycle; reproduction; reproductive; mare; fertility; breed; friesian; friesians; IOI; pregnant; pregnancy
Vliet, D. v. (2014). The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares . (Masters Thesis). Universiteit Utrecht. Retrieved from http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/301359
Vliet, D van. “The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares.” 2014. Masters Thesis, Universiteit Utrecht. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/301359.
Vliet, D van. “The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares.” 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Vliet Dv. The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2014. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/301359.
Vliet Dv. The oestrous cycle in Friesian mares. [Masters Thesis]. Universiteit Utrecht; 2014. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl:8080/handle/1874/301359
29. Yilmaz, Bayram. The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat.
Degree: PhD, 1997, University of Glasgow
URL: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71318/ ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360282
► It has been suggested that a multiplicity of neurotransmitter systems regulate the release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from their neurons in the hypothalamus which in… (more)
▼ It has been suggested that a multiplicity of neurotransmitter systems regulate the release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from their neurons in the hypothalamus which in turn control luteinising hormone (LH) secretion from the anterior pituitary. An example of such neurotransmitter systems is that secreting the endogenous opioid peptides which have a profound inhibitory influence on the LH secretion. Recently, it has been reported that a reduction in the activity of these peptides in the hypothalamus may be the initial neural stimulus for the generation of the pre-ovulatory LH surge which induces ovulation. Furthermore, this inhibitory opioidergic action may involve alterations in the activity of monoaminergic neurons which make synaptic contacts with the GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus. Naloxone-, the opioid antagonist, induced LH release can be prevented by prior administration of a-adrenergic blockers. The central noradrenergic system is believed to be an essential component of the GnRH pulse-generating mechanism. The present study was undertaken to determine (i) the modulating effects of specific mu-, kappa- and delta-opioid receptor agonists and antagonists on hypothalamic monoaminergic content and on LH release and (ii) the inter-relationship between the opioid peptidergic and aminergic systems in the control of GnRH activity. The results indicate that multiple opioid receptor subtypes are involved in the opioid suppression of the pre-ovulatory LH surge. It appears that opioid modulation of noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin release and/or turnover within the specific areas of the hypothalamus via mu-, kappa- and delta-opioid receptors is inhibitory at the time of the LH surge. This study supports the concept that an increase in the hypothalamic noradrenergic activity is a critical event in triggering the surge release of GnRH and LH. Both the dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems may also facilitate the pre-ovulatory LH surge, although their effects are thought to be of minor importance in this process. In view of the unexpected interference by both urethane and ketamine anaesthesia on plasma LH levels, it is recommended that use of general anaesthetics in neuroendocrine studies should be avoided if at all possible.
Subjects/Keywords: 572; Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone; Oestrous cycle
Yilmaz, B. (1997). The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Glasgow. Retrieved from http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71318/ ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360282
Yilmaz, Bayram. “The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat.” 1997. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Glasgow. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71318/ ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360282.
Yilmaz, Bayram. “The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat.” 1997. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Yilmaz B. The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Glasgow; 1997. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71318/ ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360282.
Yilmaz B. The role of endogenous opioids and brain neurotransmitters in the generation of the LH surge in the rat. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Glasgow; 1997. Available from: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71318/ ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360282
30. Madosky, Jessa. Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC.
Degree: PhD, Biological Sciences, 2011, University of New Orleans
URL: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/450
► Mammal species often live in social groups, but the factors that promote group cohesion can be difficult to analyze due to the prevalence of… (more)
▼ Mammal species often live in social groups, but the factors that promote group cohesion can be difficult to analyze due to the prevalence of strong group affiliations. Feral horses maintain stable harems of one or two males and several females, and harem stability is strongly related to individual fitness. Anecdotal evidence and an early study in the non-breeding season suggest that management of the Shackleford Banks island horses with immunocontraception reduces harem stability in the population, providing an opportunity to study the factors that influence harem stability. I investigated the effects of the immunocontraceptive PZP on harem stability during the breeding season and examined mare activity budgets and harassment rates to determine if these factors influence harem stability. I hypothesized that 1) immunocontraception would increase the rates at which mares changed harems during the breeding season 2) activity budgets of contracepted individuals would differ significantly from those of uncontracepted individuals, and 3) contracepted mares would experience greater levels of harassment associated with changing harems than uncontracepted mares. I found that the immunocontraceptive does increase harem changes during the breeding season. I also found that contracepted mares have different activity budgets than uncontracepted mares; as predicted, contracepted mares grazed less and moved more than uncontracepted controls. The factors that influence mare activity budgets included immunocontraception, harem stallion, number of individuals in the harem, number of mares in the harem and body condition of the mare, as well as some interactions between factors. I found that high harassment rates by both harem stallions and other mares in the harem are correlated with higher harem change rates and that contracepted mares are harassed more than uncontracepted mares. These results indicate that the immunocontraceptive does influence harem stability in this feral horse population, potentially through alterations in activity budgets and harassment rates. Advisors/Committee Members: Howard, Jerome J, Lailvaux, Simon, Weems, Carl.
Subjects/Keywords: Feral horse behavior, equine behavior, harem stability, social stability, immunocontraception, activity budgets, harassment, PZP, Equus caballus; Population Biology; Zoology
Madosky, J. (2011). Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of New Orleans. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/450
Madosky, Jessa. “Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC.” 2011. Doctoral Dissertation, University of New Orleans. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/450.
Madosky, Jessa. “Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC.” 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2020.
Madosky J. Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of New Orleans; 2011. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Available from: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/450.
Madosky J. Factors That Affect Harem Stability in a Feral Horse (Equus caballus) Population on Shackleford Banks island, NC. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of New Orleans; 2011. Available from: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/450
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Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold, 9 October 2010.
This was the first opera of the 2010-2011 season at the New York Metropolitan Opera to be screened worldwide in high definition. It was also the first of the Met’s new Ring cycle, produced by Robert Lepage, which has been five years in preparation. Unable to obtain seats for the ‘live’ transmission on the Saturday, sold out within hours of booking opening, we were able to view it the following day in a nearly half empty cinema (a welcome innovation giving a wider audience of less fanatical opera goers the possibility of experiencing the operas).
Jennifer Johnson as Wellgunde, Tamara Mumford as Flosshilde, and Lisette Oropesa as Woglinde in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold”
Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
The cinema presentation opened with an introduction to the new production and the now customary interviews with cast members and production team, explaining that the elaborate set, designed by Carl Fillion, required a strengthening of the stage to bear its forty ton weight.
The set consisted of groups of movable planks, steeply raked to represent the Rhine and support the Rhinemaidens clad in corset harnesses, covered by mermaid costumes (do we have to sing while we are swimming? asked one, visibly scared at the realisation of what was expected); the director explained that the intensity of the bubbles was determined by the power of their singing. The planks transformed into a long staircase for the way down to Nibelheim. The lighting design of Etienne Boucher helped to set the atmosphere.
While admiring the ingenuity which had gone onto mounting the production one was left wondering whether it was worth the effort to produce such an elaborate abstract representation for what was essentially a small-scale, straight-forward and realistic mise-en-scène. Gone are all the pretentious attempts to tie the opera to fashionable psychological, socio-historical or political theories which most directors seem to find obligatory these days. The drama is played out in the manner of a Brothers Grimm fairytale with costumes in the style of the Arthur Rackham illustrations which used so to scare me when I was little.
Wotan has engaged two giants to build Valhalla, a palace ‘fit for the gods’. To pay for it, Wotan, aided by Loge, tricks the Nibelung Alberich out of a hoard of gold stolen from the Rhinemaidens; this is exchanged for Freia who has been held hostage by the giants awaiting payment and the gods enter Valhalla. In this production the characters are fairytale characters, not the archetypes of Wagner’s grand music drama.
These gods are human, as are the Nibelung, but the main strength of the production is the subtle way in which the human qualities of the characters are presented. Thus Wotan is presented as a stubborn obsessive, in denial about his debt-crisis, Fricka (Stephanie Blythe – we are concerned about her physical well-being) as the long-suffering wife. Of the gods, Loge (Richard Croft) is the con man ‘fixer’ (attracting boos at the end), Donner (Dwayne Croft) is impetuous, his solution to everything is to wave his hammer at it, Freia (Wendy Bryn Harmer) fragile yet deeply humiliated at being exchanged for gold. Likewise the Nibelung Alberich (Eric Owens) and Mime (Gerhard Seiger) are extremely well depicted; we look forward to their reappearance in Siegfried. Only Erda dressed (surely not deliberately?) as Charles Addams’ Morticia Munster, struck an incongruous note.
Musically, the performance, conducted by James Levine, was superb. It is difficult to fault or to single out any of the singers but my attention was particularly held by the Rhinemaidens (Lisette Oropesa, Jennifer Johnson and Tamara Mumford who appeared at home in their costumes and apparatus after their initial difficulties), Eric Owens’ Alberich and the clear tones of Wendy Bryn Harmer as Freia.
It is fashionable in some quarters to belittle Bryn Terfel but his voice and presence were just right for this Wotan, his optimistic final words in praise of Valhalla made poignant by our knowledge of disasters to come.
Rheingold is notoriously difficult to produce. Has anyone ever seen a fully satisfactory production? This one engaged our attention at the time as a piece of story- telling and we look forward to the rest of the cycle in this style. However in retrospect we missed, as I said, the grandeur of vision and archetypal quality of Wagner’s invention which left a feeling of something lacking.
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The Last Oracle
Narrator Peter Jay Fernandez
In Washington D.C., a homeless man dies in Commander Gray Pierce's arms, shot by an assassin's bullet. But the death leaves behind a greater mystery: a bloody coin found clutched in the dead man's hand, an ancient relic that traces back to the Greek Oracle of Delphi. As ruthless hunters search for the stolen artifact, Pierce discovers the coin is the key to unlocking a plot that threatens the very foundation of humanity. For an international think-tank of scientists has discovered a way to bioengineer autistic children who show savant talents into something far greater and far more frightening—all in hopes of creating a world prophet for the new millennium, one to be manipulated to create a new era of global peace . . . a peace on their own terms.
From ancient Greek temples to glittering mausoleums, from the slums of India to the radioactive ruins of Russia, two men must race against time to solve a mystery that dates back to the first famous oracle of history—the Greek Oracle of Delphi. But one question remains: will the past be enough to save the future?
Os Lusíadas
Trece runas
Stardust: The Gift Edition
Bound by Flames
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REVIEW: How soldier guitars, culture and faith paved way for Bougainville’s peace
From page
Robie, D. (2019). REVIEW: How soldier guitars, culture and faith paved way for Bougainville’s peace. Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 25(1&2), 303-306. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v25i1and2.502
Author(s): David Robie
Soldiers Without Guns: An untold story of unsung Kiwi heroes, documentary, 92min. Director Will Watson. Narrated by Lucy Lawless.
WHILE a gripping film about the apocalyptic Bougainville war, or more accurately the peace that ended the decade-long conflict, opened in cinemas across New Zealand in April 2019, an island roadshow was taking place back in the Pacific. Initiated by the United Nations, the roadshow—featuring Bougainville President Father John Momis, many of his cabinet members and UN Resident Coordinator Gianluca Rampolla—was designed to help prepare Bougainvillean voters to decide on their future. This future is due to be put to the test in a referendum on October 17 in the crucial political outcome of an extraordinary peace process that began in chilly mid-winter talks at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch in July 1997.
DOI https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v25i1and2.502
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Home » Dwarf Trees » Container Fruit Trees » Guava Tree Red Variety
Guava Tree Red Variety 4.00 1
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Common name: Guava
Botanical name: Psidium guajava
Avg Height X Width: 15' x 15'
Origin: Tropical America
Season: year round
Damage temp: 25-26 F
Guava Tree Red Variety in a 3 Gallon Container. Guava is enjoyed in jelly, juice, pastries and a multitude of other recipes. The fruit can be round to pear shaped, and they are typically about the size of a baseball. The pulp is smooth, sweet, and extremely aromatic. The trees are heavy producers, and will begin fruiting at just one year of age. Great addition to any garden since the tree fruits year round producing a lot of fruit. Guava's can also be mixed in drinks and smoothies for an amazing flavor.
Origin and Distribution
Cropping and Yield
Handling and Keeping Quality
Food Uses
Food Value
One of the most gregarious of fruit trees, the guava, Psidium guajava L., of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), is almost universally known by its common English name or its equivalent in other languages. In Spanish, the tree is guayabo, or guayavo, the fruit guayaba or guyava. The French call it goyave or goyavier; the Dutch, guyaba, goeajaaba; the Surinamese, guave or goejaba; and the Portuguese, goiaba or goaibeira. Hawaiians call it guava or kuawa. In Guam it is abas. In Malaya, it is generally known either as guava or jambu batu, but has also numerous dialectal names as it does in India, tropical Africa and the Philippines where the corruption, bayabas, is often applied. Various tribal names–pichi, posh, enandi, etc.–are employed among the Indians of Mexico and Central and South America.
A small tree to 33 ft (10 in) high, with spreading branches, the guava is easy to recognize because of its smooth, thin, copper-colored bark that flakes off, showing the greenish layer beneath; and also because of the attractive, "bony" aspect of its trunk which may in time attain a diameter of 10 in (25 cm). Young twigs are quadrangular and downy. The leaves, aromatic when crushed, are evergreen, opposite, short-petioled, oval or oblong-elliptic, somewhat irregular in outline; 2 3/4 to 6 in (7-15 cm) long, I 'A to 2 in (3-5 cm) wide, leathery, with conspicuous parallel veins, and more or less downy on the underside. Faintly fragrant, the white flowers, borne singly or in small clusters in the leaf axils, are 1 in (2.5 cm) wide, with 4 or 5 white petals which are quickly shed, and a prominent tuft of perhaps 250 white stamens tipped with pale-yellow anthers. The fruit, exuding a strong, sweet, musky odor when ripe, may be round, ovoid, or pear-shaped, 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) long, with 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants (sepals) at the apex; and thin, light-yellow skin, frequently blushed with pink. Next to the skin is a layer of somewhat granular flesh, 1/8 to 1/2 in (3-12.5 mm) thick, white, yellowish, light- or dark-pink, or near-red, juicy, acid, subacid, or sweet and flavorful. The central pulp, concolorous or slightly darker in tone, is juicy and normally filled with very hard, yellowish seeds, 1/8 in (3 min) long, though some rare types have soft, chewable seeds. Actual seed counts have ranged from 112 to 535 but some guavas are seedless or nearly so. When immature and until a very short time before ripening, the fruit is green, hard, gummy within and very astringent.
The guava has been cultivated and distributed by man, by birds, and sundry 4-footed animals for so long that its place of origin is uncertain, but it is believed to be an area extending from southern Mexico into or through Central America. It is common throughout all warm areas of tropical America and in the West Indies (since 1526), the Bahamas, Bermuda and southern Florida where it was reportedly introduced in 1847 and was common over more than half the State by 1886. Early Spanish and Portuguese colonizers were quick to carry it from the New World to the East Indies and Guam. It was soon adopted as a crop in Asia and in warm parts of Africa. Egyptians have grown it for a long time and it may have traveled from Egypt to Palestine. It is occasionally seen in Algeria and on the Mediterranean coast of France. In India, guava cultivation has been estimated at 125,327 acres (50,720 ha) yielding 27,319 tons annually. Apparently it did not arrive in Hawaii until the early 1800's. Now it occurs throughout the Pacific islands. Generally, it is a home fruit tree or planted in small groves, except in India where it is a major commercial resource. A guava research and improvement program was launched by the government of Colombia in 1961. In 1968, it was estimated that there were about 10 million wild trees (around Santander, Boyacá, Antioquia, Palmira, Buga, Cali and Cartago) bearing, 88 lbs (40 kg) each per year and that only 10% of the fruit was being utilized in processing. Bogotà absorbs 40% of the production and preserved products are exported to markets in Venezuela and Panama. Brazil's modern guava industry is based on seeds of an Australian selection grown in the botanical garden of the Sao Paulo Railway Company at Tatu. Plantations were developed by Japanese farmers at Itaquera and this has become the leading guava-producing area in Brazil. The guava is one of the leading fruits of Mexico where the annual crop from 36,447 acres (14,750 ha) of seedling trees totals 192,850 tons (175,500 MT). Only in recent years has there been a research program designed to evaluate and select superior types for vegetative propagation and large-scale cultivation. In Florida, the first commercial guava planting was established around 1912 in Palma Sola. Others appeared at Punta Gorda and Opalocka. A 40-acre (16 ha) guava grove was planted by Miami Fruit Industries at Indian-town in 1946. There have been more than two dozen guava jelly manufacturers throughout the state. A Sarasota concern was processing 250 bushels of guavas per day and a Pinellas County processor was operating a 150-bushel capacity plant in 1946. There has always been a steady market for guava products in Florida and the demand has increased in recent years with the influx of Caribbean and Latin American people. The guava succumbs to frost in California except in a few favorable locations. Even if summers are too cool–a mean of 60º F (15.56º C)–in the coastal southern part of the state, the tree will die back and it cannot stand the intense daytime heat of interior valleys. In many parts of the world, the guava runs wild and forms extensive thickets–called "guayabales" in Spanish–and it overruns pastures, fields and roadsides so vigorously in Hawaii, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Fiji, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and southern Florida that it is classed as a noxious weed subject to eradication. Nevertheless, wild guavas have constituted the bulk of the commercial supply. In 1972, Hawaii processed, for domestic use and export, more than 2,500 tons (2,274 MT) of guavas, over 90% from wild trees. During the period of high demand in World War II, the wild guava crop in Cuba was said to be 10,000 tons (9,000 MT), and over 6,500 tons (6,000 MT) of guava products were exported.
Formerly, round and pear-shaped guavas were considered separate species–P. pomiferum L. and P. pyriferum L.–but they are now recognized as mere variations. Small, sour guavas predominate in the wild and are valued for processing.
The chief pollinator of guavas is the honeybee (Apis mellifera). The amount of cross-pollination ranges from 25.7 to 41.3%.
The guava thrives in both humid and dry climates. In India, it flourishes up to an altitude of 3,280 ft (1,000 m); in Jamaica, up to 3,906 ft (1,200 m); in Costa Rica, to 4,590 ft (1,400 m); in Ecuador, to 7,540 ft (2,300 m). It can survive only a few degrees of frost. Young trees have been damaged or killed in cold spells at Allahabad, India, in California and in Florida. Older trees, killed to the ground, have sent up new shoots which fruited 2 years later. The guava requires an annual rainfall between 40 and 80 in (1,000-2,000 mm); is said to bear more heavily in areas with a distinct winter season than in the deep Tropics.
The guava seems indiscriminate as to soil, doing equally well on heavy clay, marl, light sand, gravel bars near streams, or on limestone; and tolerating a pH range from 4.5 to 9.4. It is somewhat salt-resistant. Good drainage is recommended but guavas are seen growing spontaneously on land with a high water table–too wet for most other fruit trees.
Guava seeds remain viable for many months. They often germinate in 2 to 3 weeks but may take as long as 8 weeks. Pretreatment with sulfuric acid, or boiling for 5 minutes, or soaking for 2 weeks, will hasten germination. Seedlings are transplanted when 2 to 30 in (5-75 cm) high and set out in the field when 1 or 2 years old. Inasmuch as guava trees cannot be depended upon to come true from seed, vegetative propagation is widely practiced. In Hawaii, India and elsewhere, the tree has been grown from root cuttings. Pieces of any roots except the smallest and the very large, cut into 5 to 10 in (12.5-20 cm) lengths, are placed flat in a prepared bed and covered with 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) of soil which must be kept moist. Or one can merely cut through roots in the ground 2 to 3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) away from the tree trunk; the cut ends will sprout and can be dug up and transplanted. By another method, air-layers of selected clones are allowed to grow 3 to 5 years and are then sawn off close to the ground. Then a ring of bark is removed from each new shoot; root-inducing chemical is applied. Ten days later, the shoots are banked with soil to a height 4 to 5 in (10-12.5 cm) above the ring. After 2 months, the shoots are separated and planted out. Pruned branches may serve as propagating material. Cuttings of half-ripened wood, 1/4 to 1/2 in (6-12.5 mm) thick will root with bottom heat or rooting-hormone treatment. Using both, 87% success has been achieved. Treated softwood cuttings will also root well in intermittent mist. In Trinidad, softwood, treated cuttings have been rooted in 18 days in coconut fiber dust or sand in shaded bins sprayed 2 or 3 times daily to keep humidity above 90%. Over 100,000 plants were produced by this method over a 2-year period. Under tropical conditions (high heat and high humidity), mature wood 3/4 to 1 in (2-2.5 cm) thick and 1 1/2 to 2 ft (45-60 cm) long, stuck into 1-ft (30-cm) high black plastic bags filled with soil, readily roots without chemical treatment. In India, air-layering and inarching have been practiced for many years. However, trees grown from cuttings or air-layers have no taproot and are apt to be blown down in the first 2 or 3 years. For this reason, budding and grafting are preferred. Approach grafting yields 85 to 95% success. Trials have been made of the shield, patch and Forkert methods of budding. The latter always gives the best results (88 to 100%). Vigorous seedlings 1/2 to 1 in (1.25-2.5 cm) thick are used as rootstocks. The bark should slip easily to facilitate insertion of the bud, which is then tightly bound in place with a plastic strip and the rootstock is beheaded, leaving only 6 to 8 leaves above the bud. About a month later, an incision is made halfway through 2 or 3 in (5-7.5 cm) above the bud and the plant is bent over to force the bud to grow. When the bud has put up several inches of growth, the top of the rootstock is cut off immediately above the bud. Sprouting of the bud is expedited in the rainy season. At the Horticultural Experiment and Training Center, Basti, India, a system of patch budding has been demonstrated as commercially feasible. A swollen but unsprouted, dormant bud is taken as a 3/4 x 3/8 in (2 x l cm) patch from a leaf axil of previous season's growth and taped onto a space of the same size cut 6 to 8 in (15-20 cm) above the ground on a 1-year-old, pencil-thick seedling during the period April-June. After the bud has "taken", 1/3 is cut from the top of the seedling; 2-3 weeks later, the rest of the top is cut off leaving only 3/4 to 1 1/4 in (2-3.2 cm) of stem above the bud. This method gives 80 to 90% success. If done in July, only 70%. In Hawaii, old seedling orchards have been topworked to superior selections by patch budding on stump shoots.
Guava trees are frequently planted too close. Optimum distance between the trees should be at least 33 ft (10 m). Planting 16 1/2 ft (5 m) apart is possible if the trees are "hedged". The yield per tree will be less but the total yield per land area will be higher than at the wider spacing. Some recommend setting the trees 8 ft (2.4 m) apart in rows 24 ft (7.3 m) apart and removing every other tree as soon as there is overcrowding. Where mass production is not desired and space is limited, guava trees can be grown as cordons on a wire fence. Rows should always run north and south so that each tree receives the maximum sunlight. Exudates from the roots of guava trees tend to inhibit the growth of weeds over the root system. Light pruning is always recommended to develop a strong framework, and suckers should also be eliminated around the base. Experimental heading-back has increased yield in some cultivars in Puerto Rico. In Palestine, the trees are cut back to 6 1/2 ft (2 m) every other spring to facilitate harvesting without ladders. Fruits are borne by new shoots from mature wood. If trees bear too heavily, the branches may break. Therefore, thinning is recommended and results in larger fruits. Guava trees grow rapidly and fruit in 2 to 4 years from seed. They live 30 to 40 years but productivity declines after the 15th year. Orchards may be rejuvenated by drastic pruning. The tree is drought-tolerant but in dry regions lack of irrigation during the period of fruit development will cause the fruits to be deficient in size. In areas receiving only 15 to 20 in (38-50 cm) rainfall annually, the guava will benefit from an additional 2,460 cm (2 acre feet) applied by means of 8 to 10 irrigations, one every 15-20 days in summer and one each month in winter. Guava trees respond to a complete fertilizer mix applied once a month during the first year and every other month the second year (except from mid-November to mid-January) at the rate of 8 oz (227 g) per tree initially with a gradual increase to 24 oz (680 g) by the end of the second year. Nutritional sprays providing copper and zinc are recommended thrice annually for the first 2 years and once a year thereafter. In India, flavor and quality of guavas has been somewhat improved by spraying the foliage with an aqueous solution of potassium sulfate weekly for 7 weeks after fruit set.
The fruit matures 90 to 150 days after flowering. Generally, there are 2 crops per year in southern Puerto Rico; the heaviest, with small fruits, in late summer and early fall; another, with larger fruits, in late winter and early spring. In northern India, the main crop ripens in mid-winter and the fruits are of the best quality. A second crop is home in the rainy season but the fruits are less abundant and watery. Growers usually withhold irrigation after December or January or root-prune the trees in order to avoid a second crop. The trees will shed many leaves and any fruits set will drop. An average winter crop in northern India is about 450 fruits per tree. Trees may bear only 100-300 fruits in the rainy season but the price is higher because of relative scarcity despite the lower quality. Of course, yields vary with the cultivar and cultural treatment. Experiments have shown that spraying young guava trees with 25% urea plus a wetting agent will bring them into production early and shorten the harvest period from the usual 15 weeks to 4 weeks.
Ripe guavas bruise easily and are highly perishable. Fruits for processing may be harvested by mechanical tree-shakers and plastic nets. For fresh marketing and shipping, the fruits must be clipped when full grown but underripe, and handled with great care. After grading for size, the fruits should be wrapped individually in tissue and packed in 1 to 4 padded layers with extra padding on top before the cover is put on. They have been successully shipped from Miami to wholesalers in major northern cities in refrigerated trucks at temperatures of 45º to 55º F (7.22º-12.78º C). It is commonly said that guavas must be tree-ripened to attain prime quality, but the cost of protecting the crop from birds makes early picking necessary. It has been demonstrated that fruits picked when yellow-green and artificially ripened for 6 days in straw at room temperature developed superior color and sugar content. Guavas kept at room temperature in India are normally overripe and mealy by the 6th day, but if wrapped in pliofilm will keep in good condition for 9 days. In cold storage, pliofilm-wrapped fruits remain unchanged for more than 12 days. Wrapping checks weight loss and preserves glossiness. Unwrapped 'Safeda' guavas, just turned yellow, have kept well for 4 weeks in cold storage at 47º to 50º F (8.33º-10º C) and relative humidity of 85-95%, and were in good condition for 3 days thereafter at room temperature of 76º to 87º F (24º-44º C). Fruits coated with a 3% wax emulsion will keep well for 8 days at 72º to 86º F (22.2º-30º C) and 40 to 60% relative humidity, and for 21 days at 47º to 50º F (8.3º-10º C) and relative humidity of 85-90%. Storage life of mature green guavas is prolonged at 68º F (20º C), relative humidity of 85%, less than 10% carbon dioxide, and complete removal of ethylene. Researchers at Kurukshetra University, India, have shown that treatment of harvested guavas with 100 ppm morphactin (chlorflurenol methyl ester 74050) increases the storage life of guavas by controlling fungal decay, and reducing loss of color, weight, sugars, ascorbic acid and non-volatile organic acids. Combined fungicidal and double-wax coating has increased marketability by 30 days. Australian workers report prolonged life and reduced rotting in storage after a hot water dip, but better results were achieved by dipping in an aqueous benomyl suspension at 122º F (50º C). Higher temperatures cause some skin injury, as does a guazatine dip which is also a less effective fungicide. Fruits sprayed on the tree with gibberellic acid 20-35 days before normal ripening, were retarded nearly a week as compared with the untreated fruits. Also, mature guavas soaked in gibberellic acid off the tree showed a prolonged storage life. Trials at Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, India, showed that weekly spraying with 1.0% potassium sulfate–1.6 gals (6 liters) per tree–beginning 7 days after fruit set and ending just before harvesting at the pale-green stage, delays yellowing, retains firmness and flavor beyond normal storage life. Food technologists in India found that bottled guava juice (strained from sliced guavas boiled 35 minutes), preserved with 700 ppm SO2, lost much ascorbic acid but little pectin when stored for 3 months without refrigeration, and it made perfectly set jelly.
Guava trees are seriously damaged by the citrus flat mite, Brevipa1pus californicus in Egypt. In India, the tree is attacked by 80 insect species, including 3 bark-eating caterpillars (Indarbella spp.) and the guava scale, but this and other scale insects are generally kept under control by their natural enemies. The green shield scale, Pulvinaria psidii, requires chemical measures in Florida, as does the guava white fly, Trialeurodes floridensis, and a weevil, Anthonomus irroratus, which bores holes in the newly forming fruits. The red-banded thrips feed on leaves and the fruit surface. In India, cockchafer beetles feed on the leaves at the end of the rainy season and their grubs, hatched in the soil, attack the roots. The larvae of the guava shoot borer penetrates the tender twigs, killing the shoots. Sometimes aphids are prevalent, sucking the sap from the underside of the leaves of new shoots and excreting honeydew on which sooty mold develops. The guava fruit worm, Argyresthia eugeniella, invisibly infiltrates hard green fruits, and the citron plant bug, Theognis gonagia, the yellow beetle, Costalimaita ferruginea, and the fruit-sucking bug, Helopeltis antonii, feed on ripe fruits. A false spider mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis, causes surface russeting beginning when the fruits are half-grown. Fruit russeting and defoliation result also from infestations of red-banded thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus. The coconut mealybug, Pseudococcus nipae, has been a serious problem in Puerto Rico but has been effectively combatted by the introduction of its parasitic enemy, Pseudaphycus utilis. Soil-inhabiting white grubs require plowing-in of an approved and effective pesticide during field preparation in Puerto Rico. There are other minor pests, but the great problems wherever the guava is grown are fruit flies. The guava is a prime host of the Mediterranean, Oriental, Mexican, and Caribbean fruit flies, and the melon fly–Ceratitis capitata, Dacus dorsalis, Anastrepha ludens, A. suspensa, and Dacus cucurbitae. Ripe fruits will be found infested with the larvae and totally unusable except as feed for cattle and swine. To avoid fruit fly damage, fruits must be picked before full maturity and this requires harvesting at least 3 times a week. In Brazil, choice, undamaged guavas are produced by covering the fruits with paper sacks when young (the size of an olive). Infested fruits should be burned or otherwise destroyed. In recent years, the Cooperative Extension Service in Dade County, Florida, has distributed wasps that attack the larvae and pupae of the Caribbean fruit fly and have somewhat reduced the menace. In Puerto Rico, up to 50% of the guava crop (mainly from wild trees) may be ruined by the uncontrollable fungus, Glomerella cingulata, which mummifies and blackens immature fruits and rots mature fruits. Diplodia natalensis may similarly affect 40% of the crop on some trees in South India. Fruits punctured by insects are subject to mucor rot (caused by the fungus, Mucor hiemalis) in Hawaii. On some trees, 80% of the mature green fruits may be ruined. Algal spotting of leaves and fruits (caused by Cephaleuros virescens) occurs in some cultivars in humid southern Florida but can be controlled with copper fungicides. During the rainy season in India, and the Province of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, the fungus, Phytophthora parasitica, is responsible for much infectious fruit rot. Botryodiplodia sp. and Dothiorella sp. cause stem-end rot in fruits damaged during harvesting. Macrophomina sp. has been linked to fruit rot in Venezuela and Gliocladium roseum has been identified on rotting fruits on the market in India. In Bahia, Brazil, severe deficiency symptoms of guava trees was attributed to nematodes and nematicide treatment of the soil in a circle 3 ft (0.9 in) out from the base restored the trees to normal in 5 months. Zinc deficiency may be conspicuous when the guava is grown on light soils. It is corrected by two summer sprayings 60 days apart with zinc sulphate. Wilt, associated with the fungi Fusarium solani and Macrophomina phaseoli, brings about gradual decline and death of undernourished 1-to 5-year-old guava trees in West Bengal. A wilt disease brought about by the wound parasite, Myxosporium psidii, causes the death of many guava trees, especially in summer, throughout Taiwan. Wilt is also caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. psidii which invades the trunk and roots through tunnels bored by the larvae of Coelosterna beetles. Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) may attack the fruits in the rainy season. Pestalotia psidii sometimes causes canker on green guavas in India and rots fruits in storage. Severe losses are occasioned in India by birds and bats and some efforts are made to protect the crop by nets or noisemakers.
Raw guavas are eaten out-of-hand, but are preferred seeded and served sliced as dessert or in salads. More commonly, the fruit is cooked and cooking eliminates the strong odor. A standard dessert throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking islands of the West Indies is stewed guava shells (cascos de guayaba), that is, guava halves with the central seed pulp removed, strained and added to the shells while cooking to enrich the sirup. The canned product is widely sold and the shells can also be quick-frozen. They are often served with cream cheese. Sometimes guavas are canned whole or cut in half without seed removal. Bars of thick, rich guava paste and guava cheese are staple sweets, and guava jelly is almost universally marketed. Guava juice, made by boiling sliced, unseeded guavas and straining, is much used in Hawaii in punch and ice cream sodas. A clear guava juice with all the ascorbic acid and other properties undamaged by excessive heat, is made in South Africa by trimming and mincing guavas, mixing with a natural fungal enzyme (now available under various trade names), letting stand for 18 hours at 120º to 130º F (49º-54º C) and filtering. It is made into sirup for use on waffles, ice cream, puddings and in milkshakes. Guava juice and nectar are among the numerous popular canned or bottled fruit beverages of the Caribbean area. After washing and trimming of the floral remnants, whole guavas in sirup or merely sprinkled with sugar can be put into plastic bags and quick-frozen. There are innumerable recipes for utilizing guavas in pies, cakes, puddings, sauce, ice cream, jam, butter, marmalade, chutney, relish, catsup, and other products. In India, discoloration in canned guavas has been overcome by adding 0.06% citric acid and 0.125% ascorbic acid to the sirup. For pink sherbet, French researchers recommend 2 parts of the cultivar 'Acid Speer' and 6 parts 'Stone'. For white or pale-yellow sherbet, 2 parts 'Supreme' and 4 parts 'Large White'. In South Africa, a baby-food manufacturer markets a guava-tapioca product, and a guava extract prepared from small and overripe fruits is used as an ascorbic-acid enrichment for soft drinks and various foods. Dehydrated guavas may be reduced to a powder which can be used to flavor ice cream, confections and fruit juices, or boiled with sugar to make jelly, or utilized as pectin to make jelly of low-pectin fruits. India finds it practical to dehydrate guavas during the seasonal glut for jelly-manufacture in the off-season. In 1947, Hawaii began sea shipment of frozen guava juice and puree in 5-gallon cans to processors on the mainland of the United States. Since 1975, Brazil has been exporting large quantities of guava paste, concentrated guava pulp, and guava shells not only to the United States but to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Japan. Canned, frozen guava nectar is an important product in Hawaii and Puerto Rico but may be excessively gritty unless stone cells from the outer flesh and skin are reduced by use of a stone mill or removed by centrifuging. In South Africa, guavas are mixed with cornmeal and other ingredients to make breakfast-food flakes. Green mature guavas can be utilized as a source of pectin, yielding somewhat more and higher quality pectin than ripe fruits.
Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion (Flesh)*
Calories 36-50
Moisture 77-86 g
Crude Fiber 2.8-5.5 g
Protein 0.9-1.0 g
Fat 0.1-0.5 g
Ash 0.43-0.7 g
Carbohydrates 9.5-10 g
Calcium 9.1-17 mg
Phosphorus 17.8-30 mg
Iron 0.30-0.70 mg
Carotene (Vitamin A) 200-400 I.U.
Riboflavin 0.03-0.04 mg
Niacin 0.6-1.068 mg
Vitamin B3 40 I.U.
Vitamin G4 35 I.U.
*Analyses of whole ripe guavas.
Ascorbic acid–mainly in the skin, secondly in the firm flesh, and little in the central pulp–varies from 56 to 600 mg. It may range up to 350-450 mg in nearly ripe fruit. When specimens of the same lot of fruits are fully ripe and soft, it may decline to 50-100 mg. Canning or other heat processing destroys about 50% of the ascorbic acid. Guava powder containing 2,500-3,000 mg ascorbic acid was commonly added to military rations in World War II. Guava seeds contain 14% of an aromatic oil, 15% protein and 13% starch. The strong odor of the fruit is attributed to carbonyl compounds.
Wood: The wood is yellow to reddish, fine-grained, compact, moderately strong, weighs 650-750 kg per cubic meter; is durable indoors; used in carpentry and turnery. Though it may warp on seasoning, it is much in demand in Malaya for handles; in India, it is valued for engravings. Guatemalans use guava wood to make spinning tops, and in El Salvador it is fashioned into hair combs which are perishable when wet. It is good fuelwood. and also a source of charcoal.
Leaves and bark: The leaves and bark are rich in tannin (10% in the leaves on a dry weight basis, 11-30% in the bark). The bark is used in Central America for tanning hides. Malayans use the leaves with other plant materials to make a black dye for silk. In southeast Asia, the leaves are employed to give a black color to cotton; and in Indonesia, they serve to dye matting.
Wood flowers: In Mexico, the tree may be parasitized by the mistletoe, Psittacanthus calyculatus Don, producing the rosette-like malformations called "wood flowers" which are sold as ornamental curiosities.
Medicinal_Uses
The roots, bark, leaves and immature fruits, because of their astringency, are commonly employed to halt gastroenteritis, diarrhea and dysentery, throughout the tropics. Crushed leaves are applied on wounds, ulcers and rheumatic places, and leaves are chewed to relieve toothache. The leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for coughs, throat and chest ailments, gargled to relieve oral ulcers and inflamed gums; and also taken as an emmenagogue and vermifuge, and treatment for leucorrhea. It has been effective in halting vomiting and diarrhea in cholera patients. It is also applied on skin diseases. A decoction of the new shoots is taken as a febrifuge. The leaf infusion is prescribed in India in cerebral ailments, nephritis and cachexia. An extract is given in epilepsy and chorea and a tincture is rubbed on the spine of children in convulsions. A combined decoction of leaves and bark is given to expel the placenta after childbirth. The leaves, in addition to tannin, possess essential oil containing the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons caryophyllene, b-bisabolene, aromadendrene, b-selinene, nerolidiol, caryophyllene oxide and sel-11-en-4x -ol, also some triterpenoids and b-sitosterol. The bark contains tannin, crystals of calcium oxalate, ellagic acid and starch. The young fruits are rich in tannin.
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Published: Jun. 21, 2016
At Microgrid Knowledge
Smart Grid on Main Street: Electricity and Value-added Processing for Agricultural Goods
EarthSpark International
(United States) received a Powering Agriculture award for the
Initial Piloting (Stage 3) of
Decentralized Power
Staple Crops
Read more about Smart Grid on Main Street: Electricity and Value-added Processing for Agricultural Goods
Rosane sells electricity credits. Photo: EarthSpark International
The EarthSpark team spent five years developing their first microgrid in Haiti. Inaugurated in June 2015, it is currently serving 449 homes and businesses with affordable, reliable electricity, 24/7.
The grid contains 93 kW of PV panels, a 30 kVa generator back up and 410 kWh of battery storage. Learn more about the technical details of the first microgrid, the value of a smart meter system, and how the team plans to build 80 more microgrids by 2020 below in an interview Heatspring's Gabrielle Rossetti conducted with Rachel McManus, EarthSpark's executive director.
What is EarthSpark's mission?
EarthSpark is a U.S. based non-profit with a mission to eradicate energy poverty. Our method is to do the research and development (R&D) on business models that can spin off and scale to address specific aspects of energy poverty. So far we've spun off Enèji Pwòp SA in Haiti and a smart meter technology company, SparkMeter Inc., in the U.S. We are currently focusing on our work in Haiti, but see the business models we are using to address energy poverty in Haiti being relevant in other areas.
What do you do in Haiti? What is the smart grid project?
EarthSpark has been working in Haiti since 2009. We started working in the town of Les Anglais, which is about 1.5 hours from the closest national grid connections. After a baseline study of the community, we identified a need for basic home lighting. Solar lamps and cookstoves are a great solution for this, but weren't available on the market at that time. Over the years we developed the brand Enèji Pwòp ("Clean Energy" in Haitian Creole) and then spun it off officially in 2014. Enèji Pwòp has sold over 18,000 solar lights, solar home systems and clean cookstoves across Haiti since the beginning.
Throughout the years, however, we recognized the potential for microgrid development in Haiti. Les Anglais has a fairly population dense downtown and enough economic activity to make it sustainable. So over about 5 years we developed our current microgrid model. It wasn't easy and we are still figuring it out. We even had to develop our own metering technology, which is now our spin-off SparkMeter which has customers in 7 countries.
The current grid was inaugurated June 1, 2015. It is serving 449 homes and businesses with affordable, reliable electricity 24/7. The grid contains 93 kW of PV panels, a 30 kVa generator back up and 410 kWh of battery storage. The grid powers large businesses in town as well as basic lighting services for customers on only 30W of power. So, it is powerful enough to power industry and progressive enough to serve every customer in its footprint.
Through our smart meter system, customers pre-pay for their electricity by topping up their accounts with local vendors in the same way that they pay for phone credit. This means they are only consuming and paying for what they can afford to pay, when they can afford to pay it, instead of being stuck with a large bill at the end of each month. The meters also allow us to have different tariff levels, load limiting and time-of-use pricing to optimize system use. Aside from having a cleaner, more reliable source of energy, our customers are saving 50-80% over the cost of what they were using before!
How are you supporting local entrepreneurs in the sale of stand-alone solar products?
Basically, clean energy products like solar lamps and efficient cookstoves can be a hard sell for some retailers. Firstly, there is a high up-front cost to the products so it takes some time to show the customer how much they will save over time. Also, in order to use the product for a long time (and continue to save money on kerosene and candles!) customers need to know how to use and care for the product, especially since many won't have had any experience with these technologies.
To help support our retailers in making more sales, we partnered with behavior change advertising firm 17 Triggers to come up with an innovative suite of marketing and business tools. Some of these explain how to best take care of products and how to seek after sale technical service while others help visualize the cost savings and health benefits of these products. We also came up with some really professional branding materials and graphics to help the entrepreneurs feel more part of the company.
To launch these materials we held entrepreneur certification training programs in 5 cities in Haiti. In total, we trained 109 entrepreneurs!
What has been the biggest funding hurdle?
We see a reluctance by some funders to fund infrastructure at the scale we are trying to achieve. Solar lights are life-changing tools, but we need to invest in infrastructure to unlock real economic potential with larger loads.
A lot of people want to know when we will break even or what our cost per connection is. We want to operate as a social enterprise, but business models for projects like this take a lot of time and won't be fully commercial. No electricity system in the world was created fully commercially.Having said that, we have been very grateful to our generous donors so far and couldn't have done what we have done without the people who have supported us.
Les Anglais solar. Photo: EarthSpark
What is 'feminist electrification'?
For us, feminist electrification means streamlining gender concerns at every step of the process of electrification and recognizing the unique value of women in the electrification process and how it impacts them.
Around the world there is a lack of women in STEM fields, and in Haiti this is even more pronounced. While we weren't able to find trained women technicians, we did employ and train local women to help with some parts of the home installations on the grid. We have recently set up an energy committee in Les Anglais and tried to ensure that we had women voices on the committee as well. Right now, 4 out of 10 members are women.
In terms of recognizing the unique value of women, I sometimes feel that discussions on women and energy access around the world focuses too much on clean cooking. Clean cooking technologies are important to women, particularly in the health and environmental benefits. But women are also impacted by electricity (not to mention that you can cook with electricity)! Aside from the obvious benefits to women and children of having clean lighting in the home, we have seen several women starting businesses on their own since we turned on the grid. For example, one of them, Asholo, started an ice cream business and is now selling 100 ice creams a day to school kids! Frankly, I don't see men coming up with income generating ideas like this.
What are your goals for the next few years?
With our Haitian partner, Enèji Pwòp (@EnejiPwop on Twitter), we have set the ambitious goal of building 80 grids in Haiti by 2020. We've got one done so far and hoping to do three more in the next year and prepare an investable plan for the next tranche of 20-40. This will electrify approximately 40,000 homes and businesses in Haiti.
EarthSpark International and their local affiliate, Enèji Pwòp, prioritize training women as clean energy and micro-grid entrepreneurs, seek them out as customers and employees, and encourage them to become "grid ambassadors” who play a key role in reaching out to other women and energy vendors.
Energy poverty disproportionally impacts rural women. EarthSpark International views all of their energy access projects from a feminist perspective. They call their solution “feminist electrification". This approach involves and benefits women, which reduces poverty and increases access for all.
EarthSpark International has recently received a generous donation from Spring Power & Gas in support of their continued, critical work to scale the delivery of clean energy technology in Haiti.
EarthSpark International, a women-run enterprise, is one of 15 recipients of the 2018 UN ‘Momentum for Change’ award. Their work to ensure pro-women outcomes in all its energy access projects has earned them a place among the "Women for Results" winners. Congratulations on a job well done!
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HOW TO GOVERN
P.Lal: The Mahabharata of Vyasa, Book XII, the Shanti Parva Part 1 (Raja-Dharma), pp.1011, Rs.2000 (hardback), Rs. 1500 (flexiback), Writers Workshop, Calcutta.
The last part of the great epic of Bharata that Professor Lal, Padma Shri and Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, succeeded in completing is now published. Devoted to the principles of governance (raja-dharma), it appears at a time most opportune when all principles have been cast to the winds and the polity of India is falling to pieces. Kiran Bedi’s tweet of 10th June 2012 on “Coalgate” shows how alive India’s great epic still is in our consciousness after millennia: “PMO clears Prime Minister. Did Dhritarashtra in Mahabharata not support Kauravas even after they attempted to disrobe Draupadi? Indian genes/culture? Or?” Soon after the Gujarat riots, Prime Minister Vajpayee’s only response to the public outrage had been to urge chief minister Modi to be mindful of “raja-dharma”. Unfortunately, today neither the legislature nor the executive is aware of what this phrase means. The availability of this transcreation should bridge that hiatus.
The holocaust of Kurukshetra is over; eighteen armies have been decimated. The cosmic design to rid over-burdened Prithivi of power-hungry warriors has been accomplished. Surely, for Yudhishthira, son of Dharma and the righteous king (Dharma-Raja), it is a time to celebrate the fulfillment of his mother Kunti’s dream to see her sons win back their inheritance. Instead, he is tormented by loss and guilt, confessing to the celestial sage Narada,
“motivated by greed
I committed this maha-murder
of my kith and kin…
what is it but defeat…?”
So the chink in his armour of righteousness is the passion that has doomed the lunar dynasty down the ages: greed. He is particularly anguished over the killing of Karna, who knew he was the eldest Kaunteya while fighting his brothers who did not. We learn that his anger against Karna would dissipate when he looked at his feet which strangely resembled Kunti’s. What an inimitable Vyasan vignette! Hence Yudhishthira’s curse that women will never be able to keep a secret. Narada informs him of a great secret: it was in order to engender the war that “a friction-fostering foetus/was placed in a virgin womb”. So Karna’s role from the very beginning was that of the resentful bastard, like Edmund in King Lear, backing up Duryodhana against the Pandavas. Narada narrates key incidents in Karna’s life bringing out the multiple handicaps he suffered: disowned at birth, cursed by Parashurama and a Brahmin, the boon he gave Kunti, his gift of the armour and earrings that made him invulnerable, being branded half-a-chariot-hero by Bhishma, constant belittling by Shalya, Krishna ensuring that Arjuna never faced a fresh Karna. Narada mentions Karna defeated Jarasandha who gifted him Champa town in Anga which begs a question: if he were truly king of Anga, as Duryodhana had crowned him, how could Champa be Jarasandha’s to gift? We always find Karna in Hastinapura, never ruling in Anga. Was the investiture merely symbolic?
We find here interesting revelations regarding the society of those times. For instance, what was the status of atheism? Charvaka (after whom the doctrine of atheism is named) takes advantage of Yudhishthira’s guilt to berate him publicly. The Brahmins kill him, branding him a demon and friend of Duryodhana disguised as a mendicant. Again, Narada informs that king Rantideva killed over 20,000 cows to feed guests. So the Vedic practise of slaughtering a cow for a special guest (who was therefore called “goghna”) continued into epic society. Vyasa tells that Uddalaka’s famous son Shvetaketu was actually begotten by a disciple on his wife on his guru’s orders. Uddalaka later renounced his son for having lied to Brahmins. Yajnas (sacrifices) are prescribed as essential for all four classes with the saving that the Shudra will not chant mantras. The three other classes are responsible for maintaining the Shudra. A Brahmin of ill character is equivalent to a Shudra and should be ostracized. It is one’s karma that makes dharma. The ruler must have a group of ministers taken from all sections of society: 4 Brahmins, 8 Kshatriyas, 21 Vaishyas, 3 Shudras, 1 bard expert in Puranas. Their qualifications are given in details, and of them the ruler has a cabinet of eight, whose decisions must be announced to the public. Section 108 contains the famous verses, extolling them as the highest teaching:
“One’s father excels ten teachers, one’s mother surpasses ten fathers, indeed surpasses the world itself. There is no guru anywhere to equal a mother…you will gain this world by serving your father, the next world by serving your mother properly, and the world of Brahma by serving your guru…When a legitimate adult son fails to support his father and mother, his crime equals that of killing a foetus—that which is no greater wickedness.”
There is an uncompromising condemnation of those who discarding the three Vedas, their professions and families, don saffron robes and go begging with a three-pronged staff:
“but they are tied to the world,
because to them
begging is a profession…
Pure selfishness.
These shaven dunderheads,
flaunting the flag of dharma,
are hypocrites.”
It is also admitted that “the shastras are full of contradictions”, and that “The Vedas do not cover everything” (Section 109). Ascesis, tapasya, is extolled above sacrifices and it is clarified that this does not mean mortifying the flesh but is non-violence, truthfulness, self-control, compassion. Incidentally, there is never any mention of the Vedas as numbering more than three, which shows that the Atharva Veda was a post-Mahabharata composition. We are also told that originally the three Vedas were one. It is Vyasa who arranged them under separate names, as he did with the original Purana.
As with the secret cause of Karna’s birth, another fascinating sidelight comes in the tale of demon Damsha that takes forward the rape of Bhrigu’s wife Puloman related in the Adi Parva. We learn that the rapist was cursed by Bhrigu to be reborn as a vicious insect, and in that form he bored through Karna’s thigh, resulting in Parashurama’s curse.
To dissuade Yudhishthira from becoming a sannyasi, by turn arguments are presented by the brothers and Draupadi extolling earning of wealth (artha), the householder’s life, desire (kama) and punishment and justice (danda) as the principle preserving a polity. In the process, they even call Yudhishthira a fool! To console Yudhishthira for the loss of his progeny, Krishna narrates the account of 16 past kings of far greater stature who all died. This account, occurring also in the Drona Parva, is similar to the Old English “Deor’s Lament” in intention.
Once Yudhishthira has reconciled to kingship, Krishna sends him to Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows, for instruction on governance, for with his death “you will see the setting of all knowledge.” Bhishma begins with a paean to Krishna in which he mentions the ten avataras, interestingly saluting Balarama as “the soul of Bhoga, enjoyment” and Krishna as “the soul of sport”, and mentioning Buddha as disciplining the anti-gods. The crucial importance of the ruler is repeatedly stressed:
“First find a raja.
Then get a wife.
Then wealth…
Without a raja
Your wife and wealth,
What good are they?”
The ruler’s cardinal duty is to ensure his subjects’ welfare first and last. Unless he conquers his own senses he cannot conquer his foes. It is because he delights (ranjita) them that he is called “raja” and all dharmas depend on him. It is the ruler who shapes the nature of the age—Krita, Treta, Dvapara or Kali.
Much of what we know later as the Arthashastra is given here. Originally it was called “Danda-niti”, the principles of punishment. Composed of one lakh sections by Brahma, it was condensed by Shiva under the name “Vishalaksha” in ten thousand sections which Indra abridged in five thousand calling it “Bahudantaka”. Brihaspati reduced it to three thousand and that was further edited to one thousand sections by Shukra because of the decreasing life-span of humans.
Beginning with quotations from past savants and 8 stories on the origin and duties of the ruler, Bhishma narrates 19 tales on the core issues of ruling (repeatedly stressing impersonal administration of punishment, careful selection of advisers through fivefold tests and not trusting anyone completely), following up with 8 on what is to be done in extremity, and ending with 9 on expiating sins and the results of harming friends. The methodology adopted is Upanishadic question-and-answer between pupil and teacher. These make up the 173 sections of this tome in which sections 98 to 173 are in prose—the longest prose section in Vyasa’s narrative.
Vyasa narrates to Yudhishthira the “Ashma Gita” narrated to Janaka by the sage Ashma where the root causes of mental anguish are specified as either confused thinking or unexpected calamity, with attachment to material things as a related cause. We also find here the philosophy that is repeated in the Upanishads by Yajnavalkya:
“No one is anyone’s, no one
belongs to anyone but oneself.
Wife, and relative,
And friend—
All travelers, all passers-by
On the road of life…
Whoever you love, will leave you.”
Vyasa also repeats insights from the Gita regarding Time being the real slayer of the armies, and that
“Times are when dharma
starts looking like adharma,
and adharma like dharma.…
In special cases,
even stealing, lying and killing
can be dharma.”
As a telling example the story of Vishvamitra justifying stealing dog-meat from an untouchable is told: “What is important is to stay alive” because only then can dharma be practiced! If problems arise regarding dharma, a committee of ten experts in the scriptures is to resolve them, or three teachers of dharma.
Vyasa declares that since Yudhishthira got involved in fratricide because of the wicked deeds of others, he is not at fault. There is no sin in killing even gurus who flout their calling because of greed (as with Drona). He advises Yudhishthira to enthrone the surviving kin of the rulers, including daughters if there are no sons, showing compassion to establish peace in the land. This is where the famous verse on when it is permissible to lie occurs which is repeated at least thrice in this parva: to save one’s life or another’s; for one’s guru’s sake; to win over a woman; to arrange a marriage. “Women, diamond and rain-water—these three are always pure.” Even an unfaithful woman becomes pure after her period
From the standpoint of narrative art, a fresh frame has been introduced in this parva. The Mahabharata’s outermost frame is Sauti narrating it to Shaunaka and his sages in the forest of Naimisha. The next layer is the snake-sacrifice in Takshashila during which Vaishampayana narrates the epic to king Janamejaya in the presence of the author Vyasa, which is what Sauti heard. Now we have a series of concentric layers where several narrators tell Yudhishthira stories, of which the largest is Bhishma’s portion. Nested within Bhishma’s layer are so many tales, and tales-within-tales! The entire narrative structure reminds us of a Chinese Box or a Matroyshka.
Among these “akhyanas” (tales) are some that stand out. Such a one is Janaka’s queen quite unexpectedly berating him for wishing to abdicate, much as Draupadi does Yudhishthira. Others are animal fables that recur in Panchatantra.
Possibly the most fascinating of Bhishma’s many accounts is the conversation Krishna has with Narada. It is the only passage giving vent to the frustration Krishna experiences—something none of us would imagine, and which remains unknown to most of us who have not read the Shanti Parva fully. The mellifluous free verse transcreation communicates the emotions beautifully. Balarama, Gada, Pradyumna—all are engrossed with themselves, none helps Krishna. Among his quarrelling clansmen he is,
“like a mother of two gamblers:
I want one side to win
I do not want the other to lose.
And the result is that
I am at the receiving end of both.”
The bitter words of relatives “stir fire in my heart.” Narada, after pointing out that this is his own doing because they are all his own relatives, tells him of a weapon “not made of iron, a gentle but heart-piercing weapon” to wash clean their bitter tongues. Those of us who are interested can read section 81 to find out what it is.
The genocide of the warrior-class perpetrated by Parashurama is a significant story Bhishma tells to explain how the “kshatriya varna” had to be restored by Brahmins to protect the polity. The divine right of kings is not just a European and far-Eastern concept. Bhishma equates the ruler with the preserver Vishnu, explaining the sacred nature of his duties. The ruler is the god of fire when he scorches liars; the sun-god when he observes the people and ensures welfare; death when he kills criminals; Yama the judge when he punishes and rewards; the god of wealth Vaishravana when he collects taxes and remunerates. Bhishma also tells the tale of Vena to show that an unrighteous ruler is even killed or removed by the people. There is more than enough guidance available here for our own times—provided we are interested!
A bonus for the reader is the superlative introduction provided by the transcreator, packing into just two pages an amazing amount of profound insight, bringing home to 21st century society the lessons of the ancient past that never cease to be relevant. “Artha”, wealth, is indeed a basic goal of life, but it is not money but the meaning of money—trusteeship—that makes it worthwhile. Without benefiting others, how do I benefit myself? “Kama”, desire or pleasure is an essential ingredient of life, but what is important is to transform lust into love: “both are four-letter words; it’s our disciplined choice that changes one into the other.” Dharma is not just ritualistic religion but spiritual vision where differences of creed vanish. “Moksha” is not only escape from life, but transforming that into liberation for humanity at large. What a world of meaning has been concentrated into these few printed words!
At the end are detailed reviews of the Shalya Parva transcreation and the set of ten DVDs of readings by Prof. Lal from the Adi Parva telecast on Tara TV. Prof. Lal’s rebuttal of Dr. Amartya Sen’s misconception regarding what Krishna says in the Gita is also printed. This volume leaves the discourse on Moksha and the Anushasana Parva untranslated.
Thus ends the massive enterprise a single poet and transcreator of remarkable genius embarked upon in 1968, making transcreating Vyasa the major work of his life, having also covered, before his departure, the lovely ninth and tenth books of the Bhagavata Purana.
Filed Under: BOOK REVIEWS, IN THE NEWS, MAHABHARATA
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About Brian Balthazar
POP Contributors
Caught On Tape
POP GOES THE WEEK!!
VIDEO: Will Smith Raps “Fresh Prince” Theme on Graham Norton!
“So this is a story all about how…”
Twenty bucks says that you automatically finished that lyric without even thinking about it…and the cool part is that Will Smith can STILL do the same thing!
Michael Jayson
On his tour around town to promote MEN IN BLACK III, Smith appeared on BBC One’s “The Graham Norton Show.” And despite all of the movies and roles and songs he has created throughout his career, Smith said the one thing that always seems to follow him around is “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.
And within seconds, with a beat, audience interaction, and a well placed synthesizer, he was proven right!
Watch below as Will goes back to his roots and raps the full theme song! (And try not to laugh when you realize how shortchanged Alfonso Ribeiro was when he was named “Carlton” on the show…)
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POP UPDATE: Justin Bieber, “Friends” For Life, And The Critics Choice Awards
BrianBalthazar
We’re going to be doing some quick video updates whenever we can! Here’s the latest! Justin Bieber begging for streams, (while you can hear him chew – ew), the ladies of Friends reunited, and mother nature. Take a look!
Here’s what’s happening in pop culture and entertainment today. . . #popculture #news #entertainment #movies #oscars #brianbalthazar #celebrities
A post shared by Brian Balthazar (@brianbalthazar) on Jan 13, 2020 at 6:38am PST
Courteney Cox’s Instagram Caption Is Every Parent With A Teenage Kid
Have you heard? It’s 2020 and we’re all supposed to music videos on TikTok. Courteney Cox is no exception. The TV star posted an instagram of her and her daughter Coco dancing it out, with the hilarious caption, “Wanna see your child lose their patience? Do a TikTok with them.”
Also, how long does it take to actually learn one of these routines? It seems very time consuming.
What I was really hoping for was video of her daughter losing her patience, but what we got was a pretty strong routine!
Wanna see your child lose their patience? Do a TikTok with them. #familyaerobics
A post shared by Courteney Cox (@courteneycoxofficial) on Jan 7, 2020 at 9:40am PST
Former Law And Order Actress Representing Herself In Court? Diane Neal Claims Her Attorneys In Abuse Case Dropped Her, Leaving Her To Fend For Herself
In an emotional, now deleted instagram post, actress Diane Neal claims her attorneys have dropped her – leaving the actress who once played assistant district attorney Casey Nowak to try her hand at being an attorney in real life.
Neal has been embroiled in a vicious legal battle that has spanned more than two years. It began when Neal filed a lawsuit alleging her ex, magician JB Benn, was a “manipulative and maniacal fraudster,” who had “defrauded her of millions” and “violently inflicted emotional distress,” according to The Daily Beast. She claims Benn subjected her to “a campaign of isolation, terror and (physical and sexual) assault, and destroyed her reputation.” She also claims he once cut her dogs throat. In turn, Benn has a lawsuit against Neal, claiming she owes him money for property they shared, and that she frequently threatened him. Part of his case: a damning recording in which the female voice, which he claims is Neal, threatens him and his dog. Listen to that tape HERE. It’s intense.
The truth is, the story is so full of battling accusations that it’s probably best to read the FULL list chronicled in this Oxygen article.
But today, in an emotional instagram post which she later deleted, (but copies have which have been retained and posted) a dramatic turn. Neal claims her attorneys have dropped her with no warning.
She speaks directly to her camera phone, saying, “So this is my version of hell. And there he is walking right past me right there” she says, referencing a man whose face cannot be seen. “So, I have been put in a situation by my own attorneys who decided to drop me as a client yesterday afternoon with absolutely no warning, wherein I have to represent myself in court. Because this is what happens to victims of abuse. My attorney yesterday accused me of having an inappropriate relation with (unintelligible**), which is not at all even remotely, a thousand times not true. Has done all kinds of things and … saying it was my fault for being abused. So wish me luck. It’s terrifying, but I am doing this for every woman who can’t do it for themselves. I stand for all of us.”
**please note that the words here were difficult to make out. We have our interpretations but don’t want to speculate without confirmation.
It’s unclear what the nature of the current court hearing is intended to cover today.
A post shared by dianeneal (@dianeneal) on Jan 7, 2020 at 7:58am PST
Neal played Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for five seasons,and continued her acting career on NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans, Suits and 30 Rock. Most recently she became involved in politics, running as an independent for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 19th congressional district.
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(Video) How Green are electric cars, really?
Not very, per Bjorn Lomborg in a video for Prager University:
They’re also a tremendous waste of taxpayer money and they generate more pollution than fossil-fueled vehicles.
But they make progressives and Green cultists feel good, and that’s what’s important.
Comments Off on (Video) How Green are electric cars, really? | Automobiles, Global Warming, Technology | Tagged: Bjorn Lomborg, electric cars, Green religion | Permalink
Dear Sanctimonious Greens: your beloved electric cars harm Gaea!!
Your goddess will be angry with you…
According to a recent study by researchers at UT-Knoxville, electric cars have a greater pollution impact than comparable (and evil, EVIL, EVIL!!) gasoline-powered vehicles:
“An implicit assumption has been that air quality and health impacts are lower for electric vehicles than for conventional vehicles,” [Chris] Cherry said. “Our findings challenge that by comparing what is emitted by vehicle use to what people are actually exposed to. Prior studies have only examined environmental impacts by comparing emission factors or greenhouse gas emissions.”
Particulate matter includes acids, organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. It is also generated through the combustion of fossil fuels.
For electric vehicles, combustion emissions occur where electricity is generated rather than where the vehicle is used. In China, 85 percent of electricity production is from fossil fuels, about 90 percent of that is from coal. The authors discovered that the power generated in China to operate electric vehicles emit fine particles at a much higher rate than gasoline vehicles. However, because the emissions related to the electric vehicles often come from power plants located away from population centers, people breathe in the emissions a lower rate than they do emissions from conventional vehicles.
Still, the rate isn’t low enough to level the playing field between the vehicles. In terms of air pollution impacts, electric cars are more harmful to public health per kilometer traveled in China than conventional vehicles.
The key is that the electricity needed to charge the batteries of those virtuous electric vehicles has to be first generated somewhere; in China, the vast majority comes from plants using fossil fuels. The effect is simply to transfer the generation of pollutants from where the vehicle is used to where its power is created.
Bear in mind, this study was conducted in China, which relies overwhelmingly on coal. While the US generates far less of its electricity from coal, it’s still significant — about 46%. (See Table 1.1) And China’s pollution controls are notoriously weak, so coal-fired plants in the US probably generate far fewer pollutants than their Chinese counterparts. Still, coal is a dirty fuel source, one of the great demons in the Cult of Anthropogenic Global Warming, and air pollution does not respect national boundaries.
Preening Greens charging their Volts and Leafs and Priuses and oh-so Smart ED cars should perhaps remember that their virtue comes at the cost of (environmental) sin.
RELATED: It’s similar to that other fetish object of the Green cult — wind power. The wind is so unreliable a source that, to make sure the power grid stays up, backup coal, gas, and even nuclear plants have to be kept running on standby for those times when the wind stops or blows too fast. Kind of defeats the purpose, no? Unless that purpose is just to make oneself feel good, or profit from government subsidy… or both.
Comments Off on Dear Sanctimonious Greens: your beloved electric cars harm Gaea!! | Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Technology | Tagged: air pollution, coal, electric cars, environmentalism, Green religion, sanctimony | Permalink
At least the Solyndra loan was wasted *in* America — Updated
Over $500 million taxpayer dollars to subsidize a “Green” car — made in Finland:
With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.
Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.
“There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” the car company’s founder and namesake told ABC News. “They don’t exist here.”
Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.
Money is fungible. You can bet the taxpayer-funded loan dollars spent here freed up resources to be spent in Finland.
And, gee, want to guess how this company had such an easy time getting the taxpayer-funded loan?
Connections help:
One of Fisker’s biggest financial supporters, records show, is the California venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The firm financially supports numerous green-tech firms, records show.
Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr, a California billionaire who made a fortune investing in Google, hosted President Obama at a February dinner for high-tech executives at his secluded estate south of San Francisco. Doerr and Kleiner Perkins executives have contributed more than $1 million to federal political causes and campaigns over the last two decades, primarily supporting Democrats. Doerr serves on Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Doerr has not replied to interview requests since March.
Former Vice President Al Gore is another Kleiner Perkins senior partner. Gore could not be reached for comment.
“Their major venture investor is Kleiner Perkins, who has Al Gore as a partner and is certainly politically connected in general,” said industry observer Sexton. “Whether that played a role or not is up to the DOE to explain.”
So, in return for some donations, Fisker receives several hundred times that in taxpayer-funded loan for a car that no one has even seen yet. Sweet deal, that. I’m sure the project was approved solely on the merits.
And I’m the King of Spain.
Read the whole thing. There’s another “green” car firm involved. Add in their loan, and were talking nearly a billion. Maybe theirs is at least “made in America.” And I wonder what all of Obama’s union buddies think of this?
“Chicago on the Potomac” doesn’t cover half of it.
via Sarah Palin
UPDATED: Sweet! Fisker’s gas-electric hybrid gets a whopping 20 miles per gallon in gasoline mode — less than the Chevy Volt! And for this we forked out more the $500 million. Way to go, President “We Got Every Decision Right!“
5 Comments | Chicago Way, Corruption, Scandals, Solyndra | Tagged: crony capitalism, cronyism, electric cars, Henrik Fisker, Solyndra, Tesla Motors, Valmet Automotive | Permalink
My God. What have they done to General Motors?
I was the proud owner of a ’64 Impala for many, many years, and my family always bought GM. But… O, how the mighty have fallen! First they’re bought by the government, then they introduce the Volt, an all-electric car that costs only $41,000 and can take you a whopping 40 miles before it needs recharging! (Or switching to a gas engine that will pollute only a little bit…)
But now, the nadir. Where once auto shows had rock music and hawt babes to sell their cars, now GM gives us… this:
I wonder if they told those dancers they’d be performing to the eco-warrior’s theme from The New Zoo Review?
Poor GM.
(via Iowahawk)
2 Comments | Business, Weird News | Tagged: auto shows, Chevy, electric cars, General Motors, GM, Volt | Permalink
RT @nfergus: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are the odd couple of the Second Cold War: thetimes.co.uk/edition/commen… https://t.co/2sTfgjtcyT 3 minutes ago
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