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__label__wiki	0.502955	0.502955	Uber today won a major victory in Edmonton when a court injunction to block their operations failed. Citing Star Trek and science fiction author Ray Bradbury, an Alberta court denied the city’s attempt to stop Uber from operating in Edmonton. Bradbury’s worlds and those experienced by occupants of the Starship Enterprise “seemed unimaginable 30 years ago,” wrote Queen’s Bench Justice Michelle Crighton in a decision released Thursday. The Internet is opening new avenues for what might be possible, she said. “It is not surprising, therefore, that legislation drafted to accommodate a more static, paper and people driven environment, sometimes lags behind the technical response to individual preferences and demands.” As a result of this ruling, Uber can continue operating in Edmonton. One of the primary issues is that Uber Canada is just a front company, and that courts probably would have to really push to block the international conglomerate from operating an app that is administered in Holland. All the city can do at this point is go after individual drivers, a measure that probably wouldn't be very politically expedient. Instead they'll have to wait until they pass their ride sharing legislation. On the bright side for the city, if they draft too ridiculous a legislation Uber will leave, just like they did in San Antonio. Bear in mind, though, that this may turn out to be a scorched earth policy. What I find enjoyable about this is that the Uber vs. Edmonton fight, as encapsulated by the scoreboard above that K'mpec texted me earlier today, causes cowardly Don Iveson's far-left base to become disillusioned with him. Now that he's offended basically everybody who uses the roadways, there's a good chance that the shelf life of this useless sack of shit is coming to an end.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line0
__label__cc	0.693632	0.306368	Dear Fellow Members: As we begin our 23rd year, the International Alchemy Guild continues to fulfill its charter obligations to provide networking and support services for modern alchemists and assist them in their practical and spiritual transformations. From its inception, I have tried to keep the Guild from developing ambitions other than these simple goals. We strive to be an organization without ego; the group’s will and life force itself originates from our membership. No one at the Guild gets paid; we are all volunteers. The Guild would not exist without the selfless service of our volunteers and esteemed Board of Directors: PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR – Daniel Coaten http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/publications Thanks to Daniel’s hard work, the Alchemy Journal has been completely redesigned with beautiful artwork and cutting-edge articles. He also implemented a professional website devoted to the Journal at www.AlchemyJournal.org and oversees all facets of publishing for the Guild. Members are encouraged to submit articles and artwork. Visit the “For Authors” section of the website. BULLETIN EDITOR – Tracy Cranick http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/bulletin Tracy has expanded the Guild’s central communication tool to include more news and relevant articles. She has also opened the Bulletin to more shared experiences and feedback from members. ARCHIVES DIRECTOR – Jim Baldwin http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/archives Under Jim’s leadership, the world’s largest online library of alchemical manuscripts and resources has grown even more. He has also added new search features and organized the files into 30 separate categories. ACQUISITIONS EDITOR – Gabriel Maroney Gabriel helps select and edit new submissions for the Alchemy Journal. He is a graduate of Bastyr University and specializes in medical alchemy and spagyrics in the tradition of Paracelsus. CHAPTERS DIRECTOR – Vincent Martin http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/chapters Thanks to Vincent’s directorship, we added three new chapters (Poland, Chicago, and North Carolina). We now have 17 chapters in nine countries. He is the President of the growing Ohio Alchemy Guild - http://www.alchemyguildohio.org MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR – Jason Collette http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/membership Jason has consolidated and refined our membership services and has limited membership to 500 members to provide better service. There is also a new app just for members. Download the Wild Apricot for Members App from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wildapricot.appformembers or https://itunes.apple.com/app/wild-apricot/id1220348450 and login with your Guild user name and password. SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR – Steve Kalec http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/forums Under Steve’s steady hand, the quality and relevance of our forum contacts and message has greatly improved. The Guild now has over 40,000 members in our Facebook groups. GUILD SECRETARY – Paulette Dager-Harris http://www.alchemyconference.net Paulette has been one of the Guild’s guiding lights for over a decade and is known for her sage advice to members in the forums. She is an essential ingredient at our national conferences. DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION – Benjamin Turale http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/lectures Benjamin’s modern perspectives on teaching alchemy are just what is needed at this crucial time in the Guild’s evolution. His website is http://www.benjaminturale.com. STUDY PROGRAM DIRECTOR – Alex Hayden http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/ASP Under Alex’ control, the Alchemy Study Program expanded its offerings and resources. The website (http://www.alcheystudy.com ) has been completely revamped and is now scalable to fit all smart devices. Course manuals have been updated and professionally published. Mentors have been added in Spiritual Alchemy (John Hernandez) and Practical Alchemy (Robert Bartlett) for students desiring personal guidance. See http://alchemyguild.memberlodge.org/mentoring ALCHEMY MUSEUM PROJECT http://www.rosicrucianpark.org/alchemy-museum After five years of preparation, the Alchemy Museum in San Jose, California, is scheduled to open in 2020. Guild members who donated artifacts and time to this project are to be congratulated. The first phase of remodeling is complete and the next phase of interior construction is beginning. The museum will be a beacon for students of alchemy and will also serve the general public. Multimedia experiences and immersive environments will inspire guests to meaningfully engage with the operations of alchemy as presented in the Guild’s teachings. Other areas will take a more contemplative tone, providing space for meditation and for guests to reflect on the connections between alchemy and their personal and spiritual beliefs and practices. A complete 12-station laboratory, auditorium, library, herbatorium, and alchemical garden are all part of the structure. A preview exhibit is now on display in the Egyptian Museum. Guild members receive free admission. As President of the Guild, I am still working hard to expand the Guild’s influence and present the ancient teachings from which alchemy originated to the modern world. I continue to write books about the applications of alchemy. I also started a regular “Alchemergy” podcast available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and other popular apps. The podcast is hosted at http://alchemergy.podbean.com in addition to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/alchemergist. I look forward to the coming year and the exciting challenges and deep transformations we have ahead and share as brothers and sisters of the Alchemy Guild. Dennis William Hauck http://www.DWHauck.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line3
__label__cc	0.680429	0.319571	HomeMagnesium Market Market and Production Magnesium demand is forecast to show healthy growth over the next five years, exhibiting an average annual growth rate of 5% to total 1,400 kt in 2017. Rather than reflecting a “new normal”, the mid-2000s explosion in demand was largely tied to surging global and Chinese growth. Both of these factors have now moderated, and growth in magnesium consumption is therefore expected to be more modest going forward. Barring any great market changes or breakthroughs in use, long-term growth in magnesium demand (i.e., post 2017) may, however, be more sluggish, as Chinese consumption continues to ease as China’s economy matures. Magnesium in the automotive industry Since the 1930s, the global automotive industry has used a wide range of magnesium components on vehicles: in pistons, oil pumps, mounts, brackets and housings. In the late 1930s to 1960s, the VW Beetle was the first vehicle to use more than 40 pounds of magnesium, primarily in its transmission and air-cooled engine. The 1952 Chrysler had more than 15 die-cast parts, most converted from heavy zinc. Ford Motor Company’s 1998 Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) demonstration vehicle contained 87 lb of magnesium components. Starting with 2011 models, the U.S. federal government’s fuel-economy standards, which had been frozen for years, saw the biggest change since the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) law was created in 1975. The average fuel economy for cars must improve from the 27.5 mile per gallon (mpg), where it has been since 1990, to 37.8 mpg by 2016, and the truck standard is to rise from 23.5 to 28.8 mpg. This means that cars must improve by 37% and trucks by 23%. Combined, cars and trucks in 2016 should average 34.1 mpg, up 35% from the current 25.3 mpg, a jump of 5.1% per year. A recent report from the United States Automotive Materials Partnership, a collaboration among carmakers GM, Ford and Chrysler, estimates that by 2020, 250 pounds of magnesium will replace 500 pounds of steel and 90 pounds of magnesium will replace 130 pounds of aluminum per vehicle, resulting in an overall 15% weight reduction. If those predictions for magnesium usage in cars come true, there is reason to believe that overall magnesium demand will continue to be positive for the foreseeable future. While Europe is holding back, preventing a return to pre-economic-downturn growth levels, the automotive outputs of Asia and South America are making up some of the slack, helping global demand. Markets Targeted by Alliance Magnesium End-user markets for magnesium extracted from the proposed plant would be global. At the proposed 50,000 tpy magnesium metal production rate, Alliance Magnesium would only grab a small share of the annual growth in this sector. It would therefore not displace incumbents, but would be a new player. Alliance Magnesium initiated meetings with large players in the automobile industry at the Global Automotive Lightweight Material Conference in London, UK and at the APMA conference in Windsor Ontario. APMA is Canada’s national association of OEM producers of parts, equipment, tools, supplies and services for the worldwide automotive industry. Potential clients globally would include volume carmakers, high-end manufacturers, most diversified automotive supplier in the world, which designs, develops and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules and components, many other first tier and mid-tier suppliers, large aluminium consortiums and large aerospace companies and OEMs. Roskill, a well-recognized industry consultancy group, commented recently on new initiatives to use more magnesium in cars in order to reduce weight and greenhouse gas emissions, saying that: In October 2012, General Motors said it was testing a new process to form lightweight magnesium sheet metal with a view to increasing its usage in cars. Magnesium, which weighs 33 percent less than aluminum, 60 percent less than titanium and 75 percent less than steel, would cut fuel usage.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line4
__label__cc	0.510555	0.489445	Turkey’s TIKA awards $150,000 grant to help alleviate rural poverty in Latin America WAHINGTON DC (September 19) The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) grant award of $150,000 (USD) to Strategies for International Development (SID) a DC-based not-for-profit that helps alleviate rural poverty in Central and South America. This is the first time TIKA has awarded a grant to a country in Latin America. In honor of this grant, Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) organized a reception that was held on Capitol Hill in the House Natural Resources Committee Hearing Room where Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan gave remarks. “TCA is thrilled to bring these two organizations together to help reduce rural poverty, and make a difference in the lives of families in Latin America,” said G. Lincoln McCurdy, president of TCA. “I am also grateful to Congressman Henry Cuellar, a member of both the Hispanic and Turkey Caucuses, and to Esther Aguilera, President and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for their letters of appreciation for this worthy grant.” SID hosted a dinner following the reception. Guests attending these events included: Members of Congress Virginia Foxx and Ed Whitfield, Co-Chairs of the Turkey Caucus; Chairman of the Hispanic Caucus and Institute Ruben Hinojosa; Jim Moran; and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. “TIKA looks forward to establishing collaborative opportunities with Latin American countries to address challenges and priorities specific to this region. Thanks to our partners, the Turkish Coalition of America and Strategies for International Development, we have made a contribution to local farmers in Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia. I believe this project will be very fruitful and is a significant step toward strengthening friendly relations and cooperation between Turkey and these countries, “ said Harun Tuncer, deputy president of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) About / Künye	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line6
__label__cc	0.637675	0.362325	Matches:List of Indo-Iranian languages * List of Indo-Iranian languages * فهرست زبان های هند و ایرانی (Wikipedia) - Indo-Iranian languages (Redirected from List of Indo-Iranian languages) Indo-Iranian Geographic distribution: Eastern Europe, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia Linguistic classification: Indo-European Proto-language: Proto-Indo-Iranian Subdivisions: Indo-Aryan Nuristani ISO 639-5: iir Glottolog: indo1320 The approximate present-day distribution of the Indo-European branches of Eurasia: Indo-Iranian The Indo-Iranian languages, or Indo-Iranic languages, also known as the Aryan languages, constitute the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European language family. It is also the largest branch, with more than 1 billion speakers stretching from Europe (Jasz) and the Caucasus (Ossetian) eastward to Xinjiang (Sarikoli) and Assam (Assamese) and south to Maldives (Dhivehi). 1 Languages Indo-Iranian consists of three groups: The largest in terms of native speakers are Hindustani (Hindi–Urdu, ~590 million), Bengali (205 million), Punjabi (100 million), Marathi (75 million), Persian (60 million), Pashto (ca. 50 million), Gujarati (50 million), Kurdish (35 million), Bhojpuri (40 million), Awadhi (40 million), Maithili (35 million), Oriya (35 million), Marwari (30 million), Sindhi (25 million), Rajasthani (20 million), Chhattisgarhi (18 million), Assamese (15 million), Sinhalese (16 million), Nepali (17 million), Balochi (30 million), and Rangpuri (15 million). The Indo-Iranian languages derive from a reconstructed common proto-language, called Proto-Indo-Iranian. Indo-Iranian languages were once spoken across an even wider area. The Scythians, were described by Roman writer Strabo as inhabiting the lands to the north of the Black Sea in present-day Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. The river-names Don, Dnieper, Danube etc. are possibly of Indo-Iranian origin. The so-called Migration Period saw Indo-Iranian languages disappear from Eastern Europe, apart from the ancestor of Ossetian in the Caucasus, with the arrival of the Turkic-speaking Pechenegs and others by the 8th century AD. The oldest attested Indo-Iranian languages are Vedic Sanskrit (ancient Indo-Aryan), Older and Younger Avestan and Old Persian (ancient Iranian languages). A few words from a fourth language (very closely related to Indo-Aryan; see Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni) are attested in documents from the ancient Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia and Syria and the Hittite kingdom in Anatolia. This section requires expansion. (April 2014) Innovations shared with other languages affected by the satem sound changes include: Fronting and assibilation of the Proto-Indo-European palato-velar stops: ḱ, ǵʰ, ǵ > ĉ, ĵʰ, ĵ The merger of the PIE labiovelar and plain velar stops: kʷ, gʷʰ, gʷ > k, gʰ, g The Ruki sound law Innovations shared with Greek include: The vocalization of the PIE syllabic nasals m̥, n̥ to a Grassmann''s law Innovations unique to Indo-Iranian include: The lowering of PIE e to a o was also lowered to *a, though this occurred in several other Indo-European languages as well. Brugmann''s law Tags:Anatolia, Asia, Bengali, Caucasus, Central Asia, Danube, Europe, Greek, Hindustani, Hittite, ISO, Iranian, Kurdish, Maldives, Mesopotamia, Old Persian, Persian, Proto-Indo-Iranian, Roman, Romania, Sanskrit, Scythians, South Asia, Syria, Ukraine, Urdu, Vedic, Wikipedia Add definition or comments on List of Indo-Iranian languages Upon approval, your definition will be listed under: List of Indo-Iranian languages	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line7
__label__wiki	0.595917	0.595917	BASIS Independent McLean Appoints Veteran Educator and Exeter Administrator as New Head of School Friday, December 8th, 2017, 3:36pm BASIS Independent McLean, a private preschool through 12th grade school that is a part of the nationally-ranked, world-acclaimed BASIS Curriculum network, has announced the appointment of Ron Kim as Head of School. The new head of school will greet prospective families and the school community at an information session on Sat., Jan. 20, 2018. For information on the information session, interested families can visit http://info.basisindependent.com/general-info-session-january-20. LearningRx’s Reston Earns Lifetime Impact Award; LearningRx Vienna Earns Community Impact Award Tuesday, October 17th, 2017, 12:20pm Maureen Loftus, owner and executive director of LearningRx Reston and LearningRx Vienna, took home a top awards from LearningRx’s national convention held in Colorado Springs, Col: the 2017 Life Impact Award and the 2017 Community Impact Award. The Life Impact Award is given to LearningRx Reston for fulfilling the brain training needs of a client through multiple stages of life. The Community Impact Award is given to LearningRx Tysons for the top seven centers in the nation that have the most significant impact on the people in their respective community.For more information, go to www.learningrx.com/reston. No. Virginia Couple Introduces Cook, Eat, Play, Travel; Video Journal of Culinary Tours Friday, October 6th, 2017, 2:27pm Northern Virginia owners, George and Linda Meyers, of Cook in Tuscany, Cook in Mexico and Cook in Cuba debuted ‘Cook, Eat, Play, Travel’, their online, video diary of their worldwide travels and journeys. They are always asked about life “outside” of their culinary tours in Tuscany, Mexico and Cuba, so they started documenting their adventures. Named one of the top 15 Foodie Destinations by USA Today, the Meyers created Cook, Eat, Play, Travel to allow people around the world to experience some of their culinary travel adventures online. To view or learn more, go to www.cookeatplaytravel.com. Metropolitan School of the Arts Student Joins Houston Ballet Academy Tuesday, September 19th, 2017, 10:29am Metropolitan School of the Arts (MSA) Academy of Alexandria Va. congratulates its student Elpida Voryas, 16, of Alexandria, Va. on her acceptance to the pre-professional Houston Ballet Academy program this fall. Go to www.metropolitanarts.org for more information. Voryas has been taking jazz, ballet, modern and contemporary dance for 12 years, but became more committed to ballet at age 8, when she started MSA’s conservatory Royal Academy of Dance. After graduating from that program with distinction, she was invited to train with the prestigious Royal Ballet School Summer program in London in 2017, where she was among 125 female and male dancers who were picked from 2,700 applicants from around the world. LearningRx Of Reston, Vienna, VA. Earns National Customer Service Award Monday, August 28th, 2017, 2:54pm LearningRx Reston, Va. and Vienna, Va., brain training centers were presented with a top, 2017 Customer Service Award at the company’s national convention held in Colorado Springs, Colo. The award is given to centers that have shown a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. For more information, go to www.learningrx.com. Reston, Va. and Vienna, Va. brain training centers averaged an overall score of 9.5 out of 10 for all clients that trained in the centers over the last year.To determine customer satisfaction, LearningRx uses a 10-point scale and asks clients (or their parents) the likelihood they would recommend LearningRx to a friend. The 10-point measurement of customer loyalty also works as a system to increase customer satisfaction. “We love what we do…and we’re thrilled to be able to help others achieve their goals through brain training,” said Maureen Loftus, executive director of LearningRx of Vienna and Reston, Va. Metropolitan School of the Arts Welcomes New Faculty Members Monday, July 24th, 2017, 2:00pm Metropolitan School of the Arts (MSA) of Alexandria Va. welcomes eight new faculty members to its tap, jazz, hip hop and ballet departments, from various parts of the United States and beyond, including Roger C. Jeffrey, a NYC native and The Juilliard School graduate, specializing in ballet, Quynn Johnson, a Howard University graduate and student of tap and West African dance, and Guiliano Antonio, a Brazilian tap artist, who has taught at several tap festivals in Argentina, Brazil and the United States. Go to www.metropolitanarts.org for more information on their staff.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line11
__label__cc	0.691073	0.308927	The World Beyond BetterMost » The Culture Tent (Moderator: Sheriff Roland) » The Classic TV Thread Author Topic: The Classic TV Thread (Read 3946 times) Re: The Classic TV Thread I haven't seen a bit of the wedding. Maybe 2-3 still pix at most. But Clarissa posted this on Facebook today -- not sure if you all saw her post -- and I gained more respect for Meghan Markle. Somehow I managed to watch the video without reading who it was, and I already liked it when I thought it was just some random girl! [youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfaGleA4qYo[/youtube] Yes, I've been seeing that making the rounds on FB. Stradford Don't Say Much Never seen this video of Meghan before. That's pretty cool. I didn't know she was into the business from such a young age. Quote from: Stradford on June 21, 2018, 09:59:22 am I must have missed the part about her being into the business. I took her to be some regular kid who was offended by the commercial and got the company to change it. I'm offended by those commercials, too. That one's particularly bad, but all housekeeping commercials that focus on women -- i.e., roughly 100% of them -- offend me. Veteran Actor Georgia Engel Passes Away At Age 70 by BWW News Desk Apr. 15, 2019 BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of veteran stage and screen actor, Georgia Engel. She was 70 years old. Georgia's Broadway roles included Mrs. Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone; Minnie Fay in Hello, Dolly! with Ethel Merman, The Boys From Syracuse, and My One and Only with Tommy Tune. Off-Broadway she was seen in Annie Baker's John at Signature Theatre for which she won an Obie Award, Uncle Vanya at Soho Rep, and, Will Eno's Middletown at Vineyard Theatre. Her most recent stage role of note was appearing opposite Lillias White, Donna McKechnie, and Andre de Shields in the musical Half Time at Paper Mill Playhouse. She was best known for her work as Georgette Franklin Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, on which she appeared from 1972 until the show ended in 1977. The role won her two Emmy nominations. After that series ended, she teamed up with former Mary Tyler Moore Show co-star Betty White for The Betty White Show during its first and only (1977-1978) season. Engel received consecutive Emmy nominations as outstanding guest actress in a comedy series in 2003, 2004, and 2005 for her role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Robert Barone's mother-in-law, Pat MacDougall. ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Georgia Georgia https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Veteran-Actor-Georgia-Engel-Passes-Away-At-Age-70-20190415 Sad. But also, Betty White looks so young in that photo. I guess of course, that was 40+ years ago, so she would be. But for some reason I think of her as always looking the age she is now. Jeff Wrangler BetterMost Supporter! "He somebody you cowboy'd with?" Quote from: serious crayons on April 16, 2019, 09:04:23 am It's shocking to think it was that long ago. It seems like the MTM show ended only a few years ago. I've noticed that about other TV shows, too, but then I also "feel" like the year can't be 2019, like it can't be any later than 2009 at the most. It's difficult for me to grasp that we are only six years from completing the first quarter of this century (not that we'll see the end of it). "It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens. Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 16, 2019, 10:31:42 am What, you don't plan on living to 140+? We're lucky we won't be here until the end of the century. I feel sorry for my kids, who have at least a chance of it -- they'll be 104 and 106, but their great-grandmother lived to 105. By the end of the century, some scientists predict the earth will be uninhabitable 20 degrees on either side of the equator.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line12
__label__cc	0.681442	0.318558	Tag Archives: development Private Equity Players Eye Microfinance Institutions By admin September 26, 2018 For many years, poor people living in rural areas have struggled to find ways to finance their livelihood. In 1978, Grameen Bank was set up in Bangladesh to provide microcredit to impoverished people without collaterals and higher interest rates. This is the most famous example of microfinance. Today, microfinance institutions (MFI) operate all over the “Where is the doctor?” In the WHO’s most recent global study, it reports a gap of 7.2 million healthcare workers between “supply” and “demand”, which is expected to rise to 12.9 million. This translates to a demand form 5,073 positions to be filled, according to a report by Workforce on demand for healthcare occupations in Florida. That number was IN MEMORIAM: Kofi Annan By admin August 20, 2018 When Kofi Annan became Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1997, he had already been within the UN system for almost 35 years – starting as a budget officer for the World Health Organization and rising through the ranks to become head of personnel for the office of the UN High Commission for Refugees; Assistant Secretary-General for The Importance of Girls Education in Global Development By admin August 1, 2018 As women and girls account for about half of the world’s population. Women are important members of their communities and critical facilitators of global development. However, due to lack of proper education, some girls are unable to reach their full potential. Girls are under-represented in schools, with a 4% gender gap in primary school enrollment Agriculture and the Least Developed Countries By admin July 25, 2018 Even though the world’s farmers are producing enough calories to feed the entire population plus an additional 1.6 billion people, hunger remains an issue as the calories are not evenly distributed. Innovation in food production has helped feed a growing population. However, in the least developed countries (LDCs), advancements in agricultural technology are lagging behind. Child and Adolescent Pressures in Kenya More frequently, girls in Kenya have resorted to selling their bodies to provide for their families. Girls as young as 12 years old are participating in “survival sex” as drought and soaring food prices make living conditions exceedingly difficult. Child prostitution has long been an adversity for Kenya. In 2008 UNICEF estimated that 30 percent Chile: a Leader in Green Energy Development Chile continues to accelerate in its clean energy initiatives; two major developers announced this week that they’ve secured funding for huge wind farm projects. Mainstream Renewable Power and its Chilean counterpart, Aela Energía, have received $410 M to fund two wind farms in Chile and Mexico with a whopping 299MW of capacity, enough to power Regulations on Cryptocurrency Bitcoin and other electronic forms of currency like Ethereum have become the new popular investment. In this past year, the market that is known as initial coin offering (ICO), has been valued at $1.3 billion. These Cryptocurrencies have also garnered a considerable amount of attention of major companies like Microsoft. The popular investment has caught Asia-Pacific’s Slow Progress on Development Goals A recent United Nations regional Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Baseline Report has come to the conclusion that the Asia-Pacific region needs to boost its development efforts in order to successfully meet the SDG set by the UN Department Economic and Social Affairs. The original target timeframe to achieve the listed goals is by 2030. According The Potential of Nuclear Power for African Development By admin July 7, 2017 As the African population continues to exponentially grow, governments in the continent look for ways to keep up with the booming population. One such way of economic development is by looking towards alternative energy sources, such as nuclear energy. Nuclear energy, in coordination with other clean sources of power, can be a major and efficient Israel’s Development Plans in Africa By admin June 29, 2017 Over the past few years Israel has ramped up its effort to expand its economy into emerging markets in the developing world. In May 2016 the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry visited the Ivory Coast and Ghana to meet with officials to discuss development efforts. Israel received aid from the World Bank until the China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative Chinese President Xi Jinping recently made a statement that the world should move towards an integrated global economy and away from protectionism. He emphasized the ‘One belt, One road’ initiative which uses billions of dollars of Chinese investment into building infrastructure along the Silk Road. Although many countries would benefit directly and indirectly from the Is Infrastructure Development Slicing and Dicing our Ecosystem? By admin December 19, 2016 “Road-building” might sound innocuous, like “house maintenance” – or even positive, conjuring images of promoting the foundation of economic growth. Many of us have been trained to think so. But an unprecedented spate of road building is happening now, with around 25 million kilometers of new paved roads expected by 2050. And that’s causing many Media Broadcasts Global Inequality Every day, much of humanity now has the possibility to gather information from all around the world, relating to anyone and sharing opinions and thoughts with a plethora of other individuals. Our connected world is filled with expressions of freedom and equality. The Internet and social networks gives voice to every individual that has one, A New Relationship: China’s Cultural Diffusion in Africa By admin November 21, 2016 Globalization is an incredible engine of exchange that triggers not only economic development and commerce but also inter-cultural networks. One of the most interesting aspects related to globalization – Sino-African relations – has garnered a great deal of public interest in recent decades. However, commentary tends to focus on trade, economic investment and aid Human Trafficking is a Reality, and is Closely Tied to Poverty and Development Even if it is something difficult to imagine, human trafficking is still a reality in 2016. According to a 2014 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), some 70 per cent of victims in the global trafficking trade are women (49 per cent) and girls (21 per cent). Apart from The Long Duration By admin November 2, 2016 When looking at the heart of a map, the countries that comprise the Middle East and Western Asia, it is clear that civil war or external invasions have affected nearly half of them. Not only does the act of war have catastrophic consequences on the economic and political systems, but also the humanitarian consequences are The “Neoliberal Agenda” Problem: Sustainability lost in Growth By admin June 1, 2016 A recent essay titled “Neoliberalism: Oversold?” published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has caused some controversy and stirred reactions across the board. The piece aims to give more nuances to what is famously labeled the “neoliberal agenda”. Neoliberal agenda, a term that is usually used by its critics, points to a set of China and the Future of Development in the Middle East By admin May 4, 2016 China’s meteoric economic rise this century has naturally attracted the attention of Middle Eastern countries which face many of the challenges that China claims to have overcome, including pressure form a young and growing population, non-democratic models of governance and the issue of legitimacy, and perhaps more importantly – development. Xue Qingguo, head of Healthcare in Africa: The Administrative Costs of Corruption By admin April 6, 2016 African countries, like most other developing countries, face challenges in their healthcare systems. The major issue in healthcare management falls into the management of public-private sectors and the problem of pricing. Last month, South African Health Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, criticized the healthcare system for being in a “sick situation” by “over-servicing of A Shortcut to Development: How Technologies Can Help the Developing and Underdeveloped Countries to Overcome Development Gaps By admin February 24, 2016 Last week, Ringing Bells, an Indian manufacturer based in Uttar Pradesh state, announced its newest model of smartphone –Freedom 251- for less than $4. More interestingly, Ringing Bells has claimed that it has received no subsidies from the government. This is, of course, a trend in the Indian smartphone market; International Data Corporation’s 2015 report China and Africa Gearing Up for Summit in South Africa President Zuma of South Africa met with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on September 4, 2015, in advance of South Africa’s hosting of the 6th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in December, 2015. The official occasion was the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Client & Experience	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line17
__label__cc	0.585904	0.414096	/ Babies can learn that hard work pays off Babies can learn that hard work pays off Researchers found that babies who watched an adult struggle to complete tasks before succeeding tried harder at their own difficult task, compared to babies who saw an adult succeed without effort. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. A new study from MIT reveals that babies as young as 15 months can learn to follow this advice. The researchers found that babies who watched an adult struggle at two different tasks before succeeding tried harder at their own difficult task, compared to babies who saw an adult succeed effortlessly. The study suggests that infants can learn the value of effort after seeing just a couple of examples of adults trying hard, although the researchers have not studied how long the effect lasts. Although the study took place in a laboratory setting, the findings may offer some guidance for parents who hope to instill the value of effort in their children, the researchers say. “There’s some pressure on parents to make everything look easy and not get frustrated in front of their children,” says Laura Schulz, a professor of cognitive science at MIT. “There’s nothing you can learn from a laboratory study that directly applies to parenting, but this does at least suggest that it may not be a bad thing to show your children that you are working hard to achieve your goals.” Schulz is the senior author of the study, which appears in the Sept. 21 online edition of Science. Julia Leonard, an MIT graduate student, is the first author of the paper, and MIT undergraduate Yuna Lee is also an author. Putting in the effort Many recent studies have explored the value of hard work. Some have found that children’s persistence, or “grit,” can predict success above and beyond what IQ predicts. Other studies have found that children’s beliefs regarding effort also matter: Those who think putting in effort leads to better outcomes do better in school than those who believe success depends on a fixed level of intelligence. Leonard and Schulz were interested in studying how children might learn, at a very early age, how to decide when to try hard and when it’s not worth the effort. Schulz’ previous work has shown that babies can learn causal relationships from just a few examples. “We were wondering if they can do similar fast learning from a little bit of data about when effort is really worth it,” Leonard says. To do that, they designed an experiment in which 15-month-old babies first watched an adult perform two tasks: removing a toy frog from a container and removing a key chain from a carabiner. Half of the babies saw the adult quickly succeed at the task three times within 30 seconds, while the other half saw her struggle for 30 seconds before succeeding. The experimenter then showed the baby a musical toy. This toy had a button that looked like it should turn the toy on but actually did not work; there was also a concealed, functional button on the bottom. Out of the baby’s sight, the researcher turned the toy on, to demonstrate that it played music, then turned it off and gave it to the baby. Each baby was given two minutes to play with the toy, and the researchers recorded how many times the babies tried to press the button that seemed like it should turn the toy on. They found that babies who had seen the experimenter struggle before succeeding pressed the button nearly twice as many times overall as those who saw the adult easily succeed. They also pressed it nearly twice as many times before first asking for help or tossing the toy. “There wasn’t any difference in how long they played with the toy or in how many times they tossed it to their parent,” Leonard says. “The real difference was in the number of times they pressed the button before they asked for help and in total.” The researchers also found that direct interactions with the babies made a difference. When the experimenter said the infants’ names, made eye contact with them, and talked directly to them, the babies tried harder than when the experimenter did not directly engage with the babies. “What we found, consistent with many other studies, is that using those pedagogical cues is an amplifier. The effect doesn’t vanish, but it becomes much weaker without those cues,” Schulz says. A limited resource A key takeaway from the study is that people appear to be able to learn, from an early age, how to make decisions regarding effort allocation, the researchers say. “We’re a somewhat puritanical culture, especially here in Boston. We value effort and hard work,” Schulz says. “But really the point of the study is you don’t actually want to put in a lot of effort across the board. Effort is a limited resource. Where do you deploy it, and where do you not?” Kiley Hamlin, an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, described the study as “a lovely demonstration that something we have long thought critical to older childrens’ and adults' likelihood of achieving success in school and in life — persistence on task — can be influenced in infants in the first half of the second year.” Hamlin, who was not involved in the study, said the findings suggest two important things: “First, infants seem to be learning something about persistence in general, rather than on how to best solve task A or task B specifically. Second, influencing our infants' persistence, at least in the short term, might (ironically) take relatively little effort on our part.” The researchers hope to investigate how long this effect might last after the initial experiment. Another possible avenue of research is whether the effect would be as strong with different kinds of tasks — for example, if it was less clear to the babies what the adult was trying to achieve, or if the babies were given toys that were meant for older children. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the MIT Center for Brains, Minds and Machines, and the Simons Center for the Social Brain.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line24
__label__wiki	0.794029	0.794029	Although a number of Revolutionary War Veterans lived here prior to 1800, the year Armstrong County was formed, it’s unlikely many lived here in 1776. Most Armstrong County veterans settled here after the war ended. Please leave a Reply at the bottom of the document to add another soldier or information or submit corrections. Comments there are public. If you wish to communicate privately, please use our Contact Form. The Revolutionary War began on 19 April 1775, when a group of colonists fought the British soldiers at Lexington, Mass. Hours later in nearby Concord, colonists fired “the shot heard round the world” when they battled the British troops near a bridge. The War lasted eight years, and ended on 3 September 1783 in Paris, when the United States and Great Britain signed the final peace treaty. The complete title of the source cited here, “Early Deaths & Marriages”, is Early Deaths and Marriages in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania From Kittanning Area Newspapers, compiled by Constance Leinweber Mateer, 1996. Closson Press, Apollo, Pennsylvania AUSTIN, Samuel AUSTIN, Samuel, of Toby Township. (Source: “Early History of PA by Iscrupe). Austin did not serve 6 months. Also: #R328, PA Line, application on 19 May 1834 in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, age 78, born 26 January 1756 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, moved to Centre County, Pennsylvania in 1783, and in 1805 moved to Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. (Source: Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files. pg. 2231) Austin, Samuel. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Pensioner. Gratuity:40.00. Annuity: 40. Granted by an Act of 1 April 1836. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838 BEYER see Boyers BLAIN, William BLAIN, William, 1753 – 1827, of Sugar Creek. (Source: “Early Deaths & Marriages”, compiled by C. L. Mateer, 1996.) pg. 20. BLAIR, Thomas Thomas BLAIR died in Westmoreland County but his family came to Armstrong County. Register to see BLAIR under Surnames and Bible Records in the Forum. BOWERS, Sebastian Revolutionary War Pension File #S40748 BOWERS, Sebastian. Private, Maryland Line, in a Company commanded by Captain STULL and Colonel GUNBY. Residence in 1823 and 1824 was Kittanning Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Certificate of Pension issued 23 July 1824 and sent to J. E. BROWN, Esq., Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Auditor’s Office: BOWERS, Boston. Enlisted 1 June 1778 in the 7th Maryland Regiment. Discharged 1 April 1779. “It is the opinion of the Auditor that the name of the Applicant is spelled wrong on the Muster Rolls; it appears he served in Captain STULL’s Company in the Regiment commanded by Colonel GUNBY.” 18 June 1823, Sebastian BOWERS, aged 63, appeared before the Court in Kittanning, Armstrong County. His residence was Kittanning Township. Being sworn, Bowers declared that he enlisted for nine months in 1778 at Hagerstown, Maryland, in a Company commanded by Captain Daniel STULL, the Regiment commanded by Colonel GUNBY, in the Maryland Line. He said he served 13 months and was discharged at Bonbrook, New Jersey and was in the battle of Monmouth. He is a laborer by trade but unable to maintain himself or family. He has an aged wife. He had a large family to maintain but all have now married and left him except the youngest son, Henry, who resides with soldier and his wife on a tract of land Warranted in the name of Thos. HENDERSON, claimed by the Reverend William FINNEY?, for which an ejectment is brought against this applicant and which he has agreed to give up to the real owner, and this deponent also says that he stands in need of the assistance of his country for his support. Bowers signed his name in German. 23 August 1823. Venango County, Pennsylvania. William JONES of Venango County testified that he knew Sebastian BOWERS and knew of his service and that he, JONES, was enlisted at the same time and place and served in the same Company with BOWERS. Sworn 23 August 1823, Venango County. Note: I have no proof that Sebastion Bowers is buried in Armstrong County, but he died in 1828 a resident of Kittanning Township so it is nearly certain that he is. The Pettigrew graveyard is a likely spot, since he named Archibald McIntosh an executor of his will. Pension Roll of 1835, The Mid-Atlantic States. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania BOWERS, Sebastian, Private. Annual Allowance: $96.00 Sums Received: $452.49 Description of Service: Maryland Continental Line Placed on Pension Roll: 23 July 1824 Commencement of Pension: 18 June 1823. Age: 74 Comments: Sebastian Bowers died 3 April 1828 Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Courthouse Records Will Abstracts. Abstracted by Kathy Lambing Marcinek BOWERS, Sebastion of Kittanning Township, Armstrong County. Mentions: Loving wife Barbara; land in Kittanning Township bought from David LAWSON; two sons, Henery and Morris; land my son Henery lives on. Appoints friends Archibald McINTOSH and Samuel MECHLING as Executors. Written 13 June 1826. Witnesses: E. S. KELLEY and David REYNOLDS. Registered 26 April 1828, Will Book 1, page 85 BOWSER, Noah Noah Bowser, born 1748-1750, York County, Pennsylvania. Died 1830, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Married Eunice Ditto who died in Mt. Healthy, Ohio. Service: Private in Captain Peter Zellinger’s Company belonging to the 7th Battalion, York County Militia 1777-1778. This Battalion was organized under the state constitution of 1776. Children: Joseph, born 1775, married Rebecca Dull; Noah, born 1783, married Catharine Bowser; Elizabeth; George, born 1785, married Mary —; John, born 26 February 1784, married Elizabeth Baker. DAR descendant Dorothy Warner, #271573. Source: A roster of Revolutionary ancestors of the Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution. Published 1976, Indiana. Note: Zellinger is also spelled Zollinger. Thank you to Mike Wennin for bringing Noah’s service to our attention. Noah Bowser is also listed on the roster for the 7th Battalion of York County in the History of York County, Volume 1, by George R. Prowell. Noah Bowser died on 27 April 1831 in Buffalo Township, Armstrong County. Source: Mike Wennin. Noah Bowser was his 6th Great Uncle. BOYD, Daniel BOYD, Daniel. Died, 9 April 1831 in Plumcreek Township. formerly of Redbank Township. (Early Deaths & Marriages”), pg. 91 BOYERS, Asamus Boyers, Asamus aka Oysel Boyers aka Byers. Revolutionary Pension File #R1099. Asamus (or Oysel) Boyers, aged 79, of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, appeared before the court in Kittanning on 17 September 1834. He made oath that he enlisted in August 1776 in the 8th Regiment of Pennsylvania commanded by Colonel McCoy and Captain Wendel Oury. That he enlisted on the farm of Abraham Leisure about seven miles from Hannastown, Westmoreland County. They soon marched to a place about two miles below the Kittanning, remaining there four months, guarding the frontier. They then marched to Philadelphia, thence to Wilmington, then to the Brandywine, where they were engaged in battle 11 September 1777 and were defeated. During the battle, the Regiment was attached to General Wayne’s Brigade. They then went with General Wayne to Paoli. “The British attacked us about nine o’clock at night, being sick I was not in the engagement that we lost a number of brave fellows”. Asamus (or Oysel) Boyers testified that he was born in Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1755. He lived in Westmoreland County when called into service, lived in Berks (now Schuylkill) County, and moved back to Westmoreland and then to Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. 23 April 1836. Elizabeth Boyers appeared before a Justice of the Peace stating that she is the widow of Asamus (or Oysel) Boyers, late of Alleghney Township, Armstrong County. They married in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1794. Asamus (or Oysel) Boyers died 26 February 1836. 2 July 1851. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Personally appeared in open court for the said county, Abraham Byres, aged 54, resident of Tarentum Township, Allegheny County. He states he is the lawful child of Asmith Byres, deceased, who was a resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County at the time of his death. He states his father died 26 February 1836. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Byres, died at Tarentum Township, Allegheny County, on 28 May 1851, and that her maiden name was Mary Elizabeth Weaver. Asmith Byres and Mary Elizabeth Weaver were married on 17 June 1792 at Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, by J. P. Daniel Ludwig. Declarant was the third child, born 15 July 1797. The 1st child was named Mary. Asmith and Mary Elizabeth Byres died leaving five children surviving: Jane Clinglesmith, Abraham Byres, Fanny —-?, Susan Neil, Simon Byres. Signed: Abraham Buyers. Note: The spellings of Asmith and Byres were done by a court clerk. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Courthouse, Kittanning. Will Abstract. BEYER, Asamus (also Asmus Byers). Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. He mentions the following sons: John, Henry, David, Abraham and Simon Byers; daughters Catharina Byers, Susana Neal, Fanny Steeps, and Jean Klingensmith. Beloved wife Elizabeth; $100.00 she received from her father. He gives and devises the legacy of Elizabeth Neal to her children Margaret Biraly (also Byrly, probably Byerly), and Abraham and William Neal, all the residue of their mother’s legacy forever. He appoints sons John and Abraham as Executors. Written 29 April 1831. Witnesses: Henry T. Klingensmith and Mary Klingensmith. Asamus Beyer signed in German. Registered 24 March 1836. Will book 1, page 175. Abstracted by Kathy Marcinek. BOYLE, Daniel Revolutionary Pension File # S40016. Boyle, Daniel. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. 18 December 1820, Daniel Boyle, aged 72 years, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He testified that he enlisted for a term of two years in the spring of 1776, at Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was in a Company commanded by Colonel Miles and afterward by Colonel Walter Stewart. He was discharged at Valley Forge about 1 January 1778. He states he was in the battles of Brandywine & Germantown. A schedule of his real & personal estate shows the following, his necessary clothing & bedding excluded: A 100 acre tract of land for which he has no title or claim other than an improvement right. Debts due him from Joseph Mercer, Michael Buzzard, David Ramsay, Peter Lobaugh, and Algeo Sawyers. Daniel Boyle owes debts to the following: Night Scott’s heirs, Thomas Jones, Hugh McDonald, John Henry’s estate, Montieth & Pinks, and David Reynolds. He says the only part of his family who resides with him are his three daughters, Elizabeth, aged about 27; Margaret, aged about 25; and Martha, aged 19 years. I found Daniel Boyle in 1820 living in Redbank Township, Armstrong County. It is very likely that he lived in the portion that was taken to form Clarion County in 1839. He is drawing a pension of eight dollars per month in 1828, and is still a resident of Armstrong County. A bit of research would show if he died while still living in that same place and if that place later became part of Clarion County. BROWN, James, Sr. BROWN, James, Sr. 1742 – 1830. From Rayburn Township, buried in Kittanning Cemetery. (Source: Cemetery Record, Veterans Record (newspaper), and “Early Deaths & Marriages”. And from the “Boston Evening Transcript” of 22 November 1830. Under “Deaths”: In Kittanning, PA. Mr. James Brown, 88, much respected by all who knew him. He served three years and six months in the Revolutionary War. A soldier who had taken his place in the battle of Brandywine for a few minutes, till he could put his flint in order so as to strike fire, was in the meantime killed; also one fell on his right hand in the same battle. Revolutionary Pension file # S 40.750: James Brown, Sr. “In 1825, aged 78 years, a resident of Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, and wife Mary. Died November 6, 1830.” The pension file mentions that he was a carpenter. In September 1820, before the court in Kittanning, he states that wife Mary is about 68 years of age, his children are grown and married, but youngest son Robert was lately married and yet resides with them, to take care of his father and his aged and infirm mother. Pension file states he enlisted in Lancaster County on December 1776, for three years & six months, in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, a part of the Continental Army. Regiment was reduced and he was drafted into the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment. BROWN, John BROWN, John. #S22145, PA Line, soldier was born in 1760 at Hopewell Township in New Jersey and enlisted in Bedford County, PA. Application on 18 September 1833. In Armstrong County, PA at the age of 73, after the war the soldier lived in Mifflin County, PA for 10 years then to Armstrong County, PA. (Source: Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files, pg. 2231). Also residing in Armstrong County, in 1819. (Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol XIII, pg. 24) Revolutionary pension file: Resided at Big Cove, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, at enlistment. Was a resident of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in 1833. Brown, John. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Pensioner. Gratuity:40.00. Annuity:40.00. Granted 15 April 1835. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838 BROWNLEE, Joseph Joseph Brownlee Claim # W. 3245. Elizabeth Guthrie who first married Capt. Brownlee and then married Capt. Guthrie who served in the Revolutionary War. The data which follows was obtained from papers on file in the pension claim of Joseph Brownlee. While serving in Hannastown, Westmoreland Co., PA, Joseph Brownlee married in 1775, 76, or 77, Elizabeth, whose maiden name was not given. He enlisted in the spring of 1776 as a Lieutenant in Capt. Joseph Irwin’s company of Riflemen in Col. Miles’ Pennsylvania regiment. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island, was exchanged and attached to Col. Stewart’s and Brodhead’s Pennsylvania regiments and was stationed at Fort Pitt and Laurens. Because of an injury in the foot he left the service in 1779 and resided at Hannastown until July, 1782, when the town was destroyed by the Indians and he and his little son, whom he was carrying in his arms, were killed by the Indians at or near Miller’s Fort. His wife, Elizabeth, and child, Jane, were captured and taken to Buffalo and Niagara, where the wife was sold to a British officer for twenty dollars and the child for ten dollars and two gallons of rum. Elizabeth was then sent as a captive to Montreal, was exchanged and returned with the child to Hannastown in July, 1783. (I doubt that Joseph Brownlee ever lived in Armstrong Co. but Elizabeth went on to marry William Guthrie, and they lived in Armstrong Co. See William Guthrie for more.) BUYERS, George BUYERS, George, residing in Armstrong County in 1813. On 1 Feb. 1777, Buyer was wounded at Princeton. (Penna. Archives, 2nd Series Vol. XIII, pg. 29.) #S40768, PA. Line. Application on 13 April 1818 in Armstrong Co., PA. In 1820 soldier was age 63 and a resident of Sugar Creek Township, PA and wife Susannah who died about 1817. Buyers was living with son George Buyers and also part time living with a married daughter Jane and also mentioned another married child (not named). (Source: Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files, pg. 2231) BYER see Boyers CALLEN, Hugh From the Journal of the Pennsylvania Assembly, House of Representatives Volume 48, part 1. Monday, 26 February 1838: Mr Johnston presented the petition and documents of Hugh Callen, of Armstrong County, stating his services in the Revolutionary War, and praying for relief. Note: See James Rayburn, whose daughter Eleanor was nee Callen. At this time, I don’t know if the soldier Hugh Callen mentioned here remained in Armstrong County. CARUTHERS, James CARUTHERS, James. 1754 – 1846. Buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Cowanshannock Township. (Source, Cemetery Records) CLARK, James. Clark is buried in Wasson Hill Cemetery in Plumcreek Township. (Source: Cemetery Records, Veterans) CLARK, John Revolutionary War Pension File #S41484. Major John CLARK, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. March 1776, John CLARK was appointed 1st Lieutenant of Captain John MARSHALL’s Company, Colonel MILE’s Rifle Regiment, where he served one year. He was afterwards appointed Captain in Colonel Walter STEWART’s 13th Pennsylvania Regiment. CLARK was Captain of Colonel Daniel BRODHEAD’s 8th Pennsylvania Regiment and was commissioned as Brevet Major at Princetown, New Jersey, 10 October 1783. He served as a Major under General Arthur ST. CLAIR and was wounded 4 November 1791. He entered the service as a Major under General Anthony WAYNE and served three years in the Indian Wars. He was allowed pension on his application dated 25 April 1818, a resident of Armstrong County, aged 69, infirm and in reduced circumstances, with his application sworn and declared before William JACK. Signed: William JACK, Judge of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. John CLARK 9 November 1818. John CLARK certifies that he never received any answer to his request to be put on the pension list. He stated: “I prefer my claim for a Pension, it was in consequence of the wound I received at St. CLAIR’s defeat–4th November 1791.” Signed: John CLARK. Sworn and subscribed before Henry A. WEAVER, Armstrong County. Joseph CLARK, heir at law of Major John CLARK, deceased, appoints S. M. HOSEY of Freeport, Armstrong County, to act as agent to try and obtain any amount of Revolutionary War Pension for the heirs of Major John CLARK. 22 February 1854, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania CLARK, John, 5th. Major. Annual Allowance: $240.00 Description of Service: Pennsylvania Continental Line Placed on Pension Roll: 8 July 1819 Commencement of Pension: 25 April 1818 Age: 85 (sic) Note: We have yet to discover if this John Clark is buried in Armstrong County. CRAIG, John CRAIG, John. 1753 – 1850. Buried in the Ancient Freeport Cemetery in South Buffalo Township. (Source: Cemetery Record, Veterans) John Craig’s pension number is S8253, PA. Line. John Craig was born in 1753 in New Jersey and lived in Derry Township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania at his enlistment. His application was dated 18 June 1834 in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He was a resident of Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania where he moved in 1796; a daughter is mentioned, but not named. CRAIG, Samuel CRAIG, Samuel. He was a Lieutenant in July 1776, in Col. John Proctor’s Battalion of Westmoreland County Militia. He was killed by the Indians in 1777. Samuel and 3 sons served: John, Alexander, and Samuel Jr. Not sure if Samuel ever lived in Armstrong County, more research needed here. Additional information found in an old letter dated 7 December 1898. It stated that Samuel Craig was comissioned as lieutenant in July 1776 in Col. John Proctor’s Battalion of Westmoreland County. He was killed by the Indians in 1777. This paper is signed by Dr. Engle, State Librarian and Editor of Penna. Archives. Below the information of Craig’s service was written, “Exhibit A” and on the back of the paper, “Verified.” An old diary was found among other old papers at Ligonier and in the entry for November 4th, 1777, was the record that a scouting party had found Samuel Craig’s bay mare lying dead on the Chestnut Ridge and as he could not be found it was supposed that he had been taken prisoner by the Indians as he was on his way to Fort Ligonier for salt the Saturday before. This diary or journal, as it was called, was kept by a Thomas Galbreath, one of the authorities at Fort Ligonier. We were greatly interested in this record as it corresponded so well with the family tradition concerning him, but we did not before know the exact date of his capture. Samuel Craig and three of his sons, John, Alexander and Samuel served in the Revolution. In Volume 10 of the Second Series, page 687 (or 66) I find the name of John Craig as a private in the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line. Following his name is the record, “He died in Armstrong County in 1832, aged 81”. The company is not given, just a list of the men of the regiment.` Michael Theran, a descendant of John Craig, contacted us to say the above record of Craig’s death in 1832, taken from the Pennsylvania Archives, is incorrect. I looked for John Craig in the 1850 census and found this: John Craig died March 1850 in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, aged 96 years. He was born in New Jersey, he was a farmer, and he was a widower. Source: 1850 Census Mortality Schedule. CRISWELL, Matthew CRISWELL, Matthew. Buried in Cowansville Cemetery, East Franklin Township. (Source: Cemetery Record, Veterans) DAUGHERTY, Andrew Revolutionary War Pension File #W2078. 18 June 1833: Andrew DOUGHERTY, aged 68 and a resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for pension. Being duly sworn, DOUGHERTY declares that he enlisted in the militia under Captain CRAIG in late April 1780, at Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania. Captain CRAIG told him he was raising a Company to guard the frontiers and would call upon him when ready. That May, “I think on the 10th following, my father and brothers were taking the horses to pasture when I heard them shouting and looking round I saw a number of Indians. I took my sister (who was about 2 years old) in my arms and ran to the woods. The Indians followed me and shot me through the right arm when running. The Indians then caught me and brought me back to the house where they had my father and brothers Charles and Robert prisoners. There were in all 24 Indians.” The five of them were taken, the mother being away from home, towards the Conemaugh River. “They killed my younger brother Robert and my sister.” They took Andrew, Charles and their father over Blacklick and to French Creek on the River Allegheny and eventually were given to the British. They were released at Montreal on 14 August 1782 and started for Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, making it there on 14 October 1782. Andrew DAUGHERTY immediately enlisted again in a militia under Captain George AG–? and was stationed at Fort Ligonier. Soldier was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, lived in Westmoreland County, and moved to Armstrong County, where he still resides. Armstrong County Courthouse, 5 January 1850. Sarah DOUGHERTY, aged 71 years, resident of Wayne Township, Armstrong County, was sworn and declared that she is the widow of Andrew DOUGHERTY, deceased, late of Wayne Township, who was a soldier in the Revolution and who drew a pension and who died 20 March 1845. Her maiden name was Sarah WOLF. She was married to Andrew DOUGHERTY August 1795 by Justice of the Peace James McDONALD in Ligonier Valley. A family record is attached showing the birthdate of the first child. The widow has not remarried. Sworn before Robert WOODWARD. DAVIS, Ebenezer DAVIS, Ebenezer. 1753 – 1818. Buried in Cowansville Cemetery in East Franklin Township. (Source: Cemetery Record, Veterans) DAVIS, John Davis, John. Revolutionary War Pension S22718. Residence after the war: Kittanning Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Born: Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 1763 Family mentioned in the pension files: Spouse: Mary M. Davis Father: Nicholas Davis Brother: Henry Davis Brother: David Davis Son: Samuel Davis 17 September 1832, John Davis appeared before the Court in Kittanning to testify to his military service. John Davis of Kittanning Township, Armstrong County, aged 69. Volunteered for service and joined Captain Nehemiah Stokely in April of 1778 at Marchand’s Fort, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, on Sewickly Creek. Spring of 1780, was at Waldhauer’s Fort on the waters of Brush Creek and “we were attacked by Indians out of that fort in which two Indians were killed and two of our men, Peter Williams Senior and Peter Williams Junior (both belonging to the same company I did) were killed and a girl of the name of Catherine Williams was taken prisoner and has never returned to my knowledge.” The soldier returned to his father’s house for winter. “18th or 19th of March 1781 my father’s house was attacked by Indians and he (Nicholas Davis) and brother David Davis was killed, I and my brother Henry Davis were taken prisoners.” They were taken to the mouth of French Creek and the Allegheny River, then to an Indian town on Buffalo Creek and finally to Fort Niagara where the Indians gave them to the British. In the late fall of 1781, they were sent to Prisoners Island on Lake Ontario. They were sent to Montreal in the spring of 1782. In the late summer of that year, they were sent to Lake Champlain to a place called Saratoga, which was in ruins. John Davis was discharged at Saratoga along with Lewis Williams, Henry Davis, and two brothers named Franklin who took their course to the Wyoming (Pennsylvania) country. “Lewis Williams, Henry Davis and myself” went to Westmoreland County. Williams then went to what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania. Signed John Davis (his mark) John Davis is listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary and military pensioner in Kittanning Township, Armstrong County. He is living with Jacob Davis. There is a Henry Davis listed as an 1840 pensioner living in Plumcreek Township, but as of this writing I don’t know if it’s John’s brother Henry. Update on Henry Davis: He is listed as a pensioner from Armstrong County, with both a Gratuity and an Annuity for 40 dollars, granted to him on 3 April 1837 for service in the Indian War. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. From the same source, Daniel Davis of Armstrong County was granted a pension on 27 March 1837, for his service in the Indian War. Dick, Gary See Richard Gary DICKASON, Samuel Revolutionary War Pension File #W285. Samuel and Elizabeth DICKASON. Samuel DICKASON enlisted about 25 December 1777, at Duck Creek Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He served until April 1780, in Captain COLE’s Company, Colonel McLANE’s Regiment. He was a teamster. In 1780, he served in Captain ROSS’s Pennsylvania Company, enlisting at George’s Creek, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He was a resident of Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, in 1832, where he received a pension. He was then aged 80 years. He moved to Georgetown, Ohio, where he lived from 1836 to 1838. Some of his children were living there at that time. He returned to Armstrong County where he died 16 April 1846, in Buffalo Township. He married Elizabeth CLUGSTAN on 1 November 1814, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth applied for a pension in Armstrong County, where she resided, on 14 June 1853. She was then aged 89 years and the pension was granted. EASLY, Casper EASLY, Casper. 1760 – 1829 from Freeport. (Source: John F. Easley, family tradition) Check for records of the Guardian Angel Church in North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. ECKMAN, Eden ECKMAN, Eden. Buried in Riverview Cemetery in Kiskiminetas Township (Source: Veterans Affairs) ELGIN, James ELGIN, James. 1750 – 1857. Buried in St. Thomas / Gastown Cemetery in Plumcreek Township. (Source: Cemetery Records, Veterans, and Church Cemetery.) FINDLAY, David FINDLAY, David. Residing in Armstrong County in 1810. (Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series Vol. XIII, pg. 69) FISCUS, Abraham Revolutionary War Pension File #W2778. Abraham and Catharine FISCUS. Abraham FISCUS appeared before the Court in Kittanning on 17 September 1832, aged 72 and a resident of Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County. He states: He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1760. He lived about seven miles from Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, when he entered the service, but since the war has resided in Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He volunteered under Captain Jeremiah LOUGHRY at Colonel Archibald LOUGHRY’s Blockhouse, Westmoreland County, in April 1777 or 1778. The 1st Lieutenant was John GUTHRIE and 2nd Lieutenant was James IRWIN. He stated that persons known to him in the present neighborhood in Armstrong County are: George BECK, James and John RICHARD, Absalom WOODWARD of Crooked Creek; and Richard GRAHAM. Children mentioned are William FISCUS and Margaret HUNTER. Abraham FISCUS died 30 April 1834 in Armstrong County. His widow Catharine FISCUS appeared before the Court in Kittanning on 21 March 1842. She was then 75 years of age. She declared she was married to Abraham FISCUS in September 1784, by Reverend William WEAVER, pastor of the German Reformed Congregation of Westmoreland County. John McCULLOUGH, now of Butler County, Pennsylvania, was present at the wedding. She states that her oldest son William was then (1842) 56 years old. 1853. Samuel FISCUS of Armstrong County, aged 36, goes before the Court in Kittanning to say he was well acquainted with Abraham and Catharine FISCUS, who resided with his parents. He states that Catharine died at her son William’s residence in Armstrong County in September or October 1845, leaving seven children surviving: Abraham FISCUS, aged about 62 years. Twin to Catharine. Catharine BROWN, widow, aged about 62 years. Twin to Abraham. William FISCUS, aged about 68 years. Philip FISCUS, aged about 50 years. Christena GOULD, aged about 5? years. Margaret HUNTER, aged about 54 years. Polly AYRES, aged about 65 years. Note: Rev. William Weaver is most likely Rev. Wilhelm Weber. Among the papers of Abraham Fiscus is a sworn statement from Gabriel A. Richart, a resident of Armstrong County and a Clergyman who certifies “that he is well acquainted with Fiscus and believes his declaration that he was a soldier of the Revolutionary War”. Sworn in open Court (Armstrong County) on the 21st day of March A.D. 1833. Fiscus, Abraham. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Pensioner. Granted a Gratuity and an Annuity, both for 40 dollars, 8 April 1833. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. Pensioners of Armstrong County. FULTON, Jesse Jesse Fulton was granted a Gratuity of 80 dollars and an Annuity of 40 dollars, as a Pensioner living in Armstrong County, 5 February 1836. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. Pensioners of Armstrong County. GARY, Richard Revolutionary War Pension File #R3933. Richard GARY aka Gary DICK. 15 March 1824, Richard GARY, aged 69 and a resident of Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He appeared before the Court again on 18 September 1832, then aged 81 (sic) and still a resident of Buffalo Township. He had enlisted March 1776 in Baltimore, Maryland. He states that while in the Army he was called Gary DICK. I do not have proof that he is buried in Armstrong County. At the Union Baptist Church Cemetery in North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, there is a tombstone for Mary GEARY, wife of Richard GEARY, died 3 February 1856. Her age was illegible. There is also a tombstone for John GEARY, died 11 April 1871, aged 69 years 10 months ? days. John Geary’s wife has a tombstone and there is a James GEARY that died in 1863, aged 26 years. GEARY, see GARY Revolutionary soldier Richard Gary is possibly Richard Geary. He served under the name Gary Dick. GIBSON, Gideon GIBSON, Gideon. Buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Parker, Armstrong County. Also served in the Indian Wars. (Source: Cemetery Records, Veterans. And “Early History of PA.” by Iscrupe.) Gibson was born on 3 March 1764 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; he died on 10 February 1843. Wife was Abigail and they were married on 5 July 1804 in Venango, Butler County, Pennsylvania. While a resident of Snake Spring Valley, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Gideon enlisted three times and served with Capt. John Moore’s Pennsylvania Company at Moore’s Fort, guarding the frontier against the Indians. After the war, he moved to Westmoreland County and then to Washington County, and in 1799 to Armstrong County. He applied for pension on 17 December 1834, while a resident of Perry Township, Armstrong County. His claim was not allowed as frontier service against Indians was not pensionable under the Act of 7 June 1832, under which he applied. In the Armstrong County Court, a number of documents were sworn to prove that Gideon Gibson was in the revolutionary War in addition to the Indian Wars. George Gideon (not a relative) swore in Armstrong County that Gideon was in the same Company as he was and at the same time. Pension claim, R. 3993 was finally awarded to his widow. (Source: Gideon’s Rev. War Pension Records) GIBSON, Samuel M. GIBSON, Samuel M. Buried at Brick Church Cemetery in Burrell Twp. (Source: Veterans Affairs.) GREEN, John. 1766 – 1850. Buried in the Green Cemetery in North Buffalo Township. (Source: Cemetery Records, Veterans records.) GREEN, William GREEN, William. 1740 – 1830. Buried in Green Cemetery in North Buffalo Township. (Source: Cemetery Records, Veterans Records) From the Death Register at the Armstrong County Courthouse that was kept in the early 1850s, the entry for James Green, son of William, states that James was born in New Jersey on 13 May 1775, son of William & Mary Green. James died 14 April 1853, buried in Green’s Burial Ground, North Buffalo Township. This is further evidence that William Green was from New Jersey. GUTHREY, William GUTHREY, William. Died 1828. (Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series Vol. XIII, pg. 89) Elizabeth Brownlee married in July, 1784, William Guthrie of Hannastown, Westmoreland County. He enlisted in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in May 1776, in Capt. James McConnel’s Pennsylvania company of the flying camp, was in the battles of Trenton and Princeton and was discharged in January, 1777. He enlisted in 1780 and served as lieutenant in Capt. Mathew Jack’s company of Pennsylvania rangers, and he served another year as Captain of a company of rangers. After the close of the Revolutionary War, William and Elizabeth Guthrie moved to that part of Westmoreland County which was later called Armstrong County and he was killed by a fall from a wagon on 10 March, 1828, at which time he was 73 years of age. Elizabeth, the widow of William Guthrie, died on 11 Feb. 1842, in or near Redbank Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania at the home of her son, Joseph Brownlee Guthrie, and she was then 87 years of age. She was survived by the following children: James Guthrie, Joanna or Johanna Guthrie who lived in Jefferson Co., PA, and Joseph Brownlee Guthrie and William Guthrie who lived in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. In 1849 it was stated that Jane (the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Brownlee) had married Jesse Hukel and had moved to Muskingum County, Ohio, and that the family did not know whether she was then living or dead, as they had not heard from her for 8 years. Said Jane was 4 years old in 1786. On 25 June, 1847, the above-noted Joseph Brownlee Guthrie applied for pension that was due the surviving children of Elizabeth Guthrie, on account of the Revolutionary War service of Joseph Brownlee and the claim was allowed. In 1847, Sarah Beatty, aged 84 years and a resident of North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, PA., stated that she was the sister of Elizabeth Guthrie and that her father (name not given) moved to the vicinity of Hannastown, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary War. She did not give the date and place of birth of her father nor his place of residence before moving to Hannastown. Said Sarah married William Beatty, 8 July 1783. In 1847 ___ Beatty of Armstrong County, who married John Beatty 31 December 1789, stated that she was the sister of Elizabeth Guthrie and she stated that when the Indians killed Joseph Brownlee they killed her bother (name not given) at the same place. No further family data. (Pension Claim of Joseph Brownlee # W. 3245. HANCOCK, Cutlope Revolutionary Pension File #S22281. Cutlope HANCOCK was a resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, living in the section that became Kiskiminetas Township. He moved there prior to 1800, as he stated it was Westmoreland County at the time of his move. At one time, he operated a ferry across the Kiskiminetas River in the area of Edmon. He and his wife Magdalena lived in the general vicinity of Maysville, Kiskiminetas Township. They could have been buried on their property, but most likely they are interred in the old Maysville Graveyard on the hill. It is my personal belief that this cemetery was started as a family graveyard for Soloman Dunmire and his wife Margaret Hancock, who was most likely a daughter of Cutlope. 10 December 1832. Cutlope HANCOCK appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He was at that time a resident of Kiskiminetas Township, previously Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. He stated that he was then aged 93 years; he was born in Germany in 1739 or 1740; he was living in Cranberry, Middlesex County, New Jersey when called into service; that he moved to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania about 40 years ago, where he lived near Greensburg for 3 or 4 months and then moved to the Loyalhanna Creek. He testified that he moved to Armstrong County after a year or two, but it was then part of Westmoreland County (Armstrong was formed in 1800). He named Rev. Gabriel Adam REICHERT and Jacob WOLF as persons in his neighborhood who could testify to his character and veracity. Article by Wayne C. Ehrensberger HARMON, Andrew HARMON, Andrew. Died 1855, buried at Sagamore Lutheran Cemetery in Cowanshannock Township. HARTMAN, Michael Revolutionary War Pension File #W3680. 20 June 1825, Michael HARTMAN, aged 65, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for pension. Being sworn, he declared that he enlisted as a private soldier at Frederickstown, Maryland for a period of three years, about 1777 or 1778, in Captain Michael BOYER’s Company, Colonel WELTNER’s German Battalion, Maryland Line of the Continental Army. Was at Valley Forge when the troops lay in winter quarters there; was at White Plains; served in the expedition against the Indians at Wyoming (Pennsylvania) commanded by General SULLIVAN; served at Yorktown and the capture of CORNWALLIS; marched to Charlestown, South Carolina, where he and the company shipped to Annapolis, Maryland and were discharged. On the way to attack the Indians as before mentioned, while the troops lay at Easton, Pennsylvania, he reenlisted for the duration of the war, which he served. He is a farmer on rented land. His sons have left and work for themselves and are in low circumstances. Two daughters live with him and work to support themselves. His wife is nearly 60 and neither of them can work on account of their age. 17 June 1845, Elizabeth, widow of Michael HARTMAN, aged 88 of Kittanning Township, Armstrong County, appeared before the Court in Kittanning. She declared she was the widow of Michael HARTMAN and they were married 10 February 1784 in Frederickstown, Maryland, by Reverend George COOK. The only person she knows living who was present at the marriage is Mary EVANS, a relative now living in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Michael HARTMAN died 5 April 1845 (in Kittanning Township). John HARTMAN declares he is the oldest son of Michael & Elizabeth and he is aged 60 years. 13 December 1853–William HARTMAN, son and heir of Michael & Elizabeth, deceased, applies for pension. Mentions youngest son Michael HARTMAN married in 1824. Pensioners from the 1840 Federal Census, Revolutionary or Military Service, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania HARTMAN, Michael ~ Age 81 ~ Kittanning Township, Armstrong County HARTMAN, Michael, Private Description of Service: WELTNER’s G[erman] Regiment Placed on Pension Roll: 8 November 1825 Commencement of Pension: 23 October 1825 Michael HARTMAN is listed as a Revolutionary pensioner in Armstrong County, Her People Past and Present by J. H. Beers & Company, page 66. Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Courthouse Records, Will Abstracts. HARTMAN, John of Hempfield Township. He mentions his mother and father and his sisters. He mentions one sister by name, Polly EAVENS, wife of Walter EAVENS. He names Jacob PAINTER Esq. and Jacob MECHLING, Sr. as Executors. Written 15 October 1802 and proved 30 October 1802. Will Book 1, page 172. Note: Because Molly and Polly are often nicknames for Mary, I thought this Polly EAVENS might be the Mary EVANS of Westmoreland County who is mentioned in the Revolutionary pension of Michael HARTMAN. Marriage record. Michael Hartmann, son of Henrich Hartmann, and Elisabeth Hartmann, daughter of Wilhelm Hartmann, married 27 February 1785. Present at the marriage: Barbara Hartmann, Maria Hartmann, Catharina Mercker, Johannes Ellenberg. Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick County, Maryland. Digitized copy of the original records: HEGIN, Edward Revolutionary War Pension File #S39669. HEGIN, Edward, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. 11 May 1818: Edward HEGIN appeared before Judge Robert ORR, Kittanning, Pennsylvania, aged 63. Being duly sworn HEGIN makes the following declarations: He entered the service of the United States in the Revolutionary War in the first part of February 1776 to serve one year. The Company was commanded by Captain Thomas CHURCH of the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment in the Pennsylvania Line. He served until May 1777 and was in the battles of the Three Rivers. He served several tours of militia duty, and was in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine, and is in reduced circumstances and needs the assistance of his country. Armstrong County. 19 June 1820, personally appeared in Open Court, Edward HEGIN of Toby Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, who being sworn declares: He enlisted for one year in February or March 1775 in York County, Pennsylvania, in Captain Thomas CHURCH’s Company, Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, Colonel Anthony WAYNE. After WAYNE was made Brigadier General, their Colonel was MOORE. HEGIN was discharged in March or April 1776, by Colonal MOORE in Chester County. He was in the battles of the Three Rivers, Germantown and White Horse. He has a wife named Betsy, aged 50 years. Four children live with him: John, aged 14; Samuel, aged 11; Betsy, aged 8; and Ibby, aged 3. His occupation is Blacksmith. Edward HEGIN died 28 April 1825, his widow Elizabeth surviving. In 1854, soldier’s daughter Sarah SHAUP was alive; her address was Matildaville, Clarion County, Pennsylvania Notes: Toby Township became a part of Clarion County. Clarion was formed in 1839, so if he died in Toby Township, Armstrong County in 1825, his burial place would now be in Clarion County. 1860 Census, Perry Township, Clarion County, PA Series M653, Roll 1095, page 416 SHAUP, Johnathan, aged 50, farmer Sarah, aged 40 Matilda, aged 16 He has his dates a bit mixed up, as the Battle of Three Rivers was fought 8 June 1776, at Three Rivers, Canada, and the Battle of Germantown wasn’t until 4 October 1777. Was there another Battle of Three Rivers? HEILMAN, Peter HEILMAN, Peter. 1749 – 1833. Buried in the Heilman Cemetery in Kittanning Township. (Source: Cemetery Records) “According to historical publications, Peter HEILMAN came to America in 1750 from Alsace-Lorraine at the age of two. His mother had died aboard ship during the passage. He and his father, Christian HEILMAN, landed in Philadelphia and settled in Northampton County. Both Christian and Peter served in the Revolutionary War, and it is assumed that Chriatian was buried in Northampton County. In 1800, either in a lottery or in lieu of pay for military services, 200 acres of land was granted to Peter HEILMAN, near Blanket Hill, Kittanning Township. HEILMAN and his wife had eight children. Two of the boys walked from Northampton, in eastern part of the state, to Armstrong County, to see what kind of land they owned. In 1961, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Kittanning Chapter, dedicated the grave of the soldier and placed a marker there. There were 200 persons at the ceremony.” Newspaper article “Revolutionary Veterans Buried in Armstrong County”. Leader-Times, Kittanning. Thursday, 25 May 197_. (The last number is worn.) This newspaper article doesn’t cite sources and you should always check these facts for yourself. See replies at the end of this page, HELFRICH, George HELFRICH, George. 1762 – 1833. Buried at the Old Schaeffer Cemetery in Burrell Township. George Helfrich was a Private in the 1st Battalion under Lt. Colonel Beahm and Captain Daniel Good. Served “on the frontears” as a substitute for John Nees. Source: Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File, ARIAS, Pennsylvania’s Digital State Archives HENDERSON, Benjamin HENDERSON, Benjamin. 1766 – 1857. Buried in St. Thomas / Gastown Cemetery in Plumcreek Township. KELLY, Alexander KELLY, Alexander. 1769 – 1844. Alexander is buried in the Crooked Creek Cemetery in Bethel Township. KERR, William Revolutionary War Pension File #W3560 William Kerr was born 5 January 1758. He enlisted at Hannastown, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania on 9 August 1776. He served as a private in the companies of Captains Samuel Miller, Swearingen, and Moore, in Colonel Aenas Mackays Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. He was in the battles of Ash Swamp, Boundbrook, the capture of Burgoyne, and several skirmishes. He was discharged at Pittsburgh 10 October 1779. He appeared before the court of Armstrong County on 17 June 1818 to apply for a pension, which was approved. He was a resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He died 20 January 1832. His wife was named Margaret, born 15 April 1785. She died 17 May 1843 at the home of William Gallaher in Westmoreland County. William Gallaher gave a sworn statement as to the wife and children of William Kerr. He was also one of the executors of William Kerr’s will, abstracted below. William Kerr died 20 January 1832. Son Alexander Kerr also appeared before the court. For the children of William & Margaret Kerr, please see Bible Records on this site. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Courthouse Records, Will Abstracts KERR, William of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. Mentions: beloved wife Margaret; sons Robert, William Jr., John & Alexander; daughters Elizabeth, wife of Joseph LOWERY; Hannah, married; Martha, wife of William GALLIHER; and Anne, single. Appoints Joseph LOWERY of Plumcreek Township and William GALLIHER of Allegheny Township as executors. Written 28 January 1831. Witnesses: Joseph H. KERR and William WATSON, Esq. Registered 3 February 1832, Will Book 1, page 128. The pension file says William Kerr died in Westmoreland County but the will shows he was still a resident of Armstrong County at his death. His widow Margaret did go to Westmoreland County, where she died. KING, George Adam KING, George Adam. 1765 – 1843. King is buried in the Bush Cemetery in Burrell Township. (Source: Christine Crawford Oppenheimer) KING, John KING, John. Private, 2nd Regiment, PA Continental Army. King was in Maj. John Murray’s Company under Col. Walter Stewart. He was age 29, 5 feet and 5 inches tall; his occupation was a butcher; born in Annapolis (town), Maryland. On the roll dated 9 September 1778. Certificate dated 29 Oct. 1784, pay for 1 Aug. 1780 to 1 Jan. 1781 was $33.00. From the PA Archives, 5th Serics; Vol. IV, pp. 501 – 502. Revolutionary War Declarations, Armstrong Co., PA. 6 March 1813 – Robert Beaty, Guy Hiccox, David Crawford, Samuel Matthews, John Gillespie, Robert Brown, Hacey Jack all testify that John King was in Capt. Spear’s Company under command of Col. Steward of 2nd PA. Regiment, and is now a resident of Kittanning Township in Armstrong Co. (Source: “Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly”, May 1981. Volume 7, number 4.) KING, Jonathan. 1757 – 1837. Resided in Sugar Creek Township. (Early Deaths & Marriages, pg. 50) Revolutionary Pension File # S13645. King, Jonathan. 19 September 1832. Jonathan King, a resident of Sugarcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to make sworn declarations in order to obtain a Revolutionary War Pension. He said he was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in 1757. He has the record of his age in his father’s handwriting, taken from his father’s bible. He had lived in Northampton County until 1794, when he moved to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He stayed there five years and then came to Armstrong County. The Pension File states that he fought in no battles during the War. He enlisted for 6 months as a Private under Captain John Santee of the Flying Camp, March 1776. In April 1880, he served as a Lieutenant for 3 1/2 months under Captain George Nulff. Jonathan King died 14 June 1837. Jacob Wolff was one of the men who appeared before the Court in Kittanning to testify as to Jonathan King’s character. Jacob Wolff said that he “lived within three quarters of a mile of the applicant Jonathan King from childhood”. They entered the service together in March 1776, in the Flying Camp under Captain John Santee at Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Source: Revolutionary War Pension File #S13645, King, Jonathan. Note: Jacob Wolff was married to Christina King, sister of Jonathan. Kathy Marcinek KING, Jonathan, Private & Lieutenant Description of Service: Pennsylvania Militia Commencement of Pension: 4 March 1831 Another source is the published Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume IV, page 501. Continental Line, Pension Applications, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Brady’s Bend Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. “Adjoining the Spangler-McCall tract on the south is a similar one, 400 acres, the warrant for which was granted to James C. CAMPBELL, a portion of whose land history is given in the sketch of Sugar Creek Township, a considerable portion of its southern part being still in that township. The warrantee’s interest became vested in Charles CAMPBELL. It’s original settler was Jonathan KING, who was assesed with 200 acres, 1 horse and 3 cattle in 1804, at $148, and with the same and an additional horse the next year, at $158. He was residing on this tract when he was elected the second sheriff of this county in 1808.” “He was in his early life a soldier of the Revolutionary War, and was at the time of his death, which occured here June 16, 1837, aged 79 years, 8 months and 14 days.” Source: History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania by Robert Walter Smith, Esq. Chicago, Waterman, Watkins & Company, 1883. Page 565 KING, Mathias KING, Mathias. 1730 – 1810. Mathias King is not buried in Armstrong County. In 1922, some descendants put up a monument to him and his family at Brick Church, Burrell Township, making it appear that he is buried there, but descendants today say he most likely is not. He died in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where his will was filed, and he is probably buried there. I have found sources that say he is definately buried in Westmoreland County. Mathias was the father of Jonathan King, above. KIRKPATRICK, James KIRKPATRICK, James. Served 4 months. (Source: “Early History of PA” by Iscrupe. Resided in Wayne Township. Source: Revolutionary War Pension File #R5992: James Kirkpatrick was born 25 September 1754, in the place that later became Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He applied for a pension 16 June 1835, while a resident of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He alleged the following: That while living in Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, he enlisted 7 July 1776, and served as 1st Sergeant in Captain Robert Culbertson’s Pennsylvania Regiment; that sometime in the fall of 1776 he moved to Westmoreland County and resided there until Armstrong County was formed from parts of Westmoreland & Lycoming Counties, and has since resided in Armstrong County, except for a period of seven years during which he resided in Mahoning Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and that he now (1835) lives in Wayne Township, Armstrong County. He states he was called into service on 20 August 1778, and served as an ensign in Captain Marchant’s Company, Colonel Gibson’s Regiment, and was discharged 20 October 1778, and returned home. He then enlisted in February 1780, at Pittsburgh, and served as ensign in Captain Samuel Love’s Pennsylvania Company against the Cherokee Indians at Cuyahoga. He states he was discharged 24 April 1780. After the Revolutionary War he lived in Armstrong County, except for a period of seven years during which he resided in Mahoning Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Soldier was dead in 1853 and survived by a son Moses. No other family is mentioned in the pension claim. His claim was not allowed as he failed to provide proof of service. (He gives a very detailed account of his service, but the claim was still denied.) James Kirkpatrick, upwards of 80 years of age, appeared before the Court in Kittanning in 1835. Here are some of the sworn statements he made upon his oath of his service after moving to Westmoreland County: In 1778, he was in a Company of Militia commanded by Dr. Marchand, Captain. They were stationed on the south of the Monongahela River to protect men sawing timber under Colonel Gibson’s direction. Kirkpatrick went out as often as two or three times a week on scouting parties, looking for Indians. Captain Miller was scouting to Fort Hand with eleven of his men. Near Fort Hand and Hannastown, near where he resided, he and ten men were killed by Indians, one escaping. Kirkpatrick and others were discharged 20 October 1778 and returned home. February 1780, men of different companies were to go on an expedition against the Indians. Kirkpatrick was in a Company commanded by Samuel Love. Peter Thomas of Sewickley was Lieutenant and Kirkpatrick was Ensign. There was one company of Continentals, one company of Virginia Militia, and several companies of Pennsylvania Militia, with General Hand having chief command. The troops set out for Cuyahoga, going down the Ohio and up Big Beaver, Simon Girty acting as pilot. Came to an Indian Town and killed an Indian who first wounded a Captain of the Continentals “and killed them a few boys & the Virginians killed them a few squaws”. Deponent Kirkpatrick and John Denniston and Samuel Mahaffey took one squaw prisoner and saved her life. LAUGHERY, William & Margaret see Loughery LEECH, Archibald I have no proof that Archibald Leech is buried in Armstrong County but it is likely, since he was living here as an old man and his wife died here. Archibald Leech enlisted at Hannastown, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1776, and served as a private in Captain Joseph’s Irwin’s Company in a Pennsylvania Regiment commanded at various times by Colonels Miles, Brodhead, and Walter Stewart. He was honorably discharged by Colonel Walter Stewart at Valley Forge in January 1778. He first marched from Hannastown to Marcus Hook, and fought in the battles of Long Island, White Plain, Brandywine and Germantown, and in several skirmishes. On 18 December 1820, Archibald Leech was a resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. He appeared in court there to request a pension for his Revolutionary service. At that time, he stated that his wife had been dead “upwards of one year”. On oath, he says he is a farmer, that he rents a small farm of about five acres of cleared land with a small cabin house. He states: “My family consists of a niece of about 21 or 22 years of age called Susanna Hindman, whom I raised from the time she was two weeks old her mother dying at this time”. He says he has no other family whatsoever. His assets were listed as one house, valued at $30.00, and three sheep, valued at three dollars each. Source: Archibald Leech, Revolutionary Pension file # S 40.935 LEONARD, Patrick LEONARD, Patrick. 1747 – 1811. Buried at Cowansville Union in East Franklin Township. LEMON, John Revolutionary War Pension File #S40080. Maryland, Pennsylvania, Maryland Sea Service. 28 October 1822, John LEMON personally appeared before Judge Robert ORR, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, to make application for a pension for Revolutionary Service. John LEMON enlisted at Baltimore, Maryland, September 1775, and served until July 1776 as a Private and Sergeant in Captain Nathaniel SMITH’s Maryland Company. He enlisted at Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, September 1776, and served three months in Captain Andrew HOME’s Pennsylvania Company. He enlisted December 1777 and served until summer 1779, as superintendent of the Continental Brick Yard at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, under Captain Samuel SERJEANT. He entered service at Baltimore, Maryland in the fall of 1779 until June 1780 as a seaman on the ship “Fanny”, Captain John LOXLEY. They captured British ships “Three Brothers” and “Crown”. He enlisted at Baltimore, Maryland in the fall of 1780 and served under Captain HUNTER until the surrender of CORNWALLIS, and he manned a battery of Artillery at Fells Point. He was allowed pension on his application made 28 October 1822 while a resident of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, then aged 77 years. Note: I have no information at this time as to where he died or is buried but given his age it is very possible he is buried in Armstrong. LENNINGTON, Timothy Revolutionary Pension File #S9749. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, 4 July 1820. Timothy LENNINGTON,, a disabled pensioner, appeared before a Justice of the Peace for Armstrong County, and on oath declared he was the same person who formerly belonged to the Company commanded by Captain TAGART of the Second Battalion in a Regiment commanded by Colonel James MURREY of the Northumberland, Pennsylvania Militia. In 1777 he received 16 principal wounds and his name was placed on the pension list in 1778 by order of a committee appointed for that purpose in Northumberland County. He moved from Northumberland to Cumberland County about 1782, then to Allegheny County about 1787, and from there to Armstrong County in 1796, where he now resides. Signed: Timothy Lennonton. Census notes: 1790, Pitt Township, Allegheny Township, Timothy LINETON 1800, Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Timothy LENINTON 1810, Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Timothy LENNINGTON The portion of Buffalo Township where Lennington lived became East Franklin Township. I have no proof of where he is buried. He died 10 June 1823, a resident of Armstrong County, per his will. LEWIS, Ezekiel LEWIS, Ezekiel. Buried at Cowansville Union in East Franklin Township. Ezekiel Lewis was part of an expedition called Lochry’s Disaster. Robert Orr, later a judge in Kittanning, was a Captain from Hannastown who raised and equipped a small company of riflemen that was also involved in this disaster. There has been a lot written about the destruction of this detachment of Lochry’s. I suggest Old Westmoreland: A History of Western Pennsylvania During The Revolution by Edgar W. Hassler. You can probably also find a lot by Googling “Lochry’s Disaster” or a variation of that. Source: Revoltionary Pension File #S4533. Before the Court in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Ezekiel Lewis testified to the folowing: That he was born in Schannadore (Shannadoah?) County, Virginia, in the year 1755. That this record was kept in his grandfather’s bible in said county. The bible went to his grandfather’s son Morici Lewis, who is since dead. He states he lived in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, when he volunteered for the Revolution, that he lived there nine years and since that time he has lived in Sugarcreek Township, Armstrong County. He served under Colonel Archibald Lochry and William Campbell, Captain of Lighthorse, joining 1 August 1781. On 24 August 1781, he was “taken by the Indians on their way from Sugarcreek in Westmoreland County in this state to the mouth of the Big Myami.” He was kept prisoner until July 1782, at Prison Island on the River St. Lawrence. He states that “I was not joined with any Continental Company as before stated unless Captain Thomas Stokely’s Company, but I know that Col Lochry was under General Clark when we were to meet at Wheeling, Virginia, who had left Wheeling when we arrived there, who left directions for us to follow him down the Ohio River, which we were doing accordingly when taken by the Indians.” He also mentions that his Captain was killed by the Indians. LONG, John LONG, John. Buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Plumcreek Township. LOUGHREY, William. I do not know at this time where he is buried. In the 1840 Federal Census for Revolutionary or Military Pensioners, there is listed MARGARET LOUGHREY, aged 69, resident of Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Below is the information from her pension application. LOUGHREY, William & Margaret, Revolutionary Pension File #R6185. 16 September 1839, before the Court in Kittanning, Margaret LOUGHREY of Buffalo Township, widow of William, applies for a pension. Margaret declares that her late husband, William LOUGHREY, entered the service at a place called Paxton, then in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as an Ensign with a commission from General Washington. He was in the Battle of Brandywine. His commission and discharge, signed by General George Washington, were in her possession for many years after his death and were destroyed by her little grandchildren. Her maiden name was Margaret GALBREATH and she married William LOUGHREY on 8 August 1790 or 1791 at her the house of her brother Robert GALBREATH, then in Westmoreland County but in the part that became Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Robert GALBREATH was dead by 1839, when this testimony was given. William LOUGHREY died October 1806 and she did not remarry. James LOUGHREY, son of William and Margaret, born 1792, testified he had seen his late father’s commission as an Ensign signed by General George Washington, and his discharge, also signed by Washington, and that these papers were put in the care of his brother William LOUGHREY and are now destroyed. William LOUGHREY testified he had seen his father William’s commission and discharge, signed by General George Washington, Commander in Chief, and that his mother had given them to him and, supposing them to be of no value, gave them to his children as a plaything and they were destroyed. Margaret Galbreath LOUGHREY died sometime in 1850 and in September 1851 her son James applied before Justice of the Peace Arthur Kiskadden, in Armstrong County, for the pension due her. It says she lived in the part of Buffalo Township, Armstrong County that became part of Clarion County and that her pension was denied by the US but that she was granted one from the state of Pennsylvania. LOWRY, Alexander Alexander Lowry, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Revolutionary War pension, 40 dollars. Source: Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1837. Session Laws. Google Books. MAXWELL, Adam MAXWELL, Adam. S5064, PA Line. Maxwell was born in 1752 in Cumberland County, PA. and he lived in Westmoreland County, PA. when he enlisted. He lived there after the Revolutionary War then moved to Armstrong County, PA. where he applied for pension on 19 Sept. 1832. Maxwell’s widow Elizabeth Maxwell received final payment on 8 May 1838 and was paid to 17 May 1837, the day Adam Maxwell died. (Source: “Revolutionary War Pension Files”) McCONELL, William William McConell from Plumcreek Township, died on 28 Sept 1834 at the age of 81. The deceased was a Revolutionary War Soldier. Source: Newspaper obituary, 1 October 1834. William McCONNELL. Revolutionary Pension file. William McCONNELL, aged 63, of Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, made oath on 30 September 1818 to Judge Robert ORR. He stated he enlisted 14 November 1775 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, serving one year under Anthony WAYNE. They marched to Saratoga, New York, where McCONNELL was left due to ill health. There he enlisted again in the First Regiment of New York, serving 6 years and 6 months. He appeared before the Court in Kittanning again on 18 September 1820. He was allowed pension on the 1818 claim. His wife was named Martha. 19 December 1827. Re William McCONNELL. Washington Bounty Land Office to Honorable Robert ORR. They find Land Warrant #7506 issued to Sam BROWNE, assignee for William McCONNELL, 11 November 1791. Signed: Robert TAYLOR McCONNELL, William. Private. Sums Received: $1433.29 Description of Service: New York Continental Line Placed on Pension Rolls: 8 May 1819 Commencement of Pensio: 30 September 1818 McCOY, Daniel McCOY, Mr. (possibly Daniel). His wife’s name was Deborah and she died on 22 Oct. 1829. (Source: “Early Deaths & Marriages” compiled by C. Mateer.) Revolutionary War Pension File #S40985. Daniel McCOY. Daniel McCOY was a private in Colonel Miles Pennsylvania Regiment and was inscribed on the Roll of Pennsylvania at the rate of eight (8) dollars per month, to commence 8 June 1818, after he appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension on that same date. On 27 June 1820, Daniel McCOY, aged 67, appeared before the Court in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, to apply for a pension under an Act of Congress of 18 March 1818, and an Act of Congress of 1 May 1820. He was said to then be a resident of that county. He states his wife Deborah is aged 65. Daniel McCOY was allowed pension on his 1818 application, made while a resident of Armstrong County, and he was sent the arrears. He was a weaver by trade but unable to work. Daniel and Deborah McCOY were living in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in 1820, and Daniel died 30 January 1821. It says he died ‘place unknown’ on one page but there is a letter written on 10 April 1851, from Alexander Taylor of Pittsburgh, on behalf of the heirs who claim he died in Armstrong County about 1828. A Certificate of Pension issued 10 July 1820 for Daniel McCOY was sent to James M. Kelly, Agent, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As the heirs made inquiry to the pension 30 years after Daniel’s death, it is possible they are mistaken about where he died, although he could have returned to Armstrong County and died while there. More research is needed. Indiana County Historical Society could be checked to see if he is on their list of Soldier Burials. It appears to me that he did die in 1821, not 1828. Connie Mateer’s excellent source has Deborah dying in Armstrong County in 1829, so it is a real possibility they didn’t stay in Indiana County and returned here. Does anyone know for certain? McDONALD, Joseph McDONALD, Joseph. 1760 – 1844. Resided in Franklin Township. Served at the end of the Revolution. (Source: “Early Deaths & Marriages. pg. 84.) McKEE, Andrew McKEE, Andrew. Buried at Cowansville Union First in East Franklin Township. There is an Armstrong County applicant for an annuity from the state as a veteran of the Revolutionary War named Mary McKee. Mary M’Kee of Armstrong County was granted an Annuity and a Gratuity, both for 40 dollars, on 17 March 1835. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. Pensioners of Armstrong County. McMASTER, James Revolutionary Pension File #S7189. On 6 January 1834, James McMASTER, 83 years old of Clarion Township, Armstrong County, appeared before the court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He declared that he volunteered in 1776 as a private under Captain Nicholas BEDDINGER and Colonel Henry SLAGLE, while at the home of Henry DARRAGH near Abbotstown, York County, Pennsylvania. Some of the other privates were John MULLEN, Alexander ADAMS, Thomas ABBOT and George KUHN. McMASTER later made Ensign and in 1781 was made Lieutenant. He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1750 and lived near Abbotstown, York County when called into service. He moved to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1793, and to Armstrong County in 1804 or 1806, where he was living in 1834. Note: James McMaster’s place of burial is unknown at this time. Clarion Township, Armstrong County became part of Clarion County in 1839. M’MASTER, James, Private Annual Allowance: 20.00 Sums Received: …. Description of Service: Pennsylvania State Troops Commencement of Pension: 4 March 1831 Age: 83 Comments: No report of payment made. Note: He was placed on the pension rolls but never received payment so it’s possible he died shortly after making application. Does anyone have more information? MOORE, William William MOORE was a scout in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary and Indian Wars, and was an early settler in Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County. The article mentions that his grandson, John MOORE, had his discharge and other papers. “I do certify that William MOORE did belong to My Company and has proved to me that he is forty-five and is now honorably discharged. Given under my hand this 19th day of May 1798. James IRWINE, Captain” William MOORE settled a mile and a quarter southwest of Whitesburg [Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County], about 1816, and died 7 December 1827. Source: History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania by Robert Walter Smith, 1883, ages 205-206 MURPHY, Samuel MURPHY, Samuel. 1757 – 1851. Buried at Murphy’s Bottom in Buffalo Township. Pension claim # 22413. Samuel Murphy was born 12 May 1758 in Frederick Coounty, Virginia. The names of his parents were not given. While residing on Jacobs Creek in what was then Bedford County, he enlisted in Westmoreland County in the year 1775 in Capt. John Stevenson’s company, marched to Winchester, Virginia, to Williamsburg and then to Suffolk where he joined Col. Peter Muhlenberg’s 8th Virginia Regiment and went to Charleston, South Carolina and was there the day that “Independence” was declared, length of service one year. He enlisted in 1777 and marched in Capt. Robert Bell’s company to Fort Pitt, and there joined Col. John Gibson’s 13th Virginia regiment and was in the battle of Portsmouth, length of service three years. He enlisted in 1781 and served in Capt. Benjamin Field’s company in Gen. Clark’s (?) expedition to the Falls of the Ohio. On 13 Sept. 1781 he was wounded in the left hip and captured by the Indians, carried to Detroit and in November, 1781, was sold to the British and carried to Prisoners Island, from where he escaped on 11 Jul. 1782. He served in 1792 under Capt. Guthery six months in the “State Service”: in 1793, 6 months as lieutenant in Captain Patterson’s company against the Indians; in 1794, 6 months under Capt. Denny; and in 1795 6 months as lieutenant under Capt Buckaner (?) Samuel Murphy was allowed pension on account of his service , on his application executed 18 Sept. 1832, then living in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. NEIL, Robert NEIL, Robert. Residing in Armstrong County in 1814. (Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. XIII, pg. 69) NELSON, Robert NELSON, Robert. Died in 1826. Resided in Sugarcreek Township. NOLDER, John John Nolder died in 1823 in Plumcreek Township. Was a member of the Lighthorse, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. ORR, Robert Robert Orr, buried in Kittanning Cemetery, Rayburn Township. Robert ORR. Revolutionary Pension File #S4631. On 21 September 1832, Robert ORR, aged 87, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He stated that he entered the service under Colonel Archibald LOCHREY with Captains Thomas STOKELY, William CAMPBELL and himself. About the 1st of June 1781, Robert ORR raised and commanded a company at his own expense. They marched down the Ohio and were attacked by Indians on 24 August 1781, with half the men killed, including Colonel LOCHREY, and the other half taken prisoner. Robert ORR was taken to a hospital in Detroit with a broken arm, where he stayed until the next spring. He was then sent to jail in Montreal, then to Quebec, and eventually exchanged at New York. He returned home to Hannah’s Town, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in May 1783, only to find it had been burned by the Indians during his absence. He said he was born in the Parish of McCaskey, County Derry, Ireland. He lived at Hannah’s Town but moved to Armstrong County in 1792. He was an Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Armstrong County. He died 4 September 1833. PARKER, Charles On a list of pensioners of the Eighth Pennsylvania, Continental Line is the name Charles PARKER, Private, 1776 – 1779. Living in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in 1818. Published Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume IV, page 502: Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. CHARLES PARKER testifies he was in Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, served three years, was in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, was afterwards discharged. His discharge was burned with other property at Col. HUGHE’S iron works near Hagerstown where he (Charles Parker) was making coal. He is seventy-nine years of age. Did he die in Armstrong County? Does anybody have more information PONTIUS, John John PONTIUS, buried Glade Run Presbyterian, Wayne Township. Source: Newspaper article “Revolutionary Veterans Buried in Armstrong County”. Leader-Times, Kittanning. Thursday, 25 May 197_. (The last number is worn.) RAYBURN, James Rayburn, James. The 1840 census of Pensioners for Revolutionary and Military Service lists Eleanor Rayburn, aged 72, living in Buffalo Towship. Head of household is James Rayburn, no doubt her son. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Courthouse Records, Will Abstracts: RAYBURN, James of Buffalo Township, Armstrong County. Mentions his eldest son James and his heirs and assigns; his youngest son Matthew and his heirs and assigns; his daughter Mary BRANDON?; his son Callen; his beloved wife Elenor; his grandson Samuel RAYBURN, under age 21. Signed 1 June 1837. Witnesses: John REDICK and Samuel REDICK. Registered 20 February 1838, Will Book 1, page 193. Writing about James RAYBURN, son of Boyd: Mr. RAYBURN’S first ancestor in this country was his great-great grandfather, who came from Scotland a few years after the French & Indian War. He settled in the Ligonier Valley in Western Pennsylvania. We have record of two of his sons, Matthew and James, the former of whom served in the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War. James, the youngest, was the great grandfather of Squire James RAYBURN. He married Nellie CALLEN, daughter of Patrick CALLEN, who came to Armstrong County at the same time as James RAYBURN. This was taken from a larger write-up on page 374 in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Her People, Past & Present, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1914. James & Eleanor (Nellie) Rayburn lived in Buffalo Township, where she received a pension. They are buried in the Slate Like United Presbyterian Cemetery. The same Beer’s History mentioned above has a listing of Revolutionary Pensioners in Armstrong County. It says they applied for an annuity from the State between 1812 and 1844, as veterans of the wars or widows of veterans. Eleanor Rayburn is listed here, on page 65. Volume 48, part 1. Monday, 26 February 1838: Mr Johnston presented the petition and documents of Eleanor Reyburn, of Armstrong County, stating the services of her late husband, James Reyburn, in the Revolutionary War, and praying for relief. The same day, Mr Johnston also presented the petition and documents of Hugh Callen, of Armstrong County, stating his services in the Revolutionary War, and praying for relief. RUPERT, Charles Charles RUPERT, buried in the Rupert Cemetery, South Buffalo Township. Note: There is a Rupert Cemetery in South Bend Township. I really think South Buffalo was a mistake. RUPERT, Johann Peter Johann Peter Rupert was baptized 30 March 1755 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania (DAR records). Died 1 November 1824. Buried in the Rupert Cemetery in South Bend Township, Armstrong County. Served as a Corporal in Northampton County. Sources: DAR records and Find A Grave. Photo from Find A Grave: Informatiom from Doris Klingensmith Ohler: John Peter Rupert Jr. (“German” Pete) was born 7 Jan 1750 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He died 1 Nov 1824 and is buried in the Rupert Cemetery in South Bend Township, Armstrong County (no marker) (He has a marker now. DKM). He was an Corporal with the Associators & Militia during war and served as follows: 4th Company, 3rd Battalion, under Capt. John Horner, 1778. 5th Company, 3 Battalion, under Capt. Conrad Reader, & 6th Company, Colonel Henry Geiger’s Battalion, Capt. Adam Diehl 1780 – 82. PA Archives, Fifth Series, Vol. 8 pages 449,459,510 & 235 ** He was with Anthony Schaeffer, who also came to Armstrong County, when serving under Capt. Conrad Reader & Col. Henry Geiger SCHAEFFER, Anthony Anthony SCHAEFFER, buried in the old Schaeffer Cemetery, Burrell Township. SCHAEFFER, Peter Peter Schaeffer, buried in a private cemetery in Gilpin Township. “Along Schenley Road in Gilpin Township you come to Schaeffer’s Cemetery in which there is a flagpole, erected through the efforts of Robert S. THOMPSON. On a weather-beaten headstone you read the name of Peter SCHAEFFER. He was a private in Captain Peter MUHLENBERG’s Company of Lehigh County Militia in the Revolutionary War.” Source: A Century of Historical Progress of Leechburg, Pennsylvania from 1850 to 1950. Many years ago, some of us located an old burial ground on this road. There were sunken graves and a rose bush growing, but we never found a tombstone. K. Marcinek SCHALL, Michael Sr. In 1934, Michael Schall’s descendants put up a plaque on his former farm in Cochran’s Mills, Burrell Township. It said that in 1780 he was a Sergeant in Captain Santee’s Company, 2nd Battallion In 1783, he was a Lieutenant of the 6th Battalion, Northampton County Militia. Born 1739. Died 1830. SERFAS, John John Serfas, buried in the old Schaeffer Cemetery, Burrell Township. Update: John Serfas, buried in the old Schaeffer Cemetery, Burrell Township. Descendants say this is John Henry Serfoos/Zerfoos/Serfas (and a lot of other spellings) and census and other records back it up. The Henry Serfas that appears in various records is actually John Henry Serfas, a veteran of the Revolutionary War buried in the old Schaeffer Cemetery in Burrell Township. On the ACGC Facebook group, a member said her ancestor was named John Henry Zerfoss and he died about 1831. Estate papers confirm a death date of 1831 or early 1832. The DAR has a death date of 1855 for the soldier John Serfas but that is not correct. He lived in the Brick Church area of Burrell Township and it now appears that there was only one soldier, John Henry Zerfas. John Serfas has a Revolutionary tombstone which reads : Byles Company 3 Pennsylvania Regiment. John Zerfosz was listed on a Kittanning Township tax in 1835. This is the son of John Henry Serfas. I found a John Serfas and a Henry Serfas in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Both served in the Revolutionary War, along with others of that surname. John Serfas served in the Northampton County Militia. There is a Henry Serfas listed as being in the 4th Company, Captain And’w Dapper. Lieutenant Henry Serfas also served a tour of duty in Northampton County and is listed on the payrolls of the Northampton County Militia. The early federal census shows both John and Henry as residents of Northampton County, along with George Helfferich. George Helfferich later became a neighbor of Henry’s in Burrell Township, Armstrong County. George is buried in the Old Schaeffer Cemetery also. Sources: Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File, ARIAS, Pennsylvania’s Digital State Archives and Federal Census records. SHIELDS, David Revolutionary War Pension File #S22989. 10 October 1833, David SHIELDS, aged 68 years, resident of Red Bank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He was born 19 July 1764 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and he cites the source as the family bible. He entered the War of the Revolution as a militia man under his father, Captain John SHIELDS, at Fort Shields, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, March 1780. He lived in Westmoreland County when called into service, and now in Red Bank Township, Armstrong County. He served under General Charles CAMPBELL, Major John GUTHRIE, and Captains SHIELDS, MOORE, and HUNTER. He was commissioned a Lieutenant on 1 May 1789, in the 8th Pennsylvania Company of Foot, Battalion of Westmoreland County Militia. I have no record of when he died or where he is buried. KLM John Shields was granted a Gratuity of 40 dollars and an Annuity of 40 dollars on 1 April 1836. He was at that time a residence of Armstrong County. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. Pensioners of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania SLOAN, James James Sloan died 1821 in Armstrong County. Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. XIII, pg. 210. Elizabeth Sloan, widow of James, is listed as an Armstrong County applicant for annuitities from the state a Revolutionary War veteran. SLOAN, Robert Martha Sloan, widow of Robert Sloan, is listed in the 1840 census, Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, under Pensioners for Revolutionary or military service. Although the census doesn’t prove service, direct descendants believe him to have served in the Revolution, given his approximate birth date. Robert Sloan is listed in a 1798 tax list for Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County, an area which in 1800 became the southern portion of Armstrong County. More research is needed here. Will Abstract, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania SLOAN, Martha of Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Mentions daughters Mary McCUNE, Nancy NOLDER, Martha MOOR, Rachel ELGIN, and Jane GRAHAM. Sons Samuel SLOAN and James SLOAN “in case son James SLOAN is yet living or having died and left children” and “in case he is dead and left no heirs or may never return”. Grandson Robert NOLDER. Son Robert SLOAN is deceased. Appoints Daniel ELGIN and James MOOR executors. Written 6 January 1836. Witnesses: William COULTER and William LYTLE. 30 November 1840: All real estate to son Samuel “if he survives me”. Revocation of the executors appointed. Appointed in their stead: William McINTOSH and Samuel COULTER. Registered 8 March 1840 (sic). Will Book 1, page 244 SMITH, John Private John Smith, Captain Robb’s Company. 1776. 1 January 1778. Resided in Armstrong County in 1826, aged 77 years. Source: “Pennsylvania in the war of the revolution, battalions and line. 1775-1783” Author: Linn, John Blair, 1831-1899; Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901; McClellan, Joseph, 1747-1834 Publisher: Harrisburg : L.S. Hart, State Printer https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniainwa01linniala Revolutionary and Military pensioners. 1840 Census, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania PLUMCREEK TOWNSHIP: DAVIS, Henry, aged 73 SMITH, Sarah, aged 67 McCAINE, James, aged 64 SLONE, Martha, aged 77 The Sarah Smith getting a pension in 1840 is possibly the widow of John but as of now I have no proof of that. She is much younger but that isn’t unusual. Listed as an Armstrong County Applicant for an annuity from the state as a Revolutionary War veteran is Church SMITH. Church Smith was granted an Annuity and a Gratuity of 40 dollars on 27 March 1837, for his service in the Indian War. Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House of Representatives, Volume 48, part 2, page 226. Date:1838. Pensioners of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Also on this list as serving in the Indian War is Henry Davis, Daniel Davis, and John Hawk. Church Smith applied for a pension as a Revolutionary soldier but so far all I can find is his acceptance as a soldier of the Indian War. STEELE, Isaac Isaac STEELE, Sr., born about 1754, died 24 October 1842 at Sugarcreek Township. Buried in Sugarcreek Township. Obituary, The Armstrong Democrat & Farmers & Mechanics Advertiser, Thursday, 10 November 1842. Published at Kittanning, Pennsylvania. See Obituaries 1840 Federal Census, veteran’s list. STITT, William William Stitt, 1755 – 1834, buried at Truby Farm in Gilpin Township. Source: ACGC Quarterly STUYVESANDTT, Tobias Tobias Stuyvesandtt, 1759 – 1841. Buried at Christ-Rupp Church in Kittanning Township. Source: Family Tradition, Peg Krecota. TOWNSEND, Isaac Isaac TOWNSEND born 27 Dec 1760, supposedly in Virginia. He came to area after given land for services rendered from serving during the American Revolution. Isaac married Rachel Regina KING, daughter of Mathias KING. In 1790 they lived in Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County. The 1800, 1810, 1820 & 1830 Census, Isaac and his family were living in Allegheny Township, Armstrong County. Isaac died 02 NOV 1837 and was buried in what is known as the Hine Cemetery, Bell Township, Westmoreland County. This cemetery rests on the hill overlooking the Borough of Avonmore. It appears this land was given for the use of a cemetery and Lutheran church. The church never came into existence, but many burials were made in the cemetery. Several prominent families of early Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties are buried here. Daniel ULAM, who also served during the Revolution is buried here. The D. A. R. placed a plaque on the headstone of Isaac TOWNSEND. Cutlope (Gottlieb) Hancock, Revolutionary soldier from New Jersey, had a ferry across the Kiskiminetas River in the general vicinity of Edmon, Armstrong County. I have a map showing it. He sold land to Isaac Townsend. I’m almost certain Cutlope is buried in the Maysville Cemetery, the one on the hill. A number of Mathias King’s daughters and their husbands served as baptismal sponsors for Cutlope’s children, including Isaac Townsend and his wife. TRUBY, Michael Michael Truby, 1762 – 1842. Buried in Old Kittanning Cemetery in Rayburn Township, Armstrong County. VASEY, John John Vasey is residing in Armstrong County in 1821. Source: Penna. Archives, 2nd Series Vol. XIII, pg. 232. VINICKEY, Joseph Joseph VINICKEY, buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetery, South Buffalo Township. Source: Newspaper article “Revolutionary Veterans Buried in Armstrong County”. Leader-Times, Kittanning. Thursday, 25 May 197_. (The last number is worn. I think South Buffalo is an error. Another source has Vinikey, Joseph buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in South Bend Township.) Vinikey, see Vinickey WAGLE, see WEIGLEY, Isaac WALTENBAUGH, John Adam Pay Roll of Captain James Leech’s Company of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Militia in 1778 & 1779. Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Volume II, page 325. Reinhart, Peter, Adam and Teter Waltingbuf. Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Volume 23, page 328. James Leech’s Company. Reinhart, Adam & Teter Waltingbuf. Muster Rolls of the Navy & Line, Militia & Rangers 1775-1783. With lists of pensioners 1818-1832. Edited by William Henry Egle, M D. Ray, State Printer of Pennsylvania 1898. Rangers on the Frontiers: Reinhart, Adam & Teter Waltinbuf. John Adam Waltenbaugh is buried in the Christ Rupp Lutheran Churchyard with his wife Rosina. Adam & Teeter/Deiter/Teter/Dietrich Waltenbaugh can be found in the early census of Armstrong County. In 1820, John (Adam) & Deter Waltinbough are in Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. They are said to be brothers, sons of Reinhart Waltenbaugh. WALTENBAUGH, Dietrich aka Teter aka Teeter aka Deter. Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Volume 23, page 320. Christopher Truby’s Rangers on the Frontier. Reinhart & Tedor Waltenbaugh. Adam & Teeter/Deiter/Teter/Dietrich Waltenbaugh can be found in the early census of Armstrong County. In 1820, John (Adam) & Deter Waltinbough are in Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.They are said to be brothers, sons of Reinhart Waltenbaugh. Dietrich’s wife was named Margaretha. Source: Baptismal record for their daughter Elisabetha, 1784. Baptized by Reverend Johan Wilhelm Weber. WEIGLEY, Isaac Revolutionary War Pension File #R11.285. WEIGLEY / WAGLE, Isaac. 18 November 1833, Isaac WEIGLEY appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He was a resident of Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He was born April 1758 at Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He moved with his father to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1774, settling a few miles from the present town of Greensburg. He enlisted at Hannastown in 1775; he served four different tours. He married Mary C. on 9 May 1780, and they moved to Armstrong County in 1806. Isaac WEIGLEY died 8 October 1835 in Armstrong County. Mary C. WEIGLEY died 27 January 1824. A son, Isaac WEIGLEY, Jr., was 58 years old in November 1852 and a resident of Armstrong County. WICK, Elisha Elisha WICK, buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, East Franklin Township. WILSON, James James Wilson is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in East Franklin Township. WOLF, Jacob Jacob Wolf, 1752 – 1838 is buried in Sugarcreek Township. Source: “Early Deaths & Marriages”, pg. 56, compiled by Connie Mateer. Penna. Archives, 2nd Series. Vol. XIII, pg. 245 Jacob WOLF. Revolutionary Pension File #S24023. 19 March 1833, Jacob Wolf of Sugarcreek Township, Armstrong County, appeared before the Court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He stated: He entered service at Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania in March 1776, under Captain John SANTEE in the Flying Camp. He was born in Northampton County on 4 April 1753, as was recorded in his father’s bible which is in his possession. He lived in Northampton County until 1789 when he moved to Westmoreland County, and from there to present-day Armstrong County in 1794. Jonathan KING served with him. YUNDT, Daniel Daniel Yundt, 28 July 1748 – 2 June 1836. Buried at Christ Rupp Lutheran Cemetery in Kittanning Township. Yundt is one of the earlier spellings for the name we now know as Yount. Jundt is another variation. Daniel Yundt YUNGST, Peter Revolutionary War Pension File #S8000. 16 December 1834. Peter YUNGST, aged 75 years on 6 May next, resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He appeared before the court in Kittanning to apply for a pension. He was living at Lebanon, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, when he went into the service as a substitute for his father, Henry YUNGST. He was born in Germany near the River Rhine on 6 May 1760, and lived at Lebanon, Lancaster County when called into service. Sometime after the war he moved to Cumberland County where he lived 16 years and then moved to Allegheny County near Pittsburgh for about 9 years. He then moved to Armstrong County where he still resided in 1834. (He was still there in the 1840 census.) 1840 Federal Census, Pensioners for Revolution or Military Service YUNGST, PETER, age 80, resident of Allegheny Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania ZEARPHUS, Henry Henry Zearphus was residing in Armstrong County in 1814. In service during 1776 – 1777. He was wounded and taken at Crooked Billet in 1778. Orphans Court, Docket O. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Courthouse. 19 June 1832. John Philip Shaeffer, Administrator of the estate of Henry Searfoos, deceased, presented his petition setting forth that Henry Searfoos died leaving six children: Christian, Mary, John, Balser, Peggy and George, all over 21 years of age. Land in Kittanning Township, 100 acres Warranted to William Stewart. Update: Please see Serfas, John. Reply using the form below for public comments. If you wish to contact the site administrators privately, please use our Contact Form instead. 44 Responses to Revolutionary War Veterans John D Atkinson says: Daniel Yundt is my 4X great grandfather on My Olinger side. Melvine(Umbaugh) Olinger my grandmother, William G. Olinger my Great Grandfather, Isaac Adam Olinger my 2x great grandfather, Adam Addison Olinger my 3x Great Grandfather married Anna Maria Yount the daughter of Daniel Yount(Yundt) Dacia Reynolds Johnson says: I am decended from George Reynolds who is buried in the old Reynolds cemetery outside of Kittanning. No marker. he came to fight with Braddock, he was Scottish. He was wounded during the massacure and given bounty land. I know he fought with Millitia against the French, English, and Indians but find no record of a pension. he died at Huntington PA in 1796. Does anyone remember hearing anything on him? I want to know where in Scotland and if there were family left there. Is there an historian someone knows of? His family were prominent in Kittanning after he died. David Reynolds was very well known. Carole Curran says: I am a descendant of Timothy Lennington, and have proven to the Daughters of the American Revolution, through his daughter Jane, who married John Titus. I believe that John Titus father, also John Titus, served the cause as well. After the Revolution, they settled on Glade Run, but I have been unable to prove the connection of John Titus Jr. to his father. Any help would be most appreciated. Lynn Maynard says: I am also descended from Timothy from his son Abraham. I saw one genealogy chart that said Thomas was Timothy’s father, but so far I don’t have any documentation. Heather Green says: I am a descendent of Timothy Lennington. I am looking for confirmation that his son was named Isaac and his father was Thomas. Do you by chance has a record of his will which may state heirs, etc. Thank you. Will of Timothy Lemington aka Lennington Source: Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994, Armstrong County, Will 1805-1873 Vol. 1 page 44-45 accessed 2/24/2015 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28780-13666-12?cc=1999196&wc=9PM6-RMQ:268497101,268535901 Citing this Record:Copy Citation “Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28780-13666-12?cc=1999196&wc=9PM6-RMQ:268497101,268535901 : accessed 24 February 2015), Armstrong > Wills 1805-1873 vol 1-2 > image 30 of 597; county courthouses, Pennsylvania. Wendy Totos says: Daniel Yundt is a direct relative of mine on my paternal mother’s side. A several times grandfather. I have traced him and further back many generations Kathy Kelly (not in Westmoreland) says: Barring a few strays, did you know that every Kelly that was evicted or left voluntarily from Ireland to come to colonial America went to Westmoreland County, PA? And that half of them were named James? Well, anyway, that’s how it feels. For instance, the 1790 census has a James Jr and James Sr in Armstrong Township, Salem Township and Rostraver Township. Rostraver James are not there in 1800. Maybe its a border thing and they are the two James in South Huntingdon? Oh, look, one James is back in Rostraver in 1810. My self-appointed task is to sort these Kellys out. I have made some good progress. Alexander in Bethel, Armstrong is brother to James Sr. in Salem Township who died 1804 (not 1803 like the one in Armstrong Township). Rodger and John in Derry seem like interesting fellows that no one ever talks about. And Samuel. Everyone talks about Samuel in Armstrong. What I need are some good maps that show the border changes of the counties and townships in this area during their formations. Can anyone help with this? There was a Church Smith of Armstrong County who received a pension for service in the Indian Wars. This was the period immediately following the Revolutionary War. Daniel e smith says: I am a descendent of church smith. His name is only mentioned once here and it’s only for his Sarah who received a war pension for his service. I’m disappointed there is no further info on this man. If anyone knows anything at all I am more than happy to talk. We believe he is from Ireland but it’s not conclusive. Would love to continue my personal line :/. Information on Church Smith has been hard to find but I’m not done searching. J Eich says: The grave marker of John Wiles, who died in 1832, states 1st Brigade 2nd Division Oak Grove Cemetery Frogtown, Armstrong, PA http://www.findagrave.com Rob Watt says: Christopher Oury was with the 8th PA Regiment at Fort Pitt under Captain Nehemia Stokely. He is listed there as Ourry along with Francis Raupp (Franz Rupp) both early settlers of Kittanning Twp. Christopher Oury’s farm is where Rupp Church Stands today. He kept a tavern along the Kittanning Path today rt 422. Tom Altman says: Christopher Oury, 8th PA Regiment is my first cousin five times removed. Carroll says: Henry Zearphus was residing in Armstrong Co. in 1814. In service during 1776 – 1777. He was wounded and taken at Croaked Billet in 1778. (This is more likely ‘Crooked Billet’.)r Are these two men the same? Is one the father of Catherine Zerfass born 1775 married to John Philip Schaeffer (Rev War)? Where is Henry Zearphus (Rev War) buried in Armstrong County ? I am unable to locate. Thank you, Carroll Unable to get posted Fred Brient says: The grave marker in the old Schaeffer cemetery is for John Henry Serfas/Zerfoss who was reportedly born in 1758 and died in 1831. I can prove his death date as to the year at least. He is the Rev. War veteran. He is almost always referred to as Henry as in his estate papers. His son John, never referred to as Henry as far as I can determine has no reported grave marker although I have seen his death date recorded as 1855 with no source. I believe he is also buried in the same cemetery. Many researchers are confusing father and son with some using a birth date of 1758 and a date of death of 1855? Not likely! I would love to know where some are getting the 1855 death date, I do not dispute it’s accuracy but would like to have some proof. Henry is the father of Catherine and John Zerfoss is Catherine’s brother. Catherine Elizabeth Zerfoss married John Phillip Schaeffer. John Phillip Schaeffer was not a Rev War veteran but his father Anthony was I believe. Check Armstrong County Genealogy Club Spring Quarterly 2003 for proof of Henry and son John as well as the estate file in Armstrong County. File No. 280, Henry Zerfoss, Docket 1, Page 80. I hope this helps. If no longer conveniently available I have an entire copy I will share. If you have access to Ancestry.com check my tree titled brientorion. Carroll Wilson says: Would you be able to give me a copy/scan of the Quarterly 2003? I cannot access Ancestry or find a copy of the quarterly. I do appreciate the info you posted. Thank you. I wondered myself if John and Henry were one and the same. On the ACGC Facebook group, a member said her ancestor was named John Henry Zerfoss and he died about 1831. He lived in the Brick Church area so it is possible that there was only one soldier, John Henry Zerfoss. John Serfas has a Revolutionary tombstone which reads : Byles Company 3 Pennsylvania Regiment. John Zerfosz was listed on a Kittanning Township tax list as a farmer in the year 1835. On Easter Day, 31 March 1839, Elisabeth Zerfoss, aged 20, and Mary Zerfoss, aged 19, were confirmed at St. Michael’s Lutheran, Brick Church, Burrell Township, Armstrong County, PA. Charles Calhoun says: Correction to my previous comment — James Calhoun wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Crooked Billet in May 1778, not 1788. Paul Treacy says: James Calhoun, b. 1775, Crrigans, County Donegal, Ireland, d. ca. 1822, Pine Twp., now Boggs Twp., Armstrong County PA, was a Lieutenant under Captain John Caldwell and L. Col. James Taylor of the 6th Bat. Lancaster Co., PA, Militia, 1781, 1782. He was wounded during his time of service. His farm is still in family hands. OPver eith generations of this family have resided on these lands. Over 200 years of recorded history. This James Calhoun was born 1745 or 1747, possibly in Carrigans, immigrated from Letterkenny, County Donegal, to Lancaster County (near present day Mercersburg, Franklin County PA). His military service was as a private in Cumberland County militia (with unit from same present day Franklin county location) under Robert McCoy, wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Crooked Billet (near Hatboro PA) in May 1788. This information is documented in research for the DAR by Fendrick and by published acts of PA legislature granting James Calhoun and Isaac Wiley old-age annuities for their service. Web search on James Calhoun will produce these documents. Mr Treacy’s remarks on James Calhoun of Armstrong County are frequently cited, but appear to combine information with other James Calhoun personages from Lancaster County and should be carefully reviewed for accuracy. Mr Treacy – I was trying to email you to request (or purchase) a copy of your book “The Colquhouns of Scottland, Colhouns of Ireland and the Calhouns and Colhouns of Americas” that is cited on the Find-A-Grave memorial for James Calhoun. My email is charles.a.calhoun@gmail.com. Your book is cited as including letters from Mary Abraham Walker Calhoun that would confirm James’ place of birth as Carrigans, Ireland, and information on his parentage. Thanks very much. Mark K. Aulenbacher says: Alexander Dunlap. and Elizebth Jack. looking for info on this family. Kathy Marcinek says: So many of us with old Armstrong County roots have been told we have Native American blood. DNA shows it is usually not true. I suggest you have a DNA test to prove or disprove it. Good luck! Marie Reedy says: I cannot add any more about the service of James McMaster but I would like to comment on John Mullen named in McMaster’s application for a pension. I’m descended from Mullen’s son Joshua who settled in Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky by about 1820. Joshua ran a tavern there for many years. I have a letter written by Joshua inquiring about the land that was possibly due his father for his service during the Revolutionary War. John Mullen is listed as a private in military rosters. John Mullen was a shoe maker in Abbotstown and was married to Allice Abbott, descendant of John Abbott the founder of Abbotstown. There are 2 other children named in John’s will, eldest daughter Deborah and a son Ebenezer less than 14. Possibly someone can tell me what became of the children and where John Mullen and Allice were buried. Allice Abbott Mullen remarried a man named Donaldson after John Mullen died . Mullen’s death was between 15 November 1780 and 26 March 1781. Donaldson died before 1790. The Mullens are Scots and belonged to the Church of Scotland according to Mullen’s will. Others named in the will are brothers – in -law of John Mullen: James Taggert, Junior and Edward Abbett. Jan Catalogna says: Peter Yingst (Yeansgt) as spelled in his Rev. pension application on file at the Armstrong County Courthouse. His interrogation covers six pages detailing his movement across PA. Peter was from Germany, coming to America in 1766 aboard the ship Chance. His father Johann Heinrich Juengst (Yingst) settled in Lancaster/Lebanon County. Peter guarded Hessian prisoners of the Battle of Trenton and served serveral tours of duty as a substitute. He did not participate in any engagements. Peter settled in Armstrong County around 1830. Peter’s ancestors have been documented back to year 1400 through research done in Germany. Diane Bingham says: About JOHN HARTMAN, son of Revolutionary War Soldier MICHAEL HARTMAN … His great granddaughter, my aunt Rebecca Nitsche whose mother Anna LaRue Moore was daughter of Rebecca Olinger, daughter of Anna Maria Hartman, a daughter of John Hartman, told me John had married a Leni Lenapi Indian girl named “Sarina.” Everything else Aunt Becka told me about family history seems to be true, but I don’t know how to validate this connection. Any ideas? A DNA test would prove or disprove it. Thank you. ‘Am planning on doing that this year 2016. Crystal Perez says: Did you ever do your DNA? Who was Rebecca Olinger’s father? I am related (direct line) to the Olinger’s. Georgia Hileman Halloran says: I descend from PETER HEILMAN/HILEMAN. Peter was born in 1751 Sept. 28( according to German chrusrch record on LDS film # 193854) and he came to America in 1753. I also doubt that this Christain, bn 1710, is his father -I believe it was his brother . Will Christman says: I just wanted to let Georgia Hileman Halloran know that I have an orphan’s court abstract from Westmoreland County, Docket A, 23 June 1806. Petition of Nicholas Snider, administrator of Christian Hyleman dec’d, stating that the deceased left a widow and six children (Polly, Betsy, Isaac, Peggy, Sally, and Christiana), all of whom are minors under the age of 14 years; and requesting the Court that Jacob Christman and Frederick (Sheveler ?) be appointed guardians over their persons and estates until they arrive at the age of 14 years. Approved. I also have a Peter Helman (Heilman?) in the Westmoreland County, Mount Pleasant Township, 1790 Federal Census a few entries underneath my family. I have been looking for the family of my 4x great grand father, Jacob Chrtistman (1760-1832) who married Elizabeth Lauffer and resided in Westmoreland County, Mount Pleasant Township, attended Greensburg Lutheran Church. I’ve been at a brick wall for quite a few years now. Because of these Heilman records, an entry for Elias and Ruth Christman of Bedford County at Greensburg Lutheran (I think Ruth Christman’s grandmother was Anna Catherine Heilman) I’m wondering if my Jacob could be connected to them even though I’ve already looked there and their Y-DNA is supossedly R1b and mine is R1A1. Any suggestion would be appreciated. jchristman8@att.net This is interesting. I live in the area of Kittanning Township where these Heilmans settled. I think the name you couldn’t quite make out was Frederick Schaeffer, probably spelled wrong. I’m not sure of that, though. Looks like a lot more research is needed here. Faith Jack says: I am also a descendant of Christian/Peter/Solomon Heilman. Johann Christian Hileman/Heilman b 1709, baptised 1710 d 1790 was Peter Hileman’s father. j.guthrie says: is there a book called captive tale written by joseph brownlee guthrie D. Kathy Marcinek says: I have never heard of it but it is possible. I’ll do some snooping. There is a book titled “American Guthrie and Allied Families”, 1934, by Guthrie, Laurence R. D. Crowley says: Yes, there was a book written about Elizabeth Guthrie by her last son, Joseph Brownlee Guthrie. It is not in print but wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were found in someone’s attic in Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Guthrie was my great , great, great, great, great grandmother. Michelle McGaffic says: I am also related to Elizabeth Brownlee Guthrie through my grandfather who was a Keener. His mother was a Beatty. There is a book called Capitve’s Tale. I think I have it as I have most of his things now. I remember going with him to Hannas Town and he bought it there in the gift shop. Ken Kelly says: My ancestor, Edward Kelley, served with the Cumberland County Militia of PA during the Revolutionary War. He was living in Redbank Twp, Armstrong County PA at the time of his death in 1814. Has anyone previously looked into the location of his grave? Do you have volunteers that research the location of their farm, church, etc. as possible locations of his remains? Or what do you recommend, in order to try to locate him, please? Thank you very much for any possible assistance. Ken Kelly Elisabeth Cumin says: Note: Did Morici Lewis, Uncle of Ezekiel, have any son &/or grandson named John Onezime Lewis, born 1799 in Eastern Twp, PQ, near Vermont Border ?? Is there a complete list of the sons and grandsons of Captain James Lewis that would include Ezekiel and Silas. Final: Is there a list of the sons of Ezekiel and Silas – born 1795-1805 approx ?? elisabeth.cumin@hotmail.com 1776-1812-2012 More than 200 Years of Peace Celebrations across North America- July 1-4 – especially – along the St Lawrence River! Dr Louis Hebert/Forestell Tree/Trunk/Branches/Twigs PQ is completed except for the ancestors of John Onesime Lewis, b 1799, husband of Jessie Easton, b 1805; and, settled near Thomasburg-Stoco-Tweed, Hungerford Twp/Hastings County, Ontario. Note: Marguerite Matilda Lewis, born 1830, daughter of Jessie/John Lewis, was the wife of James Tobias Forestell, grandmother of Grand-father James Lewis Forestell. Do you know if Ezekiel – Silas O- Thomas Lewis, Eastern-Shefford-Sutton twp PQ; &/or William Lewis of Vermont are ancestors to John Onesime Lewis, near Thomasburg-Stoco, Ontario ?? Sincerely E Cumin Leave a Reply to Mark K. Aulenbacher Cancel reply	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line30
__label__cc	0.748875	0.251125	Johan Harstad on the Universe By John Harstad Johan Harstad is the Norwegian author of Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?, a Kirkus Best Fiction of 2011 book, Hässelby, and DARLAH: 172 Hours on the Moon, for which he won the 2008 Brage prize in the children's literature category. He has been described as "one of the most important [Scandinavian] authors to emerge in the early years of this century" and "an author of exceptional stylistic assurance." Here, he discusses his innermost thoughts about the universe. I was laying on my back out on the porch of a cabin in the woods one summer, the sun had gone down and since there were no lights coming from the cabin, no streetlights or any other sources of illumination nearby, I could see a massive amount of stars in the clear sky that night. I was overwhelmed. While other people were lying on their back in other parts of the world, falling in love with what they saw, I was just freaked out. The same day I had stumbled across information about the 6EQUJ5-signal (which you will learn more about when you read my novel), and all I could think of was the scale of the Universe. It’s unbelievably big. It could also very well be equally unbelievably dangerous. Forget all the maps you’ve seen of the planets in our solar system beautifully lined up; the scale is not right at all. It’s only a visualization to make you feel less alone. We are, in fact, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Imagine this: A bacteria, a single bacteria, resting on a grain of sand three feet deep in a random sand dune in a random place in the middle of the Saharan desert. That’s us. The whole world. Now imagine that someone destroyed that single bacteria. Either by accident, or by decision. Would you care? Would you miss it? Grieve for it? Would you even notice that it was gone? I was laying on the porch of that cabin, feeling more deserted than Robinson Crusoe ever, ever, ever came close to. Then, in a futile attempt at comforting myself, I started looking at it the other way. What if this small spot of space we call Earth is important? What if it is too important to be left alone? Would that be any better? The only planet with perfect conditions for life in billions and billions of miles in every direction. We may be sticking out like a sore thumb. We may be the perfect target. A sitting duck. If so, maybe it wasn’t really a brilliant idea to send out our two space probes, Voyager 1 and 2 in the late seventies, complete with written directions to make it easy to locate us. In a year or two Voyager 1 will leave the heliopause and our solar system, entering interstellar space as the first man made object, on its eternal journey into the unknown, traveling at 10.72 miles per second. If someone, or something not from Earth sent out the 6EQUJ5 signal, chances are that Voyager 1 will eventually … be found. It might not be something to wish for. At least that has been the case for most indigenous people who received ‘visitors’ from more advanced cultures. That is what Stephen Hawking, world known theoretical physicist and cosmologist at Cambridge University thinks, fearing interstellar nomads. One more thing: About 20 light years from Earth there might be a planet very, very similar to Earth, called Gliese 581 G. You can always hope that this will keep whoever’s out there busy for a while, if they happen to find it first. Or Gliese 581 G could be the thing to fear, I don’t know. This is why I’ve stopped laying on the porch of this cabin, looking up to the sky during summer nights. Scared of what might reveal itself one day, approaching us. When I went to school, I didn’t pay particular attention to either physics or mathematics. All this has changed now. Not because I’m constantly afraid of aliens or even believe in them per se, at least not in the sense of being green men from Mars Attacks!, but because the sheer size of it both fascinates me and scares the sh*t out of me. One could argue that a book like 172 HOURS ON THE MOON is just a sci-fi horror novel written as entertainment. And you can decide for yourself how troubling you find it that a possibly disturbing amount of facts in it have been confirmed. But you could also argue, as I do, that the novel deals with our two most basic fears: The fear of being abandoned. And the fear of being discovered. And maybe, just maybe, also this third one: For different reasons much of the novel was written in the middle of the night, from 11pm to 5am. I would sit by my desk, writing, listening to, amongst other things, Penderecki (try listening to “The Dream of Jacob” at 3 in the morning and see how you feel…) and from time to time I would look up and see my own reflection in the window in front of me, grinning back. It startled me every time. I looked tired, scared. I looked like a different version of myself. And it made me think that maybe we should fear ourselves most of all, because we may be the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to Earth. And so you should ask yourself: Would you really want to meet yourself in a dark alley in a deserted part of the city? 31 Days of Harry Potter Teenreads.com Goes to Prom UnBan a Book Week	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line31
__label__cc	0.612625	0.387375	APS Directory ~ Alumni Overview Information Also see lists of: All Personnel with office and phone number Faculty with short biographies Graduate Students with short biographies Ph.D.s from 2017 to 2019 Our database is complete back to 1980, and it is incomplete back to 1953. Display non-thesis M.S M.S. Ph.D. recipients from 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 to 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Name: Bang Nhan Advisor: Jack O. Burns Thesis: "The Cosmic Twilight Polarimeter: A Model-Independent Approach to Constrain the Synchrotron Foreground Spectrum for Global 21-cm Cosmology" First Known Position: Post-doc at University of Virginia, Astronomy Department Last Known Position: Post-doc at University of Virginia, Astronomy Department bnhan@nrao.edu Name: Parke Loyd Advisor: Kevin France Thesis: "The Volatility of Far-Ultraviolet Radiation from Low-Mass Stars and Planetary Implications" First Known Position: Postdoc at ASU Last Known Position: Information Not Available robert.loyd@colorado.edu Name: Allison Youngblood Thesis: "Star Formation and Planets in Harsh Environments" First Known Position: NASA Postdoctoral Program at GSFC allison.youngblood@colorado.edu	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line32
__label__wiki	0.590128	0.590128	Global warming and oceans: what are the known unknowns? Warm Ocean Melting Pine Island Glacier For five years an international team of experts, led by NASA emeritus glaciologist Robert Bindschadler and funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA, planned and orchestrated a mission to drill through the floating ice shelf of the Pine Island Glacier. Finally they persevered over harsh weather conditions, a short Antarctic field season, and the remote location of the glacier, and installed a variety of instruments to measure the properties of the ocean water below the ice shelf. From The Guardian The world's leading oceanography experts examine global warming and the oceans in Abraham et al. (2013) Understanding how humans are changing the climate requires experts from many different areas. Physicists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians, biologists, atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, social scientists, the list goes on. Scientists studying the Earth's climate work out descriptions of how humans are interacting with the environment, how those interactions cause changes, and how measurements can be made. The methods that have been developed to measure the Earth's climate include true engineering marvels. There are instruments on satellites that measure the rising sea levels and surface temperatures of oceans, land surfaces, and atmosphere. But satellite instruments can't see below the surface. Perhaps the most important component of the Earth's climate, and perhaps the hardest to measure, is the oceans that cover over 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Over the past decades and even centuries, humans have used various techniques to measure oceans, from buckets that were dragged through the ocean waters to collect samples, to modern autonomous devices that measure the oceans day and night throughout the year and report data by satellite. A major new development since about 2005 is use of floats that pop up and down to sample the top 2000 meters of the ocean for temperature and salinity. Global Patterns of Carbon Dioxide These enable us to calculate the increase in heat and the changes to the acidity of the ocean waters. It seems logical that throughout the decades, as our measurements have become more sophisticated, our understanding of the oceans has improved. That much is true. But, from a climate perspective, we must address how today's oceans differ from the oceans 10, 20, or 100 years ago. Sure, the oceans are warmer now because humans have loaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gases, but how much warmer? How do we compare today's sophisticated measurements with yesteryears crude ones? For instance, if measurements in past decades were biased or their assessed depth was off, it could appear that the oceans have not warmed much in certain periods. Such errors would also have tremendous consequences for our predictions of what the climate will be like in the future. This complicated topic is the subject of a recent paper my colleagues and I published in the journal Reviews of Geophysics. Nearly 30 of the world's top oceanographers collaborated on a massive study that not only went back through the history books to describe the evolution of ocean temperature measuring methods, but also looked forward to future measuring techniques. The paper found that while all the evidence shows the Earth is warming, without pause, there are still unanswered questions and unmeasured parts of the oceans. Underneath ice sheets and deep in ocean basins are just two regions that need more attention. One of the world's pre-eminent oceanographers for, among other things, his important work measuring heat transferred to very deep ocean waters, is Dr. Gregory C. Johnson. Dr. Johnson works as an oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington; he is also a co-author on the paper. He notes, "This review points to the need to expand the innovative, year-round, broad-scale measurements of the upper half of the open ocean volume so successfully pioneered by the international Argo Program all the way down to the ocean floor and into the ice-covered polar regions, so we can make well-resolved, timely, and truly global assessments of the amount of heat being absorbed by the ocean." Arctic Sea Ice Minimum After an unusually cold summer in the northernmost latitudes, Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its annual minimum summer extent for 2013 on Sept. 13, the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado in Boulder has reported. Analysis of satellite data by NSIDC and NASA showed that the sea ice extent shrunk to 1.97 million square miles (5.10 million square kilometers), the sixth-lowest on record. This animation shows daily Arctic sea ice extent and seasonal land cover change from May 16 through Sept. 12, 2013, the day before the sea ice reached its minimum area of coverage for the year. The data was provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from their AMSR2 instrument aboard the GCOM-W1 satellite. In short, we are doing well, but we could do better with more deep-ocean measuring equipment. A similar reaction comes from Dr. Kevin Trenberth, who not only is one of the world's top climate scientists, but is also recognized as a top communicator, winning the 2013 American Geophysical Union Climate Communication Award. Dr. Trenberth has been quite active in ocean heating studies, most recently publishing an important paper which calculated significant rates of heating in the ocean. He described this new study as, "an excellent review of the history of ocean observations and very revealing about the problems, the issues, and the advances. Most people don't realize the state of the science of ocean observations and this paper is in that sense an expose." Drs. Johnson, Trenberth, and others who study climate change every day are hopeful that their work will help us quantify how much climate change has occurred and what the future may hold. While climate science, like other scientific endeavors does not package answers in neatly wrapped exacting answers, what we can say with certainty that is the Earth is warming and the best place to measure that warming is in the oceans. The best ocean measurements show a continuous heating that is largely from human-emitted greenhouse gases, and it is an important component of sea level rise. Indeed sea level rise may be the best single indicator of a warming planet: the other major contributor is additional water from melting land ice. Since satellite altimeters were placed in orbit in 1992, sea level has risen at 3.2 mm/year. That should be alarming to everyone. AWI : Long-term data reveal: The deep Greenland Sea is warming faster than the World Ocean Posted by Peio at 1:33 AM Global warming and oceans: what are the known unkn... NOAA publishes new editions of Eastern Long Island... Intracoastal Waterway Route “Magenta Line” on NOAA... Oracle Team USA wins America's Cup Island pops up after the earthquake in Pakistan Ocean eddies act like watery black holes, new rese... Mermaids & mermen: facts & legends On the trail of sea urchins in the Arctic Circle 9 unreal photos of body surfers at Teahupoo	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line39
__label__wiki	0.718628	0.718628	Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Founder of Panzi Hospital, Democratic Republic of the Congo TwitterRSS This page in: Dr. Denis Mukwege is a world-renowned gynecological surgeon who is the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As a young child, Dr. Mukwege accompanied his father, a Pentecostal pastor, while visiting sick members of the community. This later inspired him to become a doctor. The Swedish Pentecostal mission helped support him in his medical studies. He decided to specialize in gynecology and obstetrics after observing that female patients at Lemera Hospital suffered from insufficient medical care, which caused complications during their deliveries. He founded the hospital in 1999 as a clinic for gynecological and obstetric care, and expected to be working on issues of maternal health. Since 1999, however, Dr. Mukwege and his staff have helped to care for more than 50,000 survivors of sexual violence. The hospital not only treats survivors with physical wounds, but also provides legal, and psycho-social services to its patients. Even patients who cannot afford post-rape medical care are treated without charge at Panzi Hospital. Dr. Mukwege has been fearless in his efforts to increase protections for women and to advocate that those responsible for sexual violence be brought to justice, including the Congolese government and militia groups laying siege to eastern DRC. In October 2012, Dr. Mukwege was violently attacked and his family was held at gunpoint at his home in an assassination attempt. Joseph Bizimana, his trusted friend and security guard, was killed. The attack came several weeks after Dr. Mukwege denounced the country’s 16-year-long conflict and called for those responsible to be brought to justice during a speech at the United Nations. After this attack, Dr. Mukwege and his family fled the country for his safety, but his many Congolese patients and colleagues urged him to resume his life-saving work at Panzi Hospital. He returned to the hospital in January 2013 and was celebrated by crowds of people ecstatic to have him home. During this difficult period, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) worked in close coordination with Dr. Mukwege and colleagues at risk in DRC to mobilize a global campaign to advocate for and protect individuals working on the front lines helping survivors of mass atrocities and prosecuting perpetrators of these mass crimes. Dr. Mukwege is also on the advisory committee for the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict. He has been the recipient of numerous awards worldwide, including the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, for his advocacy against sexual violence as a weapon of war and for his outstanding services to survivors of rape. More Posts By Denis Fighting gender-based violence in conflict-affected regions – a conversation with Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line42
__label__wiki	0.574903	0.574903	Movielog, Once Upon a Time in the West Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968 Written by Sergio Leone & Sergio Donati Based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernando Bertolucci, and Sergio Leone Directed by Sergio Leone I admit that I didn't know a whole lot about this one when I stuck it in my Netflix queue. I saw a reference to it somewhere and stuck it towards the bottom of my nearly 500 movie-long list, and forgot about it. Then I was glancing through the ones towards the bottom, thought it looked like a decent flick, and shoved it towards the top. When it showed up and the DVD sleeve said it was nearly three hours long, I thought there had to be some mistake -- I was expecting something like 3:10 to Yuma, which was about ninety minutes long. So, I shrugged, I'll give it a reel or so and see if it catches my interest. Glancing over the cast list, I figured it was a tale of some put-upon farmer who takes matters of the law into his own hands, yadda yadda, with Henry Fonda as the heroic everyman who has the eventually kill the bad guy. And holy fuck, was I ever wrong. (Conissieurs of great films are now shaking their heads in disappointment at my naivete -- fuck you, hippie; I'm 28, it's not like the Western has been a commercial genre in my lifetime or anything....) The first sign that this is going to be much more interesting than it seems comes during the credit sequence, when the familiar names Dario Argento and Bernando Bertolucci show up with a "story by" credit. You mean the master of horror and the kind of New Wave sensuality? Why, yes, but back in '68 they were just movie critics trying to earn a living according to Wikipedia -- they both became Big Names sometime after this movie was made. Let's cut to the chase here: Once Upon a Time in the West is more than just a classic, but a minor miracle of cinema, seemingly a perfect blend of character and story, of theme and mood, of performance and direction. The IMDB Top 250 list calls this the eighteenth best film ever made, which is more than a bit of a stretch, but I absolutely believe it deserves a place on that list, and it's probably one of the half-dozen or so best films I've seen in the last year or so. It's a film that feels very modern in its staging, direction, and themes, while nonetheless being very much a part of its time in the way it plays with and subverts audience expectations, especially with regard to gender roles. And actions scenes so well-staged that they seem to exist as minor masterpieces in and of themselves. I've just written several paragraphs of plot description, only to delete them -- suffice to say that the film has the kind of enormously convoluted story that is only sort of integrated into a coherent plot -- while the motivations of the various characters in the film only become clear over time, those characters are themselves so well-drawn that we find ourselves drawn in almost despite ourselves. It is truly in these characters that the film soars -- this is most apparent in the primary villain Frank, played by the do-gooder among do-gooders Henry Fonda, but Charles Bronson gives enormous emotional heft to his harmonica-playing avenger, and Jason Robards plays the part of an outlaw with a code to a T. Of particular note, though, are the luminous Claudia Cardinale as a seemingly-innocent proto-feminist widow with a past, and Gabriele Ferzetti as Morton, a crippled railroad man who has made a deal with the devil to fulfill his dreams. Also of particular note is the score by Ennio Morricone, which I recognized as being (ahem) "sampled heavily" in the Kill Bill series, but which here achieves perfection in the way it seamlessly blends with the images on-screen to create emotional resonance. (I learn from IMDB that the score was composed first, and sequences shot to the music, the reverse of the usual order.) Most movie scores are said to be successful if they recede so far into the background as to be unnoticeable, but here it seems more like the score and the film exist for one another, and that evocation of the one will automatically produce the other. Some have argued that this film is too slow-paced, that the nearly three-hour runtime could have been trimmed. In a sense, that's true, as certain sequences have more relation to mood than to plot, and probably could have been judiciously cut. But trying to generate a half-hour actioner from this material is to do a great disservice, as it is in the themes and the structure that greatness is achieved. I found myself engaged from beginning to end, transfixed by the imagery, willing it never to end but knowing that it inevitably must. I realize I've said almost nothing about the actual content of Once Upon a Time in the West. Well, what can I say? This is a film that defies summary, that defies description, that deserves to be approached knowing as little as possible beforehand. Even by those who are not generally a fan of Westerns. Maybe even especially by those who are not generally fans of Westerns. When those final credits rolled and the bodies lay in the dust, when the score reached its crescendo and that railroad car came pushing into frame, I was astonished and amazed at the level of achievement. This is a great film worthy of any movie-lover's attention. Posted by Daniel Harper at 6/30/2008 09:30:00 AM Labels: movielog Okay, So I'm Interested... A Useful Comparison The Meaning Becomes Clear Too Awesome Not to Share Myspace vs. Facebook Beer Review, Castle Brewery Eggenberg Samichlaus B... Beer Review, Avery India Pale Ale The Happening Pro-ID? Old People Fucking Beer Review, Black Wattle Superior Wattle Seed Ale...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line48
__label__wiki	0.543552	0.543552	Pennsylvania Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs Established by Executive Order 2015-10, the Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs is dedicated to ensuring that state government is accessible and accountable to the diverse Asian Pacific American communities in Pennsylvania. The commission is composed of up to thirty volunteer members appointed by the governor for a term of two years. https://www.governor.pa.gov/pennsylvania-commission-asian-pacific-american-affairs/ The Korean Community Development Services Center Established as a non-profit organization in 1985 with the goal of providing a comprehensive array of services for low to moderate income individuals and families. Serving a highly diverse community that is 47% African-American, 21% white, 18% Asian-American, 15% Hispanic, 8% other races, and 5% two or more races, we understand that the challenges will not only be difficult, but also abundant and unique. Since the early 80's, we have helped thousands of individuals, families, and businesses in our community overcome a countless number of obstacles, whether it be purchasing a first home, facing foreclosure, becoming a certified technician, finding a quality childcare center, or assisting struggling businesses in obtaining more funding. A major factor behind our success is that we value the diversity not only found in our community but also found in our staff. Currently we provide services in Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, and Cambodian. The age of staff members range from 23 to 80 years and come from all walks of life. Our team is composed of community members, immigrants, college graduates, PhDs, reverends, veterans, and artists. We find strength in diversity. http://www.koreancenter.org/ Hispanic Resource Center The Hispanic Resource Center was developed in response to the largely unmet needs of Spanish-speaking individuals in the Chester community. Its mission is to help local Hispanic residents learn about and obtain community resources. The Hispanic Resource Center is a one-stop-shop that connects program participants and other individuals with a wide range of services, including case management, translation, appointment scheduling, health education, assistance with applications and agency referrals. El Centro, which is part of the women and children's programs of Crozer-Keystone Community Foundation, is designed to meet a broad array of needs within the Hispanic population. It is located at 2602 W. Ninth Street, 2nd floor, Chester, Pa., and is open Wednesdays only, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crozer Keystone Community Foundation Daisy Artiles Medical Office Building http://ckcommunityfoundation.org/special-projects/center-for-hispanic-resources/ http://ckcommunityfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Center-Brochure.-Eng.Nov2016.pdf http://ckcommunityfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Center-Brochure.-Span.Nov2016.pdf Multicultural Family Services (MCFS) The Multicultural Community Family Services, Inc. (MCFS) is a community based, not-for-profit organization located in Upper Darby, PA in Delaware County. MCFS was founded in 2003 to provide social, educational, and individualized support services to at-risk immigrant individuals, children, youth, and families. Today, MCFS provides educational, job readiness, behavioral health, prevention, recreation, and home care services to more than 700 individuals, youths, and families residing in Delaware and Philadelphia Counties. The Multicultural Community Family Services (MCFS) has an 11year history of providing direct social services, educational support, counseling services, job readiness services and recreation services for children, youth, older adults, and families residing in Delaware and Philadelphia Counties. In 2011, MCFS created Attentive Home Care (AHC) to provide non-medical home care services to seniors, individuals with disabilities and those who need assistance with their activities of daily living. The MCFS staff collectively has over 38 years of experience providing direct and indirect services to individuals of all ages and families. MCFS' outreach efforts in the community led to the development of educational programs which include adult literacy classes, GED classes, Citizenship classes and English as Second Language (ESL) classes; social advocacy for immigrant populations, youths and seniors; employment assistance (resume writing, job interviewing practice skills, and job referrals); recreational programs (Multicultural United Soccer Club and Building Bridges Cultural Ambassadors). MCFS also provides individual counseling, support group counseling and non-medical personal care assistance. The Mission of MCFS To empower individuals, children, youth, and families to gain a greater capacity to succeed in their communities. MCFS fulfills its Vision and Mission Statements by providing services to over 1,000 immigrants, refugees and U.S. born citizens per year. MCFS Upper Darby Office 7016 Terminal Square, Suite 1-A Upper Darby, PA 19082 Email: info@mcfsorg.com www.mcfsorg.com African Cultural Alliance of North America (ACANA) The African Cultural Alliance of North America Inc. (ACANA) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ACANA serves African and Caribbean immigrants by providing access to social and legal services, community development programs, health services, organizing African arts and culture events, and an array of many other services. ACANA's objectives are to not only assist new residents in their adjustment and resettlement, but to help them become active participants in their new environments. In doing so, ACANA strongly believes in working with people of all backgrounds to build a better community. The mission of ACANA is to help refugees, immigrant families and all other residents of Philadelphia access legal, health and other social services with a special focus on women, children, youth, and the elderly in their resettlement process in Pennsylvania. ACANA also produces and presents African cultural performances and recording artists to create an awareness of African arts and culture. To this end, we strive to promote the preservation of cultural values as well as support artists' efforts to promote their own vocations in their new environment ACANA was founded in 1999 by a group of African musicians who sought to help establish themselves in the United States as artists. By the early 2000s however, the organization expanded its goals to include providing social, health and legal services for the African immigrant and refugee community in Philadelphia. This expansion was due in large part to the influx of African refugees fleeing war in various West African countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast. Today, ACANA provides a variety of services that encourage education, community development and integration while still preserving cultural values. ACANA provides a wide range of social, legal, health, and community development services that address many or most of the needs of newly arriving or underserved African and Caribbean immigrants. ACANA provides most of these services at low and sometimes no cost to the consumer. And although based in Philadelphia, ACANA has a small branch in Maryland and serves clients throughout the United States from California to Minnesota to Rhode Island and beyond. Free health screenings and access to various low cost social and health services Legal assistance and migration services Community and business corridor development Job Prep Access to job training, preparation & assistance Recording studio services Emergency food for needy or low income persons Facility and hall rental Arts and culture activities programming Focus on the Youth Youth arts programming 5530 Chester Ave Email: acanaphila@gmail.com http://acanaus.org/ Hours: Monday- Thursday 10-6:30pm Saturday- Appointment only Friday and Sunday- Closed Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia The Irish Immigration Center was founded in 1998 to meet the needs of the Irish immigrant community in Philadelphia. While our work focuses on the most vulnerable members of our community, we also provide advice and support on a range of issues of interest to the Irish and immigrant communities in our region. Our services fall under three main areas: Supporting immigrants Provide a range of information, advice, and referrals to Irish people on the U.S. immigration system, healthcare, housing, and other issues of interest to the Irish community in our region. Run a legal clinic in partnership with the Brehon Law Society and Drexel Law School to provide free legal advice to our community. Act as a trusted resource to Irish people who are new to the region. Support the older Irish members of our community by hosting a variety of social and cultural events. Promoting citizenship Inform people on the benefits of dual citizenship, assisting eligible Irish-Americans to secure Irish citizenship and eligible Irish green card holders to become U.S. citizens. Encourage people to be active citizens and contribute to their community. Present programs that promote active citizenship, such as voter registration drives and census awareness. Strengthening community Act as a fiscal sponsor for eligible Irish organizations to help raise funds through grant applications, matching gifts, and tax-deductible donations. Provide a range of start-up and ongoing support, including meeting space, for the development of Irish organizations in the region. Partner with other organizations to promote events, share information and resources and foster a vibrant sense of community and Irish identity. Educate people about U.S. and Irish immigration law and campaigns for a fair and equitable immigration system. Conduct research to inform future development that will better serve the community. 7 South Cedar Lane Email: info@icphila.org Monday to Friday by appointment http://www.icphila.org/ Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) The Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) provides federally-funded services to refugees in accordance with federal statutes and regulations and the Commonwealth's State Plan. Funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program provides a continuum of employment, educational, case management, health, and financial support services to newly arrived refugees in the Commonwealth. Responsibility for the Refugee Resettlement Program rests with the State Refugee Coordinator, designated by the Secretary of Welfare. The Program is overseen by the PA Department of Public Welfare. Cash and Medical Assistance programs, administered by the Office of Income Maintenance, are coordinated with the delivery of employment, educational, aging and allied human services, administered by the Bureau of Employment and Training in the Office of Income Maintenance. The Pennsylvania Refugee Resettlement Program contracts with organizations located throughout the state to provide a wide variety of assistance to refugees. English as a Second Language (ESL) programs Targeted Assistance Interpretation and Translation Citizenship Preparation courses Asylee Outreach Project Services to Older Refugees Information Referral Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program Vocational ESL for Cuban and Haitian refugees TANF employment and training programs Email: RA-HSRefugeeProgram@pa.gov http://www.refugeesinpa.org/index.htm Upper Darby Welcome Center The Upper Darby Welcome Center was established in 2003. This innovative center satisfies a growing need in a township as diversified as Upper Darby. The Welcome Center, located at 7000 Walnut Street, is open Monday thru Friday and specializes in offering assistance with immigration questions, state and federal government services, citizenship applications, locating employment, and English as a Second Language. Services are also offered concerning legal advice, health insurance, and becoming a homeowner. Raya K. Fagg, Director rfagg@upperdarby.org http://www.upperdarby.org/Gov/Leisure_Services/Welcome_Center.html Welcome Center for New Pennsylvanians The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians connects newly arrived individuals from around the world with the economic opportunities that they need to succeed in our region. Since opening its doors in 2003, it has assisted more than 6,000 clients from more than 90 countries. The center believes that a steady influx of new customers, workers, and entrepreneurs can reinvigorate Pennsylvania's aging population, renew its neighborhoods, and re-energize our economy. By making Pennsylvania a magnet for immigrants, it will become a more vibrant, more creative, and more dynamic competitor in today's global economy. The Welcoming Center's Web site is www.welcomingcenter.org.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line49
__label__cc	0.702744	0.297256	Collections at MNHS WALTER F. MONDALE Walter Frederick (“Fritz”) Mondale, a native Minnesotan, has spent most of his life in public service, at the state, national, and international levels. A liberal Democrat and an influential strategist in Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he has held the offices of Minnesota attorney general (1960-1964), United States Senator from Minnesota (1964-1976), Vice President of the United States (1977-1981), Democratic Party candidate for President (1984), and ambassador to Japan (1993-1996). Collection at MHS	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line59
__label__wiki	0.758505	0.758505	Выборы президента РЮО - 2011 Today a "Day of Silence" has been announced in South Ossetia Today, on November 12 a "day of silence" has been announced in South Ossetia in order that the voters could easily decide their choice. As the correspondent of IA "Res" has been informed at the Central Election Committee (CEC) of South Ossetia, the republic is ready for the presidential elections. "According to the law November 12, -the day before the election, - has been declared a ''day of silence''. Diplomats of South Ossetia and Taiwan discussed the issues of interstate cooperation Cooperation of South Ossetia and Taiwan could be beneficial for both countries. It has been stated by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia Murat Dzhioev, commenting on the statement of the head of the Taiwan representative office in Russia Antonio Chen's readiness to cooperate with the Republic of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both economically and culturally. According to the head of the South Ossetian Foreign Policy Agency, the meeting of the RSO Foreign Ministry spokesman and the representative of Taiwan have recently taken place in Russia."The issues on cooperation between the two countries in culture, education, economy, trade and simply human relations have been discussed at the meeting – Dzhioev has informed.-Our nation has rich cultural traditions, we have many economic resources. Our cooperation with Taiwan can be mutually beneficial on the basis of the mentioned and a number of other factors." The CEC of South Ossetia is ready for the elections and the referendum The CEC of South Ossetia is ready for the November 13 presidential elections and a referendum on formalizing the state status of the Russian language. It has been declared at the press conference in Tskhinval, by the CEC chairman Bella Plieva. "All the polling station commissions are ready to start voting on Sunday, November 13 at 8 a.m. till 20:00 p.m. The number of voters and the registered candidates is determined. There are also cases of withdrawals among the registered presidential candidates. The CEC has done everything possible to hold elections with dignity and transparently", - Plieva emphasized. She has mentioned the decision to put stamps on the passports in order to prevent some citizens could vote twice. "This is the CEC decision. But we appealed to the government and the presidential administration that the Visa Service should also be informed, as well as the relevant services at the checkpoint in the Lower Zaramag. Our decision has been approved "- the CEC head has said. 11 nominees will take part in the presidential elections of South Ossetia Presidential candidates of South Ossetia Eduard Gabaraev and Alan Kochiev have withdrawn their candidacy from the presidential elections. It has been declared by the candidates during the debates on the TV channel "IR. "Eduard Gabaraev has removed his candidacy in favor of Georgy Kabisov. Pupils from Tskhinval will meet with the Russian cosmonauts Pupils of the Tskhinval boarding school for orphans and children left without parental care were invited to visit the cosmodrome "Baikonur". It has been informed IA "Res" by the director of the boarding school Roland Tedeev. "This year the international creative competition ''Yuri Gagarin'' has been held among the Russian and foreign youth by the Community Center of the National Glory of Russia, the St. Andrew Foundation and the World Public Forum «Dialogue of Civilizations'' - said Tedeev. - The winners were provided with the study tour to the cosmodrome. Among the winners were also the pupils of our schools, whose drawings and writings were represented at the event." According to Tedeev, a creative contest was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight. South Ossetian parliament building reconstruction will be completed by summer 2012 Restoration of the parliament building in Tskhinval, burned during the Georgian aggression in August 2008, will be completed by the next summer. It has been reported IA "Res" by Robert Nartikoev-the foreman of the North Ossetian construction company "Lea", which is reconstructing the building, "Reconstruction of this facility began in April 2011, - the foreman said. - At present, the construction is at a good pace. "Nartikoev has noted that the facade of the building will retain its former appearance. The number of the presidential candidates in South Ossetia has decreased to 13 During the evening debates on TV channel "IR" the presidential candidates of South Ossetia Inal Bazzaev and Igor Alborov have declared about their decision to renounce participation in contest for the presidency in favor of the candidates Georgy Kabisov and Alan Kotaev respectively. According to Bazzaev Inal, his ideas and plans completely coincide with the ideas and plans of the presidential candidate Georgy Kabisov; so "in connection with this fact I am going to withdraw my candidacy and I am addressing to my voters to support the candidacy of Georgy Kabisov." "Other presidential candidates, whom I also respect have addressed to me, but I have decided to vote for Georgy Kabisov, because he is a man of word who does not give empty promises," – Bazzaev has underlined. In South Ossetia 15 presidential candidates have remained among the 17 registered ones During the evening local TV debates the presidential candidate of South Ossetia Merab Chigoev has addressed to the voters with the statement that he removed his candidacy in the forthcoming presidential elections in favour of the party «Unity» candidate for the Presidency Anatoly Bibilov. «There is a candidate among us who is enjoying the confidence of the Russian Federation. I`ve made a decision to withdraw my candidacy and support Anatoly Iljich Bibilov, a person who enjoys unconditional support of Russia and its leadership. I am addressing to my voters to support my decision and together with me and vote for Bibilov Anatoly Iljich», - Chigoev has declared. It is also said in the document: «In the conditions of restoration of our destroyed country, in the conditions of dissociation of our society, it is very important to make a correct choice. High schools of South Ossetia and Russia have signed the cooperation agreement Signing of the agreement on the academic and scientific cooperation between the federal state budgetary educational institution of higher vocational training of the Moscow State Law Academy named after O.E.Kutafin and the South Ossetian State University named after A.A.Tibilov, has taken place in Tskhinval. At the ceremony a rector of the Moscow State Law Academy Victor Blazheev, a rector of the South Ossetian State University Taymuraz Kokoev and the honorable guests, invited to the action - the RSO presidential candidate, nominated by the political party "Unity" Anatoly Bibilov and director of the Institute of the Eurasian researches Valery Tursunov have noted the positive aspects of expansion of relations and activization of further cooperation between the South Ossetian State University and the Moscow State Law Academy and have wished the students successes in their studies. According to Blazheev, in future the Russian high school intends to render feasible help to the South Ossetian State University in personnel training. Athletes from Tskhinval will perform at the international tournament The South Ossetian athletes have been invited to take part in the annual international tournament on wrestling in memory of the first Ossetian Champion of Europe ElkanTedeev. It has been informed IA "Res" by the coach of the complex children's sports school Vadim Bagaev. "The competition will be held in the village Octyabrskoe (Prigorodny district of North Ossetia – Alania), from 17 to 18 November. They will be attended by the athletes of 1995-1996 birth - Bagaev said. - We are now at the training camp in Vladikavkaz.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line60
__label__cc	0.567948	0.432052	Nutrition and Consumer Sciences Posts Tagged: nutrition security Return to Healthy Living Making the case for fruits and vegetables Why do you love fruits and vegetables? Is it their bright colors? Their many shapes and varieties, the way they can makeover your plate with the seasons? The opportunity to taste local terroir in a very fresh bite of fruit or forkful of salad? Is it more about the juiciness, crunchiness or succulence? Or do you think more about nutrition? About vitamins, micronutrients and fiber, after decades of being encouraged to eat “5 A Day” to be healthy? Is it about that feeling of righteous virtue when you fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables — and know you're earning a gold star for eating right? Basket of fresh fruits and vegetables, ready to wash and slice in Guinea, including mangoes, avocados and okra. (Horticulture Innovation Lab photo by Archie Jarman/UC Davis) The importance of eating fruits and vegetables has been making headlines again recently, with studies refocusing on the concept of “nutrition security” in a changing climate and pushing for an emphasis on nutrient consumption. The EAT-Lancet commission — while mostly garnering headlines in the United States related to reduced meat consumption — also recommended a diet that would require almost every global region to increase its consumption of fruits and vegetables to meet healthy diet goals. But there's another reason to love fruits and vegetables that might not be as obvious. Here's a 30-second video clip of what a young farmer in Uganda had to tell me about vegetables, when I had the chance to meet him last year: “There's no quicker source of getting money in town,” Boaz Otieno explained, when discussing why he chose to farm instead of going to town to find a job. He also talked about the concept that he could grow vegetables like tomatoes on a smaller plot of land and earn as much for those tomatoes as a larger plot of corn or cassava. "You might even grow (tomatoes) twice while the cassava is not yet harvested, so there's a lot of money in horticulture," he said. Otieno is a farmer who was also working as a site coordinator for a research project led by Kate Scow in Uganda, which was supported by the Horticulture Innovation Lab, the USAID-funded research program that I work for at UC Davis. Elizabeth Mitcham, director of the Horticulture Innovation Lab and a UC Cooperative Extension specialist, often talks about the “double-duty impacts” of fruits and vegetables, as these crops can be a tool to achieve two major global goals: improving nutrition and reducing poverty. And it's not just one farmer's opinion that horticultural crops can yield higher incomes. In a white paper about aligning the food system to meet fruit and vegetable dietary needs, the authors pointed out that data from Africa and Asia have shown farmer profits per hectare 3-14 times higher when growing vegetables versus growing rice. The paper also points out that USDA estimates fruits and vegetables account for 23 percent of production value in American agriculture, grown on less than 3 percent of the country's agricultural land. And here in California, fruits and vegetables are a $20 billion industry. A "colorful harvest" at a market in Cambodia, including eggplant, ginger, bittermelon, leafy greens, herbs, mushrooms, peppers and more. (Horticulture Innovation Lab photo by Brenda Dawson/UC Davis) Later this month, the Horticulture Innovation Lab will be hosting a conference in Washington, D.C., focused on making the case for fruits and vegetables with the theme, “Colorful Harvest: From Feeding to Nourishing a Growing World.” The conference will bring together decision makers, international development practitioners, and researchers from universities across the United States, Africa, Asia and Central America to discuss how horticultural innovations can advance global issues of food security, food waste, gender empowerment, youth employment, malnutrition, and poverty reduction. While the conference speakers and participants will be diverse, we're also working to bring farmers' voices — like Otieno's — into the conference with video clips from our partners in Nepal, Honduras, Rwanda and elsewhere, to explain what exactly it is that makes them love fruits and vegetables. Conference info: Colorful Harvest: From Feeding to Nourishing a Growing World (Check the conference webpage for more videos and presentation info after the event.) White paper: Aligning the Food System to Meet Dietary Needs: Fruits and Vegetables More about the Horticulture Innovation Lab Watch a short video clip on what Boaz Otieno likes best about vegetables: https://youtu.be/aEu9BgL9aH4 Still from video with Boaz Otieno speaking outside at a farm. He is a farmer and site coordinator in Kabos, Uganda Posted on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 8:18 AM Author: Brenda Dawson Tags: Beth Mitcham (10), fruits and vegetables (6), Global Food (5), Horticulture CRSP (15), Horticulture Innovation Lab (9), international development (10), Kate Scow (3), nutrition security (2), USAID (3), vegetables (39) Focus Area Tags: Food Mark your calendar for World Food Day events The day for collectively taking action against global hunger is still two months away. But September and October are already shaping up as “world food months,” with a number of events connecting Californians to their food systems and the world's food challenges. World Food Day officially falls on October 16, honoring the establishment of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In the meantime, here are a few worldly UC events to look out for, both online and in person: UC Student Video Challenge calls for student stories The World Food Center at UC Davis is kick-starting the World Food Day spirit of building awareness around solutions for ending hunger. In partnership with the UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute and the UC Global Food Initiative, the Center launched a video contest for students across the 10 UC campuses—including extension offices and health systems—to capture stories on UC research related to food or nutrition security, as defined in the second of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Students can win up to $1,000 and a paid trip to the World Food Prize International Symposium. The deadline is September 7. World Bank and International Year of Pulses Combining World Food Day with the FAO's celebration of pulses for being a sustainable protein source, the agriculture and SecureNutrition groups at the World Bank are teaming up with the World Food Center to host a talk on the role of legumes in nutrition, climate-smart agriculture and serving low-income countries. Douglas Cook, director of the Chickpea Innovation Lab at UC Davis, will deliver the presentation, which will be streamed online as well, on October 6. Talk from recent head of UN World Food Programme Speaking on the need for ensuring the world's neediest receive not only enough food, but the right food, World Prize laureate Catherine Bertini will deliver a public lecture in honor of World Food Day. The World Food Center is hosting Bertini at UC Davis on October 10, also with livestreaming available. The winning submissions for the World Food Day Video Challenge will be showcased ahead of the lecture. (Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis) UC research at World Food Prize Known as the “Borlaug Dialogue,” the World Food Prize International Symposium is the most prestigious gathering in food and agriculture. Beth Mitcham, head of the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis will speak at the symposium, while the World Food Center is again organizing a panel discussion, this time focused on measures of progress for nutrition security and featuring leaders from the FAO, the US Agency for International Development and the International Food Policy Research Institute. In past years, World Food Prize laureates have included researchers from UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. The symposium is held in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 12-14, and will be livestreamed as well. From “Tank” to “Fork” and everything in between While not directly connected to World Food Day, Sacramento's annual Farm-to-Fork celebrations have locals tipping their glasses to the close connection Californians share with the nation's top ag economy. Tastings, farm tours, food drives and street festivals span the month of September. The Farm Tank conference, meanwhile, is partnering with UC Davis and the Farm-to-Fork organizers to expand the foodie dialogue with a list of speakers ranging from corporate chefs to food reporters and UC ANR's chief information officer, Gabe Youtsey. The event also takes place in Sacramento, on September 22. Posted on Monday, August 15, 2016 at 2:14 PM Author: Brad Hooker Tags: Catherine Bertini (1), chickpea (1), FAO (1), Farm Tank (1), Farm-to-Fork (3), nutrition security (2), USAID (3), Video Challenge (1), World Food Center (4), World Food Day (1), World Food Prize (1), World Food Programme (1), Year of Pulses (1)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line62
__label__wiki	0.642488	0.642488	Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy 5219 Weill Hall, 735 S. State Street E-mail: npilkaus[at]umich[dot]edu Biography, Education Natasha Pilkauskas is an assistant professor of public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Pilkauskas’ research broadly focuses on the health, development and wellbeing of low-income families and children. She is particularly interested in the role that private support networks play in helping families make ends meet. Much of her research focuses on the role that grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren. She also examines the effects of economic wellbeing (material hardship, unemployment, poverty) and public policy on families and children. Dr. Pilkauskas received a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a PhD in Social Welfare Policy from Columbia University. She also worked for several years as a policy analyst studying various social policy programs and as a political pollster. Ph.D. Social Welfare Policy, Columbia University, 2012 M.P.P. Public Policy, Harvard University, 2004 B.A. Sociology and Economics, Northwestern University, 1999	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line64
__label__wiki	0.824612	0.824612	277 E. Mill Street On site lot – 40 cars, with 250 car adjacent parking owned by First Methodist Church Total Square Footage Built circa 1868 in the Second Empire style as a family home for an Akron merchant, Andrew Jackson. This highly stylized mansion features large rooms, 12-foot ceilings, historic woodwork, and ample storage, and unique private open space with skylights on the loft level. State-of-the-art Variable Refrigerant HVAC system. ADA compliant. The Andrew Jackson House is located at the corner of East Mill and Union Street in Akron, Ohio, adjacent to the University of Akron campus. The structure is a prominent building in downtown Akron across the street from the historic Hower House. For the past 130 years, The Andrew Jackson House, aka the Odd Fellows Temple, has been an important feature and reminder of Akron’s strength as powerhouse of American industrialism. From 1868 to 1918 it was the residence of two elite Akron business families and from 1918 to 1994 it was the fraternal lodge of the Odd Fellows where its membership was made up of Akron’s most accomplished officials and professionals. The handsome Second Empire style house was constructed between 1868 and 1870 by Andrew Jackson. Jackson was one of the founders of Jackson, Buchtel and Company in 1865, a lumber firm which developed large logging tracts in Michigan. His partner William Buchtel was the brother of John R. Buchtel, the founder of Buchtel College which was the forerunner of the University of Akron. Buchtel remained with Jackson only until 1871, when he organized his own lumber company, and later became an important banker.Jackson was then associated with John H. Hower, the industrialist who built the great Fir Hill Second Empire mansion which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. By 1879 Jackson also became a contractor and builder in addition to dealing in lumber, sash, doors, blinds, etc. At the turn of the century the house was sold to John T. Johnson, general superintendent of Cleveland Terminal and Valley Railroad and of the Akron Division of the B. & O. In 1918, it was then acquired from Johnson by the Akron I.O.O.F. aka The Odd Fellows. Organized in 1845, the Akron lodge had built its own temple on Main Street in 1892. They sold that building and purchased the Jackson-Johnson house in 1918, occupying it in 1919 after extensive renovations that created the great meeting room and other large open meeting spaces and office rooms. Among the original incorporators of the Odd Fellows were A.C. Buchtel, Clerk of Common Pleas Court and I.O.O.F. Grand Master of Ohio, and James Corey, Chairman of the Republican Party of Summit County. The membership of the Odd Fellows has included the most important city officials and experts in all professions in the life of Akron. The Jackson House has been acquired by The Chesler Group, Inc. in 2007 and will be renovated again for another important Akron organization. Sold in 2015. Read MoreCollapse Reviving a Relic Properties Magazine Victorian Home Lovingly Restored into Office Space Akron Beacon Journal 813 below	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line65
__label__wiki	0.523611	0.523611	Matchmaking Update We’re addressing several matchmaking issues, including the Hero Power gap between veteran and new players, SEA/Oceanic lag and matchmaking imbalances between the Keepers and the Imperium (which should also address the poor rating balance currently seen in the game). First, we’re increasing the power gain on Yellow and Green talents in a future update. Yellow and Green talents will now give players more points to the Hero Power rating, allowing new players to obtain Green and Blue level heroes faster than before. This will help decrease the power gap between new and veteran players. As a side effect, this will also make farming the Green Challenge more worthwhile for new players and speed up their preparation for the Blue Challenge. Next, we’re offering Imperium clans the opportunity to transfer to the Keepers side free of charge. This is a first-come, first-serve offer, and it’s only available for 2 high-ranking clans (1500+ rating) and 2 mid-ranking clans (1300-1500). This should even out the ranks on both sides of the game, which will hopefully allow our matchmaking system to find more appropriate matches for our players. If you're a clan leader and you are interested in making the move, send a PM to Iamisom on the forums. In addition to balance, we’ve received reports of increased lag from our SEA/Oceanic players. We are going to implement priority matchmaking for these players, which will group them together and place them on the nearest server. We’re also monitoring the situation with our new EU server. If you’re an EU player and you’ve been experiencing lag, please give us your logs in this thread. Some of our players want Prime World to have a perfectly balanced, 1:1 matchmaking system, where players not only have equal ratings but also the same level of development (including hero levels and talents power). While we are working hard on lowering the gap between the rating of the teams being matched, our game does not take into account your level of development. There are two reasons for this: 1. Prime World is an RPG/MOBA hybrid with persistent progression, which means that the longer you play the game and the longer you work on your heroes, the better results you should have. 2. While rating is a universal measure of your overall performance, which ultimately includes every possible factor in it, having more than one factor added to the matchmaking system, where at least one of them can be easily controlled by a user, will lead to a situation where some players intentionally lower it in order to get matched with less experienced players. Not only does this contradict the core idea of a persistent RPG game, but it also creates a potentially abusive situation when players intentionally get matched with less experienced players. Our RU version was originally designed in this manner, and we had to change it. When it comes to matchmaking balance, these are the biggest factors to consider from most important to least important: 1) Rating: This is the best factor to determine if a match is balanced or not. Our rating system takes into account a player’s skill, hero power and win/loss ratio. Our rating system also has a boost for lower-ranked heroes. If you see a blue/purple hero with a low rating, they might have a strong hero, but their win/loss ratio is incredibly low. 2) Hero Power: Hero Power grants additional stats per color bracket, and it’s a good indicator of how many rare talents a hero may have. If you enter a match where the majority of players are in the same hero power bracket or off by one color, this should not have as big of an impact on the outcome of the game as your skill and rating. For reference, the Hero Power scale from lowest to highest is Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple and Orange. (Orange is currently disabled in the EN version.) 3) Hero Level: This is the least important factor in determining if a match is balanced or not. At the max hero level of 25, a hero has 48 more stat points than a hero at level 1. These 48 stat points are applied slowly throughout a match. These are not given to a player at the beginning of a match. To put this in perspective, 2 stat points in agility equals .01 more agility, so at the end of a match, that hero will have .24 more agility than a level one hero. We’ll continue to develop new systems to improve our matchmaking balance, and as our population continues to grow, these issues will decrease. Prime World will launch on more platforms in the near future, and we’ll continue to advertise and promote the game. Thank you for being patient and for providing a wealth of feedback on our issues.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line67
__label__cc	0.728133	0.271867	The experiences of secondary school students with English as an additional language: perceptions, priorities and pedagogy This paper reports on the experiences of secondary school students who study through the medium of English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the UK. Through interview, focus group and classroom observation data, and drawing on the perceptions of both students and teachers in two case-study schools, it examines the relationship between language, access to the school curriculum, and students' identities. In a globalized and multilingual world, where children with a migration background constitute over 12 per cent of the world's school population, the report has implications for practitioners and other stakeholders in the field working in the UK and also internationally, in English Medium of Instruction (EMI) environments. This publication is free to download in pdf format below. Resource books (107) ELT research awards (5) ELTRA guidelines (1) ELTRA FAQs (1) ELTRA winners (3) ELT Masters dissertations (8) Milestone publications (59) History of assessment (3)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line68
__label__wiki	0.861811	0.861811	Enviroshop – About Magazine Dedicated To People, The Planet, and All Its Inhabitants – Since 1996 Animal Rights & Environment World Wildlife Fund The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The African Conservation Foundation The Humane Society of the United States Fund For Animals Rainforest Action Network Environmental Defense Social & Civil Issues Independent Thoughts By Dennis Ezra Speaks Don Ogden House Flips with Historic Victories for HRC-Backed, Pro-Equality Candidates Nationwide November 9, 2018 HRC staff Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues HRC celebrated historic victories for HRC-endorsed LGBTQ candidates and pro-equality allies in key races across the nation. Dozens of HRC-backed candidates declared victory, following 18 months of unprecedented engagement and voter mobilization in more than 70 congressional races and key state-level races from governor to state legislature in 23 states from coast-to-coast. In the summer of 2017, the Human Rights Campaign launched HRC Rising, the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history. Since then, HRC has endorsed more than 480 pro-equality candidates nationwide, and deployed 150 staff to organize and mobilize voters in more than 70 congressional, targeted senate and key statewide races across 23 states. HRC also backed more women and people of color than in any election cycle in its history: 45 percent of HRC’s endorsees were women — including 55 percent of non-incumbent candidates — and nearly one-third were people of color. A record number of LGBTQ lawmakers were elected at all levels. Notably, Senator Tammy Baldwin was re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor in the United States. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, the first LGBTQ governor in history, was re-elected. Sharice Davids became the first gay Native American lawmaker in Congress. And a record number of out LGBTQ candidates were elected and re-elected to the U.S. Congress. HRC helped register more than 32,000 voters and recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 8,500 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors, and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates. Since June, HRC President Chad Griffin has barnstormed the country campaigning for 50 pro-equality candidates at more than 70 events in 47 cities across 23 states. “Tonight, millions of LGBTQ voters and allies across the nation rejected the politics of hate and fear and put Donald Trump and Mike Pence on notice,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The days of attacking LGBTQ people for political gain are over, and the American people will not stand for lawmakers who try to drum up votes by trafficking in hate. Thanks to millions of Americans who stood up and fought back, we have succeeded in restoring a sane, pro-equality majority to the House and placing a check on this administration’s hateful agenda. To the 3 million members of the Human Rights Campaign who have worked tirelessly for the last 18 months to out-organize and out-mobilize anti-LGBTQ extremists nationwide, thank you for making history tonight. Together we have sent a loud and clear message that if you come for us, then we will come for you on Election Day.” HRC’s unprecedented grassroots mobilization represented an investment of approximately $26 million to recruit volunteers, mobilize constituents, register voters and grow the organization’s grassroots army in an all-out effort to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable. HRC’s Equality Votes PAC spent $3.2 million to drive turnout through direct mail and digital ads in priority races including Senator Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Kyrsten Sinema, Harley Rouda, Mike Levin, and Representatives-elect Sharice Davids and Angie Craig. HRC also invested in six-figure GOTV ads in Georgia and Florida. Through tested digital ads, HRC was able to reach a total of 4.6 million voters across priority races. We also celebrate a historic victory in Massachusetts where voters upheld non-discrimination protections for transgender people in public spaces. Question 3 – which asked voters whether to maintain a 2016 law protecting transgender people from discrimination in critical public accommodations including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, stores and public transportation – was the first time gender identity non-discrimination protections were on a statewide ballot independent of protections based on sexual orientation. HRC serves as a founding executive committee member of Freedom for All Massachusetts, a coalition of national and state equal rights organizations, which led the successful Yes on 3 Campaign. Over the last two years, the Trump-Pence administration has relentlessly attacked the LGBTQ community, from a “license-to-discriminate” executive order to revoking protections for transgender students to unconscionably attempting to ban brave transgender troops from serving openly. Within the last two weeks, the New York Times reported that the administration was secretly planning to redefine “sex” to exclude transgender people in an intentional effort to eliminate federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. A list of the administration’s attacks over the last two years can be found here. Enviroshop is maintained by dedicated NetSys Interactive Inc. owners & employees who generously contribute their time to maintenance & editing, web design, custom programming, & website hosting for Enviroshop. Previous Post:Historic wins for farm animals in California, greyhounds in Florida Next Post:Voters Put a Check on the Reckless Policies of the Trump Administration nineteen − eight =	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line69
__label__cc	0.644293	0.355707	Vegetarians Short on Life-Altering Vitamin by Ralph Green Queens Ledger Dec 18, 2018 \| 3851 views \| 0 \| 371 \| \| More and more Americans are converting to vegetarianism and veganism. The number of vegans increased by 600 percent between 2014 and 2017. More than 7 million Americans are now vegetarian. Predominantly plant-based diets have benefits, but they can also cause underappreciated health problems. The reason? Those who avoid animal food products often do not get enough B-12, the much-needed vitamin found in animal products that helps build red blood cells, repair DNA, and protect the brain. That could be dangerous. Whether through more animal foods, including eggs and dairy, or a dietary supplement, Americans must ensure they get enough of this micronutrient. Most vegans (folks who don't eat animal products) and vegetarians (people who don't eat red meat, seafood, or poultry) are short on B-12. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found nine in 10 vegans had below-normal levels of B-12. Vegetarians fare a bit better thanks to dairy and eggs, but they also fall short. About 55 percent of children on a vegetarian diet have inadequate B-12 levels, according to a study. As a physician scientist who has dedicated the past 50 years of my professional career to studying vitamin B-12, I know that B-12 deficiency can have serious health repercussions. The symptoms start slowly, with indicators like fatigue, mood changes, and pale skin. But these can escalate to issues like vision loss, imbalance, and paralysis. B-12 deficiency is also known to raise the risk of developing depression, dementia, and even cancer. The nutrient is also critical for normal intrauterine development. Babies who don't receive enough B-12 in the womb could develop a dangerous defect. Indeed, expectant mothers with B-12 deficiency are up to five times more likely to have a child with a potentially disabling or fatal birth defect. A new Harvard study reports that the children of women given B-12 supplements during pregnancy and in the weeks immediately after birth score higher on expressive language tests at age two. Children also need B-12 for their proper development. Kids short on B-12 can face problems with digestion and growth. Such deficiencies have even been linked to neurological and behavioral disorders. Getting enough B-12 isn't difficult with a proper diet or supplements, if necessary. The recommended daily dose for most adults is 2.4 micrograms per day; pregnant women and nursing moms need a touch more. To put that in context, there are about 1.3 micrograms of B-12 in a serving of steak, 1 in an eight-ounce glass of milk, and 0.5 in one egg. Thus, getting enough B-12 is relatively easy for people who eat from these food groups. Those on plant-based diets, especially if pregnant or nursing, need to pay particularly close attention to their B-12 intake. Fortunately, B-12 supplements are safe and generally inexpensive. So long as the stomach and intestines are functioning normally, a relatively small daily supplement will suffice, with 50, 20, even 10 micrograms being sufficient. People with absorption problems may require higher doses, typically between 500 -1000 micrograms daily, or regular injections of B-12. Vegetarians and vegans aren't the only ones at risk of B-12 deficiencies. The elderly, folks who take heartburn medications to reduce stomach acid, patients with celiac or Crohn's disease, and even people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery for obesity are also vulnerable. Also, increased intake of folic acid, through supplement use as well as from its addition to grains and cereals, poses an added risk to people with low B-12 levels. B-12 is extremely important. Whether by adding enough scrambled eggs and milk to their diets - or taking a supplement - people must ensure they're getting enough of it. Dr. Ralph Green is a research scientist at the University of California.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line77
__label__wiki	0.837881	0.837881	The Dick Cavett Show: 'And That's The Way It Is...' DVD Review These interviews are more engaging conversations than entertaining spectacles but they are certain to please news junkies and history aficionados. By Gordon S. Miller on June 30, 2019 9:43 PM \| The Dick Cavett Show was a talk show that aired on different TV channels, broadcast and cable, from 1968 to 1996. S'More Entertainment is releasing The Dick Cavett Show on DVD, gathering episodes together under themes. “And That's The Way It Is...” showcases great newscasters of the 20th Century, in case the famous sign-off from Walter Cronkite didn't give it away. Released on December 18, 2018, “And That's The Way It Is...” Disc 1 presents Walter Cronkite from May 16, 1974 on ABC for a 90-minute wide world special and March 24, 1982 on PBS, and Mike Wallace from June 30, 1970 on ABC and March 18, 1986 on USA Network. Disc 2 presents Barbara Walters from October 15, 1970 on ABC; 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt with contributors Morley Safer and Diane Sawyer from November 18, 1985 on USA Network; and Tom Brokaw from May 29, 1989 and Dan Rather from October 26, 1991 on CNBC. For the '74 interview, Cronkite is interviewed at his summer home in Cape Cod where Jaws was being filmed nearby. Interesting to hear his thoughts on his love of sailing, marijuana legalization, Watergate, the news media, and what goes into a nightly news broadcast. His wife Betsy joins them for the last two segments of the interview. The mics are huge and worn around their neck. The '82 interview occurs after he had stepped down from the CBS Nightly News and offers his thoughts on the current state and future of the TV-news business. The quality of the video during the introduction is poor but is fine during the interview portion. 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace's '70 interview finds him joining comedian Robert Klein and TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the founders of Sesame Workshop. After 12 minutes, FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson is the next guest and talks about the increasing power of television on politics. Wallace and the guests interact more with Johnson than Cavett does. The '86 interview finds Wallace promoting the paperback version of Close Encounters, which dealt with his famous interviews. Running only 18 minutes, it's a much more intimate discussion and he talks about his depression and the death of his son. Barbara Walters, at that time, worked on The Today Show, and was promoting her book, How to Talk with Practically Anybody about Practically Anything. Actor Gig Young was already on the set. After 17 minutes, actor Melvyn Douglas joined them promoting I Never Sang for My Father, and then six minutes later, ABC news anchorman Frank Reynolds, who doesn't care for dirty political campaigning, especially on television. A couple of vintage PSAs have been left in the show. The episode with 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt and correspondents Morley Safer and Diane Sawyer starts with Teddy Ruxpin and its manufacturer Don Kingsboro for about eight minutes. The technology is fascinating, but Cavett is so ill-informed his questions are silly. Hewitt appears by himself until the last 12 minutes when he is surprised by Safer and Sawyer. Tom Brokaw was anchorman of the NBC Nightly News and talked about the state of the news business. Dan Rather was anchorman of the CBS Nightly News and had recently written his memoir, I Remember so it's a more personal discussion. Interesting in our current climate to hear them talk about whether a reporter will ever say to a President that he lied. Rather says it won't happen in his lifetime. Would like to check in with the men now. And that's the way “And That's The Way It Is...” is. These interviews are more engaging conversations than entertaining spectacles but they are certain to please news junkies and history aficionados. It's especially interesting to hear concerns some guests had about the news business and the power of television and how accurate they proved to be. Review, 60 minutes, barbara walters, dan rather, diane sawyer, dick cavett, mike wallace, talk show, the dick cavett show, tom brokaw, Warner Bros Home Entertainment Announces SDCC 2019 Premieres, Panels, and More Midsommar Movie Review: A Luminous Hellscape The Illusionist (2006) Blu-ray Review: Full of Tricks and Treats Matinee (1993) Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review: Joe Dante's Love Letter to B-movies Shout! Factory Unveils Its Anime Expo 2019 Lineup Spider-Man: Far From Home Movie Review: Living in a Post-Endgame World Dances with Wolves Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review: An Enjoyable, Albeit Unsurprising, Western Book Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Terra Incognita by Tipton, Tipton, Shasteen, Hernandez, Nieto Leon Morin, Priest is the Pick of the Week Glory Ticket Giveaway Movie Recon Panel Preview Five Cool Things and T & A Cataloging the Doctor A Fellowship of Misfits: Dispatches from the Con Star Trek: All Our Articles Operation: BOND 30-Day Film Challenge Snob Seven The Saturday Public Domain Movie Sentries vs. Apes Tarantinology Harry Potter and the Sentries of Cinema Kristen's Book Club The Morris Menagerie The Fast and the Curious Mondo Bastardo Arrow Video Concert Performance ©2019 Cinema Sentries \| Topics \| Contributors \| Blinded By Sound	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line80
__label__wiki	0.673141	0.673141	Political Leaders of the Chickasaws, 1830s-1987 The map above is Indian Territory, 1885. (Click on the map for a much larger view). The Chickasaw Nation was located in what is now South-Central Oklahoma. The following is a chronological list of the Chiefs and Governors of the Chickasaw Nation, followed by a brief discussion, with notes, and set of questions I still have. (The numbers in parentheses indicate pertinent collections in the Western History Collections at OU, according to the printed guide by Kristina Southwell). I welcome your comments and ideas: Era of the Chiefs ??-1839 George Colbert, Chickasaw Chief ??-1840s Ishtehotopa, "king" of the Chickasaw 1844-46 Isaac Alberson, Chickasaw Chief 1846-48 James McLaughlin, Chickasaw Chief 1848-50 Edmund Pickens, Chickasaw Chief 1850-56 Daugherty Colbert, Chickasaw Chief 1856-58 Cyrus Harris (635, 698) 1858-60 Daugherty Winchester Colbert (317) 1860-62 Cyrus Harris 1862-64 Daugherty Winchester Colbert 1870-71 W. P. Brown 1871-72 Thomas J. Parker (1185) 1874-76 Benjamin Franklin Overton (1174) 1876-78 Benjamin Franklin Overton 1878-80 Benjamin Crooks Burney (200) 1881 Hickeyubbee, acting governor 1884-86 Jonas Wolf (1643) 1886-88 William M. Guy (604) 1888-90 William Leander Byrd (213) 1890-92 William Leander Byrd 1892-94 Jonas Wolf 1894 Tecumseh A. McClure, acting governor (959) 1894-96 Palmer Mosely (1054) 1896-98 Robert Maxwell Harris (639) 1898-00 Douglas Henry Johnston (698, 790, 898) 1900-02 Douglas Henry Johnston 1902-04 Palmer Mosely 1906 Peter Maytubby (Though elected in 1906, he never took office) 1939-63 Floyd Maytubby 1963 E. B. "Hugh" Maytubby 1963-87 Overton James As Muriel H. Wright explains, Though Ishtehotopa was the "king" of the Chickasaw until his death in the late eighteen forties, the treaty of Doaksville was signed by the Chickasaw chief, George Colbert, who served as such until his death in 1839. Under provisions of this treaty, Chickasaw district chiefs were elected, but were not always in regular attendance at the annual sessions of the Choctaw General Council.[1] In 1855, the Chickasaws finally established a greater political separation from their brother tribe, the Choctaws. In the years that followed, early electoral contests among the Chickasaws did not feature political parties as such. However, according to Arrell M. Gibson, in the years that followed the Civil War, "two principle partisan associations" emerged. Eventually, these came to be called the National party, typically supported by "full bloods," and the Progressive party, typically supported by "mixed bloods."[2] Prior to the 1880s, the two parties agreed that "preserving the Chickasaw way of life and protecting tribal property" were central goals.[3] The main differences between to the two parties revolved around questions of political and legal strategy. But, again according to Gibson, by the mid-1880s, that unity began to dissolve. As he explains, The full bloods became aroused at the pervasive changes occurring in their nation--rapid economic development dominated by outsiders, growth of the non-Indian community, and appropriation of vast tracts of the tribal domain by mixed bloods and non-citizens to form towns, farms, and ranches. The full bloods reacted by committing their National party to a program of checking railroad expansion, turning back the tide of immigration, purging their government of "white" Indian (the intermarried citizen) influence, and generally preserving the surviving old ways.[4] Thus, a political scene developed in which the tribal traditionalists of the National party advanced what they called a "pullback program," while members of the Progressive party advanced what looked like inevitable change, the "modernization" of the tribe.[5] Strong feelings and radical action characterized the political battle that ensued. The tension came to a head in the governor's race of 1886. That year, William L. Byrd, a mixed blood who nonetheless supported the position of the full bloods, was the National party's candidate for governor. His opponent, the Progressive party candidate, was William M. Guy. Voting was so evenly divided, officials found it impossible to declare a winner. This required the legislature to decide the outcome. They were about as divided as their constituents. Guy prevailed by a single vote. True to the Progressive platform, Governor Guy negotiated a plan that permitted the Santa Fe railway to construct a line through the Chickasaw Nation. To supporters of the National party, this amounted to sacrilege. In an attempt to gain control of the executive branch, in 1888, Byrd ran against Guy a second time. That election turned out to be even more contentious than the race two years before. Once the votes were tallied, officials declared Guy the victor. Dissatisfied, leaders of the National party challenged the count in certain precincts. After investigating the matter, the Chickasaw legislature rejected a significant number of ballots, and named Byrd the winner. At that juncture, Sam Paul, head of the Chickasaw light horse police and a Guy supporter, marched his men on the capital and ordered the legislature to reconsider. That body retracted its verdict, Byrd and his supporters quietly departed Tishomingo, and Guy ostensibly became the accepted chief executive. But as soon as the light horse evacuated Tishomingo, the National party returned, took control of the government, and installed Byrd as governor.[6] "Reported Assassination of W. M. Guy," a newspaper story published on November 15, 1888, reveals just how serious these events were: Chickasaw Troubles.--The reported assassination of Governor Guy in the Chickasaw nation is disputed, but the latest information is to the effect that the attempt so aroused his friends that over 300 of them, heavily armed, gathered at Tishomingo Monday to protect him. Bird [sic], with 200 armed men is also in camp near the capital, and unless the United States interfere it was thought a battle would occur Tuesday night. It is said Guy's forces would number 700, the non-citizens having espoused his case against the Byrd party.[7] This episode set the tone for the remaining years of the Chickasaw Nation prior to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. Mistrust, rancor, and division ruled the last two decades. A side note: As the list indicates, Peter Maytubby was elected governor in 1906, yet never took office. Muriel Wright explains that this was the case because "Congress, on April 26, 1906, provided for the continuance of the 'present tribal governments'." For this reason, Douglas H. Johnston remained in office.[8] [1] Muriel H. Wright, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1951), 96. [2] Arrell M. Gibson, The Chickasaws (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971), 298. [6] Ibid., 299. [7] This article appeared in Indian Chieftain, published from Vinita, I. T., November 15, 1888. A typescript is located in the University of Oklahoma's Western History Collections, William M. Guy Collection, folder 9. [8] Wright, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, 95. What were the circumstances under which Hickeyubbee served as acting governor in 1881? What were the circumstances under which T. A. McClure served as acting governor in 1894? Additional Bibliography "Past Governors" https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History/Past-Governors.aspx Meserve, John Bartlett. "Governor William Leander Byrd." Chronicles of Oklahoma 12, no. 4 (December 1934): 432-33. Posted by Frank Bellizzi at 9:30 AM Labels: Arrell M. Gibson, Chickasaw Indians, Chickasaw Nation, governors, Muriel H. Wright, political history	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line85
__label__wiki	0.977712	0.977712	Sir Peter Hayman, British diplomat, knighted MI6 operative and alleged pedophile via Wikipedia: In November 1937 he joined the Home Office as an Assistant Principal. In World War II he served in the Rifle Brigade from 1942 to 1945, rising to the rank of Major.[1] Hayman was director general of the British Information Services in New York[4] (1961–64) and then deputy commandant of the British military government in West Berlin from 1964 to 1966. He returned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, becoming Deputy Under Secretary of State with responsibility for the United Nations and Eastern Europe from 1969 to 1970.[1] Then, from 1970 to 1974, he served as High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Canada. The Independent stated in his obituary that he started a commercial career in 1974, upon retirement at age 60.[3] However The Guardian reported in 2014 that he later served in the intelligence services, and was "long-time deputy director of MI6".[5] The Daily Telegraph characterized him as an "MI6 operative".[6] In October 1978, Hayman left a package of paedophilia-related materials on a London bus. The police traced the package and discovered that under the pseudonym "Peter Henderson", Hayman had used an apartment in Bayswater, London, to conduct obscene correspondence. In the apartment, police found 45 diaries describing six years of "sexual fantasies" concerning children and activities with prostitutes, articles of female clothing and obscene literature. He was investigated by police but released without charge after being given a warning not to send obscene material through the mail.[7][8] In 1981, Private Eye magazine revealed this event. Then, using parliamentary privilege, MP Geoffrey Dickens asked why Hayman had not been prosecuted.[9][10] The Attorney General's reply indicated that while Hayman had been found to have received pornographic material through the post, it was not of an extreme nature, was non-commercial and in a sealed envelope, so did not warrant prosecution.[11] In April 1981 Sir Michael Havers, the Attorney General, said in parliament that while Hayman was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, he was never a member of the executive committee, so was not prosecuted as others were for publishing contact advertisements.[12][13] In 1984, Hayman was convicted for an act of gross indecency in a public lavatory.[1][9] Later, on 29 November 1985, Dickens complained in the House of Commons that he had suffered harassment following his naming of Hayman. "The noose around my neck grew tighter after I named a former high-flying British diplomat on the Floor of the House. Honourable Members will understand that where big money is involved and as important names came into my possession so the threats began. First, I received threatening telephone calls followed by two burglaries at my London home. Then, more seriously, my name appeared on a multi-killer's hit list."[14] The Independent newspaper in February 2013 could find no corroboration for Dickens' claims in 1985.[14] 1. "Obituary: Sir Peter Hayman". The Times (London). 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 2. "Ex-envoy tied to child porn". The Spokesman-Review. 19 March 1981. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 3. Denis Greenhill (11 April 1992). "Obituary: Sir Peter Hayman". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 4. Geoffrey T. Hellman (3 February 1962). "Information Chief". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 5. Muir, Hugh (25 February 2014). "Diary: Don't count on IDS. Figures just aren't his thing". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2014. 6. Philip Johnston (4 July 2014). "Child abuse files were dismissed as fantasies of a deluded man". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2014. 7. "Briton's friends shocked by pedophilia accusation". The Montreal Gazette. 19 March 1981. Retrieved 29 December 2013. 8. "The double life of sex case diplomat". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 March 1981. Retrieved 3 July 2014. 9. "OBITUARIES Geoffrey Dickens". Independent. 18 May 1995. Retrieved 23 February 2013. 10. Mark Dowdey (18 March 1981). "MP defies porn case plea". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 11. "Text of MP's questions on envoy and replies be Ministers". The Guardian. 20 March 1981. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 12. "Why Sir Peter Hayman was not named". The Times (London). 7 April 1981. Retrieved 2 July 2014. "through his membership of PIE or otherwise" 13. Colin Brown (7 April 1981). "Havers denies special treatment for Hayman". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2014. "Sir Peter was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange" 14. "Tory MP warned of powerful paedophile ring 30 years ago". Independent. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013. also related, via Yournewswire.com: A teenage boy working at Buckingham Palace revealed he was groomed and sexually abused by a VIP paedophile ring there. The lad was also assaulted at the Royal Family’s Scottish retreat Balmoral, according to shocking Home Office files, reports the Sunday People. The boy who was 16 at the time, told how he was the victim of “exploitation of the highest order” – the claims could now be the subject of a police investigation. The boy who was 16 at the time, told how he was the victim of “exploitation of the highest order” – the claims could now be the subject of a police investigation. In a heartbreaking note, the boy – then just 16 – told how he was the victim of “exploitation of the highest order”. The chilling claims could now be the subject of a police investigation into historic allegations of child sex abuse in the 1970s and 80s – linked to MPs and powerful figures. The disturbing account was passed directly to the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan but he ruled it was “not practical” to investigate. Campaigning Labour MP Tom Watson said: “I’m sure the Palace will want to co-operate with any inquiry.” A Palace spokesman said: “The Royal Household takes any allegation of this nature seriously and would act to address any specific allegations or investigate specific information.” The Sunday People and the investigations website Exaro have established that the Home Office file contains evidence of a letter written by the boy’s mother. Labels: British Royal Family, child sex trafficking, entrapment, MI6, MK Ultra, Monarch programming, Operation Fernbridge, organized crime, Peter Hayman Former Surrey Comet news editor gagged over reporting of alleged paedophile ring via The Guardian: A former Surrey Comet news editor was gagged by the Government over the reporting of an alleged Westminster paedophile ring operating out of Elm Guest House in Barnes. Hilton Tims, 82, the paper’s news editor between 1980 and 1988, revealed at the weekend he had been handed a D-notice preventing the reporting of sex allegations in 1984. Elm Guest House, in Rocks Lane, is at the centre of the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Fernbridge, which is investigating claims of sexual abuse and grooming of children by Government ministers, MPs and senior police officers in the late 1970s and early 80s. Mr Tims, the husband of Surrey Comet features editor June Sampson, told the Observer newspaper the Comet had been censored after receiving a tip-off about alleged sexual abuse at the guest house. Mr Tims told the Comet today: “I referred it to David Wilson, who was the editor at the time. “All I know is that we were making some enquiries because we had a tip off and as soon as they got wind – there were too many top ministers involved so they shut us up. “I was not even sure what a D-notice was in those days but we had to drop it altogether. “If they slapped you with a D-notice – it came from the Government, you could not pursue that line of enquiry at all.” This month the Metropolitan Police said a new inquiry had began into the guest house after an alleged victim claimed he saw three boys murdered, including one allegedly strangled by a Conservative MP during a sex game. North Kingston MP Zac Goldsmith said last week: “I have zero doubt that grotesque things happened at Elm Guest House and other parts of London at the hands of depraved and powerful people, and those things were systematically covered up.” Mr Goldsmith has secured a debate in Parliament on Thursday, November 27, about the progress of the historic child sex abuse inquiry. Security services are also facing questions about a possible cover-up after officical documents relating to gagging orders in the 1980s were said to be destroyed. Labels: child sex trafficking, Elm guest house, Monarch programming, Operation Fernbridge Vatican Paedophilia Scandal: Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski Stored Over 100,000 Child Porn Videos via International Business Times: A former Vatican archbishop accused of paedophilia stored tens of thousands of child porn videos and photos on a computer in his office at the Holy See diplomatic compound in the Dominican Republic, it has emerged. Details of Jozef Wesolowski's massive child porn stash have been revealed after the 66-year-old was arrested at the Vatican earlier this week.,,The probe reportedly revealed a collection of horrors. The Polish native held more than 100,000 sexually-explicit files, Il Corriere della Sera newspaper reported...Some 160 videos showing teenage boys forced to perform sexual acts on themselves and on adults and more than 86,000 pornographic photos were meticulously archived in several category-based folders, the paper said. Investigators said that at least another 45,000 pictures were deleted, while a second stash of material was found on a laptop Wesolowski used during his trips abroad...Investigators are also probing whether there was a network of people who helped him to set up sexual encounters and if he committed other abuse during his previous posts around the world. Before arriving in Santo Domingo, Wesolowski served as apostolic nuncio in Bolivia and Central Asia - covering Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kirghizstan and Uzbekistan - after holding less prominent roles in Southern African, Costa Rica, Japan, Switzerland, India and Denmark. He was recalled to Rome last year, after Dominican Republic media alleged he hired "rent boys" and was subsequently banished from the clergy, after a canonical court found him guilty of sex abuse. Three mysterious deaths on properties of British Royal Family via NBC: A murder mystery with elements of an Agatha Christie whodunit is unfolding at the vast country estate where Queen Elizabeth II and her family gathered in rural splendor to celebrate Christmas and New Year's. British police said that a young woman's body was found in the forest at Sandringham and that they are treating it as a murder case. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday, but the precise cause of death was not disclosed, and investigators have yet to establish the woman's identity...Police said a forensic pathologist found that it was highly unlikely the death was of natural causes and that there was no evidence of accidental injury. Investigators hoped to use DNA to identify the woman. The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, celebrated the holidays at Sandringham with their children and grandchildren. The royal couple were still at Sandringham on Tuesday, along with their youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie. The royal family owns vast tracts of land throughout Britain, and it is not unprecedented for serious crimes to be committed on property under their control. In 2010, the body of a 46-year-old woman was found on the crown estate near Windsor Castle. She had apparently been killed by hammer blows to her head. Her estranged husband was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Last March, the body of an American with a royal obsession was found on an island in the park opposite Buckingham Palace. Authorities said Robert James Moore, who had sent rambling letters and strange packages to the queen, may have been dead for as much as three years. The cause of death was not determined. Now Sandringham, which has served as a private residence for British monarchs since 1862, has been touched as well. Sandringham has long been one of the queen's favorite residences, especially during the holidays... Buckingham Palace officials are staying mum about the murder case. Police are keeping many details confidential as they try to develop leads. "I cannot confirm whether she was clothed because, at the moment, only my staff, the person who found the body and the person or people who put it there know that, and I would like it to stay that way," Fry said. Labels: British Royal Family, organized crime Retired Scotland Yard detectives back up claims that paedo MPs murdered boys via Yournewswire: Former officers first investigated the allegations more than 30 years ago – and they have now provided testimony to Scotland Yard’s new probe. The two ex-officers have provided written statements to current investigating officers. Further testimony from the two officers also links Jimmy Savile to the Westminster paedophile ring. The Mirror reports: Paedophile politicians at Westminster murdered young boys at sex orgies, say two former Scotland Yard detectives, writes Mark Conrad and Keir Mudie in the Sunday People. The retired officers who first investigated the allegations more than 30 years ago have provided explosive testimony to the Yard’s new probe. Former officers first investigated the allegations more than 30 years ago – and they have now provided testimony to Scotland Yard’s new probe. The two ex-officers have provided written statements to current investigating officers. Further testimony from the two officers also links Jimmy Savile to the Westminster paedophile ring. The Mirror reports: Paedophile politicians at Westminster murdered young boys at sex orgies, say two former Scotland Yard detectives, writes Mark Conrad and Keir Mudie in the Sunday People. The retired officers who first investigated the allegations more than 30 years ago have provided explosive testimony to the Yard’s new probe. The pair have made written statements to the Met Police about the VIP network which they claim was known as The Untouchables because they were too powerful to bring to justice. It is believed the ex-cops – one of them Special Branch – told the current inquiry that they were ordered NOT to investigate the group. Their dramatic new evidence appears to corroborate claims by a victim known as Nick that he witnessed a young boy being murdered by an MP. The former Special Branch officer told police: “There was a significant paedophile group in Parliament who were untouchable to the police.” The two former policemen came forward at the same time to present their shocking new claims before the Met announced they had launched a homicide investigation. The statement from the Yard was a significant development in the scandal which threatens to expose murders and child abuse at the heart of Government. Last week the Sunday People and the Exaro investigation website revealed that detectives from the Met Police’s paedophile unit had already received chilling testimony from a witness who says he saw an MP kill a boy in front of him. The evidence from the two ex-policemen seems to lend weight to Nick’s shocking testimony. Campaigning Labour MP Tom Watson, who has led calls for a full-scale inquiry, said yesterday: “These allegations show the investigation is gathering even more momentum. “These are serious allegations that cannot be ignored. It is not only witnesses who are coming forward – it’s police as well. “I would urge any other officers from the time to come forward to the Met and give their evidence. “They may have been reticent in the past but now is the time to share their experiences. With their help, we may finally be able to uncover terrible injustices.” The two policemen have alleged to detectives from Operation Fairbank – set up to investigate historical child abuse – about the existence of the sinister group. They said their efforts to expose an evil network at the heart of the Establishment were thwarted. The two officers have also provided information about the identities of VIP members of the paedophile ring. Among their claims is new information about disgraced former MP Cyril Smith. The new testimony backs up the Sunday People’s reports earlier this year that Smith, who died four years ago aged 82, was linked to a wider network. We revealed the Rochdale MP was a regular visitor to the infamous Elm Guest House in south-west London. Now the two former officers have told police that Smith was part of the gang of “Untouchables” they were not allowed to investigate. Further testimony from the two officers also links Jimmy Savile to the Westminster paedophile ring. The BBC star presenter was unmasked as a serial child-sex pervert after hundreds of victims came forward following his death at the age of 84 in 2011. But this is the first time testimony has surfaced linking Savile to Establishment paedophiles. Labels: child sex trafficking, Jimmy Savile, Operation Fernbridge ‘Westminster pedophile ring may have murdered my 8yo son’ – ex-magistrate via RT: The father of an eight-year-old boy who died in the 1980s has alleged that his son may have been abducted and murdered by members of a Westminster pedophile ring. He claims Scotland Yard were complicit in “covering up” the crime. Vishambar Mehrotra, a retired magistrate, said he recorded a male prostitute saying in a telephone call that Mehrotra’s son Vishal may have been abducted in the notorious Elm Guest House in southwest London in 1981. Mehrotra also said despite playing the recording for police officers, they refused to investigate allegations that high-profile judges and politicians were involved in the kidnapping of his son. Vishal Mehrotra was abducted as he walked home in Putney after watching the wedding procession of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in July 1981. According to newspaper reports at the time, Mehrotra’s home was less than a mile from the Elm Guest House, where witnesses said a “kings and queens” party was being hosted. According to Mehrotra, he received a phone call from the unidentified male prostitute months after the disappearance of his son. The prostitute said Vishal had been abducted by “highly placed” pedophiles operating from the guest house. Part of Vishal’s skeleton was found in 1982 in woodlands in West Sussex. According to coroners’ reports, there was no trace of his legs, spine or clothing. Elm House was raided in June 1982 and dozens of men with high public profiles were questioned. Although none were implicated, it is believed the raids were connected to the disappearance of Vishal, as well as another boy, 15-year-old Martin Allen. “I was contacted by a young man who seemed to be in his 20s. He told me he believed Vishal may have been taken by pedophiles in the Elm Guest House near Barnes Common,” Mehrotra told the Telegraph. “He said there were very highly placed people there. He talked about judges and politicians who were abusing little boys.” “At that time I trusted the police. But when nothing happened, I became confused and concerned. Now it is clear to me that there has been a huge cover-up. There is no doubt in my mind.” The statements come as the UK parliament prepares its own inquiry into allegations of historic child abuse that took place in the 1970s and 80s, involving a number of high-profile politicians, judges and media figures. According to whistleblowers, as many as 40 British MPs and peers could have been involved in instances of child abuse over that period. Earlier this month, a former schoolboy claimed that he was drugged and assaulted by a minister currently serving in parliament when he was 14. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said the police had not acted on the claims because of the politician’s position in the government. related, via RT: The UK Home Office has admitted that it can’t find 114 “potentially relevant files” relating to the pedophile scandal engulfing Westminster, in which there are allegations that senior political figures were involved in, or covered up, child sex abuse. The lost files were part of a dossier compiled in the 1980s by the now deceased Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens and which was passed to the then-Home Secretary Leon Brittan, British media reports. Mr. Dickens, who died in 1995, told his family that he had details in the dossier that would “blow the lid off” the lives of powerful and famous child abusers. Lord Brittan has confirmed that he received a “substantial bundle of papers” from Dickens in 1983 when he was Home Secretary, and that he handed them all over to the relevant officials for further investigation. A review by the Home Office found that information it received between 1979 and 1999 had been passed on to the relevant authorities. This fairly lengthy 20-year period would have included anything received from Lord Brittan in 1983. Home Office under fire over ‘lost’ dossier on Westminster pedophiles In a letter to Dickens at the time, Lord Brittan suggested his information would be passed to the police, but according to the Guardian Scotland Yard says it has no record of any investigation into the allegations. Mark Sedwill, the current permanent secretary to the Home Office, said that four new leads had been passed on to Scotland Yard and a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that “any relevant material that is submitted to us will be dealt with as appropriate.” The Met did not confirm if it had received any material, however. But Sedwill also admitted that the Home Office had lost, destroyed or simply “not found” 114 potentially relevant files, the Telegraph reports. Labels: child sex trafficking, ritual abuse, royal family UK pedophile official pleads guilty to child abuse via Press TV: Former treasurer of the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) has admitted to historical sex offences against young boys. Charles Napier pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London to 28 attacks on 21 victims under the age of 16 from 1967 to 1972 and a charge of encouraging a schoolboy to touch him. Napier, 67, the half brother of the Conservative MP John Whittingdale answered “guilty” while faced with his charges in the court. The former treasurer was remanded in custody until his sentencing scheduled for December 23. “It will enable those victims who wish to be here to be alerted and they can be here,” said the Judge presiding over the case, Nicholas Loraine-Smith. Scotland Yard arrested Napier in June 2013, following claims in parliament about a pedophile ring with establishment connections. A letter was brought to light by an earlier police investigation in which Napier bragged of being able to send obscene pictures back to the UK in diplomatic bags, and of how easy it was to gain access to young boys in Cairo, where he was working for the British Council. UK police have opened an investigation into claims of a Westminster pedophile ring, saying they have a list of alleged child abusers, including over 10 current and former British politicians. Here is more information on the British Council via wikipedia: The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales and Scotland. Founded in 1934 as the British Committee for Relations with Other Countries, and granted a royal charter by King George VI in 1940 Labels: child sex trafficking El Salvador’s Total Abortion Ban Is Driving Pregnant Teens To Commit Suicide note: El Salvador has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in all of Latin America, no doubt due to the lack of availability of birth control combined with the lack of sex education. These are the real world results of Catholic doctrine, and the work of Catholic secret societies attempting to subvert democratic governance. via Think Progress In El Salvador, home to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the world, teen pregnancy is a leading cause of suicide. That’s because desperate teens, many of whom have become pregnant through rape, don’t feel like they have any other options, according to health officials working in the country. The link between the culture of violence against women, the harsh abortion restrictions, and the suicide rate has become increasingly clear to groups working in El Salvador. Last year, sexual crimes in the country rose by 17 percent, and two thirds of reported rapes were committed against girls under the age of 18. Recent data shows that half of the teens who commit suicide are pregnant when they take their lives. “There’s a correlation between sexual violence and the high rate of suicides among adolescents — that’s the reality. Pregnancy is a determining factor behind teenage suicides,” Mario Soriano, the head of the program for youth and adolescent development at El Salvador’s health ministry, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview this week. According to Soriano, despite El Salvador’s high rates of teenage pregnancy, the girls who become pregnant are typically seen as outcasts in their conservative Catholic communities. They are often kicked out of the house, dumped by their boyfriends, and even expelled from school to avoid setting a “bad example” for other students. Rather than risk this type of rejection, many girls choose to resort to desperate measures. Since abortion is illegal under any circumstances in El Salvador, even girls who have been victims of rape or incest are forced to seek out an illegal procedure if they want to end their pregnancies. According to estimates from El Salvador’s Ministry of Health, about 6,500 clandestine abortions take place every year, and about a quarter of those occur among girls under 18. Advocacy groups like Amnesty International say the real numbers are likely much higher. Even aside from the risk of dying — something that results from about 11 percent of the illegal procedures in El Salvador — it’s very dangerous to end a pregnancy there. The women who are convicted of having an abortion can land in jail for decades. Even the women who have miscarriages, and weren’t intentionally trying to end their pregnancies, can be charged with aggravated homicide. These dynamics haven’t escaped international scrutiny. Earlier this week, twelve countries — including Canada, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Sweden, among others — called on El Salvador to fulfill its obligations to the United Nations Human Rights Council by decriminalizing abortion. “The chorus of countries worldwide calling for El Salvador to end its unjust abortion ban is growing ever larger and louder,” Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement at the time. “The Salvadoran government cannot ignore the calls any longer, and must not be allowed to evade accountability for the human rights abuses that countless women continue to suffer.” Amnesty International, which has been pressuring El Salvador to amend its abortion ban for months, frequently criticizes the country for killing its women and girls. The international organization says that the harsh abortion restrictions are akin to torture, particularly because even women in life-threatening situations aren’t always allowed to legally end their pregnancies. The United Nations has also warned El Salvador that its draconian abortion laws are a violation of human rights. While the majority of countries around the world don’t have abortions bans as harsh as El Salvador’s, these dynamics are not necessarily specific to Salvadoran citizens. Globally, an estimated 47,000 women die from unsafe abortions every year. And even here in the United States, where abortion remains legal under Roe v. Wade, a mounting number of state-level barriers to the procedure puts it out of reach for some vulnerable women — particularly poor people and people of color. When those individuals are unable to exercise their abortion rights, there’s some evidence to suggest that being forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term increases their risk of mental health issues and economic hardship. Labels: Knights of Malta, Opus Dei, Roman Catholic Church Senior Lib Dem ‘ordered destruction of document on Cyril Smith abuse claims A senior Liberal Democrat has been accused of ordering a personal assistant to destroy a document containing allegations of abuse and mismanagement against the late paedophile MP Cyril Smith. Liz Lynne, who is standing to become the party’s president, is alleged to have told her constituency aide to get rid of a document detailing a cover-up at the Knowl View children’s home in Rochdale, which closed in the mid-1990s. A manager at the home has also accused her of avoiding a meeting to discuss claims that Smith knew about the child abuse taking place at the home and had taken control of it...Deborah Doyle, who worked for Lynne between September 1995 and May 1997, said she took three or four pages of notes from a long telephone conversation with Digan in 1996. Digan had contacted Lynne’s office in Rochdale as claims of widespread abuse had begun to emerge at the Knowl View home, where boys as young as 10 had been raped. The first questions were also being raised publicly about Smith’s role in the school. Doyles says Digan told her over the telephone that Smith knew of abuse at the school and gave details of a cover-up at the institution and the local authority. She says she told Lynne, who had been on holiday when Digan called, about the allegation, but that Lynne said she did not want to meet Digan. “I was surprised when Lynne said to me: ‘Don’t put the notes in the bin. Destroy them’,” Doyle said...Doyle said she came to work for Lynne in 1995 on the recommendation of Chris Davies, the former Liberal Democrat MP and MEP. Doyle had become involved in Lib Dem politics in the north-west, and had friends in the party. When she was first offered a job in Lynne’s office, she had to be personally approved by Smith in an interview, she said. “It was like the 1950s. Everything had to go through Cyril, but he wasn’t even a councillor,” Doyle said. There were tensions between Lynne and Smith, she said, but Lynne was careful not to anger him. “He would have very happily told someone to their face that he didn’t like them. That is the way he was,” she said. But Smith still wielded power, especially regarding fundraising, she added. “For the 1997 election, he just went off and got £40,000, just like that. I didn’t know where it came from,” she said. It was only when she saw a Dispatches documentary about Smith in 2013 that Doyle again considered her conversations with Digan and Lynne, she said. She found her 1997 Filofax, and in her notes were Digan’s name and telephone number. She called Greater Manchester police’s helpline to tell them about her encounter with Digan and her subsequent conversation with Lynne. “I told them about it. I don’t know if they have followed it up,” she said. Doyle, 53, a book-keeper, says that she has nothing against Lynne, but has decided to speak out because victims have gone through much more and been brave enough to go on the record. “Liz is essentially a good person. I am sure that if she had been forced to look into these allegations, she would have been horrified … but at the end of the day she ia politician and may not have felt comfortable taking on Smith,” she said. Digan, a social worker, was responsible for passing a dossier of evidence to the police which eventually saw the school closed in the 1990s. He said last week that he had approached Lynne’s office hoping to discuss suspicions at the way Smith and others had wished to take the school out of local authority control. He also had concerns that Smith had his own set of keys to the school and wanted to seek help for the boys who had been abused. A constituent of Lynne’s at the time, Digan said he called her office and had a long conversation with her personal assistant about Smith. “I had a good rapport with the PA. We spoke, she took down what I said. Then I heard nothing,” he said. He said he called Lynne’s office again some weeks later, on the off-chance of finding out if he could talk to someone else about the school. This time, Lynne answered the telephone. “I arranged to go and meet her in an office, but someone from her office cancelled it the day before it was due to take place,” he said. “She never got back to me. The shame is that many abuse victims could have been helped if Lynne and many others had taken the abuse at Knowl View seriously at that point.” Posted by watching the watchers at 10:17 AM Labels: child sex trafficking, Cyril Smith, Operation Fernbridge Victim of VIP abuse scandal 'saw Tory MP throttle 12-year-old to death' via Daily Mail: A victim of the VIP paedophile abuse scandal claims he saw a Conservative MP murder a young boy at one of their sick orgies. Detectives are investigating three murders linked to the child sex ring, it was reported last night, days after the Metropolitan Police revealed they had launched a probe into a killing connected to the historical abuse. A victim of the sickening sex parties says he was in the same room as a boy, aged 12, was strangled by a Tory MP. The boy, known as Nick, told the Sunday People: 'I watched while that happened. I am not sure how I got out of that. Whether I will ever know why I survived, I am not sure.' Now a grown man, he has also told detectives that he saw a 10 or 11-year-old deliberately run over by a car. As well as this, Nick claims he saw two unknown men murder a third boy in front of another MP 18 months later. Nick said that he and another abuse victim were taken in a chauffeur-driven car to a luxury townhouse in central London 'to be sexually abused by powerful men'. Still traumatised by the harrowing events, he gave a graphic description to police of what took place inside the building. He said: 'The MP was particularly nasty, even among the group of people who sexually abused me and others. I still find it difficult to talk about these incidents after all these years.' Nick also told detectives about the death of another boy during a sexual assault in front of a Conservative minister - different to the one involved in the first killing. Nick says his father handed him over to the VIP abusers at Dolphin Square in Pimlico, near the Houses of Parliament, as well as other London locations. Dolphin Square was last week named as one of the locations where abuse was carried out by powerful individuals. He says he was raped over and over again by the minister, who also sexually assaulted other boys who were younger than 14 years old. His claims are being investigated by police under Operation Midland, part of Operation Fairbank - the large scale investigation into allegations of abuse by high-placed public figures. A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: 'Detectives from the child abuse investigation command are working closely with colleagues from homicide and major crime concerning this information.' Labels: child sex trafficking, Operation Fernbridge UK Police investigate muder allegations linked to child sex abuse inquiry via Newsweek: Police looking into accusations that powerful figures at the heart of the British establishment were involved in child sex abuse in the 1970s and 1980s said on Friday they were now investigating murder allegations. London detectives launched an inquiry two years ago into allegations about paedophile rings involving politicians, officials and other senior public figures. "Our inquiries into this, over subsequent weeks, have revealed further information regarding possible homicide," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement...On Tuesday, a review into the disappearance of a dossier handed to the government 30 years ago which is believed to have implicated public figures in child abuse found there was no evidence it had been deliberately destroyed or kept from police ...However, Home Secretary Theresa May, who has ordered an over-arching inquiry into allegations of nationwide historical child abuse, said the review did not rule out the possibility that allegations had been deliberately hushed up to protect powerful figures. "There might have been a cover-up, and that is why we have set up the inquiry into child abuse. We are determined to get to the truth," she told parliament on Tuesday. Simon Danczuk, one of the parliamentarians who has been campaigning to find out the extent of child abuse, has told Reuters at least 10 current or former lawmakers might have been involved in child abuse. "At the time, why weren’t there prosecutions? I think because of the power of the people that were committing the crimes - they were powerful figures," Danczuk said. "I think the intelligence services were involved. Then I think the front line police were warned off investigating some of these crimes." Labels: child sex trafficking, Monarch programming Senior British Politicians involved in pedophilia cover-up via Business Insider: The British government has announced it will conduct a series of investigations into allegations that as many as 20 senior British figures — including politicians at cabinet level — were involved in, or turned a blind eye to, the sexual abuse of children, The Guardian reports. Home Secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons there would be two main areas of inquiry: Who, exactly, within the governments of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s may have abused young boys who had been taken into care by social services? And why were documents detailing those allegations lost by the Home Office back in the 1980s? Britain is already reeling from a series of pedophilia cases that came out of the BBC in recent years, in which huge TV celebrities like the DJ Jimmy Savile and the children's entertainer Rolf Harris have been revealed as serial child abusers. Now, it's getting worse, according to Peter McKelvie, a child protection manager in the Hereford and Worcester area whose work has previously resulted in the conviction of pedophiles. He told the BBC: Peter McKelvie, whose allegations led initially to a 2012 police inquiry, said a "powerful elite" of pedophiles carried out "the worst form" of abuse. "I would say we are looking at upwards of 20 (people) and a much larger number of people who have known about it and done nothing about it, who were in a position to do something about it," he said. Mr McKelvie said some of those who were alleged to have abused children had now died. He told the BBC he had spoken to victims over "many, many years" and that children - "almost exclusively boys" - were moved around like "lumps of meat". They had been subjected to the "worst form of abuse", including rape, he said. It gets even worse than that. In the 1970s, the government appears to have funded with taxpayers' money a lobby group for child abusers, the "Pedophile Information Exchange" (PIE). The Telegraph reports: In the 1970s the Voluntary Services Unit, part of the Home Office, gave £65,750 to the Albany Trust, an organisation which provides counselling and support to lesbian, gay and transgender people. According to the report, in December 1975 the Albany Trust invited members of PIE to a series of meetings about the need for a support group for paedophiles. The meeting also recommended the publication of an information pamphlet about pedophilia targeted at professionals, parents and the general public. The trust initially backed the pamphlet but withdrew its support after criticism by Mary Whitehouse, the [public morals] campaigner. The trust also arranged the translation of a Dutch government report calling for the age of consent to be lowered to 16. A further £410,000 was given to the Princedale Trust between 1974 and 1984 to support Release, an charity which provides advice on drug use and laws. The charity shared the same address as PIE. And, yes, there is still worse to come. The Telegraph reports that a former Conservative MP told the BBC back in 1995 that the party would help cover-up for members of parliament who had been caught committing acts "involving small boys" in return for their political cooperation on legislation they might otherwise have challenged: “It might be debt, it might be… a scandal involving small boys, or any kind of scandal in which, erm er, a member seemed likely to be mixed up in, they’d come and ask if we could help and if we could, we did." A lot of very important people within the British ruling class are now going to be very, very afraid. Here's who McKelvie says he believes will be affected by the investigations, per the Times: “We are looking at the Lords, we are looking at the Commons, we are looking at the judiciary, we are looking at all institutions where there will be a small percentage of paedophiles and a slightly larger percentage of people who have known about it but have felt that in terms of their own self-interest and self-preservation and for political party reasons it’s been safer for them to cover it up rather than deal with it." Labels: blackmail, child sex trafficking, extortion, Monarch programming UK charities warn about ritual abuse rings Two major charities in the UK have warned that children continue to fall victim to rape, murder and even the production of so-called snuff films. Campaigners have reported that babies are being born but never registered as pedophile rings kill them in secret. The investigation was conducted by Charity Izzy’s Promise and Charity Break The Silence. In Scotland, the two charities say, such terrifying cults have been left unchecked for years. They have found also that ritual abuse rings are still operating. Scottish police now say they are taking the claims “incredibly seriously”. Jon Bird from London-based National Association for People Abused in Childhood told press TV that “these crimes do definitely take place and it is not just in Scotland rather in many parts of the UK and other countries we’ve been hearing it about a decade.” The charities which conducted the investigation have also warned that the abuse taking place is an “extreme, barbaric type of terror that can lead to serious personal disorder.” “Horrific things are happening and nobody is getting caught”, says Charity Izzy’s Promise Project Coordinator Joseph Lumbasi. “I suspect it is getting worse, because more people are becoming interested in these kinds of crime”, Bird added in his interview with Press TV. The story doesn’t end there, however, as the charities say “victims are so brainwashed that they don’t dare to speak out.” Some believe the government’s response has been at times too slow and that inquiries have to be immediately made into abuse cases. “The government now realizes that huge mistakes have been made in child protection generally”, Bird said in his interview with Press TV. “It’s slowly moving in the right direction, but the danger is enormous and we really do have to take it very seriously”, he concluded. Labels: child sex trafficking, Monarch programming, ritual abuse England: Land of Royals, Tea and Horrific Pedophilia Coverups via Time Magazine: From politicians’ fraudulent expenses to phone hacking, Britain has become surprisingly scandal-strewn in recent years, but the latest reputational cyclone to sweep across its shores is casting an especially dark light: pedophilia in high places. Newspapers and TV bulletins have been dominated for the past week by allegations that politicians with links to Margaret Thatcher’s government sexually abused vulnerable children in the 1980s and hid the truth for decades through their “chumocracy.” Suspicions of an establishment cover-up involving government departments, Scotland Yard and other elements of the establishment intensified in recent days when the law-and-order ministry, the Home Office, confirmed dozens of potentially-relevant files alleging sexual misconduct had gone missing from its archives The allegations—which centre around the suggestion that politicians of all parties and other VIPs preyed on children at a guest house in the London suburb of Barnes—have been given greater credence because in the past two years a string of national figures have been exposed as predatory pedophiles. Most notoriously of all, Sir Jimmy Savile, a BBC children’s television presenter feted by the Royal Family and Downing Street, abused 450 victims, mostly boys and girls as young as eight over 50 years. While Savile had long been seen as odd, the scale of his offenses shocked the country, not least because he was allowed special access to hospitals and the authorities laughed at or ignored his victims, before he died a national hero. An ensuing police inquiry, Operation Yewtree – which has arrested 18 TV presenters, comedians, disc jockeys and other showbusiness associates – last month jailed fellow BBC children’s presenter Rolf Harris for indecent assaults dating back decades, on girls as young as 8. Into this febrile atmosphere, Tom Watson, a Labour Party lawmaker, told the House of Commons in October 2012 that police should “investigate clear intelligence suggesting a powerful pedophile network linked to Parliament and Number 10.”...as a result of Watson and online news agency Exaro’s investigations, Scotland Yard launched Operation Fernbridge, an inquiry into the now-notorious Elm Guest House. One confirmed visitor through its front door was Cyril Smith, a jovial 406-pound Liberal MP who was shown after his death to have been a serial abuser of boys at a local authority care home in his home town of Rochdale. Private Eye investigative magazine has suggested that Special Branch, the UK’s national security police, halted police inquiries into Smith in the 1970s to prevent the collapse of the Liberal-Labour coalition government. Attention then swept back to its successor government. In 1983, the far-right Conservative MP, Geoffrey Dickens, compiled a 40-page dossier alleging pedophilia among Westminster politicians and gave it to the Home Office and Attorney General’s Office. This year, the Home Office discovered that 114 files potentially relevant to historic allegations of sexual abuse, including the Dickens dossier, had gone missing. A year ago Lord Brittan, the Home Secretary to whom Dickens handed his dossier, told reporters he could not recall anything about it. But last week following the intervention of another campaigning MP in Parliament, Lord Brittan issued a statement remembering that he had received the dossier and had asked his officials to study its contents. Over the weekend it emerged that Lord Brittan had been interviewed as a suspect in the rape of a 19-year-old in 1967; an allegation he dismissed as “wholly without foundation.”...On Monday, Home Secretary Theresa May announced an inquiry into the failures of the authorities to protect children...More high-profile prosecutions of pedophilia may shock the country; according to one whistleblower, allegations of sexual abuse have been made against 20 VIPs...In the case of the Westminster “pedophile ring,” the mounting sentiment that Britain’s establishment serves its own interests and conceals its wrongdoing may be well founded. Until recently only seven police officers were working on Operation Fernbridge; Scotland Yard announced today the figure is now 22. Labels: child sex trafficking, Jimmy Savile, Monarch programming, Operation Fernbridge England: Land of Royals, Tea and Horrific Pedophil... Senior British Politicians involved in pedophilia ... UK Police investigate muder allegations linked to ... Victim of VIP abuse scandal 'saw Tory MP throttle ... Senior Lib Dem ‘ordered destruction of document on... El Salvador’s Total Abortion Ban Is Driving Pregna... UK pedophile official pleads guilty to child abuse... ‘Westminster pedophile ring may have murdered my 8... Retired Scotland Yard detectives back up claims th... Three mysterious deaths on properties of British R... Vatican Paedophilia Scandal: Archbishop Jozef Weso... Former Surrey Comet news editor gagged over report... Sir Peter Hayman, British diplomat, knighted MI6 o...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line90
__label__cc	0.554856	0.445144	Faith - To Inspire And To Indoctrinate Faith and Subversion – Both begin with Language ----- Project Humanbeingsfirst Faith-Politico Blog where Religion meets Political Science and Imperial Mobilization Ismaili Muslims and Aga Khan's Doctrine of Neutrality By Zahir Ebrahim \| Project Humanbeingsfirst.org “You [Zahir Ebrahim] appear to advocate confrontation with power. While that is okay for some rich guy who is not worried about earning a living through a paycheck, how can an ordinary middle class student whose only option for livelihood is a job, who is not a rebel, who does not want to change the world, nor wishes to commit suicide confronting the robber barons, but just to live in dignity and support his or her family, live up to such 'jihadi' advice? It is entirely impractical in the real world of putting real food on the table – hungry stomachs and medical bills aren't filled and paid in fighting losing battles, but in accommodation to power, in getting along, in remaining silent to their criminal enterprises, in remaining neutral, and in minding one's own business. The great Ismaili leader Aga Khan is the most pragmatic among Muslim leaders today. By being neutral, and also commanding his Ismaili flock to remain neutral, the Aga Khan has secured for his minority people sanctuary from tyranny. Look they are thriving, and happy, while he continues to build schools, universities, hospitals, and social programs for them worldwide. In his 1954 Memoirs “World Enough and Time” (PDF, Cached), the late Sir Aga Khan III, the 48th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, wrote: 'Of one fact my years in public life have convinced me: the value of a compromise is that it can supply a bridge across a difficult period, and later having employed that bridge, it is often possible to bring into effect the full-scale measures of reform which originally would have been rejected out of hand.' And the late Aga Khan wisely chose his grandson, the present Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, and the coveted European socialite who is now a bridge between two civilizations, the East and the West, to continue that vision of neutrality as the safest bridge across tyranny. The dusty old books in the world's libraries are filled with great platitudes and we are still exactly where we were when Kaabil killed Haabil (Cain killed Abel) at the dawn of man. I am no hero. The great Aga Khan's pragmatism of compromise, of not confronting power, of getting on with great social work which power does not mind, and in fact, encourages, so long as you don't challenge it, even giving it great awards and titles, just as it bestowed the knighthood upon Sir Aga Khan III, appears far more productive to me to pattern my life upon. I will at least be able to put food on the table for my family and better my economic condition by being a team-player.” My Response to the Evergreen Doctrine of Neutrality Which is why no one may answer this age old question for others but for oneself: to confront, or be co-opted? Thank you for reminding us of that fact. See Islam: Surah Al-Asr of the Holy Qur'an and answer it for your own self according to your own bent of mind. Just as you evidently have the “maarfat” (wherewithal) to challenge this little Project Humanbeingsfirst with such great eloquence, acquire the “maarfat” to also challenge your own limitations – real and imagined – to rise above them. Take an inventory of your assets, and liabilities. Meaning, enumerate for yourself the gifts you have received by being born on the right side of the railroad tracks compared to the poorly endowed fellow you most pity, and the limits that have been put upon you by being born on the wrong side of the railroad tracks compared to that well endowed fellow you envy even a little bit. That is surely your space. Higher you set your purpose, more you are driven to fill that space. It is perhaps the simplest way to look at matters of qaza and qada (destiny vs. freewill) – but also very practical. There are surely other more abstract philosophical ways as well. Your Accountability, if there is such a thing as what Islam preaches, is only to the sensible equation: Output / Input. Meaning, your voluntary contribution to life in relation to your own special gifts and our own trying limitations. One does not have to be a “religious” person to live a moral life in the traditional sense. Islam however demands far more from all Muslims as is self-evident from my little exposition of Surah Al-Asr for instance. That sensible equation noted above is very difficult to get to even unity for most people who are most superbly endowed, let alone surpass unity. Meaning, many of us are in fact far more blessed than our output might demonstrate. Far less output is needed from those who are less fortunate than us, to surpass us in that equation of life. Thus, in a way, a smaller denominator is a greater mercy as the expectation of output is commensurately less in relation to one with a larger denominator. In any case, this is not my concoction but the wisdom of the sages who have tried to rationalize life and its inequities. Islam's guidance to mankind lends itself naturally to that rationalization: “On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns.” ( Arabic: لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ) Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqara, 2:286. The equation Accountability = Output / Input is merely that Qur'anic statement “On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear” put mathematically. Leading a life which strives to optimize that equation towards unity however, a life that is “not at a loss” according to Surah al-Asr of the Holy Qur'an, first and foremost, is a choice, like every other choice that you can enjoy in your space. Islam unequivocally underscores this choice: “Surely We have shown him the way: he may be thankful or unthankful.” ( Arabic: إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا ) Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-insaan 76:3. To confront, or be co-opted?, is a question therefore which the great Aga Khan chose to address in his own way – and for which he is just as Accountable as every human being – for he can also rationally argue that he carried the great burden of leadership of his entire community upon his shoulders: “My duties are wider than those of the Pope, ... The Pope is only concerned with the spiritual welfare of his flock.”[1] That a good shepherd endeavors to protect his own flock: “An imam in Islam is responsible for the security of the people who refer to him; he is responsible for the interpretation of faith; and he is responsible for their quality of life; so those three areas are areas which are my responsibility.”[2] The Aga Khan is evidently also well aware of the aforementioned Accountability equation: “The Islamic ethic is that if God has given you the capacity or good fortune to be a privileged individual in society, you have a moral responsibility to society.”[3] You can perceptively see that even Imam Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Aga Khan's great grandfather some two score generations removed, and the Prophet of Islam's own beloved grandson from his own Ahlul Bayt, when he chose to sacrifice his own life standing up to the tyrants of his time as the Exemplar of the Holy Qur'an, only took with him his own immediate family members to the fatal battlefront; he did not call upon other Muslims in Medina where he lived, to sacrifice their lives fighting the imperial tyrants ruling Muslims at the time. He left that decision up to each individual entirely, and to their “sha-oor”, to endeavor or not to endeavor in his footsteps. And when he had finally made that famous call which has come down to us in history: “hull min naasirun yun surna”, history has also documented just how many voluntarily responded to the Imam's testing call. Most of the citizens of Kufa (Iraq), as in the rest of the Hijaz, choosing the path of neutrality and silence. And even in the battlefield, on the night before, history records a speech in which the pious Imam, honored by the Ismailis today like all Muslims both Shia and Sunni, invited those who had dared to courageously join him, to leave him and save themselves. He forewarned them that he and his family faced certain annihilation the next day. That is the same point here. When you hear the call for help, “hull min naasirun yun surna”, from Pakistan to Palestine, Iraq to Afghanistan, from Quetta to Karachi, when you see your own nations looted and plundered, and when you see your own life reduced to nothing but vile servitude under your own feudal lords of every uniform, it is your call to respond, or to silently look away chasing your 'American Dream'. Today you can witness the same Ismailis you speak of being slaughtered in Pakistan along with the rest of Pakistanis irrespective of their allegiance to the neutral Aga Khan. The emperor's battalions doing the slaughter of Pakistanis is donning various uniforms to foment both “insurgency” and justification for “counter-insurgency” ( http://tinyurl.com/Insurgency-Counterinsurgency ). Today the emperor's battalion in pirate's uniform is doing the Ismaili slaughter. The time is close at hand when another battalion of the emperor in its own uniform will un-apologetically be doing the same slaughter. We have witnessed this in Iraq with sufficient empirical evidence to wisely learn from that modus operandi of fomenting “revolutionary times”. No compromise is a sufficient bridge between tyranny – for tyranny really does not distinguish in the limit of things. The Ismailis are most aware of their own long history of persecution and will testify to the truth of this statement. You are answerable for your neutrality. A temporary reprieve it may provide to some, but the fire engulfing others while you enjoy that reprieve is never known to distinguish between homes. As the famous saying attributed to the German pastor Martin Niemöller goes: 'First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a catholic. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.' Someday, at a future “Nuremberg Tribunal”, when it is once again demonstrated under victor's justice that silence is criminal, that, compromise and neutrality are the first “banality of evil” from which all the rest of evil naturally follow, all those living and preaching neutrality will surely be as loudly condemned as today they are held up as the epitome of pragmatism. That is of course only of theoretical interest for the pragmatist. The survivalist always knows how to cut a deal. Arguably, that is the smartest way forward in a jungle. All I can humbly suggest to someone of your sophistication and pragmatism is to develop your “sha-oor” to complement your practical instincts for survival. The rest will automatically follow. Let your own “sha-oor” be your first guide, your own internal imam, and not some website you randomly read on the internet. Although, the matters are surely different when you follow your favorite scholar in turban, suit, or bow tie (sic)! Effectively, more you follow others, more opinion you seek from others, more you make others your imam, more you condemn yourself to their thinking. That too is your choice, for as per the promise of the Holy Qur'an, if you believe in such Provenance I mean, and most really don't despite their claims to holiness and great piety: “One day We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imams” (Arabic: يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ ) Holy Qur’an, Surah al-Israa' 17:71. In the age of universal deceit, it is surely wise to follow one's own mind as one's imam first, as limited and as fallible as its vision might be, for one never really knows who is the marde-momin and who is the superman ( tinyurl.com/Allama-Iqbal-ubermensch ). Empiricism has shown that regardless of the merits of their claim, they both lead one to hell on earth while promising heaven elsewhere. And so does the feeble mind, the foolish mind, the dull mind that is unable to separate chaff from wheat. That is traditionally the Public Mind, encouraged to remain a perpetual follower so that it can be shepherded wherever the shepherd fancies. The Qur'an forewarns of this precise empiricism in these dire words: “(On the day) when those who were followed disown those who followed (them), and they behold the doom, and all their aims collapse with them. And those who were but followers will say: If a return were possible for us, we would disown them even as they have disowned us. Thus will Allah show them their own deeds as anguish for them, and they will not emerge from the Fire.” Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqara, 2:166--167. I do not much know about hell elsewhere – grappling with the one here is sufficient for most of us who do worry about it here – except for these statements of the Holy Qur'an wisely admonishing all “followers” to be judicious in the choice of whom they adopt as their guide and whom they choose to “pattern” their life upon. If you voluntarily follow others in this world making them your “imam”, you should know that you will also be held to account in their company involuntarily on the Day when all accounts are finally settled. If you followed them here voluntarily, as per 17:71 quoted above, you will have no choice but to also follow them to wherever is their ultimate destination post Accounting. So follow that “imam” you know for sure is not going to that other Hell elsewhere – if you care about it. The word “imam” according to The Arabic-English dictionary of the Holy Qur'an in my reference is defined as: “Leader; President; Any object that is followed, whether a human being or a book or a highway”. Parse these pearls of wisdom from the doctrine of the Holy Qur'an as per your own “sha-oor” – bent of mind – if you believe in any of it that is. If you don't, you really have no fear of Accountability. Even in that case, still do your best to be a good person according to your inner moral compass – we all have one, our first inner imam – and the rest is c'est la vie. I know many fine atheists who are far better human beings than many a worthy man of cloth – for they see inherent virtue in being good irrespective of some fear of hell or favor of heaven which they don't believe in anyway. They instead follow the virtue of Solon, the ancient Athenian law-giver, who advocated for social responsibility as not just a moral requirement, but a legal requirement. When asked which city he thought was well-governed, Solon said: “That city where those who have not been injured take up the cause of one who has, and prosecute the case as earnestly as if the wrong had been done to themselves.” In the strictest moral sense, these godless people are more moral than the trader who is moral only to trade for heaven or hell. If the Output / Input equation of these godless people, irrespective of any notion of Accountability, exceeds that of the man of cloth, shame on the latter – a trafficker in religion could not match the gratitude for being born on the right side of the railroad tracks of even an atheist! In conclusion, the matter is sufficiently obvious to warrant any further elucidation. Neutrality, which begets silence, is criminal – whatever might be the selfish existential considerations of expediency. No one can remain safe for long being neutral in a predatory jungle. Silence: the root cause of banality of evil I would be sorely remiss not to also observe at least as postscript, that those who send others to their death telling them to stand-up to tyranny are often the first ones to also slink away. Next time you hear the clarion call from someone to stand-up – judge by their acts before you heed that specious call. Mullahs and Ayatollahs, like presidents and prime ministers, are the most adept at getting others to wear the battle dress while they sit comfortably in their home shoes – never failing to show up to recite the liturgies and last rites. The Aga Khan is the most forthright and honest in his stance in that way – he is himself neutral and therefore does not call upon his flock by any other clarion. Only when the Aga Khan decides to give up his doctrine of neutrality for himself – chooses to risk his own hair on his head – will he be entitled to call upon his flock to do the same. And if the blood of his great grandfather still runs in his veins, the Aga Khan will leave that as a moral choice to his followers, leading by example rather than through indoctrination and coercion in the name of divine Imammate. In that respect, all Mullahs and Ayatollahs, presidents and prime ministers, may take a leaf from Aga Khan's play book. No – not that of strict political neutrality[4], but of not being hypocrites[5] [6]. A Man of The World - The Aga Khan [http://youtube.com/watch?v=n6w8EOczc74] His Highness Aga Khan interview for Portugal TV [http://youtube.com/watch?v=-LVmAgb5wcQ] [1] Excerpt from The Aga Khan’s Earthly Kingdom, Vanity Fair, February 2013, http://www.vanityfair.com/society/2013/02/aga-khan-spiritual-leader-multi-billionaire 'Multi-billionaire son of a notorious playboy, His Highness Prince Karim, the fourth Aga Khan, enjoys his jets, yachts, and Thoroughbreds. But since the age of 20, he has also been the spiritual leader of 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, building a hugely effective global development network. In Chantilly, home to France’s most prestigious horse race, James Reginato explores how the press-shy, Harvard-educated prince, at 76, fuses two worlds. His Highness Prince Karim, the fourth Aga Khan and 49th hereditary imam of the world’s 15 million Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, remains a paradox to many people. The Pope of his flock, he also possesses fabled wealth and inhabits a world of marvelous châteaux, yachts, jets, and Thoroughbred horses. To be sure, few persons bridge so many divides—between the spiritual and the material; East and West; Muslim and Christian—as gracefully as he does. Born in Geneva, brought up in Nairobi, educated at Le Rosey and Harvard, the Aga Khan has a British passport and spends a great deal of his time aloft in his private aircraft, but his base is Aiglemont, a vast estate near Chantilly, 25 miles north of Paris. On-site, in addition to a château and an elaborate training center for about a hundred of his Thoroughbreds, is the Secretariat, a modern office block that houses the nerve center of what might be described as his own U.N., the Aga Khan Development Network. A staggeringly large and effective organization, it employs 80,000 people in 30 countries. Although it is generally known for the nonprofit work it does in poor and war-torn parts of the globe, the A.K.D.N. also includes an enormous portfolio of for-profit businesses in sectors ranging from energy and aviation to pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and luxury hotels. In 2010 these generated $2.3 billion in revenue. The extent of these endeavors might not be so well known to the general public, since the Aga Khan usually shuns the press and stays out of the public eye. Though he has no political territory, the Aga Khan is virtually a one-man state and is often received like a head of state when he travels. As imam he is responsible for looking after the material as well as spiritual needs of his followers, who are scattered in more than 25 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. His projects, however, benefit people of all faiths. ... The title Aga Khan—meaning, in a combination of Turkish and Persian, commanding chief—was granted in the 1830s by the Emperor of Persia to Karim’s great-great-grandfather when he married the emperor’s daughter. But Aga Khan I was also the 46th hereditary imam of the Ismaili Muslims of the world, in a line that descends directly from the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. In 1885, Prince Karim’s grandfather (who was born in India) was seven years old when he assumed the imamate upon his father’s death. The following year, he received his “His Highness” from Queen Victoria. In the early 1900s he moved to Europe, in part to pursue his passion for horse breeding and racing, in which he would become a celebrated figure. All the while, he looked after his flock remarkably well, building a huge network of hospitals, schools, banks, and mosques for them. “My duties are wider than those of the Pope,” he once explained. “The Pope is only concerned with the spiritual welfare of his flock.” “He was an extraordinary personality, a very powerful intellect,” recalls his grandson. “When he left India and established himself in Europe, he became very fascinated with the philosophy of the Western world. He brought that knowledge to his community.” And they showed their appreciation. On his Golden Jubilee, in 1936, his followers famously gave him his weight in gold, a spectacle some 30,000 onlookers jammed a square in Bombay to witness. Upon his Diamond and Platinum Jubilees, he received similar tributes in the appropriate stones and metal. The sizable funds from those tributes pale, however, compared with the zakat money traditionally paid by members of the Ismaili community, some of whom believe their imam is semi-divine. (Prince Karim categorically denies any suggestion that he is divine.)' [2] Statement made by Aga Khan IV in his first ever interview to American television network, NBC (time 2m 20s), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPAU-dxe1ow#t=2m20s [3] The Aga Khan’s Earthly Kingdom, Vanity Fair, February 2013, op. cit. [4] Excerpt from the Aga Khan's official website http://www.theismaili.org/cms/16/The-Ismaili-Community 'The Aga Khan, like his grandfather before him, has always been concerned about the wellbeing of all Muslims, particularly the impact on them of the challenges of the rapidly evolving world. Addressing as Chairman, the International Conference on the Example (Seerat) of the Prophet Muhammad in Karachi in 1976, he noted that the wisdom of Allah's final Prophet in seeking new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, provides the inspiration for Muslims to conceive a truly modern and dynamic society, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam. Since the present Aga Khan assumed the office of Imamat in 1957, there have been major political and economic changes in most of the countries where Ismailis live. He has adapted the complex system of administering the various Ismaili communities, pioneered by his grandfather during the colonial era, to a world of nation states. In the course of that process, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, who was twice President of the League of Nations, had already provided a contemporary articulation of the public international role of the Imamat. The Imamat today, under the present Aga Khan, continues this tradition of strict political neutrality. In designating his successor to the Imamat in 1957, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan stated in his will: "In view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world…due to the great changes which have taken place…I am convinced that it is in the best interests of the Shia Muslim Ismailia Community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up in the midst of the new age and who brings a new outlook on life to his office of Imam".' (acquired March 9, 2013, cached) [5] See The Amman Message, 2005, for The Aga Khan’s self-righteous hypocrisy: http://faith-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2013/02/role-of-shias-in-qadianis-kafirdom.html#Amman-Message [6] See Categorical Imperative and Karbala – Open Letter to Muslims and Non Muslims By Zahir Ebrahim: https://islam-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2017/09/categorical-imperative-and-karbala.html - ### - Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/Aga-Khans-Neutrality Source URL: http://faith-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2013/03/ismaili-muslims-and-aga-khans-neutrality.html Print URL: http://print-humanbeingsfirst.blogspot.com/2013/03/ismaili-muslims-and-aga-khans-neutrality.html PDF URL: https://sites.google.com/site/humanbeingsfirst/download-pdf/ismaili-muslims-and-aga-khans-neutrality-by-zahir-ebrahim.pdf Derived from FAQ: Pragmatic Career Guidance for Young Muslims First Published March 8, 2013 \| Last Updated with Footnotes March 9, 2013 06:05 pm Links Saturday, August 22, 2015 Links fixed Sunday, April 3, 2016 4200 Links and Footnote [6] Monday, September 25, 2017 Ismaili Muslims and Aga Khan's Doctrine of Neutrality By Zahir Ebrahim 11/11 Public Service Message: FBI Militancy Considerations and Muslims --- Or How the Doctrinal Motivation for 'War on Terror' is Fabricated and Sustained controversial-fbi-training-video (needs flash) Faith-Politico Archives What does the Holy Qur'an say about the Ahlul Bayt... Ismaili Muslims and Aga Khan's Doctrine of Neutral... Faith-Politico Pages Holy Qur'an Islam & Muslims: The Fast Path to Imperial Mobilization The Public Face of Revolutionary Islam The Price of Silence is to be an Accomplice Fighting the Terrorists But Supporting Their Ideology The Plebeian antidote to Hectoring Hegemons Home is Humanbeingsfirst.org INDEX here. Okay to copy, print, or post this document; verbatim reproduction only. Comment here. Full Copyright Notice here. 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__label__cc	0.562723	0.437277	Charlene Culbertson April 28, 1938-June 15, 2019 Charlene Culbertson, 81, of Elkader, Iowa formerly of Vinton, Iowa died Saturday, June 15, 2019, surrounded by her family. Charlene was born April 28, 1938, to Leon and Vera Meredith in Vinton, Iowa. Charlene was united in marriage with Cletus Schoeberl in 1958. To this union two children were born, Lynne and Kent. After Cletus passed away, she married Glenn “Mick” Culbertson in 1970. They later divorced. Charlene was employed at State Bank of Vinton for 30 years. After retirement, she worked at Wal-Mart. In 2002, Charlene moved to Elkader and continued working part-time. On April 3, 2019, she moved into Edgewood Convalescent Home. Charlene enjoyed helping people and loved to watch her grandson, Lane show horses and play football. Charlene is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lynne (Schoeberl) and John McGreal of Strawberry Point, Iowa; grandson, Lane McGreal of Strawberry Point, Iowa; and one brother, Charles Meredith of Vinton, Iowa. Muriel “Maxine” Stepp July 6, 1933-June 17, 2019 Muriel “Maxine” Stepp, 85, of Independence, IA died Monday, June 17, 2019 at Lexington Estates in Independence, IA. Robert “Bob” Walke January 6, 1942-June 19, 2019 Robert “Bob” Walke, 77, of Guttenberg, IA, died Wednesday, June 19, 2019. He was born on January 6, 1942, in Communia, IA, the son of Kenneth and Eunice (Zittergruen) Walke. Bob was baptized and confirmed at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Elkport. He graduated from the Guttenberg High School and furthered his education at Wartburg College. For many years Bob tilled the land on his family’s farm outside of Guttenberg until his retirement. Elkader’s Farmers’ Market Two locations grow from disagreement Angela Keppler moved from downtown to a spot on Highway 13 at the Fast Tak gas station and convenience store. Growing concern over changes to the Elkader Farmers’ Market has resulted in a second location for purchasing produce, baked goods and other items. And while it may not be ideal, vendors and customers alike say they are making the best of the situation. “I miss being on the corner and all of the activity we had there,” said Dawn Amundson, who is selling farm fresh eggs and crafts from the new city-supported location in Founders Park. “I think people, especially visitors to town, saw us on their way to the bakery and stopped for that reason.” Amanda Keppler, a long-time Farmers’ Market vendor, also had concerns about the new location. She decided to start a second market located north of Elkader on Highway 13 in a wide grassy patch off the Fast Trak parking lot. Viola Mae Dennler October 17, 1938-June 6, 2019 Viola Mae Dennler, 80 of Volga, died Thursday June 6th, 2019, at the Elkader Care Center. Viola was born October 17, 1938, at Coggan, Iowa. She was the daughter of Raymond and Lela (Grapes) Schanbeck. She received her education graduating from the Dundee High School. On January 11, 1959, she was united in marriage to Virgil Dennler at the United Methodist Church at Masonville, Iowa. After raising her family, Viola worked at the filling station in Volga, Norby’s and volunteered at the Elkader elementary school and Osborne Visitors Center. She was a member of the Chit-Chat Club and a member of the Ladies Circle at Peace Church. Angela Elaine Gyorko Angela Elaine Gyorko, 60, of Hawkeye, passed away, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, at her home in Hawkeye. A Celebration of Life was held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 15, 2019, at Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Hawkeye. Inurnment will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be left at www.beckermilnesrettig.com. Betty Ione Puffett Betty Ione Puffett, 88, of Volga , Iowa, died Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at her home surrounded by her family. She was born on October 24, 1930, in Oelwein, the daughter of Glen and Beulah (Sloan) Oldfather, Betty attended country school and went to Volga School until she graduated with the Class of 1948. She received her teaching certificate from Upper Iowa. Betty was united in marriage to Melvyn Wayne Puffett on December 30, 1950. They adopted a daughter, Artella, on July 21, 1955. Together they made their home in Volga. Betty was an active member of the Volga United Methodist Church. She was president of the United Methodist Women, taught adult Sunday school, and children’s Sunday school. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary for 55 years. Betty owned Puffett and Scotty Upholstery shop for many years, clerked many sales for her husband and worked at the Volga Opera House until May 1999. Kevin Robert Dennler April 24, 1959-June 5, 2019 Kevin Robert Dennler, 60, of Elkader, passed away Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at MercyOne Hospital in Elkader. He was born April 24, 1959, in West Union, Iowa to Robert (Bob) and Jane (Neylan) Dennler. Kevin attended Central Community High School and graduated in 1978. He was baptized, received his first communion, and was confirmed at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Elkader. Kevin lived his entire life on the family farm and was a part of the land. As soon as Kevin was old enough to help, he was out working on the farm alongside his best friend and mentor; his father. Kevin would rather be on a tractor doing field work than anywhere else. When he was not farming, he could often be found working on equipment and numerous projects. Even though Kevin did not attend any type of training, his mechanical and carpentry skills were exceptional along with a deep pride in his work and the quality with which it was completed. Business Spotlight Restaurant owner nabs two top awards Matt McClane, owner of the Clayton Lighthouse, received this award from the Clayton County Dairy Promotion Board as well as another top award from the Clayton County Cattlemen. It’s been a banner 16 months for Matt McClane. The Guttenberg man opened the Clayton Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar in March 2018. Since then he has earned top awards from two commodity groups: Last fall, he received the Golden Steak Knife Award from the Clayton County Cattlemen and in April, he was the recipient of the Dairy Best Award from the Clayton County Dairy Promotion Board. Though the Lighthouse is McClane’s first restaurant, he’s no stranger to the hospitality business. “My parents ran the Stadium Bar and Grill for 15 years while I was in school, and that’s what sparked the interest in opening a restaurant of my own,” McClane said. “I had been looking for an opportunity for a few years and when the Lighthouse came up for sale I knew it was the perfect project for me.” The restaurant had been closed for a number of years so the first order of business was general clean Iva McClimon Iva McClimon, 82, of Channahon, IL, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 3, 2019, at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center. Iva was born on the family farm in Clayton County, IA, where she lived for almost 30 years, before residing in Channahon for over 40 years. She retired from Rittof’s Restaurant in Channahon in 2003 and was formerly employed as a dental assistant in Muscatine, IA. Iva is a founding member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Channahon, where she was actively involved. She also made blankets and pillows for active duty service personnel as well as veterans, and was a member of TOPS Illinois #297. She enjoyed gardening, canning, baking and sewing.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line92
__label__wiki	0.871772	0.871772	New Latin Title: New Latin Subject: Contemporary Latin, Latin literature, Renaissance Latin, Old Latin, History of Latin Collection: Forms of Latin, History of Literature, Latin Language, Latin Literature Latinitas nova Linnaeus' Systema Naturae is a famous New Latin text. developed into contemporary Latin by the 20th century Language family Latino-Faliscan Latin alphabet European countries with a Neo-Latin literary tradition, generally corresponding to regions where Roman Catholicism and Protestantism predominate. New Latin or neo-Latin[1] was used in original, scholarly, and scientific works between c. 1375 and c. 1900. Modern scholarly, and technical, usage in zoological, and botanical, description, and taxonomy, draws from Neo-Latin vocabulary. Extent 1 History of New Latin 2 Beginnings 2.1 Decline 2.3 Crisis and transformation 2.4 Relics 2.5 Pronunciation 3 Orthography 4 Characters 4.1 Diacritics 4.2 Notable works (1500–1900) 5 Literature and biography 5.1 Scientific works 5.2 Other technical subjects 5.3 Footnotes 6 Classicists use the term "neo-Latin" to describe " . . . the Latin that developed in Renaissance Italy as a result of the new interest in classical civilization . . . "[2] Neo-Latin also describes the use of the Latin language for any purpose, scientific or literary, during and after the Renaissance. The beginning of the period is imprecise; however, the spread of secular education, the acceptance of humanistic literary norms, and the wide availability of Latin texts following the invention of printing mark the transition to a new era of scholarship at the end of the 15th century. The end of the New Latin period is likewise indeterminate, but Latin as a regular vehicle of communicating ideas became rare after the first few decades of the 19th century, and by 1900 it survived primarily in international scientific vocabulary and taxonomy. The term "New Latin" came into widespread use towards the end of the 1890s among linguists and scientists. New Latin was, at least in its early days, an international language used throughout Catholic and Protestant Europe, as well as in the colonies of the major European powers. This area consisted of most of Europe, including Central Europe and Scandinavia; its southern border was the Mediterranean Sea, with the division more or less corresponding to the modern eastern borders of Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia. Russia's acquisition of Kiev in the later 17th century introduced the study of Latin to Russia. Nevertheless the use of Latin in Orthodox eastern Europe did not reach high levels due to their strong cultural links to cultural heritage of Ancient Greece and Byzantium, as well as Greek and Old Church Slavonic languages. In Turkey and parts of Russia, the Muslim population or Muslim minorities maintained close links with the Arabic language or script. History of New Latin New Latin was inaugurated by the triumph of the humanist reform of Latin education, led by such writers as Erasmus, More, and Colet. Medieval Latin had been the practical working language of the Roman Catholic Church, taught throughout Europe to aspiring clerics and refined in the medieval universities. It was a flexible and living language, full of neologisms and often composed without reference to the grammar or style of classical (usually pre-Christian) authors. While accepting many of the strengths of Medieval Latin, the humanist reformers sought both to purify Latin grammar and style, and to make Latin applicable to concerns beyond the ecclesiastical, creating a body of Latin literature outside the bounds of the Church. Attempts at reforming Latin use occurred sporadically throughout the period, becoming most successful in the mid-to-late 19th century. Europe in 1648 The Protestant Reformation (1520–1580), though it removed Latin from the liturgies of the churches of Northern Europe, may have advanced the cause of the new secular Latin. The period during and after the Reformation, coinciding with the growth of printed literature, saw the growth of an immense body of New Latin literature, on all kinds of secular as well as religious subjects. The heyday of New Latin was its first two centuries (1500–1700), when in the continuation of the Medieval Latin tradition, it served as the lingua franca of science, education, and to some degree diplomacy in Europe. Classic works such as Newton's Principia Mathematica (1687) were written in the language. Throughout this period, Latin was a universal school subject, and indeed, the pre-eminent subject for elementary education in most of Europe and other places of the world that shared its culture. All universities required Latin proficiency (obtained in local grammar schools) to obtain admittance as a student. Latin was an official language of Poland - recognised and widely used[3][4][5][6] between 9th and 18th centuries commonly used in foreign relations and popular as a second language among some of the nobility.[7] Through most of the 17th century, Latin was also supreme as an international language of diplomatic correspondence, used in negotiations between nations and the writing of treaties, e.g. the peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster (1648). As an auxiliary language to the local vernaculars, New Latin appeared in a wide variety of documents, ecclesiastical, legal, diplomatic, academic, and scientific. While a text written in English, French, or Spanish at this time might be understood by a significant cross section of the learned, only a Latin text could be certain of finding someone to interpret it anywhere between Lisbon and Helsinki. As late as the 1720s, Latin was still used conversationally, and was serviceable as an international auxiliary language between people of different countries who had no other language in common. For instance, the Hanoverian king Robert Walpole,[8] who knew neither German nor French. By about 1700, the growing movement for the use of national languages (already found earlier in literature and the Protestant religious movement) had reached academia, and an example of the transition is Newton's writing career, which began in New Latin and ended in English (e.g. Opticks, 1704). A much earlier example is Galileo c. 1600, some of whose scientific writings were in Latin, some in Italian, the latter to reach a wider audience. By contrast, while German philosopher Christian Wolff (1679–1754) popularized German as a language of scholarly instruction and research, and wrote some works in German, he continued to write primarily in Latin, so that his works could more easily reach an international audience (e.g., Philosophia moralis, 1750–53). Likewise, in the early 18th century, French replaced Latin as a diplomatic language, due to the commanding presence in Europe of the France of Louis XIV. At the same time, some (like King Frederick William I of Prussia) were dismissing Latin as a useless accomplishment, unfit for a man of practical affairs. The last international treaty to be written in Latin was the Treaty of Vienna in 1738; after the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48) international diplomacy was conducted predominantly in French. A diminishing audience combined with diminishing production of Latin texts pushed Latin into a declining spiral from which it has not recovered. As it was gradually abandoned by various fields, and as less written material appeared in it, there was less of a practical reason for anyone to bother to learn Latin; as fewer people knew Latin, there was less reason for material to be written in the language. Latin came to be viewed as esoteric, irrelevant, and too difficult. As languages like French, German, and English became more widely known, use of a 'difficult' auxiliary language seemed unnecessary—while the argument that Latin could expand readership beyond a single nation was fatally weakened if, in fact, Latin readers did not compose a majority of the intended audience. As the 18th century progressed, the extensive literature in Latin being produced at the beginning slowly contracted. By 1800 Latin publications were far outnumbered, and often outclassed, by writings in the vernacular. Latin literature lasted longest in very specific fields (e.g. botany and zoology) where it had acquired a technical character, and where a literature available only to a small number of learned individuals could remain viable. By the end of the 19th century, Latin in some instances functioned less as a language than as a code capable of concise and exact expression, as for instance in physicians' prescriptions, or in a botanist's description of a specimen. In other fields (e.g. anatomy or law) where Latin had been widely used, it survived in technical phrases and terminology. The perpetuation of Ecclesiastical Latin in the Roman Catholic Church through the 20th century can be considered a special case of the technicalizing of Latin, and the narrowing of its use to an elite class of readers. By 1900, creative Latin composition, for purely artistic purposes, had become rare. Authors such as Arthur Rimbaud and Max Beerbohm wrote Latin verse, but these texts were either school exercises or occasional pieces. The last survivals of New Latin to convey non-technical information appear in the use of Latin to cloak passages and expressions deemed too indecent (in the 19th century) to be read by children, the lower classes, or (most) women. Such passages appear in translations of foreign texts and in works on folklore, anthropology, and psychology, e.g. Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (1886). Crisis and transformation Latin as a language held a place of educational pre-eminence until the second half of the 19th century. At that point its value was increasingly questioned; in the 20th century, educational philosophies such as that of John Dewey dismissed its relevance. At the same time, the philological study of Latin appeared to show that the traditional methods and materials for teaching Latin were dangerously out of date and ineffective. In secular academic use, however, New Latin declined sharply and then continuously after about 1700. Although Latin texts continued to be written throughout the 18th and into the 19th century, their number and their scope diminished over time. By 1900, very few new texts were being created in Latin for practical purposes, and the production of Latin texts had become little more than a hobby for Latin enthusiasts. Around the beginning of the 19th century came a renewed emphasis on the study of Classical Latin as the spoken language of the Romans of the 1st centuries BC and AD. This new emphasis, similar to that of the Humanists but based on broader linguistic, historical, and critical studies of Latin literature, led to the exclusion of Neo-Latin literature from academic studies in schools and universities (except for advanced historical language studies); to the abandonment of New Latin neologisms; and to an increasing interest in the reconstructed Classical pronunciation, which displaced the several regional pronunciations in Europe in the early 20th century. Coincident with these changes in Latin instruction, and to some degree motivating them, came a concern about lack of Latin proficiency among students. Latin had already lost its privileged role as the core subject of elementary instruction; and as education spread to the middle and lower classes, it tended to be dropped altogether. By the mid-20th century, even the trivial acquaintance with Latin typical of the 19th-century student was a thing of the past. This pocket watch made for the medical community has Latin instructions for measuring a patient's pulse rate on its dial: enumeras ad XX pulsus, "you count to the 20th beat". Ecclesiastical Latin, the form of New Latin used in the Roman Catholic Church, remained in use throughout the period and after. Until the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65 all priests were expected to have competency in it, and it was studied in Catholic schools. It is today still the official language of the Church, and all Catholic priests of the Latin liturgical rites are required by canon law to have competency in the language,[9] although most do not. Use of Latin in the Mass, largely abandoned through the later 20th century, has recently seen a resurgence, due in large part to Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum and its use by traditional Catholic priests and their organizations. New Latin is also the source of the Carolus Linnæus, although the rules of the ICZN allow the construction of names that deviate considerably from historical norms. See also classical compounds. Another continuation is the use of Latin names for the surface features of planets and planetary satellites (planetary nomenclature), originated in the mid-17th century for selenographic toponyms. New Latin has also contributed a vocabulary for specialized fields such as anatomy and law; some of these words have become part of the normal, non-technical vocabulary of various European languages. New Latin had no single pronunciation, but a host of local variants or dialects, all distinct both from each other and from the historical pronunciation of Latin at the time of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. As a rule, the local pronunciation of Latin used sounds identical to those of the dominant local language; the result of a concurrently evolving pronunciation in the living languages and the corresponding spoken dialects of Latin. Despite this variation, there are some common characteristics to nearly all of the dialects of New Latin, for instance: The use of a sibilant fricative or affricate in place of a stop for the letters c and sometimes g, when preceding a front vowel. The use of a sibilant fricative or affricate for the letter t when not in the onset of the first syllable and preceding unstressed i followed by a vowel. The use of a labiodental fricative for most instances of the letter v (or consonantal u), instead of the classical labiovelar approximant /w/. A tendency for medial s to be voiced to [z], especially between vowels. The merger of æ and œ with e, and of y with i. The loss of the distinction between short and long vowels, with such vowel distinctions as remain being dependent upon word-stress. The regional dialects of New Latin can be grouped into families, according to the extent to which they share common traits of pronunciation. The major division is between Western and Eastern family of New Latin. The Western family includes most Romance-speaking regions (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy) and the British Isles; the Eastern family includes Central Europe (Germany and Poland), Eastern Europe (Russia and Ukraine) and Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden). The Western family is characterized, inter alia, by having a front variant of the letter g before the vowels æ, e, i, œ, y and also pronouncing j in the same way (except in Italy). In the Eastern Latin family, j is always pronounced [ j ], and g had the same sound (usually [ɡ]) in front of both front and back vowels; exceptions developed later in some Scandinavian countries. The following table illustrates some of the variation of New Latin consonants found in various countries of Europe, compared to the Classical Latin pronunciation of the 1st centuries BCE-CE.[10] In Eastern Europe, the pronunciation of Latin was generally similar to that shown in the table below for German, but usually with [z] for z instead of [ts]. Roman letter before "æ", "e", "i", "œ", y / k / / s / / s / / s / / θ / / tʃ / / tʃ / / ts / / s / / s / before "æ", "e", "i", "œ", "y" / kk / / ks / / ks / / ss / / kθ / / ttʃ / / ktʃ / / kts / / ss / / ss / ch / kʰ / / k / / k / / k / / k / / k / / k / / k /, / x / / x / / k / before "æ", "e", i", "œ", "y" / ɡ / / ʒ / / dʒ / / ʒ / / x / / dʒ / / dʒ / / ɡ / / ɣ / or / x / / j / j / j / / j / / j / / j / / j / before "a", "o", "u" / kʷ / / kw / / kw / / kw / / kw / / kw / / kv / / kv / / kv / / kv / before "æ", "e", "i" / k / / k / / k / before "æ", "e", "i", "œ", "y" / sk / / s / / s / / s / / sθ / / ʃ / / stʃ /, / sk / (earlier / ʃt /) / sts / / s / / s / before unstressed i+vowel except initially or after "s", "t", "x" / t / / ʃ / / θ / / ts / / t / / ts / / ts / / ts / v / w / / v / / v / / v / / b / ([β]) / v / / v / / v / / v / / v / z / dz / / z / / z / / z / / θ / / dz / / z / / ts / / z / / s / Orthography New Latin texts are primarily found in early printed editions, which present certain features of spelling and the use of diacritics distinct from the Latin of antiquity, medieval Latin manuscript conventions, and representations of Latin in modern printed editions. In spelling, New Latin, in all but the earliest texts, distinguishes the letter u from v and i from j. In older texts printed down to c. 1630, v was used in initial position (even when it represented a vowel, e.g. in vt, later printed ut) and u was used elsewhere, e.g. in nouus, later printed novus. By the mid-17th century, the letter v was commonly used for the consonantal sound of Roman V, which in most pronunciations of Latin in the New Latin period was [v] (and not [w]), as in vulnus "wound", corvus "crow". Where the pronunciation remained [w], as after g, q and s, the spelling u continued to be used for the consonant, e.g. in lingua, qualis, and suadeo. The letter j generally represented a consonantal sound (pronounced in various ways in different European countries, e.g. [j], [dʒ], [ʒ], [x]). It appeared, for instance, in jam "already" or jubet "orders" (now spelled iam and iubet). It was also found between vowels in the words ejus, hujus, cujus (now normally spelled eius, huius, cuius), and pronounced as a consonant; likewise in such forms as major and pejor. J was also used when the last in a sequence of two or more i's, e.g. radij (now spelled radii) "rays", alijs "to others", iij, the Roman numeral 3; however, ij was for the most part replaced by ii by 1700. In common with texts in other languages using the Roman alphabet, Latin texts down to c. 1800 used the letter-form ſ (the long s) for s in positions other than at the end of a word; e.g. ipſiſſimus. The digraphs ae and oe were rarely so written (except when part of a word in all capitals, e.g. in titles, chapter headings, or captions) ; instead the ligatures æ and œ were used, e.g. Cæsar, pœna. More rarely (and usually in 16th- to early 17th-century texts) the e caudata is found substituting for either. Three kinds of diacritic were in common use: the acute accent ´, the grave accent `, and the circumflex accent ˆ. These were normally only marked on vowels (e.g. í, è, â); but see below regarding que. Handwriting in Latin from 1595 The acute accent marked a stressed syllable, but was usually confined to those where the stress was not in its normal position, as determined by vowel length and syllabic weight. In practice, it was typically found on the vowel in the syllable immediately preceding a final clitic, particularly que "and", ve "or" and ne, a question marker; e.g. idémque "and the same (thing)". Some printers, however, put this acute accent over the q in the enclitic que, e.g. eorumq́ue "and their". The acute accent fell out of favor by the 19th century. The grave accent had various uses, none related to pronunciation or stress. It was always found on the preposition à (variant of ab "by" or "from") and likewise on the preposition è (variant of ex "from" or "out of"). It might also be found on the interjection ò "O". Most frequently, it was found on the last (or only) syllable of various adverbs and conjunctions, particularly those that might be confused with prepositions or with inflected forms of nouns, verbs, or adjectives. Examples include certè "certainly", verò "but", primùm "at first", pòst "afterwards", cùm "when", adeò "so far, so much", unà "together", quàm "than". In some texts the grave was found over the clitics such as que, in which case the acute accent did not appear before them. The circumflex accent represented metrical length (generally not distinctively pronounced in the New Latin period) and was chiefly found over an a representing an ablative singular case, e.g. eâdem formâ "with the same shape". It might also be used to distinguish two words otherwise spelled identically, but distinct in vowel length; e.g. hîc "here" differentiated from hic "this", fugêre "they have fled" (=fūgērunt) distinguished from fugere "to flee", or senatûs "of the senate" distinct from senatus "the senate". It might also be used for vowels arising from contraction, e.g. nôsti for novisti "you know", imperâsse for imperavisse "to have commanded", or dî for dei or dii. Notable works (1500–1900) Erasmus by Holbein Literature and biography 1511. Stultitiæ Laus, essay by Desiderius Erasmus. 1516. Utopia[1] [2] by Thomas More 1525 and 1538. Hispaniola and Emerita, two comedies by Juan Maldonado. 1546. Sintra, a poem by Luisa Sigea de Velasco. 1602. Cenodoxus, a play by Jacob Bidermann. 1608. Parthenica, two books of poetry by Elizabeth Jane Weston. 1621. Argenis, a novel by John Barclay. 1626-1652. Poems by John Milton. 1634. Somnium, a scientific fantasy by Johannes Kepler. 1741. Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum[3][4], a satire by Ludvig Holberg. 1761. Slawkenbergii Fabella, short parodic piece in Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy. 1767. Apollo et Hyacinthus, intermezzo by Rufinus Widl (with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). 1835. Georgii Washingtonii, Americæ Septentrionalis Civitatum Fœderatarum Præsidis Primi, Vita, biography of George Washington by Francis Glass. Scientific works 1543. De Revolutionibus Orbium Cœlestium by Nicolaus Copernicus 1545. Ars Magna by Hieronymus Cardanus 1551-58 and 1587. Historiae animalium by Conrad Gessner. 1600. De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus et de Magno Magnete Tellure by William Gilbert. 1609. Astronomia nova by Johannes Kepler. 1610. Sidereus Nuncius by Galileo Galilei. 1620. Francis Bacon.[5] 1628. Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus by William Harvey. [6] 1659. Systema Saturnium by Christiaan Huygens. 1673. Horologium Oscillatorium by Christiaan Huygens. Also at Gallica. 1687. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton. [7] 1703. Hortus Malabaricus by Hendrik van Rheede.[8][9] 1735. Systema Naturae by Carolus Linnaeus. 1737. Mechanica sive motus scientia analytice exposita by Leonhard Euler. 1738. Hydrodynamica, sive de viribus et motibus fluidorum commentarii by Daniel Bernoulli. 1748. Introductio in analysin infinitorum by Leonhard Euler. 1753. Species Plantarum by Carolus Linnaeus. 1758. Systema Naturae (10th ed.) by Carolus Linnaeus. 1791. De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari by Aloysius Galvani. 1801. Disquisitiones Arithmeticae by Carl Gauss. 1810. Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen by Robert Brown.[10] 1830. Fundamenta nova theoriae functionum ellipticarum by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. 1840. Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.[11] 1864. Philosophia zoologica by Jan van der Hoeven. Other technical subjects 1511-16. De Orbe Novo Decades by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera. 1514. De Asse et Partibus by Guillaume Budé. 1524. De motu Hispaniæ by Juan Maldonado. 1525. De subventione pauperum sive de humanis necessitatibus libri duo by Juan Luis Vives. 1530. Syphilis, sive, De Morbo Gallico by Girolamo Fracastoro(transcription) 1531. De disciplinis libri XX by Juan Luis Vives. 1552. Colloquium de aulica et privata vivendi ratione by Luisa Sigea de Velasco. 1553. Christianismi Restitutio by Michael Servetus. A mainly theological treatise, where the function of pulmonary circulation was first described by a European, more than half a century before Harvey. For the non-trinitarian message of this book Servetus was denounced by Calvin and his followers, condemned by the French Inquisition, and burnt alive just outside of Geneva. Only three copies survived. 1554. De naturæ philosophia seu de Platonis et Aristotelis consensione libri quinque by Sebastián Fox Morcillo. 1582. Rerum Scoticarum Historia by George Buchanan (transcription) 1587. Minerva sive de causis linguæ Latinæ by Francisco Sánchez de las Brozas. 1589. De natura Novi Orbis libri duo et de promulgatione euangelii apud barbaros sive de procuranda Indorum salute by José de Acosta. 1597. Disputationes metaphysicæ by Francisco Suárez. 1599. De rege et regis institutione by Juan de Mariana. 1604-1608. Historia sui temporis by Jacobus Augustus Thuanus. 1612. De legibus by Francisco Suárez. 1615. De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas by Matteo Ricci and Nicolas Trigault. 1625. De Jure Belli ac Pacis by Hugo Grotius. (Posner Collection facsimile; Gallica facsimile) 1641. Meditationes de prima philosophia by René Descartes. (The Latin, French and English by John Veitch.) 1642-1658. Elementa Philosophica by Thomas Hobbes. 1652-1654. Œdipus Ægyptiacus by Athanasius Kircher. 1655. by Martino Martini. 1656. Flora Sinensis by Michael Boym. 1657. Orbis Sensualium Pictus by John Amos Comenius. (Hoole parallel Latin/English translation, 1777; Online version in Latin) 1670. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus by Baruch Spinoza. 1677. Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata by Baruch Spinoza. 1725. Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph Fux. An influential treatise on musical counterpoint. 1780. De rebus gestis Caroli V Imperatoris et Regis Hispaniæ and De rebus Hispanorum gestis ad Novum Orbem Mexicumque by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda. ^ "Neo-Latin". The American College Dictionary. Random House. 1966. ^ "What is Neo-Latin?". http://www.mml.cam.ac.uk/other/courses/ugrad/neo_latin.html. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 July 2014. ^ Who only knows Latin can go across the whole Poland from one side to the other one just like he was at his own home, just like he was born there. So great happiness! I wish a traveler in England could travel without knowing any other language than Latin!, Daniel Defoe, 1728 ^ Anatol Lieven, The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, Yale University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-300-06078-5, Google Print, p.48 ^ Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p.115 ^ Karin Friedrich et al., The Other Prussia: Royal Prussia, Poland and Liberty, 1569–1772, Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-521-58335-7, Google Print, p.88 ^ "Before I conclude the reign of George the First, one remarkable fact must not be omitted: As the king could not readily speak English, nor Sir Robert Walpole French, the minister was obliged to deliver his sentiments in Latin; and as neither could converse in that language with readiness and propriety, Walpole was frequently heard to say, that during the reign of the first George, he governed the kingdom by means of bad latin." Coxe, William (1800). Memoirs of the Life and Administration of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford. London: Cadell and Davies. p. 465. Retrieved June 2, 2010. "It was perhaps still more remarkable, and an instance unparalleled, that Sir Robert governed George the First in Latin, the King not speaking English, and his minister no German, nor even French. It was much talked of that Sir Robert, detecting one of the Hanoverian ministers in some trick or falsehood before the King's face, had the firmness to say to the German "Mentiris impudissime!"Walpole, Horace (1842). The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard. p. 70. Retrieved June 2, 2010. ^ This requirement is found under canon 249 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. See "1983 Code of Canon Law". Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 1983. Retrieved 22 March 2011. ^ Fisher, Michael Montgomery (1879). The Three Pronunciations of Latin. Boston: New England Publishing Company. pp. 10–11. Binomial nomenclature Classical compound Romance languages, sometimes called Neo-Latin languages IJsewijn, Jozef with Dirk Sacré. Companion to Neo-Latin Studies. 2 vols. Leuven University Press, 1990-1998. Waquet, Françoise, Latin, or the Empire of a Sign: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries (Verso, 2003) ISBN 1-85984-402-2; translated from the French by John Howe. An Analytic Bibliography of On-line Neo-Latin Titles — Bibliography of Renaissance Latin and Neo-Latin literature on the web. A Lost Continent of Literature: The rise and fall of Neo-Latin, the universal language of the Renaissance. — An essay on Neo-Latin literature by James Hankins from the I Tatti Renaissance Library website. American Association for Neo-Latin Studies Latin Abbreviations used in modern language. CAMENA – Latin Texts of Early Modern Europe Center for Neo-Latin Studies at University College Cork Database of Nordic Neo-Latin Literature Heinsius collection: Dutch Neo-Latin poetry Glossary of Latin Roots of Botanical Terms International Association for Neo-Latin Studies Latinitas Nova at Bibliotheca Augustana Hofmanni, Joh. Jac. (2009) [1698]. Lexicon Universale (in German, Latin). Corpus Automatum Multiplex Electorum Neolatinitatis Auctorum (CAMENA), University of Mannheim. "Neo-Latin" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 12 October 2009. Patzdasch, Bernd (2008). "PANTOIA: Unterhaltsame Literatur und Dichtung in lateinischer und griechischer Übersetzung" (in German). Pantoia. Retrieved 12 October 2009. "Seminarium Philologiae Humanisticae". Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009. "Society for Neo-Latin Studies". University of Warwick, UK. 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2009. Ages of Latin until 75 BC Old Latin 75 BC – 200 AD Classical Latin Renaissance Latin History of Latin Latin literature Vulgar Latin Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum Hiberno-Latin Judeo-Latin Articles needing additional references from October 2009 Articles containing Latin-language text Historical forms of languages with ISO codes Languages missing Glottolog code CS1 Latin-language sources (la) Latin language Forms of Latin History of literature	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line96
__label__cc	0.731095	0.268905	Cartoon -- Let Those Who Make the Quarrel Do the Fighting. Life_62_1612_478_Dart.jpg Dart, Harry Grant (1869 – 1938) Most issues of Life had a theme that was introduced by the cover and reflected throughout the issue. Harry Grant Dart was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1869. His worked for a time creating crayon portraits for the National Crayon Company brochures. He drew for the Boston Herald and the New York World. The World sent Dart to Cuba as a sketch artist for important events. Eventually, he became the art editor of the World. Around the same time, he started his cartoon strip, the Explorigator. The strip only ran for 14 weeks in 1908. Dart went on to become a very prolific cartoonist for Life and Judge during the 1920s. He is best known for his futuristic and aviation-oriented cartoons and comic strips. His detailed cartoons featured complicated perspectives and futuristic speculations. He died in New Hampshire in 1938. Two page spread. Volume 62, number 1612, page 478.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line97
__label__cc	0.706347	0.293653	Ronald G. Geary Ronald G. Geary is the former chairman of the board, president, and CEO of Res-Care, Inc., a leading provider of residential, training and support services for persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Under Mr. Geary's leadership, Res-Care recently had the distinction of being ranked by Forbes magazine as the 51st best small company in America, marking the second consecutive year Res-Care has been ranked by Forbes. The company has also been included in Quantum Companies, a book highlighting "100 companies that will change the face of tomorrow's business." He earned his B.S. in accounting from the University of Kentucky and his J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of law from Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line101
__label__wiki	0.645602	0.645602	About Geovative Solutions Based in Junction City, Kansas, we serve businesses and consumers worldwide by providing innovative location-based software and solutions, specializing in GPS touring. We offer the GeoTour product line, sell professional GPS tours, and provide consulting and custom development related to GPS, navigation, and the Web. Lane Roney, CEO Lane has taught thousands of African kids how to not get AIDS, developed small businesses for the poor in the Philippines, produced weapons for the US and allied militaries, and wandered through the South Pacific attempting almost every adventure sport known to man. He earned his BS in industrial engineering from Kansas State University along with a certificate in engineering leadership and a minor in business administration. Drop him a line at lroney (at) geovative (dot) com and he'll hit you back if he’s not trekking through a remote wilderness. Scott Rock, President & CTO Scott is the resident tech guru and enjoys helping his 3-year old son work on his dissertation for a PhD in math. Scott has served as information systems research & development manager for Central National Bank, web developer for Surface Systems and Instruments, and software developer for Cargill Meat Solutions. He’s also previously founded two other successful Internet businesses. Scott earned his BS in computer engineering and minor in computer science from Kansas State University. Shoot him an email at srock (at) geovative (dot) com and he’ll probably see it within 30 seconds if he’s not asleep. Shing Chang, PhD., Business Development Advisor Dr. Chang serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Kansas State University, and has held several other teaching and research appointments. He earned his B.S. in industrial engineering from Tsing-Hua University, his M.S.E. in industrial and management systems engineering from Arizona State University, and his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from The Ohio State University. Pat Caldwell, Operations Advisor Pat has held several management positions with Raytheon Missile Systems since 1980, and served as their Vice President of Operations during 2002 - 2005. Previously, he has worked as an engineer for Raytheon Missile Systems, Motorola’s Government Electronic Division, and Cessna’s Fluid Power Division. He earned his BS in electrical engineering from Kansas State University and his MS in electrical engineering from Arizona State University. Paris with an Artistic Flair South Beach Condo Tour Vegas Guide Route 66 IL to OK You have hit the nail on the head with your innovative site. Jeff Cosulich Acadia Vacation Planner	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line102
__label__wiki	0.7356	0.7356	Tag Archives: martina hingis It’s late July Hingis Will Return to Competitive Tennis Arena California – Still remember with Martina Hingis? Former world tennis queen was planning a comeback to the tennis world. Not to a single party ever menjulangkan name, but the doubles where he also has achievements okay. Hingis, who had won five Grand Slam singles titles, will return to action in the world of tennis in Southern California Open tournament on July 27-August 4. In the tournament, the Swiss-born tennis player 32 years ago it would pair up with Slovakian tennis player Daniela Hantuchova. “I’m really looking forward to get back into a competitive game in Southern California Open,” said Hingis in the WTA website and quoted by Reuters. “The spirit is still very rough and bersaingku I please be on the field,” continued the woman who occupies the WTA rankings even when he was barely 17 years old. Hingis, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon at the age of 16 years, retreating from the world of tennis in 2003 due to an ankle injury. At that time he was only 22 years old. In 2006, he decided to return to the tennis world. He retired again in 2007 after tested positive for cocaine. Hingis was sentenced to two years despite never insisted on taking the banned substance. Discourse comeback to the tennis world had inception in 2010. At that time he claimed to have been looking for a doubles partner to get back into action to competitive tennis. In women’s doubles, Hingis scored nine grand slam titles. He also never won a Grand Slam title in mixed doubles. Categories: Tennis Tags: grand slam titles, martina hingis, mixed doubles April 14, 2019 Author gibal	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line106
__label__cc	0.61355	0.38645	Can you trust the numbers? Millions of dollars are being invested in efforts to reduce the contribution of tropical deforestation to climate change. To find out whether that money is being well-spent, decision-makers choose from a variety of ways to measure avoided deforestation. But which one can be trusted? New research has found that different methods are more accurate in different sites, depending on the local deforestation drivers and the circumstances of the country. REDD+, the UN-backed scheme aiming to compensate developing countries for reducing deforestation and forest degradation – is now more than a decade old, and several tropical countries, including Indonesia and Brazil will receive payments for results achieved. Since some of the early REDD+ action was at the local level – with over 300 projects still active – it is important to understand if these initiatives contributed to reducing deforestation, and by how much. But what is the best way to measure that? A new study by researchers from Wageningen University and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) tested the accuracy of two approaches and found there’s no one-size-fits-all answer – it depends on the context. Global data and tools for local forest cover loss and REDD+ performance assessment: Accuracy, uncertainty, complementarity and impact Satellites can be used to map forests and the changes that occur there. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) opened its complete archive of Landsat satellite imagery, so researchers now have access to an unprecedented array of information dating back to the 1970s and covering the whole world. How satellites help to map deforestation More than a thousand satellites orbit the earth, and some of them are used to monitor land cover change – whether forests become farms or grasslands, or vice versa. The Landsat 7 satellite orbits the earth in sixteen days, meaning that – clear sky permitting – every spot on earth is captured once in that period. The satellite contains seven different spectral bands, including the three bands that we see with our eyes (red, green and blue). Those three can be combined to produce so-called ‘true-color’ images, which look similar to how we see the world. The other four bands allow scientists to monitor other phenomena, such as water content or vegetation. After stacking all the available pictures of one particular area of interest, a computer can be trained to look for irregularities over time. In this way, deforestation can be detected and mapped on global maps. But different scientists train their computers in different ways. How sensitive should the computer be to changes in the vegetation? How should it distinguish between seasonality effects and “real” deforestation? Different decisions in the change detection process can therefore lead to different deforestation maps (see maps below), even when they originally came from the same pair of ‘eyes’ – the Landsat 7 satellite. The marked out area in red depicts a mining area in West Kalimantan, Indonesia Deforestation due to mining in an area in West Kalimantan – Indonesia between 2001 and 2014. In the red areas, the two deforestation maps agreed on deforestation, in the orange areas the maps disagreed This has led to a huge increase in online tools that can be used to assess REDD+ performance. Decision-makers can choose to use easily-accessible online map tools, which pinpoint deforestation across the entire globe, and more customised – but time-consuming – open-source deforestation-detection algorithms. In practice, it is often difficult to judge which dataset best suits their purposes. The degree of expert knowledge needed to apply these tools and datasets differs greatly, too. People and organisations lacking expert remote-sensing skills could be expected to opt for the global dataset – the easiest, most accessible one. But is this the most accurate? BETTER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS To find out, we gathered detailed local reference data on deforestation in five REDD+ project sites in Indonesia, Peru, Tanzania and Vietnam, and then compared that with the deforestation estimates for these sites from maps derived from two different tools – a global dataset and a locally-customisable algorithm. When the results came in, there was no clear winner. We found that neither the global deforestation map nor the tailored algorithm performed better overall. Instead, each outperformed the other in different contexts. The tailored algorithm was more accurate in Tanzania and Vietnam, but in the Indonesia sites, the global map performed better. In Peru, the difference in accuracy between the two maps was negligible. It’s clear that each detection tool has its own strengths and weaknesses. While one might be better at detecting deforestation due to mining, the other could be more useful for spotting changes from the conversion of natural forests to oil palm plantations. To address this, we tried to find out whether combining the information from the two different tools could produce a combined map that would be better than the sum of its parts. We experimented with different combination strategies, and found that basing maps on the earliest detection of deforestation led to higher accuracies without considerably increasing the number of false-positives (areas marked as deforestation that were not actually deforested.) However, this only held for the sites where both individual maps and tools were already reasonably good. One poor map can wreck the accuracy, even when combined with a good one. MANAGING UNCERTAINTY To assess REDD+ performance, one approach is to compare deforestation over a certain period after the interventions have started with deforestation in the years before then. To assess the performance of the two datasets at our five sites, we used the average annual deforestation estimates for those two periods based on local high-resolution reference data – which were used to assess the accuracy of both tools and their combinations. Still, these deforestation estimates from reference data are subject to uncertainty, which is represented by the confidence intervals around them. If deforestation is found to be trending downwards, that should mean REDD+ is having an effect. However, if the estimated trend in deforestation is slight, and there is high uncertainty, it’s possible that in reality, deforestation levels could be stable or even increasing – raising questions about whether compensation is justified. In one site we found a distinct downwards trend in deforestation, regardless of uncertainty, while in the others – albeit to different degrees – uncertainty in the trend remained. PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR DATA IS In REDD+, unlike many other forest conservation strategies, those who help to keep forests standing should be rewarded with incentives. But such results-based payments rely on trustworthy data. More than a decade ago, scholars pledged to be conservative in REDD+ accounting. The idea was that REDD+ performance measurements should be made as accurate as possible – but if uncertainty remains, calculations of avoided deforestation should be conservative. But what does ‘conservative’ mean? For one Indonesian site in our study, we applied different degrees of ‘conservativeness’ to the deforestation measurements – and this variable had a large influence on the final figure. For our case study, varying ‘conservativeness’ and ‘confidence’ resulted in estimates of reduced annual deforestation between 7 percent and 20 percent – a significant difference. These factors, plus the uncertainties in the maps, can therefore greatly influence the deforestation measurements reported under REDD+, and thus whether or how much compensation should be awarded. Being open and honest about the strengths and weaknesses of the maps and tools we create, and about the reporting standards we follow, should therefore become common practice. The post Can you trust the numbers? appeared first on CIFOR Forests News. Category: NewsPar admin 18 juin 2019 Onglet précédent Onglet précédent [ACTION] Un second convoi nucléaire « marqué », en Ile-de-FranceOnglet suivantOnglet suivantBorderline	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line107
__label__cc	0.593189	0.406811	Politics and Justice without borders The theme of Global Dialogue 2009 is: Global Movement to Help to serve the people of all nations, all life on Earth R54, issue 617 Opening Remark by Leader Work from participants and authors with a summary or abstract of each work Comments and Recommendations from Participants (by name and address) Summary of Comments from Participants Summary of Recommendations from Participants Assessment of Results of the Group Discussion by email and Conclusion Closing Remark by Leader Contact the office for info Group Discussion by email Main Index This procedure has been effective and improved upon since 1985. Verify its use in 2008. Global Dialogue 2009 is being held all over the planet. Our website is used to relate results to everyone so as to continue the discussions with everyone else on Earth. Participants may apply to lead a Group Discussion by email. Here is how it works. 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Work from participants and authors with a summary or abstract of each work (by name and address) Month/year Theme and Author Read contents America Watches the War in Georgia with Dumb Goggles by Mark Ames AlterNet, The Mix is the Message, ForeignPolicy The war between Russia and Georgia has been framed as a tale of David versus Goliath. But it's far more complex than this, morally and historically. The initial war pitted the Goliath Georgia-a nation of 4.4 million, with vastly superior numbers, equipment and training thanks to US and Israeli advisers-against David-Ossetia, with a population of between 50,000-70,000 and a local militia force that is barely battalion strength. Reports coming out of South Ossetia tell of Georgian rockets and artillery leveling every building in the capital city, Tskhinvali, and of Georgian troops lobbing grenades into bomb shelters and basements sheltering women and children. Although true casualty figures are hard to come by, reports that up to 2,000 Ossetians, mostly civilians, were killed are certainly believable, given the intensity of the initial Georgian bombardment, the wanton destruction of the city and surrounding regions and the generally savage nature of Caucasus warfare, a very personal game where old rules apply. But you don't hear about this story from the Western media. Indeed, you hear little if anything about the Ossetians, who seem to hardly exist in the West's eyes, even though their grievance is the root cause of this war. While Russia and America see the conflict in abstract terms about spheres of influence and protecting allies, for Ossetians, who still recall the centuries of massacres Georgians committed against them, it is highly personal. They will still recall the Georgian massacres in the early 1920s, when Georgia was briefly independent, which exterminated up to 8 percent of the Ossetian population. In 1990, when Georgia was again moving towards independence, the ultranationalist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia abolished Ossetia's limited autonomy, leading to another Ossetian rebellion that was only quelled by a peace agreement signed by Georgia, Russia and the Ossetians. Gamsakhurdia was subsequently deposed, and Georgia's ethnic chauvinism was shelved until the rise of current president Mikhail Saakashvili in 2003. Ossetians have traditionally relied on their powerful northern neighbor Russia for protection against Georgia. The Georgians, in turn, have tried to counter Russian hegemony, for which they are no match, by aligning closely with the United States, finding friendly ears among old cold warriors and Bush-era neocons. At the root of this conflict is a clash of two twentieth-century guiding principles in international relations. Georgia, backed by the West, is claiming its right as a sovereign nation to control the territory within its borders, a guiding principle since World War II. The Ossetians are claiming their right to self-determination, a guiding principle since World War I. These two guiding concepts for international relations-national sovereignty and the right to self-determination-are locked in a zero-sum battle in Georgia. Sometimes, the West takes the side of national sovereignty, as it is in the current war; other times, it sides with self-determination and redrawing of national borders, such as with Kosovo. In that 1999 war, the United States led a nearly three-month bombing campaign of Serbia in order to rescue a beleaguered minority, the Albanians, and carve out a new nation. Self-determination trumped national sovereignty, over the objections of Russia, China and numerous other countries. Why, Russians and Ossetians (not to mention separatist Abkhazians in Georgia's western region) ask, should the same principle not be applied to them? The question we must ask is: Are we willing to risk war, including nuclear holocaust, in order to fulfill the aspirations of Mikhail Saakashvili? The Delusion Revolution: We're on the Road to Extinction and in Denial by Robert Jensen AlterNet, The Mix is the Message Our current way of life is unsustainable. We are the first species that will have to self-consciously impose limits on ourselves if we are to survive. Unsustainable systems can't be sustained. It's hard to argue with that; the important question is whether or not we live in a system that is truly unsustainable. There's no way to prove definitively such a sweeping statement, but look around at what we've built and ask yourself whether you really believe this world can go forward indefinitely, or even for more than a few decades? Take a minute to ponder the end of the era of cheap fossil energy, the lack of viable large-scale replacements for that energy, and the ecological consequences of burning what remains of it. Consider the indicators of the health of the planet -- groundwater contamination, topsoil loss, levels of toxicity. Factor in the widening inequality in the world, the intensity of the violence, and the desperation that so many feel at every level of society. Based on what you know about these trends, do you think this is a sustainable system? To be radically realistic in the face of all this is to recognize the failure of basic systems and to abandon the notion that all we need do is recalibrate the institutions that structure our lives today. The old future -- the way we thought things would work out -- truly is gone. The nation-state and capitalism are at the core of this unsustainable system, giving rise to the high-energy/mass-consumption configuration of privileged societies that has left us saddled with what James Howard Kunstler calls "a living arrangement with no future." The future we have been dreaming of was based on a dream, not on reality. Most of the world that doesn't live with our privilege has no choice but to face this reality. It's time for us to come to terms with it. The agricultural revolution set us on a road to destruction. The industrial revolution ramped up our speed. The delusional revolution has prevented us from coming to terms with the reality of where we are and where we are heading. That's the bad news. The worse news is that there's still overwhelming resistance in the dominant culture to acknowledging that these kinds of discussions are necessary. We are living today trapped by systems in which we did not evolve as a species over the long term and to which we are still struggling to adapt in the short term. Realistically, we need to get on a new road if we want there to be a future. The old future, the road we imagined we could travel, is gone -- it is part of the delusion. Unless one accepts an irrational technological fundamentalism (the idea that we will always be able to find high-energy/advanced-technology fixes for problems), there are no easy solutions to these ecological and human problems. We will need ways of organizing ourselves to help us live in a world with less energy and fewer material goods. We have to all develop the skills needed for that world (such as gardening with fewer inputs, food preparation and storage, and basic tinkering), and we will need to recover a deep sense of community that has disappeared from many of our lives. This means abandoning a sense of ourselves as consumption machines, which the contemporary culture promotes, and deepening our notions of what it means to be humans in search of meaning. We have to learn to tell different stories about our sense of self, our connection to others, and our place in nature. The stories we tell will matter, as will the skills we learn. August 13, 2008 Using Georgia To Target Russia by Stephen Lendman, Countercurrents.org After the Soviet Union's 1991 dissolution, Georgia's South Ossetia province broke away and declared its independence. So far it remains undiplomatically recognized by UN member states. It's been traditionally allied with Russia and wishes to reunite with Northern Ossetes in the North Ossetia-Alania Russian republic. Nothing so far is in prospect, but Russia appears receptive to the idea. And for Abkhazia as well, Georgia's other breakaway province. The conflict also has implications for Transdniestria, the small independent Russian-majority part of Moldova bordering Ukraine, and for Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Strategic importance of Georgia for the Anglo-American Caspian oil pipeline; its extension from Baku, Azerbaijan (on the Caspian) through Georgia (well south of S. Ossetia), bypassing Russia and Iran, and across Turkey to its port city of Ceyhan - the so-called BTC pipeline for around one million barrels of oil daily, adjacent to the South Causasus (gas) Pipeline with a capacity of about 16 billion cubic meters annually. The regional stakes involved: Washington and Russia vying to control Eurasia's vast oil and gas reserves. Israel's role in the region; its interest in the BTC pipline; its negotiations with Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan to have it reach its Ashkelon oil terminal and Red Sea Eilat port; its selling Georgia state-of-the-art weapons, electronic warfare systems and intelligence; its use of military advisors to train Georgian forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery tactics as well as instruction on military intelligence and security. The Israeli ynetnews.com highlighted "The Israeli Connection" and reported "Israeli companies have been helping (the) Georgian army (prepare) for war against Russia through arms deals, training of infantry and security advice;" it was helped by Georgian citizens "who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople," and the fact that Georgia's Defense Minister, Davit Kezerashvili, "is a former Israeli fluent in Hebrew (whose) door was always open to the Israelis who came and offered his country arms;" deals went through "fast" and included "remote-piloted (Elbit System) vehicles (RPVs), automatic turrets for armed vehicles, antiaircraft systems, communications systems, shells and rockets." What's at stake is what former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski described in his 1997 book "The Grand Chessboard." He called Eurasia the "center of world power extending from Germany and Poland in the East through Russia and China to the Pacific and including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent." He continued: "The most immediate (US) task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role." Dominating that part of the world and its vast energy and other resources is Washington's goal with NATO and Israel its principal tools to do it: -- in the Middle East with its two-thirds of the world's proved oil reserves (about 675 billion barrels); and -- the Caspian basin with an estimated 270 billion barrels of oil plus one-eighth of the world's natural gas reserves. "New World Order" strategy aims to secure them. Russia, China, and Iran have other plans. India allies with both sides. Former Warsaw Pact and Soviet republics split this way: -- NATO members include the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; -- Georgia and Ukraine seek membership; while -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazahkstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgystan ally with Russia. Georgia now occupies center stage, so first some background about a nation Michel Chossudovsky calls "an outpost of US and NATO forces" located strategically on Russia's border "within proximity of the Middle East Central Asian war theater." Breakaway S. Ossetia and Abkhazia, though small in size, are very much players in what's unfolding with potential to have it develop into something much bigger than a short-lived regional conflict. August 13, 2008 A Path To Peace In The Caucasus by Mikhail Gorbachev, Countercurrents.org The past week's events in South Ossetia are bound to shock and pain anyone. Already, thousands of people have died, tens of thousands have been turned into refugees, and towns and villages lie in ruins. Nothing can justify this loss of life and destruction. It is a warning to all. The roots of this tragedy lie in the decision of Georgia's separatist leaders in 1991 to abolish South Ossetian autonomy. This turned out to be a time bomb for Georgia's territorial integrity. Each time successive Georgian leaders tried to impose their will by force -- both in South Ossetia and in Abkhazia, where the issues of autonomy are similar -- it only made the situation worse. New wounds aggravated old injuries. Nevertheless, it was still possible to find a political solution. For some time, relative calm was maintained in South Ossetia. The peacekeeping force composed of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians fulfilled its mission, and ordinary Ossetians and Georgians, who live close to each other, found at least some common ground. Through all these years, Russia has continued to recognize Georgia's territorial integrity. Clearly, the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. Indeed, in a civilized world, there is no other way. The Georgian leadership flouted this key principle. What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity. Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a "blitzkrieg" in South Ossetia. In other words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was expecting unconditional support from the West, and the West had given him reason to think he would have it. Now that the Georgian military assault has been routed, both the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position. When the problems of South Ossetia and Abkhazia first flared up, I proposed that they be settled through a federation that would grant broad autonomy to the two republics. The region's political leaders need to realize this. Instead of flexing military muscle, they should devote their efforts to building the groundwork for durable peace. Over the past few days, some Western nations have taken positions, particularly in the U.N. Security Council, that have been far from balanced. As a result, the Security Council was not able to act effectively from the very start of this conflict. By declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its "national interest," the United States made a serious blunder. Of course, peace in the Caucasus is in everyone's interest. But it is simply common sense to recognize that Russia is rooted there by common geography and centuries of history. Russia is not seeking territorial expansion, but it has legitimate interests in this region. The international community's long-term aim could be to create a sub-regional system of security and cooperation that would make any provocation, and the very possibility of crises such as this one, impossible. Building this type of system would be challenging and could only be accomplished with the cooperation of the region's countries themselves. Nations outside the region could perhaps help, too -- but only if they take a fair and objective stance. A lesson from recent events is that geopolitical games are dangerous anywhere, not just in the Caucasus. The Era of Catastrophe? Geologists Name New Era After Human Influence on the Planet by Mike Davis, Tomdispatch.com A striking report from the front lines of science suggests we're officially entering a period in which humanity may simply outrun history itself. If this seems unduly apocalyptic, consider that most climate models project impacts that will uncannily reinforce the present geography of inequality. One of the pioneer analysts of the economics of global warming, Petersen Institute fellow William R. Cline, recently published a country-by-country study of the likely effects of climate change on agriculture by the later decades of this century. Even in the most optimistic simulations, the agricultural systems of Pakistan (a 20 percent decrease from current farm output predicted) and Northwestern India (a 30 percent decrease) are likely to be devastated, along with much of the Middle East, the Maghreb, the Sahel belt, Southern Africa, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Twenty-nine developing countries will lose 20 percent or more of their current farm output to global warming, while agriculture in the already rich north is likely to receive, on average, an 8 percent boost. In light of such studies, the current ruthless competition between energy and food markets, amplified by international speculation in commodities and agricultural land, is only a modest portent of the chaos that could soon grow exponentially from the convergence of resource depletion, intractable inequality, and climate change. The real danger is that human solidarity itself, like a West Antarctic ice shelf, will suddenly fracture and shatter into a thousand shards. Bush Plans to Make The Endangered Species Act Extinct by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress Something tells me we're going to be seeing a lot more of this in his final months. The Bush administration has been attempting to bypass or kill the Endangered Species Act for years. Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used his power to waive federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, in order to expedite building the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Unclear if the new rules are the doing of Vice President Cheney, who has been maneuvering increased control over environmental policies. August 7, 2008 Global Footprint Network - China Report by Justin Kitzes, Susannah Buchan, Alessandro Galli, Brad Ewing, Cheng Shengkui, Xie Gaodi, Cao Shuyan Countercurrents.org There are two big challenges facing human society in the new century, the environment and development. The continuous degradation of the environment has directly affected the very survival and sustainable development of human beings. How to realise a more balanced development of economic growth and environmental protection has become a critical issue that requires China and the whole world to address urgently. Globally, the ecological footprint has been widely used to measure the human demands on nature. Human consumption of the natural resources has been constantly increasing over the past four decades to result in a growing overshoot of what the Earth can sustainably supply. It has become a premise and an important guideline to understand the world's and China's ecological footprints and integrate them into the sustainable development strategies for a holistic planning of environment protection in China. Sustainable development requires humans to manage their demands on natural resources strictly within the Earth's capacity to regenerate, which describes the concept of biological capacity. The Report on Ecological Footprint in China expounds the relation between ecological footprint and biological capacity in China, and proposes how to ease the conflicts between them. The suggestions and strategies will play important roles functioning as guidelines for us to measure and improve the environmental status for the realization of sustainable development in China. It's a critical period in coming 20 years for China to realize its sustainable development, which is determined by important indicators including the balance between the efficiency of natural resources and the Earth's regeneration capacity improvement. Therefore, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) has worked with WWF to produce this report on the ecological footprint in China, which we hope, based on researches conducted by experts from home and abroad, will serve its reference accordingly. The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of biologically productive land and water area needed to meet the demands of a population. By comparing this demand for area to biocapacity, the amount of biologically productive land and water available within a given region or nation, Ecological Footprint accounts can determine whether a nation, region, or the world as a whole is living within its ecological means. Footprint accounts have been used by governments, businesses, and individuals who wish to better understand the magnitude of their dependence on biological capital and how they might plan strategically in an increasingly resource constrained world. This report focuses on the Ecological Footprint of China within a global and regional context. Recent Ecological Footprint studies by Chinese scholars are reviewed, and China's Ecological Footprint is showcased in detail, including a discussion of the different types of land and water area necessary to meet China's resource and energy needs. A specific study of selected traded goods shows how the productive areas needed to produce these goods are “traded” with other nations around the world. The report concludes with strategies for managing China's Ecological Footprint and biological capacity. The report finds that: • In 2003, the most recent year data are available, global society demanded 25% more biological capacity than the planet was able to provide. This state of global overshoot will inevitably lead to the degradation of the planet's biological capital. • The United States, the European Union, and China represent more than 50% of the world's total Ecological Footprint and 30% of global available biological capacity. The decisions made by the respective governments and societies will largely determine whether the world is able to meet the sustainable development challenge in the coming century. • The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's population, who demand nearly 40% of the planet's available biological capacity. • The calculation of Ecological Footprints in China began soon after the concept was first proposed in the mid-1990s, and has been used by local researchers to evaluate the ecological deficits of different provinces in China as well as the impacts of specific business and household activities. • Focusing on individual lifestyle, China's Ecological Footprint in 2003 was 1.6 global hectares per person, the 69th highest country in the world, and lower than the world average Ecological Footprint of 2.2 global hectares per person. • Despite this low per person consumption, however, China has run an ecological deficit since the mid-1970s, demanding more biological capacity than its own ecosystems can provide each year. In 2003, China demanded the equivalent of two Chinas to provide for its consumption and absorb its wastes. The majority of this deficit is due to emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels that are not sequestered. • China partially covers its deficit by importing biological capacity, in the form of natural resources, from other nations. In 2003, China imported 130 million global hectares from outside its borders, nearly equivalent to the entire biological capacity of Germany. • China's Ecological Footprint is connected through trade relations to nearly every country in the world, including many close by and many far away. An analysis of selected traded products suggests that China often imports biocapacity embodied in raw materials from countries such as Canada, Indonesia, and the United States and often exports biocapacity embodied in manufactured products to countries such as South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Australia. • Three factors control China's Ecological Footprint: population, consumption per person, and the resource-intensity of consumption. Two complementary approaches for reducing China's ecological deficit are quickly addressing (1) activities that are easy and cheap to change, such as the use of energy intensive light bulbs, and (2) investments in infrastructure that will have longterm implications for resource use in the future. • Specific strategies for China to move towards a sustainable future involve the CIRCLE approach: Compact urban development, Individual action, Reducing hidden waste flows, Carbon reduction strategies, Land management, and Efficiency increases. Download full pdf document of Report by authors August 8, 2008 Doom Or Disaster? by John James, Countercurrents.org Nearly every projection for the future of civilisation made in the IPCC reports has been exceeded. Events that were projected to emerge by the end of the century have been moved back to 2070, then to 2040, and even now to ‘within the next few years’. The goal posts are moving towards us at a terrible pace. The most obvious is the visible state of the summer sea ice in the Arctic that was expected to still be there in the lifetime of my grandchildren, but is now well on the way to disappearing by 2012. What was to have deteriorated slowly over 80 years could now be gone in four. It is the same with global temperatures, loss of species, sea-level rise and aggravated drought. Wherever we look at the figures we are, on nearly every front, approaching Armageddon at an appallingly fast rate. As greenhouse gas emissions are increasing every year, as more and more coal-powered generators are being built, as larger trucks are carrying goods over longer distances and as the population continues to increase, it is blindingly obvious that Hansen’s best scenario is now extremely unlikely. We are left with disaster (that will be bad enough) or doom. We need to understand what Doom means. There is no possibility that Frodo will drop the ring into the crater and suddenly save us all. Doom means anything over 4 degrees temperature increase. It means the loss of most of the world’s best agricultural land to rising seas, the end of trade as docks and cities are flooded, and the displacement of billions of men, women and children. It means nuclear war and genocide, enormous suffering and the end of diversity in both human cultures and living creatures. It means the end of civilisation and a return to the most primitive way of life imaginable for the few thousand scattered survivors. It means that we will have long passed the point of no return, and that even if we do stop emitting more pollutants into the air we will have begun the unstoppable release of methane from permafrost and under-sea clathrates that will quite rapidly take the world to even higher temperatures at which little life will remain. We could end up like Mars or Venus. At the speed at which things are changing, this could happen in our lifetime. Can Communities Generate Their Own Power? by Greg Pahl People embrace the buying of local food; has the time come for local energy co-operatives, too? Most people simply take the grid for granted -- flip light switch on, light bulb goes on. The average person may not understand the extremely complex system that supports that simple act or why it may be important to change it in order to move to more locally supported energy projects. Electricity demand is at an all-time high in the United States. In 2007, total U.S. electricity generation was 4,159,514 gigawatt-hours (GWh) -- a 2.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Edison Electric Institute. But consumption of electricity is projected to increase a whopping 45 percent by the year 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. Whether this projection will actually be reached or not can be debated, but this probable increase in demand poses a real challenge to a grid that can barely keep up with present demand. To meet this new demand, the utility industry estimates that the cost of improvements to grid infrastructure could be at least $900 billion between now and 2020. There are two main alternatives to meet this demand. The first is to build new transmission capability (or to increase the capacity of existing transmission) and to build large new central generation facilities. This has been the most common approach for many years and is the strategy generally favored by Wall Street and most major utilities. The second strategy is to build new distributed generation (DG) where, or near where, it is needed, avoiding the need for new transmission. These DG facilities are normally smaller and scattered throughout a region to meet the needs of local customers. This strategy is supported by a growing number of local community activists and other local business interests who tend to view electricity as a basic public necessity rather than a commodity. Considering the huge cost of the first strategy, much of which would probably be borne by ratepayers, the second approach would seem to make a lot of sense, especially since transmission expansion is already severely limited in most urban areas in the United States. Distributed generation reduces the need for "importing" electricity from other regions and reduces transmission losses. And if the distributed generation is well positioned, it can actually provide "voltage support" for the existing transmission system and improve system reliability. This type of model can include small-scale individual or community solar, wind, hydro, geothermal or biomass DG systems that would enhance and provide greater stability to the portions of the grid where they are located. But not all DG projects fit this model. Large-scale commercial wind farms, for example, are normally located where the wind resource is best, but not necessarily where the electricity is needed. In this scenario, additional expensive transmission and distribution lines are often required. While there is a wide range of possible local DG projects, one of them stands out as a particularly attractive model: Community Supported Energy (CSE). These projects are somewhat similar to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), except that instead of investing in potatoes, carrots or cucumbers, with Community Supported Energy local residents invest in energy projects that provide greater energy security, a cleaner environment and a variety of other benefits. A cooperative or community-owned energy project offers many advantages. It stimulates the local economy by creating new jobs and new business opportunities for the community while simultaneously expanding the tax base and generating new income for local residents. A locally owned energy project also generates support from the community by getting people directly involved as owners. Another advantage of community energy projects is that they can be owned cooperatively or collectively through a variety of legal mechanisms. Ownership strategies can include limited liability corporations, cooperatives, school districts, municipal utilities or other municipal entities, or combinations of these models. Sometimes a partnership with an existing utility can be mutually beneficial. Community Supported Energy projects offer yet another advantage: They retain a greater amount of income in the local area and increase the economic benefits substantially over projects owned by out-of-area developers, according to a number of studies. OK, if Community Supported Energy is such a good idea, why aren't there more examples in the United States? The main barriers to wide-scale implementation of CSE is a general lack of national standards and an inflexible regulatory environment. In most states there is an outdated regulatory and approval process that does virtually nothing to encourage these types of projects. August 6, 2008 Inflation And The New World Order by Richard C. Cook Dissindent Voice, Countercurrents.org in the contemporary economy, inflation benefits the wealthy because they pay their workers in deflated currency, while they can take advantage of inflation to further jack up prices and then income. [Thus] the upper classes have fortified their economic positions to take account of inflation through their power over prices, income and other compensations in a way that wage workers and people on fixed income and other vulnerable sectors cannot. Bankers protect their loans via adjustable interest rates. Monopoly resource owners jack up prices to retain profits. Wholesalers mark up prices to compensate for higher commodity prices. Large-scale retailers squeeze final consumers — the great majority at the bottom of the production and distribution chain. Doubtless there is an impact from all these factors, though no one knows for sure how much. With regard to food prices, geopolitical factors deserve particularly deep scrutiny. Petras writes: In Asia, particularly Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Nepal, Mongolia, and China, hundreds of millions of workers, peasants, artisans, and low-paid self employed workers, as well as housewives and pensioners have engaged in sustained mass protests as they experience a decline in the quality and quantity of food purchases as prices skyrocket. In Africa, hunger stalks the land and major food riots have occurred from Egypt through Sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa. In the Caribbean, Central and South America, food riots have led to the overthrow of regimes, mass protests, road blockages from Argentina, Bolivia, through Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti. The situation in many developing nations is desperate in part because the International Monetary Fund, under the “Washington consensus,” required them to give up their subsistence agriculture in favor of crops raised for export by agribusiness, while the people who once supported themselves on family farms have had to migrate to urban slums. The Western corporate-owned press calls it “free market reforms.” As architects of the global economy, the World Bank and the IMF have enormous power and shape the conditions of peoples’ lives around the world. That power has been used to create a global economy friendly to the interests of the wealthy and multinational corporations, but devastating to the lives of hundreds of millions of impoverished people. The IMF and World Bank, with the ‘structural adjustment programs’ (SAPs) they impose on indebted countries and their pro-corporate development projects, are the leading edge of oppressive globalization. The policies they have imposed in Africa, Latin America, and Asia have condemned people to stagnation, poverty, and death for twenty years, and those policies are now being adopted in the countries of Europe and North America too.5 IMF policies require governments to cut food price subsidies, restrict credit to farmers, and divert prime farmland to non-food export crops such as tobacco, coffee, and cotton in order to provide cheap bulk commodities to Western consumers. The victimized nations must then import wheat, rice, and other food products from outside. But prices for these food staples depend on world markets which they cannot influence, much less control. At least the developing nations are now fighting back, with IMF lending running at a fraction of what it once did and some nations such as Venezuela dropping out altogether. Resistance is also being exhibited to similar policies of the World Trade Organization which likewise seeks to destroy tariffs and other trade barriers that developing countries might wish to use to protect their farmers and workers. Just last week the “Doha Round” of WTO trade talks collapsed at Geneva when India and China led the way in refusing to alter their tariff and subsidy policies. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the collapse was not surprising, “given the reluctance of India and other developing nations to sacrifice food security measures in the wake of the recent global spike in food prices.” According to Deborah James, Director of International Programs for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who had been observing the talks in Geneva, “The tariff cuts demanded of developing countries would have caused massive job loss, and countries would have lost the ability to protect farmers from dumping, further impoverishing millions on the verge of survival.” Are we seeing the totalitarian dictatorship of the world’s financial elite being rolled out, with petroleum and food prices the primary weapon of a final coup d’etát against every national government on earth and their citizens? And if we knew who these “high-end investors” were, and who controlled them, wouldn’t we then understand who is in charge of the New World Order and for whom it really functions? August 6, 2008 Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening And What It Might Mean - Part III The European Union As A Potential Rival To U.S. Dominance by Raymond Lotta The EU has operated in partnership and alliance with U.S. imperialism in military affairs and in international forums like the World Trade Organization. There are huge inflows of U.S. capital into Western Europe, and huge inflows of West European capital into the U.S. At the same time, the EU represents a major, and growing, competitive challenge to U.S. imperialism within an international framework dominated by the United States. How the EU challenge further develops will be influenced by the interplay of economic and non-economic factors: - There is the question of the evolution of NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance of which major EU countries are a part. - There is the dynamic element of the EU’s relations with Russia and China, both of which are rising powers in the world economy and both of which are becoming ever more significant trading partners with the EU. - There are the wars for empire in the Middle East and in Afghanistan—where West European imperialism is heavily involved with the U.S.—and whose outcomes are far from determined. - There is a clash globally between an outmoded world-dominating and world-exploitative imperialism and an outmoded Islamic fundamentalism—which has thrived in response to the onslaughts of imperialism but which offers no real and liberating solution to imperialism. And within Europe reactionary Islamic fundamentalism is gaining ground and influence among sections of immigrants.[1] - There are the effects of social struggles in Europe today and around the world, and the potential for revolutionary struggle to emerge and to impact the situation in the EU countries and the world as a whole. The EU may find itself torn between those within its imperialist ruling classes calling for a more robust European military capacity and those that still want to rely on the NATO alliance. The pathways towards a greater or lesser EU international geopolitical role would be profoundly influenced by a major move by China to wrench more initiative in the world economy and/or to forge closer alliance with Russia. In June 2008, the French government announced a reorientation of French security policy towards deeper relations with NATO. But note closely: this was presented as a turn towards NATO and the EU—along with bolstering the EU’s capacity to plan and conduct its own military operations. Contradictions between France and Germany, core forces of the EU, and the U.S. over the war in Iraq have been very acute. And there have been other contradictions; for instance, a dispute broke out in 2005 when the EU lifted an arms embargo imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen uprising of students and workers. And even where there is more (apparent) unity, as in putting pressure on Iran, it is also the case that rivalries are playing out within the NATO alliance. The EU has necessity and freedom. The overall EU strategy seems to be one of “biding time”: promote further institutional integration within the EU bloc, seek out closer partnerships with other major powers, and take advantage of difficulties and setbacks of U.S. imperialism. But the pace, direction, and assertiveness of the EU will be influenced by underlying global trends and by unforeseen developments—internal and external to this bloc. August 5, 2008 Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening And What It Might Mean. PART 2. CHINA’S CAPITALIST DEVELOPMENT AND CHINA’S RISE IN THE WORLD IMPERIALIST SYSTEM: ITS NATURE AND IMPLICATIONS China is dependent on imperialism: on massive inflows of investment capital into the Chinese economy; and on access to the export markets of the advanced capitalist countries, like the U.S., Japan, and Germany. This is what has been and what is now most determining of China’s capitalist development. At the same time, precisely because China has been such a profitable arena for imperialist investment—based on its vast supply of super-exploitable labor, which is China’s “competitive advantage” in the world system—China’s economy has been growing rapidly. As this has continued, and as China’s rulers have acted to strengthen their base of power and initiative, China has gained increasing influence and leverage. This is occurring in a framework in which imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism, dominates China. China may in fact be in transition to becoming an imperialist power. But whether it does, or does not, will not just be a function of economic factors, and certainly not simply those internal to China. Rather, this will turn on different and interpenetrating economic, political, and military developments in the world system, including unexpected developments: crises, wars, class struggles in China and the world, and revolutions. China’s exceptionally high and sustained rate of growth and industrialization over the last two decades may well be without precedent in the history of capitalism. More to the point, this sustained growth is a) leading to an enormous buildup of productive capacity in China; b) profoundly influencing the trajectory of global capitalist development; and c) contributing to China’s rapid rise as a world economic power. China has been able to sustain high growth rates. But it is a capitalist economy. It is not immune to instability and crisis. It is estimated that 75 percent of China’s industries are plagued by overcapacity, that is, too much investment relative to markets.[23] Inflation is heating up in China. Social polarization is widening: strikes, protests and confrontations in the countryside over corruption, land takeovers, and environmental damage have multiplied in recent years. The dynamics of China’s rise are complex. There is, however, a shaping contradiction: dependency and growing economic strength. China is dependent on foreign capital and foreign markets. But China has also emerged as a world economic power, a center of world manufacturing. It has accumulated vast foreign exchange reserves, and gained considerable financial leverage—increasingly over the dollar. And China is more aggressively seeking markets in the Third World and exporting capital beyond its borders. Stepping back, what seems to be guiding the Chinese ruling class is a long-term, strategic, and competitive orientation: to diversify and fortify a domestically rooted industrial base, to extend international economic and financial reach, and to strengthen military capabilities but to do so without provoking direct showdowns with U.S. imperialism. Could China evolve into an imperialist capital formation? It is a question that cannot be dismissed out of hand, though neither is it a straight-line, foregone conclusion. But it is a real possibility—China may be in a stage of transition to becoming an imperialist power. How likely is such a qualitative development, and by what pathways might it proceed? These are historically contingent matters that will turn on the interaction of the motion and development of Chinese capitalism with the class struggle in China, with larger shifts, displacements, and eruptions in world economics… and with big and unexpected developments in world politics, including wars and other conflicts, as well as revolutionary struggles. August 4, 2008 Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening and What It Might Mean This is a research essay about changes in global capitalist accumulation, newly emerging relations of strength among imperialist and regional powers, and the force of competitive pressures and tensions. It is about great-power rivalries in a world system based on exploitation. To use an analogy to the complex motions of large parts of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, this is a discussion of shifting tectonic plates in the world economy: some of their longer-term movements and some of the more sudden and unexpected eruptions. The U.S. remains the dominant, still hegemonic, power in the world. But it is facing heightened economic pressures and growing strategic necessity. Major transformations are taking place in the world imperialist system. Of central importance are shifts in the distribution of global economic power and the emergence of incipient constellations of geoeconomic and geopolitical power—that is, potential blocs of countries with growing capacity to challenge U.S. global dominance. China is a highly dynamic element in this equation. These phenomena are interacting with other contradictions and conflicts in the world, especially the post-9/11 military offensive of U.S. imperialism and its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the difficulties it has been experiencing, and military threats against Iran. The changing economic geography of the planet is also affecting world agriculture—to devastating and unequal effect in the Third World. Imperialism is transforming national systems of agriculture into globalized components of transnational production and marketing chains detached from local need—that is, food is grown more and more for export, not to feed people locally, or land is taken out of food production. Where, historically, food production has been at the foundation of the economies of most of these countries, increasingly, agriculture is becoming less “foundational” to many national economies of the Third World. Food production has been swept into the vortex of speculative commodity and financial markets at the same time that imperialist-led agro-industrial cultivation of biofuels displaces food crops. Basic food staples are no longer being produced in adequate supply in many parts of the Third World—while the forces of world competition, imperialist control over new agricultural technologies, and the vagaries of world price further undermine food security. And so in early 2008 a global food crisis unlike any experienced before in modern economic history exacts, and continues to exact, a terrible human toll in large parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This too is an expression of the deep divide between oppressor and oppressed nations. August 5, 2008 Pressures Mount Over Arctic Energy Resources by Niall Green, Countercurrents.org Across the globe, reserves of oil and gas that were previously regarded as uneconomical are being actively explored and developed. From the Arctic to East Asia to the South Atlantic, untapped billions of barrels of oil are attracting the interests of energy companies and speculative finance capital, seeking to take advantage of the high price of crude oil. One of the greatest potential oil and gas bonanzas is to be found beneath the Arctic Ocean. A report issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 24 July estimated that the Arctic region holds around 90 billion barrels of oil—equal to the total proven reserves of Russia, the world’s second biggest oil producer. Up to 30 percent of the world’s unproven natural gas deposits could also lie beneath the ice, as well as a possible one-fifth of untapped reserves of natural gas liquids. To date, most of the Arctic Ocean is international water, covered all year by a thick ice sheet. Russia, like all countries around the North Pole, claims sovereignty over the seas up to 200-nautical miles (370 km) from its coast. Canada is developing military capabilities in its far north, with an army training centre based at Resolute Bay and a port for a new fleet of ice-strengthened patrol ships on the northern tip of Baffin Island. These capabilities, as well as a C$40 million mapping project in the Arctic, are aimed at fending off its rivals. Canada is especially concerned about the US claim that the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, should it open due to retreating ice, must be an international sea route. Ottawa insists that the passage would be an internal Canadian waterway. Energy reserves in Alaska and the Chukchi Sea have become a key part of US plans to boost domestic oil production. Speaking for the oil conglomerates who stand to make tens of billions of dollars from these oil fields, on June 18 President Bush pressed Congress to reverse the longstanding ban on offshore drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, as well approving the development of onshore production on federal lands. The Problem Is Simple: Too Many People, Too Much Stuff by Paul & Anne Ehrlich AlterNet, The Mix is the Message, Water An equitable and humane solution to overpopulation and overconsumption may actually be possible. Over some 60 million years, Homo sapiens has evolved into the dominant animal on the planet, acquiring binocular vision, upright posture, large brains, and -- most importantly -- language with syntax and that complex store of non-genetic information we call culture. However, in the last several centuries we've increasingly been using our relatively newly acquired power, especially our culturally evolved technologies, to deplete the natural capital of Earth -- in particular its deep, rich agricultural soils, its groundwater stored during ice ages, and its biodiversity -- as if there were no tomorrow. The point, all too often ignored, is that this trend is being driven in large part by a combination of population growth and increasing per capita consumption, and it cannot be long continued without risking a collapse of our now-global civilization. Too many people -- and especially too many politicians and business executives -- are under the delusion that such a disastrous end to the modern human enterprise can be avoided by technological fixes that will allow the population and the economy to grow forever. But if we fail to bring population growth and over-consumption under control -- the number of people on Earth is expected to grow from 6.5 billion today to 9 billion by the second half of the 21st century -- then we will inhabit a planet where life becomes increasingly untenable because of two looming crises: global heating, and the degradation of the natural systems on which we all depend. We believe it is possible to avoid that global denouement. Such mobilization means developing some consensus on goals -- perhaps through a global dialogue in which people discuss the human predicament and decide whether they would like to see a maximum number of people living at a minimum standard of living, or perhaps a much lower population size that gives individuals a broad choice of lifestyles. We have suggested a forum for such a dialogue, modeled partly on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but with more "bottom up" participation. It is clear that only widespread changes in norms can give humanity a chance of attaining a sustainable and reasonably conflict-free society. How to achieve such change -- involving everything from demographic policies and transformation of planet-wide energy, industrial, and agricultural systems, to North-South and interfaith relationships and military postures -- is a gigantic challenge to everyone. Politicians, industrialists, ecologists, social scientists, everyday citizens, and the media must join this debate. Whether it is possible remains to be seen; societies have managed to make major transitions in the recent past, as the civil rights revolution in the United States and the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union clearly demonstrate. We'll continue to hope and work for a cultural transformation in how we treat each other and the natural systems we depend upon. We can create a peaceful and sustainable global civilization, but it will require realistic thinking about the problems we face and a new mobilization of political will. August 2, 2008 Letter sent by Abdul Basit to the Global Community Humanity At Crossroads: Attitudes And Climate Change basit72@gmail.com The huge commotion, wide ranging research and intellectual discussions about the collapse of the civilization due to climate change has created apprehension and confusion about the directions humanity should take to overcome the challenges to its existence. The variety of solutions recommended range from technological fantasies to pessimistic resignation about the complete destruction of humanity. The solutions also include invading new planets, as well as constructing polar cities and Noah's model of ark, to sustain life on earth. Most of the solutions are based on the assumption of total collapse, along with the end of civilization and human existence. Despite these thought-provoking discussions about the influence of climate change on human existence and the solutions to tackle it, we are nearing, as time passes, the verge of a major disaster and the options for solutions are declining. The increasing natural calamities, the concern about the tipping points due to further carbon emissions and its effects on the habitability on earth have created great concerns. Humanity is at crossroads. Gone are the days of extravaganza due to the unlimited supply of natural resources from nature and the habitable and comfortable climate that we had taken for granted. If we continue with the same attitudes and policies that we hitherto followed we are on the road to self-destruction. If we change our attitudes, lifestyle and policies to take necessary measures in order to create a society based on equality, sustainable development and peace, we still have the chance to maintain life on this planet. Beyond superficial steps, we need a total change to face the challenges of climate change. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri had recently advised the world to change lifestyle by implementing certain measures, including riding a bike and being a frugal shopper in order to help brake global warming. It is about time that the world takes immediate steps to bring this huge profit driven capitalist system to a grinding halt and peddle our way back to a bright and sustainable future. Summary of work from same author: 1.0 Wars and Climate Change: National Interests Verses Global Emergency 2.0 Humanity At Crossroads: Attitudes And Climate Change 3.0 Manifesto To Counter Global Warming And Climate Change 4.0 Obstacles To Counter Global Warming And Climate Change 5.0 Climate Change Solutions: Beyond Science And Above Confines For Humankind Survival Is Sustainable Development Essential? by Leslaw Michnowski The Sustainable Development Global Information Society website is managed by Leslaw Michnowski Global File Member of the Committee of Prognosis “Poland 2000 Plus” by the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Association for the Club of Rome Chairman of Sustainable Development Creators'Club The Polish Federation for Life http://www.psl.org.pl/kte kte@psl.org.pl elmamba@poczta.onet.pl leslaw.michnowski@neostrada.pl Links to posters by Leslaw: http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/postergd.pdf http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/Poster-GD04.doc http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/wpubllm.htm http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/howtoavoid.pdf http://pelicanweb.org/solisustv03n11michnowski.html This paper is in-depth analysis of the state of the world today, the planetary state of emergency, and the need to change. The World is in the global crisis. We are exploiting our natural resources of minerals and fuels faster than we are gaining access to alternative sources. We are polluting the natural environment faster than the environment can regenerate itself to reach the level suitable for human needs (WWF, 2006). We are changing climate dangerously (Stern, 2006). Obsoleteness - moral degradation of the existing forms of life - is going on faster than new life-forms , consistent with new life-conditions , are being introduced. This situation is complicated also due to demographic expansion, especially in those parts of the human family that are lagging in their development. For sustainable development – in accordance with our conference theme – it is necessary to change approach to natural resources. A lot of them are very complicated – highly developed - products of Earth evolution, They ought not to be primitively combusted. On the contrary, they ought to be used as factors of new high technology products. Simple energy as agent of different kinds of movement ought to be as soon as possible drawn from Sun. With help of ultra-intellectual mechanisms it would be possible to by-pass, by world society (SMT), Earth natural environment (Env) and reach indirect access to Sun (in future also other Cosmic) negentropy. Such by-passing would help to minimize negative consequences for Env of humans life-supporting activity and create solid foundations for sustainable development of the world society. Without achieving sustainable development, humankind survival of global crisis would be impossible. But for abandon oxymoron approach to - and start serious treating - sustainable development idea, verification of above hypothesis, that it is possible – with highly developed world society homeostat and ultra-intellectual evolution mechanisms - to convert inner entropy into outer negentropy, would be very useful. Download full WORD document of Research Paper by same author July 26, 2008 Riches In The Arctic: The New Oil Race by Michael McCarthy, Countercurrents.org More than half of the undiscovered oil resources are estimated to occur in just three geologic provinces: Arctic Alaska (30 billion barrels), the Amerasia Basin (9.7 billion barrels) and the East Greenland Rift Basins (8.9 billion barrels). More than 70 per cent of the undiscovered natural gas is likely to be in three provinces: the West Siberian Basin (651 tcf), the East Barents Basins (318 tcf) and Arctic Alaska (221 tcf), the USGS said. The study took in all areas north of latitude 66.56 degrees north, and included only reserves that could be tapped using existing techniques. Experimental or unconventional prospects such as oil shale, gas hydrates and coal-bed methane were not included in the assessment. The 90 billion barrels of oil expected to be in the Arctic in total are more than all the known reserves of Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Mexico combined, and could meet current world oil demand of 86.4 million barrels a day for almost three years. The significance of the report is that it puts firm figures for the first time on the hydrocarbon riches which the five countries surrounding the Arctic - the US, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark (through its dependency, Greenland) - have been eyeing up for several years. PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, FIRMS, COMMUNITIES, AND NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS by Dr. José G. Vargas-Hernández Global Environment Minister Mèxico josevargas@cucea.udg.mx jgvh0811@yahoo.com jvargas2006@gmail.com This paper is aimed to describe some types of partnerships between governments, communities, New Social Movements and firms. The folowing types were investigated: 1. Government-government partnerships 2. Government-firms partnerships 3. Community foundations 4. Government-communities partnerships 5. Partnerships between firms 6. Firm-communities partnerships 7. Firms and nonprofit organizations partnerships 8. Partnerships between communities 9. Partnerships between non governmental organizations and communities 10. Partnerships between non governmental organizations 11. Multiparty partnerships As an example partnerships to improve governance in Mexico are promoted by federal, state and local governments. These partnerships are designed and implemented at local and regional levels involving participation of civil society, local communities and business to foster economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions. Download full WORD document of this Research Paper or using the old WORD version July 22, 2008 An Era Of Disparity by Mir Adnan Aziz, Countercurrents.org Coming down to our times when confronted with the latest evidence of the startling growth of income and the ever increasing chasm of wealth inequality around the world, we need to recognize obscene social arrangements for what they are and demand something different. Presently, there are nearly 500 billionaires worldwide whereas 1.2 billion live on a dollar a day or less. Tens of millions of children are locked out of school because their parents are unable to afford school fees. More than a million children die a year from diarrhea because their families lack access to clean drinking water. More than one billion people worldwide do not get essential health care. On average, developing countries have one doctor for every 6,000 people whereas industrialized countries have one for every 350 people. Under developed countries face a nightmare of almost no healthcare for their teeming masses. We live in a world where all natural and human resources are exploited mercilessly, so that a small minority can consume far more than their rightful share of the world's real wealth. Now, as we push the exploitation of the earths social and environmental systems beyond their limits of tolerance, we face the reality that the industrial era faces a burnout, because it is exhausting the human and natural resource base on which our very lives depend. We must hasten its passage, while assisting in the birth of a new civilization based on life affirming rather than money affirming values. All over the world people are indeed waking up to the truth. We should strive and take steps to reclaim and rebuild our local economy. It should also be our goal to create locally owned enterprises that sustainably harvest and process local resources to produce jobs, goods and services. Ideally our economy should be local; rooting power in the people and communities who realize their well being depends on the health and vitality of their local ecosystem. We should favor local firms and workers, who pay local taxes, live by local rules, respect and nurture the local ecosystems, compete fairly in local markets, and contribute to community life. A global economy empowers global corporations and financial institutions, local economies empower people. It is our consciousness, our ways of thinking and our sense of membership in a larger community, which should be global. Perhaps the most important fact of all, albeit forgotten, is that life is about living, not consuming. A life of material sufficiency can be filled with social, cultural, intellectual and spiritual abundance that place no burden on the planet. It is time to assume responsibility for creating a new future of just and sustainable societies free from the myth that competition, greed and mindless consumption are paths to individual and collective fulfillment. July 22, 2008 The Empire And China by G. Asgar Mitha, Countercurrents.org No nation can become a superpower without being rich because it is only the wealth that builds a mighty army, air force and navy and subsequently leads to the nation becoming an empire. That was the cases with Turkey, Great Britain, Germany, USSR, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Japan in the last century. They all sought gold, silver, copper, iron and precious jewellery to amass a wealth and also robbed weaker nations of their essential resources but like the mighty Romans, they too were defeated only to become a chapter in the history of empires. There is no dispute that it is about oil. It is oil and not gold, silver, copper, iron and precious jewellery that has now become the lifelines of all nations, including China and USA. Both these countries rank first and second as global consumers of the world’s oil production. Between them, they consume 30 million bbls crude oil per day or 35% of the global production. China was a net exporter of oil until 1993 and now, like the US, it is a net importer. Without oil, their industrial outputs would grind to a screeching halt. It is therefore natural that the source of the next conflict will be oil and the Middle East and the Indian Ocean as the fault lines between the nations of the east and the west. Both the US and China are seeking security of energy supply but they both are doing so in different ways. China is also aspiring for energy security but, unlike the US which has the psyche of an empire, it is seeking security of supply through investments and not occupation. The goals for energy security are in reverse modes. The US has been transformed from democracy to a capitalistic oligarchy whereas China is moving from oligarchy to socialist capitalism. The US is an indebted nation whereas China is a lender nation. The Americans are becoming poorer, lavish and lazy because of a lack of incentives and ideology from their leadership. The Chinese, in contrast, are becoming richer, frugal and hard working because of incentives and a cultural ideology. China has been investing heavily in Iran’s energy to the tune of billions of dollars and also in Canada, Africa and Central Asian countries. Whereas China is seeking to protect shipments of oil, the US, in sharp contrast, is seeking plans to deny shipments of oil to China. These two divergent views will have to ultimately clash along the critical maritime flash points from the narrow Strait of Hormuz to the long and very narrow Strait of Malacca as the energy game speeds over the next 5 years. River Water Pollution in Bangladesh: An Overview by Md. Hasibur Rahman Advisory Board to the Global Constitution Global Government of Asia Adviser Land Quality Assessment Project Department of Soil, Water and Environment Dhaka University, Dhaka 1000 Environment and Agricultural Development Studies Center Mirpur-11, Dhaka, Bangladesh Email: hasibur77@yahoo.com Water is one of the most valuable and essential resources that humans need to sustain their livelihood. It is needless to say that without enough good water our survival will be threatened. Fortunately, we have plenty of both surface water and groundwater resources to support the entire population in Bangladesh. If managed properly, water resources can be transformed into good fortune for drinking and agricultural water. Unfortunately, the status of water quality in Bangladesh is extremely degrading day-by-day. Because of, lack of water resources management plan and policies implementation in Bangladesh. According to a recent study, Bangladesh ranks 95th out of 110 countries in terms of Environmental Quality Index. A great deal of information is now available about the arsenic and other sources of groundwater contamination. Now more than ever before, we need to protect the quality of surface water as an alternative source of water for drinking, irrigation, industrial, and other beneficial uses. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. Surface water of the country is vulnerable to pollution from untreated industrial effluents and municipal wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and oil and lube spillage in the coastal area from the ship breaking operations. Pollution from industrial effluents and agrochemicals in some water bodies and rivers has reached alarming levels. Among the different river, the worst problems are in the river Buriganga, where the most significant source of pollution appears to be from tanneries in the Hazaribagh area. In the dry season, the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level in this river becomes very low or zero. Monitoring data of DoE demonstrated that the concentration of DO in the river Sitalakhya beside the fertilizer factory varies between 2.1 to 2.9mg/l during low tide and pH varies 7.1 to 6.5 at 1981 to 1990. The river water of Balu is badly contaminated by urban and industrial wastes from Tongi and the effluent flowing out through the Begurbari khal, most of which emanates from the Tejgaon industrial area in Dhaka. In Bangladesh, most of the industrial units are located along the banks of the different rivers, which provide transportation for incoming raw materials and outgoing finished products. The highest numbers of industries are located in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chittagong district besides the river Buriganga, Sitalakhya and Karnophuli. Unfortunately, as a consequence, industrial units drain untreated effluents directly into the rivers and polluting surface water. Moreover, surface water and groundwater are inter-related. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. No civilization can survive and thrive without clean water. We as a nation are fortunate to have plenty of this vital resource. However, the quality of this valuable resource is deteriorating very fast without any action plan. It is only through a better understanding of the sources of pollution and processes that affect the quality of water that we can save this precious resource for us and for our future generations. Moreover, surface water and groundwater are inter-related. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. If strict environmental monitoring is enforced as per the Environmental Conservation Rules of 1997 and other relevant environmental laws, many of the industries of Bangladesh will be come forward to protect water pollution. So, with proper policies, laws, acts, and enforcement of laws, the point sources of pollution in a watershed can be controlled. Non-point sources of pollution included: agricultural run-off, urban run-off, fertilizers, pesticides, acid rain, animal waste, raw sewage, septic tank leakage, household waste, etc. Understanding of a problem, however, is only half of the solution. Other half of the solution lies in communal actions; all of us can play a role in preserving the quality of water. We all need to join hands to protect this invaluable resource, as well as our existence as a nation. Since the sources of pollution is not known or identified, it becomes problematic to control their discharge into rivers and streams in a watershed. This information needs to disseminate to the general public through public meetings, newspapers, education, website, and other mass media for public awareness and to incorporate law and policy makers. IS NESARA FACT OR FICTION by Dr. Leo Rebello 1. Each country MUST ABOLISH their INCOME TAXES; 2. Each country must agree to institute common law; 3. Each country must have government leaders elected by the people; 4. Each country must agree to live in PEACE; 5. Each country must bestow UNIVERSAL PROSPERITY to ALL their citizens by using the money-making formulas and processes which have a proven 200-year track record of success in providing massive prosperity. Now WHO of intelligence could disagree with these ideals? Of course, the TRUE NESARA law has MANY more benefits than these, such as debt forgiveness, gold-backed currency, massive prosperity for all, open public communications with extraterrestrials and physical interaction with them, the release of vastly superior healing and free energy technologies for the upliftment of mankind, etc. etc. But the above five are the basics, and they're enough to win the heart of anyone who has a healthy spirit, a clear mind, and a pure heart. AIDS AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Every disease under the sun can be treated by Holistic Healing modalities. The principles of healing are very simple: (a) the body heals itself (b) there is an inner environment (c) treatment should not be worse than the disease. Inner Environment In natural medicine, we talk of five elements, namely, Earth, Water, Air, Light and Ether (Ozone), of which our bodies as also the whole universe is made of. There is approximately 70% water in our bodies, Green planet Earth too has 70% water - what we call seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, ground water, etc. When the earth is plundered and destroyed by over use of fertilisers, food chain is contaminated and since we take such contaminated food, drink unclean water and top that with soft and hard drinks and drugs, prescription and non-prescription, we have what is known as polluted inner environment. Diseases can be classified into two : psychosomatic and somatopsychic. When we become non compos mentis (unsound mind) due to wrong intake, our solutions too are wonky; and if they be designed with only business and profits in mind, the end-result is bound to be disastrous as we see today in this WTO-GATT regime, where a private bank called World Bank rules from behind and Monsanto takes even our Supreme Court to ride. In natural medicine we also talk of four principles : (a) Healing is within. (b) There is inner environment. (c) Treatment should not be worse than the disease, and (d) Totality of disease. Hence, we treat/cure a patient in Holistic manner, that is, his/her body, mind and spirit. We are NOT like modern medicine experts, “who know more and more of less and less”. I call those MDs, “one-organ, one-disease” experts. COMMON VALUES IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS The Eternal values common to all religions are: Truth is one. God is one. Love is ultimate. Universe is one. There is plenty in this universe for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. Our blood is one (Muslim blood is not green and Hindu blood is not saffron, African blood is not black and European blood is not white). Our hopes, fears, aspirations, longings are one. And the ultimate truth is that Religion divides people instead of uniting and uplifting. Too much time has been wasted and too many lives have been lost in fighting over religion. The most important need of our generation is to rise above our respective religions and extend the arm of friendship and unity for all the people. That is what Salokha (amity) is all about. Let us build on this further in these two days so that more precious lives are not lost in communal carnage. Through endless churning of the ocean came the nectar of the true, the good and the beautiful to make human life sublime. Through discussion comes undertaking, unity and peace. Revised Oath for Doctors I shall not prescribe unnecessary medicines and tests to my patients; I shall not give false counseling; I shall not overcharge and accept cuts and gifts; I shall not rape tiny tots with mercury laced innoculations or vaccinations, for they pollute the blood stream of small children leading to serious diseases like AIDS, Cancers, Autism, etc.; I shall not prescribe lethal drugs, like anti-retrovirals, chemotherapy, or give ECT to my patients; I shall not indulge in human organ thefts to the detriment of my patients; I shall not be afraid of any authority and fabricate medical records or give false evidence; I shall not exploit students studying under me; I shall not manipulate findings or results to win grants or awards. If I cannot treat a disease, I shall not say that AIDS, cancers, diabetes has no cure. But will tell the patient to try other systems of medicine. I shall treat health practitioners of other systems with respect and not tell deliberate lies to prove my importance. I shall study Holistic healing modalities to increase my knowledge and wisdom. I shall not even by mistake say that "HIV=AIDS=death" or cancers cannot be treated. I shall not frighten my patients with unnecessary comments, opinions or advice. I still remember what Hippocrates said, namely, "Let diet be your medicine" and shall accordingly prescribe fresh fruits, vegetables and good diet to my patients, rather than tonics, syrups, synthetic multi-vitamins, specially to children. I shall not perform surgery, unless it is absolutely must and will not indulge in rackets like amniocentesis, caesarian section, silicon implant or liposuction. I shall work to ban the useless and cruel animal experiments in the name of medicine. I shall participate in periodic workshops, seminars, and conferences at my expense or on scholarship (no pharma funding) to educate myself and speak from my conscience if I am called upon to speak or preside. Gandhi's Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World 'You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.' 1. Change yourself. 'You must be the change you want to see in the world.' If you change yourself you will change your world. 4. Without action you aren't going anywhere. 'An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.' Taking action is hard and difficult.You have to take action and translate the knowledge into results and understanding. Hunger and Right to Food should get priority because more than 2/3 of the world population goes hungry, mainly in Africa and India. But it is largely neglected. 20% of food stocked in Indian grannaries is wasted; another 15% is eaten or destroyed by rodents, while poor people starve. Ration shops that are meant to provide subsidized food and kerosene to cook the food are centres of extortion for politicians. Families in places such as Rajasthan, replete with Palace Hotels, where foreigners come to frolic and have camel and elephant rides, still have to practice rotating hunger and thousands of children every year die or are blinded by xeropthalmia due to insufficient nutrition. It is a shame that inspite of massive 'development' and modernization, we have not been able to eradicate hunger today. As long as 2% insane capitalists control 98% of the world's wealth, through organisations like World Bank (which is a private bank), WTO-GATT regime, and decisions are controlled at the world bodies like UN with veto power in the hands of conniving five, will human rights ever get priority? Finally, RIGHT TO HEALTH is one issue that has not been answered at all. On the contrary, the UN or UN bodies have become the stooges of mercenary mafias. WHO is now known as "WHOre" since it makes mercury-laced lethal vaccines compulsory on children of the world. That has given rise to Autism (4 million cases in India alone), Cancers, AIDS, Polio deformities due to Oral Polio Vaccines. WHO has made it mandatory that the AIDS affected people should take Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs), which are known carcinogens. Codex, a sub-committee of WHO, consisting of junior persons like pharmacists, dietitians, so-called consumer activists and allopathic doctors, have now influenced several nations to enact back-door laws prohibiting even natural products like Honey, Garlic extract, Vitamin C, which are proposed for inclusion as Drugs. Tomorrow the idiots may legislate, "to eat vegetables and fruits you require Doctor's prescription" and later they may say "even a mother cannot feed her baby her milk till the Doctor certifies that her milk is safe", like they do in that mad country called USA, where if you refuse Chemotherapy or Anti-Retroviral Drugs for Cancers and AIDS, you can be jailed. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL CONFLICTS AND TERRORISM HELD ON 22nd JANUARY 2007 IN PUNE, INDIA The root cause of Global Conflicts and Terrorism is America and its allies, who wish to colonise the space when the Green planet itself is being turned into brown. We need to concentrate on saving the green planet earth. That is our first and last priority. Dr. Leo Rebello's speech was the most powerful among all the speakers. Here are some snippets from his speech. * World Disaster Clock has been set at 5 minutes to midnight and yet the world is sleeping. * 99.99% people of the Green Planet Earth are peace-loving, kind and good and only 0.01% people create conflicts and terrorism. * The ONLY known terrorist in the world is the USA - From Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Vietnam, From Somalia to Russia, from Afghanistan to Iraq, and next will be an attack on Iran in April 2007. * The world must pass sanctions against America instead of dancing with disaster. * Poverty and inequalities, Malnutrition, Drugs, Arms of Destruction and Armies, Neocons and their agenda of New World Order are the root cause of Conflicts and Terrorism worldover. Dr. Leo Rebello said when 60% people of the world do not have enough to eat, clothes to cover their bare bodies, shelter to rest their head and clean water to drink, talking of missiles and investing in arms and armies were wrong priorities. Poverty and Inequalities were there due to unequal distribution of wealth. Due to malnutrition millions have died and are dying daily. "Sanctions" he said, "was unjust and led to millions of deaths in poor countries". November 8, 2007 How to Hold Corporations Accountable by Kevin Danaher, Shannon Biggs and Jason Mark AlterNet, The Mix is the Message, Environment When the system doesn't allow people to protect themselves from corporate harm to their communities, it is time to change the system. Can you tell us about "democracy"? It's a word used by everyone and can mean so many things. Some people might say you are anti-business. Is that the case? Many people in this country don't understand that corporations have personhood rights. Why does this come as such a surprise to some people? Speak about the regulatory system. It's supposed to keep corporations from doing harm, but everywhere you look -- the water, the land, the air -- everything is polluted. Some believe that laws such as anti-corporate personhood ordinances are a waste of time because they will be challenged and shot down, so why bother? What is the logic behind civil disobedience to the law? Do you believe it's possible to change the role of corporations in our society? Will the Last Superpower Recognize In Time What We Must Do to Save the Planet? by David Korten In a time when the old order is shattering, a global movement is emerging to challenge the use of war as a tool of statecraft. Cheap oil provided an energy subsidy that defined the wars, economies, settlements, values, and lifestyles of the 20th century. The result was a century of wasteful extravagance and inefficiency that encouraged us to squander virtually all Earth's resources -- including water, land, forests, fisheries, soils, minerals, and natural waste recycling capacity. We are now waking up to the morning-after consequences of a brief but raucous party. These include depleted natural systems, unsustainable economies, an obsolete physical infrastructure, and a six-fold increase in the human population dependent on the diminished resources of a finite planet. Cheap oil also fueled a zero sum global competition for access to resources -- particularly cheap oil -- and for the military superiority required to secure that access. The United States combined the global projection of military power with the global projection of economic and cultural power to achieve unchallenged global dominance as the sole reigning superpower. Cheap oil is no more and the global projection of military and economic power it made possible is no longer viable. According to the scientific consensus, to avoid driving Earth's system of climate regulation into irrevocable collapse we humans must achieve at least an 80 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050 and possibly sooner. Less noted is the corresponding imperative that to avoid irrevocable social collapse, we must simultaneously achieve an equitable allocation of allowable emissions to meet the essential needs of every person on the planet. This presents a particular challenge for the United States. As the world's leading producer of green house gases, our emissions reduction must be closer to 90 percent. There is no place in this equation for war or the global projection of military power. Beyond the fact that military planes, ships, and vehicles are gluttonous consumers of oil, the central activity of warfare is to kill and maim people and destroy critical infrastructure to impair capacity for normal life. The collateral damage includes massive scale toxic and radioactive environmental contamination that renders growing portions of our crowded planet uninhabitable. The more we humans war the more certain our ultimate collective demise. The second is an emergent social movement calling all the world's parliaments to adopt the principles of Article 9 added to the Japanese Constitution following World War II. In the official translation it reads: ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. How Do We Go from Empire to Earth Community? The day of reckoning for our reckless human ways that many of us have for decades warned would be coming is here. We cannot grow our way out of poverty. The only way to end poverty and heal our social divisions on an already over stressed planet is through a redistribution of resources from rich to poor and from nonessential to essential uses. Natural wealth was created by our Earth mother and is therefore a common heritage of all her children, including all non-human species. None of us has a right to abuse that wealth or to monopolize it to the exclusion of our sisters and brothers. This brings us to the third element of the big picture: the governing institutions to which we give the power to set our priorities and our collective course. We might wonder how such injustice could happen in a world governed by democratically elected governments. The answer is simple and alarming. Our world is not governed by democratically elected governments. It is ruled by global financial institutions in the service of financial speculators who exchange trillions of dollars daily in search of instance unearned profits to increase the fortunes -- and the power -- of the richest people on the planet. They bring down governments that displease them, and buy and sell the largest corporations like commodities. By design and law the defining priority and obligation of these governing institutions is to generate financial profits to make rich people richer, in short to increase inequality in a world in desperate need of greater equity. To this end, the corporations rise or fall at the pleasure of the speculator, assault of our eyes and ears with advertising messages intended to get those of who are already have more stuff that we need -- to buy more stuff. So what does this big picture overview tell us about what we need to do? How much suffering will changing our ways impose? Well, we need to grow strong caring communities in which we get more of our human satisfaction from caring relationships and less from material goods. We will need to end war as a means of settling international disputes and dismantle our military establishment. We need to reclaim the American ideal of being a democratic middle-class nation without extremes of wealth and poverty. And we need to encourage and support the rest of the world in doing the same. To do all this we will need create democratically accountable governing institutions devoted to the well-being of people and nature. There can be no trade offs between justice, sustainability, happiness, and democracy. They are all inseparably linked. The idea that beneath the surface of our wondrous cultural diversity most humans want the same thing is consistent with recent scientific findings that our human brains are wired for compassion, caring, altruism, and cooperation. It turns out that most people everywhere, irrespective of their skin color, religion, nationality, or language are happiest when they are being helpful, loving, peaceful, generous, and cooperative. Isn't that stunning? Think of the possibilities. People of color and women won recognition of their full human rights only as the civil rights and women's movements successfully exposed the fallacy of the story that people of color and women are less than fully human. Recognizing the full humanity of all peoples opens us to a deeper understanding of what it truly does mean to be human in all the rich potentials that our human nature embodies. The environmental movement is replacing the story that nature is a dark and evil threat to be subdued, vanquished, and used for whatever purposes please us with the story of Earth as a living being, the mother of life, a living spaceship. Through sharing stories about what makes us truly happy, we come to see the fallacy of the advertising story that material consumption is our source of happiness. Once this fallacy is seen for what it is, we can enthusiastically share our stories of how we are improving the quality of our lives by reducing the quantity of our consumption and gaining control of our time to do more of the things that make us feel fully alive. In everything you do, share the story of our human possibility and of our right and responsibility to create for ourselves and for future generations, the world of our shared dream. Our distinctive human capacity for reflection and intentional choice carries a corresponding moral responsibility to care for our Mother Earth and for one another. We must now test the limits of the individual and collective creative potential of our species as we strive to become the change we seek. In these turbulent and frightening times, it is important to remind ourselves that we are privileged to live at the most exciting moment of creative opportunity in the whole of the human experience. The future is in our hands. Now is the hour. We have the power to turn this world around. We are the ones we have been waiting for. The Beginning Of Global Order by Pablo Ouziel We can continue to believe our politicians as they echo messages of stability and order around our planet, and we can continue to feed off the BBC or the New York Times to get an insight into the normality of the global situation, but sooner or later, the collapse of our economies is going to affect us directly by hitting our pockets, and then perhaps we will be ready to act. Hopefully, against those politicians and global capitalists who are infecting our daily life by bringing a painful and miserable reality to the majority of humanity. We have not been smart enough as a collective of global citizens to understand that we are being taken on a ride, that affected groups are being kept isolated by the magic wand of the mainstream media regurgitating the propagandistic message of the ruling elite. Everyday, the global situation is getting worse. As strikes are on the rise and unemployment is increasing, we must be alert, we must understand what is happening. The elites will continue to keep us divided, because divided is how they can control us, but we must be smarter than them and understand that the only strength we have against their policies, is the collective strength of united discontent. When will we understand that our politicians are lying to us? Will we ever understand that the mainstream media is not democratic and that the police are there to defend the interests of the wealthy? One can see clearly whose interest the police serves when those who protest and strike have guns pointed at them. We must begin to pave the path to peace in order to gain global stability, and that must be done by setting measures to stop speculators from benefiting from the misery of others, by punishing corrupt politicians, and by collectively understanding that bankers are rich because we have placed our money in their hands. Ultimately, unless we begin to see the world as a whole, in which things are truly interconnected, our governments will continue their hostilities, oil prices will keep on rising, and when the time comes for us to complain, we will be faced with the guns of the police whom we have helped to create with the payment of our taxes. The only positive thing coming out of this chaos, is that we are no longer able to avoid facing reality, and soon after this social Tsunami which has begun to unravel is over, we will be faced with a true opportunity to collectively construct global order. Pablo Ouziel is sociologist and freelance writer. Countercurrents.org As a tax paying human being holding a Spanish Passport with the words “European Union” embossed on it, I have enjoyed the pleasures of being a global citizen with rights that others have not enjoyed when moving around the globe. As a conscious human being, I have come to see my passport as a statement of my social class in the globalized world. I understand that within nations there are social classes, which are greatly defined by the economic wealth of each individual, I also understand that there is a borderless global upper class. However, these people to me are not important, because ultimately I understand they are there because the rest have not yet understood their true rights and their organized collective power. Society overall has accepted a system which leaves behind those who do not matter, who cannot make it. They don’t matter, because what matters are the statistics of humanity, statistics that are thrown at us on a daily basis with the sole purpose of dehumanizing social reality and promoting the interests of the rich and powerful. Again the important thing to me is not how these powerful individuals are able to maintain this situation, what is interesting to me is why the common people are so tolerant of this reality. The Soul of all Life, the Soul of Humanity, is the unifying religion of a modern symbiosis society, that of the global civilization of the 3 rd Millennium Letter to the Global Community sent by the Soul of all Life, the Soul of Humanity The teaching of the Soul The fundamental criteria of a global symbiotical relationship Guiding Souls and God want to help us manage Earth Guiding Souls to serve God is a part of a new unifying religion of a modern symbiosis society The Divine Plan and the higher purpose of humanity The Global Community teaching Ecological Seeing: Walking In A Sacred Manner by Charles Sullivan All beings have impact, and thus all of them leave an ecological footprint. Some of those impacts are in harmony with the biosphere and thus are in accord with the organizing principles of life; whereas others are discordant. Harvesting nuts in a sustainable manner, leaving enough for other animals to use and for the reproduction of the species in perpetuity is an example of harmony; whereas clear cutting and mountain top removal are examples of excess and discord. Some actions compliment life; others diminish it. Over consumption and waste and the endless economic expansion they cause are the governing principle of capitalism and over population; and, like it or not, they fundamentally conflict with the natural order of things. This ideology is counter to the organizing principle of life and it has the effect of diminishing biodiversity and the ecological processes upon which all life depends. Capitalism and reductionism hold that every component of the biosphere are resources when, in fact, they are sources of life. At some point in human history, man began taking things apart in an attempt to gain detailed scientific knowledge and understanding; however, in nature—anything apart from the organic whole is dead. It is easily understood that if someone removes another’s heart from his or her chest cavity, that person will quickly die. The heart is a vital organ that pumps blood to every part of the body; it is a part of a connected whole. Sever that connection and the body collapses and death ensues. Likewise, nature has no unimportant parts. The earth functions like a single living organism of world-size proportions. Everything under the sun exists for a purpose; every organism plays a vital role in the local, regional, and the global ecology. Remove or destroy a part and the whole suffers; one has diminished possibilities, foreclosed options, and subverted natural processes, with consequences to untold numbers of species, including Homo sapiens. Western humans tend to give value to the parts of nature that can be economically exploited, and under values those that cannot. By continually teasing out the separate parts of nature and isolating them from the organic whole, we are undoing the very fabric of life: we are playing god. Thus, we are living in the midst of the sixth great extinction episode in the earth’s 4.5 billion year history, and we are the primary cause. Few Americans are aware of this fact. It does not behoove capitalism to advertise that it is killing the biosphere; it is not good for business. Who wants to be a cancer? And fools believe that business, rather than ecology, makes the world go round. After all, the highway signs leading into West Virginia, the state where I live, are followed by these revealing words: open for business. Whatever happened to wild and wonderful? Charles Sullivan is a nature photographer, naturalist, environmental educator and free-lance writer residing in the Ridge and Valley Province of geopolitical West Virginia. He welcomes your comments at: csullivan@copper.net September 16, 2007 SCALE OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN FIRMS, COMMUNITIES, NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT by Jose G. Vargas-Hernández Global Environment Minister Global file jgvh0811@yahoo.com, jvargas08@berkeley.ed Research Professor, Cerrada Petronilo Lopez 31, Cd. Guzman, Jalisco, 49000, Mexico The role of the nation-state is to regulate conflicts between the essential elements, the nation-state, capitalists (firms), laborers and consumers, binding together disparate and conflicting interests. This paper is aimed to review the different levels of scale of conflicts between firms, communities, New Social Movements and the role of government. Read or Download full WORD document of Research Paper by author Sent by Jose G. Vargas-Hernández to the Global Community SCALE OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN FIRMS, COMMUNITIES, NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT Research Professor, Mexico July 25, 2007 How the Political Parties are possible at World level under World Democracy? by Sabzali Khan yusufzai sa_yusufzai@hotmail.com Keeping in view the prevailed political and social Orders of the World it seems to be impossible in the near future that the dream of World Democracy would become true. Because, under the prevailed Orders, the human community is divided in to so many small groups and identity on the base of Nationality, Race and Ideology. All these groups bear on their own Agenda, objectives, ideology and recognition as such it is impossible to unite the present dispersed human community at global level for World Democracy. Therefore, keeping in view the above facts and realities, the human community is hereby recognized on new such grounds that will gradually globalize not only all Citizens of the World for World Democracy but also will leads them to a World Government in the near future. The following 9 (nine) global Parties of the human community are hereby identified on Professional base/ grounds along with their universal rights, responsibilities, frame of work and objective as mentioned below in details October 28, 2007 Uncommon Grace: Biology And Economic Theory by Charles Sullivan, csullivan@phreego.com Countercurrents.org In a society that holds sacred the private ownership of property and economic self interest, it may seem strange that neither my wife nor I consider ourselves property owners. At best, we are squatters or temporary guardians of something that has inherent value; an evolving biological entity that exists far beyond the realm of economic self interest and monetary valuation systems. In an ownership society, the land is valued not as an evolved living biological entity with inherent value and rights, including the fulfillment of its own evolutionary destiny, but as a commodity — a natural resource. Ecological integrity is the foundation of planetary health. It is the organizing principle of life. Undermining that integrity for short term profits is to limit all future options in perpetuity, the ultimate incarnation of insensate greed and selfishness. Like all economic systems that are not based upon real science, or an appropriate land ethic, the concept of property rights and private ownership are misguided and ultimately self-destructive constructs. The public welfare and the ecological integrity of the earth exceed all economic self interests in importance. Economics are based upon self-serving, false premises, whereas ecology is real. The most precious things in life are those that cannot be commodified, and hence, owned. Evolutionary Forelawsship: Realizing Human Potential in the Age of Cosmic Genealogy on Earth by Robert E. Cobb Forelaws on Board www.geocities.com/CosmicGenealogy/ email: panaltruism@yahoo.com Human potential fully realized in the age of cosmic genealogy on Earth rests, finally, on resolution of deep human needs to know from whence we came, safety and security, meaning and purpose - consonant with life-centered cosmologies recognizing the cognitive and formative basis of all compassionate global societies: mate selection, the nurturing of offspring, and early childhood education in a healthful, sustainable environment. Mark Ames, August 16, 2008, America Watches the War in Georgia with Dumb Goggles The war between Russia and Georgia has been framed as a tale of David versus Goliath. But it's far more complex than this, morally and historically. The initial war pitted the Goliath Georgia-a nation of 4.4 million, with vastly superior numbers, equipment and training thanks to US and Israeli advisers-against David-Ossetia, with a population of between 50,000-70,000 and a local militia force that is barely battalion strength. Reports coming out of South Ossetia tell of Georgian rockets and artillery leveling every building in the capital city, Tskhinvali, and of Georgian troops lobbing grenades into bomb shelters and basements sheltering women and children. Although true casualty figures are hard to come , reports that up to 2,000 Ossetians, mostly civilians, were killed are certainly believable, given the intensity of the initial Georgian bombardment, the wanton destruction of the city and surrounding regions and the generally savage nature of Caucasus warfare, a very personal game where old rules apply. But you don't hear about this story from the Western media. Indeed, you hear little if anything about the Ossetians, who seem to hardly exist in the West's eyes, even though their grievance is the root cause of this war. While Russia and America see the conflict in abstract terms about spheres of influence and protecting allies, for Ossetians, who still recall the centuries of massacres Georgians committed against them, it is highly personal. They will still recall the Georgian massacres in the early 1920s, when Georgia was briefly independent, which exterminated up to 8 percent of the Ossetian population. In 1990, when Georgia was again moving towards independence, the ultranationalist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia abolished Ossetia's limited autonomy, leading to another Ossetian rebellion that was only quelled a peace agreement signed Georgia, Russia and the Ossetians. Gamsakhurdia was subsequently deposed, and Georgia's ethnic chauvinism was shelved until the rise of current president Mikhail Saakashvili in 2003. Ossetians have traditionally relied on their powerful northern neighbor Russia for protection against Georgia. The Georgians, in turn, have tried to counter Russian hegemony, for which they are no match, aligning closely with the United States, finding friendly ears among old cold warriors and Bush-era neocons. At the root of this conflict is a clash of two twentieth-century guiding principles in international relations. Georgia, backed the West, is claiming its right as a sovereign nation to control the territory within its borders, a guiding principle since World War II. The Ossetians are claiming their right to self-determination, a guiding principle since World War I. These two guiding concepts for international relations-national sovereignty and the right to self-determination-are locked in a zero-sum battle in Georgia. Sometimes, the West takes the side of national sovereignty, as it is in the current war; other times, it sides with self-determination and redrawing of national borders, such as with Kosovo. In that 1999 war, the United States led a nearly three-month bombing campaign of Serbia in order to rescue a beleaguered minority, the Albanians, and carve out a new nation. Self-determination trumped national sovereignty, over the objections of Russia, China and numerous other countries. Why, Russians and Ossetians (not to mention separatist Abkhazians in Georgia's western region) ask, should the same principle not be applied to them? The question we must ask is: Are we willing to risk war, including nuclear holocaust, in order to fulfill the aspirations of Mikhail Saakashvili? Robert Jensen, August 15, 2008, The Delusion Revolution: We're on the Road to Extinction and in Denial Our current way of life is unsustainable. We are the first species that will have to self-consciously impose limits on ourselves if we are to survive. Unsustainable systems can't be sustained. It's hard to argue with that; the important question is whether or not we live in a system that is truly unsustainable. There's no way to prove definitively such a sweeping statement, but look around at what we've built and ask yourself whether you really believe this world can go forward indefinitely, or even for more than a few decades? Take a minute to ponder the end of the era of cheap fossil energy, the lack of viable large-scale replacements for that energy, and the ecological consequences of burning what remains of it. Consider the indicators of the health of the planet -- groundwater contamination, topsoil loss, levels of toxicity. Factor in the widening inequality in the world, the intensity of the violence, and the desperation that so many feel at every level of society. Based on what you know about these trends, do you think this is a sustainable system? To be radically realistic in the face of all this is to recognize the failure of basic systems and to abandon the notion that all we need do is recalibrate the institutions that structure our lives today. The old future -- the way we thought things would work out -- truly is gone. The nation-state and capitalism are at the core of this unsustainable system, giving rise to the high-energy/mass-consumption configuration of privileged societies that has left us saddled with what James Howard Kunstler calls "a living arrangement with no future." The future we have been dreaming of was based on a dream, not on reality. Most of the world that doesn't live with our privilege has no choice but to face this reality. It's time for us to come to terms with it. The agricultural revolution set us on a road to destruction. The industrial revolution ramped up our speed. The delusional revolution has prevented us from coming to terms with the reality of where we are and where we are heading. That's the bad news. The worse news is that there's still overwhelming resistance in the dominant culture to acknowledging that these kinds of discussions are necessary. We are living today trapped systems in which we did not evolve as a species over the long term and to which we are still struggling to adapt in the short term. Realistically, we need to get on a new road if we want there to be a future. The old future, the road we imagined we could travel, is gone -- it is part of the delusion. Unless one accepts an irrational technological fundamentalism (the idea that we will always be able to find high-energy/advanced-technology fixes for problems), there are no easy solutions to these ecological and human problems. We will need ways of organizing ourselves to help us live in a world with less energy and fewer material goods. We have to all develop the skills needed for that world (such as gardening with fewer inputs, food preparation and storage, and basic tinkering), and we will need to recover a deep sense of community that has disappeared from many of our lives. This means abandoning a sense of ourselves as consumption machines, which the contemporary culture promotes, and deepening our notions of what it means to be humans in search of meaning. We have to learn to tell different stories about our sense of self, our connection to others, and our place in nature. The stories we tell will matter, as will the skills we learn. Stephen Lendman, August 13, 2008, Using Georgia To Target Russia, After the Soviet Union's 1991 dissolution, Georgia's South Ossetia province broke away and declared its independence. So far it remains undiplomatically recognized UN member states. It's been traditionally allied with Russia and wishes to reunite with Northern Ossetes in the North Ossetia-Alania Russian republic. Nothing so far is in prospect, but Russia appears receptive to the idea. And for Abkhazia as well, Georgia's other breakaway province. The conflict also has implications for Transdniestria, the small independent Russian-majority part of Moldova bordering Ukraine, and for Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Strategic importance of Georgia for the Anglo-American Caspian oil pipeline; its extension from Baku, Azerbaijan (on the Caspian) through Georgia (well south of S. Ossetia), passing Russia and Iran, and across Turkey to its port city of Ceyhan - the so-called BTC pipeline for around one million barrels of oil daily, adjacent to the South Causasus (gas) Pipeline with a capacity of about 16 billion cubic meters annually. The regional stakes involved: Washington and Russia vying to control Eurasia's vast oil and gas reserves. Israel's role in the region; its interest in the BTC pipline; its negotiations with Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan to have it reach its Ashkelon oil terminal and Red Sea Eilat port; its selling Georgia state-of-the-art weapons, electronic warfare systems and intelligence; its use of military advisors to train Georgian forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery tactics as well as instruction on military intelligence and security. The Israeli ynetnews.com highlighted "The Israeli Connection" and reported "Israeli companies have been helping (the) Georgian army (prepare) for war against Russia through arms deals, training of infantry and security advice;" it was helped Georgian citizens "who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople," and the fact that Georgia's Defense Minister, Davit Kezerashvili, "is a former Israeli fluent in Hebrew (whose) door was always open to the Israelis who came and offered his country arms;" deals went through "fast" and included "remote-piloted (Elbit System) vehicles (RPVs), automatic turrets for armed vehicles, antiaircraft systems, communications systems, shells and rockets." What's at stake is what former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski described in his 1997 book "The Grand Chessboard." He called Eurasia the "center of world power extending from Germany and Poland in the East through Russia and China to the Pacific and including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent." He continued: "The most immediate (US) task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role." Dominating that part of the world and its vast energy and other resources is Washington's goal with NATO and Israel its principal tools to do it: Mikhail Gorbachev, August 13, 2008, A Path To Peace In The Caucasus, The past week's events in South Ossetia are bound to shock and pain anyone. Already, thousands of people have died, tens of thousands have been turned into refugees, and towns and villages lie in ruins. Nothing can justify this loss of life and destruction. It is a warning to all. The roots of this tragedy lie in the decision of Georgia's separatist leaders in 1991 to abolish South Ossetian autonomy. This turned out to be a time bomb for Georgia's territorial integrity. Each time successive Georgian leaders tried to impose their will force -- both in South Ossetia and in Abkhazia, where the issues of autonomy are similar -- it only made the situation worse. New wounds aggravated old injuries. Nevertheless, it was still possible to find a political solution. For some time, relative calm was maintained in South Ossetia. The peacekeeping force composed of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians fulfilled its mission, and ordinary Ossetians and Georgians, who live close to each other, found at least some common ground. Through all these years, Russia has continued to recognize Georgia's territorial integrity. Clearly, the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. Indeed, in a civilized world, there is no other way. The Georgian leadership flouted this key principle. What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity. Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a "blitzkrieg" in South Ossetia. In other words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was expecting unconditional support from the West, and the West had given him reason to think he would have it. Now that the Georgian military assault has been routed, both the Georgian government and its supporters should rethink their position. When the problems of South Ossetia and Abkhazia first flared up, I proposed that they be settled through a federation that would grant broad autonomy to the two republics. The region's political leaders need to realize this. Instead of flexing military muscle, they should devote their efforts to building the groundwork for durable peace. Over the past few days, some Western nations have taken positions, particularly in the U.N. Security Council, that have been far from balanced. As a result, the Security Council was not able to act effectively from the very start of this conflict. declaring the Caucasus, a region that is thousands of miles from the American continent, a sphere of its "national interest," the United States made a serious blunder. Of course, peace in the Caucasus is in everyone's interest. But it is simply common sense to recognize that Russia is rooted there common geography and centuries of history. Russia is not seeking territorial expansion, but it has legitimate interests in this region. The international community's long-term aim could be to create a sub-regional system of security and cooperation that would make any provocation, and the very possibility of crises such as this one, impossible. Building this type of system would be challenging and could only be accomplished with the cooperation of the region's countries themselves. Nations outside the region could perhaps help, too -- but only if they take a fair and objective stance. A lesson from recent events is that geopolitical games are dangerous anywhere, not just in the Caucasus. Mike Davis, Tomdispatch.com , August 12, 2008, The Era of Catastrophe? Geologists Name New Era After Human Influence on the Planet, A striking report from the front lines of science suggests we're officially entering a period in which humanity may simply outrun history itself. If this seems unduly apocalyptic, consider that most climate models project impacts that will uncannily reinforce the present geography of inequality. One of the pioneer analysts of the economics of global warming, Petersen Institute fellow William R. Cline, recently published a country--country study of the likely effects of climate change on agriculture the later decades of this century. Even in the most optimistic simulations, the agricultural systems of Pakistan (a 20 percent decrease from current farm output predicted) and Northwestern India (a 30 percent decrease) are likely to be devastated, along with much of the Middle East, the Maghreb, the Sahel belt, Southern Africa, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Twenty-nine developing countries will lose 20 percent or more of their current farm output to global warming, while agriculture in the already rich north is likely to receive, on average, an 8 percent boost. In light of such studies, the current ruthless competition between energy and food markets, amplified international speculation in commodities and agricultural land, is only a modest portent of the chaos that could soon grow exponentially from the convergence of resource depletion, intractable inequality, and climate change. The real danger is that human solidarity itself, like a West Antarctic ice shelf, will suddenly fracture and shatter into a thousand shards. Amanda Terkel, Think Progress, August 12, 2008, Bush Plans to Make The Endangered Species Act Extinct, Something tells me we're going to be seeing a lot more of this in his final months. The Bush administration has been attempting to pass or kill the Endangered Species Act for years. Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used his power to waive federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act, in order to expedite building the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Unclear if the new rules are the doing of Vice President Cheney, who has been maneuvering increased control over environmental policies. Justin Kitzes, Susannah Buchan, Alessandro Galli, Brad Ewing, Cheng Shengkui, Xie Gaodi, Cao Shuyan, August 7, 2008, Global Footprint Network - China Report, Download full pdf document of Report authors There are two big challenges facing human society in the new century, the environment and development. The continuous degradation of the environment has directly affected the very survival and sustainable development of human beings. How to realise a more balanced development of economic growth and environmental protection has become a critical issue that requires China and the whole world to address urgently. Globally, the ecological footprint has been widely used to measure the human demands on nature. Human consumption of the natural resources has been constantly increasing over the past four decades to result in a growing overshoot of what the Earth can sustainably supply. It has become a premise and an important guideline to understand the world's and China's ecological footprints and integrate them into the sustainable development strategies for a holistic planning of environment protection in China. Sustainable development requires humans to manage their demands on natural resources strictly within the Earth's capacity to regenerate, which describes the concept of biological capacity. The Report on Ecological Footprint in China expounds the relation between ecological footprint and biological capacity in China, and proposes how to ease the conflicts between them. The suggestions and strategies will play important roles functioning as guidelines for us to measure and improve the environmental status for the realization of sustainable development in China. It's a critical period in coming 20 years for China to realize its sustainable development, which is determined important indicators including the balance between the efficiency of natural resources and the Earth's regeneration capacity improvement. Therefore, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) has worked with WWF to produce this report on the ecological footprint in China, which we hope, based on researches conducted experts from home and abroad, will serve its reference accordingly. The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of biologically productive land and water area needed to meet the demands of a population. comparing this demand for area to biocapacity, the amount of biologically productive land and water available within a given region or nation, Ecological Footprint accounts can determine whether a nation, region, or the world as a whole is living within its ecological means. Footprint accounts have been used governments, businesses, and individuals who wish to better understand the magnitude of their dependence on biological capital and how they might plan strategically in an increasingly resource constrained world. This report focuses on the Ecological Footprint of China within a global and regional context. Recent Ecological Footprint studies Chinese scholars are reviewed, and China's Ecological Footprint is showcased in detail, including a discussion of the different types of land and water area necessary to meet China's resource and energy needs. A specific study of selected traded goods shows how the productive areas needed to produce these goods are “traded” with other nations around the world. The report concludes with strategies for managing China's Ecological Footprint and biological capacity. • The United States, the European Union, and China represent more than 50% of the world's total Ecological Footprint and 30% of global available biological capacity. The decisions made the respective governments and societies will largely determine whether the world is able to meet the sustainable development challenge in the coming century. • The calculation of Ecological Footprints in China began soon after the concept was first proposed in the mid-1990s, and has been used local researchers to evaluate the ecological deficits of different provinces in China as well as the impacts of specific business and household activities. • China partially covers its deficit importing biological capacity, in the form of natural resources, from other nations. In 2003, China imported 130 million global hectares from outside its borders, nearly equivalent to the entire biological capacity of Germany. • China's Ecological Footprint is connected through trade relations to nearly every country in the world, including many close and many far away. An analysis of selected traded products suggests that China often imports biocapacity embodied in raw materials from countries such as Canada, Indonesia, and the United States and often exports biocapacity embodied in manufactured products to countries such as South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Australia. John James, August 8, 2008, Doom Or Disaster?, Nearly every projection for the future of civilisation made in the IPCC reports has been exceeded. Events that were projected to emerge the end of the century have been moved back to 2070, then to 2040, and even now to ‘within the next few years’. The goal posts are moving towards us at a terrible pace. The most obvious is the visible state of the summer sea ice in the Arctic that was expected to still be there in the lifetime of my grandchildren, but is now well on the way to disappearing 2012. What was to have deteriorated slowly over 80 years could now be gone in four. It is the same with global temperatures, loss of species, sea-level rise and aggravated drought. Wherever we look at the figures we are, on nearly every front, approaching Armageddon at an appallingly fast rate. As greenhouse gas emissions are increasing every year, as more and more coal-powered generators are being built, as larger trucks are carrying goods over longer distances and as the population continues to increase, it is blindingly obvious that Hansen’s best scenario is now extremely unlikely. We are left with disaster (that will be bad enough) or doom. We need to understand what Doom means. There is no possibility that Frodo will drop the ring into the crater and suddenly save us all. Doom means anything over 4 degrees temperature increase. It means the loss of most of the world’s best agricultural land to rising seas, the end of trade as docks and cities are flooded, and the displacement of billions of men, women and children. It means nuclear war and genocide, enormous suffering and the end of diversity in both human cultures and living creatures. It means the end of civilisation and a return to the most primitive way of life imaginable for the few thousand scattered survivors. It means that we will have long passed the point of no return, and that even if we do stop emitting more pollutants into the air we will have begun the unstoppable release of methane from permafrost and under-sea clathrates that will quite rapidly take the world to even higher temperatures at which little life will remain. We could end up like Mars or Venus. At the speed at which things are changing, this could happen in our lifetime. Greg Pahl, August 6, 2008, Can Communities Generate Their Own Power?, People embrace the buying of local food; has the time come for local energy co-operatives, too? Most people simply take the grid for granted -- flip light switch on, light bulb goes on. The average person may not understand the extremely complex system that supports that simple act or why it may be important to change it in order to move to more locally supported energy projects. Electricity demand is at an all-time high in the United States. In 2007, total U.S. electricity generation was 4,159,514 gigawatt-hours (GWh) -- a 2.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Edison Electric Institute. But consumption of electricity is projected to increase a whopping 45 percent the year 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. Whether this projection will actually be reached or not can be debated, but this probable increase in demand poses a real challenge to a grid that can barely keep up with present demand. To meet this new demand, the utility industry estimates that the cost of improvements to grid infrastructure could be at least $900 billion between now and 2020. There are two main alternatives to meet this demand. The first is to build new transmission capability (or to increase the capacity of existing transmission) and to build large new central generation facilities. This has been the most common approach for many years and is the strategy generally favored Wall Street and most major utilities. The second strategy is to build new distributed generation (DG) where, or near where, it is needed, avoiding the need for new transmission. These DG facilities are normally smaller and scattered throughout a region to meet the needs of local customers. This strategy is supported a growing number of local community activists and other local business interests who tend to view electricity as a basic public necessity rather than a commodity. Considering the huge cost of the first strategy, much of which would probably be borne ratepayers, the second approach would seem to make a lot of sense, especially since transmission expansion is already severely limited in most urban areas in the United States. Distributed generation reduces the need for "importing" electricity from other regions and reduces transmission losses. And if the distributed generation is well positioned, it can actually provide "voltage support" for the existing transmission system and improve system reliability. This type of model can include small-scale individual or community solar, wind, hydro, geothermal or biomass DG systems that would enhance and provide greater stability to the portions of the grid where they are located. But not all DG projects fit this model. Large-scale commercial wind farms, for example, are normally located where the wind resource is best, but not necessarily where the electricity is needed. In this scenario, additional expensive transmission and distribution lines are often required. While there is a wide range of possible local DG projects, one of them stands out as a particularly attractive model: Community Supported Energy (CSE). These projects are somewhat similar to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), except that instead of investing in potatoes, carrots or cucumbers, with Community Supported Energy local residents invest in energy projects that provide greater energy security, a cleaner environment and a variety of other benefits. A cooperative or community-owned energy project offers many advantages. It stimulates the local economy creating new jobs and new business opportunities for the community while simultaneously expanding the tax base and generating new income for local residents. A locally owned energy project also generates support from the community getting people directly involved as owners. Another advantage of community energy projects is that they can be owned cooperatively or collectively through a variety of legal mechanisms. Ownership strategies can include limited liability corporations, cooperatives, school districts, municipal utilities or other municipal entities, or combinations of these models. Sometimes a partnership with an existing utility can be mutually beneficial. Community Supported Energy projects offer yet another advantage: They retain a greater amount of income in the local area and increase the economic benefits substantially over projects owned out-of-area developers, according to a number of studies. OK, if Community Supported Energy is such a good idea, why aren't there more examples in the United States? The main barriers to wide-scale implementation of CSE is a general lack of national standards and an inflexible regulatory environment. In most states there is an outdated regulatory and approval process that does virtually nothing to encourage these types of projects. Richard C. Cook, August 6, 2008, Inflation And The New World Order, Dissindent Voice, In the contemporary economy, inflation benefits the wealthy because they pay their workers in deflated currency, while they can take advantage of inflation to further jack up prices and then income. [Thus] the upper classes have fortified their economic positions to take account of inflation through their power over prices, income and other compensations in a way that wage workers and people on fixed income and other vulnerable sectors cannot. Bankers protect their loans via adjustable interest rates. Monopoly resource owners jack up prices to retain profits. Wholesalers mark up prices to compensate for higher commodity prices. Large-scale retailers squeeze final consumers — the great majority at the bottom of the production and distribution chain. Doubtless there is an impact from all these factors, though no one knows for sure how much. With regard to food prices, geopolitical factors deserve particularly deep scrutiny. Petras writes: In Asia, particularly Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Nepal, Mongolia, and China, hundreds of millions of workers, peasants, artisans, and low-paid self employed workers, as well as housewives and pensioners have engaged in sustained mass protests as they experience a decline in the quality and quantity of food purchases as prices skyrocket. In Africa, hunger stalks the land and major food riots have occurred from Egypt through Sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa. In the Caribbean, Central and South America, food riots have led to the overthrow of regimes, mass protests, road blockages from Argentina, Bolivia, through Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti. The situation in many developing nations is desperate in part because the International Monetary Fund, under the “Washington consensus,” required them to give up their subsistence agriculture in favor of crops raised for export agribusiness, while the people who once supported themselves on family farms have had to migrate to urban slums. The Western corporate-owned press calls it “free market reforms.” As architects of the global economy, the World Bank and the IMF have enormous power and shape the conditions of peoples’ lives around the world. That power has been used to create a global economy friendly to the interests of the wealthy and multinational corporations, but devastating to the lives of hundreds of millions of impoverished people. The IMF and World Bank, with the ‘structural adjustment programs’ (SAPs) they impose on indebted countries and their pro-corporate development projects, are the leading edge of oppressive globalization. The policies they have imposed in Africa, Latin America, and Asia have condemned people to stagnation, poverty, and death for twenty years, and those policies are now being adopted in the countries of Europe and North America too.5 IMF policies require governments to cut food price subsidies, restrict credit to farmers, and divert prime farmland to non-food export crops such as tobacco, coffee, and cotton in order to provide cheap bulk commodities to Western consumers. The victimized nations must then import wheat, rice, and other food products from outside. But prices for these food staples depend on world markets which they cannot influence, much less control. At least the developing nations are now fighting back, with IMF lending running at a fraction of what it once did and some nations such as Venezuela dropping out altogether. Resistance is also being exhibited to similar policies of the World Trade Organization which likewise seeks to destroy tariffs and other trade barriers that developing countries might wish to use to protect their farmers and workers. Just last week the “Doha Round” of WTO trade talks collapsed at Geneva when India and China led the way in refusing to alter their tariff and subsidy policies. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the collapse was not surprising, “given the reluctance of India and other developing nations to sacrifice food security measures in the wake of the recent global spike in food prices.” According to Deborah James, Director of International Programs for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who had been observing the talks in Geneva, “The tariff cuts demanded of developing countries would have caused massive job loss, and countries would have lost the ability to protect farmers from dumping, further impoverishing millions on the verge of survival.” Are we seeing the totalitarian dictatorship of the world’s financial elite being rolled out, with petroleum and food prices the primary weapon of a final coup d’etát against every national government on earth and their citizens? And if we knew who these “high-end investors” were, and who controlled them, wouldn’t we then understand who is in charge of the New World Order and for whom it really functions? Raymond Lotta, August 6, 2008, Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening And What It Might Mean - Part III The European Union As A Potential Rival To U.S. Dominance The EU has operated in partnership and alliance with U.S. imperialism in military affairs and in international forums like the World Trade Organization. There are huge inflows of U.S. capital into Western Europe, and huge inflows of West European capital into the U.S. At the same time, the EU represents a major, and growing, competitive challenge to U.S. imperialism within an international framework dominated the United States. How the EU challenge further develops will be influenced the interplay of economic and non-economic factors: The EU may find itself torn between those within its imperialist ruling classes calling for a more robust European military capacity and those that still want to rely on the NATO alliance. The pathways towards a greater or lesser EU international geopolitical role would be profoundly influenced a major move China to wrench more initiative in the world economy and/or to forge closer alliance with Russia. In June 2008, the French government announced a reorientation of French security policy towards deeper relations with NATO. But note closely: this was presented as a turn towards NATO and the EU—along with bolstering the EU’s capacity to plan and conduct its own military operations. Contradictions between France and Germany, core forces of the EU, and the U.S. over the war in Iraq have been very acute. And there have been other contradictions; for instance, a dispute broke out in 2005 when the EU lifted an arms embargo imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen uprising of students and workers. And even where there is more (apparent) unity, as in putting pressure on Iran, it is also the case that rivalries are playing out within the NATO alliance. The EU has necessity and freedom. The overall EU strategy seems to be one of “biding time”: promote further institutional integration within the EU bloc, seek out closer partnerships with other major powers, and take advantage of difficulties and setbacks of U.S. imperialism. But the pace, direction, and assertiveness of the EU will be influenced underlying global trends and unforeseen developments—internal and external to this bloc. Raymond Lotta, August 5, 2008, Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening And What It Might Mean. PART 2. CHINA’S CAPITALIST DEVELOPMENT AND CHINA’S RISE IN THE WORLD IMPERIALIST SYSTEM: ITS NATURE AND IMPLICATIONS, China is dependent on imperialism: on massive inflows of investment capital into the Chinese economy; and on access to the export markets of the advanced capitalist countries, like the U.S., Japan, and Germany. This is what has been and what is now most determining of China’s capitalist development. At the same time, precisely because China has been such a profitable arena for imperialist investment—based on its vast supply of super-exploitable labor, which is China’s “competitive advantage” in the world system—China’s economy has been growing rapidly. As this has continued, and as China’s rulers have acted to strengthen their base of power and initiative, China has gained increasing influence and leverage. This is occurring in a framework in which imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism, dominates China. China may in fact be in transition to becoming an imperialist power. But whether it does, or does not, will not just be a function of economic factors, and certainly not simply those internal to China. Rather, this will turn on different and interpenetrating economic, political, and military developments in the world system, including unexpected developments: crises, wars, class struggles in China and the world, and revolutions. China’s exceptionally high and sustained rate of growth and industrialization over the last two decades may well be without precedent in the history of capitalism. More to the point, this sustained growth is a) leading to an enormous buildup of productive capacity in China; b) profoundly influencing the trajectory of global capitalist development; and c) contributing to China’s rapid rise as a world economic power. China has been able to sustain high growth rates. But it is a capitalist economy. It is not immune to instability and crisis. It is estimated that 75 percent of China’s industries are plagued overcapacity, that is, too much investment relative to markets.[23] Inflation is heating up in China. Social polarization is widening: strikes, protests and confrontations in the countryside over corruption, land takeovers, and environmental damage have multiplied in recent years. The dynamics of China’s rise are complex. There is, however, a shaping contradiction: dependency and growing economic strength. China is dependent on foreign capital and foreign markets. But China has also emerged as a world economic power, a center of world manufacturing. It has accumulated vast foreign exchange reserves, and gained considerable financial leverage—increasingly over the dollar. And China is more aggressively seeking markets in the Third World and exporting capital beyond its borders. Stepping back, what seems to be guiding the Chinese ruling class is a long-term, strategic, and competitive orientation: to diversify and fortify a domestically rooted industrial base, to extend international economic and financial reach, and to strengthen military capabilities but to do so without provoking direct showdowns with U.S. imperialism. Could China evolve into an imperialist capital formation? It is a question that cannot be dismissed out of hand, though neither is it a straight-line, foregone conclusion. But it is a real possibility—China may be in a stage of transition to becoming an imperialist power. How likely is such a qualitative development, and what pathways might it proceed? These are historically contingent matters that will turn on the interaction of the motion and development of Chinese capitalism with the class struggle in China, with larger shifts, displacements, and eruptions in world economics… and with big and unexpected developments in world politics, including wars and other conflicts, as well as revolutionary struggles. Raymond Lotta, August 4, 2008, Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening and What It Might Mean This is a research essay about changes in global capitalist accumulation, newly emerging relations of strength among imperialist and regional powers, and the force of competitive pressures and tensions. It is about great-power rivalries in a world system based on exploitation. To use an analogy to the complex motions of large parts of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, this is a discussion of shifting tectonic plates in the world economy: some of their longer-term movements and some of the more sudden and unexpected eruptions. The U.S. remains the dominant, still hegemonic, power in the world. But it is facing heightened economic pressures and growing strategic necessity. Major transformations are taking place in the world imperialist system. Of central importance are shifts in the distribution of global economic power and the emergence of incipient constellations of geoeconomic and geopolitical power—that is, potential blocs of countries with growing capacity to challenge U.S. global dominance. China is a highly dynamic element in this equation. These phenomena are interacting with other contradictions and conflicts in the world, especially the post-9/11 military offensive of U.S. imperialism and its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the difficulties it has been experiencing, and military threats against Iran. The changing economic geography of the planet is also affecting world agriculture—to devastating and unequal effect in the Third World. Imperialism is transforming national systems of agriculture into globalized components of transnational production and marketing chains detached from local need—that is, food is grown more and more for export, not to feed people locally, or land is taken out of food production. Where, historically, food production has been at the foundation of the economies of most of these countries, increasingly, agriculture is becoming less “foundational” to many national economies of the Third World. Food production has been swept into the vortex of speculative commodity and financial markets at the same time that imperialist-led agro-industrial cultivation of biofuels displaces food crops. Basic food staples are no longer being produced in adequate supply in many parts of the Third World—while the forces of world competition, imperialist control over new agricultural technologies, and the vagaries of world price further undermine food security. And so in early 2008 a global food crisis unlike any experienced before in modern economic history exacts, and continues to exact, a terrible human toll in large parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This too is an expression of the deep divide between oppressor and oppressed nations. Niall Green, August 5, 2008, Pressures Mount Over Arctic Energy Resources, Across the globe, reserves of oil and gas that were previously regarded as uneconomical are being actively explored and developed. From the Arctic to East Asia to the South Atlantic, untapped billions of barrels of oil are attracting the interests of energy companies and speculative finance capital, seeking to take advantage of the high price of crude oil. One of the greatest potential oil and gas bonanzas is to be found beneath the Arctic Ocean. A report issued the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 24 July estimated that the Arctic region holds around 90 billion barrels of oil—equal to the total proven reserves of Russia, the world’s second biggest oil producer. Up to 30 percent of the world’s unproven natural gas deposits could also lie beneath the ice, as well as a possible one-fifth of untapped reserves of natural gas liquids. To date, most of the Arctic Ocean is international water, covered all year a thick ice sheet. Russia, like all countries around the North Pole, claims sovereignty over the seas up to 200-nautical miles (370 km) from its coast. Canada is developing military capabilities in its far north, with an army training centre based at Resolute Bay and a port for a new fleet of ice-strengthened patrol ships on the northern tip of Baffin Island. These capabilities, as well as a C$40 million mapping project in the Arctic, are aimed at fending off its rivals. Canada is especially concerned about the US claim that the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, should it open due to retreating ice, must be an international sea route. Ottawa insists that the passage would be an internal Canadian waterway. Energy reserves in Alaska and the Chukchi Sea have become a key part of US plans to boost domestic oil production. Speaking for the oil conglomerates who stand to make tens of billions of dollars from these oil fields, on June 18 President Bush pressed Congress to reverse the longstanding ban on offshore drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, as well approving the development of onshore production on federal lands. Paul & Anne Ehrlich, August 7, 2008, The Problem Is Simple: Too Many People, Too Much Stuff, An equitable and humane solution to overpopulation and overconsumption may actually be possible. Over some 60 million years, Homo sapiens has evolved into the dominant animal on the planet, acquiring binocular vision, upright posture, large brains, and -- most importantly -- language with syntax and that complex store of non-genetic information we call culture. However, in the last several centuries we've increasingly been using our relatively newly acquired power, especially our culturally evolved technologies, to deplete the natural capital of Earth -- in particular its deep, rich agricultural soils, its groundwater stored during ice ages, and its biodiversity -- as if there were no tomorrow. The point, all too often ignored, is that this trend is being driven in large part a combination of population growth and increasing per capita consumption, and it cannot be long continued without risking a collapse of our now-global civilization. Too many people -- and especially too many politicians and business executives -- are under the delusion that such a disastrous end to the modern human enterprise can be avoided technological fixes that will allow the population and the economy to grow forever. But if we fail to bring population growth and over-consumption under control -- the number of people on Earth is expected to grow from 6.5 billion today to 9 billion the second half of the 21st century -- then we will inhabit a planet where life becomes increasingly untenable because of two looming crises: global heating, and the degradation of the natural systems on which we all depend. We believe it is possible to avoid that global denouement. Such mobilization means developing some consensus on goals -- perhaps through a global dialogue in which people discuss the human predicament and decide whether they would like to see a maximum number of people living at a minimum standard of living, or perhaps a much lower population size that gives individuals a broad choice of lifestyles. We have suggested a forum for such a dialogue, modeled partly on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but with more "bottom up" participation. It is clear that only widespread changes in norms can give humanity a chance of attaining a sustainable and reasonably conflict-free society. How to achieve such change -- involving everything from demographic policies and transformation of planet-wide energy, industrial, and agricultural systems, to North-South and interfaith relationships and military postures -- is a gigantic challenge to everyone. Politicians, industrialists, ecologists, social scientists, everyday citizens, and the media must join this debate. Whether it is possible remains to be seen; societies have managed to make major transitions in the recent past, as the civil rights revolution in the United States and the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union clearly demonstrate. We'll continue to hope and work for a cultural transformation in how we treat each other and the natural systems we depend upon. We can create a peaceful and sustainable global civilization, but it will require realistic thinking about the problems we face and a new mobilization of political will. Abdul Basit, August 2, 2008, Humanity At Crossroads: Attitudes And Climate Change , basit72@gmail.com , The huge commotion, wide ranging research and intellectual discussions about the collapse of the civilization due to climate change has created apprehension and confusion about the directions humanity should take to overcome the challenges to its existence. The variety of solutions recommended range from technological fantasies to pessimistic resignation about the complete destruction of humanity. The solutions also include invading new planets, as well as constructing polar cities and Noah's model of ark, to sustain life on earth. Most of the solutions are based on the assumption of total collapse, along with the end of civilization and human existence. Despite these thought-provoking discussions about the influence of climate change on human existence and the solutions to tackle it, we are nearing, as time passes, the verge of a major disaster and the options for solutions are declining. The increasing natural calamities, the concern about the tipping points due to further carbon emissions and its effects on the habitability on earth have created great concerns. Humanity is at crossroads. Gone are the days of extravaganza due to the unlimited supply of natural resources from nature and the habitable and comfortable climate that we had taken for granted. If we continue with the same attitudes and policies that we hitherto followed we are on the road to self-destruction. If we change our attitudes, lifestyle and policies to take necessary measures in order to create a society based on equality, sustainable development and peace, we still have the chance to maintain life on this planet. Beyond superficial steps, we need a total change to face the challenges of climate change. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri had recently advised the world to change lifestyle implementing certain measures, including riding a bike and being a frugal shopper in order to help brake global warming. It is about time that the world takes immediate steps to bring this huge profit driven capitalist system to a grinding halt and peddle our way back to a bright and sustainable future. Summary of work from same author: Leslaw Michnowski, August 1st, 2008, For Humankind Survival Is Sustainable Development Essential? , The Sustainable Development Global Information Society website is managed Leslaw Michnowski Download full WORD document of Research Paper same author This paper is in-depth analysis of the state of the world today, the planetary state of emergency, and the need to change. The World is in the global crisis. We are exploiting our natural resources of minerals and fuels faster than we are gaining access to alternative sources. We are polluting the natural environment faster than the environment can regenerate itself to reach the level suitable for human needs (WWF, 2006). We are changing climate dangerously (Stern, 2006). Obsoleteness - moral degradation of the existing forms of life - is going on faster than new life-forms , consistent with new life-conditions , are being introduced. This situation is complicated also due to demographic expansion, especially in those parts of the human family that are lagging in their development. For sustainable development – in accordance with our conference theme – it is necessary to change approach to natural resources. A lot of them are very complicated – highly developed - products of Earth evolution, They ought not to be primitively combusted. On the contrary, they ought to be used as factors of new high technology products. Simple energy as agent of different kinds of movement ought to be as soon as possible drawn from Sun. With help of ultra-intellectual mechanisms it would be possible to -pass, world society (SMT), Earth natural environment (Env) and reach indirect access to Sun (in future also other Cosmic) negentropy. Such -passing would help to minimize negative consequences for Env of humans life-supporting activity and create solid foundations for sustainable development of the world society. Without achieving sustainable development, humankind survival of global crisis would be impossible. But for abandon oxymoron approach to - and start serious treating - sustainable development idea, verification of above hypothesis, that it is possible – with highly developed world society homeostat and ultra-intellectual evolution mechanisms - to convert inner entropy into outer negentropy, would be very useful. Michael McCarthy, July 26, 2008, Riches In The Arctic: The New Oil Race, More than half of the undiscovered oil resources are estimated to occur in just three geologic provinces: Arctic Alaska (30 billion barrels), the Amerasia Basin (9.7 billion barrels) and the East Greenland Rift Basins (8.9 billion barrels). More than 70 per cent of the undiscovered natural gas is likely to be in three provinces: the West Siberian Basin (651 tcf), the East Barents Basins (318 tcf) and Arctic Alaska (221 tcf), the USGS said. The study took in all areas north of latitude 66.56 degrees north, and included only reserves that could be tapped using existing techniques. Experimental or unconventional prospects such as oil shale, gas hydrates and coal-bed methane were not included in the assessment. The 90 billion barrels of oil expected to be in the Arctic in total are more than all the known reserves of Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Mexico combined, and could meet current world oil demand of 86.4 million barrels a day for almost three years. The significance of the report is that it puts firm figures for the first time on the hydrocarbon riches which the five countries surrounding the Arctic - the US, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark (through its dependency, Greenland) - have been eyeing up for several years. Dr. José G. Vargas-Hernández, July 23, 2008, PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, FIRMS, COMMUNITIES, AND NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, Global Environment Minister josevargas@cucea.udg.mx jgvh0811@yahoo.com jvargas2006@gmail.com Download full WORD document of this Research Paper or usingor use the old WORD version As an example partnerships to improve governance in Mexico are promoted federal, state and local governments. These partnerships are designed and implemented at local and regional levels involving participation of civil society, local communities and business to foster economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions. Mir Adnan Aziz, July 22, 2008, An Era Of Disparity, Coming down to our times when confronted with the latest evidence of the startling growth of income and the ever increasing chasm of wealth inequality around the world, we need to recognize obscene social arrangements for what they are and demand something different. Presently, there are nearly 500 billionaires worldwide whereas 1.2 billion live on a dollar a day or less. Tens of millions of children are locked out of school because their parents are unable to afford school fees. More than a million children die a year from diarrhea because their families lack access to clean drinking water. More than one billion people worldwide do not get essential health care. On average, developing countries have one doctor for every 6,000 people whereas industrialized countries have one for every 350 people. Under developed countries face a nightmare of almost no healthcare for their teeming masses. We live in a world where all natural and human resources are exploited mercilessly, so that a small minority can consume far more than their rightful share of the world's real wealth. Now, as we push the exploitation of the earths social and environmental systems beyond their limits of tolerance, we face the reality that the industrial era faces a burnout, because it is exhausting the human and natural resource base on which our very lives depend. We must hasten its passage, while assisting in the birth of a new civilization based on life affirming rather than money affirming values. All over the world people are indeed waking up to the truth. We should strive and take steps to reclaim and rebuild our local economy. It should also be our goal to create locally owned enterprises that sustainably harvest and process local resources to produce jobs, goods and services. Ideally our economy should be local; rooting power in the people and communities who realize their well being depends on the health and vitality of their local ecosystem. We should favor local firms and workers, who pay local taxes, live local rules, respect and nurture the local ecosystems, compete fairly in local markets, and contribute to community life. A global economy empowers global corporations and financial institutions, local economies empower people. It is our consciousness, our ways of thinking and our sense of membership in a larger community, which should be global. Perhaps the most important fact of all, albeit forgotten, is that life is about living, not consuming. A life of material sufficiency can be filled with social, cultural, intellectual and spiritual abundance that place no burden on the planet. It is time to assume responsibility for creating a new future of just and sustainable societies free from the myth that competition, greed and mindless consumption are paths to individual and collective fulfillment. G. Asgar Mitha, July 22, 2008, The Empire And China, No nation can become a superpower without being rich because it is only the wealth that builds a mighty army, air force and navy and subsequently leads to the nation becoming an empire. That was the cases with Turkey, Great Britain, Germany, USSR, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Japan in the last century. They all sought gold, silver, copper, iron and precious jewellery to amass a wealth and also robbed weaker nations of their essential resources but like the mighty Romans, they too were defeated only to become a chapter in the history of empires. There is no dispute that it is about oil. It is oil and not gold, silver, copper, iron and precious jewellery that has now become the lifelines of all nations, including China and USA. Both these countries rank first and second as global consumers of the world’s oil production. Between them, they consume 30 million bbls crude oil per day or 35% of the global production. China was a net exporter of oil until 1993 and now, like the US, it is a net importer. Without oil, their industrial outputs would grind to a screeching halt. It is therefore natural that the source of the next conflict will be oil and the Middle East and the Indian Ocean as the fault lines between the nations of the east and the west. Both the US and China are seeking security of energy supply but they both are doing so in different ways. China is also aspiring for energy security but, unlike the US which has the psyche of an empire, it is seeking security of supply through investments and not occupation. The goals for energy security are in reverse modes. The US has been transformed from democracy to a capitalistic oligarchy whereas China is moving from oligarchy to socialist capitalism. The US is an indebted nation whereas China is a lender nation. The Americans are becoming poorer, lavish and lazy because of a lack of incentives and ideology from their leadership. The Chinese, in contrast, are becoming richer, frugal and hard working because of incentives and a cultural ideology. China has been investing heavily in Iran’s energy to the tune of billions of dollars and also in Canada, Africa and Central Asian countries. Whereas China is seeking to protect shipments of oil, the US, in sharp contrast, is seeking plans to deny shipments of oil to China. These two divergent views will have to ultimately clash along the critical maritime flash points from the narrow Strait of Hormuz to the long and very narrow Strait of Malacca as the energy game speeds over the next 5 years. Md. Hasibur Rahman, July 21, 2008, River Water Pollution in Bangladesh: An Overview, hasibur77@yahoo.com Download full WORD document of this Research Paper Water is one of the most valuable and essential resources that humans need to sustain their livelihood. It is needless to say that without enough good water our survival will be threatened. Fortunately, we have plenty of both surface water and groundwater resources to support the entire population in Bangladesh. If managed properly, water resources can be transformed into good fortune for drinking and agricultural water. Unfortunately, the status of water quality in Bangladesh is extremely degrading day--day. Because of, lack of water resources management plan and policies implementation in Bangladesh. According to a recent study, Bangladesh ranks 95th out of 110 countries in terms of Environmental Quality Index. A great deal of information is now available about the arsenic and other sources of groundwater contamination. Now more than ever before, we need to protect the quality of surface water as an alternative source of water for drinking, irrigation, industrial, and other beneficial uses. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. Surface water of the country is vulnerable to pollution from untreated industrial effluents and municipal wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and oil and lube spillage in the coastal area from the ship breaking operations. Pollution from industrial effluents and agrochemicals in some water bodies and rivers has reached alarming levels. Among the different river, the worst problems are in the river Buriganga, where the most significant source of pollution appears to be from tanneries in the Hazaribagh area. In the dry season, the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level in this river becomes very low or zero. Monitoring data of DoE demonstrated that the concentration of DO in the river Sitalakhya beside the fertilizer factory varies between 2.1 to 2.9mg/l during low tide and pH varies 7.1 to 6.5 at 1981 to 1990. The river water of Balu is badly contaminated urban and industrial wastes from Tongi and the effluent flowing out through the Begurbari khal, most of which emanates from the Tejgaon industrial area in Dhaka. In Bangladesh, most of the industrial units are located along the banks of the different rivers, which provide transportation for incoming raw materials and outgoing finished products. The highest numbers of industries are located in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chittagong district besides the river Buriganga, Sitalakhya and Karnophuli. Unfortunately, as a consequence, industrial units drain untreated effluents directly into the rivers and polluting surface water. Moreover, surface water and groundwater are inter-related. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. No civilization can survive and thrive without clean water. We as a nation are fortunate to have plenty of this vital resource. However, the quality of this valuable resource is deteriorating very fast without any action plan. It is only through a better understanding of the sources of pollution and processes that affect the quality of water that we can save this precious resource for us and for our future generations. Moreover, surface water and groundwater are inter-related. The quality of groundwater can only be ensured through a better protection of surface water and recharge areas on the ground. If strict environmental monitoring is enforced as per the Environmental Conservation Rules of 1997 and other relevant environmental laws, many of the industries of Bangladesh will be come forward to protect water pollution. So, with proper policies, laws, acts, and enforcement of laws, the point sources of pollution in a watershed can be controlled. Non-point sources of pollution included: agricultural run-off, urban run-off, fertilizers, pesticides, acid rain, animal waste, raw sewage, septic tank leakage, household waste, etc. Understanding of a problem, however, is only half of the solution. Other half of the solution lies in communal actions; all of us can play a role in preserving the quality of water. We all need to join hands to protect this invaluable resource, as well as our existence as a nation. Since the sources of pollution is not known or identified, it becomes problematic to control their discharge into rivers and streams in a watershed. This information needs to disseminate to the general public through public meetings, newspapers, education, website, and other mass media for public awareness and to incorporate law and policy makers. Dr. Leo Rebello, July 15, 2008, , IS NESARA FACT OR FICTION, 3. Each country must have government leaders elected the people; 5. Each country must bestow UNIVERSAL PROSPERITY to ALL their citizens using the money-making formulas and processes which have a proven 200-year track record of success in providing massive prosperity. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, AIDS AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, Every disease under the sun can be treated Holistic Healing modalities. The principles of healing are very simple: (a) the body heals itself (b) there is an inner environment (c) treatment should not be worse than the disease. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, Inner Environment, In natural medicine, we talk of five elements, namely, Earth, Water, Air, Light and Ether (Ozone), of which our bodies as also the whole universe is made of. There is approximately 70% water in our bodies, Green planet Earth too has 70% water - what we call seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, ground water, etc. When the earth is plundered and destroyed over use of fertilisers, food chain is contaminated and since we take such contaminated food, drink unclean water and top that with soft and hard drinks and drugs, prescription and non-prescription, we have what is known as polluted inner environment. Diseases can be classified into two : psychosomatic and somatopsychic. When we become non compos mentis (unsound mind) due to wrong intake, our solutions too are wonky; and if they be designed with only business and profits in mind, the end-result is bound to be disastrous as we see today in this WTO-GATT regime, where a private bank called World Bank rules from behind and Monsanto takes even our Supreme Court to ride. In natural medicine we also talk of four principles : Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, COMMON VALUES IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, The Eternal values common to all religions are: Truth is one. God is one. Love is ultimate. Universe is one. There is plenty in this universe for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. Our blood is one (Muslim blood is not green and Hindu blood is not saffron, African blood is not black and European blood is not white). Our hopes, fears, aspirations, longings are one. And the ultimate truth is that Religion divides people instead of uniting and uplifting. Too much time has been wasted and too many lives have been lost in fighting over religion. The most important need of our generation is to rise above our respective religions and extend the arm of friendship and unity for all the people. That is what Salokha (amity) is all about. Let us build on this further in these two days so that more precious lives are not lost in communal carnage. Through endless churning of the ocean came the nectar of the true, the good and the beautiful to make human life sublime. Through discussion comes undertaking, unity and peace. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, Revised Oath for Doctors, If I cannot treat a disease, I shall not say that AIDS, cancers, diabetes has no cure. But will tell the patient to try other systems of medicine. I shall treat health practitioners of other systems with respect and not tell deliberate lies to prove my importance. I shall not even mistake say that "HIV=AIDS=death" or cancers cannot be treated. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, Gandhi's Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World, 4. Without action you aren't going anywhere. 'An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.' Taking action is hard and difficult.You have to take action and translate the knowledge into results and understanding. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, Human Rights, Hunger and Right to Food should get priority because more than 2/3 of the world population goes hungry, mainly in Africa and India. But it is largely neglected. 20% of food stocked in Indian grannaries is wasted; another 15% is eaten or destroyed rodents, while poor people starve. Ration shops that are meant to provide subsidized food and kerosene to cook the food are centres of extortion for politicians. Families in places such as Rajasthan, replete with Palace Hotels, where foreigners come to frolic and have camel and elephant rides, still have to practice rotating hunger and thousands of children every year die or are blinded xeropthalmia due to insufficient nutrition. It is a shame that inspite of massive 'development' and modernization, we have not been able to eradicate hunger today. As long as 2% insane capitalists control 98% of the world's wealth, through organisations like World Bank (which is a private bank), WTO-GATT regime, and decisions are controlled at the world bodies like UN with veto power in the hands of conniving five, will human rights ever get priority? Finally, RIGHT TO HEALTH is one issue that has not been answered at all. On the contrary, the UN or UN bodies have become the stooges of mercenary mafias. WHO is now known as "WHOre" since it makes mercury-laced lethal vaccines compulsory on children of the world. That has given rise to Autism (4 million cases in India alone), Cancers, AIDS, Polio deformities due to Oral Polio Vaccines. WHO has made it mandatory that the AIDS affected people should take Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs), which are known carcinogens. Codex, a sub-committee of WHO, consisting of junior persons like pharmacists, dietitians, so-called consumer activists and allopathic doctors, have now influenced several nations to enact back-door laws prohibiting even natural products like Honey, Garlic extract, Vitamin C, which are proposed for inclusion as Drugs. Tomorrow the idiots may legislate, "to eat vegetables and fruits you require Doctor's prescription" and later they may say "even a mother cannot feed her ba her milk till the Doctor certifies that her milk is safe", like they do in that mad country called USA, where if you refuse Chemotherapy or Anti-Retroviral Drugs for Cancers and AIDS, you can be jailed. Dr. Leo Rebello, , July 15, 2008, REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL CONFLICTS AND TERRORISM HELD ON 22nd JANUARY 2007 IN PUNE, INDIA The root cause of Global Conflicts and Terrorism is America and its allies, who wish to colonise the space when the Green planet itself is being turned into brown. We need to concentrate on saving the green planet earth. That is our first and last priority. Dr. Leo Rebello's speech was the most powerful among all the speakers. Here are some snippets from his speech. * World Disaster Clock has been set at 5 minutes to midnight and yet the world is sleeping. Kevin Danaher, Shannon Biggs and Jason Mark November 8, 2007, How to Hold Corporations Accountable, When the system doesn't allow people to protect themselves from corporate harm to their communities, it is time to change the system. Can you tell us about "democracy"? It's a word used everyone and can mean so many things. Some people might say you are anti-business. Is that the case? Many people in this country don't understand that corporations have personhood rights. Why does this come as such a surprise to some people? Speak about the regulatory system. It's supposed to keep corporations from doing harm, but everywhere you look -- the water, the land, the air -- everything is polluted. Some believe that laws such as anti-corporate personhood ordinances are a waste of time because they will be challenged and shot down, so why bother? What is the logic behind civil disobedience to the law? Do you believe it's possible to change the role of corporations in our society? David Korten, June 27, 2008, Will the Last Superpower Recognize In Time What We Must Do to Save the Planet?, In a time when the old order is shattering, a global movement is emerging to challenge the use of war as a tool of statecraft. Cheap oil provided an energy subsidy that defined the wars, economies, settlements, values, and lifestyles of the 20th century. The result was a century of wasteful extravagance and inefficiency that encouraged us to squander virtually all Earth's resources -- including water, land, forests, fisheries, soils, minerals, and natural waste recycling capacity. We are now waking up to the morning-after consequences of a brief but raucous party. These include depleted natural systems, unsustainable economies, an obsolete physical infrastructure, and a six-fold increase in the human population dependent on the diminished resources of a finite planet. Cheap oil also fueled a zero sum global competition for access to resources -- particularly cheap oil -- and for the military superiority required to secure that access. The United States combined the global projection of military power with the global projection of economic and cultural power to achieve unchallenged global dominance as the sole reigning superpower. Cheap oil is no more and the global projection of military and economic power it made possible is no longer viable. According to the scientific consensus, to avoid driving Earth's system of climate regulation into irrevocable collapse we humans must achieve at least an 80 percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050 and possibly sooner. Less noted is the corresponding imperative that to avoid irrevocable social collapse, we must simultaneously achieve an equitable allocation of allowable emissions to meet the essential needs of every person on the planet. This presents a particular challenge for the United States. As the world's leading producer of green house gases, our emissions reduction must be closer to 90 percent. There is no place in this equation for war or the global projection of military power. Beyond the fact that military planes, ships, and vehicles are gluttonous consumers of oil, the central activity of warfare is to kill and maim people and destroy critical infrastructure to impair capacity for normal life. The collateral damage includes massive scale toxic and radioactive environmental contamination that renders growing portions of our crowded planet uninhabitable. The more we humans war the more certain our ultimate collective demise. The second is an emergent social movement calling all the world's parliaments to adopt the principles of Article 9 added to the Japanese Constitution following World War II. In the official translation it reads: ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. David Korten, June 16, 2008, How Do We Go from Empire to Earth Community?, The day of reckoning for our reckless human ways that many of us have for decades warned would be coming is here. We cannot grow our way out of poverty. The only way to end poverty and heal our social divisions on an already over stressed planet is through a redistribution of resources from rich to poor and from nonessential to essential uses. Natural wealth was created our Earth mother and is therefore a common heritage of all her children, including all non-human species. None of us has a right to abuse that wealth or to monopolize it to the exclusion of our sisters and brothers. This brings us to the third element of the big picture: the governing institutions to which we give the power to set our priorities and our collective course. We might wonder how such injustice could happen in a world governed democratically elected governments. The answer is simple and alarming. Our world is not governed democratically elected governments. It is ruled global financial institutions in the service of financial speculators who exchange trillions of dollars daily in search of instance unearned profits to increase the fortunes -- and the power -- of the richest people on the planet. They bring down governments that displease them, and buy and sell the largest corporations like commodities. design and law the defining priority and obligation of these governing institutions is to generate financial profits to make rich people richer, in short to increase inequality in a world in desperate need of greater equity. To this end, the corporations rise or fall at the pleasure of the speculator, assault of our eyes and ears with advertising messages intended to get those of who are already have more stuff that we need -- to buy more stuff. So what does this big picture overview tell us about what we need to do? How much suffering will changing our ways impose? Well, we need to grow strong caring communities in which we get more of our human satisfaction from caring relationships and less from material goods. We will need to end war as a means of settling international disputes and dismantle our military establishment. We need to reclaim the American ideal of being a democratic middle-class nation without extremes of wealth and poverty. And we need to encourage and support the rest of the world in doing the same. To do all this we will need create democratically accountable governing institutions devoted to the well-being of people and nature. There can be no trade offs between justice, sustainability, happiness, and democracy. They are all inseparably linked. The idea that beneath the surface of our wondrous cultural diversity most humans want the same thing is consistent with recent scientific findings that our human brains are wired for compassion, caring, altruism, and cooperation. It turns out that most people everywhere, irrespective of their skin color, religion, nationality, or language are happiest when they are being helpful, loving, peaceful, generous, and cooperative. Isn't that stunning? Think of the possibilities. People of color and women won recognition of their full human rights only as the civil rights and women's movements successfully exposed the fallacy of the story that people of color and women are less than fully human. Recognizing the full humanity of all peoples opens us to a deeper understanding of what it truly does mean to be human in all the rich potentials that our human nature embodies. The environmental movement is replacing the story that nature is a dark and evil threat to be subdued, vanquished, and used for whatever purposes please us with the story of Earth as a living being, the mother of life, a living spaceship. Through sharing stories about what makes us truly happy, we come to see the fallacy of the advertising story that material consumption is our source of happiness. Once this fallacy is seen for what it is, we can enthusiastically share our stories of how we are improving the quality of our lives reducing the quantity of our consumption and gaining control of our time to do more of the things that make us feel fully alive. In everything you do, share the story of our human possibility and of our right and responsibility to create for ourselves and for future generations, the world of our shared dream. Our distinctive human capacity for reflection and intentional choice carries a corresponding moral responsibility to care for our Mother Earth and for one another. We must now test the limits of the individual and collective creative potential of our species as we strive to become the change we seek. In these turbulent and frightening times, it is important to remind ourselves that we are privileged to live at the most exciting moment of creative opportunity in the whole of the human experience. The future is in our hands. Now is the hour. We have the power to turn this world around. We are the ones we have been waiting for. Pablo Ouziel, June 15, 2008, The Beginning Of Global Order, We can continue to believe our politicians as they echo messages of stability and order around our planet, and we can continue to feed off the BBC or the New York Times to get an insight into the normality of the global situation, but sooner or later, the collapse of our economies is going to affect us directly hitting our pockets, and then perhaps we will be ready to act. Hopefully, against those politicians and global capitalists who are infecting our daily life bringing a painful and miserable reality to the majority of humanity. We have not been smart enough as a collective of global citizens to understand that we are being taken on a ride, that affected groups are being kept isolated the magic wand of the mainstream media regurgitating the propagandistic message of the ruling elite. Everyday, the global situation is getting worse. As strikes are on the rise and unemployment is increasing, we must be alert, we must understand what is happening. The elites will continue to keep us divided, because divided is how they can control us, but we must be smarter than them and understand that the only strength we have against their policies, is the collective strength of united discontent. When will we understand that our politicians are lying to us? Will we ever understand that the mainstream media is not democratic and that the police are there to defend the interests of the wealthy? One can see clearly whose interest the police serves when those who protest and strike have guns pointed at them. We must begin to pave the path to peace in order to gain global stability, and that must be done setting measures to stop speculators from benefiting from the misery of others, punishing corrupt politicians, and collectively understanding that bankers are rich because we have placed our money in their hands. Ultimately, unless we begin to see the world as a whole, in which things are truly interconnected, our governments will continue their hostilities, oil prices will keep on rising, and when the time comes for us to complain, we will be faced with the guns of the police whom we have helped to create with the payment of our taxes. The only positive thing coming out of this chaos, is that we are no longer able to avoid facing reality, and soon after this social Tsunami which has begun to unravel is over, we will be faced with a true opportunity to collectively construct global order. Pablo Ouziel, April 10, 2008, Winds Of Change, As a tax paying human being holding a Spanish Passport with the words “European Union” embossed on it, I have enjoyed the pleasures of being a global citizen with rights that others have not enjoyed when moving around the globe. As a conscious human being, I have come to see my passport as a statement of my social class in the globalized world. I understand that within nations there are social classes, which are greatly defined the economic wealth of each individual, I also understand that there is a borderless global upper class. However, these people to me are not important, because ultimately I understand they are there because the rest have not yet understood their true rights and their organized collective power. Society overall has accepted a system which leaves behind those who do not matter, who cannot make it. They don’t matter, because what matters are the statistics of humanity, statistics that are thrown at us on a daily basis with the sole purpose of dehumanizing social reality and promoting the interests of the rich and powerful. Again the important thing to me is not how these powerful individuals are able to maintain this situation, what is interesting to me is why the common people are so tolerant of this reality. The Soul of all Life, the Soul of Humanity, January 6, 2008, The Soul of all Life, the Soul of Humanity, is the unifying religion of a modern symbiosis society, that of the global civilization of the 3 rd Millennium Charles Sullivan, May 15, 2008, Ecological Seeing: Walking In A Sacred Manner, All beings have impact, and thus all of them leave an ecological footprint. Some of those impacts are in harmony with the biosphere and thus are in accord with the organizing principles of life; whereas others are discordant. Harvesting nuts in a sustainable manner, leaving enough for other animals to use and for the reproduction of the species in perpetuity is an example of harmony; whereas clear cutting and mountain top removal are examples of excess and discord. Some actions compliment life; others diminish it. Over consumption and waste and the endless economic expansion they cause are the governing principle of capitalism and over population; and, like it or not, they fundamentally conflict with the natural order of things. This ideology is counter to the organizing principle of life and it has the effect of diminishing biodiversity and the ecological processes upon which all life depends. Capitalism and reductionism hold that every component of the biosphere are resources when, in fact, they are sources of life. At some point in human history, man began taking things apart in an attempt to gain detailed scientific knowledge and understanding; however, in nature—anything apart from the organic whole is dead. It is easily understood that if someone removes another’s heart from his or her chest cavity, that person will quickly die. The heart is a vital organ that pumps blood to every part of the body; it is a part of a connected whole. Sever that connection and the body collapses and death ensues. Likewise, nature has no unimportant parts. The earth functions like a single living organism of world-size proportions. Everything under the sun exists for a purpose; every organism plays a vital role in the local, regional, and the global ecology. Remove or destroy a part and the whole suffers; one has diminished possibilities, foreclosed options, and subverted natural processes, with consequences to untold numbers of species, including Homo sapiens. Western humans tend to give value to the parts of nature that can be economically exploited, and under values those that cannot. continually teasing out the separate parts of nature and isolating them from the organic whole, we are undoing the very fabric of life: we are playing god. Thus, we are living in the midst of the sixth great extinction episode in the earth’s 4.5 billion year history, and we are the primary cause. Few Americans are aware of this fact. It does not behoove capitalism to advertise that it is killing the biosphere; it is not good for business. Who wants to be a cancer? And fools believe that business, rather than ecology, makes the world go round. After all, the highway signs leading into West Virginia, the state where I live, are followed these revealing words: open for business. Whatever happened to wild and wonderful? Jose G. Vargas-Hernández, September 16, 2007, SCALE OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN FIRMS, COMMUNITIES, NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT or Download full WORD document of Research Paper author Global Environment Minister Global file jgvh0811@yahoo.com, jvargas08@berkeley.ed The role of the nation-state is to regulate conflicts between the essential elements, the nation-state, capitalists (firms), laborers and consumers, binding together disparate and conflicting interests. This paper is aimed to review the different levels of scale of conflicts between firms, communities, New Social Movements and the role of government. Sabzali Khan yusufzai, sa_yusufzai@hotmail.com, July 25, 2007, How the Political Parties are possible at World level under World Democracy? Keeping in view the prevailed political and social Orders of the World it seems to be impossible in the near future that the dream of World Democracy would become true. Because, under the prevailed Orders, the human community is divided in to so many small groups and identity on the base of Nationality, Race and Ideology. All these groups bear on their own Agenda, objectives, ideology and recognition as such it is impossible to unite the present dispersed human community at global level for World Democracy. Therefore, keeping in view the above facts and realities, the human community is here recognized on new such grounds that will gradually globalize not only all Citizens of the World for World Democracy but also will leads them to a World Government in the near future. The following 9 (nine) global Parties of the human community are here identified on Professional base/ grounds along with their universal rights, responsibilities, frame of work and objective as mentioned below in details Charles Sullivan, csullivan@phreego.com, October 28, 2007, Uncommon Grace: Biology And Economic Theory, In a society that holds sacred the private ownership of property and economic self interest, it may seem strange that neither my wife nor I consider ourselves property owners. At best, we are squatters or temporary guardians of something that has inherent value; an evolving biological entity that exists far beyond the realm of economic self interest and monetary valuation systems. n an ownership society, the land is valued not as an evolved living biological entity with inherent value and rights, including the fulfillment of its own evolutionary destiny, but as a commodity — a natural resource. Ecological integrity is the foundation of planetary health. It is the organizing principle of life. Undermining that integrity for short term profits is to limit all future options in perpetuity, the ultimate incarnation of insensate greed and selfishness. Like all economic systems that are not based upon real science, or an appropriate land ethic, the concept of property rights and private ownership are misguided and ultimately self-destructive constructs. The public welfare and the ecological integrity of the earth exceed all economic self interests in importance. Economics are based upon self-serving, false premises, whereas ecology is real. The most precious things in life are those that cannot be commodified, and hence, owned. Robert E. Cobb, panaltruism@yahoo.com, June 26, 2008, Evolutionary Forelawsship: Realizing Human Potential in the Age of Cosmic Genealogy on Earth , Postal address: 186 Bowlsby Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada V9R 5K1 Electronic mail: globalcommunity@telus.net Website: http://globalcommunitywebnet.com/ Webmaster: gdufour@globalcommunitywebnet.com	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line108
__label__wiki	0.64301	0.64301	Home. News and Events. GMHC Applauds New York State Legislative Wins Cub Barrett I 212-367-1561 I CubB@gmhc.org Legislative Victories for the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS-Affected Communities Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) applauds the New York State Legislature for finishing a historical session in Albany last week, having passed critical legislation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, as well as legislation to prevent HIV transmission. We commend the passage of A1204/S2279, which will greatly improve access to post-exposure HIV care for sexual assault victims, especially in cases involving minors. As a result of passing this legislation, emergency rooms will be required to provide a full regimen of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) care for sexual assault survivors, and the medication will be covered by the New York State Office of Victim Services. As the state continues to consider how to prevent and respond to issues of sexual assault, we believe this legislation will be helpful in preventing additional trauma for survivors--as well as prevent new HIV infections. We also praise the passage of A54/S45, which will create a process for LGBT veterans who were dishonorably discharged from the military due to their gender identity or sexual orientation to apply to receive restored New York State veterans’ benefits. According to a review of state laws by Senator Brad Hoylman’s office, “more than 50 state programs, benefits, and tax breaks for veterans are dependent upon their discharge status.” This will allow veterans who are eligible for these services to apply for assistance--a significant victory for those who have served our country. GMHC was proud to take part in actively supporting the passage of these bills as part of our advocacy work. As both the New York State Senate and Assembly have passed these bills, they will now go to the desk of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. Statement from Cub Barrett, GMHC VP, Communications and Public Affairs “As we approach the anniversary of Stonewall, we must defend and protect our LGBT communities, including veterans. Additionally, leading up to 2020 and the goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City and New York State, we must ensure that we are taking care of all communities who are and who can be affected by the epidemic. GMHC applauds the Legislature for its bold leadership and looks forward to Governor Cuomo signing these bills into law. We’re excited about our continued collaboration to advance equity for LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS-affected communities as we work together toward our shared goals.” About Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is the world's first HIV/AIDS service organization. GMHC is on the front lines providing services to over 13,000 people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Programs include testing, prevention, nutrition, legal, supportive housing, mental health, and substance use services. GMHC also advocates for stronger public policies at the local, state, and federal levels with the goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic. For more information, visit www.gmhc.org.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line109
__label__cc	0.544682	0.455318	By David on August 29, 2010 • ( 1 Comment ) The poison hemlock plant is a general title for a small, two-species genus of perennial and biennial herbaceous plants called conium, which belong to the apiaceae family and apioideae subfamily. These pernicious plants are native to temperate regions of West Asia, north Africa and Europe, but their distribution ranges as far as North America, New Zealand and Australia. Poison hemlocks can grow between 5 to 10 feet in height, and are grown from long, slender, hollow steams which may have either red or purple spotting. Its foliage is made up of alternate, lacy, triangular leaves that are similar in appearance to parsley. They also bear tiny, white clusters of flowers. The poison hemlock plant, as its common name implies, is considered terrifically toxic and rather difficult to detect, as they have a similar appearance to that of carrots, parsnips and parsley. Fortunately, though, these weedy plants give off small warnings. For example, when gently brushed against, they release a vaguely sweet, earthly scent; however, when they are damaged or crushed, they give off a foul, rotting odor. These plants contain a multitude of alkaloids, the most problematic of which is coniine, a neurotoxin that has been shown to effect the central nervous system – even in small doses. Although the entire plant is considered poisonous, the seeds are thought to hold the highest concentration. Because of this, many ancient medicine men felt that minute doses culled from the greens of the poison hemlock plant – often mixed with other herbs – could help treat ailments such as skin disorders, arthritis, and nervous excitement. Poison hemlocks were not strictly used for medicinal purposes, however. One of the best known examples of this pertains to the Classical Greek philosopher, Socrates, who – after having been found guilty of impiety – was sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning. Other examples tell of witches growing this plant in their gardens to help purify magical accoutrements, to cast spells of impotence, and to ritualistically disable a bad situation. The poison hemlock plant is almost exclusively associated with negative symbols, such as calamity, injustice and the dampening of romantic desires. Although these plants may be pretty to some, it is inadvisable to give them as gifts; not only are they rife with unfavorable associations, but they can also be incredibly harmful to keep around the house – especially if there are small children or animals present. Poison Hemlock Plant Pictures George Sampford says: Can you suggest where I can get an illustration of Wild Hemlock? More detail is possible with a drawing and is, therefore, superior compared to a photo. Boudicca – Queen of the Iceni is rumoured to have died from Wild Hemlock poisoning. I have an excellent illustration of Boudicca on both sides of my aptly-named boat. I would like to add an illustration of the plant to both back doors of my boat as a ‘fitting end’, so to speak! Any suggestions would be much appreciated – thankyou.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line112
__label__wiki	0.76285	0.76285	Home/ASIA/Indonesian organizations condemn the Boko Haram kidnappings ASIAPOLITICS Indonesian organizations condemn the Boko Haram kidnappings Foreign Policy News August 16, 2014 By Mohammad Anthoni The Nigerian government has appreciated the Indonesian press and people’s support and understanding of its efforts to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls and to address the menace of Boko Haram. Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia Muhammad L. Sulaiman made the appreciation when explaining to journalists and Nigerian community in Jakarta recently the position of his government on the kidnapped school girls and on the steps it was taking to confront the Boko Haram menace and combat terrorism. Nigeria and Indonesia have been enjoying cordial relations since 1965 when Indonesia established its diplomatic mission in Lagos and Nigeria reciprocated by opening its embassy in Jakarta in 1976. The two countries have also been cooperating both at the bilateral and multilateral levels and supporting each other’s nominations to positions at various international organizations. In addition to their membership of the United Nations, Nigeria and Indonesia are members of the D-8, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and MINT Group (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) which will be among the economic giants of the future. It will be recalled that Tuesday, July 22, 2014 marked 100 days since the abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state. The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) has condemned the kidnapping and demanded the group release them. Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of MUI, has said in Jakarta recently that the kidnapping could not be justified as Islam is against any form of violence toward women and those who are innocent. The MUI statement was expressed in collaboration with other Islamic organizations including Muhammadiyah, Syarikat Islam, Al-Washliyah and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), a group notorious for hate crimes and violent raids in the name of Islam. The Secretary General of the OIC, Eyad Madani, has condemned the activities by the Boko Haram, noting that members of the sect are criminals and anti-Islam. “What they do is criminal act, it has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, Islamic teachings, the religion of Islam, the history, the culture, the civilization of Islam and we should identify them for what they are: as a terrorist group,” he said. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR has stated several times that the Nigerian government is determined to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls. “It has therefore not stopped, will not stop and spare no resources until the girls are returned home and the kidnappers brought to justice,” Ambassador Sulaiman said. According to him, the government is also determined to address the issue of Boko Haram by using all the tools of national power – military, intelligence, police, economic and political – in this effort. Nigeria has the will, the resources and strategies to win this fight. “It will take time, but it is committed to this course. It is worth nothing that the government has already achieved some important successes such as new equipment and technology procurements to support the military and security forces and the arrests of some senior-level Boko Haram commanders, he said. In mid-July alone, the government forces apprehended three top-level Boko Haram targets: Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, one of the masterminds of the April 14, 2014 bombing of the Abuja bus station, killing about 100 civilians, Boko Haram chief of intelligence, and Mohammed Zakari, a Boko Haram leader known as the ‘Chief Butcher’. The ambassador said the government, however, recognizes that soft power is crucial in the battle against Boko Haram as force alone cannot defeat insurgency. As a result it is implementing a comprehensive program of assistance to support, protect, and empower local communities, with special focus on the most vulnerable areas of the country. In short, the government is cooperating and empowering the local population across Nigeria in the battle against Boko Haram. “Why am I telling the position of Nigerian government on the kidnapped school girls and steps being taken to confront the Boko Haram menace and combat terrorism to the Indonesian people, the businesspeople in particular?” Ambassador Sulaiman asked. “Our government wants to assure investors of the safety of their investment.” Economic and trade relations He further said the prospect for economic and trade relations between Nigeria and Indonesia is very good, especially since the two countries have the commitment, zeal and determination to make it so. The volume of trade between the two countries increased from US$2.09 billion in 2011 to US$3.18 billion in 2012 and the outlook is good and promising. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and one of the emerging market economies in the world. The country is also a member of G-20 major economies and classified as a newly industrialized country. As a result of the boost in its economy, Indonesia has been exploring other regions in the world to invest, Africa, and Nigeria in particular, is one of those places. Nigeria has become a destination for investment from Indonesia with around 11 local firms, like Indorama, Indofood, Wings, Mensa Group, Talarama and Kalbe. These companies have invested in the food and beverage, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals as well as detergent and soap segments of the Nigerian economy. “It is interesting to note that the largest Indomie factory in the world is located in Nigeria, not in Indonesia where it originated from. In fact Indomie is so popular in Nigeria that is gradually replacing our local food.” the ambassador said. The largest Indomie factory located in Nigeria is a testimony to the positive prospect for Indonesia-Nigeria economic and trade relations. Although there is no Nigerian company currently operating in Indonesia, some of the country’s airlines namely Max Air, Kabo Air, Hak air and Silverback Africa have been servicing their aircrafts in Indonesia under maintenance agreement with Garuda. “The fact that Garuda services some of our aircrafts is a testimony to the confidence Nigeria has in its professional capacity, for it is not everyone you will allow to service your aircraft because of the risks involved,” he said. Sulaiman visited most of the Indonesian companies doing business in Nigeria since his arrival in Jakarta February this year. During his visit, their chief executives expressed satisfaction with their operations in Nigeria with its economy has been growing at a more than 6 percent and is the 26th largest in the world. Some of them have even expressed their desires to expand their businesses. “Therefore the journalists are expected to report on Nigeria including the position of its government on the kidnapped school girls and steps being taken to confront the menace of Boko Haram and combat terrorism objectively, devoid sensationalism,” the ambassador said. Mohammad Anthoni is currently the Associate Researcher of Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and Senior Journalist at Antara News. He is also Chairman of the Muslim Union of Journalist in Indonesia. Boko Haram Indonesia Nigeria terrorism Al-Qaida is stronger today than it was on 9/11 Caliphate and Tawhid: Understanding the main two pillars of ISIS’ ideology Sri Lankan bombings: Reincarnation of red revolution Is there a ‘feminine’ response to terrorism? How would the Islamic State’s propaganda would look like following the collapse of the physical caliphate? Why the next terror manifesto could be even harder to track Paraguay: an attractive country for investments in mining and food industries International shipping: Changing pattern and phases – Is it good or bad? Revisiting dictatorship: Democracy is the worst form of government, indeed CPEC an effective tool against terrorism Ukraine claims it destroyed the Russian military convoy Islamic State: The new Jihadist generation	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line114
__label__wiki	0.965083	0.965083	Our Place in the World: A Journal of Ecosocialism A Journal of Ecosocialism 792. How China Communist Party Tops Enrich Themselves Party leader Hu Jintao and the new members of the Politburo By David Barboza and Sharon LeFraniere, The New York Times, May 17, 2012 SHANGHAI — The Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation recently announced a bold move to crack China’s tightly protected film industry: a $330 million deal to create a Shanghai animation studio that might one day rival the California shops that turn out hits like “Kung Fu Panda” and “The Incredibles.” What DreamWorks did not showcase, however, was one of its newest — and most important — Chinese partners: Jiang Mianheng, the 61-year-old son of Jiang Zemin, the former Communist Party leader and the most powerful political kingmaker of China’s last two decades. The younger Mr. Jiang’s coups have included ventures with Microsoft and Nokia and oversight of a clutch of state-backed investment vehicles that have major interests in telecommunications, semiconductors and construction projects. That a dealmaker like Mr. Jiang would be included in an undertaking like that of DreamWorks is almost a given in today’s China. Analysts say this is how the Communist Party shares the spoils, allowing the relatives of senior leaders to cash in on one of the biggest economic booms in history. As the scandal over Bo Xilai continues to reverberate, the authorities here are eager to paint Mr. Bo, a fallen leader who was one of 25 members of China’s ruling Politburo, as a rogue operator who abused his power, even as his family members accumulated a substantial fortune. But evidence is mounting that the relatives of other current and former senior officials have also amassed vast wealth, often playing central roles in businesses closely entwined with the state, including those involved in finance, energy, domestic security, telecommunications and entertainment. Many of these so-called princelings also serve as middlemen to a host of global companies and wealthy tycoons eager to do business in China. “Whenever there is something profitable that emerges in the economy, they’ll be at the front of the queue,” said Minxin Pei, an expert on China’s leadership and professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California. “They’ve gotten into private equity, state-owned enterprises, natural resources — you name it.” For example, Wen Yunsong, the son of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, heads a state-owned company that boasts that it will soon be Asia’s largest satellite communications operator. President Hu Jintao’s son, Hu Haifeng, once managed a state-controlled firm that held a monopoly on security scanners used in China’s airports, shipping ports and subway stations. And in 2006, Feng Shaodong, the son-in-law of Wu Bangguo, the party’s second-ranking official, helped Merrill Lynch win a deal to arrange the $22 billion public listing of the giant state-run bank I.C.B.C., in what became the world’s largest initial public stock offering. Much of the income earned by families of senior leaders may be entirely legal. But it is all but impossible to distinguish between legitimate and ill-gotten gains because there is no public disclosure of the wealth of officials and their relatives. Conflict-of-interest laws are weak or nonexistent. And the business dealings of the political elite are heavily censored in the state-controlled news media. The spoils system, for all the efforts to keep a lid on it, poses a fundamental challenge to the legitimacy of the Communist Party. As the state’s business has become increasingly intertwined with a class of families sometimes called the Red Nobility, analysts say the potential exists for a backlash against an increasingly entrenched elite. They also point to the risk that national policies may be subverted by leaders and former leaders, many of whom exert influence long after their retirement, acting to protect their own interests. Chinese officials and their relatives rarely discuss such a delicate issue publicly. The New York Times made repeated attempts to reach public officials and their relatives for this article, often through their companies. None of those reached agreed to comment on the record. DreamWorks and Microsoft declined to comment about their relationship with Mr. Jiang. A secret United States State Department cable from 2009, released two years ago by the WikiLeaks project, cited reports that China’s ruling elite had carved up the country’s economic pie. At the same time, many companies openly boast that their ties to the political elite give them a competitive advantage in China’s highly regulated marketplace. A Chinese sportswear company called Xidelong, for example, proudly informed some potential investors that one of its shareholders was the son of Wen Jiabao, according to one of the investors. (A private equity firm, New Horizon, that the son, Wen Yunsong helped found invested in the company in 2009, according to Xidelong’s Web site.) “There are so many ways to partner with the families of those in power,” said one finance executive who has worked with the relatives of senior leaders. “Just make them part of your deal; it’s perfectly legal.” Worried about the appearance of impropriety and growing public disgust with official corruption, the Communist Party has repeatedly revised its ethics codes and tightened financial disclosure rules. In its latest iteration, the party in 2010 required all officials to report the jobs, whereabouts and investments of their spouses and children, as well as their own incomes. But the disclosure reports remain secret; proposals to make them public have been shelved repeatedly by the party-controlled legislature. The party is unlikely to move more aggressively because families of high-ranking past and current officials are now deeply embedded in the economic fabric of the nation. Over the past two decades, business and politics have become so tightly intertwined, they say, that the Communist Party has effectively institutionalized an entire ecosystem of crony capitalism. “They don’t want to bring this into the open,” said Roderick MacFarquhar, a China specialist at Harvard University. “It would be a tsunami.” Critics charge that powerful vested interests are now strong enough to block reforms that could benefit the larger populace. Changes in banking and financial services, for instance, could affect the interests of the family of Zhu Rongji, China’s prime minister from 1998 to 2003 and one of the architects of China’s economic system. His son, Levin Zhu, joined China International Capital Corporation, one of the country’s biggest investment banks, in 1998 and has served as its chief executive for the past decade. Efforts to open the power sector to competition, for example, could affect the interests of relatives of Li Peng, a former prime minister. Li Xiaolin, his daughter, is the chairwoman and chief executive of China Power International, the flagship of one of the big five power generating companies in China. Her brother, Li Xiaopeng, was formerly the head of another big power company and is now a public official. “This is one of the most difficult challenges China faces,” said Mr. Pei, an authority on China’s leadership. “Whenever they want to implement reform, their children might say, ‘Dad, what about my business?’ ” There are also growing concerns that a culture of nepotism and privilege nurtured at the top of the system has flowed downward, permeating bureaucracies at every level of government in China. “After a while you realize, wow, there are actually a lot of princelings out there,” said Victor Shih, a China scholar at Northwestern University near Chicago, using the label commonly slapped on descendants of party leaders. “You’ve got the children of current officials, the children of previous officials, the children of local officials, central officials, military officers, police officials.We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people out there — all trying to use their connections to make money.” To shore up confidence in the government’s ability to tackle the problem, high-ranking leaders regularly inveigh against greedy officials caught with their hand in the till. In 2008, for instance, a former Shanghai Party secretary, Chen Liangyu, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power. One of his crimes was pressing businessmen to funnel benefits to his close relatives, including a land deal that netted his brother, Chen Liangjun, a $20 million profit. But exposés in the foreign press — like the report in 2010 that Zeng Wei, the son of China’s former vice president Zeng Qinghong, bought a $32 million mansion in Sydney, Australia — are ignored by the Chinese-language news media and blocked by Internet censors. Allegations of bribery and corruption against the nation’s top leaders typically follow — rather than precede — a fall from political grace. Mr. Bo’s downfall this spring, for instance, came after his former police chief in Chongqing told American diplomats that Mr. Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had ordered the murder of Neil Heywood, a British businessman, in a dispute over the family’s business interests. Evidence has surfaced of at least $160 million in assets held by close relatives of Bo Xilai, and the authorities are investigating whether other assets held by the family may have been secretly and illegally moved offshore. Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, responded by demanding a more forceful crackdown on corruption. Without naming Mr. Bo by name, People’s Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, denounced fortune seekers who stain the party’s purity by smuggling ill-gotten gains out of the country. Some scholars argue that the party is now hostage to its own unholy alliances. Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese politics with the Brookings Institution in Washington, said it would be difficult for the Chinese government to push through major political reforms aimed at extricating powerful political families from business without giving immunity to those now in power. And with no independent judiciary in China, he said, party leaders would essentially be charged with investigating themselves. “The party has said anticorruption efforts are a life-and-death issue,” Mr. Li said. “But if they want to clean house, it may be fatal.” Chinese tycoons have also been quietly welcomed into the families of senior leaders, often through secret partnerships in which the sons, daughters, spouses and close relatives act as middlemen or co-investors in real estate projects or other deals that need government approval or backing, according to investors who have been involved in such transactions. Moreover, China’s leading political families, often through intermediaries, hold secret shares in dozens of companies, including many that are publicly listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai and elsewhere, according to interviews with bankers and investment advisers. Lately, the progeny of the political elite have retooled the spoils system for a new era, moving into high-finance ventures like private equity funds, where the potential returns dwarf the benefits from serving as a middleman to government contracts or holding an executive post at a state monopoly. Jeffrey Zeng, the son of the former Politburo member Zeng Peiyan, is a managing partner at Kaixin Investments, a venture-capital firm set up with two state-owned entities, China Development Bank and Citic Capital. Liu Lefei, the son of another Politburo member, Liu Yunshan, helps operate the $4.8 billion Citic Private Equity Fund, one of the biggest state-managed funds. Last year, Alvin Jiang, the grandson of former president Jiang Zemin, the former Communist Party leader and president, helped establish Boyu Capital, a private equity firm that is on its way to raising at least $1 billion. Most recently, with the Communist Party promising to overhaul the nation’s media and cultural industries, the relatives of China’s political elite are at the head of the crowd scrambling for footholds in a new frontier. The February announcement of the deal between DreamWorks and three Chinese partners, including Shanghai Alliance Investment, was timed to coincide with the high-profile visit to the United States of Xi Jinping, China’s vice president and presumptive next president. The news release did not mention that Shanghai Alliance is partly controlled by Jiang Zemin’s son Jiang Mianheng. A person who answered the telephone at the Shanghai Alliance office here declined to comment. Zeng Qinghuai, the brother of Zeng Qinghong, China’s former vice president, is also in the film business. He served as a consultant for the patriotic epic “Beginning of the Great Revival.” The film exemplified the hand-in-glove relationship between business and politics. It was shown on nearly 90,000 movie screens across the country. Government offices and schools were ordered to buy tickets in bulk. The media was banned from criticizing it. It became one of last year’s top-grossing films. Scholars describe the film industry as the new playground for princelings. Zhang Xiaojin, director of the Center of Political Development at Tsinghua University, said, “There are cases where propaganda department officials specifically ask their children to make films which they then approve.” Zhao Xiao, an economist at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing, said, “They are everywhere, as long as the industry is profitable.” Posted by Kamran Nayeri at 11:45 AM 807. Planet Earth: The Enigma 1,800 Miles Below Us... 806. More Genes Than Humans: The Tomato Decoded 805. Cuba's Private Businesses Now in Yellow Pages... 804. Global Warming: Temperatures Rising on a Deva... 803. Solar Desalination System for Arid Land Agric... 802. 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__label__cc	0.60954	0.39046	3rd December 2016 24th November 2017 Dorothy Mohler New York City is a fickle lover. To point out the obvious, it is bloodcurdlingly expensive, crowded and, as of late, very very cold. Satoshi Kawamoto, the celebrated creative director and plant artist behind Green Fingers, a lifestyle-oriented plant and design brand based out of Japan, is a recent transplant. And perhaps a bit of a masochist. After launching five stores, publishing three books and forging partnerships with premier Tokyo retailers, he traded in his lush plant-riddled abode for a 500-ish-square-foot walk-up off of Delancey – in the middle of summer. His mission? To bring the Green Fingers brand to New York City’s urban pastures. Satoshi, a just turned 40-year-old, is no greenhorn. He is a man of patience. As the tattoo on his arm sagely announces, a garden wasn’t built in a day. In his case, his career has taken over 15 years to germinate to its current state, though its beginnings weren’t necessarily auspicious. At age 23, after working as a fitness trainer, he chased down a job at an interiors shop called Globe. “I had no experience, but just because I liked it, I said, ‘I can do this’ and applied for the job. They didn’t get in touch with me, but I kept on calling them,” Satoshi says. Eventually, he got the job. During a cafe boom in Tokyo in the early 2000s, he partnered with a celebrity to produce a series of coffee shops. Satoshi was given space within one cafe to create a shop-in-shop – a dedicated space to sell flowers and style greenery. His aesthetic, a skillful blend of plants, antiques, and typography that defies convention and transcends the signature Wabi-sabi look, took root and Green Fingers gained traction with clients outside of the shop. He was approached with a book deal, hired to design multiple installations and store concepts, and then proceeded to renovate a 60-year-old traditional Japanese home over the next four years. The house, featured within his latest book, gives the reader an eyeful of lush interiors. Its crowning glory (at least to this woman): a wall display dedicated solely to shoes. So the question lingers. Why New York? The wall of shoes back home has been replaced by a structure of wooden crates artfully balanced on top of each other at his Lower East Side walk up, yet only a sampling of his sneakers fit. Satoshi’s dog remains back in the motherland, taken care of by an employee. And the artist, referred to as Satie San by friends — a blend of a nickname and the Japanese word for Mister — still juggles the logistics of the business back in Tokyo and texts daily with his employees, despite the 13 hour time difference. “By nature, I’m not someone who’s good with leaving something with somebody. I tend to want to do it all myself,” says Satoshi. As for the New York store, a narrow brick-lined railroad tiddily tucked into East 1st Street, he smiles with a slight grimace and says it’s going “okay.” New York, clearly, has not been a walk in the park. Yet even this resonates with the narrative of Green Fingers. After all, imperfection, at least the idea of it, is a recurring theme in his work. “I like a bit of messiness or a flaw. That is my idea of comfort,” he says. And that, set against the backdrop of a city of rapid decay and rebirth, might be the most New York sentiment of them all. Q – First things first. How did you get into the world of plant design and artistry? A – It was everything. The designing, illustrating, and plant and space design started out as a hobby. I was always surrounded by plants because my grandmother had a lot of plants. Then when I was in high school, The Conran Shop opened in Japan. It had that very shiny look of the early 2000s, but it was eclectic. I became interested in interiors as a result and explored their gardening related items. It was a place where I could enjoy the idea of interior design fused with gardening. Q – Your aesthetic tends to fall outside the expected norms of traditional Japanese style. What do you think this is attributed to? A – I don’t like to be defined as American or European. Eventually, I would like my style to be called my own, instead of being viewed through the lens of Japanese artists. But I do see inherently that there is a Japanese influence. In the traditional culture of Japan, whether that be the tea ceremony or flower arrangement, that adherence to Wabi-sabi, the particularlness, does influence my work. Q – But your style is so lush and overgrown. A – Well, someone’s home can be so organized and well decorated with designer furniture and can be very cool, but it may not make you feel at home. I like the idea of comfort. If you go to a hotel, they will have a flower arrangement, but it may be too perfect. I like a bit of messiness, or a flaw. That is my idea of comfort. Q – Is your work viewed as an outlier then in Japan? A – The place I worked for [Globe] was buying from England, Paris, and Belgium. That was the style I knew, so it’s what I gravitated to when sourcing my own antiques. I was more inclined toward an industrial look, less so for the feminine and decorative style. I’m not sure about people’s overall taste, but I think that people come to me, see my work and ask me to do my thing. My guess is that I draw a different crowd. Q – In terms of the integration of greenery in your work, do you always feature plants in your installations or have there been times you just used props? A – It depends. I feel that if there’s one leaf within the whole space, that reflects the essence of my work, the greenery. It can be a root, it can be a branch. It can be living or dead. Q – You’ve been called a garden stylist, plant artist, botanical artist, plant designer, a hodgepodge of all of these. What do you feel like most truly reflects the work that you do? A – I’ve been trying to figure that out. I don’t know. When we use the word “artist,” the art community may question whether or not it is art. Styling doesn’t necessarily encompass everything that I do. That is a question that needs to be figured out eventually. But the fact that I’ve been pegged with all of these different titles shows that I do a lot of different things. Q – In New York, most of the floral stylists that I’ve come across tend to be women. Is that the case in Japan? Are there men that do what you do? A – Traditionally, it was more of a female job, but I also think there are more men that are doing this in general. If you go more toward a wedding flower arrangement, there may be more girls, but if you go to a flower store in Chelsea, there are a lot of men. Q – There are a lot of men in Chelsea in general [laughs]. What are your long-term goals with the brand and the store? A – In the United States, the store and the brand are these very small things, so I would like to grow it so that this bird can fly on its own. Q – Are there any goals you have for projects outside of the store? A – I don’t want to expand too much, because it’s hard to maintain. I don’t want to manage more than 10 people. Among the five stores in Japan, there are only two full-time staff, since several of the others are set up as “shop in shop.” One of the things I’ve been talking about is designing rooms, like a small-scale greatly designed hotel. Rooms that are designed differently that you could rent out. Q – Like a boutique hotel model? A – I’m not thinking about a big, scalable hotel. But maybe a low-rise building with eight units in it, where every room has a different style. For example, the Ace and Wythe hotels are very cool, but for the most part have the same style. I want to do something that is different. In Japan, there are love hotels where men take their mistresses and each room has its own theme. It’s funny. Q – Hoteliers, take note! Satoshi’s services are on the market. In terms of your move to NYC, was it a big adjustment going from a full house in Tokyo to your current place in the Lower East Side? A – I was very surprised by how high the rent was here. Q – Aren’t we all. A – I haven’t ridden a train for all these years since I drive in Tokyo. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to bear the idea of taking a train to work every day, so I looked for a store space that I could walk to [laughs]. It makes me very nervous, all these people piled together. Especially in Tokyo. Eventually, I’d like to have a bigger house where I can style more and that I can bring my dog to. Q – How has New York inspired your work? A – I’d never been to New York. When I came to check it out, I fell in love. It felt very natural to be here. I felt like I could live my life here right away. But to answer your question, Tokyo is a very interesting and inspiring place, but I’ve been there so long; I’m from there. I’m less inspired by people’s work, but the color of a wall or the sky, people walking around, can move me. There’s something very inspiring about New York in that way. Tokyo gets so much information about what’s in from New York, London, Paris, that it can feel like too much sometimes. But here, people are living their lives. The overall attitude to culture and fashion is more relaxed. Q – That is the first time I’ve heard NYC referred to as relaxed! Ha. A – Compared to Tokyo, New York is relaxed. Flower Child - Amy Merrick Amy Merrick contains her talents well. She doesn’t boast. Or name drop. She demurely skips… Street Spirit - Ryan Greer frgbrbgrbgrtbgv ← Brewing the Experience – Jack Mazzola Flower Child – Amy Merrick →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line116
__label__wiki	0.532195	0.532195	INFOBHARTI.COM INFORMATION WEBSITE FOR INDIA HomePublic Sector Banks of India Public Sector Banks of India Public Sector Banks in India The Banking scenario in India has considerably changed if the last decade is considered. The width and depth of financial system in India has improved. The new technology has also added to the improvement and has made banking transactions just a click away. Nationalised or Public Sector Banks earlier being quite reluctant to the acceptance of this change have now succeeded by making a rapid makeover and concentrating more on a customer centric policy. [… Next …] Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is a major bank based in Chennai Madras State. The Banks has 2018 domestic branches and six branches overseas. Indian Overseas Bank has an ISO certified inhouse Information Technology department, which has developed the software that 2018 branches use to provide online banking to their customer. The bank has achieved 100% networking status as well as 100% CBS status of branches with a total number of 2018 CBS branchs and Extension Counters. [… Next …] United Bank of India (UBI) is a state-owned financial services company headquartered in Kolkata City India. Presently the bank has a three-tier organizational setup consisting of its Head office in Kolkata. It has 31 Regional offices and 1600 branches spread all over India. However, its major presence is in eastern India. Due to a common acronym (UBI), which it shares with Union Bank of India, which also has an all-India presence, the public sometimes confuses the two banks. [… Next …] Punjab and Sind Bank (P&SB) is a major Public Sector bank in Northern India. PSB Bank Of its almost 1000 branches and offices spread throughout India and almost 400 are in Punjab state, though the bank’s corporate headquarters is in New Delhi. On 15 April 1980 Punjab and Sind Bank was among six banks that the Government of India nationalized in the second wave of nationalizations. [… Next …] Oriental Bank of Commerce is an India-based bank in Lahore. The Company operates in four segments – treasury operations, corporate or wholesale banking, retail banking and other banking business operations. The bank offers features such as internet banking, phone banking NRI banking etc. However, it does not allow online banking access from outside India. [… Next …] Syndicate Bank Ltd. is one of the oldest and major commercial banks of India. At the time of its establishment the bank was known as the Canara Industrial and Banking Syndicate Limited. The Syndicate Bank along with 13 major commercial banks of India, was also nationalized on 19 July 1969 by the Government of India. [… Next …] Punjab National Bank (PNB) was founded in 1894 and today is the second largest state-owned commercial bank in India with about 5000 branches across 764 cities. It serves over 37 million customers. The bank has been ranked 248th biggest bank in the world by the Bankers Almanac, London. The bank’s total assets for financial year 2007 were about US$60 billion. [… Next …] Uco Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank was established in 1943 in Kolkata City, in West Bangal in India. It is one of the oldest and major commercial bank of India. Ghanshyam Das Birla, an eminent Indian industrialist, during the Quit India movement of 1942, had conceived the idea of organizing a commercial bank with Indian capital and management, and the United Commercial Bank Limited was incorporated to give shape to that idea. [… Next …] Vijaya Bank is a Public Sector, medium sized bank with presence across India and was founded on 23 Oct, 1931 by A.B. Shetty and other enterprising farmers in Mangalore City, Karnataka State in India. The objective of the founders was essentially to promote banking habits, thrift and entrepreneurship among the farming community of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka State. The Vijaya bank became a scheduled bank in 1958. [… Next …] Indian Bank is an Indian Public Sector Bank. It is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai city, Madras state in India. It has 22000 employees, and 1657 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in all over 69 countries. [… Next …] The Industrial Development Bank of India Limited (IDBI) is one of India’s leading public sector banks and 4th largest Bank in overall ratings. RBI categorised IDBI as an “other public sector bank”. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to provide credit and other facilities for the development of the fledgling Indian industry. It is currently the 10th largest development bank in the world. [… Next …] Central Bank of India a government-owned bank, one of the oldest and largest commercial banks in India. It is based in Mumbai. The bank has 3,563 branches and 270 extension counters across 27 Indian states and three Union Territories. Mr. M V Tanksale has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of state-run of Central Bank of India as in March 2009. 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__label__wiki	0.639551	0.639551	Tag Archives: Section 60 (FOISA) Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 The Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee of the Scottish Parliament is currently calling for views on the operation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“FOISA”) as part of its post-legislative scrutiny of FOISA. I have submitted a response to the Committee, which addresses five issues in respect of FOISA (and also touches, where applicable, on the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (“the Scottish EIRs”)). You can read my full submission here [pdf], but below is a summary of what I have discussed in my submission to the Committee. The first thing that I have suggested is a possible change to the code of practice issued by the Scottish Ministers under section 60 of FOISA to deal with concerns raised about the processing of personal data in connection with FOI requests. I have covered this issue in more detail on this blog before. In my response I have suggested that this issue is probably best addressed through the code of practice rather than through a change to the wording of the Act. I have also suggested that any concerns around a failure to make or keep records would not be an appropriate issue to address in the context of FOISA; however, it might be worthy of its own legislative project in the event that Parliament considered that this was an issue. This arises out of concerns expressed that FOISA has resulted in records not being made or kept so as to avoid the need to disclose them. I argue that it is inappropriate to bring this into FOISA; as FOISA has a different focus. FOISA is about giving a right of access to information that exists at the time it is requested and not about what information should be kept by Scottish public authorities. Furthermore, to introduce potentially detailed and technical rules around the making and keeping of records into FOISA could over-complicate FOISA. I have also suggested that section 48 of FOISA be repealed; or, at least, amended. There is no equivalent provision within the UK Act and there doesn’t seem to be any issues under that legislative scheme that would suggest an outright ban on the Scottish Information Commissioner being able to look these requests is appropriate. Furthermore, it has a significant effect on requesters appeal rights and the alternatives available are not a proper substitute for an investigation by the Commissioner. In this context I also raised concerns about whether section 48 is compatible with our EU obligations as it also extends to requests made under the Scottish EIRs. I have also suggested amending section 56 of FOISA so that appeals against decisions no longer go directly to the Court of Session. For quite a long time I have considered that this appeal route is prohibitive to most requesters and also to Scottish public authorities (especially smaller authorities with less in the way of financial resources). I’ve also suggested that this has affected the development of the law and Scotland lacks the same level of judicial authority in terms of what different parts of FOISA mean that exists under the UK Act. I’ve suggested, at the very least, appeals should be made to the new Upper Tribunal for Scotland in the first instance. I contrasted the Scottish appellate structure with that which applies under the UK Act. I have also suggested that the present appellate structure may mean that the law doe snot comply with EU law in respect of the Scottish EIRs. Finally, I’ve also suggested that FOISA be updated to take account of advances in technology and in particular to allow the Scottish Information Commissioner to serve formal notices by E-mail rather than requiring them to be served by recorded delivery post (as is currently the case). If you would like advice or assistance in respect of freedom of information matters or any other information law matter then contact Alistair Sloan on 0141 229 0880 or by E-mail. You can also follow our dedicated information law twitter account. This entry was posted in Freedom of Information and tagged Alistair Sloan, Data Protection, Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, FOISA, Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Post-Legislative Scrutiny (FOISA), Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee, Publications (Alistair Sloan), Publications (Inksters - Alistair Sloan), Scetion 56 (FOISA), Scottish EIRs, Scottish Information Commissioner, Scottish Parliament, Section 48 (FOISA), Section 60 (FOISA), Section 61 (FOISA) on 2nd May 2019 by Alistair Sloan.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line118
__label__cc	0.526797	0.473203	Regulatory alignment play catch up By Sapna Singh April 13, 2018 April 29th, 2018 No Comments Telemedicine is no longer a form of medicine to be practiced in the future; it is very much prevalent now and has seen a very rapid increase in its take up in this millennium. TELEMEDICINE IS ONE WAY OF practicing medicine, which may provide opportunities and increase possibilities to effectively use available human and material resources. The possibilities offered by telemedicine must be open to all doctors over geographical borders. I, however, prefer to advance to Telehealth, which involves the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA – an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) distinguishes telehealth from telemedicine in its scope. [vc_single_image image=”3678″ img_size=”1000×500″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”] According to HRSA, telemedicine only describes remote clinical services; such as diagnosis and monitoring, while telehealth includes preventative, promotive and curative care delivery. This includes the nonclinical applications like administration and provider education which makes telehealth the preferred modern terminology. There has been an exponential increase in practice of telehealth which has meant that the legal and regulatory environment has not progressed as swiftly, for example the Data Protection Act, 1998 (DPA) in the UK has been in effect since March 2000 but has lacked the teeth to actually address the need of the hour. This is set to change with a new regulation. From May 25, 2018, the new regulation will come into force, which is being called, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is a regulation of the European Union Parliament and has a direct effect. It is also believed that the inculcation of GDPR will go ahead despite Brexit i.e. Britain (UK) leaving the European Union. GDPR will have certain principles which are strong and stringent, though further clarity on each of these will be over time and by judicial decisions, it is certainly set to have more power. Consent has always been considered of great importance, however, it has been more implicit under the DPA but under the new GDPR there will be a need for a clear explicit consent from individuals to collect data. The other changes with massive repercussions for businesses doing business within or with the UK and EU will be in regards to automated decision making tools; right to access and portability; penalties; accountability and privacy notices. This includes the non-clinical applications like administration and provider education which makes telehealth the preferred modern terminology. There has been an exponential increase in practice of telehealth which has meant that the legal and regulatory environment has not progressed as swiftly, for example the Data Protection Act, 1998 (DPA) in the UK has been in effect since March 2000 but has lacked the teeth to actually address the need of the hour. This is set to change with a new regulation. From May 25, 2018, the new regulation will come into force, which is being called, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR PRINCIPLES: • Information to be processed fairly and lawfully • The personal data must be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes • It should be adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes • It should be accurate and up to date • It should be kept no longer than is necessary for the purposes it is being processed for • Maintain integrity and confidentiality • There will be accountability (The writer is a lawyer with a Diploma in Hospital Administration from India; Masters of Law in Intellectual Property Rights from the U.S.A, Masters of Science in Telemedicine & ehealth from the UK and years of experience in Telehealth law research.) Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine: InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2 InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6 InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 4 (October to December 2017) – http://amzn.to/2B2UMLw InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 1 (January to March 2018) – https://goo.gl/fksdQx InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 2 (April to June 2018) – https://goo.gl/grbtRo Stay updated about IC, visit: www.innovatiocuris.com About Sapna Singh Previous PostDISHA - Need of the hour Next PostExercise in big parks can reduce depression How Crucial is DISHA Act for Healthcare Industry? Dhruv SinghDecember 17, 2018 GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation Dhruv SinghMay 1, 2018 Hospitals designing bats for a fresh look Dr. VK SinghMay 1, 2018	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line119
__label__wiki	0.505997	0.505997	TURN PAGES by clicking the arrows at the side of the page, or by using the toolbar. ZOOM IN by clicking anywhere on the page. READ by dragging the page around when zoomed in. ZOOM OUT by clicking anywhere on the page when zoomed in. VISIT web sites or send emails by clicking on hyperlinks. Search this issue Index - jump to page or section Archive - view past issues Inside Teaching : April 2011 www.atra.edu.au \| insideteaching@atra.edu.au NEWS 49 in brieF f1 in Schools ‘Pentagliders’ and teacher Murat Djakic from Brooks High School in Launceston, Tasmania, won the National Champion professional class award as well as the fastest car and best energy efficient design awards at the F1 in Schools Australia Grand Prix at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Raceway in March. It was the first time a Tasmanian school has won. National runner-up in the professional class was ‘Ace Pace Racing’ from Mirani State High School in Mackay, Queensland. The National Champion development class winner was ‘Lightspeed’ from Ballarat South Community Learning Precinct in Victoria. National runner- up in the development class was ‘Velocity’ from Newington College, Sydney. arts education good for students New research suggests a correlation exists between arts education and the improved school attendance of students, academic achievement, and social and emotional wellbeing. Funded by the Macquarie Group Foundation, the report, Bridging the Gap in School Achievement through the Arts, by Brian Caldwell for The Song Room – a national non-profit organisation that provides free music and arts-based programs for children in disadvantaged communities – shows that Song Room participants: • had significantly higher grades in English, mathematics, science and technology, and human society than non- participants • achieved significantly higher results in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy as measured in the Year 5 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy • had significantly higher attendance, and • were more likely to be resilient and demonstrate positive social skills, good work management skills and engagement. Besides such extrinsic benefits, the research also recognises that the arts have intrinsic value. My School The revamped My School website of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority went live in March, attracting 248,000 unique visitors in its first week. Visitors clicked on more than six million page views, checking school performance on National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy tests, and visiting school financial data pages and pages used to make comparisons with similar schools. Cross also advocates intervention at the classroom level in terms of teaching and learning activities to increase understanding of ways to counter and prevent bullying, and at the school level in terms of clear policies and a school’s ethos. ‘To initiate change, we believe the most important actions are to get a good understanding of the bullying behaviour in the school through a student/staff/ parent needs assessment and then involve the whole school community in policy and actions to address this problem,’ Cross said. All state and territory education authorities, along with the National Catholic Education Commission, the Independent Schools Council of Australia and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, have collaborated to develop resources, called Take a Stand Together, to support positive bystander behaviour. For more on the National Safe Schools Framework and supporting resources, visit www.safeschools.deewr.gov.au For more on Take a Stand Together, visit www. takeastandtogether.gov.au For more on the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, visit www. bullyingnoway.com.au	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line121
__label__cc	0.744926	0.255074	McCormick & Schmick’s McCormick & Schmick's Management Group Larry Dean Hart Located at the corner of Rush and Chestnut Streets in the renovated Railroad Union Building, the 13,277 square foot restaurant and lounge has an 8,777 square foot ground floor and a 4,500 square foot second floor. The restaurant features a 350-seat, two- story dining room accented with hand- crafted mahogany millwork, stained glass and a grand staircase leading to the second floor. Warm English racing-car green carpeting, Tiffany-style lamps and framed prints depict Chicago in its heyday. Booths, known as “Snugs,” for up to seven guests can be curtained off with luxurious velvet draperies for privacy. Several private dining rooms are available for special events such as weddings and meetings. The interior was designed and constructed to provide an inviting and relaxed atmosphere. This restaurant has its own unique flair. The second floor loft area overlooking the bar features live piano music. The atmosphere is reminiscent of an old fashioned way of dining.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line126
__label__cc	0.5186	0.4814	The nest of a gray catbird, which may be spotted at the scavenger hunt. Courtesy photo. Birds and Blooms Scavenger Hunt When: Sunday, May 24, 9 a.m. to noon Where: Beaver Brook Association Nature Center, 117 Ridge Road, Hollis Cost: Free. RSVP, if possible, to nhyoungbirders@gmail.com Visit: nhyoungbirders.org Searching high and low NH Young Birders Club has Birds and Blooms Scavenger Hunt By Angie Sykeny asykeny@hippopress.com It isn’t hard to find New Hampshire wildlife this time of year. Simply look around and you’re bound to see a bird soaring the skies or flower blossoms at your feet. But have you ever wondered exactly what kinds of birds and flowers you’re seeing? On Sunday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to noon, the New Hampshire Young Birders Club will host its first annual Birds and Blooms Scavenger Hunt at the Beaver Brook Association Nature Center in Hollis. “The idea is to combine a search for these flitting, restless, never-in-one-place migratory birds with something we know will be there, which is wildflowers,” said Henry Walters, coordinator and teacher for the NH Young Birders Club. The scavenger hunt is open to all kids, teens and parents. Participants are asked to bring their own binoculars and wear appropriate hiking shoes. Upon arrival, hunters will be put into teams and given field guides that were made specially for the hunt. The guides will contain photos and descriptions of the birds and wildflowers the hunters can expect to see. Teachers from the Young Birders Club will lead the teams in their searches, but they will not be identifying the wildlife. The team members will have to work together to match what they see with the photos in the guide. When they find a plant or animal from the guide, they can check it off their list. The hunt is not competitive, and everyone will receive a bird-related prize for their efforts. Some birds on the checklist will include bluebirds, brown thrashers, Eastern towhees, yellow warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, great blue herons and red-tailed hawks. Walters said there could be as many as 60 to 70 different species of birds to see that morning. For flowers, hunters will be looking for pink lady’s slipper, yellow clintonia, bunchberry, bullhead lily, yellow woodsorrel, rose twisted stalk, blue-eyed grass and blue flag iris. The New Hampshire Young Birders Club is a statewide organization for kids up to age 18 who have a passion for birds and the outdoors. The Birds and Blooms Scavenger Hunt is one of 20 to 25 events the club puts on each year. “We try to bring kids and their families to different parts of the state, to habitats, parks and wild places they might not otherwise get to see,” Walters said. “Our hope is to get kids outside, get them excited about the environment, and one doorway into that is through birds and birding.” The scavenger hunt is the club’s first event held at the Beaver Brook. Walters said Beaver Brook is an ideal place for the hunt because of its diversity of habitat, which includes wetlands, woodlands and open fields. The club also partners with organizations like the New Hampshire Audubon, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and the Harris Center for Conservation Education. Members are encouraged to contribute to the birding community through hands-on activities like bird banding and monitoring. The scavenger hunt, while a fun and educational event, also serves as a survey of the wildlife at Beaver Brook. “We’re trying to put kids in the roles of citizen scientists,” Walters said. “We want them not to be passive observers, but active participants, appreciating the land and developing land ethics.” Those who enjoy the scavenger hunt are invited to join the club, which, for a $25 yearly membership fee, offers members a birding field guide and access to all club events. The club’s next New Hampshire excursion is a trip to the Loon Center in Moultonboro on Saturday, June 20, where the young birders will head out on the water with a biologist to observe loons. For Walters, the best part of the field trips is seeing the kids’ excitement when they see something in wildlife for the first time. “It’s thrilling when they see something they’ve never seen and realize it’s been under their nose their whole lives,” Walters said. “It’s not just a bird you saw at the zoo. It’s something you yourself have discovered, and that’s what makes it memorable.” As seen in the May 21, 2015 issue of the Hippo.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line132
__label__cc	0.651499	0.348501	Treasure Hunt 7/17/2018 Dear Donna, This bench has been with us for many years. My dad gave it to me in the early 1960s and it was given to him by his boss. I believe it had a cushioned seat at one time. We are in the process of stripping it and plan to stain it and replace the cushion. There are no markings on the bench. Can you tell me anything about it? John from Raymond What you have is a settee or, as you can see, a smaller sofa, like today’s loveseats. Settees were meant for two people to sit on. Yours is from the late 1800s or early 1900s. You are right, it did have a cushion over the springs at one time. The wood looks to be walnut or mahogany. If you look at the top sides you can see the lion heads, and then at the arms it almost looks like the paws — again, a look from the Victorian era to early 1900s. Even though some were made fully upholstered as well, the most common style is like yours. They also in that time could have had a couple of matching chairs. Now being stripped down, refinished and reupholstered does change the value. I think if you do the work because you want to use it, and it will be loved, then it’s worth it. The values on simply designed ones aren’t too high. I would say once it’s all redone it would be in the $200 range. But for all the work you are doing and reusing it again, I think it’s a treasure! Donna Welch has spent more than 20 years in the antiques and collectibles field and owns From Out Of The Woods Antique Center in Goffstown (fromoutofthewoodsantiques.com). She is an antiques appraiser and instructor. To find out about your antique or collectible, send a clear photo of the object and information about it to Donna Welch, From Out Of The Woods Antique Center, 465 Mast Road, Goffstown, N.H., 03045. Or email her at footwdw@aol.com. Or drop by the shop (call first, 624-8668).	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line133
__label__cc	0.562453	0.437547	Published in Palestine Hizb ut Tahrir - the Blessed Land Palestine: Massive Lecture in the city of Hebron "The Khilafah is a Victory from Allah and Imminent Conquest" Marking the 98th anniversary of the Destruction of the Khilafah and as part of Hizb ut Tahrir - the Blessed Land Palestine activities of the commemoration of the Destruction of the Khilafah, Hizb ut Tahrir in the Blessed Land - Palestine held a massive lecture in the city of Hebron (Khalil) entitled, The lecture had three aspects: First: trust in the victory of Allah and that His Promise will be fulfilled. The second is that Allah (swt) singled out the Islamic Ummah with the victory and empowerment in its few number and its equipment and the evidence of that in many ancient and modern Islamic history, most notably the immortal Muhax Battle by the New Zealander on his weapon, which was one of the greatest battles in the history of the Islamic State led by the Ottoman Khaleefah Suleiman the Magnificent. The great Muslims of which six European armies were defeated in time span of an hour and a half, which constituted a great disappointment for the Crusader Europe to this day. The third aspect is that Allah promised the Muslims victory and imposed upon him to seek to achieve the glad tidings of the Mustafa peace be upon him, and that the arms of the believers are victorious, by bi’thinallah, and nothing between them and the victory except hard work under the banner of "There is no god but Allah Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" The audience was distinguished and united and within the various spectrum and age groups of dignitaries, young people, young people, academics and teachers. At the end of the lecture, the attendees agreed for the Ummah's call for victory and empowerment. Tuesday, 26 Rajab al-Muharram 1440 AH, corresponding to 2 April 2019 CE Deputy to the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir In the Blessed Land - Palestine Last modified onMonday, 15 April 2019 20:17 Click to open image! http://hizb-ut-tahrir.info/en/index.php/dawah/palestine/17299.html#sigProId0fb038f1af More in this category: « Mass Rally in the Gaza Strip on the Anniversary of the Destruction of the Khilafah Palestine: Massive Lecture in the city of Tulkarem "The Khilafah is a Victory from Allah and Imminent Conquest" »	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line134
__label__wiki	0.552844	0.552844	Hollowmoon - Rising in the Blue Sky I really know much about Hollowmoon and I can't remember how I found out about them, but I'm glad I did. I do know that they're from Brighton and that they remind me of the Pixies. Have a listen for yourself and see what you make of it, everyone I've played them to really like their music so maybe you will too. Rising In The Blue Sky by Hollowmoon Tall Ships - T=0 (65daysofstatic remix) Oh man, Tall Ships and 65daysofstatic working on the same track? It's 5:40 in the morning so hopefully this isn't a dream and will still be here the next time I wake up. Tall Ships are a math rock band from Cornwall who are now based in Brighton but play around these parts quite often and 65daysofstatic are an awesome band from Sheffield who've given this track the post-rock treatment. You can get this track for free via SoundCloud but there's no widget to embed, instead, you'll have to click this link and pop your email in the box to get the download link. It's all very straight forward, so no excuses. Tiny Dragons - Tell the World Tiny Dragons are a three piece from Brighton. A bit indie rock, a bit disco pop. Have a listen, give it a download, throw a party, get horribly drunk, put it on and pretend you're in an episode of Skins; somewhere in the second season.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line138
__label__cc	0.594185	0.405815	Time for a new access law3 min read 19/9/17 3 min read Nick Svensen, our Policy Analyst, is back to let us know about an exciting campaign to get a new access law. If you haven’t yet heard, accessibility legislation ensuring national standards of accessibility is currently being advocated for by the Access Alliance, of which CCS Disability Action is a member. The proposed Accessibility for New Zealanders Act will require organisations in all areas of life to become fully accessible to people with a wide variety of disabilities. Based on principles of universal design and reasonable accommodation, the Act legally obliges parties such as schools, the government itself, workplaces, and shops to remove existing obstacles and prevents the creation of new barriers to accessibility. These include but are not limited to physical, communication, attitudinal, technological, transport, visual, and legal barriers, and affect 1 in every 4 of those kiwis with disabilities in ways both obvious and invisible, whether exclusion from a restaurant or from the workforce for examples. As the population ages, cities and towns grow and technologies change, it makes increasingly more sense to legislate for national accessibility standards to make sure we do the right job, at the right time, avoiding retrospective action or even worse – continued exclusion in public life. Canadian Lawyer David Lepofsky, who has long been at the forefront of advocating for the enactment of accessibility legislation in Ontario and Canada, has just been in New Zealand sharing his experiences and insights on why legislation is not the blunt tool the current government have described it as. Here is a compelling interview with him and Alliance spokesperson Amy Hogan on Radio New Zealand, worth a listen. Seeing public awareness and individual altruism as useful but incomplete tools to achieve universal accessibility, David makes the case that legislation is simply more efficient. Legislation doesn’t have to take away organic efforts towards furthering accessibility or stop the cultural change also required to make a society fully accessible. Rather, enforceable law can support and speed up the cultural and physical transformation by making accessibility the norm, forcing the hand of some but also giving the know-how and means to others. Ensuring access is a first thought, not a second, means organisations don’t have to ‘reinvent the disability wheel’ one at a time, as David put it. Access doesn’t need to come at the expense of aesthetics, but making it a precondition makes social and financial sense. Having an explicit instruction based on commonly agreed upon and well considered research on how to cater for various abilities, is useful for both parties. As well as being more efficient, it is arguably more reliable and effective, as while many organisations have realised the importance of accessibility, I’ve come across enough well intended but misplaced elevator buttons to know good intentions don’t always translate to good outcomes. As well as the initial benefit of access for its own sake, ensuring people of all ages and abilities can use public and private services has less obvious but equally important flow on effects, many of which are interrelated. For example, accessible public transport is only useful if accompanied by a braille menu at the restaurant people are travelling to, screen readers at the job they’re commuting to, or elevators at the museum they’re visiting. The holistic approach needed to tackle access and inclusion barriers will be helped by universal accessible legislation, adding to the efforts of many who have already realised the financial benefits and humane importance of access to their shop or cafe. So far only the Māori Party, Greens and Labour have openly committed to enacting the Act. With the election only a few days away, we may soon be one step closer to joining a growing number of countries who have legislated for minimum accessibility standards, although this will take continued public interest and government leadership. A UMR poll recently found 80% of New Zealanders to be in favour of accessibility legislation. It would be a great time for such a large majority to make their voices heard, especially considering politicians are probably listening now more so than ever. Access Alliance Driving with a disability Muddling Through Models of Disability Melissa 20/12/18	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line139
__label__wiki	0.719374	0.719374	G-Eyez- Who Run It GMix (Official Video) Dir. by CEO Videos Posted by Magassia Promotions on May 31, 2018 at 9:13pm After 10-plus years of independently wading through the hip-hop industry’s trenches, G-Eyez (an abbreviation of “Golden Eyez”) is experiencing the proliferation of his star power as a recording artist. His two-fisted vocal style, street life-oriented content, and personally reflective lyricism is a product of his diverse upbringing as a Cambridge, Massachusetts-born and Houston, Texas-reared MC. G-Eyez a strong track record of collaborations with several independent rap heavyweights and legends alike, including, but not limited to, Termanology, Red Café, Joe Budden, as well as The LOX’s Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch. His debut street album It’s Only the Beginning, hosted by DJ Statik Selektah, was produced Boston-based producer J.Cardim and released in 2007. The album balances G-Eyez’s poetic depth and bare-knuckles grit on the mic with standout tracks including the smoker’s anthem “Dat Good” and “Can’t Keep Me Down.” The Boston-based rapper’s sophomore project Retro Series is an homage to hip-hop’s “Golden Era” of the 1980s and 1990s that inspired his craft. On the project, G-Eyez updates several classic rap tracks with his nostalgia, charisma, and wit that exemplifies his versatility as retro-futuristic in his skill set. His third release is an EP titled Chasin' History where he showcases his talented lyrical ability mixed with a new age production twist. Currently he is working on the follow-up to that EP with a project titled Better Late Than Never, which features notable tracks like "Summer Days" and newly released single "Sacrifice." The latter track is one of his most personal of his career, exhibiting his dexterous wordplay with spiritual lyrics and chorus over a sobering trap-style soundscape. Also, G-Eyez has recently strengthened his music business portfolio and visibility. In 2017, he launched his own publishing company CMB Publishing (Cambridge Music Business Pub Co LLC), and is a partner in a booking agency called Capitol Front Booking. The agency organizes tours, live shows & music events all across the U.S. The company’s most notable booking are the Higher Power Tour & SXSW music festival. music also had multiple film and television placements such as ESPN’s SportsCenter, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why; BET documentary series Music Moguls, and MTV’s Broke Ass Game Show. The relentless U.S. tour schedule throughout the country has exposed G-Eyez to a wide variety of audiences. During this decade, he has performed at the following venues: SXSW Music Festival in consecutive years from 2013 to 2018; A3C Music Festival in Atlanta from 2014 to 2017; Higher Power 1 (east coast) and 2 (west coast) US tour; S.O.B's in New York City; numerous hometown stage performances at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA; Calle Ocho Festival in Miami; the Urban/ Latin music concert at the Fenway Park in Boston. He’s opened for major Hip-Hop acts such as Rae Sremmurd, Migos, T-Pain, Fabolous, Twista, late Queens rapper Chinx Drugz, and Jadakiss. As his stock continues to rise, G-Eyez will keep venturing his path as one of the best rappers to ever come out of the New England region. Connect With G-Eyez On Social Media: Twitter: www.twitter.com/GEyezMusic Instagram: www.instagram.com/GEyezMusic	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line144
__label__wiki	0.823522	0.823522	Big Bang's T.O.P suspected of receiving special favors in military Big Bang member T.O.P. Yonhap By Lee Min-young Big Bang member T.O.P is suspected of receiving preferential treatment while on duty as a public service worker at Yongsan District Office in Seoul. TV broadcaster MBC reported on Tuesday that the K-pop boy band singer has taken a total of 19 sick days since Jan. 26, 2018, when he started his military duty. This is three times the average of his fellow workers, which suggests the rapper possibly received special favors. In 2018, T.O.P took extra days off when he took a vacation for the Chuseok Thanksgiving holiday season in September and for Memorial Day in June. Adding up both occasions, his sick days amounted to almost two weeks. The star, who had been suffering from panic disorder while serving his public service duty, did not present any medical documents for his leave, according to the report. In response to the report, Yongsan office strongly denied that T.O.P has in any way received preferential treatment. The office explained that the singer, 31, whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, had submitted all necessary documents. G-Dragon, another Big Bang member serving military duty, has also been accused of taking excessive vacations. minlee@koreatimes.co.kr More articles by this reporter	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line148
__label__wiki	0.892501	0.892501	It's Out of This World Jupiter Players 2018-2019 Lisa Shihoten, a native of Chicago, enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. Her numerous awards include honors from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars program, and the Menuhin and Paganini violin competitions. She has performed concertos under the batons of Kurt Masur and Robert Spano; and as a chamber musician and soloist, she has appeared in concert halls throughout the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Her festival participation has included Caramoor, Ravinia, North Shore, Norfolk, Aspen, and Verbier. A Jupiter regular, she also frequently performs duo recitals with her husband, organist Ken Cowan. Claire Bourg, a laureate of many competitions, has been a featured soloist with several orchestras performing in such venues as Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, as well as recently making her solo debut in Boston’s Jordan Hall. She has appeared on NPR’s From the Top and Chicago’s WFMT Introductions radio programs. An avid chamber musician, she has participated at Ravinia, where she collaborated with Kim Kashkashian and Frans Helmerson. Claire began her violin studies at age 5 in the Chicago area. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory where she studied with Miriam Fried, she is currently at Curtis under the tutelage of Pamela Frank and Arnold Steinhardt. Diana Cohen was born into a musical family and has a multifaceted career. Concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic since 2012 and founding member of Trio Terzetto, she has previously served as concertmaster and soloist with the Richmond, Charleston, and Kalamazoo Symphonies, and the National Repertory and Iris orchestras. As soloist, she has also appeared with the Holland, Rochester, and Grand Rapids Symphonies, among others. She regularly performs with Orpheus and ECCO and has played with Sejong Soloists, the Knights, the Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. Diana is also the founder and Co-Artistic Director of ChamberFest Cleveland. As a chamber musician, she has played at the Marlboro, Ravinia, Aspen, Giverny, and Banff festivals. And she has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Miró, Cleveland, and Parker Quartets, and with renowned artists including Mitsuko Uchida, Garrick Ohlsson, and Jonathan Biss. Diana was a recipient of the Jerome Gross Prize and winner of the Milhaud competition. Randall Mitsuo Goosby made his debut as a soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony at age 9, and his Carnegie Hall debut at age 13, when he “exerted a masterly level of control and lavished an exquisite tone...his performance won him a deserved standing ovation for its sheer virtuosity” (New York Times). He has since appeared with several major orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and New World Symphony. Under a Sphinx program, he appeared twice as soloist at Carnegie Hall. Randall is winner of many awards, including 1st Prize at the 2018 Adelphi Orchestra competition and 3rd prize and Audience Choice of the 2018 Sphinx Competition (senior division); and he was the youngest First Prize winner of the 2010 Sphinx Concerto Competition at age 13—a win that led to an invitation by Tony-nominated actor Delroy Lindo to perform at the 18th MOVIEGUIDE® Faith & Values Awards Gala in Beverly Hills. He is also a 2015 Rising Star of the Stradivari Society, and was featured on NPR’s “From the Top” in 2012. Randall plays on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini made in 1765, on generous loan from Juilliard. ~ www.randallgoosby.com Alina Ming Kobialka has been praised as a remarkable young soloist for her beautiful tone, effortless precision, and musical maturity beyond her years. The San Francisco Classical Voice described her as a “jaw-droppingly assured” soloist, who “made present and future converge.” The Las Vegas Review Journal added, “Watch for her name. She appears to be bound for greatness.” Among her winnings are the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s Concerto Competition at age 13, the grand prize at the 2012 Mondavi competition, and second prize at the 2017 Elmar Oliveira competition. After her debut as a soloist at age ten, she has toured and performed with many ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. These include performances with the Berlin Philharmonie and at the Rheingau Musik Festival, and her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony at their 100th Anniversary Reunion Concert (featured on NPR’s “From the Top”) and again in 2014 and 2016. An upcoming highlight will be the Bach Double Violin Concerto with Vadim Gluzman and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Her festival participation includes Innsbrook, Aspen, and Marlboro. A graduate of Colburn, Alina currently studies with Ilya Kaler at the Cleveland Institute. Eunae Koh, the second prize and chamber music prizewinner of the 2015 Michael Hill competition, enjoys a blossoming career as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster. The South Korean native made her concerto debut at the age of 9 with the Seoul Symphony and has won many competitions in Korea. As a soloist, she made her debut performing the Brahms Concerto in Jordan Hall with the New England Conservatory Symphony as the school’s competition winner, and has also appeared with the Auckland Philharmonic and Hwaum Chamber Orchestra, among others. She gave her first recital at the age of 13 in Kumho Art Hall, and has been featured on KBS Classic FM several times. As a chamber musician, Eunae has collaborated with such musicians as Donald Weilserstein and Natasha Brofsky, as well as the New York Classical Players and A Far Cry. Her festival participation includes Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, and Rockport. She is also an artist member of Music for Food, an effort for local hunger relief. ~ www.eunaekoh.com Dechopol Kowintaweewat’s playing has been called “deeply lyrical” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer, and New York’s Oberon’s Grove wrote that his “singing, satiny tone constantly reached the heart.” As a winner of Young Concert Artists Auditions (as a member of the Zorá String Quartet), he gave critically-acclaimed debut concerts in New York, Washington, DC, and Boston. The Quartet also won Grand Prizes at the Fischoff, Coleman, and Germany’s Encore competitions. Dechopol has served as a concertmaster of the Bangkok Symphony, as well as the Oberlin and Indiana University Chamber Orchestras. His festival participation includes Aspen and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. Dedicated to sharing music with the young, he has played outreach concerts in schools in Thailand, Hong Kong, and the U.S., and was an Associate Instructor at Indiana University’s Jacobs School. Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, Dechopol began violin studies at the age of 8 and has degrees from Oberlin, Indiana University, and Curtis. Hannah Tarley, a winner of Astral’s 2018 National Auditions, Third Prize at the 2017 Elmar Oliveira Competition and First Prize at the 2015 New York Concerti Sinfonietta’s Shining Stars Competition. She has soloed with orchestras such as the Detroit Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Kiev Soloists; and has debuted in venues such as Carnegie and Wigmore Halls, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, Royal Festival Hall, and Leipzig’s Gewandaus as both soloist and chamber musician. Hannah began playing the violin at age two, and at age twelve she was appointed the youngest concertmaster in the history of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Her festival participation includes the Perlman Music Program, Aspen, Olympic, Kronberg, Ozawa Academy, and Heifetz Institute, where she was Artist-in-Residence in 2015 and 2017. Hannah is the Founder and Artistic Director of Notes by the Bay Music Festival, a children’s music program founded in 2015. She also performs with Violins of Hope, bringing to life the history of the Holocaust and the stories of its victims and their violins. Jordan Bak has won a number of prizes and awards including the 2017 Juilliard Concerto Competition and Presser Foundation Scholar Award. A recent highlight was his well-received performance of the Druckman Viola Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra at Tully Hall, and he was among the elite at the 2016 Lac Léman Music Masterclasses in Blonay, Switzerland. The Jamaican-American has also been heard as a recitalist and chamber musician in the U.S. and Europe, and he especially enjoys music written around the turn of the 20th century. His festival participation includes Taos, Four Seasons, and Yellow Barn; and he will be at Marlboro in 2019. Jordan is a strong advocate of 21st century contemporary as well as Baroque music, and is working on programming the Classical music extremes in solo performance. He plays a viola made by Jon van Kouwenhoven in 2016. In his spare time, he enjoys long walks, spicy food, and automobiles. ~ jordanbak.com Photo by Natalia Vilela Maurycy Banaszek, from Warsaw, Poland, joined the Concert Artist Faculty at Kean University in 2011. His festival appearances include Marlboro, Kronberg, Seattle, Santa Fe, Aldeburgh, and Moritzburg, among others. Founding member of the conductorless chamber orchestra, ECCO, he has also toured with the Musicians from Marlboro, performed with the Guarneri String Quartet, and frequently appeared at Bargemusic in New York. He was recently featured as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. As violist of the Elsner String Quartet he was invited by members of the Amadeus String Quartet to perform at their 50th Anniversary Gala Concert in London’s Wigmore Hall. Maurycy is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Michael Tree. Luosha Fang from China brings her adventurous spirit as violinist and violist to a wide range of music that includes 21st century premieres of works by Penderecki and Shen Yiwen. As a violinist she won the 2013 Astral Artists Auditions and has performed as soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Orpheus, among others. As a violist she won 1st Prize in the 2018 Tokyo Viola Competition, and subsequently toured in Japan. She has also appeared with the Suzhou Royal Chamber Orchestra, frequently performs at Bard Music West in San Francisco and Krzyzowa-Music in Poland, and worked most recently with Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff and Steven Isserlis at Kronberg Academy’s “Chamber Music Connects the World.” As a chamber musician Luosha won the Silver Medal at the 2010 Fischoff competition as first violinist and founding member of the Chimeng Quartet. Her festival participation includes Marlboro, Ravinia, Norfolk, Aspen, Kneisel Hall, Music from Angel Fire, and Incontri in Terra di Siena, collaborating with Mitsuko Uchida, Nobuko Imai, Roberto Diaz, among others, as well as members of the Guarneri and Juilliard string quartets. Luosha made her debut at age 8. She plays on a Pietro Guarneri violin made in 1734 and a Dominique Peccatte bow kindly loaned by Dr. Ryuji Ueno.. ~ www.luoshafang.com Ayane Kozasa is winner of the 2011 Primrose, 2012 Astral, and Irving Klein competitions. An avid chamber musician, she has participated in several festivals including Marlboro, Angel Fire, Ravinia, Aspen, Mimir, Norfolk, and West Cork in Ireland. Ayana has also toured in the U.S. with pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn as part of “Curtis on Tour” and is a member of “Steans on Tour” as well. She has been featured in The Strad and Strings, and her performances have been broadcast on “Live from the Mayne Stage” for WFMT in Chicago, and on Philadelphia’s WHYY. ~ www.ayanekozasa.com Photo by Andy Cook Sung Jin Lee, from South Korea, is a recipient of several awards, including a Special Prize at the 2013 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition, and First Prizes at the 2009 Just Viola Festival and 2006 Seoul Youth Chamber Music competitions. She has since appeared as soloist with many orchestras, including the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Korean Symphony, and Academie Ensemble. She was Principal Violist of the Curtis Symphony, and is a substitute violist in the Philadelphia Orchestra and Symphony in C. Sung Jin has also performed many solo recitals in Korea and participated at Music at Menlo, Angel Fire, Chamber Music Connects the World (Kronberg, Germany), Heifetz Institute, Carl Flesch Academy (Baden-Baden, Germany), and Great Mountains Festival. The artists she has collaborated with include Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Mate Bekavac, Peter Wiley, Ida and Ani Kavafian, Philip Setzer, and Keith Robinson. Ren Martin-Doike, a versatile performer, won the Fontys prize at the Rubinstein Competition, First Prize in the string quartet division at the Fondation Maurice Ravel Competition, and the Prix de musique de chambre at the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau. She has performed for diverse audiences throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas as a soloist and with a variety of ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Duo RenJi, and Benny Rietveld Jazz Quintet. And she has been heard on Radio France, American Public Radio, NPR, and RTHK (Hong Kong). Most recently, she appeared in Death in Montmartre, an RTHK film for which she also recorded original arrangements. As principal viola of the Curtis 20/21 Chamber Orchestra, she went on tour with Jennifer Koh and Jaime Laredo as part of their Two x FourProject, which resulted in a Grammy-nominated album on the Cedille label. A graduate of Curtis, Ren earned her master’s degree in 2017 from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, receiving a unanimous first prize from the jury. Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt has been praised by Strad Magazine as having “lyricism that stood out...a silky tone and beautiful, supple lines.” Among her winnings are First Prize and every special award at the 2013 Banff String Quartet Competition, the Gold Medal and Grand Prize in the 2010 Fischoff Competition, First Prize at the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition and top prizes at the Tokyo and Sphinx competitions. She has appeared as soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony and Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, and performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe, including an acclaimed 2011 debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall. Her festival participation includes Marlboro, Bowdoin, Bravo and Italy’s Emilia Romagna Festival. Milena is also the founding violist of the Dover String Quartet, the resident quartet at Northwestern University. Dov Scheindlin, acclaimed by the New York Times as an “extraordinary violist” of “immense flair,” was until recently violist of the Arditti String Quartet, winner of the 1999 Siemens Musikpreis in Munich. The Quartet’s extensive concert schedule brought him to some 28 European countries. He was also a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Mendelssohn String Quartet (as acting violist). Born in Montreal, Dov was raised in New York City. ~ www.dovscheindlin.com Australian-Korean violist Lisa Sung was hailed by the Australian Daily Telegraph as a “viola prodigy.” She is a special prizewinner of the 2016 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition, a top prizewinner of the 2017 Manhattan and 2017 Vivo competitions, and a two-time winner of the Australian States Concerto Competition. An avid musician, Lisa has frequently performed solo at the Sydney Opera House and in chamber music recitals at Alice Tully Hall, as well as in Europe and Asia. She has performed for Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard, she has been heard live on Sydney radio broadcasts, and is currently a substitute violist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Her festival participation includes Music@Menlo, the Perlman Music Program, Taos, Norfolk, and IMS Prussia Cove. She currently pursuing a master’s degree at Juilliard as a Kovner Fellow in the studios of Paul Neubauer and Cynthia Phelps. Meagan Turner, from Toronto, is a recipient of a Rachel Barton Pine Foundation Career Grant in 2017, a scholarship from the Virtu Foundation, and Felix Galimir Award for Excellence (twice). With a powerful imagination and natural instinct, she has performed solo recitals throughout North America and has appeared as soloist with the Hart House Chamber Orchestra in Toronto. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with members of the Dover, New Orford, St. Lawrence, and Parker Quartets as well as pianists Stephane Lemelin, Pedja Muziejvic, and Walter de la Hunt. Her festival participation includes Ravinia, Tanglewood, Toronto (Summer), Luminato, Orford Arts Center, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Juilliard (M.A.) on full scholarship under Samuel Rhodes, Meagan is currently a member of Ensemble Connect. Zsche Chuang Rimbo Wong, from Hong Kong, garnered praised in ClevelandClassical when she made her concerto debut at Severance Hall: her “prodigious technique and powerful ability to project was as stunning as her expressive playing.” She has served as principal violist for Yale, Curtis, and festivals such as Verbier; and she performs regularly as a substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and A Far Cry. Passionate about chamber music, she has played at festivals, including the Perlman Music Program, Norfolk, Music from Angel Fire, Taos, and Yellow Barn. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute and Curtis, Rimbo is currently completing her graduate studies at Yale, while holding a year-long position with the Pittsburgh Symphony. She also dedicated a year to the underserved in Philadelphia. Rimbo enjoys biking, doting on her cat, Dumpling, and creating various ways of wrapping and eating dumplings. Cong Wu has been appointed Assistant Principal Violist of the New York Philharmonic as of 2018. He won Third Prize in the 14th Primrose Viola Competition and a Special Prize in the 12th Tertis Competition. He performs in North America and Europe, and has collaborated with musicians such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Christoph Eschenbach, David Finckel, Paul Neubauer, Itzhak Perlman, and Cynthia Phelps. He was Principal Violist of the Juilliard Orchestra and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany, under the batons of Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, and James Levine. His festival participation includes Marlboro, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Chamber Encounters, Music@Menlo, Perlman Music Program, and Schleswig-Holstein. Born in Jinan, China, Cong had his first violin lesson at the age of four and began his viola studies in 2004. Ani Aznavoorian is one of the premier cellists of her generation. Among her winnings are prizes from the Julius Stulberg, Paolo (Finland) and Bunkamura competitions, and she was also named a Presidential Scholar of the Arts. In 2001 she substituted (to critical acclaim) for Natalia Gutman on 12 hours notice in 3 performances of the first Shostakovich Cello Concerto. Her playing is indeed “breathtakingly lovely” Naples Daily News. Ani is a member of the Corinthian Trio, and she plays a cello made by her father Peter Aznavoorian. Chicago is her hometown. ~ www.aniaznavoorian.com Zlatomir Fung, of Bulgarian and Chinese parentage, is winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists Auditions and 2017 Astral National Auditions, winner of first prizes at the 2016 Enescu and 2015 Johansen competitions, and gold medals in the 2014 Stulberg and Irving Klein Competitions, as well as a silver medal in the cello division of the 2012 Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Montreux-Vevey, Switzerland, among others. He has soloed with Symphony Pro Musica, the New England Philharmonic, Cambridge Symphony, Boston Civic Symphony and Lausanne Sinfonietta, and has been featured on National Public Radio’s From The Top in 2013. An avid chamber musician, he has performed with the Walden Chamber Players and the Arneis Quartet. Now 17 years of age, Zlatomir plays chess competitively, composes, and reads philosophy and literature in his spare time. ~ www.zlatomirfungcello.com Oliver Herbert, who “makes his cello sing,” is winner of a top and special prizes in the 2018 Lutoslawski competition, the first and Casals prizes in the 2015 Irving Klein competition, and a top prize in the 2015 Stulberg competition. The San Franciscan with a distinct voice and individual style has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony; and on the SoundBox and Dame Myra Hess series as a recitalist. He has worked with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, and as a chamber musician, he has performed with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Pamela Frank, among others. His festival participation includes Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Krzyzowa Music, Prussia Cove, Ravinia, and Verbier. He has also performed on a tour with violinist Miriam Fried, Ravinia’s director; and at the 2017 Verbier festival he was awarded the Prix Jean-Nicolas Firmenich. Oliver plays on a 1769 Guadagnini cello that belonged to Antonio Janigro, on generous loan from the Janigro family. ~ www.oliverherbertcello.com Coleman Itzkoff, born into a musical family in Cincinnati, has been praised for his “flawless technique and keen musicality” by Alex Ross of the New Yorker. He is a Gold Medalist in the 2017 Berliner competition and a multiple prizewinner at the 2016 Irving Klein and 2016 Boulder Chamber Music competitions, among others. He has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and has soloed with numerous orchestras in the U.S. A recent highlight was his acclaimed Walt Disney Hall concerto debut in Tan Dun’s epic “Heaven, Earth and Mankind.” As an avid chamber musician, Coleman performs regularly at Bargemusic and has collaborated with such artists as Pamela Frank, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and David Finckel. His festival participation includes Aspen, the Heifetz Institute, YellowBarn, Caramoor, and Music@Menlo. Passionate about contemporary music as well, he is a founding member of the interdisciplinary AMOC (American Modern Opera Company). ~ www.colemanitzkoff.com Photo by Tina Gutierrez Connor Kim’s many awards include prizes won at the Menuhin-Dowling and American Fine Arts Festival competitions. In addition, his concerto competition wins led to solo debuts with the El Camino Youth Symphony, California Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and Fremont Symphony. A passionate chamber musician, Connor is a founding member of the Kila Quartet (formerly Lauder); and he has also participated at Kneisel Hall, Prussia Cove, Perlman Music Workshop, Yellow Barn, and Music@Menlo, playing with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Timothy Eddy. He also collaborated in “D-Man in the Waters” choreographed by Bill T. Jones at Juilliard’s Spring Dance Repertory. A native of Los Gatos, California, Connor began music lessons at age 5; he is currently in Juilliard’s master’s program. Christine Lamprea, noted for her “supreme panache” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer, is First Prize winner of the 2013 Sphinx and Schadt competitions, winner of the 2013 Astral Artists’ Auditions and recipient of an award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. As soloist, she has appeared with the Houston and New Jersey Symphonies, among others. An avid chamber musician, she has performed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and has participated at the Kneisel Hall, Banff Centre and Yellow Barn festivals. Christine has also played with members of the Baroque group Les Arts Florissants, studied sonatas on fortepiano with Audrey Axinn, premiered several new pieces, and worked with jazz musician Anthony Coleman on John Zorn’s game piece Cobra for musical improvisers and prompter. ~ www.christinelamprea.com Photo by Kate L Photography Mihai Marica, winner of the Irving Klein, Vina del Mar, and Salon de Virtuosi competitions, made his debut recitals at Weill and Zankel Halls with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. He has performed as soloist with orchestras, in recitals, and at festivals; and is a member of the award-winning Amphion String Quartet. He began his cello studies at the age of seven at the Music High School in Cluj, Romania. Upon winning the Klein competition, its director Mitchell Sardou Klein exclaimed, “We just witnessed a future superstar. Mihai is a brilliant cellist and interpreter of music. His playing is spellbinding.” ~ www.mihaimarica.com Thomas Mesa is one of the most charismatic and versatile performers of his generation. The Cuban-American is a winner of the 2017 Astral Artists Auditions, the 2016 Sphinx Competition, 2013 Thaviu Competition, and the 2006 Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition. As a soloist he has performed with such orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. As a recitalist he has appeared at Mainly Mozart, Bargemusic, the Dame Myra Hess series, and Nantucket Musical Arts Society, among others. An enthusiastic interpreter of music for choir and cello, Thomas was a featured instrumentalist with the Crossing Choir’s American premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Astralis and its 2017 Grammy-nominated album, Bonhoeffer. He has also appeared with them at the Metropolitan Museum, Longwood Gardens, and the Winter Garden (broadcast on WNYC). As a chamber musician, he has toured with Itzhak Perlman, both nationally and internationally, and is a member of the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet. Thomas plays on a Richard Tobin cello made in 1820. ~ www.thomasmesacello.com Timotheos Petrin, a Russian-Greek native of Thessaloniki, Greece, is winner of the 2015 Astral Artists Auditions and a top prize winner at the Paulo competition in Finland, where he was praised for “a great and passionate soloist style: expressive, vibrant singing lines, sparkling rhythm...an interesting, original personality” Helsingin Sanomat. He has performed as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. In 2016 he made his debut performance with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano conducting. He has also performed with the Athens and Thessaloniki state orchestras, among others. In 2014 he appeared in Asia and Europe with Curtis on Tour; and has been heard regularly on WHYY and ERT TV. A graduate of Curtis, Timotheos is currently studying at the New England Conservatory. David Requiro, First Prize winner of both the 2006 Irving Klein and Washington string competitions, is emerging as one of America’s most promising young cellists. His accomplishments include a première performance of Tan Dun’s Elegy: Snow in June for cello and percussion at the Aspen Music Festival and the completion of the first half of the cycle of Beethoven’s works for cello and piano at the Phillips Collection, with future cycles scheduled. A native of Oakland, California, David is cellist of the Baumer String Quartet. ~ www.davidrequiro.com Brook Speltz, first prize winner of the Ima Hogg Competition and cellist of the Escher String Quartet, has been praised for his “fluid virtuosity” and “soulful melodies.” A versatile musician, he has performed as soloist with orchestras and premiered Chris Rogerson’s Cello Concerto. As chamber musician he has played with Prussia Cove and Marlboro on tour; collaborates with musicians such as Itzhak Perlman and Richard Goode; performs with various groups, including Shuffle and ECCO; and toured extensively with the cello rock band Break of Reality, whose online video of the Game of Thrones cover went viral and received over 4.5 million views and counting. He plays a 1756 JC Gigli on loan from his father, a cellist and his first inspiration in a family of musicians. Paul Wiancko has led an exceptionally multi-faceted musical life as a cellist, composer, and collaborator. His winnings at several competitions have led, most notably, to solo performances with the Polish Radio Symphony and the Bahia Symphony at the Teatro Nacional in Brazil. He has also arranged and recorded strings for local underground punk bands, eventually collaborating with groups like Pennywise, Veruca Salt, and Yellowcard. His productions, ranging from experimental orchestral works to gospel funk tunes, can be heard on numerous albums and film scores. And he has toured and performed extensively with Jóhann Jóhannsson, Chick Corea, and others, while working closely with them on arrangements. He appears on two of Corea’s albums, including Hot House, which won a Grammy in 2013; and has performed with the late Etta James at the Hollywood Bowl, and with Stanley Clarke at the Montreal Jazz Festival. As a chamber musician, Paul has participated at festivals such as Aspen, Perlman, Olympic, and Marlboro with Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Wiley, and Richard Goode, among others. He currently writes and performs for the viola/cello duo Ayane & Paul, as well as the folk-inspired Bird's Eye Trio, and tours regularly with ECCO and ACME. Winner of the 2018 S&R Foundation Washington Award for Composition, Paul’s many compositions range from works for solo instruments to the large scale. Paul plays on a 2010 Mario Miralles cello. Lizzie Burns, a recent alumna of Ensemble Connect, specializes in small ensemble repertoire. In the two years with the Carnegie Hall based group, she cultivated community engagement skills on and off stage, and in public school classrooms and community settings. As a freelancer Lizzie regularly performs with A Far Cry, the Knights, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as with the International Contemporary Ensemble. She has appeared extensively at her home-away-from-home festival Yellow Barn, as well as Bravo! Vail, Bowdoin, and the National Orchestral Institute. Lizzie pursued her higher education at the New England Conservatory and Boston University. Xavier Foley, from Marietta, Georgia, is a recipient of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant and First Prize winner at the 2014 Sphinx Competition, which led to performances as soloist with the Sphinx Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and Brevard Concert Orchestra; his Carnegie Hall solo debut with the Sphinx Virtuosi; and a tour with the group as a featured soloist in cities on the East and West coasts. Xavier was also the First Prize winner of the 2009 (Junior Division) and 2011 (Senior Division) Bassists Society competition and Astral’s 2014 National Auditions, among others. He has performed at Carnegie Hall as principal bassist of the New York String Seminar Orchestra, and appeared on NPR’s “From the Top.” Xavier is a composer as well, and was recently commissioned by Astral Artists to write a string trio, which received a stellar review from the Philadelphia Inquirer. His is currently writing a concerto for double bass and orchestra. Xavier’s bass was made by Rumano Solano. ~ www.xavierfoley.com Ha Young Jung is captivating audiences and critics alike with dynamic and engaging performances. The Daily Telegraph of London called her a “Disarming prodigy who achieved the rare distinction of making her instrument seem worthy of solo status.” Her numerous wins include First Prizes at the 2013 Koussevitzky and 2007 International Double Bass competitions, the Silver Medal in the 2007 Koussevitzky, and Grand-Prix in the 2006 International String Competition in Moscow. As a soloist Ha Young has appeared with the Royal Philharmonic, Moscow Virtuosi, Southbank Sinfonia, and Novosibirsk Symphony, among others. Her festival participation includes Bergen, Eilat in Israel, Hardanger in Norway, and Wimbledon. Her performances have also been broadcast on WQXR, BBC Radio 3, “Kol Hamusica” in Israel, and Kultura Channel in Russia. ~ www.hayoungjung.com Barry Crawford was principal flute of the Jupiter Symphony. The Southampton Press has called his playing “superb,” admiring “his tone, his phrasing and breath control, and the joy-giving communicative quality of his playing.” He has performed in Spoleto and with Mostly Mozart, in Tunisia and Poland, and with pianist Peter Serkin on U.S. tours. Julietta Curenton, through her “bold and dramatically characterized playing” and “tone that draws in one’s ear with sounds and ideas that simply cannot be resisted,” has established herself as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. She is winner of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia’s Career Advancement Award, as well as prizes from the National Flute Association, New York Flute Club, and Astral Artists’ Auditions. She has made several appearances with ensembles such as the National and Baltimore Symphonies, and the Temple University and Kennedy Center Institute Orchestras; and she has toured with Orpheus, including their tour in Japan. A highlight this season is a concerto appearance with the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra. In 2018, she was also appointed Interim Flutist for the Imani Winds. ~ www.jcurenton.com Ji Weon Ryu, a top prizewinner at the 42nd National Flute Association, New York Flute Club, and Artur Balsam Duo competitions, is Principal Flute of the Albany Symphony and founding member of Frisson Ensemble. Praised by the NFA Chronicle for her “pure poetry,” “beautiful technique and sound,” she enjoys a career as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Since her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at the age of 12, Ji Weon maintains a solo career in the U.S. and in Korea, and also performs with various chamber groups. Her festival participation includes Verbier and Caroga Lake; and Korea’s KBS has broadcast her recitals. Anthony Trionfo has been praised for his “spellbinding” performances with “authoritative intellect” by the Santa Barbara Voice. He has performed concertos with the Las Vegas Philharmonic (his hometown orchestra), the “President’s Own” Marine Band, and the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, among others. Anthony was a recipient of the 2012 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, a first prize winner of the 2013 Alexander & Buono competition, a winner of the National YoungArts Foundation competition, and a winner of the Young Concert Artists 2016 Auditions. He is also the first YCA artist to win the inaugural LP Classics Debut Recording Prize, granting him a commercial recording. At age 21, he will make his YCA recital debuts at the Kennedy Center and at Merkin Hall. Anthony has also appeared on From the Top, and was Principal Flute of the American Youth Symphony for its 2015-2016 season. ~ trionfoflute.com Photo by Matt Dine Israeli oboist Roni Gal-Ed has been described as an “Expressive, wonderful player” by the German SZ Magazine and “Outstanding” by the New York Times. She won first prize at the Lauschmann Oboe Competition in Mannheim, and is a recipient of grants from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Roni has worked with such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, and Christian Thielemann, and as a chamber musician she has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim and the Jerusalem String Quartet, among others. She has also recorded premieres of new works as well as the Hindemith Oboe Sonata and Serenade for Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt, celebrating the composer’s 100th birthday. Her festival participation includes the Jerusalem, PRO Festival Rolandseck in Germany, Verbier, Edinburgh, and Crested Butte in Colorado. As an orchestral musician, she was a member of the Munich Philharmonic under James Levine; she was Principal Oboe with the Bavarian Chamber Orchestra and Israeli Opera; and she was guest Principal Oboe with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer for 8 years. Since 2009 Roni plays with Orpheus and the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra. In 2018, she performed the U.S. premiere of Matthew Greenbaum’s oboe concerto, “the jig is up,” at Lincoln Center. ~ www.ronigaled.com Hassan Anderson, from Jacksonville, Florida, is an avid chamber musician. Noted for his clarity of tone, range of colors, and energetic stage presence, he was the oboist with the innovative Shuffle Concert Ensemble; freelances in New York, often performing as Principal Oboe with several ensembles; and was an oboe fellow at Marlboro for three summers on full scholarship. Dedicated to music education and pedagogy, Hassan was a Teaching Artist with Jazz House Kids, and is currently on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music (Precollege) and Juilliard’s Advancement Program. Rita Mitsel has performed as soloist with the Mannes Orchestra, and as a chamber musician with the Orion String Quartet and at Bargemusic, among others. She earned her doctorate at Juilliard and is currently principal oboe of Symphony in C. She has also performed as a substitute in several orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Riverside Symphony, and in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera. Vadim Lando, who was born in Kiev, was principal clarinet of the Jupiter Symphony. A winner of top prizes in the CMC Canada, Yale, and Stony Brook competitions, he has been praised by The New York Times for his “consistently distinguished” and “vibrant, precise virtuosic playing.” His concerts have been broadcast on NPR. Vadim runs his own music school, the Great Neck Music Conservatory ~ www.greatneckmusicconservatory.com Eli Goldberger, at age 15, has already “delivered the goods...clean and nuanced, but also light and playful...rock-solid technique and a marvelous sense of dynamics and lithe phrasing” (Broadway World). Winner of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2019 Young Musicians Program and a finalist at Spectrum Symphony’s 2019 concerto competition, he performed as soloist with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in 2018 and with the Czech Opera Symphony at MusicFest Perugia. Eli studies with Jon Manasse at Juilliard Pre-College. Gina Cuffari, praised by the Palm Beach Daily News for her “sound that is by turns sensuous, lyric, and fast moving,” is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the New York City area. Recently named co-principal bassoonist of Orpheus, she is also a member of Riverside Symphony, and often performs with the American Composers Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, and St. Luke’s Orchestra. In addition, she is the bassoonist of Sylvan Winds and Quintet of the Americas, and performs and records with Alarm Will Sound. Gina is on the faculty at NYU and Western Connecticut State University. ~ www.scarboroughtrio.com Marlène Ngalissamy won first prize at the 2012 Canadian Music Competition and subsequently performed Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with the gala orchestra in Toronto. As a soloist, she has also performed with the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, among others, and will perform the Weber Bassoon Concerto with the Edmonton Symphony this season. As part of the 2014 Montreal High Lights Festival at McGill University, she gave a recital which was recorded and broadcast on CBC radio2. Born in Moscow to a family from Congo-Brazzaville, Marlène moved to Canada at the age of 10 and began bassoon lessons 3 years later. She was a laureate of the 2013 Developing Artist Grant of the Hnatyshyn Foundation, earned her bachelor’s degree from Montreal Conservatory under Mathieu Harel and Stéphane Levesque, and is now at Curtis in the class of Daniel Matsukawa. Audrey Flores, a native of Texas, studied with Philip Myers at Mannes and graduated from Juilliard, where she was a student of the late Jerome Ashby. Audrey has played in such orchestras as the New World Symphony, Orpheus, and Jerusalem Symphony, and was Principal Horn of Symphony in C and the Allentown Symphony. As a chamber musician she has played with the OMNI Ensemble, and the Sunriver, Vermont, and Bravo! summer festivals. Audrey is also a Teaching Artist for Midori and Friends and arranges music for the Patriot Brass Ensemble. ~ www.audreyfloreshorn.com Photo by Aleksandr Karjaka Karl Kramer, from Norway, was principal horn of the Jupiter Symphony. His winnings include top prizes from the American Horn and Nordic Horn competitions. He is a member of the Dorian Quintet, a founding member of Concerts in the Heights, and a faculty member at Rowan University in New Jersey. He also performs as artist-member and guest artist at festivals. ~ www.karlkramerjohansen.com Eric Reed, the newest member of the American Brass Quintet, has performed with orchestras and as a chamber musician. Internationally recognized, he plays regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s; and was a member of the Canadian Brass and Ensemble Connect, as well as the Oregon, New World, and Harrisburg symphonies. He has played with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and International Contemporary Ensemble, and appeared as Guest Principal Horn with several orchestras. Eric is also a member of Ensemble Échappé, a sinfonietta dedicated to 21st century music; its premieres include works by John Zorn, Eric Ewazen, and William Bolcom. He is on the faculty at Juilliard, Aspen, and Round Top. Photo by Asuka Yano Please also read about our Guest Artists. Home Calendar Tickets About Us Guest Artists Jupiter Players Founder Tributes Support Thanks Reviews Videos Copyright © 1999-2019 Jupiter Symphony. All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line149
__label__wiki	0.650246	0.650246	Juan Ocampo/NHLI April 2 postgame quotes: Brown, Mitchell Jessi McDonald April 2, 2018 0 Comments Postgame quotes Brown, on his goal: I just broke my stick off the draw. Just the way the play happened, I was close enough to the bench to grab one and I didn’t really know how I got the puck coming up the ice, but it was kind of like the end of a shift and everyone else was changing and I just waited for an opportunity to shoot it through the D’s legs. (Reporter: Nice assist by Bobby Halfacre on the bench there?) Yeah, I got my stick quick and I think I had a chance to close on a guy and bobble the puck kind of on that upper corner, so I just kind of grabbed my stick while it was over there. Brown, on whether tonight’s win lets them “ breathe a little easier”: It’s a big step. Things have to go really wrong for us and go really well for other teams, but again, you’re never in ‘till you’re in so we’ve got two days until our next one so just reload and get ready to win another game. Torrey Mitchell, on his goal: It felt good. We talked about getting off to a good start and it was a good way to end the first period and sort of get them back on their heels for the rest of the game. Mitchell, on whether they’re beginning to close in on the playoff berth: Yeah, there’s still work to be done, but it was a big two points and we’ve just got to keep going one day at a time. Mitchell, on what the forwards did to lessen the defensemen’s burden with Forbort out: Well, we didn’t do much in the first and second period, but I thought trying to get pucks behind their defensemen. But credit to our defensemen. They were pretty much double-shifting the whole game and they did a great job back there. Mitchell, on the bounce off the end boards that led to his goal: It was wide open too, right in front of the net. I mean, it happens, but I haven’t had many goals like that. Mitchell, on what the team said to Clifford after he scored: Yeah, he’s been doing all the right things and he’s been playing really hard, playoff-style hockey, so it was nice to see him get rewarded. He’s got some skill, he can score goals like that, and everyone’s happy for him. Mitchell, on winning the season series against Colorado: I guess we have their number. I don’t know, they’re a tough team to play against. They’re really fast and you saw in the second period, if we’re not on our toes they can take advantage of the game. So they were definitely getting some momentum in the second there, but we got it back early in the third. Mitchell, on the benefit of having a few days off before Thursday’s game: Yeah, for sure. We know how important the next two points are and we want to get in the playoffs, so these next two days we’ll get our work done in practice, but recovery as well. Colorado AvalancheDustin BrownPostgame QuotesTorrey Mitchell « Previous Post Forbort leaves game in first period with lower-body injury, does not return Next Post » April 2 postgame notes The 2019-20 Ontario Reign schedule: Facts, Stats, Tidbits and other synonyms! Reign to open 2019-20 season on October 4; Herr to England Tweets by @lakingsinsider Adrian Kempe Alex Iafallo NHL COVERAGE #9 \| 6′ 2″ \| 195 lb \| Age: 21 Birthplace: Kramfors, SWE Position: LW Kempe was selected by the Kings in the first round (29th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. VIEW ADRIAN KEMPE POSTS #19 \| 6′ \| 185 lb \| Age: 23 Born: December 21, 1993 Birthplace: Eden, NY, USA Iafallo was signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on April 18, 2017. VIEW ALEX IAFALLO POSTS Born: August 24, 1987 Birthplace: Jesenice, SVN As the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovenian to play in the NHL. Kopitar has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings, and following the 2015–16 season, was named the Kings’ captain. Noted for both his offensive and defensive play, Kopitar was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL in 2016. VIEW ANZE KOPITAR POSTS Born: December 8, 1989 Birthplace: London, ON, CAN Bio: Doughty is a Canadian defenceman who was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2008 Draft. Doughty made his NHL debut in 2008 as an 18-year-old and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings, a two-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian national team, and a Norris Trophy finalist. VIEW DREW DOUGHTY POSTS Born: January 1, 1985 Carter began his hockey career playing in the Ontario Hockey League in Canada before joining the AHL and playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was then traded to the Colombus Blue jackets before joining the LA Kings in 2012, where he has since won two Stanley Cups with the Kings. VIEW JEFF CARTER POSTS Birthplace: Milford, CT, USA Bio: Quick is the current goaltender for the LA Kings and was selected by Los Angeles at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Previously, Quick was a silver medalist with USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He’s won two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings, along with being the most recent goaltender to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. VIEW JONATHAN QUICK POSTS	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line150
__label__wiki	0.876822	0.876822	XEmacs-Beta-ja March 2018 ----- 2019 ----- July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 ----- 2018 ----- December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 ----- 2017 ----- December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 ----- 2016 ----- December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 ----- 2015 ----- December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 ----- 2014 ----- December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 ----- 2013 ----- December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 ----- 2012 ----- December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 ----- 2011 ----- December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 ----- 2010 ----- December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 ----- 2009 ----- December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 ----- 2008 ----- December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 ----- 2007 ----- December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 ----- 2006 ----- December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 ----- 2005 ----- December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 ----- 2004 ----- December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 ----- 2003 ----- December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 ----- 2002 ----- December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 ----- 2001 ----- December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 ----- 2000 ----- December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 ----- 1999 ----- December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 xemacs-beta-ja@xemacs.org	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line151
__label__cc	0.612463	0.387537	Author: Lauren Cover Art for Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019 Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019 has a cover! It’s also available for preorder through the University of Minnesota Press. It will ship in April 2019. Author LaurenPosted on January 12, 2019 Categories Books, Digital HumanitiesLeave a comment on Cover Art for Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019 Data Feminism Community Review I’m delighted to announce that a draft of Data Feminism has been posted on the MIT Press open-access website for online community review. We will be reviewing comments through January 7th, 2019. More information is available on the PubPub site. Author LaurenPosted on November 12, 2018 January 12, 2019 Categories Books, Data Science, Data Studies, Data Visualization, Digital Humanities, FeminismLeave a comment on Data Feminism Community Review Distant Reading after Moretti What follows is the text of a talk delivered at the 2018 MLA Annual Convention for a panel, “Varieties of Digital Humanities,” organized by Alison Booth and Miriam Posner. Marisa Parham, Alan Liu, and Ted Underwood were the other speakers. (Howard Ramsby was also scheduled to present, but he was unable to attend because of the blizzard). Ted’s remarks can also be found on his website. I don’t have much time, so I’ll get right to the point— The question I want to explore today is this: what do we do about distant reading, now that we know that Franco Moretti, the man who coined the phrase “distant reading,” and who remains its most famous exemplar, is among the men named as a result of the #MeToo movement. I feel deeply for his victims. But given the context of this panel, what I want to focus on, today, is how his actions might prompt us to revisit some more longstanding issues regarding gender, power, and distant reading (which, following Andrew Goldstone, I’ll use in the lowercase-d lowercase-r sense to refer to the subset of computational methods that derive from statistical modeling and computational linguistics that are most commonly applied to analyze texts at scale). Because sexual harassment is a structural, as well as personal problem, as Sara Ahmed has recently observed. By describing it a structural problem, Ahmed calls attention to how sexual harassment is sustained not only by the harassers themselves, but also by the institutions that shelter them. She explains how the confidential nature of most institutional inquiries ensures that “people remain, networks stay alive, and structures and processes are not put under investigation.” This is in large part because no one outside of the individual actors gets to know what happened, and as a result, the structural nature of the problem never becomes visible. Ahmed’s work focuses on institutional structures, and academic institutional structures in particular. But the problems associated with ending harassment are not limited to academic structures alone. They also derive from flaws in cultural and conceptual structures as well— So it’s here that I want to try to apply Ahmed’s lessons of structural power to the problems of power we face—still—with respect to lowercase-d lowercase-r distant reading in DH. Because as surprising as it might have been to some, when the allegations against Moretti surfaced, I don’t think it would be surprising to anyone in this room to bring up the many critiques that have been levied over the years at distant reading, and about how that particular field is, we might say, unwelcoming to women. These include critiques from the early 2010s by Moya Bailey, Miriam Posner, and the #transformDH collective about issues of representation in the field; critiques from around that same time by Bethany Nowviskie and others on Twitter that called out distant reading for its unduly masculinized rhetorical positioning; more recent work by Lisa Rhody, Tanya Clement and Jessica Marie Johnson that points out its failure to engage with the conceptual issues that relate to women—most obviously gender, but also sexuality, race, class, and ability, among many others. And then, in recent work by Laura Mandell, we see a critique of the actual computational models of gender that are often deployed when applying distant reading approaches to texts. (And I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to acknowledge the critiques that have been levied against the #MeToo movement itself, by which I refer to its erasure of the voices of the Black women who did the earliest and most difficult work). In fact, Ahmed’s structural critique of harassment helps show us how these issues are all related. Generalized racism and sexism, as well as the more specific issue of sexual harassment, each result from the same disparities of power, and other structural inequalities, that enable larger cultures of violence and oppression. There are many ways that this interrelation can be manifested, and structural power reinforced. Not all of these ways are easily explainable, or even traceable to a single source. But here is one example that can be quickly (if somewhat essentially) described: that flaw in prosecution that I mentioned just a minute ago, in which the actors, networks, and systems that enable harassment remain in place? This flaw leads to workplace environments that are unwelcoming (if not outright hostile) to women and other minoritized groups. But it’s those very same people who would otherwise be best positioned to identify and challenge the instances of sexism, or racism, or other forms of oppression that they see—not only in their institutional environments, but also in their scholarly work. Without those voices, conceptual structures, as well as institutional ones, remain securely in place, unchallenged and unchanged. To put the problem another way: it’s not a coincidence that distant reading does not deal well with gender, or with sexuality, or with race. Gender and sexuality and race are precisely the sorts of concepts that have been exposed and interrogated by attending to non-dominant subject positions. And like literary world systems, or “the great unread,” the problems associated with these concepts, like sexism or racism, are also problems of scale, but they require an increased attention to, rather than a passing over, of the subject positions that are too easily (if at times unwittingly) occluded when taking a distant view. So, then, what to do about it. I think we need to start with our corpora. We need to assemble more corpora—more accessible corpora—that perform the work of recovery or resistance. An example: the corpus created by the Colored Conventions Project, which seeks to recover and aggregate evidence that documents the Colored Conventions of the nineteenth-century United States; these were organizing meetings in which Black Americans, both fugitive and free, came together to strategize about how to achieve social and legal justice. By making this corpus available for others to download, the CCP opens up the project of distant reading to texts beyond quote “representative” samples, which tend to reproduce the same inequities of representation that affect our cultural record as a whole. We also need to rethink how we formulate our models. Instead of first asking what can be modeled—what phenomena we can track at scale—we might instead ask: what might be hidden in this corpus? And are there methods we might use to bring out significant texts, or clusters of words, that the eye cannot see? Another example: for the past several years, I’ve been working on a project that applies a set of distant reading techniques to a corpus of nineteenth-century abolitionist newspapers. I’ve been focused on the issue of gender, and on how the influence of key men and women can be tracked across the corpus in terms of both content and tone. But the limits of named entity recognition, which I used to develop my initial set of actors and events, required that I begin with the actors and events that could be automatically detected—rather than with the influences that could not be reduced to a single, computationally-tractable source. But it’s precisely the forms of influence that cannot be traced to a single point of origin that best reflect the distributed nature of structural power. And modeling those forms of influence is far harder, as I can personally attest. But those models that are increasingly necessary—lest we inadvertently reinscribe the same power relations that we intend to critique. There are, of course, other things we can do better to connect the project of distant reading to the project of structural critique. But my time is nearly up, so I’ll end with this: it’s not that distant reading can’t do this work—it’s that it’s yet to sufficiently do so. But if we re-commit ourselves to the project of exposing and interrogating power, we could arrive at a form of distant reading that is much more capacious, and much more inclusive, than what we have at the present. Because the view from a distance, is, of course, as much of a view from a particular place as a view from up close. And it may very well be that a distant view that is trained on power, and that is self-reflexive about the forces that enable it—cultural and conceptual as well as computational—can contribute, significantly, to the project of dismantling structural power. Indeed, this project of critiquing power and working towards justice is the most pressing project of our time. Author LaurenPosted on January 10, 2018 January 10, 2018 Categories Digital Humanities4 Comments on Distant Reading after Moretti	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line152
__label__wiki	0.730075	0.730075	Dick Van Dyke Just Wrote the Most Touching Tribute to Mary Tyler Moore "She left an imprint on television comedy." By Lauren Matthews Mary Tyler Moore's big break came in 1961, when she landed the role of Dick Van Dyke's wife Laura on The Dick Van Dyke Show. She was just 23 at the time, but she quickly proved that she had the comedic chops to keep up with her veteran co-stars Van Dyke, Morey Amsterdam, and Rose Marie. The show went off the air in 1966, but Van Dyke and Moore remained close, even while Moore's health deteriorated in her later years (she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 33). In January 2012, Van Dyke presented Moore with a Life Achievement Award onstage during the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which was one of her last public appearances. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Van Dyke, now 91, shortly after Moore's death at age 80 on Wednesday. In his statement, Van Dyke fondly remembers his first thoughts upon meeting Moore. "My first question was, 'Can this girl do comedy?' After that I said, 'She's a little young for me.' I got to be on hand and watch her grow into the talent she became. She was just the best," he wrote. "That show was the best five years of my life." But perhaps the most heartbreaking part is hearing Van Dyke describe what it was like to present his friend and colleague with the Life Achievement award. "In 2012, I got to present her with her SAG Life Achievement award. She had moved to upstate New York and was already beginning to succumb to the diabetes, so outside of talking to her and her husband Robert, I didn't see her unless it was an occasion like the SAG Awards. That night, she had trouble seeing, so they had to bring her onstage in the dark. For me, it was a payoff moment. A culmination. Outside of her family, I don't think there was anyone more proud of her than I was. Just to watch her grow was such a thrill for me. She left an imprint on television comedy." Read Van Dyke's full statement at The Hollywood Reporter, and for old times' sake, take another look at the incomparable comedic duo in action below. From: Country Living US Lauren Matthews Digital Director Lauren, Good Housekeeping's digital director, has over 15 years of experience writing and editing beauty, lifestyle, home, health, and entertaining content for publications including Country Living, Landcruisers, Brides, and First for Women. Brady Is Returning To 'Dance Moms' 26 Spooky Disney Halloween Movies Kids Will Love Abby Lee Miller Fell Out Of Her Wheelchair Elliana & Yolanda Return to 'Dance Moms' Baby Shower Decorations to Make Your Party Shine Kelly Clarkson Shares Weight Loss Advice With Fans 17 Scary Books That Will Spook You Mary Tyler Moore Was Oprah's Oprah What "Mary Tyler Moore Show" Cast Looks Like Now Dick Van Dyke Revives His 'Mary Poppins' Role in a Heartwarming Performance The Perfect Bloody Mary You'll Never Guess Who National Geographic Just Named As the World's "Most Powerful Woman" https://nissan-ask.com.ua/ www.steroid.in.ua Нашел в интернете важный сайт с информацией про системы автополива поливная система	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line154
__label__cc	0.611342	0.388658	New route to open on 29 March 2019. This route is for people seeking to establish a business in the UK for the first time. This new category replaces the existing Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category. Applicants are required to have and innovative, viable and scalable business idea which is supported by an endorsing body. The endorsements of applicants will be handled by UK trusted bodies – such as business accelerators, seed competitions and government agencies, as well as higher education providers. These bodies will assess applicants’ business ideas for their innovation, viability and scalability. The full list of endorsing bodies with programmes descriptions and application process can be found via this link. Applicants will not need to be graduates and will not need to have secured any initial funding. Successful applicants will be granted 2 years’ leave and will be able to progress into the Innovator category to continue developing their businesses in the UK after that time. Endorsement for initial applications will be based on assessment whether applicants’ business ideas are innovative, viable and scalable. This route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK, but applicants may progress into to the Innovator category subject to meeting additional criteria. The new category will not include points-scoring tables. Requirements for entry clearance and leave to remain The applicant must be at least 18 years old. Credibility assessment The UKVI will be undertaking a new credibility assessment which entails the following requirements: Genuine intention to undertake, and to be capable of undertaking, any work or business activity in the UK stated in their application. The applicant does not intend to work in the UK in breach of their conditions. Any money which the applicant claims to be available is genuinely available as described, and the applicant intends to use it for the purposes described in the application. The UKVI will further take into account any endorsement of the applicant and may also take into account additional factors: the evidence the applicant has submitted and its credibility; the applicant’s previous educational, work and immigration history; declarations made to other government departments regarding the applicant’s previous employment and other activity in the UK; any other relevant information. The UKVI may ask the applicant to attend an interview or to provide additional information and evidence. All applicants for entry clearance or leave to remain must have been endorsed in this category by an endorsing body listed on the gov.uk website. The endorsement letter issued by the endorsing body will have to contain the following information: the name of the endorsing body; the endorsement reference number; the date of issue, which must be no earlier than 3 months before the date of application; the applicant’s name, date of birth, nationality and passport number; confirmation that the applicant has not previously established a business in the UK (unless the applicant’s last grant of leave was under the Start-up or Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category); a short description of the applicant’s business venture and the main products or services it will provide to its customers; confirmation that the applicant’s business venture meets the endorsement criteria; the name and contact details (telephone number, email and workplace address) of an individual at the endorsing body who will verify the contents of the letter to the Home Office if requested. The applicant can choose to apply as a sole founder of the business or as a member of an entrepreneurial team. There is no strict requirement for the new endorsement to be issued by the same endorsing body if the applicant’s last grant of leave was in the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) or Start-up category. The endorsement however has to be valid at the time of application. Endorsement criteria The endorsement letter must confirm both following features: 1. That the applicant’s business venture meets all of the three endorsement requirements: Innovation - the applicant has a genuine, original business plan that meets new or existing market needs and/or creates a competitive advantage. Viability - the applicant has, or is actively developing, the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness to successfully run the business. Scalability - there is evidence of structured planning and of potential for job creation and growth into national markets. (the requirement in 1. above does not apply if the applicant’s last grant of leave was in the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) category, and the endorsement is from the same endorsing body as the endorsement which led to that grant of leave. Instead, the endorsement letter must confirm that the applicant’s business venture is genuine and credible.) 2. That the endorsing body is reasonably satisfied that the applicant will spend the majority of their working time in the UK on developing business ventures. Endorsing bodies There will be a full list of endorsing bodies on the gov.uk website. The applicants will be asked to stay in contact with their respective endorsing body with checkpoints after 6 and 12 months. The endorsing bodies will monitor whether the applicants are continuing to work on their business ventures and have either demonstrated reasonable progress with their original ideas or are pursuing new business ideas that are also innovative, viable and scalable. Maintenance funds An applicant will need to show maintenance funds of £945 for a consecutive 90-day period ending no earlier than 31 days before the date of application. The applicant does not need to provide evidence of maintenance funds if the letter from their endorsing body confirms that they have been awarded at least £945. The applicant must have good command of English to be able to communicate with variety of business organisations and potential customers. This can be demonstrated by one of the following: being a national of a majority English speaking country; passing an English language test proving a knowledge of English equivalent to level B2 of the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework (please refer to the Approved English Tests Providers List); holding a degree taught in English and equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or above. Alternatively, the applicant can meet the English language requirement by demonstrating that they met the requirement in a previous successful application and they must have had a previous grant of entry clearance or leave to remain in any of the following categories: Start-up; Innovator; Tier 1 (General); Tier 1 (Post-Study Work); Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) under the rules in place before 13 December 2012; Tier 2 (Minister of Religion); Tier 4 (General), supported by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) assigned on or after 21 April 2011. Periods and conditions of grant Leave to enter or remain will be granted for up to 2 years initially and can only lead to a maximum of 2 years in the category. For extension/switching applications 2 years can be granted however the time already granted in the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) and Start-up categories will be deducted. An applicant may also be able to switch to this category if they already hold leave to remain in the UK in one of the following categories: Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur); Tier 2; Tier 4 (General) – subject to restrictions outlined below; a visitor who has been undertaking permitted activities as a prospective entrepreneur. Restrictions for Tier 4 (General) Students applying in the UK If the applicant’s last grant of leave was as a Tier 4 (General) Student, the following restrictions apply: 1. The applicant must have been sponsored as a Tier 4 (General) Student by one of the following: a UK recognised body or a body in receipt of public funding as a higher education institution from one of the following: - the Higher Education Funding Council for England, - the Scottish Funding Council, - the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, - the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland; an overseas higher education institution to undertake a short-term study abroad programme in the United Kingdom; an Embedded College offering Pathway Courses; an independent school. 2. If the applicant was sponsored for their studies in the UK by a government or international scholarship agency, and the sponsorship is ongoing or ended less than 12 months before the date of application, the applicant must: have been granted unconditional written consent to make the application by their sponsoring government or agency; provide a letter from each sponsoring organisation confirming this (the letter must be issued by an authorised official of that organisation and contain contact details which allow it to be verified). An applicant can bring dependants to the UK and dependants already in the UK can apply for further leave as dependants in this category, subject to the dependant maintenance requirements. Dependants will now be allowed to apply from within the UK, as long as they are not here illegally, as visitors, or on temporary admission or temporary release. Any refusal decision will attract a separate right of administrative review. We can advise on the procedure, requirements and merits of making an application for leave to enter or remain in a Start-up category We can advise and represent our clients in making representations in support of their immigration matters We can advise and represent our clients’ dependants to seek dependant visas in line with the visa of the main applicant We can offer a Super Premium Service where the Home Office will visit the applicants in order to process the applications within 24 hours We can advise on the merits of an administrative review in the event of any refusal and represent clients in appeals	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line156
__label__cc	0.625877	0.374123	Christo (American, Bulgarian-born, b. 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (American, French-born, 1935-2009) Vinyl poles, nylon fabric, and metal bases Medium: Architecture and Planning H: 16 ft. (4.8 m.) (each gate) New York, NY (temporary installation) © Alan Schein Photography/CORBIS Anne PasternakPresident and Artistic Director, Creative Time Christo and Jeanne-Claude Web site. http://www.christojeanneclaude.net. Fineberg, Jonathan. On the Way to the Gates, Central Park, New York City (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series). Photography by Wolfgang Volz. New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. Finkelpearl, Tom. Dialogues in Public Art. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2001. Knight, Cher Krauss. Public Art: Theory, Practice, and Populism. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. Ronte, Dieter. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: International Projects. London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2004. ParthenonIktinos and Kallikrates (architects); Pheidias (fl. c. 490–430 BC) (sculptor) Bartolomeo ColleoniAndrea del Verrocchio (Italian, 1435–1488) The Working Class (detail)José Clemente Orozco (Mexican, 1883–1949) Chrysler BuildingWilliam van Alen (American, 1882/3–1954) The City RisesUmberto Boccioni (Italian, 1882–1916) View of DelftJohannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Night View of Saruwaka-machi (Saruwaka-machi Yoru no Kei) from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858) Paris Street; Rainy DayGustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894) Great MosqueUnknown artist(s), Niger Inland Delta, Mopti Region, Mali Ruins of the White Temple and ZigguratUnknown artist(s). Uruk, Mesopotamia Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace)Unknown artist(s), Rome St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s SquareMichelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564), Carlo Moderno (Italian, 1556–1629), Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598–1680), et al. Tribute to Jackie RobinsonDavid McShane (American, b. ca. 1970) I Hear you BroDarius Jones (Leon Reid IV) (American, b. 1979) in collaboration with Brad Downey (American, b. 1980) La grande vitesseAlexander Calder (American, 1898–1976) Benjamin Franklin ParkwayPaul Philippe Cret (French, 1876–1945) and Jacques Greber (French, 1882–1962) (designers) The Gates, Project for Central Park, New YorkChristo (American, Bulgarian-born, b. 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (American, French-born, 1935-2009) The New York City WaterfallsOlafur Eliasson (Danish, b. 1967) The Gates, Project for Central Park, New York » Christo (American, Bulgarian-born, b. 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (American, French-born, 1935-2009) The collaborative artistic team Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been working together on public art projects since 1961. They consider themselves to be environmental artists, creating extremely large-scale projects in both urban and rural locations. Their past projects have included such feats as stringing an orange curtain across a mountain pass in Colorado in 1972 and surrounding eleven islands in Miami’s Biscayne Bay with pink fabric in 1983. The pair’s visually dramatic projects require elaborate planning and have taken as many as two decades to carry out from design to execution. Christo and Jeanne-Claude work with all levels of government agencies and myriad local groups and individuals to organize and get permission for their installations. However, they insist on total artistic control and refuse any sponsorship, choosing instead to self-fund their projects. The artists began planning The Gates in 1979, but did not reach an agreement with New York City to install them until 2003. The Gates were on view in Central Park for two weeks at the end of February 2005. Like many of the artists’ projects, the installation was a vast undertaking. Seven thousand five hundred and three individual gates consisting of saffron-colored vinyl poles and nylon fabric were set up along twenty-three miles of pathways through the park, lending vivid color to the subdued winter landscape. The gates were designed to rest on the pavement, leaving no impact on the natural environment of the park—not even holes in the ground. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were particularly sensitive to the urban park setting. They have described the square, right-angled poles as referring to the grid of city streets surrounding the park. In contrast, they saw the loose-hanging fabric moving fluidly in the wind as evoking the curved park walkways and the bare tree branches. What is the function of art in public places?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line157
__label__wiki	0.546428	0.546428	Government Unveils Industrial Strategy - Nov 28, 2017- The UK government has launched its long-awaited Industrial Strategy with the aim of setting out a long-term vision for how Britain can build on its economic strengths and address productivity performance. Prime Minister Theresa May first raised the plan in January when she launched proposals for a Modern Industrial Strategy, and a public consultation soon followed with industry. Launching the plan on Monday, May said: “Our modern Industrial Strategy will shape a stronger and fairer economy for decades to come. It will help create the conditions where successful businesses can emerge and grow, and support these businesses in seizing the big opportunities of our time, such as artificial intelligence and big data, whilst also making sure our young people have the skills to take on the high-paid, high-skilled jobs this creates. “As we leave the European Union and forge a new path for ourselves, we need to focus on building a better future for our country and all the people who live in it. With the Budget last week, and our Industrial Strategy in the years ahead, we will build a Britain fit for the future.” The Industrial Strategy paper adds: “Our consultation reinforced the importance of five foundations (see below) of productivity – the essential attributes of every successful economy. Our five foundations align to our vision for a transformed economy – a transformation that is already taking place and will accelerate over the course of the coming decades. “Through this process we have also identified Grand Challenges which we will set for the UK government and wider economy. These are in response to global forces that will shape our rapidly changing future, and which the UK must embrace to ensure we harness all the opportunities they present. “Our foundations and Grand Challenges are set out. This strategy also refers to a number of policies that will be added to over time to support the foundations and drive the UK’s transformation.” In the strategy, the government has identified the four ‘Grand Challenges’ – global trends that it says will shape our rapidly changing future and what the UK must embrace to ensure all opportunities are harnessed, as: artificial intelligence – we will put the UK at the forefront of the artificial intelligence and data revolution clean growth – we will maximise the advantages for UK industry from the global shift to clean growth ageing society – we will harness the power of innovation to help meet the needs of an ageing society future of mobility – we will become a world leader in the way people, goods and services move The government says that each Grand Challenge represents an open invitation to business, academia and civil society to work and engage with the government to innovate, develop new technologies and ensure the UK seizes these global opportunities. Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “The way we earn and live our lives as workers, citizens and consumers is being transformed by new technologies. The UK is well-placed to benefit from this new industrial revolution and we start from a position of significant strength. We have a thriving research and science base and are home to a wide range of innovative sectors, from advanced manufacturing and life sciences, to fintech and creative industries. “The Industrial Strategy is an unashamedly ambitious vision for the future of our country, laying out how we tackle our productivity challenge, earn our way in the future, and improve living standards across the country.” The White Paper also focuses on the five foundations of productivity – ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places. Each foundation is supported by a range of policies that have been designed to provide businesses with certainty and reassurance that the UK will continue to have a competitive edge. Industry responds: “By working in strong partnership with national and local government, we have created a very positive example of Industrial Strategy in action for the off-shore wind industry in the Humber which is creating a new and vibrant local economy. Through today’s Industrial Strategy announcement we are optimistic that through greater investment in R&D, and especially through the application of advanced industrial digital technologies like AI and robotics, we can support many more new and existing manufacturing industries - raising productivity and creating thousands of new highly skilled and well paid jobs,” Juergen Maier, chief of Siemens UK Previous: 3D Printing And CNCmachining Industry Trends Next: TRUMPF Presents ‘fastest 3D Printer In The World	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line160
__label__cc	0.690587	0.309413	Home News Breaking News NYC Public School Kids Getting New Muslim, Lunar New Year Holidays NYC Public School Kids Getting New Muslim, Lunar New Year Holidays New York City is moving to close school for two Muslim holidays and the Lunar New Year – but Mayor de Blasio isn’t so sure about the Hindu festival Diwali, reports the NY Daily News. Appearing on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday, the mayor said he hadn’t taken a position on whether Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated in India and other South Asian countries, should be a day off from school. But he said he’d move forward with closing schools for Lunar New Year and for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Muslim holy days. ead more here. Previous articleScalia: Internment Could Return Next articleSotomayor: Labeling Illegal Immigrants Criminals Is Insulting Moshele has spoken again February 4, 2014 at 7:03 pm Its all over. Brace yourself. mayim February 4, 2014 at 9:24 pm Suicide manuels next reader February 4, 2014 at 9:44 pm Why is it so difficult? Public schools should be open 365, or 366, days a year. Let students attend whenever they want to, as long as they meet minimum “X” schooldays (180? 185?), whenever is convenient for them. Public school is a public service, no? (No, it’s a privilege reservoir which translates into votes….) Discrimination! February 4, 2014 at 11:28 pm Why is he discriminating against Hindus? DJTester February 5, 2014 at 3:16 am Once again liberlism has gne to the non-sensical extreme. The Jewish holidays have long been days off from school, not to “celebrate,” but because observant Jews are restricted from riding in vehicles, writing, carrying anything in a public domain, etc. that make attending school impractical. If similar restrictions apply to the holidays of other religions, then, by all means, create a new school holiday. If not, what’s the point of not attending school? Oldtimer February 5, 2014 at 12:20 pm I just checked the official New York City schools website. Public schools will be closed for all of Pesach, since they schedule spring break from Erev Pesach until the entire eight days is over. They also officially close on Rosh Hashanah. Note that they also close December 25. It seems that they feel it is important to accommodate groups who have a large number of children in the system. I also believe that absence for other religious holidays, such as Yom Kippur or Shavuos, counts as an excused absence if the parent notifies the school. Evidently some people who post here are too young to remember when discrimination against Jews was legal and common. I have friends who went to public school outside of NYC who had to fight to get Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off as excused absences. If you can go to a public college and wear your kippah in class, or get a Shabbos exam re-scheduled, quit complaining. The tolerance you criticize has made life easier for YOU.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line164
__label__cc	0.74824	0.25176	Morning Prayer: July 16th, 2019 Judges 11:1-28 Matthew 26:57-27:23 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! * It befits the upright to praise him. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; * make music to him on the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; * play skillfully, with shouts of joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true, * and all his works are faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; * the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made; * by the breath of his mouth their starry host. He gathers up the waters of the sea as a heap; * he puts the deeps into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; * let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; * he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; * he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands firm forever, * the plans of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, * the people he has chosen as his own inheritance! The LORD looks down from the heavens; * he sees all the children of man; From his dwelling place he looks upon * all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all * observes everything they do. The king is not saved by the size of his army; * a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. A horse is a false hope for salvation; * despite all its strength it cannot save. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, * on those whose hope is in his mercy, To deliver their soul from death * and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; * he is our help and our shield. For in him our heart shall rejoice, * because we trust in his holy Name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, * even as we have our hope in you. Judges 11:1–28 11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead's wife also bore him sons. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. 4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah. 12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the LORD, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The LORD, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him. Matthew 26:57–27:23 57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” 69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. 27 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. 3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.” 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Posted bythetrinitymission- michael July 16, 2019 July 16, 2019 Posted inaudiodailyoffice, morningprayer	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line167
__label__cc	0.556373	0.443627	HOME > ABOUT US > History In April 2018, Jinan No.1 Machine Tool Co., Ltd. won the Chunyan Award again at the 10th China CNC Machine Tool Exhibition. On May 17th, the company's first batch of automotive wheel processing machines went out of the country and became a milestone mark for the company's products to the world. It was also the first time that the car wheel processing machines were sold to countries along the Belt and Road. On May 25th, the company successfully hosted the "2017 New and Old-fashioned Kinetic Energy Conversion Smart Manufacturing Site Exchange Meeting of Shandong Mechanical Parts Industry" sponsored by the Shandong Provincial Economic and Information Committee. In March 2015, the medium and high-end CNC machine tool industry park was put into use; the production area was 430 acres, with a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan and fixed assets of 826 million yuan. In January 23, 2014, Jinfeng First Machine Tool Ruifeng Technology Branch was formally established to produce CNC high-speed cutting sawing machines, filling the gaps in domestic large-scale high-speed CNC cutting machine tools and replacing imported products. The product technology level reached the international advanced level. . On March 21, 2014, Jinan Jiji Ruiling Automation Co., Ltd. was established. The company focuses on the integration of information technology and manufacturing. It specializes in the automation design and implementation of complete sets of equipment. While completing the automation of its own production line, It can provide design and installation services for automated complete sets of equipment for various industries. Combining a CNC machine tool and automation in Jinan, we provide users with a complete process plan for automated processing. Its establishment marks the official entry of the Jinan No. 1 Machine Tool into the field of robotics and factory automation. The company will develop from a single machine tool equipment manufacturer to intelligent equipment manufacturers and integrators. In 2014, it was awarded the certificate of high-tech enterprise. In 2013, the company initiated the restructuring work. Shandong Weida Group Co., Ltd. reorganized the company. In January 2013, Jinan No. 1 Machine Tool Co., Ltd. was established, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shandong Weida Machinery Co., Ltd. (stock code: 002026). In September 2013, the construction of medium and high-end CNC machine tool industry parks was started. On June 27, 1998, Premier Zhu Rongji inspected Jinan No. 1 Machine Tool Plant and watched the work flow of the staff to demonstrate the machine tool. In 1995, China's first batch of state-level technology centers were established. On July 30, 1992, Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, accompanied Jiang Chunyun, Secretary of Shandong Provincial Party Committee, Zhao Zhihao, Governor of the Jinan Military Region, Song Qingyao, Secretary of the Jinan Military Region, Yong Yongji, Secretary of the Jinan Municipal Committee, and Xie Yutang, acting mayor of the Jinan Military Region, to our factory. In 1984, the trial design succeeded in the JLBN320 single-board microcomputer numerical control lathe, J1XM360 digital display lathe, J1JNC460 economical numerical control lathe, and passed technical appraisal. The three new products took part in the Beijing New Technology and New Products Fair on January 1, 1985, in which the JNC460 economical CNC lathe won the second prize of Chunyan.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line170
__label__wiki	0.546726	0.546726	About Magnificat ‘The master English cartoonist... a laugh a page... a delectable collectable’ ‘Delightful.’ ‘Hilarious.’ Norman Thelwell took his first kitten home in a shopping-bag slung from the handlebars of his bicycle at the age of ten. The five-mile journey with one hand steering and the other in the bag trying to calm the cat was an experience which time has done nothing to erase from his mind, and faint scars can still be seen on his left hand in cold weather. The fact that (long before he took such crazy risks with horses) he succeeded in persuading his pet to pose for him on a regular basis proves only that cats are well aware which side their bread is buttered. Drawn from decades of devastating experience with cats, Thelwell’s Magnificat is an hilarious tribute to the mysterious relationship human beings have long had with the feline creatures. Norman Thelwell (1923–2004) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He was educated locally at Rock Ferry High School. During the Second World War, he served in India with the East Yorkshire Regiment, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (1942–46). While art editor of an army publication, he had his first cartoons published in London Opinion. After the war, he studied at Liverpool School of Art (1947–50) and lectured on illustration at Wolverhampton College of Art (1950–57). He sold his first drawing to Punch in 1950, and two years later became an important regular contributor. He also worked as a cartoonist for several newspapers and began to produce his own comic books, beginning in 1957 with Angels on Horseback. Since their debut appearance in Punch over forty years ago, Norman Thelwell’s cartoons and drawings have delighted millions of people all over the world. His portrayals of sporting pursuits, human beings at play, the life of the countryside and, of course, ponies, are the products of a unique comic genius. Also by Thelwell, Norman	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line171
__label__wiki	0.768796	0.768796	History and Hospitality - Some Highlights of a Field Trip, June 21-22 by Kathleen Sinclair Manitoba Pageant, Winter 1970, Volume 15, Number 1 This article was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the Manitoba Historical Society on the above date. We make it available here as a free, public service. Please direct inquiries to webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. History is people! This was emphasized for members of the Manitoba Historical Society during their field trip south of the border on the weekend of June 21-22. The trip was arranged through the cooperation of the Manitoba Historical Society and the Red River Valley Historical Society. On a pilgrimage such as this, we would have been lost without competent local guides. We would have seen and recognized the familiar prairies - the treeless plains, green and flat, stretching to the horizon, but we would have missed the historic river crossings, the old cart trails and historic places. We would have recognized the ribbons of trees, marking the winding courses of rivers and streams, the aspens and willows growing in ordered rows - the shelter belts of the farm homes, but we would have missed the museums and the pioneer buildings. The more observant would have noted the wild roses blooming earlier in North Dakota than in Manitoba. The spectacular displays of peonies around homes in town and country alike were a colorful reminder that summer is fairly rooted in North Dakota earlier than in Manitoba. As the tour went on, it became obvious that without the devotion of informed historians along the route and at various sites, much of interest in our common history would have been lost. As for an early centre of communication, who would have recognized an enormous tree on a river bank as a post office, used by United States military forces one hundred years ago? Mr. Albany Capistran knew all about it and passed on his knowledge to eager groups of listeners. Among those who made history live for us were W. D. Syverson, Gordon Gunness, Pat Goggin, D. B. Allen, Leo Kjellerup, Mrs. A. Smith, and Carl Peltoniemi, as well as Mr. Capistran. The historical information commit-tees were headed by Mr. L. E. Olson and Mrs. A. J. Christopher. All these well informed people seemed to have an inexhaustible knowledge of the history of their respective districts, a thorough grasp of the economic and social problems facing their own communities, and all were most generous in sharing their knowledge with us. Mr. Capistran joined us first on Saturday morning at Fisher, Minnesota, and was our guide as far as Crookston. At Fisher's Landing, [1] the former end of steel, we saw through Mr. Capistran's eyes the terrain as it had been when his great-grandfather settled there. He reviewed the changes thereabouts in modes of travel and land use, in farming methods and crops sown, all of which had gradually come to head since the days of pioneer settlement. Before leaving Fisher we made an enjoyable stop at the Legion where Mrs. Capistran and friends were waiting to regale us with coffee and delicious little cakes. This was our first experience with the combined ingredients of history and hospitality. It was most enjoyable. The brief stop at Crookston included our first visit to a museum. Here one of the inescapable facts of guided tours became apparent to museum lovers; they do not provide enough time for browsing. The large museum, a two-storey brick structure, was full of originally laid-out displays. The first of several pioneer schools, saved from oblivion by the imagination and foresight of local historians, was preserved here. At Georgetown, [2] site of the southermost post of the Hudson's Bay Company, we were joined by Mr. W. D. Syverson who took us on a trip to the 100-year-old Probstfield house and steamboat landing. Gordon Gunness, succeeding Mr. Syverson as guide at Abercrombie, took us for a tour of the state park at Fort Abercrombie, [3] where the highlights included a tour of the grounds and the recently constructed block-houses. Here another fine museum was housed in its own new building. Mr. Gunness, like Mr. Capistran, is a successful farmer as well as a lucid historian. Our next guide, D. B. Allan, reminded us of one of Canada's prominent citizens and outstanding politicians - Joey Smallwood of Newfoundland. He was equally personable, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the Wahpeton area and of its history was fascinating. For many listeners, his most astounding utterance was that he was 80 years old! In Wahpeton we gazed with mixed feelings at the junction of the Ottertail and Bois de Sioux rivers - the source from whence the Red River draws its waters. Here there is an excellent museum which deserved more time than we could give it. We were only able to slowly circle the interesting exhibits, coffee-cups in hand. During the most southerly leg of the trip, with Leo Kjellerup as guide, history had to compete with scenery as we drove along Lake Traverse. Our terminus, Browns Valley, was highlighted by more wonderful hospitality; (this time lemonade and brownies) and local history. The state monument to Sam Brown, [4] his ancient log house and pioneer school, all received close inspection. Only a narrow height of land [5] divides Lake Traverse and its northward flowing waters from Big Stone Lake and its southward flowing waters. Here the Minnesota River starts on its way to St. Paul. For many of us the climax of the two-day tour came just before we left Browns Valley, when one of our gracious hostesses, Mrs. Arthur Smith, came aboard our bus and distributed small pink floribunda roses. These had been taken from a bush in her garden which, as a small cutting, had been clipped from a bush planted in Ontario by Laura Secord. Mrs. Smith is descended from Laura Secord, and so it was impressive to find these direct links with Canada in Browns Valley, Minnesota. Proudly wearing these lovely flowers, we finally arrived at Peter's Sunset Beach, a resort on Lake Minnewaska, Glenwood, Minnesota. Here is another community where the quality of the exhibits in the museum was paralleled by the enthusiasm and knowledge of the guides who showed us through after a late supper. The above sketch by Peter Rindisbacher (1822) shows Fort Daer (left) and Pembina Post (right) at the confluence of the Red and Pembina Rivers. This marker near Wadena, Minnesota, and others like it, shows the places where old Red River Trails are intersected by modern roads and highways. Going north on Sunday morning, our first stop was at Alexandria, Minnesota, where the museum containing the Kensington Stone [6] was opened early for our benefit. This controversial stone has been thoroughly bebunked by many outstanding authorities; some people support it with enthusiasm and others with qualifications. If, however, its runes [and they are of mixed vintage] could be satisfactorily sorted out, authenticated, and defined, then some of the early history of central North America - Manitoba, Minnesota, and the Dakotas - would have to be rewritten. We returned to history of a more recent date with our arrival at Wadena, where our guide, Carl Peltoniemi, showed us traces of the Crow Wing Trail. [7] Mr. Peltoniemi and his two sons accompanied us to Park Rapids where a former lumber camp is now operated as a nationally famous restaurant. At Lake Itasca we saw an unpretentious trickle - the tiny headwater of the mighty Mississippi - starting on its long journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Pembina, our last stop, again featured history and hospitality, coordinated by Mrs. A. J. Christopher, the mayor's wife. We visited the twin museums (Barry and State) at Fort Daer. [8] Here we saw the building used as the first masonic lodge in the northwest; here also we saw the log dwelling used as a pioneer school from 1871 to 1875. Refreshments were served in the parish hall of the beautiful new Roman Catholic Church, the fourth to be built on the site where Father Dumoulin [9] established his mission in 1818. After a trip like this in which history and hospitality were so enjoyably merged, what impressions linger? Initially, for Canadians who were concerned with the Centennial of Confederation in 1967, for those who are now concerned with the centennial of Manitoba in 1970, and the centennial of Winnipeg in 1973, our interest in preserving the memory of the collective ethnic pasts - Ukrainian, Mennonite, or whatever it may be - seemed distinctly out of place south of the border. There was no such emphasis apparent throughout our tour; its absence probably implying a difference in philosophy, as expressed in the melting pot and mosaic theories of nationalism. The second lasting impression, and probably the most important - the dedication of our hosts - proved that history is people and that its preservation depends on people like our hosts - and ourselves! 1. Fisher's Landing, Minnesota Fisher's Landing on the Red River in Minnesota was the end of steel in the north-west before the St. Paul, Minnesota and Manitoba Railway, (J. J. Hill's line), later to become the St. Paul and Pacific, was completed to St. Boniface in 1879. The Pembina Branch in Manitoba, from Emerson to St. Boniface and then to Winnipeg was operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Fisher's Landing has many associations with Manitoba by virtue of the stream of trade and settlement which flowed through that place from St. Paul and thence by sternwheel steamboat to Winnipeg. On one particular count, perhaps above all others, Fisher's Landing merits a high place in the memory of Manitobans. It was to Fisher's Landing that the first shipment of wheat for export was consigned on October 21, 1876. The small but significant shipment of 857 bushels was placed on board the sternwheeler Minnesota at the foot of Lombard Avenue, and on a frosty morning late in October it reached Fisher's Landing, just forty-eight hours before ice closed the river for the winter. "Farmers and millers in Ontario liked the hard spring wheat and asked for more. A quickened interest in the province which produced such grain resulted in a flood of immigration. 'Manitoba, No. 1 Northern' became a magic phrase on the world's grain markets." - City of the Rivers, Queen's Printer, Legislative Building, Winnipeg. 2. Georgetown The southernmost post of the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land was located on the present site of Georgetown, Minnesota. "The new ideas and the new committee [HBC 1863] were slowly turning away from the Bay and towards the prairies. Simpson had moved in this direction, and Dallas had followed him, with experiments in the re-organization of the Company's transport system to mark the change of emphasis. Dallas was not satisfied with Simpson's experiment of getting goods up to Red River from St. Paul. and he tried for improvement by getting the Grand Trunk Railway to ship direct from Sarnia to Superior City, from whence the goods would go via Georgetown to Fort Garry" - Hudson's Bay Company, E. E. Rich, p. 847. It was 28th April [1869], all the same, before the Company's store was open for business [at Upper Fort Garry]. Mactavish's health mended with better weather, and the clerks worked well. But it would have been contrary to their habits, and to the whole tradition of the Company, to have opened shop before the long inventory was completed and the accounts checked. The delay was marked by considerable tension and drunkenness, and Riel recovered a good deal of popularity when he ordered the Union Jack to be flown at the Fort despite secessionist protests. Then, with the store open, the Company printed and issued pound notes, and then five shilling notes, five pound notes, and even ten pound notes. The river opened up and the Company's steamer, the International, took her first load of furs for Georgetown ... ' - Ibid, pp. 930-31. 3. Fort Abercrombie A United States military post established in 1858 near the head of navigation on Red River. It was a major link in a chain of posts extending from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Montana and the western goldfields. It afforded protection for the northwest frontier, and travellers on trail or river, on their way to Red River Settlement, welcomed its stout stockade and blockhouses as symbols of defence against the Sioux. However, in spite of this salutary prospect, the fort was besieged by the Sioux in 1862, but was successfully defended by volunteer troops, the regulars having been withdrawn for service in the American Civil War. "Above the mouth of Wild Rice r., Fort Abercrombie was established pursuant to A. of C. [Act of Congress], March 3d, 1857, and orders from hdqrs of the army, June 24th, 1857, at a point on the W. bank of Red r. 12 m. N. of the confluence of Bois des Sioux and Otter Tail rivers, the intention being to build near the head of navigation, 'in the vicinity of a place known as Graham's Point, Minn.' ... Lt. Col. J. J. Abercrombie arrived on the spot Aug. 28th, 1858, and troops were quartered for the winter of 1858-59. The post was abandoned July 25th, 1859: re-occupied July, 1860; attacked by Sioux, Sept. 3d and Sept. 6th, 1862; building finished in Feb., 1863 . - The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry, Elliott Coues. See his notes pp. 147-48. In the fall of 1869, William McDougall, Governor of Rupert's Land, had three hundred rifles packed in twelve cases, waiting at Fort Abercrombie to be moved across the border to arm the Canadians at Red River. Riel knew this, and so on November 2nd, the same day McDougall was banished from the country, the metis seized Fort Garry and there, among other things, took possession of 390 rifles and thirteen six-pounder cannon. Fifteen years later the Government of Canada paid the Hudson's Bay Company ten thousand pounds for goods taken by the metis and for expenditures the Company had been forced to make during the Riel occupation. 4. Sam Brown Samuel Jerome Brown, affectionately known in Minnesota and North Dakota as the "Paul Revere of the Frontier," made an epic 150-mile ride through the Dakota Territory on the night of September 26, 1866, to alert scouts and warn settlers of a suspected Indian raid. After it was all over, he called it a wild-goose chase, because the report which prompted it was false. Later in life, reminiscing on the ride, Brown said: "I contracted injuries which deranged my eyes, dimmed my eyesight, paralyzed my muscular powers, deprived me of the use of my legs, of all the natural power of motion, and permanently impaired my general health, the same having been super-induced by over exertion and exposure to cold and wet." Samuel Brown was the son of Joseph Renshaw Brown, a distinguished pioneer of Minnesota, founder of Browns Valley settlement, from which the city of Browns Valley takes its name. The long, narrow depression, known as Browns Valley, is the reservoir for Lake Traverse, which, with its tributaries, is the source of Red River - Adapted from Valley News, Centennial Edition, 1966, p. 3. 5. Height of Land In the spring of 1820, three Mackinaw boats, having been transported across Wisconsin, were launched in the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien. Thence, by the Minnesota River, they reached Big Stone Lake, from which point they made a traverse across the Height of Land on rollers to the shore of Lake Traverse in Browns Valley. Northward from here they proceeded to Red River and the Red River Settlement. Each boat was manned by three men, and the total lading of the three boats was 200 bushels of wheat, 100 bushels of oats, 30 bushels of peas. This is the only instance on record of a heavy shipment being transported the entire distance by water from Prairie du Chien to Red River Settlement, except for the traverse of the Height of Land above Browns Valley which separates the south-eastward flowing tributaries of the Mississippi from the northward flowing tributaries of the Red. - Ibid, p. 1. The reason for this trip to Wisconsin and return is given as follows by W. L. Morton: "The locusts deposited their eggs in the colony [Red River Settlement], and the following spring [1819] the young were at work early in May. This time they stripped the plots, and even the prairie, so that there was little grass for hay. Not only was no grain left for food, but little or none for seed. Seed had from time to time been obtained from posts on the upper Assiniboine, [notably from Brandon House], and from Bas de la Riviere on the Winnipeg River; these had escaped the locusts. In 1820, however, it was necessary to send a party down to Prairie du Chien [on the Mississippi] in Wisconsin Territory to buy seed wheat. It returned with two hundred and fifty bushels in early June, and much of the late sown wheat matured sufficiently to escape fall frosts. From this wheat came most of the seed of the colony thereafter, and the strain was known as Prairie du Chien" - Manitoba: A History p. 57. 6. Kensington Stone A stone bearing a runic inscription, said to have been discovered on a farm near Kensington, Minnesota, in 1897, and inscribed as follows: "8 Goths [Swedes] and 22 Norwegians on exploration journey from Vinland westward. We had camp[ed] by two skerries [island, rocky isle, or reef], one day's journey north of this stone. We were and fish[ed] one day. After we came home [we] found 10 [of our] men red with blood and dead AVM [Ave Virgo Maria] save [us] from evil. [We] have ten men by the sea to look after our ship[s] fourteen day's journey from this island. Year 1362." For denial of this stone and its inscription see Tryggvi J. Oleson, "The Early Voyages and Northern Approaches," pp. 102-5. Quote, in summary: "Brought to the attention of runologists, it [the Kensington Stone] was immediately pronounced a forgery ... which may be confidently pronounced a nineteenth century concoction and whose authenticity not one runologist has ventured to defend." On the other hand, for a vigorous defence of the stone, see various works of Hjalmar R. Holand, including Westward From Vinland, New York, 1940; Exploration in America Before Columbus, New York, 1956; A Pre-Columbian Crusade to America, New York, 1962. 7. Crow Wing Trail One of the trails leading from Red River to St. Paul. Professor W. L. Morton says it was opened in 1844 for bringing in American goods to Red River. He says it was less exposed to stoppage by the Sioux than the older trails down the west bank of Red River. Reverend George Bryce, in a talk recorded in one of the early transactions of the Manitoba Historical and Scientific Society, says the trail was on the east bank of Red River and was opened in 1844 by William Hallett after he had been attacked by Sioux on his way to St. Paul by Lac Traverse and St. Peter's. The trail had to be cleared for many miles through dense wood, and its chief disadvantage over the west bank was the many fords that had to be made across numerous streams. - Hamilton, "In The Beginning" p. 63. 8. Fort Daer Named after a subsidiary title of the Earl of Selkirk, and built late in the autumn of 1812 by the first party of Selkirk Settlers [indentured servants] under the leadership of Miles Macdonnel. The fort was situated at the southwest junction of Red and Pembina rivers, opposite the North West Company's Pembina Post which stood on the northwest junction. The HBC's post was on the east bank of Red River across from Fort Daer. It was to Fort Daer that several successive parties of settlers went each fall to spend the winter near the buffalo, the source of fresh meat and robes, returning each spring to Point Douglas to build homes and barns and plant crops and gardens. When John, Lord Daer, died in 1796, Thomas Douglas, the youngest and last of seven sons, became Lord Daer and his father's heir. Three years later when the old Earl himself died, Thomas Douglas became Baron Daer, Fifth Earl of Selkirk, head of the house, and inheritor of responsibilities and privileges he had not dreamed of five years before. - Adapted from Lord Selkirk of Red River, John Morgan Gray, pp. 15-16. "... his [Macdonnel's] first crops turned to little profit, provisions could not be got, and through the summer of 1813 Fort Daer was almost abandoned and at Point Douglas little would have been accomplished if Peter Fidler, from Brandon House, had not supplied pemmican, surveyed the lots (each with a river-frontage) for the settlers and even provided a bull, a cow and heifer. Even so, the produce of 1813 was not enough to see the settlers through the next winter. Macdonnel therefore had to take almost all the settlers to winter once more at Fort Daer, hoping that buffalo would again supply food. By comparison with his first winter, Macdonnel found that of 1813-14 a " 'terrestrial Paradise' at Fort Daer, for both fur companies had withdrawn their posts from Pembina and provisions came in regularly and without rancour." - Hudson's Bay Company, 1670-1870, E. E. Rich, pp. 318-19. The trouble was that Pembina lay south of the 49th Parallel and was within American territory, as laid down by the treaty of 1818. Halkett, in his journey from the States, [1822], had given orders for the colony's outpost at Fort Daer to be abandoned. This was part of his general conclusion that nothing could be made of Lord Selkirk's title to lands south of the frontier, and he regarded the whole attempt to claim lands south of the 49th parallel as `an unfortunate establishment.' " - Ibid. p. 430. 9. Father Dumoulin "At the instance of Lord Selkirk and his Catholic lieutenant, Miles Macdonnell, Fathers Norbert Provencher and Severe Dumoulin and Teacher William Edge arrived at Fort Douglas from Montreal in 1818. But that fall, at the request of the colonists, who were forced by hunger to move to Pembina, and of the metis hunters already settled there, Father Dumoulin went to Pembina and built a church. His congregation was about three hundred, six times as large as that at Fort Douglas ..." - Strange Empire, Joseph Kinsey Howard, p. 50. Kensington Stone - for translation of runic characters see here. Page revised: 23 May 2011	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line172
__label__cc	0.666033	0.333967	HisKids Music & Drama HisKids Music & Drama is a non-denominational, Christian musical theater program for children in Grades 2-8. The rehearsal schedule starts in September and ends in December with a Broadway style musical performance! HisKids aims to teach children the Word of God via the performing arts in a way that makes learning fun, memorable and powerful! Can you recite your ABC’s? How did you learn them? Can you remember “I’m a little teapot” or “the B-I-B-L-E?” When we put things to music, we have an amazing ability to learn and retain information. And, if we also involve our bodies in movement or dance, that retention rate can be even greater. What a great way to learn the word of God and instill those Biblical principles in our children for years to come! HisKids Music & Drama is a musical program designed to teach children the Word of God through music, dance & drama. A typical rehearsal consists of an early bird activity, a group devotional, a spiritual lesson, a snack, a music lesson, a choreography lesson & prayer time…all focused on a Biblical principal/theme of the day! The HisKids Leadership Team works to create an engaging and relevant environment where children are not only learning how to put on the armor of God, but they are also learning confidence, stage presence, teamwork, and how to minister the Good News to others. The joy we get from watching the children grow, learn and succeed is beyond words. Simply put: You just can’t out give God! Although our families are from surrounding churches and differing backgrounds, we realize that we all have ONE heart…one that beats four our Audience of One. Keri Dolbier Director/Founder Email: keri@hiskidsnj.com Keri Dolbier founded HisKids Music & Drama in 2004 and has directed over 12 productions including “The Mystery of the Manger: It’s the Gospel Truth,” “Back to the Manger,” “A Rockin’ Royal Christmas” and “Isaiah Jones.” Her love for the Lord, children and theatre served as the perfect formula for the creation of this program that serves over 60 children in the local area. Keri has a BA in Elementary Education Grades K-6 and in Special Education (Learning Disabilities) Grades K-12. She also received her MBA in International Business Management. Keri has been involved in music & theatre for much of her childhood and into adulthood. In 1996, she won Thespian Best Actress in New Jersey for her role as Katharine in “The Taming of the Shrew” and she was a finalist for the Governor’s School of Theater that same year. In 2007, Keri served as the Co-Director of Children’s Ministries at Millington Baptist Church and still remains involved in their drama ministry. Keri currently works for Mondelez International and currently attends both Millington Baptist Church and Liquid Church (Parsippany). Other passions include seeing Broadway Shows (go figure!), fitness, reading, and dining! Kathy Dolbier Director, Biblical Education Email: kadbury52@yahoo.com Kathy Dolbier has been involved in children’s music and drama ministries for more than thirty years at various churches including Oldwick United Methodist Church, South Ridge Community Church and Millington Baptist Church. This is her eighth year with HisKids Music & Drama. Kathy has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from the State College of NJ and has taught Kindergarten, First grade, and Fourth grade in the public schools. Kathy founded KinderC.A.P. Preschool in 1995 when God called her into ministry to touch children and their families for Christ. She was the Director and teacher at KinderC.A.P. for the past fifteen years and also served as the Co-Director of Children’s Ministries at Millington Baptist Church in 2007. She has been involved in many adult musical productions at several churches (including Millington) and currently attends both Millington Baptist Church and Liquid Church (Parsippany). Other passions include playing the guitar, walking, family, and, of course, reading and studying the Bible!! Steve Tosi Stage Manager, Lighting & Sound Design Email: svtrossi@gmail.com Steve Tosi became involved in HisKids when his daughter joined the program. It’s a privilege to be part of such a great ministry. Steve grew up performing in Summer Theater and attended Lycoming College where he participated in several different choirs and performed in dramas and musicals. He is a member of the honorary theatre fraternity Alpha Psi Omega and graduated with a Business & Theatre degree. He worked at McCarter Theatre before moving on to Verizon, where he is currently employed. He is a member of Millington Baptist Church and leads the drama team as well as many full length adult productions. Steve has a beautiful wife, Lenore, and three children. He feels blessed by the ministries at Millington and enjoys supporting HisKids. Julianna Sforza Email: juliannasforza@gmail.com Julianna has been teaching voice for nearly eighteen years. She runs a private music studio out of her home in Warren where she teaches both voice and piano to children and adults of all ages. Julianna has taught voice at Rutgers University, conducted youth group choirs and has been a vocal coach to various elementary and middle school musical theatre productions in Northern New Jersey. Julianna began her musical studies at the early age of three-and- a-half while attending The Yamaha School of Music. Throughout her youth she performed in local school and community theatre. After completing her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in Vocal Performance at Seton Hall University, Julianna went on to graduate studies at Montclair State University and Manhattan School of Music. Julianna has been fortunate to study with such luminaries in the operatic field as Stefano Algieri, Mariana Paunova and Joan Dornemann at The Metropolitan Opera, NYC. Some of her most memorable dramatic roles include Diana in Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well”, Phoebe in J.M. Barrie’s “Quality Street” and Marguerite in the Scandic Films Motion Picture “A Frame of Mind”. She has performed both voice and piano at Carnegie Hall as well as various operatic roles in the United States, Canada and Europe. For more information, please visit her website: www.jsmusicstudio.org. Julianna feels very blessed to have been asked to support HisKids this year. Tracy Quattrocchi Characterization Coach & Backstage Coordinator Email: glittermariah03@msn.com Tracy Quattrocchi was asked to help with HisKids after taking tap class with Keri in 2010. Keri knew Tracy was looking for a new way to connect with the Lord and so it all began with the production of “Back to the Manger.” Since then, Tracy has enjoyed helping in various ways including behind the scenes as a backstage coordinator. Tracy has always had a passion for the stage. At age 4 Tracy began dancing ballet, jazz and tap. She performed in various productions throughout middle and high school, enjoying acting, singing and dancing. Tracy received her BA in Elementary Education (K-5) from Montclair State University. She then worked as a 2nd grade teacher as part of Hillside Public Schools. Tracy then pursued her passion to lead by obtaining an MA in Educational Leadership (Supervisor/Principal Certification) from Kean University. After teaching for 8 years, Tracy was lucky enough to transition into the position of Instructional Supervisor within the Hillside District. She is blessed to have her supportive husband, John, and wonderful son, Tyler. She attends Liquid Church and loves working with HisKids to serve the Lord and bring religion to so many young minds and hearts. In her free time Tracy loves singing, the beach, bowling and just relaxing with her family. Janet Saulter-Hemmer Community Outreach & Backstage Coordinator Email: jsaulterhemmer@gmail.com Janet Saulter-Hemmer is one of our newest team members who joined in 2014 through Liquid Church. Janet loved meeting all of the children and helping in various roles including Kids Crafts, check in, costumes and backstage coordination. The highlight of her first year was learning she had to memorize dance steps and participate in the finale, which was her first introduction to performing on the stage! Janet is Director of Liquid Church’s Clean Water Cause and a retired IT Director from Prudential. She has a BA from Thomas Edison State College in Elementary Education and an MBA from NJIT. She lives in Parsippany with her husband, Tom, and attends Liquid Church. She loves volunteering with Liquid Kids on Sundays and is looking forward to returning to HisKids this year! In her free time she enjoys small ship cruising, snow skiing and Crossfit. THANK YOU so much for your interest in serving on the HisKids Leadership Team this year! Please contact Church office for Full & Part-Time Leadership Registration Forms Full-time helpers start at the beginning of the program on September 7th. Part-time helpers start in November. However, if you are part-time, you are always welcome to assist at more rehearsals! All volunteers need to have a current (within 3 years) Childcare Screening Form and Background Check on file at Millington Baptist Church. If needed, the form(s) will be emailed or mailed to you for completion before the season begins For downloadable 2019 HisKids Rehearsal Schedule click here. It’s that time again! We are excited to announce that HisKids Music & Drama’s 2019 Season is now open for registration (children grades 2-8 and teen/adult volunteers)! Meet the up-and-coming Persia’s Traveling Band—or PTB, as their fans call them—who are out on “their biggest tour yet!” with their little “roadie” Abel. Along the way, they meet three Wise Men, who are following a star in search for a King who has just been born. With the possibility of playing for a Royal audience, PTB decides to join the Wise Men and make the journey to Bethlehem. After all, what better way for the band to be discovered and rise to the top the charts than playing for a King? During this fantastic journey, the little dude named Abel, who is sort of a ‘roadie’ for PTB, unveils his passion for playing the drums. While the band does not take his playing seriously, the Wise Men notice his talent and encourage his efforts, knowing that he has a very special gift. One of the Wise Men expresses to Abel that perhaps he might even get to play his drum for the King…Will Abel get his wish?? To learn the outcome—and finally get to meet this King to be born in Bethlehem—you’ll have to come along on the journey with Abel, Persia’s Traveling Band, the three Wise Men, and Abel’s fantastically whacky and fun camel, Hakim! Through The Little Drummer Dude, each and every child will learn that God can do amazing things through everyone, even if they are “just a little dude. Lastly, if you have any scholarship needs, an application form is available here. All forms must be received by August 2, 2019. Registration closes August 30th Child Registration It’s time to register your children for HisKids Music & Drama’s 2019 Christmas Musical! We’re looking for kids entering Second Grade through Eighth Grade to join us on Saturday mornings from 9AM to 12PM for incredible fun & learning as we worship the Lord through drama, music and dance! Please note the following: Enrollment is limited to 60 children, so sign-up quickly! The registration fee is $125 per child. The fee includes a CD of the musical, a script, a T-Shirt, a performance DVD and all activities throughout the season. Additional DVDs of the performance can be purchased for $20 each if they are pre-ordered. You may pre-order them on your registration form. Any additional DVDs ordered later in the season will cost $25. All registration forms must be received by August 30th. You can click the “register now” link on this page to fill out the full online form and pay via credit card. Limited scholarships are available for families in need and requests must be received by 8/2/2019. BEFORE registering and to apply, please fill out the 2019 HisKids Scholarship Form here. CDs and scripts will be mailed to fully registered children in August. Children cannot miss more than 5 regular rehearsals. Dress rehearsals and special character additional rehearsals are mandatory. (see the rehearsal schedule below) Keri Dolbier founded HisKids Music & Drama in 2004 and has directed over 12 productions including “The Mystery of the Manger: It’s the Gospel Truth,” “Back to the Manger,” “A Rockin’ Royal Christmas” and “Isaiah Jones.” Her love for the Lord, children and theatre served as the perfect formula for the creation of this program that serves over 60 children in the local area. Keri has a BA in Elementary Education Grades K-6 and in Special Education (Learning Disabilities) Grades K-12. She also received her MBA in International Business Management. Keri has been involved in music & theatre for much of her childhood and into adulthood. In 1996, she won Thespian Best Actress in New Jersey for her role as Katharine in “The Taming of the Shrew” and she was a finalist for the Governor’s School of Theater that same year. In 2007, Keri served as the Co-Director of Children’s Ministries at Millington Baptist Church and still remains involved in their drama ministry. Keri currently works for Mondelez International and currently attends both Millington Baptist Church and Liquid Church (Parsippany). Other passions include seeing Broadway Shows (go figure!), fitness, reading and dining! Have a wonderful summer! We hope to see you in September! It’s that time again! We are excited to announce HisKids Music & Drama’s 2019 Performance. Director/Founder of HisKids Contact Keri with any questions Music Camp 2019, Aug 5-9 Auditions are Sunday, July 7. Video submissions are due Friday, July 5. See below for more details. Register Here! Music Camp ... Summer Adventure FX Friday, July 19, 7pm FX, "Family Experience", is our super fun way to end an amazing week of Summer Adventure! ... Interested in Baptism? If you have not been baptized since becoming a follower of Jesus and would like to learn ... MBC Kids Waterday 2019 Join us for a fun-filled, soaking wet morning! Sunday, July 21, 10:45am Water Day is a summer tradition for MBC ... Summer Connections Immediately following the second service, everyone is welcome to stay and enjoy a delicious lunch while reconnecting with friends and ... Summer Sundays Nursery and preschool available at both services. Elementary (K-6th) will meet at 10:45am only ...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line174
__label__cc	0.536091	0.463909	PIRE Mongolia Post-doctoral position Warming & Grazing Tree-ring Study Carbon Stocks Nomadic Herders PIRE News Follow our discoveries on our blog! Learn some Mongolian We are studying the combined ecological and evolutionary consequences of global climate change and grazing pressures by nomadic pastoralism in northern Mongolia. The project is a collaboration involving the faculty in Ecology & Evolution in the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania together with collaborators at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the National University of Mongolia, the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. The project is supported by a 5-year (2007-2012) grant from the NSF Parternships for International Research and Education (PIRE). Some of the most extreme temperature increases associated with global warming are expected to occur in northern Mongolia, and increases in both temperature and the length of the growing season are already apparent. The ecology of northern Mongolia is of special interest because taiga forest and steppe grasslands come together there and because the steppe vegetation is heavily grazed through the activities of nomadic herders. Our research and educational outreach focuses on the synergistic effects of grazing and climate change on taiga forests and steppe grasslands. Most of the research will be conducted at an established field site located on Lake Hövsgöl, at approximately 50°N latitude and 5000 ft. elevation. Advancing the training of undergraduates and graduate students from Mongolia and the U.S. is a major goal of the project. We will recruit U.S. and Mongolian students into the Ph.D. program at Penn, and both undergraduates and Ph.D. students will be directly involved in the field research. In addition, the U.S. scientists are committed to offering courses in Mongolia for the scientific community during the summer field seasons. These courses cover topics related to the research as well as broader subjects in evolution and statistics. Outreach activities planned in association with the annual Mongolian summer festival will be used to help educate the local Mongolian people about global warming, sustainable grazing and the research being conducted. The broader significance of this project includes: The collection of data that are of great practical importance to the Mongolians, who are actively developing policy on land preservation and management, and to scientists worldwide, who strive to understand the future consequences of global warming. Capacity building within the Mongolian scientific community. Training U.S. students in a way that encourages their continued involvement in global research. Career development of young U.S. scientists, including undergraduate students, graduate students and young faculty members at Penn. TopHomeSite MapContact Page last updated 03 Jan 2012 © 2011 PIRE Mongolia Banner photo of PIRE Mongolia field site by M. Drake	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line175
__label__wiki	0.920084	0.920084	Crime, Fire and Accidents / News / National News / R. Kelly facing sweeping new federal sex crime charges CHICAGO (AP) — Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago on a sweeping federal indictment that accuses him and members of his entourage of recruiting women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with the performer. The indictment unsealed Friday in the Eastern District of New York includes charges of racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and the sexual exploitation of a child. It says Kelly and his managers, bodyguards and other assistants picked out women and girls at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly. They also set rules the women and girls had to follow, including not leaving their rooms — even to eat or go to the bathroom — without Kelly's permission, calling the singer "Daddy," and not looking at other men, the indictment alleges. The indictment alleges that the criminal acts occurred over two decades dating back to 1999, both in the U.S. and overseas. It accuses Kelly of engaging in sexual acts with girls under 18 and without disclosing that he had a sexually transmitted disease. It also accuses him of producing child pornography, including by asking minors to send him photographs. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick said the R&B singer was out walking his dog when he was taken into custody about 7 p.m. Thursday and was being held by federal authorities. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Kelly is being held at the high-rise Metropolitan Correctional Center, in downtown Chicago. He was arrested after the indictment was handed down earlier Thursday in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, said Friday that federal agents arrested Kelly on charges out of Illinois and New York. The singer hopes to be released after a bail hearing early next week, Greenberg said. The conduct Kelly is charged with in federal court "appears to largely be the same" as what he is charged with in state court, Greenberg said, adding that Kelly "was aware of the investigations and the charges were not a surprise." The arrest was the second time this year that Kelly has been taken into custody in Chicago on sex charges. The 52-year-old Grammy winner, whose real name is Robert Kelly, was arrested in February on 10 counts in Illinois of sexually abusing three girls and a woman. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and was released on bail. Then on May 30, Cook County prosecutors added 11 more sex-related counts involving one of the women who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was underage. Darrell Johnson, a publicist for Kelly, said he planned to deliver a statement about the latest developments at a Friday morning news conference in Atlanta. He declined to comment ahead of that time. Kelly's attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment on the federal charges. Fitzpatrick said Kelly's arraignment date and time had not yet been set. Kelly has faced mounting legal troubles this year after Lifetime aired a documentary "Surviving R. Kelly," which revisited allegations of sexual abuse of girls. The series followed the BBC's "R Kelly: Sex, Girls & Videotapes," released in 2018, that alleged the singer was holding women against their will and running a "sex cult." Soon after the release of the Lifetime documentary, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said her office had been inundated with calls about the allegations in the documentary. Her office's investigation led to the charges in February and additional counts added in May. Kelly avoided prison after similar allegations were made more than a decade ago. A jury in 2008 acquitted him of child pornography charges that stemmed from a videotape, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, allegedly showing Kelly having sex with a minor.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line179
__label__cc	0.623162	0.376838	New Pakistan For a democratic and prosperous Pakistan; at peace with its neighbors and itself Tag Archives: Mukhtaran Mai No Country For Women Posted on January 19, 2012 by Sidra Jafri When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) delivered the gift of Islam, he brought a revolution in women’s rights. Women were to be respected in Islam. Women were to have rights. This was not only to be found in the teachings of Qur’an, but in the lessons of the Sunnah also. Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) first wife Khadija was a successful and influential business woman of her own making. She was also a close confidant of the Prophet who did not keep her locked away. The first Muslims included women who engaged in community affairs. They spoke out. They had a voice. In one famous incident, Hazrat Umar (RA) was announcing a change to the rule of mahr when a woman in the crowd loudly quoted an Ayat that contradicted his proposal. Hazrat Umar (RA) is said to have smiled and said, “The women of Medina know Qur’an better than Umar!” As Khalifa he even appointed a woman to oversee the market of Medina. History is filled with such incidents, supporting the words of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), “Allah enjoins you to treat women well” and “the rights of women are sacred”. Are we living up to the example of the Prophet today? In the 2010 film, ‘Bhutto’, we were reminded that when Benazir Bhutto was elected Prime Minister in 1997, the Army resented having to salute a woman. Fourteen years later, Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed Foreign Minister, she was dismissed as less than serious as pundits preferred to focus on her wardrobe instead of her portfolio. The latest target of the ‘old boys club’ is the new Defence Secretary, Nargis Sethi. Is it just coincidence, or are men so scared of powerful women that they have to try to discredit them from the start? But while powerful women might be dismissed and disrespected, it is the powerless who suffer the most. A new report of Aurat Foundation released yesterday found violence against women on the rise. As many as 3,153 incidents of violence against women were reported in the Punjab during July 2011 and December 2011. It states that incidents of kidnappings were the most reported crime (860), with Sargodha on the top of the list with 90 reported abductions. As many as 19 women were subjected to various forms of violence on daily basis with five being kidnapped everyday. The statistics represent a two per cent rise in violent crime against women compared to the first six months of 2011. It also indicated that the incidence of violence in the rural areas was greater than in the urban areas. More than 170 women were killed in the name of ‘honour’ from July to December, most of them under 25 years old. In most of the almost 500 rape and attempted-rape cases that alleged offenders were related to the victims in one way or the other. The rape cases were reported from Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Pakpattan and Multan districts. The highest number of incidents of violence was reported from Lahore (248), followed by Rawalpindi (239). And let us not forget the case of Mukhtar Mai, the woman who was brutally gang raped on the order of a panchayat – the same system of ‘justice’ that Imran Khan promises to expand in Pakistan. She not only suffered the pain of the attack only to suffer the further injustice of seeing her attackers set free by the court, and then the added humiliation of a disgusting media attack. Sadly, Mukhtar Mai’s case was not an isolated incident. Just this week, Peshawar High Court directed PC KP to take departmental action against a group of 29 officers involved in the kidnapping and rape of Uzma Ayub. This is not to say that there is no hope. Last month Omar Derawal termed 2011 as ‘Year of the Woman’ due to the number of important laws that the government passed guaranteeing the rights and security of women. But laws are only as strong as the society that possesses them. Laws are important, but not as important as our own attitudes and behaviours. It is here that we are failing. Simply put, we are failing to live up to the commandments of Allah and the example of the Prophet (SAW). Posted in Blogs \| Tagged Islam, Mukhtaran Mai, women\'s rights \| 4 Replies The Sanity Deficit Posted on October 10, 2010 by Editor This article by Nadeem Paracha appeared in Dawn on 10 October 2010. She is being called the “daughter of the nation” who needs to be rescued from the fanged jaws of the Americans. TV channels buzz with the talk of this gallant woman who was found guilty by an American court for attempted murder, and on whose defence the government has already spent a whopping two million dollars. I remember, on February 5, 2010, when Karachi became the horrid scene of two bomb attacks that killed dozens of men, women and children, leaders of various mainstream religious parties were marching up and down the streets of Lahore condemning Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s (then ongoing) trial, insisting that she was innocent, and demanding that she be released and returned to Pakistan. Not surprisingly, the Taliban followed suit. A few days before that, when TV channels were airing shameful scenes of groups of lawyers outside the Lahore High Court cursing and abusing media men and relatives of a 12-year-old Shazia, who was said to have died at the hands of a lawyer, the same religious parties were behaving as if the young maid’s torturous death meant absolutely nothing compared to Aafia’s plight in the US. Not a single rally or a word of condemnation in this respect slipped out from the many defenders of the Aafia cause. Clearly, her champions are not bothered by the plight of those women who face humiliation every day and then languish in a depressing wilderness. Why, are these wronged girls and women not daughters of this nation? Never have the highly vocal keepers of our women’s sanctity even superficially censured the aggravating antics of monsters like the Taliban and Al Qaeda at whose hands thousands of innocent Pakistanis have lost their lives. None of the many women, children and men who were mercilessly slaughtered by the extremists, it seems, were good enough to also be celebrated as brothers, sisters and children of this nation. Remember Zarina Marri and Dr Shazia Khalid? Zarina went missing during the Musharraf regime after being accused of harbouring Baloch nationalists. She was said to have been abducted by intelligence agencies in 2005 and kept isolated in a cell in Karachi. Likewise, you may also ask why didn’t this very godly brigade take up the case of Dr Shazia Khalid, the doctor and employee of Pakistan Petroleum, who was beaten and raped allegedly by a captain at a Sui hospital in 2005? She was moved to a psychiatric facility in Karachi. Later, she was put under house arrest and prevented from contacting lawyers, doctors and human rights activists. She barely managed to leave Pakistan after facing death threats. For every single Aafia, there is a Zarina, Shazia and, of course, a Mukhtaran Mai — victims of violent feudal traditions, unaccountable arrogance or sheer social hypocrisy and apathy. In the context of the highly subjective media attention that Aafia is getting (along with her understandably distressed family members), one can also ask why Shazia Khalid’s or Zarina Marri’s families were never interviewed by TV channels. Why have we not seen mass scale demonstrations in Pakistan for justice for these two women, or for Mukhtaran Mai? Does a distressed Pakistani woman need to be mistreated only by Americans to garner any sympathy? The truth is that religious parties and right-wing flashes-in-the-pans that have sprung up in electronic media and the political spectrum, are mostly ideologically bankrupt, operating in a vacuum created by constant failure of militant jihad to impose its own versions of faith and politics. The worldview being popularised by such outfits and personalities has dangerously mutated Pakistan’s social evolution. Instead of society and the polity taking a natural evolutionary course by developing a democratic mindset that respects ethnic, religious and sectarian diversity within and helps foster a progressive relationship with other nations, this populist worldview bursting out of Pakistan’s media just looks for demons without. This is precisely the mindset from which many are screening the Aafia case while they remain blind to the fate of the many other Pakistani women who have suffered at the hands of bigots, feudal lords and dictators at home. So what is the truth in the Aafia case? It is something that can only be rationally debated and investigated. However, this most likely is not an option for our electronic media and their studio guests. Posted in News \| Tagged al qaeda, Dawn, Dr Aafia, Dr Shazia Khalid, media, Mukhtaran Mai, musharraf, nadeem paracha, taliban, women\'s rights, womeon's issues, Zarina Marri \| Leave a reply Tweets by @newpakistan Archives Select Month July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 February 2008 January 2008 afghanistan Ahmed Quraishi Balochistan China conspiracy theories corruption democracy drones economy education extremism Hafiz Saeed husain haqqani imran khan india isi ISPR Jamaat-ud-Dawa judiciary kashmir media militancy militants military mqm musharraf Nawaz Sharif Osama bin Laden pakistan pml-n ppp propaganda PTI religion Salmaan Taseer Saudi Arabia sectarianism Supreme Court taliban terrorism tolerance TTP usa Zarb-e-Azb zardari © 2013 New Pakistan. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line182
__label__wiki	0.968684	0.968684	Mercury Music Prize nominations for Last Shadow Puppets & Laura Marling posted Jul 22, 2008, 8:59 AM by Vu Nguyen From Press Here Congratulations to THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS and LAURA MARLING, who have been included in today’s MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE nominations! The highly coveted UK music award is given to just one artist for making the "Best British Album Of The Year". The Last Shadow Puppets debut album The Age Of The Understatement (Domino) is the 3rd nomination in a row for singer/songwriter Alex Turner, who picked up the prize in 2006 for Arctic Monkeys' debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. 18 year old Laura Marling's debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim has enjoyed huge critical acclaim since its European release earlier this year. The album gets a US release on Astralwerks on August 18th and is available now from digital retailers in the US. The Last Shadow Puppets & Laura Marling are two of just 12 artists nominated in 2008, on a list which includes Radiohead, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Adele and Neon Neon. Founded in 1992, previous Mercury Music Prize winners include Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Portishead, Primal Scream, Antony & the Johnsons and Pulp. Laura Marling: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yA3w6p96Ff8 The Last Shadow Puppets: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SyK79PHTiKw	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line183
__label__wiki	0.876377	0.876377	Past Forums Sir Colin Spedding Award Memorial Lecture The late Mr. Arthur George MBE, former Secretary of the Welsh Agriculture Society and a member of the Welsh Agricultural Equine Association, was very concerned that those in the Horse World did not appear to act in concert. He therefore invited the late Professor Colin Spedding and Graham Suggett to meet with him on the Welsh Stand at the 1991 Royal Show to discuss what might be done. As a result, during 1992, representatives of a number of organisations (especially the Welsh Agricultural Equine Association, the Association of British Riding Schools and the National Farmers’ Union) met to discuss ways in which the horse and pony industry could “speak with one voice” when that was needed and appropriate. The outcome was a proposal to establish a National Equine Coordinating Council (NECC) and as a first step a Seminar was organised at the NFU headquarters to discuss issues of immediate importance and to float the idea of a NECC. The concept was well received and development work commenced, only to founder over the issue of funding. Whilst being disappointed those who had been members of the small organising committee believed that the concept of a Forum should be maintained as it had had such a good reception. Thus was born the National Equine Forum with an organising committee, formed from a nucleus of those who had pioneered the original concept, with Professor Colin Spedding at the helm as Chairman, and the secretaryship funded by the Association of British Riding Schools through the generosity of the then Chairman, Mrs Pauline Harris. The organising committee of the National Equine Forum is a freestanding body with no other remit than to run this national event. Members of the Committee are unpaid volunteers, with only essential and exceptional travelling expenses paid. The Administrator is paid a small honorarium, the Hon. Sec. and Hon. Publicity Officer are paid a small fee. The format of the Forum evolved as a low cost operation due to the fact that no-one wanted yet another competing body, or the cost of running it. The first Forum, held in 1993, could not, of course, assume that it would be annual, but it was so well received that a decision was made to run it annually, if possible. The possibility became fact due to generous sponsorship and speakers giving of their time without payment which has made it possible to operate. The importance of the National Equine Forum is illustrated by the appropriate Minister in Defra, previously MAFF, opening or speaking at the Forum (Nicholas Soames in 1993 and 1994; Angela Browning in 1995 and 1996; Lord Donoughue in 1998; Baroness Hayman in 1999 and 2000 [with only the FMD outbreak preventing her from taking part in 2001]; Elliot Morley [standing in for Alun Michael] in 2002; Alun Michael in 2003, 2004 and 2005; Jim Knight in 2006; Barry Gardiner in 2007; Jonathan Shaw in 2008; Jane Kennedy, represented by Arik Dondi, in 2009; James Paice 2011; Owen Paterson in 2013 and 2014 [Owen Paterson was represented by Alick Simmons in 2014]; Lord de Mauley, 2015; George Eustice MP, 2016; and Lord Gardiner of Kimble, 2017, 2018 and 2019). The Forum has also been greatly honoured by the presence of HRH The Princess Royal, who has contributed her ideas as part of the programme since 1996. The Princess Royal is now the President of the Forum. The Forum was held at the Royal Veterinary College, then the Royal Society and in 2012 it moved to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Each year the programme is determined by topical issues with ample opportunity being afforded for questions, contributions and discussion from the floor. The main purpose, however, remains as being an opportunity for the equine industry to share its thoughts and to serve as a sounding board for others to float ideas and proposals. Since 2015, a number of Honorary Fellows have been appointed. This is a role that recognises those who have made an important contribution to the National Equine Forum. Honorary Fellows are: Duncan Brown; Peter Clarke MBE; Andrew Finding OBE; Dr Harry Greenway; Paul Jepson; Rosemary Phillipson-Stow; John Smales, Prof Graham Suggett OBE; Gordon Wesley; and Miles Williamson-Noble. Copyright © National Equine Forum 2017 - 2019 \| Privacy policy \| Terms & conditions	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line188
__label__wiki	0.777225	0.777225	WVU researchers receive $2.38M grant for hybrid imaging system September 10, 2018 School of Medicine News Two West Virginia University School of Medicine researchers have received $2.38 million from the National Institutes of Health to build a one-of-a-kind pre-clinical imaging system that integrates PET-scan technology with a magnet-based imaging system that’s akin to MRI. Over four years, Dr. Ray Raylman, the vice chair of research in the Department of Radiology, and Dr. Mark Tseytlin, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry, will build the system, which combines PET-scan components with electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI). The images that result can show researchers what’s happening inside and around cells. “One of the applications for the system is to correlate the intracellular function of the cell, which is what PET can do, with the extracellular environment, which EPRI examines,” Raylman said. EPRI operates on principles similar to MRI, but instead of imaging anatomy, EPRI can be used with specialized probes to measure chemical properties of tissue such as pH, oxygen concentration and phosphate levels. Its combination with PET will allow these characteristics of living tissue to be simultaneously correlated with cellular function, such as glucose metabolism. During a PET scan, a radioactive tracer is injected into the tissue being studied. Its distribution throughout the body becomes visible on the resulting images, making it possible to quantify various components of tissue function. WVU is “the only place in the world where two experts in the field of PET and EPRI can work together to make a dual-modality system,” said Raylman. “In fact, NIH recognized this, and it was one of the main reasons we were able to receive this grant.” After Drs. Raylman, Tseytlin and their research team build the hybrid system, it will become a tool for investigating tissue microenvironments that could potentially be leveraged by other WVU researches to open new areas of investigation. “The system will be tested using a unique breast cancer model currently used at WVU. So, for example, if you understand how cancer cells manipulate their environment so they can spread easy, it could lead to insights into how to possibly limit its local spread,” said Dr. Raylman. “If you can change the microenvironment of a cancer cell,” added Dr. Tseytlin, “you may have the capability to suppress the cancer.” The EPR equipment was partially funded by the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute. WVCTSI is funded by an IDeA Clinical and Translational grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (5U54GM104942-03) to support the mission of building clinical and translational research infrastructure and capacity to impact health disparities in West Virginia. -WVU- CONTACT: Cassie Thomas, WVU School of Medicine 304.293.3412, cassie.thomas@hsc.wvu.edu	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line190
__label__wiki	0.838171	0.838171	10 Facts About the Dwarf Planet Haumea BY David W Brown Kevin Gill, Flickr // CC BY-2.0 In terms of sheer weirdness, few objects in the solar system can compete with the dwarf planet Haumea. It has a strange shape, unusual brightness, two moons, and a wild rotation. Its unique features, however, can tell astronomers a lot about the formation of the solar system and the chaotic early years that characterized it. Here are a few things you need to know about Haumea, the tiny world beyond Neptune. 1. THREE HAUMEAS COULD FIT SIDE BY SIDE IN EARTH. Wikimedia Commons // CC-BY-SA-3.0 Haumea is a trans-Neptunian object; its orbit, in other words, is beyond that of the farthest ice giant in the solar system. Its discovery was reported to the International Astronomical Union in 2005, and its status as a dwarf planet—the fifth, after Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Pluto—was made official three years later. Dwarf planets have the mass of a planet and have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium (i.e., they're round), but have not "cleared their neighborhoods" (meaning their gravity is not dominant in their orbit). Haumea is notable for the large amount of water ice on its surface, and for its size: Only Pluto and Eris are larger in the trans-Neptunian region, and Pluto only slightly, with a 1475-mile diameter versus Haumea's 1442-mile diameter. That means three Haumeas could fit sit by side in Earth—and yet it only has 1/1400th of the mass of our planet. 2. HAUMEA'S DISCOVERY WAS CONTROVERSIAL. There is some disagreement over who discovered Haumea. A team of astronomers at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain first reported its discovery to the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union on July 27, 2005. A team led by Mike Brown from the Palomar Observatory in California had discovered the object earlier, but had not reported their results, waiting to develop the science and present it at a conference. They later discovered that their files had been accessed by the Spanish team the night before the announcement was made. The Spanish team says that, yes, they did run across those files, having found them in a Google search before making their report to the Minor Planet Center, but that it was happenstance—the result of due diligence to make sure the object had never been reported. In the end, the IAU gave credit for the discovery to the Spanish team—but used the name proposed by the Caltech team. 3. IT'S NAMED FOR A HAWAIIAN GODDESS. In Hawaiian mythology, Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth. The name was proposed by the astronomers at Caltech to honor the place where Haumea's moon was discovered: the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Its moons—Hi'iaka and Namaka—are named for two of Haumea's children. 4. HAUMEA HAS RINGS—AND THAT'S STRANGE. Haumea is the farthest known object in the solar system to possess a ring system. This discovery was recently published in the journal Nature. But why does it have rings? And how? "It is not entirely clear to us yet," says lead author Jose-Luis Ortiz, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia and leader of the Spanish team of astronomers who discovered Haumea. 5. HAUMEA'S SURFACE IS EXTREMELY BRIGHT. In addition to being extremely fast, oddly shaped, and ringed, Haumea is very bright. This brightness is a result of the dwarf planet's composition. On the inside, it's rocky. On the outside, it is covered by a thin film of crystalline water ice [PDF]—the same kind of ice that's in your freezer. That gives Haumea a high albedo, or reflectiveness. It's about as bright as a snow-covered frozen lake on a sunny day. 6. HAUMEA HAS ONE OF THE SHORTEST DAYS IN THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM. If you lived to be a year old on Haumea, you would be 284 years old back on Earth. And if you think a Haumean year is unusual, that's nothing next to the length of a Haumean day. It takes 3.9 hours for Haumea to make a full rotation, which means it has by far the fastest spin, and thus shortest day, of any object in the solar system larger than 62 miles. 7. HAUMEA'S HIGH SPEED SQUISHES IT INTO A SHAPE LIKE A RUGBY BALL. Stephanie Hoover, Wikipedia // Public Domain As a result of this tornadic rotation, Haumea has an odd shape; its speed compresses it so much that rather than taking a spherical, soccer ball shape, it is flattened and elongated into looking something like a rugby ball. 8. HIGH-SPEED COLLISIONS MAY EXPLAIN HAUMEA'S TWO MOONS. Ortiz says there are several mechanisms that can have led to rings around the dwarf planet: "One of our favorite scenarios has to do with collisions on Haumea, which can release material from the surface and send it to orbit." Part of the material that remains closer to Haumea can form a ring, and material further away can help form moons. "Because Haumea spins so quickly," Ortiz adds, "it is also possible that material is shed from the surface due to the centrifugal force, or maybe small collisions can trigger ejections of mass. This can also give rise to a ring and moons." 9. ONE MOON HAS WATER ICE—JUST LIKE HAUMEA. Ortiz says that while the rings haven't transformed scientists' understanding of Haumea, they have clarified the orbit of its largest moon, Hi'iaka—it is equatorial, meaning it circles around Haumea's equator. Hi'iaka is notable for the crystalline water ice on its surface, similar to that on its parent body. 10. TRYING TO SEE HAUMEA FROM EARTH IS LIKE TRYING TO LOOK AT A COIN MORE THAN 100 MILES AWAY. It's not easy to study Haumea. The dwarf planet, and other objects at that distance from the Sun, are indiscernible to all but the largest telescopes. One technique used by astronomers to study such objects is called "stellar occultation," in which the object is observed as it crosses in front of a star, causing the star to temporarily dim. (This is how exoplanets—those planets orbiting other stars—are also often located and studied.) This technique doesn't always work for objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, however; astronomers must know the objects' orbits and the position of the would-be eclipsed stars to astounding levels of accuracy, which is not always the case. Moreover, Ortiz says, their sizes are oftentimes very small, "comparable to the size of a small coin viewed at a distance of a couple hundred kilometers." astronomy NASA News science Space LEGO Built a Life-Sized Astronaut Model to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 The LEGO Group The LEGO Group is honoring the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in a way that only LEGO can: with a life-sized astronaut model constructed entirely from LEGO blocks. The 6-foot-3-inch model matches the space suit worn on the Moon by astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on July 21, 1969, down to the American flag patch on his left shoulder. The front of the helmet even mimics the well-known photo of Aldrin standing on the Moon’s surface, with his helmet reflecting his own shadow and fellow Moon-walker Neil Armstrong in the near distance. The feat took a team of 10 designers and LEGO Master Builders 300 hours and 30,000 LEGO bricks to complete, and you can see it in person on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall as part of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Apollo 50 Festival from July 18 to July 20. Though the astronaut model is already complete, there’s still tons to build—during the festival, you can help Master Builders assemble mosaic backdrops of the Moon and Mars, and you can even lend a hand in the construction of a 20-foot-tall replica of NASA's Space Launch System rocket, the vehicle NASA is developing to potentially use to send humans to Mars in the future. The LEGO Group is also displaying an 11-foot-tall replica of a rocket at the Ontario Science Centre in Canada from now through September 2. It contains not only an impressive 80,000 bricks, but also built-in lights, sound, and a fog machine to simulate a rocket launch. Buzz Aldrin walks on the Moon. NASA, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain It’s all part of a LEGO initiative to inspire a new generation of children to be enthusiastic about—and personally involved in—the future of space exploration. In addition to its brick-based efforts, the company is currently partnering with Scholastic on a program to send 50 kids to NASA Space Camp next year. “We will continue to inspire children to dream about what’s possible and to grow up to pursue STEM careers, said Bettina Inclán, associate administrator for communications at NASA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. Check out LEGO’s space-related collections—featuring Mars exploration, women of NASA, a recreation of the Moon landing, and more—on its online store. Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we choose all products independently and only get commission on items you buy and don't return, so we're only happy if you're happy. Thanks for helping us pay the bills! fun LEGO moon NASA News Space toys Look Up! A Half-Blood Thunder Moon Will Light Up Tonight’s Sky BY Michele Debczak Matt Cardy, Stringer/Getty Images Today, July 16, 2019, marks 50 years since NASA launched the Apollo 11 lunar mission. In case you needed another reason to look up at the sky on this date, tonight's Moon will be a special one. It's the only full moon of July, and in some parts of the world, it will appear partially eclipsed, making for a rare half-blood thunder moon, according to Space.com. The meaning of the name thunder moon has nothing to do with lightening and storm clouds. The full moon of each month of the calendar year is given a special nickname from folklore. January's is a wolf moon, March's is a worm moon, and June's is a strawberry moon. The full moon that appears in July is commonly called a thunder moon, because thunderstorms are frequent this time of year, but it can also be referred to as buck moon because July is when deer antlers are at their fullest. There's another factor that makes tonight's Moon worth watching. Starting at 2:43 p.m. EDT, the Moon will enter a partial lunar eclipse. That means part of the full moon will pass through the shadow of the Earth, making one section of it appear darker than the rest. A full lunar eclipse is known as a blood moon due to the reddish hue it takes on in our planet's shadow. Tonight's event isn't a full eclipse, so it's being called a half-blood moon even though it may not take on a coppery tone. The partial lunar eclipse will reach its peak at 5:30 p.m. EDT, and conclude at 8:17 p.m. Unfortunately that means the eclipse won't be visible from the U.S., but spectators in Europe, Africa, South America, and parts of Asia will get to see the full show. July is shaping up to be an exciting month for stargazers. On July 9, Saturn reached opposition, making it look especially large and bright in the night sky. The planet is no longer at peak visibility, but it will be easy to spot with the naked eye from now through September. If you're already planning at looking up at the Moon tonight, here's how to find Saturn at the same time. [h/t Space.com] astronomy moon News Space	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line192
__label__wiki	0.823888	0.823888	Advance decision cases Case and summary Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust v RC [2014] EWHC 1317 (COP), [2014] MHLO 22 — A detained patient (RC) was self-harming by cutting and had made an advance decision refusing blood transfusions. (1) RC had capacity to refuse blood transfusions and sometimes had capacity to lacerate himself. (2) The advance decision was valid and applicable. (3) The self-harming was a symptom or manifestation of mental disorder so a blood transfusion would be treatment under s63 MHA 1983. (4) Where the consequences of a decision not to impose s63 treatment may be life-threatening the Trust should apply to the High Court for declaratory relief and (just as with a decision to impose treatment) the hearing will involve a 'full merits review'. (5) It would be lawful to withhold blood transfusions despite the s63 power (indeed, the judge stated that given RC's current capacity and advance decision it would be 'an abuse of power ... even to think about imposing a blood transfusion' and that it 'would be a denial of a most basic freedom'). 2014‑05‑02 00:58:58 2014 cases, Advance decision cases, Brief summary, Transcript Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust v RC [2014] EWHC 1136 (COP), [2014] MHLO 20 — A detained patient with a severe personality disorder was self-harming by cutting and had to be mechanically restrained to prevent this. (1) He had made an advance decision, apparently with capacity to do so, refusing blood transfusions because of his religious beliefs: the court ruled that this was valid and applicable, but only on an interim basis since the document did not state that it was signed by the maker and the witness in each other's presence. (2) The Responsible Clinician accepted that a blood transfusion would be medical treatment for mental disorder under s63 MHA 1983, and therefore the advance decision could be overridden; however, because the patient's wishes were religious, she did not want to impose treatment: the Trust therefore sought the protection of a court declaration that her decision was lawful. (3) The court was unwilling to make the declaration, without hearing both sides of the argument, because of the importance of the issues (including the right to life under Article 2, freedom of religion under Article 9, and respect for private life, which includes bodily integrity, under Article 8). (4) The Official Solicitor was invited to attend a hearing the following day, the Trust was asked to facilitate the patient being directly represented and to encourage the father to attend, and the judge concluded that if there is an argument for the use of s63 it was very important for the court to hear it. 2014‑04‑27 21:20:43 2014 cases, Advance decision cases, Brief summary, Transcript X Primary Care Trust v XB [2012] EWHC 1390 (Fam), [2012] MHLO 54 — "This matter concerns an application by the XPCT for declarations under s.26(4) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as to the validity of an advance decision made by XB on 2nd November 2011 that he wished, amongst other things, to have his ventilation removed in certain defined circumstances." [Summary required.] 2012‑06‑21 20:56:06 2012 cases, Advance decision cases, No summary, Transcript Re D; An NHS Trust v D [2012] EWHC 885 (COP), [2012] MHLO 47 — (1) P was in a permanent vegetative state so continued medical treatment is of no benefit to him because it is futile. (2) His letter refusing life-sustaining treatment did not comply with the MCA requirements for an advance decision so could not have been relied upon; however, had the evidence on PVS not been clear cut, the judge would have given P's previous wishes and feelings great weight. 2012‑05‑05 13:11:22 2012 cases, Advance decision cases, Best interests, Brief summary, Transcript Article titles The following 5 pages are in this category. NHS Cumbria CCG v Rushton (2018) EWCOP 41 Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust v RC (2014) EWHC 1136 (COP), (2014) MHLO 20 Re D; An NHS Trust v D (2012) EWHC 885 (COP), (2012) MHLO 47 X Primary Care Trust v XB (2012) EWHC 1390 (Fam), (2012) MHLO 54 Retrieved from "http://www.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/index.php?title=Category:Advance_decision_cases&oldid=36241" Capacity and DOL	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line193
__label__cc	0.550015	0.449985	Tag Archives: François Grosjean Extended writing, Knowledge, Linguistics, Metaphor, Philosophy March 11, 2011 Dominik Lukeš 4 Comments Note: This was intended to be a brief note. Instead it developed into a monster post that took me two weeks of stolen moments to write. It’s very light on non-blog references but they exist. Nevertheless, it is still easy to find a number of oversimplifications, conflations, and other imperfections below. The general thrust of the argument however remains. How Far Can You Trust a Neuroscientist? A couple of days ago I watched a TED talk called the Linguistic Genius of Babies by Patricia Kuhl. I had been putting it off, because I suspected I wouldn’t like it but I was still disappointed at how hidebound it was. It conflated a number of really unconnected things and then tried to sway the audience to its point of view with pretty pictures of cute infants in brain scanners. But all it was, is a hodgepodge of half-implied claims that is incredibly similar to some of the more outlandish claims made by behaviorists so many years ago. Kuhl concluded that brain research is the next frontier of understanding learning. But she did not give a simple credible example of how this could be. She started with a rhetorical trick. Mentioned an at-risk language with a picture of a mother holding an infant facing towards her. And then she said (with annoying condescension) that this mother and the other tribe members know something we do not: What this mother — and the 800 people who speak Koro in the world — understand that, to preserve this language, they need to speak it to the babies. This is garbage. Languages do not die because there’s nobody there to speak it to the babies (until the very end, of course) but because there’s nobody of socioeconomic or symbolic prestige children and young adults can speak the language to. Languages don’t die because people can’t learn them, they die because they have no reason (other than nostalgia) to learn them or have a reason not to learn them. Given a strong enough reason they would learn a dying language even if they started at sixteen. They just almost never are given the reason. Why Kuhl felt she did not need to consult the literature on language death, I don’t know. Patricia Kuhl has spent the last 20 years studying pretty much one thing: acoustic discrimination in infants (http://ilabs.washington.edu/kuhl/research.html). Her research provided support for something that had been already known (or suspected), namely that young babies can discriminate between sounds that adults cannot (given similar stimuli such as the ones one might find in the foreign language classroom). She calls this the “linguistic genius of babies” and she’s wrong: Babies and children are geniuses until they turn seven, and then there’s a systematic decline. First, the decline (if there is such a thing) is mostly limited to acoustic processing and even then it’s not clear that the brain is the thing that causes it. Second, being able to discriminate (by moving their head) between sounds in both English and Mandarin at age 6 months is not a sign of genius. It’s a sign of the baby not being able to differentiate between language and sound. Or in other words, the babies are still pretty dumb. But it doesn’t mean they can’t learn a similar distinction at a later age – like four or seven or twelve. They do. They just probably do it in a different way than a 6-month old would. Third, in the overall scheme of things, acoustic discrimination at the individual phoneme level (which is what Kuhl is studying) is only a small part of learning a language and it certainly does NOT stop at 7 months or even 7 years of age. Even children who start learning a second language at the age of 6 achieve a native-like phonemic competence. And even many adults do. They seem not to perform as well on certain fairly specialized acoustic tests but functionally, they can be as good as native speakers. And it’s furthermore not clear that accent deficiencies are due to the lack of some sort of brain plasticity. Fourth, language learning and knowledge is not a binary thing. Even people who only know one language know it to a certain degree. They can be lexically, semantically and syntactically quite challenged when exposed to a sub-code of their language they have little to no contact with. So I’m not at all sure what Kuhl was referring to. François Grosjean (an eminent researcher in the field) has been discussing all this on his Life as Bilingual blog (and in books, etc.). To have any credibility, Kuhl must address this head on: There is no upper age limit for acquiring a new language and then continuing one’s life with two or more languages. Nor is there any limit in the fluency that one can attain in the new language with the exception of pronunciation skills. Instead she just falls on old prejudices. She simply has absolutely nothing to support this: We think by studying how the sounds are learned, we’ll have a model for the rest of language, and perhaps for critical periods that may exist in childhood for social, emotional and cognitive development. A paragraph like this may get her some extra funding but I don’t see any other justification for it. Actually, I find it quite puzzling that a serious scholar would even propose anything like this today. We already know there is no critical period for social development. Well, we don’t really know what social development is, but there’s no critical brain period to what there is. We get socialized to new collective environments throughout our lives. But there’s no reason to suppose that learning to interact in a new environment is anything like learning to discriminate between sounds. There are some areas of language linked to perception where that may partly be the case (such as discriminating shapes, movements, colors, etc.) but hardly things like morphology or syntax, where much more complexity is involved. But this argument cuts both ways. Let’s say a lot of language learning was like sound development. And we know most of it continues throughout life (syntax, morphology, lexicon) and it doesn’t even start at 6 months (unless you’re a crazy Chomskean who believes in some sort of magical parameter setting). So if sound development was like that, maybe it has nothing to do with the brain in the way Kuhl imagines – although she’s so vague that she could always claim that that’s what she’d had in mind. This is what Kuhl thinks of as additional information: We’re seeing the baby brain. As the baby hears a word in her language the auditory areas light up, and then subsequently areas surrounding it that we think are related to coherence, getting the brain coordinated with its different areas, and causality, one brain area causing another to activate. So what? We know that that’s what was going to happen. Some parts of the brain were going to light up as they always do. What does that mean? I don’t know. But I also know that Patricia Kuhl and her colleagues don’t know either (at least not in the way she pretends). We speak a language, we learn a language and at the same time we have a brain and things happen in the brain. There are neurons and areas that seem to be affected by impact (but not always and not always in exactly the same way). Of course, this is an undue simplification. Neuroscientists know a huge amount about the brain. Just not how it links to language in a way that would say much about the language that we don’t already know. Kuhl’s next implied claim is a good example of how partial knowledge in one area may not at all extend to knowledge in another area. What you see here is the audio result — no learning whatsoever — and the video result — no learning whatsoever. It takes a human being for babies to take their statistics. The social brain is controlling when the babies are taking their statistics. In other words, when the children were exposed to audio or video as opposed to a live person, no effect was shown. At 6 months of age! As is Kuhl’s wont, she only hints at the implications, but over at the Royal Society’s blog comments, Eric R. Kandel has spelled it out: I’m very much taken with Patricia Kuhl’s finding in the acquisition of a second language by infants that the physical presence of a teacher makes enormous difference when compared to video presence. We all know from personal experience how important specific teachers have been. Is it absurd to think that we might also develop methodologies that would bring out people’s potential for interacting empathically with students so that we can have a way of selecting for teachers, particularly for certain subjects and certain types of student? Neuroscience: Implications for Education and Lifelong Learning. But this could very well be absurd! First, Kuhl’s experiments were not about second language acquisition but sensitivity to sounds in other languages. Second, there’s no evidence that the same thing Kuhl discovered for infants holds for adults or even three-year olds. A six-month old baby hasn’t learned yet that the pictures and sounds coming from the machine represent the real world. But most four-year olds have. I don’t know of any research but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence. I have personally met several people highly competent in a second language who claimed they learned it by watching TV at a young age. A significant chunk of my own competence in English comes from listening to radio, audio books and watching TV drama. How much of our first language competence comes from reading books and watching TV? That’s not to say that personal interaction is not important – after all we need to learn enough to understand what the 2D images on the screen represent. But how much do we need to learn? Neither Kuhl nor Kandel have the answer but both are ready (at least by implication) to shape policy regarding language learning. In the last few years, several reports raised questions about some overreaching by neuroscience (both in methods and assumptions about their validity) but even perfectly good neuroscience can be bad scholarship in extending its claims far beyond what the evidence can support. The Isomorphism Fallacy This section of the post is partly based on a paper I presented at a Czech cognitive science conference about 3 years ago called Isomorphism as a heuristic and philosophical problem. The fundamental problem underlying the overreach of basic neuroscience research is the fallacy of isomorphism. This fallacy presumes that the same structures we see in language, behavior, society must have structural counterparts in the brain. So there’s a bit of the brain that deals with nouns. Another bit that deals with being sorry. Possibly another one that deals with voting Republican (as Woody Allen proved in “Everyone Says I Love You“). But at the moment the evidence for this is extremely weak, at best. And there is no intrinsic need for a structural correspondence to exist. Sidney Lamb came up with a wonderful analogy that I’m still working my way through. He says (recalling an old ‘Aggie‘ joke) that trying to figure out where the bits we know as language structure are in the brain is like trying to work out how to fit the roll that comes out of a tube of tooth paste back into the container. This is obviously a fool’s errand. There’s nothing in the tooth-paste container that in any way resembles the colorful and tubular object we get when we squeeze the paste container. We get that through an interaction of the substance, the container, external force, and the shape of the opening. It seems to me entirely plausible, that the link between language and the brain is much more like that between the paste, the container and their environment than like that between a bunch of objects and box. The structures that come out are the result of things we don’t quite understand happening in the brain interacting with its environment. (I’m not saying that that’s how it is, just that it’s plausible.) The other thing to lends it credence is the fact that things like nouns or fluency are social constructs with fuzzy boundaries, not hard discrete objects, so actually localizing them in the brain would be a bit of a surprise. Not that it can’t be done, but the burden of evidence of making this a credible finding is substantial. Now, I think that the same problem applies to looking for isomorphism the other way. Lamb himself tries to look at grammar by looking for connections resembling the behavior of activating neurons. I don’t see this going anywhere. George Lakoff (who influenced me more than any other linguist in the world) seems to think that a Neural Theory of Language is the next step in the development of linguistics. At one point he and many others thought that mirror neurons say something about language but now that seems to have been brought into question. But why do we need mirror neurons when we already know a lot of the immitative behaviors they’re supposed facilitate? Perhaps as a treatment and diagnostic protocol for pathologies but is this really more than story-telling? Jerome Feldman described NTL in his book “From Molecule to Metaphor” but his main contribution seems to me lies in showing how complex language phenomena can be modelled with brain-like neural networks, not saying anything new about these phenomena (see here for an even harsher treatment). The same goes for the Embodied Construction Grammar. I entirely share ECG’s linguistic assumptions but the problem is that it tries to link its descriptive apparatus directly to the formalisms necessary for modeling. This proved to be a disaster for the generative project that projected its formalisms into language with a imperfect fit and now spends most of its time refining those formalisms rather than studying language. So far I don’t see any advantage in linking language to the brain in either the way Kuhl et al or Feldman et al try to do it (again with the possible exception of pathologies). In his recent paper on compositionality, Feldman describes research that shows that spacial areas are activated in conjunction with spatial terms and that sentence processing time increases as the sentence gets removed from “natural spatial orientation”. But brain imaging at best confirms what we already knew. But how useful is that confirmatory knowledge? I would argue that not very useful. In fact there is a danger that we will start thinking of brain imaging as a necessary confirmation of linguistic theory. Feldman takes a step in this dangerous direction when he says that with the advent of new techniques of neuroscience we can finally study language “scientifically”. [Shudder.] We know there’s a connection between language and the brain (more systematic than with language and the foot, for instance) but so far nobody’s shown convincingly that we can explain much about language by looking at the brain (or vice versa). Language is best studied as its own incredibly multifaceted beast and so is the brain. We need to know a lot more about language and about the brain before we can start projecting one into the other. And at the moment, brain science is the junior partner, here. We know a lot about language and can find out more without looking for explanations in the brain. It seems as foolish as trying to illuminate language by looking inside a computer (as Chomsky’s followers keep doing). The same question that I’m asking for language was asked about cognitive processes (a closely related thing) by William Uttal in The New Phrenology who’s asking “whether psychological processes can be defined and isolated in a way that permits them to be associated with particular brain regions” and warns against a “neuroreductionist wild goose chase” – and how else can we characterize Kuhl’s performance – lest we fall “victim to what may be a ‘neo-phrenological’ fad”. Michael Shremer voiced a similar concern in the Scientific American: The brain is not random kludge, of course, so the search for neural networks associated with psychological concepts is a worthy one, as long as we do not succumb to the siren song of phrenology. What does a “siren song of phrenology” sound like? I imagine it would sound pretty much like this quote by Kuhl: We are embarking on a grand and golden age of knowledge about child’s brain development. We’re going to be able to see a child’s brain as they experience an emotion, as they learn to speak and read, as they solve a math problem, as they have an idea. And we’re going to be able to invent brain-based interventions for children who have difficulty learning. I have no doubt that there are some learning difficulties for which a ‘brain-based intervention’ (whatever that is) may be effective. But it’s just a relatively small part of the universe of learning difficulties that it hardly warrants a bombastic claim like the one above. I could find nothing in Kuhl’s narrow research that would support this assertion. Learning and language are complex psycho-social phenomena that are unlikely to have straightforward counterparts in brain activations such as can be seen by even the most advanced modern neuroimaging technology. There may well be some straightforward pathologies that can be identified and have some sort of treatment aimed at them. The problem is that brain pathologies are not necessarily opposites of a typically functioning brain (a fallacy that has long plagued interpretation of the evidence from aphasias) – it is, as brain plasticity would suggest, just as likely that at least some brain pathologies simply create new qualities rather than simply flipping an on/off switch on existing qualities. Plus there is the historical tendency of the self-styled hard sciences to horn in on areas where established disciplines have accumulated lots of knowledge, ignore the knowledge, declare a reductionist victory, fail and not admit failure. For the foreseeable future, the brain remains a really poor metaphor for language and other social constructs. We are perhaps predestined to finding similarities in anything we look at but researchers ought to have learned by now to be cautious about them. Today’s neuroscientists should be very careful that they don’t look as foolish to future generations as phrenologists and skull measurers look to us now. In praise of non-reductionist neuroscience Let me reiterate, I have nothing against brain research. The more of it, the better! But it needs to be much more honest about its achievements and limitations (as much as it can given the politics of research funding). Saying the sort of things Patricia Kuhl does with incredibly flimsy evidence and complete disregard for other disciplines is good for the funding but awful for actually obtaining good results. (Note: The brevity of the TED format is not an excuse in this case.) A much more promising overview of applied neuroscience is a report by the Royal Society on education and the brain that is much more realistic about the state of neurocognitive research who admit at the outset: “There is enormous variation between individuals, and brain-behaviour relationships are complex.” The report authors go on to enumerate the things they feel we can claim as knowledge about the brain: The brain’s plasticity The brain’s response to reward The brain’s self-regulatory processes Brain-external factors of cognitive development Individual differences in learning as connected to the brain and genome Neuroscience connection to adaptive learning technology So this is a fairly modest list made even more modest by the formulations of the actual knowledge. I could only find a handful of statements made to support the general claims that do not contain a hedge: “research suggests”, “may mean”, “appears to be”, “seems to be”, “probably”. This modesty in research interpretation does not always make its way to the report’s policy suggestions (mainly suggestions 1 and 2). Despite this, I think anybody who thinks Patricia Kuhl’s claims are interesting would do well do read this report and pay careful attention to the actual findings described there. Another possible problem for those making wide reaching conclusions is a relative newness of the research on which these recommendations are based. I had a brief look at the citations in the report and only about half are actually related to primary brain research. Of those exactly half were published in 2009 (8) and 2010 (20) and only two in the 1990s. This is in contrast to language acquisition and multilingualism research which can point to decades of consistently replicable findings and relatively stable and reliable methods. We need to be afraid, very afraid of sexy new findings when they relate to what is perceived as the “nature” of humans. At this point, as a linguist looking at neuroscience (and the history of the promise of neuroscience), my attitude is skeptical. I want to see 10 years of independent replication and stable techniques before I will consider basing my descriptions of language and linguistic behavior on neuroimaging. There’s just too much of ‘now we can see stuff in the brain we couldn’t see before, so this new version of what we think the brain is doing is definitely what it’s doing’. Plus the assumption that exponential growth in precision brain mapping will result in the same growth in brain function identification is far from being a sure thing (cf. genome decoding). Exponential growth in computer speed, only led to incremental increases in computer usability. And the next logical step in the once skyrocketing development of automobiles was not flying cars but pretty much just the same slightly better cars (even though they look completely different under the hood). The sort of knowledge to learn and do good neuroscience is staggeringly awesome. The scientists who study the brain deserve all the personal accolades they get. But the actual knowledge they generate about issues relating to language and other social constructs is much less overwhelming. Even a tiny clinical advance such as helping a relatively small number of people to communicate who otherwise wouldn’t be able to express themselves makes this worthwhile. But we must not confuse clinical advances with theoretical advances and must be very cautious when applying these to policy fields that are related more by similarity than a direct causal connection. Academiaacoustic processingBrainbrain imagingCognitive sciencediagnostic protocolEducationEric R. KandelFrançois GrosjeanGeorge LakoffInterdisciplinary fieldsJerome FeldmanKorolinguistMichael ShremerMindneural networksNeurosciencePatricia K. KuhlPatricia KuhlPhilosophy of mindRoyal SocietySidney LambWilliam Uttal	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line194
__label__wiki	0.51179	0.51179	Home OL at Work Arts, Media, Communications, Fashion MEHER CASTELINO MEHER CASTELINO Born in Bombay Meher Castelino’s involvement with fashion and beauty goes back to 1964 when she was the first Miss India selected by Femina soon after graduating from Lawrence School, Lovedale in 1960 (Pankaj House). She represented the country at the Miss Universe and Miss United Nations Contests inMiami Beach, Florida and Majorca Spain. A famous commercial and catwalk model for over 14 years, she has appeared in over 2000 live fashion shows, in India and around the globe many of which were conceived and directed by her. She has also headed the designing departments of export as well as local fashion houses. The pioneer of fashion journalism in India since her first article in Eve’s Weekly in 1973, Ms Castelino has been a full time fashion/lifestyle journalist and syndicated columnist having written for nearly 200 national and international newspapers and magazines. She, authored the only book on men’s fashion, MANSTYLE published in 1987. Her second book FASHION KALEIDOSCOPE was released in 1994 and traces the evolution of Indian high fashion from 1960-1990. Her satire blog on fashion for Stylekandy.com is one of the most widely read on the web. She is the official writer for Lakmé Fashion Week since 2006 reporting all over the globe. Ms Castelino has been invited by Germany, France, Italy, USA, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Netherlands and Singapore to view haute couture fashion shows of international designers and interview them. Ms Castelino was awarded the Hall of Fame Fashion writer Award at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards in 2001. Her second Award was Achievement in Fashion Media from Young Environmentalists Trust on March 7 2012 to celebrate International Women’s Day Ms Castelino was also honoured by the B D Somani Institute of Fashion Technology with an Award for her contribution to fashion for three decades on May 6 2012 This article that it appeared first in www.ikarmik.com on January 6 2017 under the section “Did You Know by MeherCastelino”. Previous articleRules of the OLA Next articleFOUNDER’S DAY 2010 FLASHBACK AND FAST FORWARD DISPOSE – EP Release BOOK READING SESSION OF ‘A TALE OF TWO HOMES’ Bitten by the Shutterbug Wednesday, Eloquence Tip, Deciding is Harder	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line198
__label__wiki	0.727949	0.727949	Washington Capitals -- The Tortoise or the Hare “The hare laughed at the tortoise's feet but the tortoise declared, 'I will beat you in a race!' The hare replied, 'Those are just words. Race with me, and you'll see! Who will mark out the track and serve as our umpire?' 'The fox,' replied the tortoise, 'since she is honest and highly intelligent.' When the time for the race had been decided upon, the tortoise did not delay, but immediately took off down the race course. The hare, however, lay down to take a nap, confident in the speed of his feet. Then, when the hare eventually made his way to the finish line, he found that the tortoise had already won.” The moral of the fable, credited to the ancient story-teller Aesop, is that resolve, determination, and perseverance wins the race over the lazy and indolent. It would seem to have a perverse relevance to the Washington Capitals these days. Recently, Ed Frankovic and pucksandbooks at On Frozen Blog authored essays that spoke of the dilemma facing the Capitals these days, that being whether or not to trade center Mike Ribeiro for futures. Generally, both seem to agree that holding on to Ribeiro does not serve the mid-to-long term interests of the club, that Ribeiro could be moved for some combination of picks and prospects that would improve the club 2-3 years hence. We agree, primarily because doing so aligns those assets better with what Caps fans hope is the emergence of Filip Forsberg and Evgeni Kunzetsov as the next generation of highly skilled players to complement those who by that time will be comparative grizzled veterans – Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and Brooks Laich. But the sturm und drang attaching to this matter brings into stark relief a problem with this franchise. To its credit, it applied a cold, calculating eye to what it had in 2003-2004 – an aging, underperforming, overpaid squad that might, if things fell into place, might squeeze perhaps another playoff appearance out of itself. But it was not a team that had much promise going forward. So, the Caps tore it out, root and branch, shipping players hither and yon for draft picks and prospects. We covered this in some detail over the years that followed. It was all part of a “plan” to return the Capitals to competitiveness, to make them compelling to watch, and make them a more complete hockey team, one that could challenge for a Stanley Cup. One of the elements of the plan, perhaps the most important one, was another “C” word – “commitment.” The Caps committed to a plan that might not (and in fact did not) bear fruit immediately. But adopting the mindset of the tortoise – resolve, determination, and perseverance – the club committed to the long term. The “rebuild” would be slow, steady, and sure (although winning a ping-pong ball drawing for the top overall draft pick in 2004 did not hurt, either). By 2007-2008, the Caps were competitive, securing a playoff spot with an incredible closing kick. By 2009-2010 they were the best team in the sport…ok, in the regular season. Even the most callous and cynical observer would have to agree, the plan was working. The unbroken upward arc of performance signaled that it was not a matter of “if,” but “when” the Caps would finally hoist the Stanley Cup. But here we are, three seasons removed from the Presidents Trophy season of 2009-2010, and the “plan” looks stale. The tortoise no longer looks determined as much as he looks slow. The players who had career years in 2009-2010 (those who remain with the club) struggle now to rise above also-ran status. The club that lost only 15 games in regulation over the entire 82-game regular season in 2009-2010 has already lost eight times in regulation in 16 home games this season. The team that might have been called “The Greatest Show on Ice” in 2009-2010 is not even the greatest show in its own city. Sure, the Caps still sell out Verizon Center and have a long sellout streak, but that statistic seems to have less and less meaning every day as the club’s fortunes on the ice dim from week to week. It is a good thing to be the tortoise – resolved, determined, purposeful. But in running the race, you had better be sure that the hare does not possess those qualities. Since the Caps climbed to within sight of the summit of 2009-2010, they have been passed along the way by the Chicago Blackhawks (Stanley Cup winners in 2010), the Boston Bruins (2011), and the Los Angeles Kings (2012). Their nemesis of the past two decades, the Pittsburgh Penguins – the team with which the Caps were supposed to be competing for Cups for a decade – won a Cup in 2009 and are heavy favorites to win the Cup this season. The Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets would seem to have caught the Caps, at least for the time being, in their own division. The Rangers, the Senators, the Devils…the Caps are looking up at all of these teams these days. The Mike Ribeiro situation is a symptom of something deeper that troubles this franchise. Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, considered a great military strategist in the 19th century, said words to the effect that “no plan survives first contact with the enemy.” To the Capitals’ credit, their plan survived half a decade. But now, their plan (such as it is) seems to depend heavily, perhaps too heavily, on what Filip Forsberg and Evgeni Kuznetsov – neither of whom has yet to play a minute in anger in North America – can bring to the table down the road. And if Ribeiro is not moved for assets that align with that notion, then a lot of eggs are being placed in the baskets of Forsberg and Kuznetsov. We believed five years ago, and do so now, that the draft is the most reliable way of building a roster, both in terms of aligning with a philosophy of hockey and doing so in the most economical way. That is a philosophy, though, not a plan. If your plan is to be the tortoise – resolved, determined, purposeful – the hare cannot have those same qualities. Because if it does – and Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and a handful of other teams certainly appear to have those attributes -- you lose. Posted by The Peerless at 8:40 AM 1 comment: Labels: NHL, the peerless prognosticator, Washington Capitals Sittin' at the end of the bar... It’s a little known fact… -- Reason 3,826 why the Southeast Division sucks… no team in the Division ranks in the top eight in the Eastern Conference in home win-loss record. Tampa Bay is the only division team with a record over .500 (9-7-1). The Caps are 8-8-0. -- The good and the bad… Looking at the individual points rankings, there are the Penguins with the first and second ranked point getters, and there is Tampa Bay with the third and fourth ranked scorers. One is a prohibitive favorite to win the Stanley Cup. The other… uh, no. -- Caps fans know that Mike Ribeiro is having a fine season. But there is another statistic of note that Caps fans might not be paying attention to with respect to Ribeiro’s season. He currently has 41 penalty minutes in 33 games. He has never finished a season in his career averaging more than 1.0 penalty minutes per game. -- Since the lockout of 2004-2005, only one qualifying player in the NHL finished the season with a shooting percentage of greater than 25.0 percent – Mike Ribeiro in 2007-2008 with Dallas (25.2 percent). At the moment, four qualifying players have at least a 25.0 percent shooting percentage: Patrik Berglund, Chris Kunitz, Alex Tanguay… and Ribeiro. -- That Sidney Crosby leads the NHL in assists is probably not a surprise to anyone. But Chris Kunitz tied for sixth with 24 in 35 games? He’s never had more than 35 in a season. Oh, and Ribeiro is tied with him. So is Nicklas Backstrom. -- It’s all very nice that Steven Stamkos has 23 goals and all, but really… 43 goals against while on ice? 41 of them at even strength (no non-Lightning forward in the league is close)? Hey, Milbury, how ‘bout talking about this guy playing in his own end. -- More Ribeiro… he’s tied for third in the league power play points with that guy in Pittsburgh. No, not Iginla. -- Troy Brouwer has “only” 69 recorded hits in 32 games, tied for 41st in the league among forwards. We say “only” because he ranked seventh last season (247) and fifth in 2010-2011 (262). -- It might not be too much of a stretch to be unsurprised that Jason Chimera leads the Caps in minor penalties taken. It would probably surprise you more, dear reader, to know that Alex Ovechkin is tied with him (13 apiece). -- Matt Hendricks has as many fighting majors for the Caps as the rest of the team combined (6). Labels: NHL, sittin' at the end of the bar, the peerless prognosticator, Washington Capitals ► Oct 01	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line205
__label__cc	0.730172	0.269828	We have expert leadership that is focused on giving you the best home healthcare products and services. Robert Fahlman Robert Fahlman is a successful senior executive with over 30 years’ experience in executive leadership, marketing, sales, and operational management in health care services, provider and payer services, health care technology (HCIT), eBusiness/eHealth, CRM and Internet segments. Prior to joining Preferred Homecare in February 2014, Mr. Fahlman served at Arcadian Health (now Humana) as the Chairman and CEO. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Paradigm Management Services; a healthcare management company focused primarily on case management services for catastrophic injuries, and 7 years at eHealth as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President. In addition to marketing, sales, and operations, Mr. Fahlman has experience in mergers and acquisitions and investor relations, and holds a BA in Business Administration from Portland State University. Mr. Fahlman serves as a board member with other organizations. William Keys William Keys is a strategic CFO with extensive experience in healthcare companies. Having been in the healthcare field for well over 10 years, he brings deep knowledge of accounting systems, financials, strategic decision-making and company positioning to the Preferred Homecare team. At Preferred Homecare, Mr. Keys generates comprehensive financial analyses to guide strategic decision-making. Partnering closely with business units, Mr. Keys provides them the financial information they need to grow. Before joining Preferred Homecare, Mr. Keys was the CFO of Homeland Healthcare where he built an accounting team and financial system from the ground up, resulting in a complete financial turnaround for the company. Mr. Keys also brings with him extensive consulting experience as well as a CPA, CMA and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba. Kevin Sauer Kevin Sauer is a well-rounded CIO with over 25 years of global experience in a variety of industries. His diversified background and international experience enable him to better understand the needs of organizations and lead cross-functional teams to continuously improve processes throughout the company. As technology grows more important in the healthcare field, Mr. Sauer is leading Preferred Homecare’s technological initiatives. He is implementing the strategic vision for Information Technology throughout the organization with the ultimate goal of making a meaningful difference in patient’s lives. Prior to joining Preferred Homecare, Mr. Sauer served as CIO for LMI Solutions, Merchants Information Solutions and Suntron Corp. Mr. Sauer holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and has certifications in the areas of PMP, ITIL and Six Sigma. Tony Domenico Senior Vice President, RT/DME Tony Domenico has spent over 27 years specifically in the home health care industry, and over 6 of those years with Preferred Homecare \| LifeCare Solutions. As the VP of Respiratory Therapy (RT) and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) lines of business, Tony has led his team through many challenging industry changes. Prior to joining Preferred Homecare \| LifeCare Solutions, Tony served at Apria Healthcare Group for 17 years in several roles, including Regional Vice President for the Southern California market and National Executive Vice President of Sales. Tony holds BA in Economics/Accounting from UC Santa Barbara, California and is credentialed as a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”).	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line207
__label__cc	0.563831	0.436169	Searchable Archives Comix Journalism Afghanistan Cartoon Blog (August 2010) Political Cartoons – 2012 “Francis: The People’s Pope” by Ted Rall Get your book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indiebound. “Meet the Deplorables” by Ted Rall & Harmon Leon Order your autographed copy (includes a drawing)! Or get your book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indiebound. “Trump” by Ted Rall “Bernie” by Ted Rall “Snowden” by Ted Rall Support Ted’s Work! Do you like independent cartooning and commentary? Support Ted Rall's work and receive his work before anyone else via Patreon. Support it by making a tax-deductible donation. Get signed gifts All donations are tax-deductible Support independent political cartooning and writing. Ted Rall Subscription Service: $30/year gets you everything Ted does in your email in-box, plus discounts. 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Economic catastrophe looms as the two parties lock in an epic ideological clash. This entry was posted in and tagged Bed, Campaign Financing, Constituents, Corporate Taxes, Debt Limit Crisis, Democrats, Donors, John Boehner, Militarism, Obama, Republicans, Treasury Bonds, two-party system, Two-Party Trap, Wars on July 15, 2011 by Ted Rall. Fight the LAPD’s Censorship of the LA Times! Support the First Amendment! Join Ted's fight against the LAPD's censorship and corruption of the LA Times: Click here to help. Support Ted: Join the Ted Rall Subscription Service! Ted Rall Subscription Service options Ted Rall Subscription Service : $30.00 USD - yearly Deluxe Subscription (get one original each year) : $15.00 USD - monthly Premium Subscription (get a custom drawing each year) : $50.00 USD - monthly Support Ted: Make a One-Time Donation Support Ted: Ted’s Amazon Wish List Ted's Wish List is here. ABOUT TED RALL Ted Rall is the political cartoonist at ANewDomain.net and the editor of Skewed News, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose. Test rendering of Bebas Neue Ted's Newsletter Books By Ted Rall: Francis: The People's Pope Francis: The People’s Pope March 12, 2018 Ted Rall Publication Date: March 13, 2018 Order at Amazon! He thought his church career was drawing to a close. Then he was asked to take over a Catholic Church in crisis. Religiosity was in decline in the West. And the Catholic Church was in bigger trouble than any other institution you could think of. Losing parishioners, shrinking in power and prestige and discredited by corruption and sex… 1 year agoFrancis: The People’s Pope Meet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America December 12, 2017 Ted Rall Publication Date: December 12, 2017 Order at Indiebound! Order at Amazon! Order at Barnes and Noble. Legendary infiltration journalist Harmon Leon is at it again, this time teaming up with ferocious political cartoonist Ted Rall answer the question most of America has been asking: "What the hell happened in 2016?" In their new book, Meet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America, Leo… 2 years agoMeet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America Trump: A Graphic Biography May 10, 2016 Ted Rall Publication Date: July 26, 2016 Order at Amazon! Everyone in America thought they knew Donald Trump: the real estate magnate, reality TV star and bigger than life personality lived his life in the tabloids. Little did they know - though he hinted at it repeatedly - that he planned to take American politics by storm. This graphic biography explores the little-known episodes that helped form… 3 years agoTrump: A Graphic Biography January 19, 2016 Ted Rall Publication Date: January 19, 2016 Order at Amazon! As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Bernie Sanders was surrounded by grinding poverty that turned families against each other as they scrimped and saved to pay their bills. Bernie saw politics as his chance to give a decent life to everyone, not just those born to wealth or the lucky few who hit it big. But the Democratic Party and the co… 3 years agoBernie May 5, 2015 Ted Rall Publication Date: August 25, 2015 Order at Amazon! As many as 1.4 million citizens with security clearance saw some or all of the same documents revealed by NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Why did he, and no one else, decide to step forward and take on the risks associated with becoming a whistleblower and then a fugitive? Rall's all-comic, full-color biography delves into Snowden's early l… 4 years agoSnowden After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You As Honored Guests: Unembedded in Afghanistan October 12, 2013 Ted Rall An independent account—in words and pictures—of America’s longest war from the beginning of the end to the end of the beginning. I traveled deep into Afghanistan—without embedding myself with U.S. soldiers, without insulating myself with flak jackets or armored SUVs—where no one else would (except, of course, Afghans). I made two trips, the first in the wake of 9/11, the next ten years later… 6 years agoAfter We Kill You, We Will Welcome You As Honored Guests: Unembedded in Afghanistan The Book of Obama: From Hope and Change to the Age of Revolt June 5, 2012 Ted Rall How did a charismatic young president elected in an atmosphere of optimism and expectation lead the United States to the brink of revolution? From a chance encounter in the early 1980s to the Democratic primaries of 2007-08, I was one of the first to size up Barack Obama as we know him now: conservative, risk-averse and tone deaf. In The Book of Obama I revisit the rapid rise and dizzying fall of… 7 years agoThe Book of Obama: From Hope and Change to the Age of Revolt The Anti-American Manifesto September 28, 2010 Ted Rall A revolutionary manifesto for an America heading toward economic and political collapse. While others mourn the damage to the postmodern American capitalist system created by the recent global economic collapse, I see an opportunity. As millions of people lose their jobs and their homes as the economy collapses, they and millions more are opening their minds to the possibility of creating a radica… 9 years agoThe Anti-American Manifesto The Year of Loving Dangerously This autobiographical graphic novel is a collaboration between me (my story, my writing) and Bluesman cartoonist Pablo G. Callejo. Travel with me to 1984, the year I lost everything. The place is New York City. In the space of a few months, I got expelled from Columbia University, fired from my job, arrested for drugs that weren't even mine, dumped by the girl I thought was The One, and evicted. I… 10 years agoThe Year of Loving Dangerously America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall October 1, 2006 Ted Rall My fourth cartoon collection collects the work that made me America's most controversial cartoonist. Here are the classic "dirty dozen" cartoons that shocked and awed newspaper readers after 9/11: "Terror Widows" and its sequels, "FDNY 2011," the Pat Tillman series. There is also a lengthy introduction and commentary, which includes behind-the-scenes looks at the hate mail and death threats that p… 13 years agoAmerica Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? August 1, 2006 Ted Rall This is the book I wanted to write instead of To Afghanistan and Back — everything you ever wanted to know about Central Asia, without having had to attend grad school — but didn't have time. Five years later, I was able to release my Central Asia brain dump, a book anyone can read cold and come away understanding the importance of the region and why it's so interesting. Comprising travelogue, po… 13 years agoSilk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists The final volume in the "Attitude" trilogy of alternative cartoonists is dedicated to the first wave of webcartoonists (cartoonists whose work is exclusively distributed online). Includes interviews, cartoons and personal ephemera about some of the most exciting artists to lay pen to paper — or stylus to Wacom. Here you'll find political cartoonists, humorists and dazzling graphic experiments, and… 13 years agoAttitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists Generalissimo El Busho: Essays and Cartoons on the Bush Years "Generalissimo El Busho" is my chronicle, in essays and cartoons of the most polarizing presidency in modern American history, a tragicomic week-by-week dissection of the Bush Administration's follies and crimes. I've traveled to Third World trouble spots,so I recognize a dictator when he see one. Having seized power extraconstitutionally, Bush and his cabal of corrupt businessmen made it obvi… 15 years agoGeneralissimo El Busho: Essays and Cartoons on the Bush Years Wake Up, You're Liberal!: How We Can Take America Back from the Right Wake Up, You’re Liberal!: How We Can Take America Back from the Right My first all-prose book marks the beginning of the end of my belief that the Democratic Party was redeemable. Although I have come to believe that moving beyond the duopoly is necessary, liberals and progressives who have not followed me down the radical path will find much to like here. Declaring that there hasn't been a "real" Democrat in the White House since Lyndon Johnson, I decried the hi… 15 years agoWake Up, You’re Liberal!: How We Can Take America Back from the Right Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists February 1, 2004 Ted Rall The second installment in the "Attitude" trilogy of interviews, cartoons and photos of America's top alternative cartoonists emphasizes cartoonists who deploy novel approaches to humor and the comics medium. Politics are still important, but take a back seat to social commentary in this collection. Includes the work of well-known artists like Aaron McGruder, who draws the daily comic strip "Boo… 15 years agoAttitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists Gas War: The Truth Behind the American Occupation of Afghanistan The result of painstaking research and analysis, "Gas War" is the definitive behind-the scenes story of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP) project. Conceived during the 1990s under Bill Clinton, the idea was for the United States to control the vast, newly-tapped Caspian Sea oil and gas reserves — which by some measures exceed those of Saudi Arabia — by building an oil and gas pipeline from Turk… 17 years agoGas War: The Truth Behind the American Occupation of Afghanistan Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists "The New Subversive Political Cartoonists" is the first volume in my '"Attitude" trilogy: the definitive record of the political cartooning scene that exploded in alternative weekly newspapers during the 1980s and 1990s. It features interviews of, cartoons by and photos and ephemera about 21 ground-breaking alternative political cartoonists who revolutionized the form. The Iowa City Gazette called… 17 years agoAttitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists To Afghanistan and Back: A Graphic Travelogue April 1, 2002 Ted Rall The first book about the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan is also my first work of comics journalism, a mixed-media "instant book" comprising a 50-page "graphic novella," photos and essays. When bombs began falling on the Taliban in the fall of 2001, I traveled to northern Afghanistan, where I spent three weeks covering the U.S. bombing campaign for The Village Voice and KFI, a Los Angeles radio st… 17 years agoTo Afghanistan and Back: A Graphic Travelogue Search and Destroy: Cartoons by Ted Rall A collection of 150 of my political cartoons published between 1995 and 2000. These pieces tackle the disappointments of the Clinton years, popular music, the dot-com boom to screwed-up relationships. I added commentary below most of the cartoons to place them into historical context. Search and Destroy includes cartoons from my transition from obscure alternative publications to big national m… 18 years agoSearch and Destroy: Cartoons by Ted Rall 2024: A Graphic Novel One of my personal favorites, but also my worst-selling book, this graphic novel is a homage to/parody of/updating of George Orwell's novel of totalitarian oppression 1984. I faithfully attempted to follow the structure of Orwell's classic with a new take on twisted take on dystopia. The threat to our freedom isn't some totalitarian tyrant — it's our own, lazy, easily-distracted selves, wallowing… 18 years ago2024: A Graphic Novel Ted Rall is the political cartoonist at ANewDomain.net, editor-in-chief of SkewedNews.net, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is the author of the biography "Trump," to be published in July 2016. ©2019 Ted Rall. All Rights Reserved. Website Design by Thermal Exposure.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line211
__label__cc	0.670357	0.329643	/psyche Psychedelics Longform Use this link for email & social media, & receive 1 Share Karma point for each person who follows the link. DMT, the Prophetic Experience, and the Hebrew Bible Rick Strassman • 4 years ago • 3 Comments A stormy wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with flashing fire and a brilliance surrounding it…and from its midst, a semblance of four Living Creatures.… And as for the appearance of the Living Creatures, their appearance was like fiery coals, burning like the appearance of torches…. There was a brilliance to the fire, and from the fire went forth lightning…. Then I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of great waters…the sound of the words like the sound of a company…I fell upon my face and I heard a voice speaking,… “Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you.” (Ezekiel 1:1-2:1) Large crystalline prisms appeared, a wild display of lights shooting off into all directions…. My body felt cool and light. Was I about to faint?… My mind was completely full of some kind of sound, like the aftereffects of a large ringing bell….Out of the raging colossal waterfall of flaming color expanding into my visual field, the roaring silence, and an unspeakable joy, they stepped, or rather, emerged. Welcoming, curious, they almost sang,… “Now do you see? Now do you see?” (DMT: The Spirit Molecule, pg 344) The first excerpt is from one of the books of the Hebrew Bible (the “Old Testament”), attributed to the mid-sixth century BCE Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. It is an account of his initiatory vision, standing by a river in Babylonia. The second excerpt is from a psychologist who participated in DMT research at the University of New Mexico in the early 1990s. DMT or dimethyltryptamine, is a powerful psychedelic substance found and made in all our bodies, in the bodies of other mammals, and in thousands of plants. The similarities between accounts are striking. At the same time, the two settings could not be more different. Ezekiel’s take place during the exile of the Hebrew people from their country by the Babylonian legions, involves no exogenous psychoactive agents, and was intended by the God of the Hebrews— YHVH— to instruct the exiled community. Leo’s state was occasioned by the administration of a drug, on a bed in a university hospital room in a research unit in Albuquerque New Mexico. He was in a scientific protocol that he had volunteered for, funded by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse and the Scottish Rite Foundation for Schizophrenia Research. Regardless of the differences in setting and set, both states contain a flashing, flowing preternaturally intense display of lights; the emergence of nearly overwhelmingly powerful, sentient, apparently living, creatures interacting with the experient; great emotional intensity; a sound that fills the mind; and physical lightness or weakness. What do these similarities mean? How are they relevant to the contemporary psychedelic drug experience? Or, for that matter, to the Hebrew Bible’s notion of prophecy, both in the past and in the present? These are some of the many topics I raise and discuss in my new book, “DMT and the Soul of Prophecy” (Park Street Press, 2014). At the end of my DMT study in 1995, which I describe in “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” (Park Street Press, 2001), I was left with questions regarding how best to interpret the DMT experience. Was it real? What did it mean? Why does the body synthesize DMT in the first place? I entered my DMT research carrying several models through which I hoped to help volunteers understand and integrate their sessions: psychopharmacologic, psychoanalytic, and Buddhist, especially that of Zen Buddhism. While performing this study it was clear that all these models fell short. One reason is that all of them posited the basic unreality, the hallucinatory or illusory nature, of what the experient perceived. The psychopharmacologic model explained the DMT effect as the result of certain neural receptors being activated by a drug with certain pharmacological characteristics; in other words, the brain was generating the experience. The psychoanalytic approach saw the visions and the voices of the DMT effect representing previously unconscious mental processes and contents; one’s psychology was generating the experience. The Zen model also takes the approach that the DMT world is illusory, and in fact is a distraction that the mind throws up to prevent the attainment of the ultimate goal of meditation: the formless, concept-free, ego-less state of enlightenment. Nearly all the DMT subjects, on the other hand, emerged from the drug effect convinced of the absolute reality of what they had just undergone. They had observed something previously invisible, rather than hallucinating something unreal. They were convinced of the external, objective, and ongoing nature of this parallel level of reality. Some even felt that the DMT world is more real than this one. I sought other models that might help explain how DMT allowed someone to perceive an alternative level of reality. Recent advances in our understanding of dark matter, dark energy, and parallel universes provide possible scientific explanations for such a phenomenon: the drug may modify the receiving characteristics of the brain-mind complex in such a way as to make these parallel levels of reality visible, in much the same way scientists have built and are building machines to perform the same task. While these models provided useful mechanisms of action, they still did not answer the fundamental question of why this necessarily is the case. And more importantly, it said very little about the value of the information one experiences in these other worlds, how to apply them for the benefit of ourselves and our world. Religious/spiritual systems also address usually invisible worlds. Besides describing methods of attaining certain highly-valued subjective experiences and characterizing the experiences themselves, religions have also attempted to extract moral, ethical, theological, and other information from these states. They have also developed language and images to communicate that information, along the way developing resonant conceptual and social systems. Eastern religious models, especially Buddhist, for the spiritual properties of the psychedelic state are popular and academically sanctioned. Above, I refer to Buddhism’s approach to visions and how its desired endpoint of enlightenment differ from those of the DMT experience and its interpretation. Recently there is a fascination with Latin American shamanism. However, there is a lack of resonance between contexts: tribal forest life versus urbanized post-industrial life. The absence of a God recognizable to most Westerners is another stumbling block, just as it is in the case of Eastern religions. The lack of an obvious ethical-moral framework within Latin American shamanism also points to it being a less than ideal alternative. I decided to return to my own roots of Judaism and begin looking for a spiritual model for the DMT effect in the foundational text of Judaism, the Hebrew Bible,. The Hebrew Bible is extraordinarily difficult to study, and in particular, the text’s notion of God is problematic. The emotional and intellectual hurdles involved are daunting and it was only after discovering the teachings of the medieval Jewish philosophers such as Maimonides that I was able to identify and deal with these hurdles. Working my way through the text, the notion of a “prophetic state of consciousness” started emerging. By prophecy, I do not mean the common definition of foretelling or predicting; rather, it is any spiritual experience occurring within a Hebrew Biblical figure. Such figures include the canonical prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, or nameless, faceless men and women who left behind no specific teaching. The prophetic state is highly congruent phenomenologically with the DMT one. Those who experience prophecy also believe that what they perceive is as real or more real than the everyday world. In addition, prophecy is extremely interactive, one’s ego is well-maintained while relating to the contents of the newly revealed world. The goal of prophecy is an interactive relationship with God or God’s angels, rather than a unitive mystical one, totally identifying with a formless concept-free ego-less level of experience. I emphasize this polarity between the “mystical-unitive” and “interactive-relational” states throughout “DMT and the Soul of Prophecy.” Using these and others tools I performed an exhaustive side-by-side comparison of the DMT and prophetic experiences. This occupies about half of the new book. While the phenomenological contents of both states is strikingly similar—their perceptual, cognitive, volitional, physical, and emotion characteristics—the information content tilts heavily in favor of the prophetic one. If one thinks about it, the information contained in the Hebrew Bible, the paradigmatic prophetic text, has influenced billions of people over thousands of years. Western civilization is essentially a civilization growing out of this text; for example, our economy, law, philosophy, theology, science, art, and ethics and morality. In the contemporary West, the psychedelic experience has primarily contributed to a particular aesthetic with, at least for now, much less impact relative to the prophetic state. I then review medieval metaphysical mechanisms of prophecy and attempt to bridge them with the notion of endogenous DMT. The result is a new model of spiritual experience, what I call “theoneurology.” In it, I present a counterpoint to the popular “neurotheology.” Neurotheology is a bottom-up approach. The “spiritual experience” is what we call the brain’s response to any number of particular stimuli: prayer, meditation, fasting, or psychedelic drugs. The experience has adaptive value, making us healthier, smarter, and more socially viable. Theoneurology is a top-down model and suggests that God configured the brain in such a way as to be able to communicate with us information that we may or may not consider especially beneficial, at least over the short term. DMT may play a role in this communication process. This model suggests that God uses the brain to relate with us rather than that the brain creates the impression of such a relationship. I conclude the book by suggesting certain implications of the theoneurological model. Related research is taking place: the use of psilocybin to occasion spiritual experience. In addition, there is a growing popularity of syncretic ayahuasca—a DMT-containing sacrament—that refer to Hebrew Biblical stores, figures, and teachings. Thus, one who wishes to resonate more deeply with the biblical text might enter into a state of mind near to that from which the text originally emerged—the prophetic state. To the extent that DMT and other psychedelics occasion altered states of consciousness with “prophecy-like” features, one could consider the judicious use of these agents in this context. In a complementary manner, those who use psychedelic drugs for spiritual purposes may wish to consider the Hebrew Bible an interpretive tool for understanding and applying the information contained in their drug sessions. An interesting discovery during this project was the Hebrew Bible’s notion of “false prophecy” and “false prophets.” These are extraordinarily relevant—and equally as subtle—issues involved in dealing with the “truth” or “goodness” of any experience we consider spiritual. Discriminating between false and true prophecy is difficult and because of this I raise the issue throughout my book. Its importance is basic to any attempt to understand and utilize either the psychedelic or prophetic state. One may order “DMT and the Soul of Prophecy” via my website (www.RickStrassman.com), Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, my publisher Inner Traditions, or your local bookstore. If you order it through me, I will sign and inscribe it to you. Teaser image by Felipe Venâncio, courtesy of Creative Commons license. DMT medical research neurology Theology @ // Not recently active Rick Strassman received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He trained in general psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento, and took a fellowship in clinical psychopharmacology research at the University of California, San Diego. In 1990 he began the first new US government-approved and -funded human research with psychedelic drugs in over twenty years. His first book, “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” (Park Street Press, 2001), describes his DMT research; it has been translated into 12 languages and is the basis for an independent documentary of the same name. {{ share.shares }} {{ share.user.display_name }}	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line213
__label__cc	0.508843	0.491157	Gerbera aurantiaca Gerbera aurantiaca Sch.Bip. Common names: Hilton daisy The Hilton daisy is a strikingly beautiful grassland plant that occurs around Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. The species is under considerable threat of extinction due to habitat fragmentation and degradation resulting from agriculture and urban sprawl. The species is a low-growing herb with thick, thong-like roots, and rosettes of elliptical, dark green, leathery leaves. The plants grow vegetatively by underground stems to form clones which can reach over a metre in diameter and are thought to be hundreds of years old. Plants typically die back during the dry winter months and leaves begin to emerge in spring. As with all daisy family plants, the 'flowers' are not single flowers but a head made up of many tiny florets massed together. The 'petals' (ray florets) are usually a striking crimson, but may be orange, pink or yellow on the upper surface and are coppery below. It is thought by some that the colour variations might have resulted from hybridization with a close relative, Gerbera ambigua. The disc florets in the 'flower' centre appear black or dark purple when the inflorescence opens, changing to yellow as the pollen is presented. Flowering takes place in spring, from September to November, when the daisies form spectacular masses in the grassland. G. aurantiaca is endemic to the mistbelt grassland region of KwaZulu-Natal and is currently known from approximately 9 scattered populations from Helahela in the south to Babanango in the north. This is a summer rainfall area, which experiences very cold winters, often with snow in some localities.Hilton daisies typically occur in rocky grassland between 900 and 1 500 m, on warm slopes in well-drained, shallow soils associated with doleritic formations.Most localities are burnt annually. The genus Gerbera is named after the German naturalist Traugott Gerber who started the first botanical garden in Moscow in the 1700s. However, to date no one has been able to find any connection between Gerber and the genus. The specific name aurantiaca is, rather suprisingly, from the Latin aurantiacus or orange-yellow. Perhaps this refers to the coppery orange undersurface of the petals. The common name is derived from the village of Hilton near Pietermaritzburg, where the daisies once grew in profusion. A close relative of the Hilton daisy is the well-known Barberton daisy, (Gerbera jamesonii), which is one of the parents of the popular Gerbera hybrids used extensively in the cut flower and nursery trade. The genus Gerbera has approximately 14 southern African species, some of which are found only in Western Cape. Gerbera aurantiaca has been selected as the flagship species of the Natal National Botanical Garden's SABONET-funded Threatened Plants Programme. The programme is combining a study of the population biology of the Hilton daisy in the wild, together with the establishment of ex situ populations from the major localities, and the selection and propagation of some of the most attractive varieties for horticulture. The pollinator of the Hilton daisy is thought to be the brown hairy monkey beetle which feeds on the pollen, and probably uses the flowers as rendevous platforms for mating. The large pollen grains get caught in the hairy body of the insect and are carried to the next flower that the beetle visits where they may be brushed off and pollinate receptive florets. A number of insects feed on the developing seedheads and can severely reduce seed set. The seeds with their hairy parachutes which aid in dispersal, are carried short distances by the wind. However, seedlings are seldom seen in the wild, although the seed germinates readily. The Hilton daisy does not appear to be used for traditional healing purposes. However, as it is such an attractive plant, that in the past, keen gardeners frequently dug plants out of the wild to grow in their gardens. This was virtually never successful and the plants are notoriously difficult to grow in cultivation. Growing Gerbera aurantiaca Please note that the collecting of threatened plants such as the Hilton daisy, or their seed, is prohibited by law. In addition, as mentioned in the previous section, these plants are reputed to be extremely difficult to grow. However, as part of the Threatened Plants Programme at the Natal National Botanical Gardens, we are studying ways of establishing populations out of the wild for conservation purposes. This involves the cultivation of the plants. Seed collected from the wild germinates well immediately after collection. There is a high mortality in the first year, possibly due to fungal infection. Once established the plants do not like to be disturbed. HILLIARD, O.M. 1977. Compositae in Natal. University of Natal Press. Pietermaritzburg JOHNSON, I.M. 2003. The decline of the daisies. Veld & Flora 89: 31. POOLEY, E. 1998. A field guide to the wild flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern region. Natal Flora PublicationsTrust, Durban. SCOTT-SHAW, C.R. 1999. Rare and threatened plants of KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring regions. KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, Pietermaritzburg. Isabel Johnson KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden SA Distribution: KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga Soil type: Loam Flowering season: Spring, Early Summer PH: Neutral Flower colour: Red, Pink, Orange	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line217
__label__cc	0.722568	0.277432	Elbe Bike Route VII: The Final 200 km Through the Czech Republic to Prague We entered the Czech Republic in the middle of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, and remained in a steep-sided valley for another 20 km to our first city of any size, Děčín. It was a dramatic end to the mountains, with castles across the river from each other. We took a swing up to the large castle. We had a hard time pushing (not riding) the bike up the entry road, which was probably a 10% grade, and checked out the inner courtyard and the rose garden of this substantial place. Two photos help explain the biggest difference we see so far between Germany and the Czech Republic. The architecture here is quite interesting, colorful and fanciful, as much or maybe even more so than in Germany, which is saying a lot. However there are many more places here where little or no care or restoration has been done on buildings since the war 70 years ago. The second photo shows just what a little stucco work and paint can do to change things around, but these things take time and money, and we get the distinct impression that these are in somewhat shorter supply here, though the Czech economy is reportedly doing much better since the Velvet Revolution 25+ years ago. As in the former East Germany, we do see a lot of renovation going on, but there is a much much bigger backlog of it here. Leaving town we got an even better view of that other smaller castle. We did not for one moment think about climbing the hill to explore this one! We were not quite done with hills, but they were now more intermittent. Both arriving and leaving our overnight destination of Usti nad Labem (Usti on the Labe [Elbe] River) there were dramatic hills (and a bridge) inviting us to take out the camera. Not sure how much longer the hill on the north side of town is going to be dramatic, however, as that quarry chews away at it. We met another tandem touring couple along the way, and in fractured German and English learned that they're from a small town mid-way between Berlin and Wittenberg, and that they were on their way to Prague as well, but with a substantially higher target mileage for each day than we aim for. They were hoping to do 80-100 km per day, compared to the 40-65 km (25-40 mi.) we ride with all the sightseeing we do along the way. The husband is a bike shop owner, by the way, and he built the tandem they're riding. He has actually heard of Rodriguez bikes, the maker of our tandem, and was very impressed with the technology and workmanship of Little Red. Our next destination was a profoundly sad one, Terezin, also known by its German name of Theresienstadt. It was a pair of fortresses built in the 1700s to protect Austria-Hungary from the Prussians, but failed to do so in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The larger fort remained mainly as a garrison town and the smaller one was turned into a prison. Gavrilo Princip, the man who is blamed for starting WWI by assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, was imprisoned and died there along with several of his co-conspirators. In the Munich Agreement of September 1938, Germany seized a large swath of Czechoslovakia bordering on Germany. In March 1939 the Nazis seized power in what remained of the unfortunate country, and the SS turned the small fortress into not only a prison but also a torture location for their perceived enemies. During the war the entire non-Jewish population of the small city that had grown up in the middle of the large fort was moved out, and it became a concentration camp for Jews. A town of 7,000 people was suddenly "home" to 58,000, with miserable hygiene and nutrition. The Ghetto Museum has recreated a bunkroom to give an idea of what it was like, but without the crush, noise and smell of all the people once crammed into this space, it's hard to get a true feeling for it. A display of art that survived the war helps give a glimpse, however, of both the larger picture and of some of the people who were imprisoned here. Terezin was not a death camp per se, but it was deadly thanks to its chronic shortage of food and medicine and consequent poor hygiene. But it was also a way point for many Jews who were indeed sent on to the death camps further east. A map shows where the 140,000 people who lived or passed through Terezin came from (circles) and went to (squares). Of those 140,000, fewer than 40,000 survived until liberation in May 1945. In one room, the Ghetto museum lists the names of just those children who died here. It is a long list. What a sad, sad place. Although there is lodging available in Terezin, we luckily found a place in the delightful city of Litoměřice 4 km away and enjoyed walking around its large town square and exploring some narrow alleys and hill climbs. The host of our pension suggested a restaurant in an old stone building near the main square, and Jeff had an incredible Wild Boar Wellington and a Czech beer for about $12. Our lodging with breakfast was under $40. We like the prices in the Czech Republic! In Germany we followed blue Elbe Radweg signs along the road to help us find all the twists and turns in the route. Those ended at the border, and now we look for yellow signs for National Bike Route 2. The route has had a few rough sections, maybe a little less than in Germany, but more riding on roads. However these have all been very quiet roads, most of them so quiet you'd think they were reserved for bicycles. We also had a detour that brought us up a very long climb, almost but not quite steep enough to tempt us to climb off and walk. The payoff was a visit to some of the hop fields that make Czech beer famous. At one spot well above the river, as you can see, we found this monument showing the height of the water in various floods. Jeff, who is no short guy. is pointing to the water level in 2006. If you look at the very top of the monument, hiding in the shadow, you can see where it reached in 2002. Ouch! Behind the monument we noticed a house that looks like it could be stunning, but was in sad condition with patches of stucco fallen off, a failing paint job, a few broken windows. But notice the wooden barrier on the right. Behind it we heard workers fixing the place up! Thinks are getting nicer here, one building at a time. At last we reached Melnik, our last overnight before Prague and the place where we will say goodbye to the Elbe/Labe River we have been following for 35 days. Once again there is a big hill and a big palace on top, this time with a large church as well. It was another big climb on Little Red to our hotel which is a block away from the church, but the road stayed under that point where we go to "15th gear" on our 14-speed bike -- i.e. walking -- and we had a scenic ride up. On the way to dinner we passed through yet another colorful market square. But the view after dinner at sunset was grand. Looking upstream is the Vltava River joining the Elbe. This will be our companion for the final 50 km to Prague. You've probably heard of the river under its German name, the Moldau, from Bedřich Smetana's depiction of it in music as part of his collection of tone poems, Má vlast ('My Country'). Looking to the right, in the second photo, we could see the last of the Elbe Valley that has been our companion for so long. The next morning we got a nice view back along the Vltava Canal to the castle and church in Melnik. A few km further we had to cross the Vltava itself on what has to be the simplest ferry of the summer. Taking advantage of the fact that boats are over on the canal, the ferry rides across the river tethered to a heavy wire cable. Like a reaction ferry, the boat uses the power of the river to glide across without mechanical assistance. The boatman used the large rudder as an oar to turn the boat 45 degrees to the river and Bingo! we were on our way. In the third photos you can see him using the river to glide back to his home next to the ferry landing. As we followed the river we passed three palaces, two along the river and one set back a bit on a hill and looking away from the river. That last palace was in the town of Nelahozeves. When Jeff realized that our bicycle guidebook route was going to take us through a town by that name, his eyes got big. Hey, that's the birthplace of Antonin Dvořák! If the two of us had to pick a single favorite composer, Antonin would be the guy. His father ran a combination butcher shop and inn there, and little Antonin's introduction to music was sneaking into the orchestra to play the violin when there were dances at the inn. Unfortunately, Tuesday was a day they were closed. Guess we'll just have to come back again some day. About a dozen km from downtown Prague we stopped to take a photo of the bike route, impressed with how distant it seemed from any sort of village or town, let alone a city of one and a quarter million people. While stopped we began talking with a couple who were walking the other way, who turned out to be a British husband, Czech wife and their son. They were walking from Prague to Dresden. Gosh, that seems slow said the couple that was just finishing biking the 280 km. We had one more surprise, in multiple manifestations, as we rolled along the Vltava. We passed three dams, each with locks on the far shore so that boats can travel up and down the river. But on our side of the river parallel to the locks was a sluice each time, and each time set up with a slalom course for kayakers. And were they ever at it! We couldn't resist stopping and watching for a quarter hour at each one. Call us biased, but our favorite boat was the tandem kayak. We had a bike trail right up to and into the city of Prague, though not all the way to our destination. We again rented an apartment, this time for 4 nights, through Airbnb. It was in the heart of the city but we were up high, and the street noise never got bad enough to keep us awake. Making life better still, there was a large, well-stocked supermarket right across the street. Though we only used it one cool evening, we did have the use of a verandah overlooking the city, and Louise captured this view of Jeff catching up on the blog with a full moon rising over Prague. We parked the bike for the whole time we were there, since Prague is decidedly not a good cycling city, though quite a few folks were determined to pretend otherwise. It was absolutely jammed with tourists on foot, but the vehicle traffic was astonishingly low. We're not sure how the government has dissuaded so many folks from trying to drive through -- perhaps it's just the heavy pedestrian traffic acting as a deterrent -- but we rarely had to pause to cross a street. We mostly just walked around soaking in the symphony of architectural styles, shapes, textures and colors. A few building stood out from this architectural cornucopia. One was the dark building in which the dark and moody author Franz Kafka was born and lived out his childhood. Then there is the pair of buildings designed by Frank Gehry, known alternately as Fred and Ginger or as The Dancing Houses. Our lodgings and the majority of the sightseeing is on the right bank of the river, with the notable exception of Prague Castle (Pražský hrad). It is the largest intact castle complex in Europe, so large that it contains a cathedral and numerous palaces within its walls. We started with a cable car ride to the far side, wandered through an old monastery, then came out to this stunning view down to the Vltava. Around the corner was the Swedish Embassy, with some very odd Swedish art in the back yard. The animatronic pair of legs kept a jogging pace as we ambled by the rear of the complex. Next was the Schwarzenburg Palace, with a type of painted design called sgraffiti that made the flat stones look three-dimensional. The Schwarzenburg and several other palaces are components of the state art museum, each focusing on a different time period. We went to two others which featured Old Masters -- that's the only Rembrandt in the Czech Republic in the first photo, and 19th century art. There was a special exhibit of Czech landscape painting, and the first canvas that caught our attention was by Josef Mánes and it depicted the meeting of the Vltava and Labe (Elbe) Rivers from virtually the same spot where we stood for the photo a few up in today's blog. Ludvik Kohl's Gothic Hall with Assembly of a Secret Brotherhood is an early 19th century cousin to the many gothic novels that were the rage at that time. We'll close our detour into art with two works by August Bedřich Piepenhagen. The first reflects the same fascination with the lone wanderer that David Caspar Friedrich captured in a painting we displayed a few blogs back -- our regular readers should recognize the kinship immediately. The second one looked like a Czech version of a recurrent theme in Currier & Ives prints from the U.S. in the same time period, the 1850s, perhaps duplicating for urbanized Czech art patrons the same sort of nostalgia for "the good old days" that Currier & Ives played upon for the American market. Back out in the daylight we passed some statues that appear to be showing the tourists what happens to those who try to sneak into the exhibits without paying for an entrance ticket. We decided to skip the inside stuff and just walked through the Prague Castle grounds, past the gargoyles, and on to the iconic Charles Bridge below us. Parts of the Charles Bridge go back to 1357, when construction began, and it was for centuries the easiest place to cross the Vltava in the Czech lands. It has been traffic-free for 50 years, if "traffic" means only motor vehicles. It was mobbed with foot traffic when we were there and, we suspect, pretty much anytime except the wee hours of the morning. While we saw no signs prohibiting cycling, it would be about as easy to cycle it as to ride through a crowd leaving a major sporting event. It gave us a chance to see the waterfront and then to walk into the Jewish Quarter, where we took this photo of the curiously named "Old New Synagogue." It was once the new synagogue since it replaced one that burned down, and became the "old new synagogue" when others went up. Got it? In any event, it's the oldest synagogue in current use in Europe, dating to 1250. We'll close with one final view of the Charles Bridge from the shore, with some pedal boats that look like 1920s cars. We're off now by train for 6 hours to the Danube River, where we will start biking in Ulm. Catch that story in our next episode! Posted by Jeff & Louise Davis at 1:02 PM No comments: Elbe Bike Route VII: The Final 200 km Through the ... Elbe Bike Route VI: Switzerland in Saxony and Bohe... Elbe Bike Route V: Meissen and Dresden, the Cultu... Elbe Bike Route IV: Magdeburg to Torgau -- Many S... Elbe Bike Route III: Storks and More on Our Way t...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line222
__label__cc	0.607698	0.392302	Aldi is selling TALKING Only Fools and Horses toys that say catchphrases from the show ALDI has rolled out Only Fools and Horses plush toys that say catchphrases from the popular sitcom. The toys are available in the characters of Uncle Albert, Rodney and Del Boy, and they cost just £8.99 at the discounter. They range in height from 20cm to 26cm – simply press them to hear the characters’ famous lines from the show. Sadly, the toys quickly sold out online when they went live on Aldi’s website yesterday, but they’ll also hit store shelves on June 9. There won’t be a limit to how many you can buy, but as they’re part of Aldi’s Specialbuys, they’re only available as long as stocks last so you’ll need to be quick. The discounter has over 825 stores across the UK. You can find your nearest one using its store locator. A shopper posted the exciting news in the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on Facebook, and his post has so far racked up more than 1,000 likes and 1,500 comments. It’s also been spotted by users of deal-sharing website hotukdeals, and shoppers are loving it. One user wrote: “I’ve had one of these since I was a boy, over thirty years ago and it’s still going strong.” While another said: “These will make a perfect present.” If you miss out on the toys at Aldi, they’re also available at Clintons for £10 or you can pick them up on Amazon for even more. The Del Boy character currently costs £15.99 at the online retailer, while you’d have to fork out £14.99 for the other two. The three characters rolled out as plush toys for the first time in October last year. This £10 plant from Asda that could STOP snoring	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line227
__label__wiki	0.570438	0.570438	Movie Review: W/E Directed by: Madonna Written by: Madonna & Alex Keshishian Produced by: Madonna, Kris Thykier, Colin Vatnes, Sara Zambreno, Scott Franklin & Harvey Weinstein Distributed by: The Weinstein Company/Studio Canal UK Wally Winthrop: Abby Cornish William Winthrop: Richard Coyle Wallis Warfield Simpson: Andrea Riseborough The Prince of Wales/Edward VIII – James D’Arcy Evgeny: Oscar Isaac The Duke of York/George V – Laurence Fox The Duchess of York – Natalie Dormer George V – James Fox Queen Mary – Judy Parfitt W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women, Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson, separated for more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Winthrop is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. But Winthrop's research, including several visits to the Sotheby's auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, the film intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis and Edward, from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed. I saw this early Sunday morning. So why has it taken me until Thursday to write my review? Because there were so many other interesting things to do with my time; like my laundry, reading, or catching up on my night-time soaps. It’s not that W/E was a bad film; it just wasn’t a particularly good one either. I really wanted to like this film. I’ve been a fan of Madonna from the very beginning of her career, and I’ve always been a little bit obsessed with The Duchess of Windsor. From the first episode of Edward & Mrs. Simpson on PBS, I have been hooked on the story of the King who gave up his throne for the Baltimore Belle. So how can I fault Madonna for her own obsession with the story? The problem lies in the construction of the film. Madonna frames the story of Edward and Wallis with a contemporary story of a southern belle named Wally Winthrop. In interviews, she has stated that she wasn’t interested in just telling the story of the couple; she wanted to filter their story through a contemporary woman who finds her own way to happiness while investigating the story. Unfortunately, Wally’s story suffers in comparison to the more dynamic story of Wallis. Contemporary Wally wears a lot of chic black outfits that wouldn’t look out of place on the Duchess of Cambridge. Wan and pale, she’s like a somnambulist, sleepwalking through her life. Her rich doctor husband doesn’t want her to work, so instead of volunteering or going back to school, she spends her days obsessing over having a baby, and staring wide-eyed at the objects from the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor estate. Her husband is an asshole for no other reason than the screenwriters have said he’s an asshole. There’s a lame attempt to equate him with Wallis’s first husband, Earl Winfield Spencer that doesn’t quite come off. At one point, Wally’s identification with her namesake leads her to start wearing her hair like the Duchess. The film comes alive when the story shifts to the past. Wallis (as played by Andrea Riseborough) is vibrant with a brittle charm that clearly masks the little girl who grew up in genteel poverty. This Wallis is clearly making her way in the world the only way she knows how; by marrying her way through it. This Wallis is a realist; she knows that she knows no beauty, so her only weapon is to dress well. At times Wallis speaks to contemporary Wally as if the past and the present were overlapping. When that happens, the audience realizes just what a drip Wally is. The one intriguing thing in the whole film is the moment when Wally points out to Evgeny, the hot Russian security guard, that no one ever talks about what Wallis sacrificed to marry Edward. I found that interesting and the point of the whole movie sort of crystalized. The film is sumptuous to look at; no expense was spared on recreating the look of the period, down to recreating some of Wallis actual outfits such as her wedding dress, and a few iconic pieces. However, the film feels hollow at the core, all flash and surface and not enough substance. Another problem is that the continuity is off when the film flashes back to the past, particularly in the events leading up to the abdication. There are events that are captioned 1936 that clearly happened before then. For the most part, the film is well cast. Andrea Riseborough is picture perfect as Wallis but James D’Arcy, besides being way too tall to play Edward, has none of the charm or the Peter Pan like qualities that made him so attractive. Poor Laurence Fox and Natalie Dormer try in their few scenes but it’s hard not to compare them to Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter who played the same roles in The King’s Speech. Abby Cornish, her hair dyed jet black, spends most of her time fading into the woodwork until her later scenes with Evgeny. Madonna has talent as a director; it’s a shame that she didn’t trust her story. My verdict: Wait until it's out on Netflix Posted by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon at 3:42 PM Labels: Edward VIII, Madonna, Wallis Simpson Love your review! I have really been wanting to see this, as I have always been intrigued by the Abdication Crisis. Thanks for your honesty in your review. I probably will wait for it to come to Netflix/Rebox :) Smart decision. It's really not worth spending $13.00 or however much it costs where you live. I saw it early in the morning, so I only paid $6.00. strat said... It changed my point of view after watching the film. Evangeline Holland said... Great review Elizabeth. Like you, I'm a fan of Wallis's story, and Madonna has always intrigued me, so I was eager to see this film. It's funny how you mentioned how boring the Wally scenes were in comparison to Wallis's story--everyone (including me) have the same complaints about the Julie parts of Julie & Julia! Since I haven't set foot inside a movie theater in nearly five years, I'm content to wait for it to show up on Netflix. I agree with you about Julia & Julia. Loved all the scenes with Julia Child and hated all the contemporary scenes. While you're waiting for W/E on Netflix, watch Edward & Mrs. Simpson again. I think Edward Fox managed to capture Edward perfectly!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line229
__label__cc	0.666723	0.333277	Seacoast United Field Hockey Club Qualify for Under 14 National Club Championship EPPING, NH – Seacoast United Field Hockey was proud to host the Region 1-4, Under-14, USA Field Hockey Regional Club Championships this past weekend in Epping, NH. This was the 3rd time SUFH was named a host site for the RCC’s, the first taking place in 2013. The Under-14 Regional Club Championships serve as a qualifying mechanism for the prestigious 2016 National Club Championships, spanning over nine days in Lancaster, PA. The NCC tournament is the most elite level of play in junior field hockey and only the top sixteen teams around the country will earn a ticket to the National Club Championship. The National Club Championship is an ideal opportunity for clubs to compete against each other in a highly competitive atmosphere while growing playing opportunities and the game of field hockey in the United States. This past weekend there were 16 teams that participated in the Region 1-4, U14 RCC tournament in Epping, NH. Seacoast United’s U14 team is not only the most talented group of athletes Seacoast United have ever had at this age group, but 3 out of the 15 athletes on this team were selected for to the 2016 USA Field Hockey National Futures Championship this year (Goalkeeper Shannon Conte and midfielders Alana Richardson and Maddie Mullaney). After seven 50-minute games on their home turf, Lexi Rivet’s beautiful penalty stroke in pool play won an overtime shootout and advanced Seacoast United to the championship game. The girls overcame the odds and finished the weekend not only as tournament champions, but also #1 in the region. This is the first time an Under-14 team from Seacoast United Field Hockey has qualified for nationals. “This past weekend was unforgettable’” exclaimed Seacoast United Field Hockey Director Sarah Richards. “This is the first time one of our teams has qualified for nationals since I took over as director in 2014, and I could not be happier for this amazing group of athletes. This is the type of opportunity that we work toward all year, and it is so rewarding when the hard work pays off.” Seacoast United’s U14 team proved that hard work, passion and dedication are the keys to success and the Club is very excited to send them to the National Club Championship (NCC) from July 7th – 9th in Spooky Nook Pennsylvania.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line233
__label__wiki	0.529947	0.529947	Eritrea 2016 – A Review Part II Written by Mela Ghebremedhin \| What a year it has been for the world. We saw increasing insecurity in countries formerly known for their safety, growing climate change, deepening economic crisis, expanding emerging markets at the expense of some larger powers, growing global migration that has surpassed World War II levels, deepening despair in the Middle East, emerging of newly elected US President, passing of Cuban Revolution figure Fidel Castro and the list can go on. Eritrea, also, had a quite unforgettable year in 2016, a combination of challenges and success stories. After the New Year’s celebration and the Geez Christmas in early January, Eritrea was quickly immersed into events, diplomatic work, conferences, new agreements, and reforms, with everything culminating in the silver Jubilee anniversary of Independence Day. In today’s first issue of the year, let’s look at Eritrea in review of 2016 through its major headlines, particularly related to cooperation, divided into two parts, you already looked at the review of the first half of 2016 on our last issue and today, Eritrea profile presents its second and final part. July, celebrating the youth and the intellectuals simultaneously… After a turbulent June, July was a quieter month for Eritrea. While in the middle of the heavy rainy season, to the delight of Eritrean dwellers, we transitioned to the time of festivities in the diaspora in different parts of Europe and North America. Here in Eritrea, the 29th round of Sawa’s 12th graders came to an end and was celebrated in zeal under the 7th Eri-Youth Festival organized by the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS) as it is a tradition every two years. This year’s festival celebrated Eritrean youth with more than 20,000 participants, including the diaspora gathered in the hub of the Gash Barka region for four days. Meanwhile, throughout the rainy season, graduations flew one after the other throughout the whole season while youngsters from high school engaged themselves in community services known as Maetot, a 10 years-strong summer program aimed at preserving the environment as well as enhancing a sense of ownership and civic duties towards youth nationwide. COMESA also delivered a follow-up workshop to key stakeholders and policy makers on money laundering and illicit financial flows in the capital city. Meanwhile, Eritrea continued its diplomatic journey by attending the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Istanbul, Turkey, followed by the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda in which Minister Osman Saleh delivered a statement. In terms of investment and cooperation, a high-level government delegation went on a working visit to China to discuss and negotiate issues of trade, investment, mining, infrastructure, housing, agriculture and human capacity building. Coinciding with the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Beijing, China, the Eritrean delegation led by Hagos Ghebrehiwet, Head of Eritrean Economic Affairs and the National Mining Corporation, took part in the event. Soon after the national festival, the International Conference on Eritrean Studies (ICES) took place at Asmara Palace between the 20th to 22nd of July. Participants including international scholars, representatives of international institutes, government officials, and members of the diplomatic corps, public intellectuals and students gathered together for this unique event to share their ideas and experiences through various panel discussions and papers presented on a range of topics related to Eritrea. August, displaying Eritrea’s cultural treasure and harmony… The beginning of August continued to celebrate the youth with the commemoration of International Youth Day marked in Asmara under the umbrella of NUEYS and the UN Development Program (UNDP) through workshops and discussions with one aim to have an “Eritrea Free of Poverty by 2030”. As it is the tradition since the first years of independence and the Bologna Festivals held during the struggle, Eritrea hosted Festival Eritrea in the Asmara Expo grounds for ten days filled with cultural performances, shows, exhibition stands, food and beverages and a bazaar to fulfil everyone’s taste, especially children. Under the theme of “Festival: the Foundation of Unity and Diversity”, combined with the heavy rainfall, this year’s festival was another reflection of Eritrea’s cultural heritage and harmony. August was also significant in Eritrea’s politics with the cabinet of ministers meeting on August 11th and 12th. During the cabinet meeting, all ministers presented their report, action plan and way forward for the year 2017. In his paper, President Isaias Afwerki focused mainly on the development of general education, stabilizing the balance of payment, revising the monetary policy, trade and industrial policies as well as ensuring the capacity and cleanliness of government institutions. The month of August was one in which the nation strengthened and built new diplomatic relations. As such, Minister Osman Saleh held talks with Netherlands counterpart, Mr. Bert Koenders to develop constructive diplomatic engagement and mutual cooperation. Soon after, talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida were held in Nairobi on fostering bilateral relations during sideline of Tokyo International Conference on African development. September, observing history and holy days… September 1st, a day remembered by all Eritreans since the beginning of the armed struggle, was celebrated in Eritrea for the 55th time. For the occasion, the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) stated that, “the people of Eritrea were compelled to resort to armed struggle in 1961 to assert their inalienable national rights when all the vigorous legal, peaceful and political endeavors that they conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, in the heydays of Africa’s decolonization, were singularly ignored by the UN and the international community at large”. A week later, it was time to celebrate the holy days of Kudus Yohannes (or St. John), gathering at Bahti Meskerem Square to celebrate the Geez New Year, the beauty of the harvest season and most commonly known through the tradition of the bonfire or the torch. This year’s uniqueness is that another holy days was celebrated at a similar time: Eid Al-Adha followed by ‘Meskel’ or the “finding of the true cross”. All holidays were vividly celebrated this month at Bahti Meskerem Square giving a festive feeling to local citizens. On the other side, events continued with the 12th YPFDJ North America Conference in Washington DC, gathering hundreds of Eritrean youth under the theme of “Reinforcing Professional and Economic Contribution of the Youth for Sustainable Development and Strengthening International Relations”. The South Sudanese branch of YPFDJ, on its side, held its first congress on September 25th. At home also, conference on literacy in line with International Illiteracy Eradication Day was conducted while “Tourism for All” was the motto of this year’s International Day of Tourism celebrated for its 22nd time in the country. Great diplomatic achievements were achieved this month with the signing of cooperation protocol between Eritrea and Germany as well as the meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister and Former UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon by month’s end. September also closed with Eritrea receiving the EPI Award for outstanding achievement in expanding the program on immunization by the WHO and UNICEF. Additionally, the 13th Eritrean Military Sports Competition officially opened on September 1st ending in October 29 in the city of Keren where nine Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) sports clubs took part. October, and more public diplomacy… While Eritrean students at both the master’s degree and PhD levels took part in a scholarship program to Russia in various fields of study from medicine to engineering, World Food Day was marked at the Hamelmalo College of Agriculture putting greater focus on ensuring food security and encouraging even greater achievements. October, sadly, was remembered for the month that we saw the passing away of one of Eritrea’s greatest diplomats and former fighter, Ambassador Girma Asmerom, on October 5th. Nonetheless, the diplomatic world continued with UNHRC’s EXCOM meeting in Geneva attended by Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu while President Isaias Afwerki embarked on a diplomatic trip to UAE, holding talks with Sheik Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries. Diplomatic effort continued with the Assembly of the AU on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Lome, Togo on October 15th. Eritrea was busy at the UN with a side event organized in collaboration between both Eritrea and Finland Permanent Missions, Finn Church Aid, UNDP and NUEYS calling for “Youth leadership in Peace and Security”. Also, the Eritrean delegation attended the 28th ordinary session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) in Gambia. The presented report highlighted the legal and institutional framework, policies and programs implemented. Simultaneously, another event was organized at the UN in New York entitled “Mainstreaming Human Rights through Partnership” and Mr. Yemane Gebreab, Presidential Advisor, addressed the UNHCR third committee at the Interactive Dialogue in which he underlined that, “We favor dialogue, engagement and cooperation. Unfortunately, the policy of seeking to isolate and undermine Eritrea has limited our role. It has also deprived the Horn of Africa of the positive contribution we would have been able to make”. The diaspora community also continued its public diplomacy as well as conducted annual assessment meetings such as the conference of the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) in Europe between 25 to 30 October. November, between visits and sport victory… Indeed, Eritrean sports have been at the forefront of this year with multiple victories, greater international participation and medals or cycling jerseys won. To strengthen this, the gold winner of the Beijing World Championship, Ghirmai Ghebreselassie, continued to impress his fans by becoming the youngest person ever to win the New York World Marathon on November 6. Mr. Ghirmai was well celebrated by the Eritrean community in New York on this special occasion. The month of November was also a busy one regarding diplomatic work. Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Arefaine Berhe attended and headed the Eritrean delegation at the Third Africa-Arab Ministerial Conference on Agricultural Development and Food Security. Minister Osman Saleh participated at the Climate change Conference COP22 in Marrakesh, Morocco followed by the Africa- Arab summit in Equatorial Guinea. Adding to these, Minister of Information, Mr. Yemane Ghebremeskel, participated at the EU-initiated joint conference on issues regarding Eritrea at the European Parliament in Brussels under the theme “Eritrea – Opportunity for Development”. The event provided the opportunity to stress constructive engagement and cooperation, as stressed by Member of the European Parliament Brian Hayes. Meanwhile, Minister Yemane, on his part, outlined Eritrea’s national policies for sustainable economic development and plans for multilateral and bilateral partnerships. At a regional level, President Isaias Afwerki received credentials of six ambassadors including the UK and Northern Ireland, Qatar, Italy, Israel and France before embarking on a visit to Egypt to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al- Sisi. The leaders called for boosting bilateral relations and cooperation between both countries, including fisheries, agriculture, livestock resources, trade and investment. Once again, the Somali-Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) continued to overstep its mandate and released a new report, stating— yet again—there was no evidence of Eritrean support of Al-Shabaab. The report led to the passing of Resolution 2317 (2016), drafted by the UK mission, extending the mandate of SEMG for reasons that few can understand. Attempting to reclaim national history in the voice and authorship of Eritrean, the well-accomplished and esteemed historian Almesged Tesfay published “Eritrea: From Federation to Occupation and Revolution” as his final installment of his Eritrean history trilogy. The book launch was well inaugurated with an eager, important crowd gathering at the Expo-Hall and making his last long awaited book the first of his series. December, commemorating international days Alongside internationally recognized days of remembrance, Eritrea, each year, has placed great emphasis in commemorating international holidays that help forward national development initiatives. As such, on December 1st, Eritrea commemorated World Aids Day for the 23rd time through banners in major cities, awareness slogans disseminated and an official ceremony held on the premises of the Orotta National Referral Hospital hall under the theme of “Let’s Stand United to Control HIV/ AIDS”. Simultaneously, The UN in Eritrea and the Government of Eritrea signed a new partnership agreement, the Strategic Partnership Cooperation Framework for 2017- 2021 while commemorating UN Day at the NCEW hall on December 1st. Government bodies, members of the diplomatic corps and the UN family were among the participants. The launch of the new SPCF reflects the ongoing and strengthened relations between the government and the UN Country team in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as the Africa Union Agenda 2063. With the passing of revolutionary Fidel Castro, the Eritrean delegation attended his funeral in Cuba while statement on migration was delivered at the Council of the International Organization for Migration in Geneva by Mr. Nebil Said Idris. President Isaias Afwerki, on his part, received and held meetings with Mr. Mamadou Talla, Special Envoy of the President Macky Salla of Senegal at the State Palace to discuss future cooperation between the two countries. Following these events, the International Day of the child, as well as the Disabled, were officially celebrated in great zeal without failing to recall World Diabetes Day allowing stakeholders to take a stand and assess the situation in Eritrea. December 9th was Human Rights Day and Minister Osman Saleh stated on that day “the Eritrean Government commitment and responsibility to advance human rights to its people. It will also strengthen its engagement and cooperation as well as join the collective effort to address the emerging crisis in the global human architecture”. Civil society groups within the diaspora also took the time to end the year with an assessment meeting and work plans for 2017 in all corners of the world. December 12th marked the history of global Mekete with the peaceful demonstration held in London, UK by more than 1,500 Eritreans and friends of Eritrea calling for the respect of Eritrean sovereign territory, the end to Ethiopian occupation and the end to unjust and illegal sanctions against Eritrea. To beautifully end the year 2016, the application dossier presented to the UNESCO World Heritage to include Asmara won the 2016 Royal Institution British Award (RIBA) for Research. The dossier was supported with more than 1,300 pages of photographs depicting Asmara’s historic buildings and became 2016’s award winner. While at the Asmara Palace Hotel, Prof. Betty LaDuke, a longtime friend of Eritrea made the donation of her artistic work under the aegis of the Commission of Culture and Sport, an exhibition depicting her art and Eritrean history were shown to the public. The chilly weather of the winter season did not stop dwellers to go out and enjoy time with closed ones or long lost friends to celebrate an end of year with joy. Streets and homes were all decorated with the shiny colors of the holiday season. On the eve of 2017, youngsters rushed to the free concert on Bahti Meskerem Square, while elders enjoyed a meal and coffee while watching EriTV live before hugging each other at the ringing bells of midnight while clubs and bars were full to the delight of their owners. Looking back at Eritrea’s activities throughout the year 2016 allow one to analyze, assess and realized the numerous challenges and development made. A reflection of the past to start the new book by filling each of the 365 pages it contents. With the beginning of 2017, let me wish a prosperous year in peace for Eritrea, Eritreans and friends of Eritrea!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line235
__label__cc	0.6205	0.3795	The conservative approach to criminal justice: fighting crime, supporting victims, and protecting taxpayers. The Case for Reform The Criminal Justice Challenge Right on Crime Signatories Overcriminalization Parole and Re-Entry Pretrial, Fines & Fees State Reforms Right on Crime Events Right on Crime in the Media Right on Crime Books Thomas Lyons State Director, Wisconsin Criminal Justice News Community Supervision in Wisconsin Second Chances in Minnesota New Report Highlights Wisconsin’s Unsuccessful Community Supervision When Mental Health Problems Become Criminal As Troubles Mount, Wisconsin Juvenile Justice System is Primed for Overhaul Thomas Lyons \| July 18, 2017 USA Today-Wisconsin affiliates reported last week the number of inmates at the state’s two juvenile prisons have declined in the last two years. The prisons, Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, have been under increased scrutiny over security and corrective measures in place. Two and a half years ago, federal authorities seized evidence related to complaints of poor practices. In addition to the raid, the ACLU filed suit earlier this year against the Department of Corrections alleging inmates’ civil rights were violated by practices such as overuse of pepper spray and solitary confinement. On July 10, the court ruled the Department of Corrections must revise its practices by decreasing the maximum amount of time a juvenile can spend in solitary confinement. While these investigations and suits play out, counties seem to be paying attention, and looking at the state prison system for juveniles as only a last resort when all local options for treatment and rehabilitation are exhausted. Brown County, for example, developed a local program designed to keep juvenile offenders closer to home because, as the director of the program is quoted in the article, “keeping kids local is best practice in juvenile justice.” Counties, however, should not be left alone to deal with the development of effective juvenile justice programs. The state has two options at this point. The first is the easier one: Simply fix the superficial problems brought to light by the investigations and lawsuits to make sure the bare minimums are maintained. The second option is more difficult. The state legislature should undertake a whole review of Wisconsin’s juvenile detention policies. The legislature could take the signs of trouble at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake as an opportunity to do a complete review of the state’s juvenile justice system. The best option is to take action now. In the past several sessions, the legislature and the governor have had the courage to address several issues, like the opioid crisis and the increasing prevalence of degenerative brain disorders—by drawing attention to the issue, assembling experts to study the problem and best practices, and then enacting reforms. They should do the same with juvenile justice. THOMAS LYONS entered the legal field after receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and a law degree from Marquette University. Working in offices in Kewaunee and Sheboygan Counties, Tom’s practice focused primarily on criminal defense, juvenile, and mental health law. Switching to the world of policy, Tom started as a legislative aide to a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, followed by a State Senator, and for a brief time Governor Scott Walker before joining Right on Crime on 2017. CONNECT WITH right on crime facebook \| twitter \| email \| Request a speaker \| Donate Right on Crime is a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, in partnership with the American Conservative Union Foundation and Prison Fellowship. 901 Congress Avenue www.scriptsell.net Get our updates by email Sign up for regular updates and maybe even a special treat from time to time. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Armed Forces America Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington, D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Priority Issues Overcriminalization Civil Asset Forfeiture Juvenile Justice Substance Abuse Adult Probation Parole and Re-Entry Law Enforcement Prisons Victims You'll hear from us soon	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line240
__label__cc	0.691185	0.308815	Davisville Jr. Public School / Spectrum Alternative School By Dave Brohman \| On May 25, 2017 \| Design, Schools Snyder Architects is excited to be working with the TDSB on the new Davisville Jr. Public School / Spectrum Alternative School in Midtown Toronto. The Davisville site has been a school site for over 100 years and this new project marks the third time that it will be re-developed to address the changing needs of the neighbourhood and the children in terms of education, recreation, and community building. This is a complex project that includes a new elementary school for 731 students, a new 5 room childcare facility, a community hub, and space allocated on site for a future community aquatics centre, all within a relatively small urban site. This design serves the public interest in a thoughtful and fiscally responsible way, furthering the site’s historical role as a vital community asset, by creating an exceptional 21st century learning environment and much needed community hub for future generations.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line242
__label__cc	0.569036	0.430964	Creating a social media presence in 2010 \| Social Signal Creating a social media presence in 2010 Social media for small organizationsCreating a social media presence in 2010 Part 1 of a series. Originally appeared on AlexandraSamuel.com. By now, virtually any organization that is committed to the web has asked: how can social media and online community strengthen our relationship to our members or customers, and help us fulfill our mission? That is fundamentally the same question that a handful of organizations were starting to ask five years ago, when Rob and I first started Social Signal. But the context for that question has completely changed. Five years ago there was no Twitter, YouTube was a brand-new, unknown startup, and Facebook had only just opened its network to high school students. Organizations that built online communities for their members, customers or the public were typically convening a group of people who couldn't connect otherwise, or hosting a conversation that wouldn't otherwise take place. At the time, we advised organizations that they had a unique, limited time opportunity to launch their online conversations. We pointed out that the growth of online communities meant that users were starting to make their commitments to specific sites or networks; get in early, and yours could be one of the primary networks with which your audience engaged. That window closed two or three years ago: an organization that creates an online community today is mostly competing for attention with its members' or customers' pre-existing commitments to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube. Organizations that built niche communities before these sites took off have in some cases been able to retain their most passionate members, but it's now hard to find members with that kind of passion for a new community: the kinds of people who can get worked up about participating in online communities have already joined several (or many!) and are busy blogging, commenting or posting on the ones they already belong to. Even if you meet those members where they are, by creating a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, it can be hard to get their attention. Yet a great many businesses, non-profits and government agencies are still coming to the social web, with the party well underway. They want to tap into the power of online conversation for building relationships with customers, members or citizens; to access social networks as a way of getting a message out; to strengthen their brand and reputation with online content, especially the user-contributed kind that carries the greatest credibility. They've got fewer resources to work with as they enter the social web, and face tougher competitive pressures than the early entrants. But there is a half-full glass at the end of the tunnel outside the social media window that has now closed. Sure, in 2010 it's a lot harder to attract members to YAFSN (Yet Another F***ing Social Network). But it is a lot easier to explain your social media efforts to your board, staff, customers or members: the odds are good that most of them already use some kind of social media tool, so they'll understand the intuition behind your social media efforts and find it that much easier to start using whatever you create, because it will feel familiar. Something else is easier too: figuring out what to do. In five years of working with socially-minded businesses, government agencies and not-for-profits, we've discovered some consistent patterns in what's feasible and effective for organizations under constraint. There are two types of constraint that typically shape how organizations engage with the social web: the size of their budget, and the size of their potential audience. I've drafted a series of blog posts that walk organizations through the process of developing a social media strategy while facing budget or audience constraints. This approach is shaped by the 90-9-1 rule, which tells us that it's very hard for an organization with a limited audience to achieve a self-sustaining volume of user-generated content; and by the 80/20 rule, which tells us that it's crazy for an organization to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a social media strategy when their limited audience means they're likely to end up with one of two basic approaches. I figure that most organizations can get 80% of the way towards a solid social media presence by following one of these two approaches, and that only a small number will have the resources to develop the innovative concept or high-octane engagement strategy that gets them to 100%. You can call this approach the Rule of 84: 80/20 + 90-9-1. It's intended to save a lot of time, money and wasted effort on the part of organizations -- mostly nonprofits, but also some businesses -- who would otherwise take the Field of Dreams approach to social media: if we build it, they will come. For most organizations, if you build it, they won't come: they're too busy on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. Follow this strategy and you'll be able to create an effective social media presence that is robust in the face of low participation or a limited budget. NPTech social media for small organizations About Rob Cottingham Social Signal's president, recovering speechwriter and the wielder of the pen behind the Noise to Signal cartoon Latest posts by Rob Cottingham Introducing the Leadership Communications podcast You can make these SXSWi panels happen! Sketchnotes from the Digital Strategy Conference Alex on Twitter	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line243
__label__wiki	0.690994	0.690994	Men of the Cloth ... Featured Churches Union Church EXCERPTS FROM THE SOUVENIR HISTORY OF PHILIPSBURG BY S. B. ROW On the north side of Presqueisle street, between Sixth and Seventh, stands the old “Union Church,” an odd-looking edifice that is usually called the “old much church.” Its architecture e bears traces of the Gothic style, but its general quaintness is apt to attract tile attention of tile passing stranger. In the little adjoining cemetery, “each in his narrow cell forever laid,” sonic of the humble “forefathers of the hamlet sleep," and a few aged oaks and tall green pines keep constant vigil over their silent graves. Near the northwest corner of the same cemetery, in a plot enclosed by a neat galvanized iron railing are several well-cared for graves. On two of the white marble tombstones appear the names of John G. Shultz, one of the original pioneers, and of Rosalie, his wife. From the inscription it appears that she died on the 7th of Oct. 1842, aged 72 years, and he on the 8th of Dec., 1844, aged 83 years. His son, Frederick is also buried there, as are likewise some other members of the Shultz family. The lot on which the old church is standing was part of the outlot that John G. Shultz received when he first came hither. He had cleared a portion of it, and when the early settlers need ed a place for burying their dead, he permitted them to use it for that purpose. Afterward, when Mr. Philips wished to secure a burial ground he offered to exchange another piece for it, and Mr. Shultz having knowledge of a spring of excellent water in a small grove of sugar maples on the opposite side of the creek, accepted four acres there in lieu of it. He later on purchased twenty odd acres adjoining, and the two pieces are embraced in the farm now owned by his granddaughter, Miss Sarah Shultz. The original building, or “meeting house” as it was called in the documents in possession of the descendants of Mr. James McGirk, was elected in 1819 or 1820, by a fund to which inhabitants of the village and neighboring settlers had generally subscribed, and was to be used as both a meeting and a school house. Mr. Philips, who owned the ground, and was doubtless also a contributor, executed a deed of trust for the property on the 12th of Nov., 1820, and named himself, Jacob Test and Jas. Collins as trustees. in 1834, the State Legislature was petitioned for and presumably granted authority permitting the qualified voters to elect trustees annually, hut for many years the two political parties, Democrats and Republicans have each incorporated in their ballot the names of three women for "church trustees" electing them at the regular election of town officials. In 1812, the requisite amount of money “to repair and improve” the building, was also raised by subscription. It was then that the inside was remodeled, and by erecting a square tower at the front, putting an addition to the rear, changing the shape of the windows. and rough-coating the walls, that its present form and appearance was imparted to the outside. Some complaint about the heavy expense incurred, not only produced considerable discord at that time, but subsequently brought on an unseemly contest between Mr. Philips and leading citizens regarding the control of the edifice. An aftermath of trouble followed, for suit was entered on an alleged debt, judgment obtained, execution issued, a levy made, and the old church condemned for sale. Mr. James McGirk and other interested persons took prompt steps to stop the proceedings. At August term a rule was granted for taking depositions, and at a later session the case was tried before Judge Woodward, who set aside the judgment on technical grounds that were laid down in the written Opinion of the Court. An appeal to the Supreme Court was talked of, but it does not appear that any such action was taken. No regular services were observed in the old church prior to the building of the Trinity Episcopal edifice in 1833 or 1834. Since then, denominations that possessed no meeting house of their own have been using the old one as occasion required (at the Present time it is being used by the Free Methodist Denomination). Around it cluster many interesting memories and the handsome, substantial, stone wall erected by the borough, enclosing the old “burial ground” not only beautifies but protects the one spot so dear to the hearts of the early settlers and a vital connecting link between the dead past and the living present, for not a vestige remains of the screw mill, forge or other. manufacturing plants which in earlier days had been erected in the town by the enterprising men who then shaped and controlled its industrial affairs. These excerpts are token from the "Souvenir History of Philipsburg" by permission of Grit Publishing co., Williamsport, Pa. From The One Hundredth Anniversary of the Union Church, Philipsburg, Penna, Nov 12, 1920. Return to the Men of the Cloth main page Pennsylvania Old Photos Mercer County PA Pennsylvania Biographies Crawford County PA Pennsylvania Orphans Lawrence County, PA Pennsylvania Old Yearbooks Pennsylvania Disasters All documents, photos, materials and graphics contained in the Men of the Cloth pages are copyrighted by the submitter and by this site. You may not use them elsewhere, whether in print or electronically, without written permission. Space provided by Rootsweb and historicpa.net. Old Photos & Genealogy Blog familyoldphotos.com historicpa.net old-yearbooks.com gendisasters.com Copyright ©2002-2007, All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line248
__label__wiki	0.682752	0.682752	FULL WATCH American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Online Series Watch American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Online, American Crime Story Season 2 Creator/Destroyer, American Crime Story 2×8, American Crime Story S2E8, American Crime Story 2/8, American Crime Story S02E08, American Crime Story Eps 8, American Crime Story Season 2 Full Episode, American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Drive Google, American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Torrent, American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Openload, American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Full Series, American Crime Story Series 2 Episode 8, Download American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8, American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Streaming Watch American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 Online Episode Name: Creator/Destroyer Summary: A young Andrew Cunanan struggles with his oppressive father as a young Gianni Versace becomes a designer. Summary: ‘American Crime Story’ is a new true crime anthology series from prolific producer Ryan Murphy (best known for the ‘American Horror Story’ anthology miniseries franchise). Each season focuses on a different true crime story which made headlines and captivated the imagination of the public. The first installment, ‘American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson’ is a look at the O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers. It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed—reasonable doubt source : American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line249
__label__wiki	0.824227	0.824227	Album Review: Big Thief – U.F.O.F. May 13, 2019 by Kenny Bieber Leave a Comment With increased hype around singles, the traditional concept of an album is in question these days. However, there is evidence that albums still hold power – look no further than Big Thief’s latest release U.F.O.F. The folk-alternative group’s most recent work is a hazy, dreamy, and haunting collection of music that serves up some captivating soundscapes and layers. The album’s scope is intimate and grand all at once and underneath, there’s a strong emotional weight that draws the listener in. As a body of work, UFOF juxtaposes moments of intimacy and intensity, and the contrast leads to some truly accomplished results. The craft and fluidity of the songwriting are seamless, and each track feels interconnected, creating a rich tapestry for the listener to get immersed into. Standout tracks “Orange” and “Open Deserts” are examples of the band’s approach toward songwriting and structure. Both tracks are understated yet still manage to contain a good deal of thematic richness. What’s so striking about U.F.O.F. is how it creates its finest moments out of simplicity and builds upon them. Highlight tracks “Strange,” “Betsy,” and “Jenni” are all examples of the band emphasizing atmosphere and mood to create songs that are emotionally honest and sonically layered. The overall production of the album feels indebted to folk music but incorporates elements of ambient music, shoegaze, and alternative while blurring the lines between each genre. The imagination and vastness of Big Thief’s sound make for a consistently surprising and engaging listening experience. What truly sets U.F.O.F. apart as a record is how open-hearted and human it is. The album examines themes of connection, loneliness, and the space between moments. In addition, lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker demonstrates vulnerability and honesty that’s at times wrenching, pure, and utterly soulful. U.F.O.F. explores its themes in a way that’s transportive yet still feels grounded in its humanity, thus deepening our connection throughout. Overall, U.F.O.F. stands as a well-rounded achievement for Big Thief. It’s a beautifully crafted, artful, and personal body of work that’s indicative of the group’s tremendous talent. As a listening experience, it easily ranks one of the most accomplished pieces of music to be released this year. If you needed any proof that the album format can still deliver a captivating experience, UFOF provides no short supply of evidence. Do yourself a favor and get lost in it while you can. Songs to Spin: “Orange,” “Strange,” “Open Desert,” “Betsy” Filed Under: Reviews, The Latest About Kenny Bieber Kenny Bieber is a human being who really likes food and sometimes writes about music. He also spends way too much money on records and is shamelessly obsessed with diner milkshakes.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line252
__label__wiki	0.955083	0.955083	Pastrnak scores twice, Bruins beat Maple Leafs to tie series Sabres, Larsson agree to $1.55M deal Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (40) and teammate David Pastrnak (88) celebrate defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs after Game 4 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) TORONTO (AP) With the Maple Leafs buzzing and Scotiabank Arena rocking after Toronto tied it early in second period, the Boston Bruins needed a push from their dormant stars. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand delivered. Pastrnak scored twice in quick succession, Marchand had a goal and two assists and the Bruins held off the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 on Wednesday night to tie the first-round series 2-2. "It's not easy to win in this building," Pastrnak said. "A hell of a win." Game 5 is Friday night in Boston. Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist for Boston, Zdeno Chara and Joakim Nordstrom also scored and Tuukka Rask made 38 saves. At 42 years, 30 days, the 6-foot-9 Chara became the second-oldest defenseman in NHL history to score a playoff goal. Chris Chelios holds the record at 45 years, 86 days. "If I contribute something offensively, it's always a plus," Chara said. "But my focus is always playing well defensively. I take a lot of pride in playing well defensively." Auston Matthews scored twice for Toronto. Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott also scored and Frederik Andersen stopped 25 shots. "We had real good energy," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "I didn't think we had the kind of brain all that time that we wanted. Turned the puck over, two real big mistakes on the penalty kill. Just got in our own way a little bit." After the Maple Leafs overcame a 2-0 deficit to tie it early in the second period, Pastrnak put Boston back in front at 3:16 when he redirected a pass from Marchand on a 2-on-1. The Bruins then got a power play when Matthews went off for roughing, and Marchand whipped a backhand pass to a wide-open Pastrnak, who snapped the puck short-side on Andersen for his second goal in 1:35. Chara made it 5-2 at 5:39 of the third. "He's a true professional. He's a great leader," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Still a really solid hockey player. They're trying to find ways to expose him and he's trying to adapt to the new NHL and has. There's a reason why he's still playing and still effective. Not only is he hard, but he's smart. He's a very intelligent man and has been able to figure out a way to keep playing this game and be effective." Matthews scored on the power play with 8:08 left, and Dermott made it 5-4 through traffic with 6:33 remaining. Nordstrom scored into an empty net with two seconds to go. "We did a lot of good things," Toronto center John Tavares said. "We generated a lot of chances, got a lot of pucks to the net. We didn't have our best start tonight, but we gave ourselves a good chance." NOTES: Boston was 2 for 2 on the power play. Toronto went 1 for 3. ... Canadian hip hop artist Drake and Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse attended the game.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line254
__label__cc	0.642005	0.357995	March 14, 2019 TravelChris Burkard, Hilaree Nelson, Spencer Conway, Stephan Orth, Travelstoryuntold Travel, it has been said, is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. On this week’s Story Untold, hear from some of the most memorable conversations on the podcast about travel and the things to keep in mind when seeing the world — from questions of whether we’re changing the places we love, why to treat travel as a percentage game, stories from Myanmar’s Death Train, and lessons learned from seeing the world by motorcycle. Highlights from Chris Burkard, Stephan Orth, Hilaree Nelson O’Neill, and Spencer Conway. At 32 years old, Chris Burkard is still learning. The self-taught photographer and Pismo Beach, California native has become one of the most prominent storytellers of the social media age, amassing over 3 million Instagram followers with his stunning landscape shots from around the world. He has become a published author eight times over, a TED speaker, and creative director of his own studio. “I aim to go to locations that inspire me, that make me excited — make me want to share a story. And I think when you get into those situations, you realize that’s where the best version of yourself is going to come about.” – Chris Burkard Stephan Orth Stephan Orth has a rule when travelling: say yes to any and all opportunities. So it is that when the award-winning travel writer continued to hear stories from fellow travellers about Iran, he decided it was time to see the country for himself — a trip that has since become the bestseller Couchsurfing in Iran: Revealing a Hidden World. “If you’re really interested, and if you ask lots of questions, I think you can learn much more than expected about a place, even if you’re not fluent in the language.” – Stephan Orth Hilaree Nelson O’Neill Dubbed one of the most adventurous women in the world of sports by Outside magazine and “the matriarch of mountaineering” by the Seattle Times, Hilaree Nelson O’Neill has seen her fair share of expeditions. The Pacific Northwest native has piled up a list of accomplishments over a 20-year career that would put her in the conversation with the most seasoned of adventurers. “You have to have a mindset where you go in with the expectation that things are going to go as you planned, but the flexibility and the relaxedness to adapt, and change, and laugh at things.” – Hilaree Nelson O’Neill Spencer Conway Many dream of seeing the world. Spencer Conway has done it from atop a motorcycle. Since leaving his job as an English teacher behind at the age of 41, the Biddenden, Kent resident has logged over 100,000 kilometres on his Yamaha XT-660 Tenere, circumnavigating Africa and South America — becoming the first person to complete the Africa bike trek solo. “As long as you’ve got water, fuel, and a tent, the world’s not as big as people think.” – Spencer Conway ← Nathan Smith: “As long as there is racism in Canada, I want this project to keep going” Issey Nakajima-Farran: “You never know when your chance is there” →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line256
__label__wiki	0.814351	0.814351	The Official Site of the Kansas City T-Bones Players Sold to MLB Contracts Sold to MLB Ticket Plans & Diamond Debit Cards Suite Info 2019 Team Program Sizzle Appearances Charity Partner Program A To Z at the Ballpark T-Bones Baseball is on Mixlr Key Mistakes Haunt the T-Bones in Grand Prairie 06/05/2018 10:34 PM - KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas City T-Bones came up short in Grand Prairie, falling to the Texas AirHogs , 3-2 powered by the Beijing Shougang Eagles. Key defensive errors proved costly for Kansas City despite another impressive pitching performance from the starting rotation. In the first inning, doubles by Stewart Ijames and Dillon Thomas gave the AirHogs an early 1-0. lead. Thomas hit his second double of the game in the fourth inning. A wild pitch by Adkins sent Thomas to third base, setting up a sacrifice fly to right field by Ryan Wagner. Thomas scored, extending the Texas lead, 2-0. Kansas City started their comeback in the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles by Tucker Pennell and Angel Rosa. Dylan Tice walked to load the bases for Todd Cunningham. Cunningham also walked, scoring Pennell to cut the Texas lead, 2-1. In the bottom of the fifth, a crucial overthrow by Zach Walters allowed Chu Fujia to reach second. The next at bat, Ijames hit a single, scoring Fujia for a decisive unearned run. The AirHogs went on to win, 3-2. After an RBI double by Cunningham in the seventh, the T-Bones were in position for a late inning comeback. Kansas City failed to complete the comeback after stranding Walters on third with one out in the eighth inning. Hunter Adkins (1-2) pitched five solid innings for Kansas City, allowing eight hits, and two earned runs. Meng Weiqiang (1-2) was rewarded with the win for the AirHogs holding Kansas City to one run in five innings. The T-Bones fell to 9-8, staying in fourth place in the South Division. The AirHogs picked up a much-needed win. They are currently in last place in the South Division with a 3-14 record. The T-Bones and AirHogs will play game two of their three-game series Wednesday night at AirHog Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas. Game time is 7:05pm and can be heard on the T-Bones Broadcast Network. The T-Bones return home on Monday June 11th to open a four-game series with the Sioux City Explorers at 7:05pm. Season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the Box Office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the Box Office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print at www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday – Friday and10:00 am to 2:00 pm Saturday. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to www.tbonesbaseball.com. and the T-Bones Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season. LISTEN TO ALL T-BONES GAME LIVE ON THE T-BONES BROADCAST NETWORK --T-Bones-- Back to index... The Kansas City T-Bones originally started as the Duluth-Superior Dukes when the Northern League was re-established in 1993. T-Bones Stadium 1800 Village West Parkway © 2019 Kansas City T-Bones. All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line264
__label__cc	0.664411	0.335589	Gina Rodriguez Talks About Her Life with Depression and Wants to Teach Girls Better Mental Health June 24, 2019 Movie and TV stars are known to have the most glamorous lives which many people desire to have. But only the stars themselves know the mental health issues they have to go through off-screen. Jane the Virgin star, Gina Rodriguez, feels that it’s time to be more open about her mental health woes. While speaking at the Kennedy Forum, (a mental health forum), she spoke about her anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Previously, the 34-year-old actress also posted an image on Instagram, talking about her anxiety. “There was a point where I couldn’t…push through every single time anymore, and I’m one of those human beings … where I’m like, I’ll handle it later. I’ll deal with it later. I’ll figure it out later. I just have to do this now. All the while you’re dealing with your silent little dragon in your head. And it came to a point, and this season was the first season where I had to stop production. I had a really tumultuous season, and I was unafraid for the first time to be like, ‘I can’t.’” Rodriguez revealed that her depression and suicidal thoughts began when she was sixteen, thinking that everyone else’s lives would be easier if she were just not there. The depression escalated during her days with Hashimoto’s disease, which is an autoimmune disease that destroys the thyroid glands. Rodriguez teared up a little when she mentioned that speaking to her husband about her issues, made her feel less judged. It eased up her feelings and lifted some weight from her shoulders. Subsequently, Gina wants the girls looking up to her to understand that life is not all about fame and glamour. She hopes girls can know that having conversations about their mental health is essential, and having these candid conversations can go a long way in helping them achieve their dreams. More in Mental Health	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line266
__label__wiki	0.858266	0.858266	's Twitter Account 0 Total Favourites 's Twitter Followers Live Counter 's Twitter Friends 's Twitter Followers Popular Twitter Account Life Story Offer : One Direction's Life Story Singer (1993-) Zayn Malik was one of the five members of One Direction, an English-Irish boy band that has topped the pop charts. Zayn Malik was born on January 12, 1993, in Bradford, England, to a family of English-Pakistani descent. He had an early love for singing and performing, and at the age of 17 he competed in the television competition The X Factor. He was teamed up with four other male contestants to form the group act One Direction, who went on to become one of the most popular boy bands in music history. Malik left the group in March 2015. The following year, he released his first solo album.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line268
__label__cc	0.584538	0.415462	DI Academic Cabinet refines 2-4 transfer concepts The Division I Academic Cabinet wants feedback on a legislative package for the 2011-12 cycle that strengthens requirements for two-year college transfers and provides an opportunity for prospects who need an academic boost to serve a “year of academic readiness” without losing a season of eligibility. Cabinet members, who met Monday and Tuesday in Indianapolis, reviewed significant feedback on concepts the group circulated among the two- and four-year college communities. That input generally supported the changes to 2-4 transfer regulations. It also inspired the cabinet to tweak some of its original ideas. For example, the cabinet will consider increasing the transferable-credit grade-point average from 2.0 to 2.25. In the original concepts developed last fall, the cabinet supported an increase to a 2.5 GPA, but feedback from both the two-year and NCAA communities convinced the cabinet to recommend a more modest increase. The preliminary feedback also pointed out that other components of the package, including the new limits on physical education credits and the addition of a science credit, will affect transferrable GPAs. The concepts to be considered this spring before the cabinet’s June meeting will differ slightly depending on whether prospects qualify out of high school. To be immediately eligible for competition upon transfer from a two-year institution, qualifiers must: Earn a 2.25 GPA in transferrable-credit courses (up from 2.0). Transfer only two P.E. activity credits (currently only men’s basketball players are subject to this limitation). Meet all other current requirements for immediate competition upon transfer. Nonqualifiers out of high school would also be required to meet the increased GPA requirement for competition, though they could qualify for aid and practice with a 2.0 GPA in transferrable courses, provided they meet all other transfer requirements. Nonqualifiers would also be subject to the P.E. limits and would be required to earn three transferable science credits in addition to the already required three in math and six in English. Data show that successful completion of a college level science course is predictive of future academic success. All other requirements for nonqualifiers (including earning a two-year degree and attending at least three semesters or four quarters at the two-year college) would remain in place. Academic readiness As part of the package, the cabinet also would create the opportunity for a “year of academic readiness” that would provide for an additional year at the two-year institution to concentrate on academics. Aid and practice would be allowed (but not competition), and a student-athlete’s five-year clock would be suspended for that year for progress-toward-degree purposes. The cabinet will also continue to seek feedback on a more solid framework for the year of academic readiness. Current parameters include: The program is open to those that the Eligibility Center has certified as nonqualifiers. The year of academic readiness must be taken in the first year of enrollment at a two-year institution. Student-athletes who use the program must attend the two-year school for five semesters or seven quarters before transferring to a four-year school. The three years of enrollment at the two-year institution must be consecutive (existing exceptions would continue). In-person recruiting is not permitted until the third year of enrollment at the two-year school. Once a student-athlete reaches a four-year institution, he or she has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Six years of athletically related financial aid would be permissible over a seven-year period for those who use the program. The Eligibility Center will also provide some method of tracking those who are using the year of academic readiness, with both the student-athlete and the two-year institution confirming the use of the program in the initial year of enrollment. This tracking method will require prospective student-athletes who might take advantage of the year of academic readiness to register with the Eligibility Center. The cabinet will seek feedback on an effective date of Aug. 1, 2013, for both the increased standards and the year of academic readiness. The effective date will provide adequate notice to potential two-year college student-athletes and also give the two-year institutions time to prepare for the year of academic readiness concept. Members of the two-year community who attended the cabinet meeting called the plan “revolutionary” and agreed that it would be a major step in preparing student-athletes to be academically successful. Both the cabinet members and the two-year college officials acknowledged that the plan must be accepted by both communities for it to flourish. The two-year college officials also complimented the cooperative process that developed the concepts that will lead to legislation later this year and expressed hope that similar processes will be followed in the future. The cabinet meets again in June to finalize the concepts into legislation for the 2011-12 cycle. First votes on the proposals would take place at the NCAA Convention in January 2012. Previous articleNFL Owners and Players are on the Clock Next articleCal Will Keep Three Sports: Is Title IX at the Core of Decision? U.S. Sports Academy Vote Now for Academy Athlete of the Month for October International Tennis Federation Announces Plans to Transform Davis and Fed Cups Armour: Carson Wentz Looks Like Real Deal Again as Eagles Beat Bears	cc/2019-30/en_head_0037.json.gz/line270

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