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The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 119
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 119
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
pred_label
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float64 | wiki_prob
float64 | text
string | source
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|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.877186
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“Boston Combat Zone: 1969–1978” at Yezerski
From our review of “Boston Combat Zone: 1969–1978,” featuring photos by Roswell Angier of Cambridge, Jerry Berndt of Paris, and John Goodman of Wellesley, Massachusetts, at Howard Yezerski Gallery:
Everyone looks so weary in Howard Yezerski Gallery's gritty documentary photos of Boston's dear departed Combat Zone from 1969 to 1978. The year's still young, but this glimpse into our past from Roswell Angier, Jerry Berndt, and John Goodman may be one of the best shows of 2010.
The stretch of Washington Street between Stuart Street and Downtown Crossing got its name from rowdy Navy sailors who prowled its bars in the 1950s. But it had become a haven for adult bookstores, clubs, and moviehouses by the early '70s, when, as a way to quarantine legal sexcapades, city zoning officials designated it Boston's official "adult-entertainment district."
Cambridge photographer Angier worked his way into strip-club back rooms with the help of the joints' PR folks. Elizabeth Harris — a guy who'd had a number of operations to become a woman — bares all as she slithers around a pole at the Two O'Clock Club. Lorraine Gail sits exhausted backstage in her satin and rhinestones robe. Then she raises her arms and shows off her naked breasts, but her eyes are empty. Angier reports that an ex-boyfriend later beat her to death with a crowbar in a park.
One of the strippers to whom he got closest was Coty Lee. She looks into a hand-held mirror as she fixes her make-up. Angier stands over her shoulder in the dark — a kind of metaphor for all the watching men. You can see his camera, but his face is obscured by the flash.
“Boston Combat Zone: 1969–1978,” Howard Yezerski Gallery, 460 Harrison Ave., Boston, Feb. 12 to March 16, 2010.
Pictured from top to bottom:
Roswell Angier, "Coty Lee, Mousetrap Cabaret," 1975, "Sonny, Washington Street," 1974, "Washington Street," 1977, "Chorus Girls, Pilgrim Theater," 1973, "Jeri Dean, Two O'Clock Club," 1974; Jerry Berndt, "The Combat Zone, Washington St., Boston," 1968, "The Combat Zone, Washington St., Boston," 1968, "The Combat Zone, Washington St., Boston," c. 1967, "The Combat Zone, Washington St., Boston," 1968; John Goodman, "Tremont Street #4," 1978, "The Schlitz Boys," 1978, "Onyx, Bradford Hotel, 13th Floor," 1975, "Sweet Polly," May 20, 1976, "Shine, La Grange Street," 1975.
From our review of "M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces, 1950s-'70s" at Brown University:
Maqbool Fida Husain has long been known as one of the grand old men of Indian art. The New York Times refers to the 94-year-old as "India's most famous painter" and one of the "great Indian modernists." In recent years, his notoriety has taken a cruel twist as Hindu nationalists, offended by Husain's nude depictions of Hindu goddesses, have brought obscenity cases against him and attacked his home. The artist, a Muslim, took refuge in Dubai — though there is talk that things may have cooled enough that he is now considering returning home.
"M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces, 1950s-'70s," at Brown University's Pembroke Hall, is a rare opportunity to see his early works, since modern and contemporary Indian art is still little exhibited in the United States. What you learn is that Husain may be a great man, but he's not a great artist.
"M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces, 1950s-'70s," Brown University's Pembroke Hall, 172 Meeting Street, Providence, Feb. 5 to March 26, 2010.
Pictured from top to bottom: M. F. Husain, "Amusement in the Street," 1957. Oil on canvas; "Musicians," 1961. oil on canvas; detail of "Chariot of the Sun God." Oil and Chinese lacquer on canvas; all from the collection Amrita Jhaveri.
MIT professor Joan Jonas, a pioneer of video and performance art, speaks in the video above about her project "Performance 7: Mirage," now on view at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The museum explains:
"Inspired by a trip the artist took to India, Joan Jonas’s 'Mirage' (1976/2005) was originally conceived as a 1976 performance for the screening room of New York’s Anthology Film Archives. In it, Jonas carried out a series of movements, such as running as a form of percussion and as gestural drawing, while interacting with a variety of sculptural components and video projections. In 1994, the artist repurposed these elements—metal cones suggesting the form of volcanoes, videos of erupting volcanoes, wooden hoops, a mask, photographs, and chalkboards, among other items—as a discrete installation, which was itself reconfigured in 2005. At MoMA, the artist once again reimagines the work in an installation that combines elements of ritual, memory, repetition, and rehearsal with games, drawn actions, and syncopated rhythms."
Below Jonas talks about feminism and her influences.
"Performance 7: Mirage by Joan Jonas," Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York, Dec. 18, 2009, to May 31, 2010.
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Company ► History
Al Halabi History
"World Renowned Engineering"
A symbol of quality for over 40 years, the formation of Al-Halabi was first deliberated upon in 1950; coming to fruition in the UAE twenty five years later after the three founders were forced to leave their homeland of Lebanon due to the civil war. This trio of visionary, industrious entrepreneurs, Mr. Salahuddine Al-Halabi, Mr. Abdul Kader Al-Halabi and Mr. Sameer Baradei, established their fledgling company in Dubai, and from the very beginning it has been focused on the three core principles of quality, service, and customer satisfaction.
There is no doubt that Al-Halabi provides the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary and, being the first company of its kind to establish itself in the UAE marketplace, has become the preferred choice for discerning companies and organisations not only throughout the GCC, but also further afield.
The company had an auspicious start, with its very first project being a palace hospitality kitchen for His Highness Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum. It was a job that has helped Al-Halabi to become synonymous with the phrase ‘Don’t Expect the Usual Service, Expect More’.
That’s why today, as the recognised leader in several related fields, encompassing the supply, design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of both industrial and commercial kitchen equipment, Al-Halabi offers quality, customised solutions for hotels, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, cafeterias, hospital, wedding halls, catering companies, villas, palaces, luxury cruise ships; in fact, anywhere that welcomes quality craftsmanship in every detail.
Offering technological mastery combined with uncommon elegance, Al-Halabi brings world-renowned engineering into your kitchen.
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| 0.924735
| 0.924735
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What's a Press Pack?
Pack structure
The Digital Journey
Digital Journey Timeline
History of C4 PIPs
Press Pack Case Studies
Film Review Shows
Channel 4's Red Triangle Experiment
The Research Project
A Film4 Timeline
Film4 Seasons
Search Packs
Browse Packs
This four-year AHRC-funded project (2010-2014) is a collaboration between the University of Portsmouth and the BUFVC, assessing the impact of Channel 4 on British film culture. The project’s work has involved extensive research at Channel 4’s own archives and interviews with more than 30 current and former Channel 4 employees and film industry personnel. In partnership with the BUFVC, the full-run of Channel 4’s weekly press information packs (1982-2002) has been digitised for the benefit of media historians.
Between 1982 and 1998 Film on Four directly funded over 270 productions, which provided a major boost to the British film industry and created an unprecedented bridge between television and film.
Film For All Seasons
Film on Four was the flagship strand for new feature films commissioned by Channel 4 between 1982 and 1998. Here you can browse the back catalogue, season by season, as originally broadcast.
Oral History Interviews
Interviews with key personnel have been vital to our research. They reveal much about Channel 4’s contribution to British film culture, and provide valuable insights into the ecology of creativity across the UK film and television industries.
The Portsmouth-based research project hosted a dedicated conference at BFI Southbank in November 2012 to coincide with Channel 4′s 30th anniversary. Members of the project team have also disseminated research findings at a number of other conferences in the UK and internationally.
Channel 4 Film Blog
During the four years of the research project ‘Channel 4 and British Film Culture’ (2010-2014) a number of writers contributed blogs on aspects of Channel 4’s film activities.
Among its many innovations, the new Channel 4 made a commitment to fund feature film for broadcast on television and for selective cinema release. While some critics argued that it diminished cinema, many hailed Channel 4 as the saviour of the UK film industry.
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CNN Fact-Checks Reports on Tafari Moore’s Death During DNC Protests
In 2007, Tafari Moore, 27, was shot and killed by officers at a protest near the Republican National Convention. His killing remains unsolved. The CNN special report “Revenge?” finds that protesters – including the family of Moore – were frustrated by intense police tactics and the lack of a thorough investigation. If you haven’t seen the two-hour special yet, head to CNN’s website. You can also watch the below video to see Moore’s death.
The Washington Post published a story that outlines the case behind the fatal shooting in September of Tafari Moore. His death sparked protests over the perceived lack of police brutality in communities of color. Tafari Moore was a black man with an arrest record in Tysons Corner and Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The younger brother of a state representative in Michigan, Moore had been living in Alexandria, Virginia, at the time of his death.
The aftermath of Moore’s death showed that anger with police and governmental institutions was a national issue. However, the accused officers in Moore’s case were quickly cleared by police, and the FBI found no evidence of a conspiracy. His family and supporters have been calling for an independent investigation ever since. Moore’s family joined the protests again around the anniversary of his death.
The CNN special report, titled “Revenge?” claims that police tactics and a lack of a fair investigation were things about which the family was dissatisfied. The report examines why some protesters felt like police were just following orders and why others disagreed with the methods of law enforcement. The report includes interviews with members of Tafari Moore’s family and the widow of a protestor who was shot at.
Categories world Tags influenza, showtime, television, vaccination and immunization
Report: Tesla alleged sexual harassment that was ignored, mocked
By supporting the persecution of migrants, Belarus bolsters Russia’s hard line
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| 0.642505
| 0.357495
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West Africans met Sunday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja for an international conference titled, “Business and Politics of Zambia’s Economy.” It drew 300 delegates — both from Africa and beyond — from Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Their mission: to study — and learn from — the country’s reforms, political upheavals, and economic successes. Zambia’s national economy, launched in 1993, since expanded to encompass the telecommunications, agriculture, mining, mining and oil industries. And its innovation.
Unsurprisingly, the country attracted some well-known speakers.
Lisa Channing, COO of Silicon Valley-based Takara Telecoms, who studies African investment, made a speech about entrepreneurship. “The frontier of tech and innovation goes all the way up to the world’s second biggest economy,” she said. And he noted that a high African population growth rate is great for demand for new technology. (For a more detailed summation, watch Channing on “PBS NewsHour” in August, in which she says, “It’s vital that Africa takes on a major role in addressing the exploding internet needs of its citizens.”)
Tourists charged with taking Guinness beer into Rome landmark
Scotiabank Now Accepting Résumés For the First Time As It expands Campus Hiring
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The words Wells used in 1991 when, as Attorney General he introduced Queensland’s first Freedom of Information legislation, set the bar very high for government openness. His words continue to be quoted often by journalists arguing for more access to information.
The assumption that information held by Government is secret unless there are reasons to the contrary is to be replaced by the assumption that information held by Government is available unless there are reasons to the contrary. The perception that Government is something remote from the citizen and entitled to keep its processes secret will be replaced by the perception that Government is merely the agent of its citizens, keeping no secrets other than those necessary to perform its functions as an agent.
Queensland Parliamentary Debates 1991
This website and its contents are © Copyrighted 2008. All rights reserved.
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“The purpose of art is to reflect society;
it must be revisited through a new lens with a new perspective,
and that lens is art.”
Fusing a punk/grunge background with spectral techniques and classical refinement, Miami composer Dorothy Hindman pushes the boundaries of the technically possible with unique, visceral elegance. Critics have called her music “bright with energy and a lilting lyricism” (New York Classical Review), “dramatic, highly strung” (Fanfare), “varied, utterly rich … with purpose and heart” (Huffington Post), “powerful and skillfully conceived” (The Miami Herald), and “music of terrific romantic gesture” (The Buffalo News). Of her latest CD Tightly Wound, ICON magazine says, “Hindman’s music weds technique and syntax of classical music with the directness and impudence of rock. Highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music.”
Across Hindman’s catalog of over 75 works, surface impact comes from the driving rhythms and distortion of her punk/rock roots. Through juxtaposition, imitation and fragmentation, simple ideas are woven into highly complex structures, while revealing deeper emotional and intellectual levels. Timbre is a primary compositional concern for Hindman, a former rock band synth player. Dissections, explorations and manipulations of sonic models often provide formal or conceptual bases for her music.
Hindman’s sonic models often engage with autobiographical and social issues. She writes:
“My purpose as a composer is to present my unique human perspective, challenge assumptions, and expand one’s understanding of themselves and others. Inspired by local history and personal experience, I explore my mis/understanding of past and current events, and the cultural, social and economic legacies I have inherited.
I want to captivate my listener, to reach and touch their humanity, to place a demand on their attention that is rewarded. My music is provocative, but also engaging, memorable, and ultimately meant to affect positive change. Ideally, whatever the listener takes away can be cathartic.”
Virtuosic and hardcore, Hindman’s music requires like-minded pioneering spirits. Her collaborators include today’s most trailblazing new music performers: Splinter Reeds, Bent Frequency, ensemble dal niente, [Switch~ Ensemble], TURNmusic, Corona Guitar Kvartet, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Heartland Marimba Quartet, The Hadit Collective, the Gregg Smith Singers, Empire City Men’s Chorus, Voces Inauditae, Duo 46, and virtuosi such as bassist Robert Black, cellist Craig Hultgren, percussionist Stuart Gerber, and pianist Jacob Mason. Multimedia collaborations include music for Carrie Mae Weem’s film Italian Dreams, and The Wall Calls to Me with visual artist Sally Wood Johnson has been exhibited in major museums throughout the Southeast.
Her over 400 performances span 35 states and 20 countries, in major venues including Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Boston’s Jordan Hall, the American Academy in Rome, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Berlin’s BKA-Theater, and Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center. Numerous festival performances include the Havana Contemporary Music Festival, ISCM/New Music Miami, Boston Microtonal Society, Australian Flute Festival, Birmingham New Music Festival, Charlotte New Music Festival, and Nuovi Spazi Musicali Festival. Orchestra commissions and performances include the Florida Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony, the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast.
A tumultuous, unstable, often dangerous youth fuels much of Hindman’s music, but has also energized decades of volunteerism and advocacy, especially in new music. In her early career she co-edited the Living Music Journal, and co-founded the Birmingham Art Music Alliance, now in its 25th year, securing grant support and co-producing annual series of new music by Alabama composers. A devoted educator since 1994, Hindman’s beginning music theory course at Birmingham-Southern College paired college students with underprivileged 5th graders to collaborate, write and perform their own youth operas. From 2011-2015, she wrote, produced and broadcast the weekly Po Mo Show on WVUM, 90.5FM Coral Gables, promoting living composers and new music written since 1980. From 2011-2014, she was a critic for the Miami Herald and South Florida Classical Review, often documenting important world and US premieres. Hindman has recently launched the Justly Tuned concert series under the auspices of FETA (Foundation for Emerging Technologies and the Arts), presenting new music that engages with social and political issues, exploring music as communication, commentary, and catalyst for change, and promoting unheard stories, underserved voices, and fresh ideas.
Grant support for Hindman’s work has come from the Mellon Foundation, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Among her prizes and recognition are the American Prize, Gold Medals in the Global Music Awards, Iron Composer, NoteNova Choral Competition, Almquist Choral Composition Award, Nancy Van de Vate International Composition Prize for Opera, International Society of Bassists Solo Composition Competition, Percussive Arts Society Solo Marimba Composition Competition, and the NACUSA Young Composers Competition.
Hindman has been awarded artist residencies from the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Seaside Escape to Create, Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, the Visby International Centre for Composers, and Composer-in-Residence for the Goliard Ensemble. Hindman’s guest faculty appearances include the Charlotte New Music Festival, the Summer Composition Intensive at St. Mary’s College, the Miami International Piano Festival Academy, and the AmiCa Credenze POP Festival in Sicily.
Hindman’s music appears on twelve CDs. Her engineer/producer credits include her monograph CDs Blow by Blow (innova 010), Tightly Wound (innova 965) and Tapping the Furnace (innova 878).
Kulturni Magazin UNI raves, “Hindman offers extraordinary glimpses into interesting topics, concepts of modernity and structured complexity. … for many listeners the composer’s first CD Tapping The Furnace represents a remarkable discovery.” ICON magazine says of Tightly Wound: “Hindman’s music weds technique and syntax of classical music with the directness and impudence of rock. Highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music.” Other recent recordings include Albany’s Frost Symphony Live (2018), and the title track on Corona Guitar Kvartet’s Taut (2015). Hindman’s music can also be found on the Capstone, EMM, and Living Artist label.
Performance and study scores are available from Subito Music, NoteNova, and dorn/Needham.
Hindman earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami, and a Master of Arts from Duke University. She was a tenured professor at Birmingham-southern College, where she taught from 1994-2010. In 2012, Hindman joined the faculty at the Frost School of Music, where she currently serves as Associate Professor of Composition.
Shorter bios
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__label__wiki
| 0.850509
| 0.850509
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Is arangetram losing its real purpose?
For Prelims
About Arangetram:
The word Arangetram comes from the Tamil words ‘arangu’ meaning stage, and ‘etram’ meaning to climb.
One of the early references to the ceremony dates back to approximately the 5th century AD Tamil text, Silappadikaram.
It began as the formal ceremony where dancers would debut their craft in front of the king, where he would bestow his favourite dancer with a title and riches from the crown.
The ceremony was not only an evaluation of the dancer’s skill and training, but also of her poise, showmanship and ability to dress the part.
Classical Dances in India
The Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight dance forms as classical dances of India.
For Mains
Classical Dances and their features:
Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Odissi and Sattriya.
Bharatanatyam: Bharatanatyam originated in Tamil Nadu and grew out of the art of dancers dedicated to temples, and was earlier known as Sadir or Dasi Attam. Bharatanatyam rests on principles of performance and an aesthetics set down in classics such as Bharata’s Natyashastra.
Kathak: Kathak is the principal dance of northern India, and is widely practised in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and even parts of western and eastern India today. Kathak is characterized stylistically by its footwork and pirouettes, and is pre-eminently a dance of rhythm-play.
Kathakali: Kathakali or ‘story play’ took shape in Kerala in the seventeenth century. Stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata provide the content of most Kathakali plays. The faces of actors are painted according to the type of character they represent – green for heroes, kings, and divinities, red and black for the evil and fierce, etc.
Kuchipudi: Kuchipudi, one of the major dance forms of India originated from Andhra Pradesh, where it grew largely as a product of Bhakti movement beginning in the 7th Century AD. Kuchipudi derives its name from the village Kuchelapuram. Kuchipudi, combines speech, Abhinaya (mime) and pure dance. Kuchipudi dance is accompanied by Carnatic Music. Kuchipudi today is performed either as a solo, duet or a group presentation, but historically it was performed as a dance drama, with several dancers taking different roles.
Manipuri: Manipuri dance, evolved in Manipur in north-eastern India, is anchored in the Vaishnava faith of the Meiteis. The predominant theme of Manipuri dance is devotion, and the rich lore of Radha and Krishna lends it episodic content. Jagoi and cholom are the two main divisions in Manipur’s dance, the one gentle and the other vigorous, corresponding to the lasya and tandava elements described in Sanskrit literature.
Mohiniyattam: Mohiniattam, which belongs to Kerala, takes its name from the mythic enchantress Mohini. It is a dance of feminine grace, and has grown out of performances connected with Kerala’s temples. Characterized as it is by femininity, Mohiniattam has no heavy steps or rhythmic tension: the footwork is gentle, soft, and sliding. The dancer’s body rises and falls with an easy grace, with the emphasis mainly on the torso.
Odissi: Odissi dance has its origins in Orissa in eastern India, where in its rudimentary form it was performed as part of temple service by ‘maharis’ or female temple servants. The Vaishnava faith of Orissa is intrinsic to Odissi dance and the lore of Krishna and Radha supplies its content. Love lyrics from Jayadeva’s Sanskrit work Gitagovindam therefore have pride of place on the Odissi dance repertoire, together with songs in Oriya by medieval and early modern poets such as Upendra Bhanja and Banamali Das.
Sattriya: Sattriya dance’ refers to the body of dance and danced drama developed in the sattras or monasteries of Assam since the sixteenth century, when the Vaishnava faith propagated by the saint and reformer Shankaradeva (1449-1586) swept the land. It is a distinct genre within the fold of classical Indian dance, with an evolved language of hand gesture (hasta), footwork (pada karma), movement and expression (Nritta and Abhinaya), and a repertoire centered on devotion to Krishna.
Source: THE HINDU
Post Tags Post TagsArt and CultureUPSC
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MrBonzoMan - hhm-archiv
ABC ..alles Mögliche > MUSIK & machen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT6AZHTKafw - G
Little Richard & Creedence Clearwater Revival
317 Abonnenten
Little Richard - 'Lucille'
Plus....
Creedence Clearwater Revival -
'Good Golly Miss Molly'
This is a 'live non-edited' video, on the fly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnoOcyqkKKI - GS
The Kinks Waterloo Sunset - Guitar Cover
MrBonzoMan - Guitar Cover
The Kinks are an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965.
Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.
Their music was influenced by a wide range of genres, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. They gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' wittily observational writing style.
(Copyright & Courtesy of Wikipedia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPp3lc8iEgw - GS
Great Balls of Fire / Whole Lotta Shakin Going On
Whole Lotta Shakin Going On
Guitar Cover by: MrBonzoman
No intro chat ...straight in!
The Great Jerry Lee Lewis - A Super Legend
Rock n' Roll for ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHiZ8CfTTJ4 - GS
Guitar Cover by MrBonzoMan
Tutorial for GMM members!
The Who - Substitute
Fantastic UK Rock band from the 60s & 70's etc.
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century and have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk rock and mod bands, and their songs still receive regular exposure. (Wiki)
Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as a respected rock act. The success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up Who's Next (1971), considered by many critics to be the band's best work, which included such hits as "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley", and "Behind Blue Eyes". The group released another concept album, Quadrophenia (1973), as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy (1975). They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976. The release of Who Are You (1978) was overshadowed by Moon's death shortly after. (Wiki)
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'They Fed Me To The Beast': Joni Mitchell At The Isle Of Wight Festival
"A bit of a disaster" is how Joni Mitchell described an out-of-control August afternoon in 1970, when she gave a courageous performance at England's Isle of Wight Festival. Watching Both Sides Now: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, a new documentary by Oscar-winning director Murray Lerner, one sees how Mitchell tamed an agitated audience with a few fresh songs, a wide smile and a couple of astringent reprimands.
At the end of only her third song, Mitchell became frustrated with the rowdy crowd. "It really puts me up tight and I forget the words and I get nervous," she pleaded. "It's really a drag, and so I don't know what to say. So just give me a little help, will you?"
Her troubles began well before that.
Mitchell was slated to play the festival at night, but organizers begged her to go on mid-afternoon against her better judgment. "I have a feminine cooperative streak," Mitchell recalls in the disc's supplementary interview. "So I said yes. And they fed me to the beast."
It was surely the largest "beast" Mitchell had ever seen. On day four of the five-day festival, a crowd estimated at more than 600,000 squeezed into the ticketed, fenced-in grounds or camped for free on the adjacent hillside, waiting to see an illustrious lineup that included The Who, The Doors, Miles Davis, Sly and the Family Stone, Melanie and Ten Years After. The gulf between the haves and have-nots fueled much of the audience's frustration throughout the festival. While many thought the event should be totally free, others noted the conspicuous consumption of some of the performers. Mitchell notes that Neil Young rented a red Rolls-Royce and Donovan showed up in a Gypsy-styled caravan with beveled windows. It served double duty as Mitchell's dressing room. "The music isn't revolutionary at all," one disgruntled concert-goer said. "It's called big business."
Mitchell, sheathed in a pumpkin-colored dress with turquoise jewelry and flowing blonde hair, might have chosen a more tactful opening salute. Staring out at the multitudes, she declared with a slight chuckle, "It looks like they're making Ben-Hur or something." She also might have switched around her set list. Beginning with "That Song About the Midway," a beautiful but delicate number, didn't exactly pump up the crowd. Instead, she might have started with the song she sang next, the up-tempo "Chelsea Morning." But she never finished it; halfway through, she stopped mid-phrase. "I don't feel like singing that song so very much," she said, abandoning her guitar. "Let me play you one at the piano." At that moment, it seemed Mitchell had psychically tapped into the downer wavelength of the crowd as she launched into "For Free," an earnest portrait of a street busker with the opening lines: "I slept last night in a good hotel / I went shopping today for jewels." The words may not have thrilled the hippies who groused about economic disparity.
Mitchell's troubles kept mounting. As she introduced her fourth song, "Woodstock," a man in the front rows flipped out and needed medical attention. A producer took the stage to ask for a doctor. The disturbance, Mitchell said, rippled to the back of the crowd. But she forged ahead nervously, to meager applause. The song would become a signature tune, but at the time it was only the B-side of the single "Big Yellow Taxi," released four months earlier. Many in the audience were probably hearing it for the first time. During the song, Yogi Joe, an acquaintance of Mitchell's, somehow furtively made his way onto the stage. First, he quietly played a drum at Mitchell's feet; then he made a grab for the microphone before he was eventually dragged away. "We are uptight about commercial music co-opting our festival," he tried to explain as the camera followed him backstage.
The crowd was riled up, possibly mistaking Mitchell as just another authority figure who wouldn't let a young hippie have his say. Nearly in tears, she fingered the opening piano chords to a new song, "My Old Man." But music couldn't soothe the savage breast, so she stopped to give the audience what is now considered in Joni lore as the infamous angry lecture:
Listen a minute, will you? Will you listen a minute!? Now listen, a lot of people who get up here and sing, I know it's fun, you know, it's a lot of fun. It's fun for me, I get my feelings off through my music, but listen. You got your life wrapped up in it and it's very difficult to come out here and lay something down ... It's like last Sunday, I went to a Hopi ceremonial dance in the desert, and there were a lot of people there, and there were tourists. And there were tourists who were getting into it like Indians and Indians who were getting into it like tourists. And I think that you're acting like tourists, man. Give us some respect!
Beginning with the next song, "California," another new one from Blue (an album which wouldn't be released for nearly a year), the crowd was quieter and Mitchell's performances became warmer, less dutiful. By the time she sang "Both Sides Now" and "Big Yellow Taxi," she was beaming - and the audience was on its feet in admiration.
Joni Mitchell, at 26, turned an angry crowd around with bravery, willpower and a little tough love. It wouldn't be the last time in her career she would have to fight to be understood, by fans and detractors alike.
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Home / All / Fiqh & Socitey / What Happened at the Meeting between Martyr Sadr & al-Tijani
What Happened at the Meeting between Martyr Sadr & al-Tijani
Ali Teymoori June 21, 2018 Fiqh & Socitey, Muslim Scholars, Sociability & Relations Leave a comment 2,433 Views
Al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr showed me so much care and generosity to the extent that I forgot all about my family and tribe, and felt that if I stayed for one month with him, I would have become a Shii, because of his manners, modesty and generosity. Whenever I looked at him he smiled and asked me if I needed anything, and I did not leave his company during the four days, only when I wanted to go to sleep.
What follows is a narrative by Muhammad al-Tijani al Samawi of his meeting with Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr in Najaf:
I went with Abu Shubbar to al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr’s house, and on the way he honoured me and talked to me about the famous Ulama and about Taqlid (adoption of a legal decision by the Mujtahid) and so on until we entered the house where we found al Sayyid al Sadr surrounded by many young turbaned students.
Al-Sayyid stood up and greeted us, then I was introduced to him and he welcomed me warmly and sat me next to him. After that he started asking me about Tunisia and Algeria and about famous Ulama like al-Khidr Husayn and al-Thahir ibn Ashoor and others. I enjoyed his talk, and despite his high position and the great respect he commands from his students, I found myself at ease with him and felt as if I had known him before.
I benefitted so much from that meeting because I listened to the questions asked by the students and his answers to them; also I appreciated then the idea of adopting the decision of the living Ulama who could answer all sorts of questions directly and clearly. I became convinced that the Shi’a are Muslims worshipping Allah alone, who believe in the message of our Prophet Muhammad (saw).
At the beginning I suspected that what I saw was just acting, or perhaps as they call it Taqiyyah, i.e. they show what they do not believe; but these suspicions disappeared quickly since it was inconceivable that the hundreds of people that I saw or heard coordinated their acting, and why should there be acting anyway?
Besides who was I, and why should they be concerned about me to the extent that they used Taqiyyah with me? And all their books, whether they were old ones that had been written centuries ago or the newly published ones, all professed the unity of Allah and praise His Messenger Muhammad (saw). There I was, in the house of al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the famous religious authority inside Iraq and outside it, and every time the name of Muhammad (saw) was mentioned, the entire audience shouted in one voice “May Allah’s blessings be upon Muhammad and his household.”
When the time for prayer was due, we left the house and went to the mosque, which was next door, and al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr led the midday and afternoon prayers. I felt as if I was living among the Companions (of the Prophet), for there was a solemn invocation from one of the men who had a moving voice, and when he finished the invocation the whole audience shouted, “May Allah’s blessing be upon Muhammad and his household.” The invocation was basically to thank and glorify Allah, the Great Majesty, and then Muhammad (saw) and his good and purified posterity.
After the prayer, al-Sayyid sat in the Mihrab (the prayer niche) and people came to greet him, some asked him private questions, others asked him general questions, and he answered each one of them accordingly. When the person obtained an answer for his question, he kissed the hand of al- Sayyid then left, what lucky people to have such a dignified learned Imam who lives their experiences and solves their problems.
Al-Sayyid showed me so much care and generosity to the extent that I forgot all about my family and tribe, and felt that if I stayed for one month with him, I would have become a Shi’i, because of his manners, modesty and generosity. Whenever I looked at him he smiled and asked me if I needed anything, and I did not leave his company during the four days, only when I wanted to go to sleep.
There were many visitors who came to see him from all over the world; there were Saudi Shi’i from Hijaz, others came from Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Black Africa; and al-Sayyid spoke to each one of them and solved their problems, later they left him feeling happy and comforted.
Here I would like to mention a case which was brought to al-Sayyid when I was in his company, and I was very impressed by the way he dealt with it. I mention it because of its historical importance so that the Muslims know what they have lost by leaving the rule of Allah.
Four men, who were probably Iraqis, judging by their accents, came to see al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. One of them had inherited a house from his grandfather, who had died a few years ago, and had sold that house to a second person (he was present then). One year after the completion of the sale, two brothers came and proved that they were also legal inheritors of the dead man (i.e. the father).
The four of them sat before al-Sayyid and each one of them produced a number of papers and deeds, which al-Sayyid read, and after he spoke for a few minutes with the men, he passed a fair judgment. He gave the purchaser the full right to his house, and asked the seller to pay to his two brothers their shares from the selling price, and after that they stood up and kissed al-Sayyid’s hand and embraced each other. I was astonished about what had happened and asked Abu Shubbar, “Has the case ended?”
He said, “Yes, everyone received his right. Praise be to Allah!” In such case, and in such a short time, only a few minutes, the problem was solved. A similar case in our country would have taken at least ten years to resolve, some of the plaintiffs would die and their sons resume the case; often the legal costs exceed the price of the house. The case would move from the Magistrate Court to the Appeal Court to the Court of Review, and at the end no one is satisfied, and hatred between People and Tribes are created.
Abu Shubbar commented, “we have the same thing if not worse.” I asked, “How?” He said, if people take their cases to the state courts, then they would go through the same troubles which you have just mentioned, but if they follow the Religious Authority and commit themselves to the Islamic Laws, then they would take their cases to him and the problem would be solved in a few minutes, as you saw. And what is better than the Law of Allah for people who could comprehend? Al-Sayyid al-Sadr did not charge them one Fils, but if they went to the state courts, then they would have paid a high price.”
I said, “Praise be to Allah! I still cannot believe what I have seen, and if I had not seen it with my eyes, I would not have believed it at all.”
Abu Shubbar said, “You do not have to deny it brother, this is a simple case in comparison with other more complicated ones which involve blood. Even so, the Religious Authorities do consider them, and it takes them a few hours to resolve.” I said with astonishment, “Therefore you have two governments in Iraq, a government of the state and a government of the clergy. He replied, “No, we have a government of the state only, but the Muslims of the Shi’i Madhhab who follow the Religious Authorities, have nothing to do with the government of the state, because it is not an Islamic government.
They are subjects of that government simply because of their citizenship, the taxes, civil laws and personal status; so if a committed Muslim had an argument with a non committed Muslim, then the case must be taken to the state courts, because the latter would not accept the judgment of the Religious Authorities. However, if two committed Muslims had an argument, then there is no problem, whatever the Religious Authorities decide is acceptable to all parties. Thus, all cases seen by the Religious Authorities are solved on a day-to-day basis, whereas other cases linger on for months and years.”
It was an incident that made me feel content with rule of Allah, praise be to Him the Exalted one, which helped me to comprehend the words of Allah in His Glorious Book:
“… And whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers.” (Holy Qur’an 5:44)
“… And whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unjust.” (Holy Qur’an 5:45)
“… And whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the transgressors.” (Holy Qur’an 5:47)
That incident aroused in me feelings of anger and resentment about those who change the just rules of Allah with some unjust, man-made rules. They even go further, and with all impudence and sarcasm, they criticize the divine rules and condemn them for being barbaric and inhuman because it draws the limits cuts the hand of the thief, stones the adulterer and kills the killer. So where did all these new theories that are foreign to us and our culture come from? There is no doubt they came from the West and from the enemies of Islam who know that the application of Allah’s rules mean their inevitable destruction because they are thieves, traitors, adulterers, criminals and murderers.
I had many discussions with al-Sayyid al-Sadr during these days, and I asked him about everything I had learnt through the friends who talked to me about their beliefs and what they thought about the Companions of the Prophet (saw), and about ‘Ali and his sons, beside many other issues that we used to disagree upon.
I asked al-Sayyid al-Sadr about Imam ‘Ali and why they testify for him in the Adhan (the call for prayers) that he is “Waliy Allah” (the friend of Allah).
He answered me in the following way:
“The Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, was one of those servants of Allah whom He chose and honored by giving them the responsibilities of the Message after His Prophet. These servants are the trustees of the Prophet (saw), since each prophet has a trustee, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib is the trustee of Muhammad (saw).
We favor him above all the Companions of the Prophet (saw) because Allah and the Prophet favored him, and we have many proofs of that, some of them are deduced through logical reasoning, others are found in the Qur’an and al-Sunnah (the Tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)), and these proofs cannot be suspect, because they have been scrutinized, and proven right, by our own learned people (who wrote many books about the subject) and those of the Sunni Madhahibs.
The Umayyad regime worked very hard to cover this truth and fought Imam ‘Ali and his sons, whom they killed. They even ordered people, sometimes by force, to curse him, so his followers, may Allah bless them all, started to testify for him as being the friend of Allah. No Muslim would curse the friend of Allah in defiance of the oppressive authorities, so that the glory was to Allah, and to His Messenger and to all the believers. It also became an historical land mark across the generations so that they know the just cause of ‘Ali and the wrong doing of his enemies.
Thus, our learned people continued to testify that ‘Ali is the friend of Allah in their calls to prayer, as something which is commendable. There are many commendable things in the religious rites as well as in ordinary mundane dealings, and the Muslim will be rewarded for doing them, but not punished for leaving them aside.
For example, it is commendable for the Muslim to say after al-Shahadah (i.e. to testify that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad (saw) is His messenger): And I will testify that Heaven is true and Hell is true, and that Allah will resurrect people from their graves.”
I said “Our learned people taught us that the priority of the succession was for our master Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, then to our master Umar al-Faruq, then to our master Uthman, then to our master ‘Ali, may Allah bless them all.”
Al-Sayyid remained silent for a short while, then answered me: “Let them say what they want, but it would be impossible for them to prove it on legal grounds, besides, what they say contradicts their books which state: The best of the people is Abu Bakr then Uthman, and there is no mention of ‘Ali because they made him just an ordinary person, however, the later historians started to mention him for the sake of mentioning the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
After that I asked him about the piece of clay on which they put their foreheads during the prayers and they call it “al-Turbah al-Husayniyyah”.
He answered,
We all prostrate on the dust, but not for the dust, as some people claim that the Shi’a do, for the prostration is only for Allah, praise be to Him the Highest. It is well established among our people, as well as among the Sunnis, that the most favourable prostration is on earth or on the non-edible produce of the earth, and it is incorrect to prostrate on anything else. The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to sit on the dust, and he had a piece of clay mixed with straw, on which he used to prostrate. He also taught his Companions, may Allah bless them all, to prostrate on the earth or on stones, and forbade them from prostrating on the edges of their shirts. We consider these acts to be necessary and important.
Imam Zayn al-Abideen ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (may Allah bless them both) took a Turbah (a piece of clay) from near the grave of his father Abu Abdullah, because the dust there is blessed and pure, for the blood of the chief martyr was spilt on it. Thus, his followers continue with that practice up to the present day.
We do not say that prostration is not allowed but on Turbah, rather, we say that prostration is correct if it is done on any blessed Turbah or stone, also it is correct if it is done on a mat which is made of palm leaves or similar material.
I asked, with reference to our master al-Husayn, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, “Why do the Shi’a cry and beat their cheeks and other parts of their bodies until blood is spilt, and this is prohibited in Islam, for the Prophet (saw) said: He who beats the cheeks, tears the pockets and follows the call of al-Jahiliyyah is not one of us.”
Al-Sayyid replied,
The saying is correct and there is no doubt about it, but it does not apply to the obsequies of Abu Abdullah, for he who calls for the avenging of al-Husayn and follows his path, his call is not of the Jahiliyyah. Besides, the Shias are only human beings, among them you find the learned and not so learned, and they have feelings and emotions. If they are overcome by their emotions during the anniversary of the martyrdom of Abu Abdullah, and remember what happened to him, his family and his companions from degradation to captivity and then finally murder, then they will be rewarded for their good intentions, because all these intentions are for the sake of Allah. Allah – praise be to Him, the Highest – who rewards people according to their intentions.
Last week I read the official reports from the Egyptian government about the suicide incidents that followed the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser. There were eight such incidents in which people took their lives by jumping from buildings or throwing themselves under trains, besides them there were many injured people. These are but some examples in which emotions have overcome the most rational of people, who happen to be Muslims and who killed themselves because of the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser, who died of natural causes, therefore, it is not right for us to condemn the Sunnis and judge them to be wrong.
On the other hand, it is not right for the Sunnis to accuse their brothers the Shi’a of being wrong because they cry for the chief martyr. These people have lived and are still living to this present day the tragedy of al-Husayn. Even the Messenger of Allah (saw) cried after the death of his son al- Husayn, and Gabriel cried also.
I asked, “Why do the Shi’a decorate the graves of their saints with gold and silver, despite the fact that it is prohibited in Islam?”
Al-Sayyid al-Sadr replied,
This is not done just by the Shi’a, and it is not prohibited. Look at the mosques of our brothers the Sunnis in Iraq or Egypt or Turkey or anywhere else in the Islamic world, they are all decorated with gold and silver. Furthermore, the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (saw) in al-Madinah al-Munawarah and the Kaba, the House of Allah, in the blessed Mecca is covered every year by a cloth decorated by gold which costs millions. So such a thing is not exclusive to the Shi’a.
I asked “The Saudi Ulama say that touching the graves and calling the saints for their blessings is polytheism, so what is your opinion?”
Al-Sayyid al-Sadr replied:
If touching the graves and calling the dead is with the understanding that they could cause harm or render a benefit, then that is polytheism, no doubt about it, the Muslims are monotheists and they know that Allah alone could cause harm or render a benefit, but calling the saints and Imams (may Allah bless them all) with the understanding that they could be an intermediary to Allah, that is not polytheism.
All Muslims, Sunnis and Shias, agreed on this point from the time of the Messenger up to the present day, except the Wahabiyyah, the Saudi Ulama who contradict all Muslims with their new creed. They caused considerable disturbances among the Muslims, they accused them of blasphemy, they spilt their blood and even beat old pilgrims on their way to the House of Allah in Mecca just because they say “O Messenger of Allah, may peace be upon you”, and they will never let anybody touch his blessed grave. They had so many debates with our learned people, but they persisted in their stubbornness and their arrogance.
Al-Sayyid Sharaf al-Din, a famous Shi’i learned man, went on pilgrimage to the House of Allah during the time of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, and he was one of those Ulama who were invited to the King’s palace to celebrate with the King ‘Id al-Adhha, in accordance with the customs there. When his turn came to shake the King’shand, Sayyid Sharaf al-Din presented him with a leather bound Qur’an.
The King took the Qur’an and placed it on his forehead then kissed it. Al Sayyid Sharaf al-Din said, “O King, why do you kiss and glorify the cover which is only made out of goat’s skin?” The King answered, “I meant to glorify the Holy Qur’an, not the goat’s skin.” Al-Sayyid Sharaf al-Din then said, “Well said, O King. We do the same when we kiss the window or the door of the Prophet’s (saw) chamber, we know it is made of iron and could not harm or render a benefit, but we mean what is behind the iron and wood, we mean to glorify the Messenger of Allah (saw) in the same way as you meant with the Qur’an when you kissed its goat’s skin cover.
The audience was impressed by al-Sayyid and said, “You are right.” The King was forced to allow the pilgrims to ask for blessings from the Prophet’s relics, until the order was reversed by the successor of that king. The issue is not that they are afraid of people associating others with Allah, rather, it is a political issue based on antagonizing and killing the Muslims in order to consolidate their power and authority over the Muslims, and history is the witness to what they have done with the Muslim nation.
I asked him about the Sufi orders, and he answered me briefly:
There are positive and negative aspects to them. The positive aspects include self-discipline, austere living, renunciation of worldly pleasures and elevating one’s self to the spiritual world. The negative aspects include isolation, escapism and restricting the mention of Allah by verbal numbers and various other practices. Islam, as it is known accepts the positive aspects but rejects the negative ones, and we may say that all the principles and teachings of Islam are positive.
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الملاحة
دليل الطريق
If you are interested in becoming an associate partner in ITELab, please read the Charter for Associate Partners here.
Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE)
Beta-School, Israel
Bundesministerium für Bildung - BMB - The Federal Ministry of Education, Austria
Center for Digital Pedagogy and Methodology (DPMK), Hungary
CMI ConsulTraining, France
Directorate-General for Education (DGE) of the Portuguese Ministry of Education, Portugal
D-Teach, Belgium
Educational Authority, Hungary
Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Erzincan Provincial Directorate of National Education, Turkey
European University Association (EUA), Belgium
Ikastolen Elkartea - The Federation of Basque Schools, Spain
Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences / Teacher Education College, Finland
Manchester Metropolitan University, the United Kingdom
Mary Immaculate College, Ireland
Ministry of Education and Science, Bulgaria
Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Spain
Newman University, the United Kingdom
Northumbria University, the United Kingdom
NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities Portugal
Oslo Edtech Cluster, Norway
Paul-Valéry University, France
School of Education - Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal
School of Education of Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Portugal
School of Education of Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal
School of Education and Social Sciences of Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portugal
SCoTENS (the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South), Ireland
TELLConsult, the Netherlands
The Directorate of Digital Technology for Education (DNE) - The Ministry of Education, France
The Ministry of Education and Science, Lithuania
The Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Directorate General for Innovation and Educational Technologies (YEĞİTEK), Turkey
The Norwegian Centre for ICT in Education (NCIE), Norway
The Transformation Society, France
Triseum, United States of America
University of Aegean, Greece
University of Évora, Portugal
University of Iceland, Iceland
Vernier Europe Ltd , Ireland
Wriggle Learning, Ireland
ATEE - The Association for Teacher Education in Europe
The Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) is a membership-based international not for profit association, which aims to enhance the quality of Teacher Education in Europe through active dialogue and international exchange of research and practice in initial and in-service teacher education. The ATEE are constituted by about 300 individual members and 38 institutional members from 30 countries around the world. They work both within and outside higher education. The Association brings its members together in 19 different Research and Development Communities, and at its three annual conferences (Annual, Winter and Spring conferences). The R&D Communities are the heart of the association, teacher educators from all over Europe and beyond meet, exchange and co-operate. The RDCs are open to members and non-members.
Beta School, Israel
Beta School was founded in Petah Tikva in 2015, thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and local and national educational authorities in Israel. Beta School is a teaching laboratory for teachers and students that offers interactive workshops showcasing the use of technologies to support disruptive pedagogy for learning in the twenty-first century. Beta School aims to promote innovation in education. Beta-School bases its pedagogy on disruptive trends in education, with an emphasis on learning by doing in a three-step process: inspire, empower, and create. It uses Microsoft technologies to implement this process, or techno-pedagogical approach, to inspire the desire to learn, to empower learning through research, and finally to create something that embodies newfound knowledge. We believe that as a part of ITELab we would inspire ITE on implementing Beta School's theory and practice of education for today's digital world in the region.
The Federal Ministry of Education is responsible for the Austrian school system. The responsibilities in the area of education cover the entire school system, from primary school to the completion of secondary school education, as well as university colleges of teacher education. Adult education and lifelong learning also fall within their sphere of responsibility. BMB focuses not only on the general education system but also on technical and vocational education including schools for engineering, arts, business, tourism, agriculture etc. The Federal Ministry of Education cooperates with organisations focusing on education at European and international level. Activities of BMB are also related to teaching material, teacher controlling and school law, political education and educational research and quality development. Within the Ministry, the department "IT-Didactics and Digital Media" is in charge of implementing information and communication technologies in education. The Department organises many conferences regularly in different provinces on national level for teachers of all levels of educations and is also responsible for the Federal centre eEducation Austria it represents a network of 500 schools (primary, secondary) with focus on school development and digital competences and a network of support (elearning, IT-didactics) at regional level for schools. The BMB is interested in providing various opportunities for teachers to continually develop competencies and reflect their teaching practices, especially regarding digital skills and the use of digital media in teaching. The aim is to build a bridge between ITE and CTE and to connect training with school principals' and local school administrators' responsibility for staff development.
The Center for Digital Pedagogy and Methodology (DPMK), an affiliate of Digital Success Non-profit Ltd. started to operate in 2017 as a new organization in Hungary. The primary aim of our organization is to implement the Digital Education Strategy of Hungary, assist in the preparation of calls for applications to finance digital programs in education, give support to schools and implement national and international projects in the field of digital schools and education supported by digital technology.
Interactive Multimedia Communication - CMI ConsulTraining
CMI is the French acronym for Interactive Multimedia Communication, i.e. all tools and solutions that allows to communicate both sound, image and data, often referred to as videoconferencing, telepresence or web collaboration. The objective of that structure is to provide for counselling, training and speaker services about visual collaboration, with a strong emphasis on usages, in different markets but with very high implication on Education over the last two decades. Jean-François Raffestin, CMI expert, has a long background in education: initially for adult training, where he was instructor, then education department manager, then director of a worldwide education center. Over the past ten years, he was involved in university level acting first as an advisor for deployment of more than 50 videoconferencing room in a French university, to finally train teachers on how to best use the solution just installed. He is also member of the steering committee of his local college, and videoconferencing expert for European Schoolnet.
Direção-Geral da Educação – Ministry of Education (ME), Portugal
DGE – Ministry of Education (ME) is the Directorate-General for Education of the Portuguese Ministry of Education. The DGE is responsible for ensuring the implementation of policies on educational and didactic component of pre-school education, primary and secondary education and extra-curricular education, providing technical support for the formulation and monitoring and evaluating its implementation, as well as coordination of tests and examinations planning. DGE's Team for Educational Technology and Resources is in charge of designing, developing and evaluating initiatives and projects related to the use of digital tools and resources in education. It fosters the implementation of new methodologies in the classroom supported by technology, for all students and teachers, and is a partner in several European projects. Joining as an Associate Partner of the ITELab Project we aim to have the opportunity to contribute to the development and piloting of course modules for training student teachers on the pedagogical use of ICT both face-to-face and via a MOOC for student teachers. We aim also at contributing with information on national and regional frameworks for integrating ICT in initial teacher education, including challenges in training future teachers.
D-Teach stands for Distance Teaching and offers personalized online learning via virtual classes and experienced teachers. All you need is a webcam, a device and the Internet. D-Teach is a bridge organization between Belgium and abroad and enables rapid integration into the local or foreign life for families who move. D-Teach is currently the only organization that offers complete online distance education in Belgium. We work with teachers, pedagogues, speech therapists, psychologists, language trainers. Our customers are expats and impats from young children to adults. D-Teach focuses on 3 steps for people on the move: 1. Before departure: help with language courses for learning foreign languages; 2. During stay abroad: help to keep in touch with the Dutch language and Flemish Belgian culture; 3. Return to country: help with tutoring for diverse courses and tailored lessons.
Educational Authority (Oktatási Hivatal), Hungary
Educational Authority is a background institution of the Ministry of Human Capacities, and it provides services for public and higher education. It is responsible among others for the organization of student admission processes, baccalaureate exams, national measurements and student competitions. The Authority maintains national databases about schools, students and teachers. The institution is also responsible for the accreditation and registration of in-service teacher training courses. The Authority operates the Sulinet website, which provides digital content, news and community functions for public education. The national coordination of eTwinning in Hungary is managed by the National Support Service (NSS), which is operated by Educational Authority.
Development of digital competencies is crucial in teacher training, and it is also important that prospective teachers should start their career with the methodological preparedness and knowledge appropriate to the 21st century. It would be a great benefit for teacher students to get acquainted with opportunities similar to eTwinning during their training. Educational Authority is mindful of competence development both in higher and public education. That is why we would like to join the ITELab project so that its results can be utilized in Hungary and we would like to contribute to the development process itself.
Eötvös Loránd University is the most popular institution of state higher education in Hungary, which has been operating since 1635. It has 8 faculties, and offers 38 Bachelor's degree programmes, 96 Master's and 118 doctoral programmes in 16 doctoral schools. The university has 25 000 students, and 2000 international students from 80 different countries, and 219 combined teacher training programs. The Faculty of Education and Psychology has developed and managed educational projects nationally and has a significant role in the teacher training in co-operation with the departments and methodological sections of other faculties.
Erzincan Provincial Directorate of National Education, Turkey is the umbrella organization of 278 institutions including primary and secondery school level as well as high schools and adult education centres. Within the body of the Directorate, 40.771 students receive education and 3.386 teachers work. The Directorate is one of the 83 local representors of Ministry of Education and is the umbrella organisation ruling all the formal and informal training and educational processes in Erzincan. The Directorate works in coordination with schools to achieve the targets of the European Union (EU) in the field of education. For this reason, our Directorate has carried out the EU projects, has been accredited as Eurodesk Info Point and is eligible to appoint eTwinning and Erasmus+ City Ambassadors who assist teachers in the city to carry out projects, inform the teachers about the aims of the EU in the field of education and disseminate the project results which are successfully performed.
European University Association (EUA)
The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 universities and national rectors' conferences in 48 European countries. EUA plays a crucial role in the Bologna Process and in influencing EU policies on higher education, research and innovation. Through continuous interaction with a range of other European and international organisations, EUA ensures that the independent voice of European universities is heard.
Ikastolen Elkartea (The Federation of Basque Schools), Basque
Ikastolen Elkartea is a leading European cooperative organisation, which for more than 25 years has been developing ICT curricula, innovative learning materials, classroom implementation and teacher training in order to promote an ICT-integrated approach. It has been regularly awarded prizes by both national and international bodies. It offers pedagogical and administrative services for 110 ikastolas in the Basque Country (ES-FR) - schools created ‘by people, for people'. It is committed to the transmission of the Basque language and its culture, but at the same time is open to universal culture. It promotes an integrated multilingual and cultural model based on competences. Its schools are educational communities managed on a cooperative basis, offering Basque-medium education from ages 0 to 18. They are co-owned by parents and teachers and are partly financed by the government. Our interest in the project consists of keeping in touch with innovative and experienced professionals in the field of curriculum design and teacher training to develop ICT competences for teachers and learners.
JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland
JAMK University of Applied Sciences / Teacher Education College is an international higher education institution with expertise in 8 different fields of study. Located in the city of Jyväskylä, Finland, JAMK has more than 8000 students from over 70 countries. JAMK's educational expertise is based on advanced pedagogical thinking and innovative approaches to teaching and learning, all of which are continuously developed by engaging in versatile international networks and intensive cooperation with the world of work. Solutions and services are provided in the areas of pedagogical training, management and leadership, electronic and mobile learning environments, health care, business competence and assessment in education.
The Faculty of Education's considerable experience in training teachers and education professionals means we have a regional, national and international reputation for success. Established over 100 year ago, we are one of the largest providers of Initial Teacher Education in the UK with around 1000 undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers studying full time with us at any one time. A number of routes are provided through BA and PGCE Programmes and over 20 subject specialisms are offered and delivered by our specialist staff. We have a strong interest in research with the world-leading Education and Social Research Institute being an internationally recognised centre of excellence for applied research and evaluation. Participation in ITELab will enable the faculty to continue its work in developing and promoting the use of technology in teaching across all subject areas.
Mary Immaculate College, founded in 1898, is an Irish third level Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts. The College community promotes excellence in teaching, learning and research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It seeks to foster the intellectual, spiritual, personal and professional development of students within a supportive and challenging environment that guarantees the intellectual freedom of staff and students. Through involvement with ITELab, we seek to engage in shared learning experiences with other European stakeholders to explore various models of ICT integration across Initial Teacher Education (ITE), to reflect on our current pedagogical uses of technology, and to assist in the design and development of educational resources/competencies for use in ITE.
Regional Department of Education is a Delegated body of Public authority, representing the Ministry of Education and Science in Sofia-city. The Department is responsible for 580 educational institutions, 19 000 school professionals, over 130 000 learners and their parents in the Sofia-city region. The Department implements and develops national educational policies; governs educational institutions; constantly improves the quality of education considering the European Union standards; conducts national and regional competitions, exams and provides courses in all educational subjects related also to Information and Communication Technology. The Department facilitates exchange of best practices across the school network and has the responsibility to monitor, organize and manage school teacher qualification courses and personal teacher qualifications to improve teachers´ professional competences and skills. Through implementing control over the regional education institutions, inspection of the learning/teaching process, ensuring the improvement of teacher professional development, providing qualification courses and metrological help in all subjects, academic and professional fields, the educational process level is the highest among the other regions in Bulgaria.
Mondragon Unibertsitatea is a young university formed by the association of three educational cooperatives. One of the main characteristics of the university is the close and permanent relationship with the working world and the commitment to the society. In that line, the Faculty of Humanities and Education has a strong relationship with all the school networks within the Basque Country and also with companies and organisations within the field of education, communication and cooperative values. We also collaborate closely with the regional and national administration in the Basque Autonomous Community and other international and national Higher Education Institutions. One of the trademarks of the Faculty has always been innovation. In fact, we have a strong research background in the field of technology usage in education. Considering the importance of networking, we believe that participating in ITELab will bring us new and innovative perspectives to keep on developing ourselves and to improve our Teacher Education programs and research lines.
Northumbria University has a long tradition of initial teacher education. Our vision is to ‘create excellent 21st Century educators who can lead and inspire children and young people to reach their full potential.' With over 800 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and working in close partnership with hundreds of schools across the north east of England and beyond, Northumbria has embraced the English ‘school-led' initial teacher education policy, creating dynamic and innovative partnerships with schools to deliver high quality programmes, making innovative use of technology to engage both students and schools. ITELAB provides a wonderful opportunity to further enhance the learning experiences of our students, through the use of technology and pan European collaboration.
NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities
The NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities (FCSH) is nowadays the largest and most diverse Portuguese institution carrying out research in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities and forms part of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.
In terms of research and international cooperation, FCSH ensures international teaching and research networks.
CETAPS (Centre for English, Translation, and Anglo-Portuguese Studies) is a dynamic research centre promoting research and activities with high national and international reach.
The Centre's goals and strategies involve:
to participate in international networks for collaboration and exchange, extend the range of our research and give international visibility to research outputs;
to invest in knowledge and technology transfer by further developing and updating CETAPS's Digital Lab, its databases and software, organising open online massive courses and training researchers to develop projects in the Digital Humanities.
TEALS – Teacher Education and Applied Language Studies – is a research area working within teacher education (covering primary/basic, secondary and tertiary education in Portugal) and provides "add-on value" to CETAPS in terms of research in the field of social and human sciences. We cover four different research strands: a)Intercultural studies in Language Teaching; b)CLIL; c)Languages, curriculum and teacher education; d)Translationality.
Oslo Edtech Cluster
Oslo Edtech Cluster is a business network established to support development, commercialisation and export of Norwegian educational technologies (edtech). Norwegian edtech is growing fast and is enjoying a good reputation internationally. In just a few years the industry counts for more than 60 Norwegian companies with edtech at its core (with well over 100 million users worldwide), research institutions, education institutions, and public partners . Our aim is to build an ecosystem, joining forces and pulling together to help making Norwegian edtech among the best and most competitive in the world.
Paul-Valéry University is situated in Montpellier, in the south of France. It is one of the most ancient universities in Europe. In 1970, the University of Montpellier was subdivided into three different Universities.The Faculty of Arts and Humanities became Paul-Valéry 3, as a tribute to the great writer who studied in Montpellier. Today it has 20.000 students and 1600 people work there. It encourages innovation in the pedagogical field with IDEFI, a special project aimed at helping students to overcome their difficulties and different cultural background. It offers online degrees and it is a reference point in this field in France.
School of Education and Social Sciences of Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (IPP), Portugal
The Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre is organised in four Schools: School of Education and Social Sciences (SESS), School of Health, School of Agrarian Studies and School of Technology and Business Studies. SESS offers Professional Higher Technical Courses, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees on teacher training, journalism and communication, social work and tourism. SESS participates in several national and international Research and Development (R&D) programs and projects. SESS has also coordinated in-service teacher training in several areas with the Portuguese Ministry of Education. Joining as an Associate Partner of the ITELab Project, we aim to reflect on our current pedagogical uses of technology, to have the opportunity to learn about the pedagogical use of ICT and to contribute to the development and piloting of course modules for training student teachers.
School of Education of Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS), Portugal
The Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS), Portugal, is a public institution of higher education located in the Greater Lisbon Metropolitan Area, region of Setúbal. IPS was created in 1979 and started its activity in 1981. Nowadays, IPS comprises five Higher Education Schools, around 6.000 students, 400 FTE academic staff, most part of them holding a PhD. IPS develops its work in several scientific areas, such as technology, management, health, education, sports, communication, media, ICT, among others. IPS runs his Students' Welfare Services, include a Residence, at a walking distance from the Setúbal campus, sports facilities, as well as medical and psychological assistance, besides a structured programme for promoting academic success. IPS has two campuses: the Setúbal campus, where four Schools are located - Setúbal School of Technology, School of Education, School of Business and Administration, School of Health - and the Barreiro campus, where the Barreiro School of Technology is located. There are a number of well-equipped laboratories, documentation centers, audio-visual equipment, and computer facilities available to students and teachers. Besides short cycle professional degrees (CTeSP) and post-graduation diplomas, IPS offers a wide range of 1st cycle (licenciatura) and 2nd cycle (mestre) Bologna degrees, in the areas of its five Schools.
SCoTENS is a network of 37 colleges of education, university education departments, teaching councils, curriculum councils, education trade unions and education centres on the island of Ireland with a responsibility for and interest in teacher education. SCoTENS was established in 2003 to create a safe space for teacher educators – North and South– to come together and discuss issues of common interest, and explore ways of co-operating closely together. A part of the broader peace dynamic that was gathering momentum on the island of Ireland at the time, it has always been rooted in the deepest commitment to quality teaching and learning for all. We believe that SCoTENS is the only network of its kind operating across a contested border in the world. SCoTENS is involved in supporting a wide range of research, conference and exchange projects including a very successful annual conference, a cross-border research seed funding programme, and a North/South student teacher exchange project.
TELLConsult is independent consultancy firm with its objective to contribute to quality promotion of Technology Enhanced Lifelong Learning with a special focus on Technology Enhanced Language Learning. TELLConsult values the ITELab associate partner status as the project's aims match well with its mission and expertise of staff. The main activities are organised by two departments: PROJECTS and TRAINING. The PROJECT's department coordinates the definition, development and evaluation of innovative (EU) projects related to Information and Communication Technology in Language Education such as Computer and Mobile Assisted Language Learning (CALL and MALL), Educational Telecollaboration, Tablet and touch screen training and research, e-tools for Content Integrated Language Learning (CLIL) and 3D Virtual Worlds for language learning. In collaboration with (inter)national partners and experts TELLConsult TRAINING coordinates the organisation of courses for the professional development of teachers and teacher In addition to participation in various special interest groups and networks TELLConsult is national representative of The European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL) member and formal member of a number of professional organisations including The International language association (ICC) and The EUROVERSITY Association.
The Directorate of Digital Technology for Education (DNE), France
The Directorate of Digital Technology for Education (DNE) which embodies the French Ministry of Education's digital strategy to «bring schools into the digital age», implements and deploys a public digital education service. Among other numerous missions, it is in charge of establishing a policy of initial and continuous training of teachers «to» and «through» digital technology to help them integrate digital applications in lesson plans and teaching practices, find the educational resources adapted to their new needs and acquire digital literacy. A particular emphasis has been made on ICT in Initial Teacher Education and In Service Teacher Education, to train teachers with the Higher Schools for Teachers = ESP– Ecole Supérieure du Professorat launched in 2013. The ITELab project falls in line with the innovation process in which France has engaged. That is why, (being a member of the European Schoolnet consortium) the Ministry of Education has agreed to participate in this project coordinated by European Schoolnet.
Ministry of Education and Science, Lithuania
The Ministry of Education and Science is an institution of the Lithuanian executive power that formulates and implements the national policy on education and research and higher education studies. The functions of the Ministry of Education and Science are defined in the Law on Education (2011). Among other functions and responsibilities, the Ministry participates in shaping, implementation and ensuring of the state education policy; bears responsibility for education quality; co-ordinates activities of education departments of municipal administrations in the implementation of the state education policy; sets qualification requirements for teachers and school leaders; coordinates accreditation of general education curricula; maintains contacts with international institutions and international organisations; promotes national and international co-operation among schools; encourages and supports activities of Lithuanians residing abroad in the areas of education and studies; approves regulations of initial and in-service teacher education.
The Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Directorate General for Innovation and Educational Technologies (YEGITEK), Turkey
The Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Directorate General for Innovation and Educational Technologies (YEGITEK) is a public foundation under the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. The Directorate supports the effective usage of educational technologies in teaching and learning appropriate to formal education curriculum programmes. It evaluates new educational technologies and developments for their use in schools across Turkey. We carry out projects on the usage of Educational Technologies in education. The Directorate organizes and develops teacher in-service training activities for the usage of Educational Technologies in education. It also prepares and publishes ICT-based audio-visual educational materials for all levels of the formal education curriculum programmes.
YEGITEK continues its services to Turkish education as the ‘FATIH project and Educational Informatics Network (EBA) portal executer'. The project aims to provide tablets to teachers and students as well as interactive whiteboards in the classrooms. YEGITEK is also taking part in the EUN innovative ICT based learning and STEM education projects such as eTwinning, Scientix and TeachUP.
The Transformation Society works with society leaders worldwide (education, business, NGO's and policy makers) to bring essential understanding of issues that affect the evolution of an organization in complex digital environments. We are involved with the development of Information 4.0, the informational component of the fourth industrial revolution, marrying connected objects with artificial intelligence. We believe that children growing up in a world of autonomous machines need the type of preparation envisioned by the ITELab project, and bring our expertise to bear on giving a humanist approach to new technologies. We provide strategies for action-research, training, and active guidance to get beyond the boundaries of a specific problem in a given field, and open connections to build a wider view. We have specific expertise in dealing with complexity and accelerating technological change, as well as experience in managing information, designing and piloting training, and transforming organizations.
Triseum, the USA
Triseum, LLC, connects students to curriculum through the power of play. The company's award-winning serious games mirror the imagination, interactivity, suspense and sophistication of commercial entertainment games while maintaining strict learning efficacy supported by research. Students are empowered to learn through fun, engaging and immersive 3D adventures, and faculty is able to measure progress and assess outcomes. Triseum pushes the boundaries of education games with meticulously handcrafted, fully tested and evaluated serious games that deliver the ultimate teaching and learning experience. Its team is dedicated to creating products that profoundly impact instructors and students.
University of the Aegean, Greece
University of the Aegean (UAegean) was founded in 1984 and in 2016 was classified as the top-rated university in Greece, evaluated by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA). Department of Primary Education has participated in numerous EU and National funded research and development programs in disciplines like ICT in Education, Teachers Professional Development, Education for Sustainable etc. The Department promotes the innovative use of new technologies in education via inter-disciplinary collaborations with national and international public and private educational institutions. Media Pedagogy Research Group, a sub-division of the Laboratory of Psychology, Educational Research and Media in Education focuses on research areas such as Media Pedagogy and Didactics, ODL, e-Learning, MOOCs, AR, Learning Design and TPD.
Our research group is interested in piloting new approaches of integrating ICT in ITE based on project's outcomes. Moreover, as a teachers' preparation academic institution, we would like to provide feedback about the current status in Greece concerning ICT integration in teachers' preparation programs and be part of an international dialogue about the future of ICT in Education.
The University of Évora (UE) is organised in 4 Schools: Arts, Sciences and Technology, Social Sciences and Nursing and offers 34 undergraduate and 66 postgraduate degrees. Research and Development (R&D) covers several scientific areas through a network of 14 Research Units, all of them submitted to international evaluation, under the coordination of the Institute for Research and Advanced Studies. UE is one of the leading higher institutions in Portugal working in the educational technology and e-learning fields as well as in the teacher education (initial and continuous teacher training), evaluation and supervision, educational politics and curricular issues. The Education Department and the Research Centre on Education and Psychology are actively involved in several projects in partnerships with local, national and international collaboration initiatives.
The University of Iceland aims to be one of the world's leading universities and apply approved standards to all quality assurance of its operations. The university holds itself and its lecturers, management and other staff to high standards. High demands are also made of students; this ensures that a degree from the University of Iceland is considered to be of high quality and is trusted all over the world. In 2006, the University of Iceland set itself the ambitious long-term goal to become one of the 100 leading universities in the world. In order to achieve that goal, the university intends to focus on outstanding research, teaching and support services. The university now works purposefully towards implementing this strategy, and has already enjoyed great success. The university set up a classroom of the 21st Century based on the Future Classroom Lab. The university applies rigorous internal quality assurance measures to all its operations. External assessment regularly shows that the university is fully in line with international standards. I think that participating in your project would be of benefit for all parties as we are aiming at the same target.
Vernier, Ireland
When it comes to scientific data collection, Vernier has perfected the development and production of affordable, easy-to-use data-acquisition products (probe ware) for science classrooms and labs around the world. Whether you are looking for cutting-edge technology to enliven and support your labs in biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering, there is a Vernier solution appropriate for every grade level. And because we understand the needs of teachers – a high percentage of our staff are former teachers themselves – we offer unparalleled support for the life of your products. Our products are affordable, they are easy to use, and they offer the complete solution that teachers need. And that is because we understand teachers; even our employees who have never taught keep the demands of the classroom on the top of their minds.
Wriggle Learning
Wriggle Learning is an Irish company focused on supporting schools and higher education institutions in the utilisation of digital technologies for teaching and learning. Our partnerships with Apple (Apple Solution Expert in Education), Microsoft (Microsoft Gold Partner for Education) and HP (Education Partner) allows us to offer the latest classroom technology, which we combine with our team of expert educators to ensure the implementation of technology for teaching and learning is effective and achievable.
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Home > ac milan > Beckham wins UEFA president’s award
Beckham wins UEFA president’s award
UEFA President's Award
by Nigerian Oracle - August 31, 2018 0
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham has been honoured with the 2018 UEFA president’s award.
Beckham, who enjoyed an excellent career, received the award from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin at the Champions League draw ceremony in Monaco.
The ex-England captain was joined by his wife Victoria at the ceremony and was announced as the winner of this prize last week.
He has been acknowledged for ‘outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities’.
READ ALSO Modrić retains UCL Midfielder of the Season award
After graduating from Manchester United’s youth academy, Beckham proceeded to enjoy a hugely successful spell at Old Trafford, which included him winning six league titles and the Champions League, with the latter triumph coming as part of the treble in 1999.
Beckham then signed for Real Madrid in 2003 before later having spells at LA Galaxy, AC Milan (whom he joined twice on loan) and Paris Saint-Germain.
The post Beckham wins UEFA president’s award appeared first on – The Sun News.
U.S. reaffirms faith in free, credible election in Osun
IGP, political stakeholders promise peaceful poll in Osun
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Cork's "learning city" to include mandatory apprenticeships
Barry Murphy continues to pursue the mandatory inclusion of apprenticeships in public procurement contracts and has been successful in getting the agreement of Cork City Council for such a change.
As part of our position on various SPC’s countrywide it is my view that we should be proactive on issues directly affecting workers across the country and identify areas where well paid jobs and training opportunities for young people can be facilitated within Procurement Contracts on a nationwide basis.
The State and Public bodies are in a very strong position, due to their purchasing power, to ensure apprenticeships/internships are prerequisites for companies bidding for public contracts. This in turn could lead to guarantee’s that those with the requisite qualifications are employed on direct contracts and also facilitate the use of apprentices and interns.
This can, in some way, help to address the issue of poor and unsafe work as was highlighted, for one, in the school building program, an issue that was first flagged by the construction/procurement group of ONE Cork and subsequently taken up by the teacher unions, in particular the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.
Based on the issues already outlined of using procurement contracts as the vehicle for decent work and apprenticeships, I submitted a motion on February 16th 2021, to the Housing Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) of Cork City Council, which stated the following;
“Recognising the stated goals of Cork City Council’s Strategic plan to make Cork a “learning city” and to retain a sustainable and skilled workforce, able to attract key businesses and investments to the Cork region, we propose that the City Council establish a mandatory provision, within every public procurement contract of €200,000 or above, which comprises a minimum of 3% of the contracted workforce to be in apprenticeship and/or other recognised traineeship/internship programmes. This would ensure that local talent can be recruited, trained and retained within the local authority area, thus boosting local industries and businesses into the future.”
Although the contract value and percentages can be further explored, this is a model which works well in the UK and in some Nordic countries, and is something which we hope can be passed in all City and County Councils throughout the country via our network of SPC representatives.
The motion itself received unanimous support from the Committee and management have been asked to take whatever steps are needed to ensure that the Council will implement the policy and make good progress in the short term.
This motion is a template which can be adjusted to suit local needs and used across our network of SPC representatives to proactively promote decent work and opportunities for young people in our local communities.
Together with Fiona Dunne this is an initiative we will continue to develop over the coming months and provide regular updates to the Trades Council Network.
Barry Murphy
Deputy General Secretary
OPATSI
ONE Conversation
Waterford Council of Trade Unions (WCTU) supports the need for rail transport
Reduction in waiting time for State Illness Benefit
The voice Kilkenny workers can rely on
See the pictures from our
Contact us: info@onemovement.work +353 1 889 7766
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Mindfulness meditation: Lotus therapy
By Benedict Carey
The patient sat with his eyes closed, submerged in the rhythm of his own breathing, and after a while noticed that he was thinking about his troubled relationship with his father.
"I was able to be there, present for the pain," he said, when the meditation session ended. "To just let it be what it was, without thinking it through."
The therapist nodded.
"Acceptance is what it was," he continued. "Just letting it be. Not trying to change anything."
"That's it," the therapist said. "That's it, and that's big."
This exercise in focused awareness and mental catch-and-release of emotions has become perhaps the most popular new psychotherapy technique of the past decade. Mindfulness meditation, as it is called, is rooted in the teachings of a fifth-century BC Indian prince, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. It is catching the attention of talk therapists of all stripes, including academic researchers, Freudian analysts in private practice and skeptics who see all the hallmarks of another fad.
For years, psychotherapists have worked to relieve suffering by reframing the content of patients' thoughts, directly altering behavior or helping people gain insight into the subconscious sources of their despair and anxiety. The promise of mindfulness meditation is that it can help patients endure flash floods of emotion during the therapeutic process — and ultimately alter reactions to daily experience at a level that words cannot reach. "The interest in this has just taken off," said Zindel Segal, a psychologist at the Center of Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, where the above group therapy session was taped. "And I think a big part of it is that more and more therapists are practicing some form of contemplation themselves and want to bring that into therapy."
At workshops and conferences across the country, students, counselors and psychologists in private practice throng lectures on mindfulness. The National Institutes of Health is financing more than 50 studies testing mindfulness techniques, up from 3 in 2000, to help relieve stress, soothe addictive cravings, improve attention, lift despair and reduce hot flashes.
Some proponents say Buddha's arrival in psychotherapy signals a broader opening in the culture at large — a way to access deeper healing, a hidden path revealed.
Yet so far, the evidence that mindfulness meditation helps relieve psychiatric symptoms is thin, and in some cases, it may make people worse, some studies suggest. Many researchers now worry that the enthusiasm for Buddhist practice will run so far ahead of the science that this promising psychological tool could turn into another fad.
"I'm very open to the possibility that this approach could be effective, and it certainly should be studied," said Scott Lilienfeld, a psychology professor at Emory. "What concerns me is the hype, the talk about changing the world, this allure of the guru that the field of psychotherapy has a tendency to cultivate."
Buddhist meditation came to psychotherapy from mainstream academic medicine. In the 1970s, a graduate student in molecular biology, Jon Kabat-Zinn, intrigued by Buddhist ideas, adapted a version of its meditative practice that could be easily learned and studied. It was by design a secular version, extracted like a gemstone from the many-layered foundation of Buddhist teaching, which has sprouted a wide variety of sects and spiritual practices and attracted 350 million adherents worldwide.
In transcendental meditation and other types of meditation, practitioners seek to transcend or "lose" themselves. The goal of mindfulness meditation was different, to foster an awareness of every sensation as it unfolds in the moment.
Kabat-Zinn taught the practice to people suffering from chronic pain at the University of Massachusetts medical school. In the 1980s he published a series of studies demonstrating that two-hour courses, given once a week for eight weeks, reduced chronic pain more effectively than treatment as usual.
Word spread, discreetly at first. "I think that back then, other researchers had to be very careful when they talked about this, because they didn't want to be seen as New Age weirdos," Kabat-Zinn, now a professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts, said in an interview. "So they didn't call it mindfulness or meditation. "After a while, we put enough studies out there that people became more comfortable with it."
One person who noticed early on was Marsha Linehan, a psychologist at the University of Washington who was trying to treat deeply troubled patients with histories of suicidal behavior. "Trying to treat these patients with some change-based behavior therapy just made them worse, not better," Linehan said in an interview. "With the really hard stuff, you need something else, something that allows people to tolerate these very strong emotions."
In the 1990s, Linehan published a series of studies finding that a therapy that incorporated Zen Buddhist mindfulness, "radical acceptance," practiced by therapist and patient significantly cut the risk of hospitalization and suicide attempts in the high-risk patients.
Finally, in 2000, a group of researchers including Segal in Toronto, J. Mark Williams at the University of Wales and John Teasdale at the Medical Research Council in England published a study that found that eight weekly sessions of mindfulness halved the rate of relapse in people with three or more episodes of depression.
With Kabat-Zinn, they wrote a popular book, "The Mindful Way Through Depression." Psychotherapists' curiosity about mindfulness, once tentative, turned into "this feeding frenzy, of sorts, that we have going on now," Kabat-Zinn said.
Mindfulness meditation is easy to describe. Sit in a comfortable position, eyes closed, preferably with the back upright and unsupported. Relax and take note of body sensations, sounds and moods. Notice them without judgment. Let the mind settle into the rhythm of breathing. If it wanders (and it will), gently redirect attention to the breath. Stay with it for at least 10 minutes.
After mastering control of attention, some therapists say, a person can turn, mentally, to face a threatening or troubling thought — about, say, a strained relationship with a parent — and learn simply to endure the anger or sadness and let it pass, without lapsing into rumination or trying to change the feeling, a move that often backfires.
One woman, a doctor who had been in therapy for years to manage bouts of disabling anxiety, recently began seeing Gaea Logan, a therapist in Austin, Texas, who incorporates mindfulness meditation into her practice. This patient had plenty to worry about, including a mentally ill child, a divorce and what she described as a "harsh internal voice," Logan said.
After practicing mindfulness meditation, she continued to feel anxious at times but told Logan, "I can stop and observe my feelings and thoughts and have compassion for myself."
Steven Hayes, a psychologist at the University of Nevada at Reno, has developed a talk therapy called Acceptance Commitment Therapy, or ACT, based on a similar, Buddha-like effort to move beyond language to change fundamental psychological processes.
"It's a shift from having our mental health defined by the content of our thoughts," Hayes said, "to having it defined by our relationship to that content — and changing that relationship by sitting with, noticing and becoming disentangled from our definition of ourselves."
For all these hopeful signs, the science behind mindfulness is in its infancy. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which researches health practices, last year published a comprehensive review of meditation studies, including TM, Zen and mindfulness practice, for a wide variety of physical and mental problems. The study found that over all, the research was too sketchy to draw conclusions.
A recent review by Canadian researchers, focusing specifically on mindfulness meditation, concluded that it did "not have a reliable effect on depression and anxiety."
Therapists who incorporate mindfulness practices do not agree when the meditation is most useful, either. Some say Buddhist meditation is most useful for patients with moderate emotional problems. Others, like Linehan, insist that patients in severe mental distress are the best candidates for mindfulness.
A case in point is mindfulness-based therapy to prevent a relapse into depression. The treatment significantly reduced the risk of relapse in people who have had three or more episodes of depression. But it may have had the opposite effect on people who had one or two previous episodes, two studies suggest.
The mindfulness treatment "may be contraindicated for this group of patients," S. Helen Ma and Teasdale of the Medical Research Council concluded in a 2004 study of the therapy.
Since mindfulness meditation may have different effects on different mental struggles, the challenge for its proponents will be to specify where it is most effective — and soon, given how popular the practice is becoming.
The question, said Linda Barnes, an associate professor of family medicine and pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine, is not whether mindfulness meditation will become a sophisticated therapeutic technique or lapse into self-help cliché.
"The answer to that question is yes to both," Barnes said.
The real issue, most researchers agree, is whether the science will keep pace and help people distinguish the mindful variety from the mindless.
A variety of meditative practices have been studied by Western researchers for their effects on mental and physical health.
An active exercise, sometimes called moving meditation, involving extremely slow, continuous movement and extreme concentration. The movements are to balance the vital energy of the body but have no religious significance.
Studies are mixed, some finding it can reduce blood pressure in patients, and others finding no effect. There is some evidence that it can help elderly people improve balance.
Meditators sit comfortably, eyes closed, and breathe naturally. They repeat and concentrate on the mantra, a word or sound chosen by the instructor to achieve state of deep, transcendent absorption. Practitioners "lose" themselves, untouched by day-to-day concerns. Studies suggest it can reduce blood pressure in some patients.
Practitioners find a comfortable position, close the eyes and focus first on breathing, passively observing it. If a stray thought or emotion enters the mind, they allow it to pass and return attention to the breath. The aim is to achieve focused awareness on what is happening moment to moment.
Studies find that it can help manage chronic pain. The findings are mixed on substance abuse. Two trials suggest that it can cut the rate of relapse in people who have had three or more bouts of depression.
Enhanced awareness through breathing techniques and specific postures. Schools vary widely, aiming to achieve total absorption in the present and a release from ordinary thoughts. Studies are mixed, but evidence shows it can reduce stress.
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Norwegian-Russian School of Quantum Chemistry at Tomsk State University
Multilevel computational approaches in biophotonics
In the past decades, molecular photochemistry has broken out of the boundaries of the traditional discipline, and entered deeply into many fields of science and technology. It has many applications in biology and medicine, branches of science with immediate consequences for our lives. Photodynamic therapy is applied in the clinic already for some time, but improvements are needed, and chemistry will make further contributions here. Molecular sensors also have applications in medicine. Another application of the same chemistry is in the field of molecular logic. Indeed, photochemistry is versatile! Photosynthesis provides life on earth with its energy, and now chemists, physicists and biologists are trying to do better than nature, and to use the knowledge gained from the natural systems to make solar fuels. In order to unravel the photochemical and photophysical processes, new experimental techniques are crucial. The still young field of single molecule spectroscopy shows how the photophysical dynamics of fluorescent single molecules provide information on materials properties and it is pushing the limits by observing even non-absorbing molecules. Using theoretical calculations in order to observe the structure and dynamics of supramolecular and biomolecular systems. Because of the importance of the molecule in physics and chemistry, our summer school on June 6-10, 2022 have featured theoretical and computational chemistry of the excited state. The school will cover several essential topics in photochemistry, ranging from the fundamentals of photoreactions, spectroscopy, and computational photochemistry, to applications such as solar energy conversion and photomedicine.
Save the date of June 6-10, 2022!
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September 2nd, 2015:
US health watchdog to take legal action against e-cigarette makers
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/02/e-cigarette-manufacturers-california-health-watchdog
A health watchdog is to take legal action in California against the manufacturers of some of the best-known brands of e-cigarettes, following tests to establish the levels of toxic chemicals they contain. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) says its tests found that nearly 90% of the companies had at least one brand that produced high levels of one or both of the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.
In the first ever large lab-testing of e-cigarettes on the market, the CEH found that most – 50 of 97 products examined – contained high levels of one or both chemical. The lab tests and legal action will fuel the battle raging over e-cigarettes. While supporters say they could help thousands of people give up the far more dangerous tobacco-filled conventional cigarettes, others worry about the chemicals they contain. Such suspicions are fuelled by the involvement of major tobacco companies in the e-cigarette market. Critics say e-cigarettes may be a stalking horse for Big Tobacco, in order to rehabilitate the act of smoking.
The CEH said its lab tests of 97 e-cigarette and vaping products revealed levels of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde that violated California’s safety standards. It said this was the first time e-cigarettes had been tested by simulating their real-world use. “For decades, the tobacco industry mounted a campaign of lies about cigarettes, and now these same companies claim that their e-cigarettes are harmless,” said Michael Green, executive director of CEH. “Anyone who thinks that vaping is harmless needs to know that our testing unequivocally shows that it’s not safe to vape.
“This is especially troubling given the reckless marketing practices of the e-cigarette industry, which targets teens and young people, and deceives the public with unfounded health and safety claims. Our legal action aims to force the industry to comply with the law and create pressure to end their most abusive practices.” CEH is invoking California’s consumer protection law, known as Proposition 65. Earlier this year, the watchdog started legal action against the companies for failing to warn users about the risks of nicotine in the products.
The non-profit organisation purchased e-cigarettes, e-liquids and other vaping products from major retailers including RiteAid and 7-Eleven, and from many online retailers and Bay Area vape shops between February and July 2015. It commissioned an independent lab accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation to test 97 products, including 15 disposable “cigalikes” e-cigarettes, 32 cartridge devices and 50 refillable devices, for formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The two chemicals are known to cause cancer and are also linked to genetic damage, birth defects and reduced fertility. The lab used standard smoking machines that simulate how consumers use the products. Almost 90% of the companies whose products were tested (21 of 24 companies) had one or more products that produced hazardous amounts of one or both of the chemicals, in violation of California law. The testing showed that 21 products produced a level of one of the chemicals at more than 10 times the state safety standard, and seven products produced one of the chemicals at more than 100 times the safety level. The CEH testing found high levels of the chemicals even in several nicotine-free varieties. For example, one nicotine-free product produced acetaldehyde at more than 13 times the state legal safety threshold and formaldehyde at more than 74 times the threshold.
Men in China face increasing tobacco-related cancer risks
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-09-men-china-tobacco-related-cancer.html
In China, smoking now causes nearly a quarter of all cancers in adult males. The finding comes from a large study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, as part of a Special Issue on Lung Cancer in China. High uptake rates of cigarette smoking in teenaged males and continued use in adulthood foreshadow even greater tobacco-related cancer risks for the nation.
Tobacco-related deaths have been declining steadily in most developed countries; however, China now produces and consumes about 40 percent of the world’s cigarettes, with much of the rapid increase taking place since the early 1980s, involving almost exclusively only men.
To get a sense of the current smoking-related cancer risks in China, a research team led jointly by Professor Zhengming Chen, DPhil, of the University of Oxford in the UK and Professor Liming Li, MD, of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in China, analyzed data from a nationwide prospective study called the China Kadoorie Biobank, which recruited 210,259 men and 302,632 women aged 30 to 79 years from 10 areas of China from 2004 to 2008. The study recorded approximately 18,000 new cancers during seven years of follow-up.
Among the major findings:
· Sixty-eight percent of men in the study were smokers, and they had a 44 percent increased risk of developing cancer compared with nonsmokers.
· This excess risk accounted for 23 percent of all cancers that arose between the ages of 40 and 79 years, with significantly elevated risks of cancers of the lung, liver, stomach, esophagus, and a collection of five other minor sites.
· Among ex-smokers (6.7%) who had stopped by choice, there was little excess cancer risk within 15 years after quitting.
· In contrast to men, only three percent of females in the study were smokers, and they experienced a 42 percent increased risk of cancer compared with nonsmokers.
· Smoking causes an estimated 435,000 new cancers (360,000 in men and 75,000 in women) each year in China.
“The tobacco-related cancer risks among men are expected to increase substantially during the next few decades as a delayed effect of the recent rise in cigarette use, unless there is widespread cessation among adult smokers,” the authors wrote. The study also noted that the first generation of men in China to experience the full extent of tobacco risks will probably be those who were born during the 1970s or 1980s, who reached adulthood when cigarette consumption was high. By contrast, this is the least exposure for the female generation in China. “If smoking rates remain low in women, tobacco may soon be responsible for most of the difference in life expectancy between men and women in China. Widespread smoking cessation offers China one of the most effective, and cost-effective, strategies for avoiding cancer and premature death over the next few decades” said Professor Zhengming Chen, the lead author and principal investigator of the China Kadoorie Biobank.
Brain Differences Seen With Combined Cannabis, Tobacco Use
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/850461
The use of cannabis and tobacco in combination may have unique effects on the brain and memory that in some ways contradict established neural responses, a new study suggests.
Imaging showed smaller hippocampal volumes, and testing showed worse memory among participants who used cannabis alone or with tobacco in comparison with nonusers, but smaller volumes were associated with better memory among users of marijuana plus tobacco.
The findings underscore the need to include the likelihood of comorbid tobacco use in cannabis research.
“Approximately 70% of individuals who use marijuana also use tobacco,” said principal investigator Francesca Filbey, PhD, director of cognitive neuroscience of addictive behaviors at the Center for Brain Health, in New York City, in a press statement.
“Our findings exemplify why the effects of marijuana on the brain may not generalize to the vast majority of the marijuana-using population, because most studies do not account for tobacco use.”
Their report was published this month in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.
Total Hippocampal Volumes
The study involved four groups of adults from two larger studies conducted at the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque, which included cannabis-only users (n = 36), tobacco-only users (n = 19), combined cannabis and tobacco users (n = 19), and non–using healthy control participants (n = 16).
Criteria for cannabis users’ inclusion was reported use of cannabis at least four times per week during the past 6 months, verified by urinalysis. Tobacco users’ criteria included having used tobacco 10 or more times daily, verified by carbon monoxide breath monitor, and having had fewer than 3 months of abstinence in the past year.
After controlling for brain size and recent alcohol use, MRI showed smaller total hippocampal volumes among participants who used cannabis and tobacco, compared with the tobacco-only users and the control participants.
Interestingly, the reductions in hippocampus size in the combination group of cannabis and tobacco users were not significantly different from those of users of cannabis alone.
“It was surprising that this was not significantly different,” Dr Filbey told Medscape Medical News. “It is possible that with a large sample size, we may be able to detect a difference.”
Even more unexpected were findings showing that although in the nonuser control individuals, there was a trend linking larger hippocampal volume with improvements on memory scores, the users of cannabis and tobacco in combination showed worse memory and delayed recall scores that were associated with larger, not smaller, hippocampal volumes (P = .05 and P = .04, respectively), with scores improving with smaller hippocampal size.
“Taken together, the [cannabis and tobacco] users exhibited abnormal links between hippocampal volume and memory scores, and these relationships significantly deviated from the same patterns among control subjects,” the authors write.
The cannabis and tobacco users nevertheless had the smallest hippocampal volumes of the four groups, and they also had the lowest memory performance.
Dr Filbey speculated that the abnormal findings on hippocampal size and memory in cannabis and tobacco users could stem from an effect seen before with nicotine.
“It is possible that we may be seeing cognitive-enhancing effects of nicotine on memory function that is greater in those with smaller hippocampal volumes,” she said.
“Studies have found that this enhancing effect from nicotine is greater in those with greater impairment.”
Unusual Neuronal Effect
The findings suggest that a highly unusual neuronal effect can take place with the combination of cannabis and tobacco use, said Frank J. Vocci, PhD, coeditor of the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s Journal of Addiction Medicine and president of Friends Research Institute, Inc, in Baltimore, Maryland.
“This is certainly counterintuitive,” he told Medscape Medical News. “It strikes me as odd that you would get essentially a good response in the combination users group [in terms of memory], so there clearly is something going on that isn’t quite understood between nicotine and marijuana users and memory that has to be worked out,” he said.
“Small hippocampal volume is not considered to have a beneficial effect, so it certainly is an intriguing finding and needs replication in a larger study.”
The study’s authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Dr Vocci has been a consultant for Reckitt-Benckiser Pharmaceuticals and for generic manufacturers of buprenorphine products. He has also been an investigator and consultant for buprenorphine studies funded by Braeburn Pharmaceuticals and Titan Pharmaceuticals. All of Dr Vocci’s consulting fees go to his employer, Friends Research Institute, Inc.
The truth about the tobacco industry …in its own words
HK Customs detects smuggling of 7 mln HK dollars illicit cigarettes
http://www.ecns.cn/2015/09-02/179645.shtml
Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping
Hong Kong Customs detected a suspected smuggling case involving illicit cigarettes worth about 7 million HK dollars (about 900,000 U.S. dollars) with a duty potential of about 5 million HK dollars, a Customs spokesmam said here on Tuesday.
Customs officers intercepted an incoming lorry at Lok Ma Chau Control Point on Tuesday, and they found about 2.6 million sticks of suspected illicit cigarettes in 210 carton boxes after thorough inspection. A 40-year-old male driver was arrested.
The spokesman said the operation showed the effectiveness of the enforcement strategy, especially the escalated enforcement actions against smuggling activities at source.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, smuggling is a serious offence in Hong Kong. The maximum penalty is a fine of 2 million HK dollars and imprisonment for seven years.
Could Tobacco Carveout Kill TPP?
http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/could-tobacco-carveout-kill-tpp/
By Matthew Fleming and Niels Lesniewski
The Trans-Pacific Partnership’s rocky road in Congress faces a fresh threat from tobacco-state senators.
A brief trip down memory lane: Trade Promotion Authority passed with 62 votes in June, paving the way for a simple-majority threshold for the 12-nation trade deal.
But to get there, TPA required legislative jujitsu packaged with other bills, complex vote sequences and a ping-pong with the House to draw enough votes.
TPA endured one Democratic filibuster. It dealt with a messy human trafficking provision as well as language combating currency manipulation. It sustained vociferous opposition from most Democrats and unions and Republican opposition to the relinquishment of Congressional power.
And despite all of that, it’s tobacco’s status as a significant cash crop in Kentucky that could snuff out TPP in the end.
Reuters reported the administration had been considering allowing tobacco to be carved out of the investor-state dispute settlement, which, among other things, would give tobacco companies little protection against stiff regulation by trade partners, like Australia’s ban on branded cigarette packs.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, along with Republican Sens. Richard M. Burr and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have repeatedly protested even the vague notion of a provision targeting tobacco.
Both in person and through correspondence, McConnell has pressed U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman throughout the negotiations to ensure there is no provision targeting tobacco, even citing the crop’s role in “important biomedical research.”
“As you know, I am very optimistic about the potential for Kentucky’s manufacturing workers and farmers — including its thousands of tobacco growers — to benefit from new export opportunities facilitated by a completed TPP agreement,” McConnell wrote in a July 30 letter to Froman. “It is essential as you work to finalize the TPP, you allow Kentucky tobacco to realize the same economic benefits and export potential other U.S. agricultural commodities will enjoy with a successful agreement.”
Needless to say, not many things happen in the Senate if the majority leader doesn’t want them to happen, and he’s calling tobacco protections “essential.”
It’s unclear where Kentucky’s junior senator stands: Rand Paul, a Republican running for reelection as well as the GOP presidential nomination. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Burr, who sits on the Finance Committee, which includes trade in its jurisdiction, told CQ Roll Call he’d received assurances from Froman that tobacco would not be excluded from protections in the deal.
Burr, who took the strongest position out of the three senators, asked again from Froman for reassurance that tobacco would be treated differently and vowed to do everything possible to derail the trade legislation if tobacco isn’t protected.
“I was told it wouldn’t be in there, that I didn’t need to worry about it,” Burr told CQ Roll Call. “And that was before I cast a crucial vote on TPA, which changed the [vote threshold] from 60 to 51. I made a promise to him before that if it was in there I’d do everything in my power to kill the TPP. And I will.”
Tillis argued in a letter to Froman in early August that a tobacco carveout would set a dangerous precedent for future trade deals and could scare away would-be supporters of the deal.
“A number of my colleagues share my view that the TPP can be a net positive in the long run,” Tillis wrote. “I am confident, however, that the path toward ratification will be significantly endangered if the administration or one of our trading partners impose their biases by targeting specific industries for exclusion.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative wouldn’t speak directly to the carveout in a statement to CQ Roll Call, saying only that “We are working proactively to promote the interests of American farmers and preventing discrimination against them, while ensuring that the FDA and health authorities of other countries can implement tobacco regulations to protect public health.”
Leading journal questions Public Health England’s stance on e-cigarettes
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4684/rr-0
E-cigarettes: setting out the available evidence for the public Public Health England (PHE) is deeply disappointed with the BMJ’s news story: “Leading journal questions Public Health England’s stance on e-cigarettes”. The Lancet editorial, to which this news story refers, contained a number of assertions that PHE has refuted in a published response. [1]
The authors of PHE’s expert review on e-cigarettes [2] have set out the evidence for the estimate that e-cigarettes are around 95% safer than smoking. [3] This evidence includes the facts that: 1) the constituents of cigarette smoke that harm health – including carcinogens – are either absent in e-cigarette vapour or, if present, they are mostly at levels much below 5% of smoking doses; and 2) the main chemicals present in e-cigarettes only have not been associated with any serious risk.
The Lancet, and the BMJ news story both focus their criticisms on the study by Nutt et al. which is cited in PHE’s review. We disagree strongly with the charge that PHE’s review does not meet our standard for scientific rigour and evidence. We would add that the study by Nutt et al. was one source within an extensive peer-reviewed evidence base, on which he authors drew in reaching their conclusions on the relative safety of e-cigarettes.
PHE’s expert review clearly acknowledges that the overall evidence base on the safety of e-cigarettes is still developing. Furthermore, we have repeatedly stressed that ongoing monitoring and research are needed. But PHE has a public duty to spell out clearly that the current best estimate, based on the peer-reviewed literature, is that e-cigarettes, while not risk-free, carry only a fraction of the harm caused by smoking.
It is even more disappointing that the BMJ has followed the Lancet in ignoring the significant findings of this comprehensive expert review. These include: 1) e-cigarettes are now the most popular stop smoking aid in England and can help smokers to quit smoking or reduce their cigarette consumption; 2) while experimentation with e-cigarettes has increased among young people, regular use remains rare and almost entirely confined to those who have already smoked; and 3) there is so far no evidence that e-cigarettes are undermining the long-term decline in smoking among adults and young people.
PHE has not “fallen short of its mission” in publishing the latest evidence on e-cigarettes. The public increasingly – and mistakenly – believes that e-cigarettes are at least as harmful as smoking tobacco. This may be keeping smokers from using e-cigarettes as a tool to help them to quit smoking and compromising the potential for these products to help reduce the harm from the nation’s number one killer.
Formaldehyde Exposures Resulting From Use Of Electronic Cigarette Devices
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The Comics 101 Bookshelf – Guardians, Sorcerers and Avengers (And a Smidge of Self-Promotion)
By Scott Tipton on April 26, 2017 in Comics 101
Let’s take a look at a few new arrivals here at Comics 101 HQ, some very nicely put together hardcover releases for the Marvel fan. Kicking things off is DK’s Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide, by Alan Cowsill. Although it’s been out for a year or two, I’d never seen it before discovering it recently at Disneyland (which has rapidly become my go-to place for finding cool new Marvel merch).
Surprisingly exhaustive, the Ultimate Character Guide lists just about all of the Avengers’ members, friends, foes and hangers-on, with short, punchy entries that quickly sum up the characters’ histories and statuses quo.
If I had one quibble with the book, it’s that I would have preferred a little more classic art in place of all the characters’ most modern (and occasionally less cool) versions, but your mileage may vary.
And it’s hard to complain about an Avengers book that includes a full entry for Edwin Jarvis.
Also recently released by DK was The Mysterious World of Doctor Strange, an impressive history of all things Sorcerer Supreme, obviously published in conjunction with Dr. Strange’s feature-film debut last fall.
Mysterious World covers everything from Strange’s various costumes to his enemies to his spells, as well as all the major dramatic turns and triumphs in the character’s five decades of publication.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought Dr. Strange was an important enough character to warrant one of these big history hardcovers from DK, but the editors have done a wonderful job, diving deep into Strange’s backstory and providing a marvelous all-encompassing guide to the character.
It’s well designed, too, with a unique antique look to the layouts and chapter headings, right down to a gold foil leaf treatment on the pages.
My only complaint is one I have with most of these books – for some reason, they feel compelled to replace the lettering from the original comic-book printings, and the new lettering is always inferior. Still, a minor annoyance, to be sure.
The biggest surprise came in the form of Insight Editions’ new release Guardians of the Galaxy: Creating Marvel’s Spacefaring Super Heroes – The Complete Comics History, written by Marc Sumerak.
That’s a hell of a title, but as it turns out, it’s appropriate, as this is a hell of a book. I was expecting something along the lines of the two aforementioned books, a kind of shorthand “Who’s Who” for the Guardians universe. What I got instead was a meticulously researched and expertly written history of the Guardians of the Galaxy concept in comics, beginning with the characters’ debut in 1969 (in a very different lineup and setting), and covering not only the fictional history of the characters and their journeys, but the creators and publishing history as well.
And even better, the oversized hardcover is packed to the gills with beautiful artwork from the last 48 years’ worth of comics about the Guardians and its members, like this gorgeous Jim Starlin page featuring Gamora and Drax from Warlock #15.
This is for the true Guardians fanatic; it doesn’t merely focus on the characters as seen in the films, but is a deep dive into one of Marvel’s least-considered and most overlooked corners of their universe. It’s honestly a little better than the characters deserve. Highly recommended.
And finally, if you’ll forgive a bit of self-promotion, I recently got my hands on the reissue of my book Harlan Ellison’s The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay, which has been re-released in a new hardcover edition by Eaglemoss as part of their Star Trek Graphic Novel subscription series.
The folks at Eaglemoss did an excellent job with our book in this well-produced hardcover, retaining all the extra material David Tipton, JK Woodward and I created for the original release.
It’s good to see the book treated well, and I’m pleased to see it thought highly enough of for Eaglemoss to use it as one of the leadoff hitters in their subscription series. For more information about Eaglemoss’s Star Trek series, head over to https://www.eaglemoss.com/en-us/sci-fi-fantasy/star-trek-the-graphic-novel-collection.
About Scott Tipton
Scott Tipton is a New York Times Best-Selling author and comic-book historian with a wide variety of both graphic novel and prose works to his credit. Readers looking for Scott’s latest ruminations on comics past and present need only tune into his weekly column Comics 101, posted every Wednesday without fail.
View all posts by Scott Tipton →
Avengers, Comics 101, Guardians, Scott Tipton, Star Trek
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Several children killed in Russia school shooting
At least nine people, including seven children, were killed on Tuesday morning after a lone teenage gunman opened fire at a school in Russia’s southwestern city of Kazan, local authorities said.
Four boys and three girls were among the victims, said Rustam Minnikhanov, head of the Tatarstan republic, of which Kazan is the capital.
He said the children were in the eighth year of school, which in Russia would make them about 14 or 15 years old.
A teacher and another school employee were also killed.
At least 21 others were hospitalised with wounds, including 18 children, according to local authorities. Six are reportedly in intensive care.
The attacker, identified only as a 19-year-old, was arrested, officials said. They gave no immediate details on a motive.
But Russian media reports said the gunman was a former student of the school who had called himself “a god” on his account on the messaging app Telegram and promised to “kill a large amount of biomass” on the morning of the shooting.
Heavily armed police responded to the shooting [Artem Dergunov/Reuters]
‘People are hysterical’
Tuesday’s attack began at around 9:30am local time (06:30 GMT).
As gunshots sounded out, two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 in a video filmed by an onlooker.
Footage released by Russian media also showed students running out of the building, and multiple emergency service vehicles gathering at the scene.
Witnesses offered chilling accounts of the tragedy.
“We heard the sounds of explosions at the beginning of the second lesson. All the teachers locked the children in the classrooms. The shooting was on the third floor,” said one teacher, quoted by Tatar Inform, a local media outlet.
Elena, a Kazan resident who said she was outside the school, told the Echo of Moscow radio station that police were clearing people from outside the premises.
“Parents are crying,” she told the radio station. “People are hysterical.”
While school shootings are relatively rare in Russia, there have been several violent attacks on schools in recent years, mostly carried out by students [Courtesy of Max Zareckiy via Reuters]
‘Investigation is under way’
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case into the shooting and that the identity of the detained attacker had been established.
Footage posted on social media showed a young man being pinned to the ground outside the school by police officers.
“The terrorist has been arrested, (he is) 19 years old. A firearm is registered in his name. Other accomplices haven’t been established, an investigation is under way,” Minnikhanov said in a video address.
He added there was no evidence that anyone else had been involved.
State TV later broadcast a separate video showing what it said was the suspect, a young man stripped to the waist and under restraint, being questioned by investigators.
He could be heard saying that “a monster” had awoken in him, that he had realised that he was a god, and had begun to hate everyone.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case into the shooting [Mikhail Frolov/Press Office of Tatarstan President/Handout via Reuters]
Putin orders review of gun laws
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded, ordering the government to give them all necessary assistance.
The Kremlin sent a plane with doctors and medical equipment to Kazan, and the country’s health and education ministers also headed to the region.
Putin also ordered Victor Zolotov, head of Russia’s National Guard, to revise regulations on the types of weapons allowed for civilian use in light of the attack.
Russia has strict restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, but some categories of guns are available for purchase for hunting, self-defence or sport, once would-be owners have passed tests and met other requirements.
Zolotov was expected to urgently look into the status of weapons that can be registered for hunting in Russia but are considered assault weapons elsewhere.
The suspected attacker had been issued a permit for a Hatsan Escort PS shotgun on April 28, Alexander Khinshtein, a legislator in Russia’s lower house of parliament, wrote on social media, without providing further details.
Khinshtein also said School Number 175 had no security aside from a panic button.
Local authorities meanwhile announced a day of mourning on Wednesday and canceled all classes in schools throughout Kazan, a city home to about 1.2 million people which sits roughly 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital, Moscow.
School shootings are rare in Russia.
Tuesday’s incident was the deadliest of its kind in the country since a student at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea killed 20 people before turning his gun on himself in 2018.
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Posted on November 2, 2016 November 2, 2016 by Nafisa Hoodbhoy
Blast rips through ship in Gadani killing & injuring dozens
KARACHI / GADANI, Nov 2: At least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded on Tuesday when a huge blast ripped through an oil tanker being broken up for scrap in the Gadani shipbreaking yard, some 45 kilometres west of Karachi.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the deadly fire, though some reports suggested it was ignited by a gas cylinder blast inside the 22,000-ton oil tanker.
Officials said the ship was still ablaze as there was not enough equipment to extinguish it. And witnesses say more than 100 workers were on board the vessel when the blast occurred, triggering fears that the death toll might go up.
“The massive vessel was moored at Plot No 56 and workers were cleaning it when a massive explosion occurred around 9:40am,” Nasir Mansoor, the deputy general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation, told The Express Tribune.
The blast occurred in the fuel tank of the ship, he said. Firefighters from Karachi and from the air force and navy were attempting to put out the blaze, Mansoor said. He added that the firefighters would have to wait for the fire to die out “as they lack the foam required to douse it”. Television footage showed a thick plume of black smoke rising from the ship as rescuers rushed to the scene. Edhi Foundation volunteers confirmed 16 deaths, saying that they have ferried 45 injured workers to different hospitals of Karachi for treatment.
“The explosion shook the whole yard. Initially, we thought a bomb has been dropped in the area,” Bashir Mehmoodani, the president of the Shipbreaking Mazdoor Union, told The Express Tribune. “The explosion sent heavy pieces of metal flying up to 300 meters away.”
Mehmoodani said things were really bad. “An unclear number of workers are said to be trapped in the burning ship,” he added. The rescue operation started within half an hour of the blast as the first Edhi ambulance from Hub Chowki reached the site, said worker Saleem Baloch, who took part in the operation. “At least 100 ambulances were on the spot within an hour,” he added.
Cause unconfirmed
There were conflicting reports about what triggered the blaze. Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Harifal said it was caused by a gas cylinder explosion, but police believe it was ignited when one of the workers on the ship lit up a fire oblivious of the fact that the oil tanker was full of combustible fumes.
Local police official Rehmatullah said it was too early to say what had ignited the fire. “We will register a case against the owners of the shipbreaking yard for alleged negligence,” he told The Express Tribune.
Labour inspection
Labourers in Gadani often work in poor conditions without basic protective gear. Two days back, they staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club against alleged exploitation by employers in connivance with the labour department and police.
Fida Ahmed, the deputy director labour department in Hub, dismissed the allegation, saying that all workers were registered for social security and other facilities. “The labour department is also investigating the deadly blaze and a report will be available by Wednesday (today).”
The Gadani shipbreaking industry has fallen on hard times recently and employs about 9,000 workers, fewer than in its boom years at the end of the last decade.
Burn casualties
The casualties from Gadani were driven to the Civil Hospital Hub where medics referred those with life-threatening burn injuries to health facilities in Karachi. “We received 26 injured, but one of them, 26-year-old Asghar, succumbed to his injuries,” said Dr Abdul Qadir Siddiqui of the Civil Hospital Karachi. .
He added that six of the injured were treated for their minor injuries and discharged subsequently. “Five of the injured are in a critical condition because their prognosis is not satisfactory, though doctors are trying their best to save their lives,” he added.
Workers call strike
The Gadani shipbreaking yard workers called a three-day strike in protest against the deadly conflagration. In the afternoon, workers staged a rally, demanding that those responsible for the deaths of their fellows be punished. They alleged that owners of the shipbreaking yard were risking the lives of workers by making them work in hazardous conditions. The chairman of the Shipbreaking Association was not available to respond to the allegations.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his ‘deep grief and sorrow’ over the incident, according to a statement by his office. Industrial accidents are common in Pakistan, with workplaces often forgoing basic safety measures and equipment in the absence of legislation to protect labourers.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2016.
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Over 10 Years with Crown Chaplains Without Borders has been providing chaplaincy support at Crown for staff and customers since 2007. Our Chaplaincy uses new models for participation in spiritual life, and works with those who may have gaming issues, in conjunction with established Crown support service initiatives. For example, Father James Grant [...]
By BLU-930|2020-04-03T19:30:39+00:00April 3rd, 2020|Home, News|Comments Off on A Crowning Achievement
Chaplains Without Borders is pleased to announce our relationship with the Melbourne Victory football club, providing counselling and general support to all staff and working with the team’s leadership group. The Chaplaincy is focussed on a “whole club” strategy; we work with support staff, office workers, cleaners, volunteers, chairman and board; not focussing on players [...]
By Marina|2020-04-03T19:32:23+00:00April 3rd, 2019|Home, News|0 Comments
Located in Melbourne’s CBD, Southern Cross Station is the major centre for state rail and bus travel in Victoria, and they choose Chaplains Without Borders to provide travellers and staff with support. Southern Cross Station has had world firsts in offering a Chaplaincy service, and in opening an inter-faith prayer room (with a kiblah and prayer mats) [...]
Clocks at Flinders St Station, restaurant bar and gaming venue, is in the heart of the city. They also have heart in their work. Chaplains Without Borders now delivers Chaplaincy services to this central Melbourne venue for club workers and guests! Clocks used to get wound up, but not any more… now they’ve got someone [...]
By BLU-930|2020-04-03T18:01:50+00:00February 10th, 2018|Home, News|0 Comments
The Doxa Social Club is committed to the highest levels of responsible service and customer care. Chaplains Without Borders are proud to announce that we are now working with Doxa. Chaplains will be available at: The Meeting Place 315 Elizabeth St Melbourne VIC 3000 and Clocks Shop 17, The Concourse, Flinders Street Station, Melbourne 3000 Strengthening [...]
The La Manna Premier Group is a national group of companies providing top quality fresh fruits and vegetables to retailers for over 50 years. They’ve worked in partnership with Chaplains Without Borders on the welfare of their team since 2012!
Myer is Australia’s largest department store group and has been synonymous with style and fashion for over 100 years. A leader in Australian retailing, with one of the most reputable retail brands in Australia, Myer is known for its strong culture of philanthropy and local community engagement. Chaplain’s Without Borders is proud to support [...]
By BLU-930|2020-04-03T19:25:34+00:00May 29th, 2014|Home, News|Comments Off on Myer – it’s our store too
Relevant. Valued. Connected. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank are aiming to be Australia’s bank of choice. We are happy to announce that now they are providing pastoral care programs for their staff through Chaplains Without Borders.
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Jasper (Jaz) Ryan Martus (D-069)
State Representative Jasper Martus
Room 10-1088 Cora B. Anderson House Office Building 124 North Capitol Avenue
612 Northwood Drive
Flushing, MI 48433
Jasper "Jaz" Martus is a lifelong resident of Genesee County, Michigan. Born to David and Karianne Martus, he took an interest in politics and developed a passion for leadership at an early age. At Powers Catholic High School, he was a State Champion in public speaking . Jasper founded the first high school chapter of the internationally renowned Euphrates Institute, where he spearheaded initiatives focused on interfaith collaboration and community service. In 2018, he was invited to speak at the United Nations for World Interfaith Harmony Week. While attending Michigan State University's James Madison College, he founded the student group Kennedy Democrats which is dedicated to helping young people develop leadership skills and consider a career in politics. Jasper also hosted the series "Trails to the Chief" which discussed adversity in the early lives of presidents and what lessons all people can learn from their experiences. He graduated from James Madison College at MSU with a degree in International Relations and a minor in World Religions. Jasper has volunteered for elected officials up and down the ballot since his mother first took him door to door for Barack Obama in 2008. He has worked in both the federal and state government. At the federal level, while working for Congressman Dan Kildee he helped with cases ranging from helping seniors access social security and medicare programs to ensuring that veterans get the care they need. While working In the Michigan Legislature, Jasper oversaw constituent services, drafted legislation, and designed communications for over a dozen different representatives.
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“The First Amendment does not permit laws that force speakers to retain a campaign finance attorney....”
U.S. Supreme Court, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010
Susan@SusanShelley.com
Read Susan's column of October 6, 2019 on the need to reform the Political Reform Act. Orange County Register Los Angeles Daily News Riverside Press-Enterprise Long Beach Press-Telegram Pasadena Star-News
Read official documents about cases discussed:
Patty Lopez (stipulation)
G. Rick Marshall (fighting)
Dan Schnur (stipulation)
Arcadian's Rights Protection Association (stipulation)
How to Submit Written Public Comments
The FPPC invites public comment on the items on its agenda and other matters. Comment letters may be sent by email to the Commission Assistant at at:
CommAsst@fppc.ca.gov
Or by postal mail to:
Commission Assistant, Fair Political Practices Commission, 1102 Q Street, Suite 3000, Sacramento, CA 95811.
Highly recommended: "The Intimidation Game" by Kimberley Strassel
Not a paid advertisement. No compensation has been paid and no commission is earned on sales. The author of this book is not associated with this website.
Looking for the audio recording of the Probable Cause hearing in Susan's case? Click here.
Link to the Agenda and Documents for the FPPC's Law and Policy Committee meeting on July 13, at 10:00 a.m.: http://www.fppc.ca.gov/about-fppc/hearings-meetings-workshops/committee-meetings/committee-past-agendas/law-policy-committee/2020-agendas/jul-2020-agenda.html
This website has been launched to make public all the documents in FPPC case No. 15/003 against columnist and former Assembly candidate Susan Shelley.
In 2017, the FPPC staff wrote this about this case:
What is this case about?
A note from Susan:
In 2013, I was a first-time state candidate in a special election for the California Assembly in District 45, the west San Fernando Valley. The reason for the special election was the decision in 2012 by the incumbent assemblyman, Bob Blumenfield, to run simultaneously for re-election to the Assembly and for an open seat on the L.A. City Council. He won both: re-election in November 2012, and the City Council seat on March 5, 2013. But he delayed his resignation from the Assembly until June 30.
When I did the research to find out how to run for a state legislative race, I was told that it wasn't legal to raise money for the special election because it didn't exist until the seat was officially vacated. The only legal way to raise money for a campaign, a practical necessity, was to open a campaign committee for the next scheduled election (2014), and then when the seat was vacated, to open a committee for the 2013 special election. That's what all the candidates in the race did, and that's what I did. Mine was an all-volunteer campaign and I was the principal volunteer, so I was the treasurer.
Although I looked for information on what was required, and although I was in touch with the staff of the FPPC and the Secretary of State's office to ask for help to comply with everything, I didn't find all the requirements. This apparently was a common problem for new candidates, because in February 2015, the FPPC launched an "Online Candidate Toolkit" to provide a "one-site, one-stop" place for candidates to find the information they needed in order to comply with the law.
But that didn't exist in 2013 and I didn't find everything. I filed everything I knew to file as soon as I knew to file it, and I communicated with the FPPC staff by email to ask questions and to ask for help when I couldn't figure out how to get transfers of funds to show up correctly on the Cal-Access system.
I never found the schedule for the pre-election reports, but I filed them electronically whenever I found out that I had missed one. In February 2014 the Secretary of State's office sent letters informing me that I owed fines of $10-per-day for late reports in the primary and the late mailing of their paper hardcopies, which I promptly paid. Months after that, more letters arrived with the news of $10-per-day fines for late reports in the general election. There had been, in total, sixteen separately enforced deadlines for pre-election reports all due within a 90-day period, and the fines added up in a hurry. When the second batch of letters arrived, I filled out the enclosed forms to appeal to the Secretary of State's office for a waiver of liability, explaining the circumstances--two committees, the compressed special election calendar, searching for the filing schedule, no professional staff. Finding "good cause," the Secretary of State's office waived most of the fines. I paid the rest. In total, I paid $2,210 in fines for late pre-election reports.
The campaign was routinely audited by the Franchise Tax Board, which found that the two committees substantially complied with the law, except for the issues with the reports.
More than a year later, in January 2016, the FPPC sent me a letter informing me that they were bringing charges against me for violating the Political Reform Act, and unless I signed their enclosed stipulated agreement, waived all my rights, and sent them a check for $6,000, they would come after me for worse.
And they did.
State regulations call for an evaluation of all the circumstances surrounding such violations, including whether there was a good-faith effort to comply with the law and whether there was an intent to deceive. Although the FPPC acknowledges that I made a good-faith effort and had no intent to deceive, they decided that what happened here amounted to 11 counts of violating the Political Reform Act with a potential penalty, at $5,000 each, of $55,000. And then they pressured me to sign their stipulated agreement and pay less, but still thousands of dollars. I asked for a hearing.
This process went on for years and through three different FPPC attorneys. They eventually decided to charge me with five counts, declaring that they had reduced the charges in light of the potential confusion of the two committees, a "unique" circumstance.
There finally was a hearing on June 19, 2019. You can read the full transcript of it, all the briefs and closing arguments, the proposed decision from the judge, the briefs to the Commission, and more at the links below.
Judge for yourself.
Documents and more from FPPC Case No. 15/003
(If you have any trouble opening the files, download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader here.)
Amended Report in Support of a Finding of Probable Cause
Susan's response to Probable Cause report
FPPC's Rebuttal to Response to Probable Cause report
Listen to the audio recording of the Probable Cause hearing in 2017
FPPC staff finds probable cause for 11 counts of violating the Political Reform Act
Accusation
Complainant's (FPPC's) Amended Hearing Brief
Respondents' (Susan's) Hearing Brief
Respondents' Motion to Dismiss
Transcript of June 19, 2019, hearing in the Office of Administrative Hearings
Complainant's (FPPC's) Closing Argument
Respondents' (Susan's) Reply to Complainant's Closing Argument
Respondents' (Susan's) Closing Argument
Complainant's (FPPC's) Reply to Respondent's Closing Argument
Proposed Decision by Administrative Law Judge Deena Ghaly
Complainant's (FPPC's) Brief in Support of Proposed Decision
Respondents' (Susan's) Brief in Opposition to Proposed Decision
Complainant's (FPPC's) Reply to Respondent's Brief in Opposition
Public Comments submitted to the FPPC, which the commission refused to consider
Amicus Curiae letter from Charles H. Bell, Jr., which the commission refused to consider
The agenda for the October 18 meeting
The video of the October 18 meeting (includes 5-minute statements to the commission from the Enforcement Division staff and Susan Shelley)
The commission's final decision, which "modified" the proposed decision by reducing the fine from $12,500 to $11,500.
Contact: Susan@SusanShelley.com
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HomeOpinionsCombating Illusion in Liberia: Why The CDC-led Government Might Not Cross 3 years
Combating Illusion in Liberia: Why The CDC-led Government Might Not Cross 3 years
SOURCE: BY ALFRED P. B. KIADII
An illusion is a virus which has always consumed elements of the bankrupt ruling class, believing that their social economic formula and reign are the last words on history, but time and events have falsified such lousy claim. Instances where they articulated that viewpoint, the rising tide of insoluble contradictions make the ruling clique disintegrate like a rotten apple which falls from a tree.
Today, bankrupt elements of the CDC-led government claim their discredited party will steer the state of the ship of the homeland for ages, dismissing any possibilities of a defeat, even boasting that like slave masters they owned the people. Which mean the people will forever remain indifferent to patent misrule, even when their social existence is being extremely undermined. On social media and in the local press, they boldly spew out such bluster, ignoring the law of nature that matter is in constant flux, and contradiction is the basis of all movements and changes in a society.
Apparently, the basis of their assumption is hemmed by the fact that although Madame Sirleaf performed poorly, she managed to hold onto power for twelfth years. Who can dismiss such fact? However, what they have not understood is the fact that in history things can repeat itself but in a profoundly higher form. Further, to even argue that certain historical blunders were tolerated by the masses of the people in the erstwhile leadership mean they will be condoned now, is to not be accustomed to historical occurrences in the homeland. To liken the current period to that of the erstwhile administration is to not take into consideration the current objective realities.
Obviously, the people tolerated the missteps of the erstwhile administration of Madame Sirleaf because it didn’t have a devastating effect on their survival. Or they wanted to give the government a respite having emerged from fourteen years of fratricidal civil crisis. The same people who tolerated William V.S. Tubman for twenty-seven years did not give Tolbert a respite. A simple review of such occurrence will widen the understanding of the elements who boast about being in control of the state for ages.
For example, Williams V.S. Tubman was gifted twenty-seven years by the Liberian masses to overturn the economic discard of the state and deliver social transformation. He failed terribly. His rule was characterized by oppression, unbridled corruption, marginalization, and an intolerable inefficiency of the public bureaucracy. With all those clear blunders, he managed to maintain a stranglehold on a population which was decimated by all vices that stalled their movement to the apex of the economic ladder. Notwithstanding, there were challenges to his misrule, it was not enough to depose him—he governed as president of the republic until his demise.
Unlike Tubman, Tolbert became president at a time when the country emerged from rule marked by suppression of democratic debates and attendant clampdown on critical voices, which led to an upsurge in the call for the opening of the democratic space and debate about which direction the nation should take in a Continent faced with struggles to end colonialism. And at the height of those discussions were passionate debates on which economic direction the nation should take.
The Tolbert era started with the making of vague political pronouncements and populist rhetoric about a new socio-economic era that impressed those who yearned for a new order after the decadent rule of Tubman. The reactionary old guys of the True Whig Party saw in him an ally who could protect their class interests and continue their domination. But he was not immune from the fact that Liberia was part of an Africa which was experiencing fierce struggle for self-determination and greater freedom, and he wanted Liberia to be part of such process. His quest for change and his refusal to jettison the old guys defined the dilemma which plagued his rule in an era of demand for greater participation and economic transformation.
Similarly, the CDC-led government has taken power at a time when the struggle for inclusion has taken a more qualitative leap. This time around the people are not advocating for broader political inclusion but broader economic participation. After years of economic deprivation under the misrule of Sirleaf, Weah has emerged with a dramatic change recitation and utterances to dazzle those who hope for a better living standard after Sirleaf.
Here he is vacillating between two insoluble forces: On one hand, he is dining and winning with discredited officials of the erstwhile administrations of Sirleaf, Taylor, and Doe; on the other hand, he is making political pronouncements, signaling that he is ready for a change. He is unwilling to break with the reactionary and parasitic guys of the erstwhile administrations at the same time trumpeting the change rhetoric. It is this quandary that will define the Weah administration and present him with insoluble choices in an epoch of deafening outcries for broader economic transformation and participation.
President Tolbert, like the CDC-led government, pledged to open the space and take the people along with him into history. For a people who were kept on the margins of society, the utterances from the president were taken seriously. Unfortunately, he toyed with the prospect of social transformation while keeping ties with the conservative old brats of the True Whig Party, assuring them everything was on course. He went down in history since his pronouncements were taken seriously by those who wanted a change of the economic and social constructs of the republic. In short, the people decided to move into history while he left behind.
But bourgeois historians have interpreted history as series of unconnected and loose occurrence, missing the point that historical occurrences are series of connected interplays, which are driven by objectives laws. They would go further and ask the question: But weren’t the backward army around when Tubman put up a poor showing as president of the republic. Further, they would pin the overthrow of the degenerate oligarchy of the True Whig Party on the Liberian progressives. Obviously, from a cursory look at the thing, who can argue otherwise?
The execution of William David Coleman and his son, the expulsion of D. Twe from the House of Representative, and his forceful exiled to Sierra Leone, the purging of Edwin J. Barclay, the repression of Albert Porte by the state, the persecution of Du Fahnbulleh and so many other contradictions evoked a molecular reaction in various layers of the oppressed class which exploded into a military takeover on April 12, 1980.
Suffice this to mean that the backlog from the action of William VS Tubman was sufficient enough to serve as a catalyst for the action of the army. When William R. Tolbert came, the people were interested in practical actions. They wanted to be changed in an instant. The army lived through the era of Tubman when he ruled by iron-fist. In the era of Tolbert, although he scattered rhetoric, it was more about praxis than vague pronouncements. The people were impatient. They wanted to move fast, but Tolbert vacillated between the conservative old guards of the True Whig party and that of the progressive people of the homeland who wanted a speedy transformation. He refused to cut his umbilical cord from the old guys. On the other hand, he schemed to the people who wanted speedy change. He gambled wrongly which made him the loser.
Secondly, to argue that the Liberian progressives were responsible for the military takeover on April 12, 1980, is to overlook the objective conditions which gave rise to such option. First, human beings are naturally conservative, and they are uninterested in getting rid of the status quo except in situations of extreme necessity. Second, the Liberian progressive only reported and interpreted the contradictions to the people. They neither created it nor asked the government to be insensitive to the plights of the people. Third, no amount of theorizing, writing, agitation can force any oppressed layer of the society into spontaneous upheaval when it is not prepared to do.
One then would ask the question: Aren’t them the same people and army who waited for twenty-seven years of misrule under Tubman? It is quite simple that the oppressive layers of society only act in history when conditions and circumstances become ripe. Yes, they tolerated Tubman, but they couldn’t tolerate Tolbert because history has fast moved, and they were not prepared to wait anymore.
Today, after thirty-seven years we are at the same juncture, Weah dangles with the possibilities of economic transformation while at the same time maintaining ties with economic and social parasites who have sucked the republic dried. He assured his Asian friends about his ties with them by declaring, in his first State of the Nation Address, his ‘urgent and most imperative priority is the granting of citizenship and property rights to people of non-Negro descent.’ This is happening in a country where the people have been pushed on the margins of the economy due to policies of the government that favor foreign capital as opposed to local entrepreneurs.
A lot has happened in just three months of the administration. The government seems to be absolutely confused about the road ahead. From the highest office to all the underlings, there is no clear strategy about governance. For a people who are living in grinding poverty amidst an abundance of natural resources in the homeland, continuous hope about the new administration breaking with the cycle of backwardness is a wishful thinking. It is this frustration in the people that will give rise to a social explosion which will have a contagious effect.
Like all governments that are confused about governance, this administration is looking over its shoulders to crush perceived enemies as opposed to taking decisive action to alleviate the people from the cesspool of poverty. It is more concerned about the motive behind reportage in the local press in contrast to addressing the imbalances that are making all strata of the social order in the homeland to disintegrate. Because of this, a crackdown on key media installations in the country is in full cycle reminiscent of the era of the NPFL/NPP.
Obviously, the people struggle not because of an abstract concept, but for an improvement in their material conditions. An opportunity to live a better life, for their children to be given an education that will prepare them for the challenges ahead. Even the most loyal peoples the world over have always risen from docility to action for such material improvement. It is against this backdrop that all struggles have been mounted.
The gory reality of the republic’s economic collapse and the attendant bankruptcy of the current administration to shoulder the demands for employment improved living standards and so on show that the conundrums Liberia faces are not unique to a regime. It is now evident that the economic paralysis of Liberia is not because of a single regime, a political party, or a segment of the ruling class. It is an expression of the capitalist organization of the productive forces of the country. Insofar as this system remains in place, changes at the apex will not result in the change of anything fundamental.
Because of this, a seething discontentment is building up since the Sirleaf-led government, but the bankrupt ruling clique, along with its local lackeys and street urchins, has not grappled with such reality. I see no military incursion, but a more qualitative leap of the struggle will unfold: the spontaneous upheaval of the people into history, or a social revolution which will culminate into a seismic shift of the body politics of the republic.
Alfred P. B. Kiadii is a student of the University of Liberia, who studies Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration. He is a social and political critic, and the secretary general of the Movement for Social Democratic Alternative (MOSODA). He can be contacted on Cell#: +233552176627. Alternatively, he can be reached at bokaidii@gmail.com.
Liberia’s Staggering Macro-Economic Woes: Tackle Supply-Side Constraints
Social Media Group, Liberian Electoral College (LEC) Describes Legislature’s Action, Overreach
Church Chased Out of Bomi Co. – Leaving a Pastor Dead
A Personal Viewpoint on “The Land of My Father’s Birth: A Memoir of the Liberian Civil War”
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Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services: Who Is Sue Swenson?
Sue Swenson
Sue Swenson, a long-time advocate for the disabled, accepted the top leadership post of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in May 2016. She is also chair of the U.S. Access Board, which develops guidelines for accessibility and accessible design for the disabled.
Swenson was born April 23, 1953, in Red Wing, Minn., to John and Eleanor Dahl. She graduated from Red Wing Central High School in 1971 and went on to attend the University of Chicago. Swenson earned her bachelor’s degree in humanities there in 1975 and a master’s in the same subject in 1977. She then proceeded to earn an MBA from the University of Minnesota in 1986.
Swenson’s background is in marketing; she was marketing manager for the Minnesota Heart and Lung Institute from 1987 to 1989 and held a similar position for Barr Engineering, an environmental consulting firm, from 1990 to 1995.
But Swenson became interested in the plight of the disabled after the second of her three sons, Charlie, was found not long after his birth in 1982 to be profoundly disabled. Swenson later began learning how to advocate for her son’s needs and started to work for the rights of all disabled. She testified in 1993 before a U.S. Senate subcommittee during hearings on the reauthorization of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, talking about her family and the challenges they faced.
Three years later, Swenson was in Washington again, this time working with that subcommittee as a Kennedy Fellow in the Senate. There, she helped form the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Following her year-long fellowship, she returned to Minnesota as an associate with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration. In 1998, she joined the federal Department of Health and Human Services as commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.
Swenson moved to the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, which focuses on those with disabilities, as its executive director beginning in 2001. Two years later, she was named associate executive director of The Arc, one of the largest organizations dedicated to helping those with developmental disabilities. In 2005, Swenson was named executive director.
In 2010, Swenson returned to federal service as deputy assistant secretary for OSERS, which works to ensure access to education, employment and community living for the developmentally disabled. Swenson retains that post while she serves as Acting Assistant Secretary.
In addition to Charlie, who died in 2013, Swenson and her husband, Bill, have two other sons: Will and Eric.
-Steve Straehley
Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy Hearing Regarding Reauthorization of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (pdf)
Official Biography
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Home Articles Tourist Destinations Bluest Waters in the World
Bluest Waters in the World
by Ambrosia EscapesUpdated on January 1, 2023 May 9, 2022 Leave a Comment on Bluest Waters in the World
We’ve curated for you a list of countries with the bluest oceans for your next water vacation!
The Maldives is an archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka. The country is made up of 26 atolls, which are formed by coral reefs surrounding a central lagoon. The Maldives is known for its beautiful beaches and crystal-clear waters, which are home to a variety of marine life, including coral reefs, fish, dolphins, whales, and turtles.
The waters of the Maldives are warm and tropical, with an average temperature of around 27°C. The country experiences two monsoon seasons each year, with the southwest monsoon bringing rainy weather from May to October, and the northeast monsoon bringing dry weather from November to April. The Maldives is a popular destination for snorkeling and diving, with numerous dive sites and coral reefs offering opportunities to explore the underwater world. The country is also home to a number of shipwrecks, which attract divers from around the world.
Thailand is a country located in Southeast Asia, bordered by Laos and Cambodia to the east, Myanmar to the west, and Malaysia to the south. It is home to a number of bodies of water, including the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea, and the Chao Phraya River.
The Gulf of Thailand is a shallow arm of the South China Sea that lies between Thailand and Vietnam. It is home to a variety of marine life, including fish, coral reefs, and dolphins, and is popular with tourists who come to enjoy the beautiful beaches and island destinations. The Andaman Sea is located to the west of Thailand and is part of the northeastern Indian Ocean. It is home to a number of coral reefs and islands, including the famous Phi Phi Islands, which are popular with tourists.
The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, flowing through the center of the country and emptying into the Gulf of Thailand. The river is an important transportation route and is also used for irrigation. Many tourists visit the Chao Phraya River to experience the river life and culture of Thailand, with popular activities including boat trips and river cruises.
French Polynesia is an overseas territory of France located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is made up of 118 islands and atolls, including the Society Islands (including Tahiti, Mo’orea, and Bora Bora), the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Gambier Islands, and the Marquesas Islands. The islands of French Polynesia are scattered over an area of about 2,000,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest and most dispersed territories in the world.
French Polynesia is known for its stunning natural beauty, with crystal-clear waters, sandy beaches, and lush vegetation. The waters of French Polynesia are known for their bright blue color, which is caused by the reflection of sunlight off the white sand and coral reefs. The waters are also home to a variety of marine life, including coral reefs, fish, dolphins, and whales, and are popular with tourists who come to experience the unique culture, history, and beauty of the region. The capital of French Polynesia is Pape’ete, which is located on the island of Tahiti.
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Posted by Doretha on October 1, 2021
The Best Visual Arts Schools in Spain
Get to know the visual arts schools in Spain for children and young people and the universities of fine arts in Spain that will help you specialize.
There are many schools of visual arts in Spain and fine arts in the faculties of art and humanities of many universities in Spain. For this reason, we have marked renowned universities and historical journeys. It is worth checking out mi arte es for more helpful information about art schools in Spain.
The address, the direct link to the web pages of each institution, and the academic offers of each have also been placed so that you have the option to review each of them.
These are famous universities, with over 100 years of foundation, and some have been the study houses of important personalities. These are the most popular choices on opinionesespana.es.
Complutense University of Madrid
This university has a special history and prestige, it was previously called the University of Madrid and was founded in 1822.
We recommend the Complutense University of Madrid as one of the first options in terms of its prestige and history, as well as a wide range in the field of visual arts.
Also, several Nobel Prize winners studied at this university. Severo Ochoa and Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Nobel Laureate José Echegaray, Camilo José Cela, Vicente Aleixandre and Mario Vargas Llosa can be named Nobel Prize in Medicine.
He has a wide repertoire of careers between bachelor’s, master’s, postgraduate and doctoral studies.
In his art faculty you can find: diplomas in fine arts, diplomas in design, in conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, master in art education, master in art and creation, master in design, master in heritage conservation, a doctorate in fine arts.
University of Seville
This university has a faculty of arts and humanities, where they have several offers for careers in art.
It is a public university founded in 1505, counted 500 years ago as the Colegio de Santa María de Jesús at the beginning of the 16th century, making it a university with a great history.
Among his offers of studies in art we have: Diploma in Fine Arts, Diploma in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets, Diploma in Art History, and Master in University in Art: Idea and Production.
The University of Granada is among the top 10 Spanish universities founded in 1531 by Carlos I of Spain; In addition, it works with the Erasmus student exchange program.
There is another Spanish university founded. Among the offers we need to mention: Graduate in Fine Arts, Graduate in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets, Graduate in Art History, Master’s Degree in Historical-Artistic Heritage.
University of La Laguna
The university was founded in 1792 by King Carlos IV, being the oldest institution in the Canary Islands and with a wide academic offer.
This university has its faculty of arts and humanities with the following offers:
Diploma in conservation and restoration of cultural assets
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