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https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Bottle-amp-Barrel-pub-owner-supports-two-public-13348084.php
Bottle & Barrel pub owner supports two public fundraisers, donates to causes
By Jill Moon
Published 10:34 am CDT, Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Vocalist and guitarist Jonathan Humphreys, pictured, a music therapist who works with children enrolled in special school district, is playing — for tips only — from 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, at The Back Room at Bottle & Barrel, 554 E. Broadway, in Alton, Illinois, for Pennies For PawPaw. Everywhere An Entertainer LLC, founded and owned by Trish Cook, booked Humphreys' gig for the fundraiser. Visit Everywhere An Entertainer LLC at Facebook for more information.
Vocalist and guitarist Jonathan Humphreys, pictured, a music therapist who works with children enrolled in special school district, is playing — for tips only — from 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, at The
For The Telegraph
ALTON — Live music venue and pub owner Christopher Keidel's heart is one of his business' biggest assets.
Often when asked, if circumstances allow, Keidel, of Alton, Illinois, lends his commercial space at Alton's Bottle & Barrel to good causes.
"'Pub' is for 'public house,' and when the community comes together for a cause, it is a great place to gather and comfort those in need," Keidel explained. "It's the backbone of a community."
The next two Saturdays have him helping individuals facing medical-related emergencies: Saturday, Nov. 3, an event will benefit Tina Breeding, 39, of Roxana, Illinois, who is giving a kidney to a coworker; and, on Saturday, Nov. 10, an event will benefit Dennis Smith, 61, previously of Alton, now of St. Louis, diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, who recently completed cancer treatment. Both beneficiaries need help with medical-treatment related expenses, for what is not covered by health insurance and costs accrued in taking off work and retiring early, respectively.
Over the last year, Bottle & Barrel, at 554 E. Broadway, in Alton, hosted several fundraisers for nonprofits and not-for-Keidel's-own profit. He feels the return on his investment is greater than any gold, Keidel told The Edge. Keidel, along with donating his venue's space, is donating 10 percent of all drink revenues from each night's fundraising events on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10 to their respective causes.
The Nov. 3 event starts at 6 p.m. and benefits Breeding, who is donating an organ to Justin Pratt, 36, of Michigan, both of whom work for the same company, in different states. For auction, GRP Mechanical Co., of Bethalto, Illinois, donated a pair of St. Louis Cardinals baseball tickets and Alton-based Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George donated a basket full of items. Additionally, Sister Kateri is making chili and Sister Anne is distributing fliers and collecting church donations. Grafton-based Senger's Gas Co. donated two 20-pound propane fill ups and, more items include various individually-donated baskets, handmade jewelry, a limited-edition poster, homemade quilt and cash. DJ Toni Daniels will provide entertainment.
Breeding's surgery will take place Thursday, Nov. 8, at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Kovler Organ Transplantation Center.
Smith, who recently had to retire from Orkin because of the cancer diagnosis and subsequent intense treatment, is well-known in the Madison County region where he provided regular extermination services to numerous businesses and properties. He's fondly known either as Bug Man, since as a full-time employee he was often seen wearing the signature pest control company's uniform and cap, or Cowboy, due to otherwise wearing his own signature cowboy hat when off work, out and about, shooting pool or enjoying karaoke.
His daughter, Sabrina Werner, 41, of St. Louis, who's a longtime full-time server at Pere Marquette Lodge, in Grafton, Illinois, along with her 5-year-old son, Isaiah Werner, organized the benefit, Pennies For PawPaw, named for what Smith's youngest of two grandchildren calls him.
Keidel stepped in with allowing both fundraising events to be held at Bottle & Barrel.
"Due to his diagnosis, my dad has had to quit his job, which also means he's lost all of his health insurance," Sabrina Werner said. "So, to help offset some of the costs of treatments and medications, we've decided to throw a benefit to help him out. Pennies For Pawpaw will not only be a time to raise money, but to celebrate life."
Pennies For PawPaw starts at 4 p.m. — until closing time — Saturday, Nov. 10, at Bottle & Barrel. There will be a silent auction, including gift certificates from Madison and Jersey county Illinois businesses, as well as baskets filled with goodies for men, women and children, including vintage Anheuser-Busch beer steins, and more.
Additionally, for the silent auction, the Legendary Mustang Sanctuary, in Alhambra, Illinois, is providing for bidding a special tour and "dude ranch" lunch for up to 12 people, especially designed for youngsters, who will learn about the plight of America's wild mustang horses and get to feed carrots to the gentle, tamed mustangs at the sanctuary.
Pennies For PawPaw also will hold a 50/50 drawing and feature a "Pops for Pawpaw" lollipop tree.
Vocalist and guitarist Jonathan Humphreys, a music therapist who works with children enrolled in special school district, is playing — for tips only — from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Back Room at Bottle & Barrel, an extension of the bar space, for Pennies For PawPaw, provided by Everywhere An Entertainer LLC, founded and owned by Trish Cook. Visit Everywhere An Entertainer LLC at Facebook for more information.
"Jon has a beautiful voice, especially for the old country greats, like, Hank Williams Senior," Cook said of the artist who also writes his own music. "He's very talented."
Visit Bottle & Barrel's Facebook page or call the venue at 618-463-1095 for more information.
Reach Jill Moon at 618-208-6448 and Twitter @jill_moon.


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Ana Zara questioned the Navy's statement due to strong waves: "You can now graduate from Plot" | Tsunami | Politics
Omigron | Corona virus | Christmas: Cancellation of more than 4,000 flights worldwide adds frustration to Govt-19 epidemic | USA | The world
Around 4,400 flights were canceled worldwide for Christmas, and thousands of flights were delayed due to the Omigron variant of the corona virus, according to surveillance website Flightware, which adds to the frustration of the epidemic. According to Flightaware.comAt 0720 GMT, at least 2,000 flights were canceled worldwide on Christmas Day, including about 700 flights to airports in the United States and 2,000 flights on Friday.
On Thursday, the total number of cancellations was 2,231, according to the same source, which accounts for more than 600 cancellations on Sunday.
See: Christmas 2021 Live: Where is Santa Claus right now; Follow the path of Santa Claus live
Several companies consulted by AFP have cited a new wave of epidemics, particularly affecting employees, as the reason for the cancellation.
Pilots, flight attendants and other staff reported being sick or isolated, forcing many airlines to cancel flights during peak travel times of the year.
Most flights were planned before Omigron appeared, which was more contagious than previous variants.
United Airlines, for example, canceled about 200 flights on both Friday and Saturday, 10% of which were scheduled, according to Flightware.
See: More than 200 flights have been canceled in the United States on Christmas Eve
"The peak of Omigron cases across the country this week has had a direct impact on our team and the people who run our operations." The company said it was looking for solutions for the affected passengers.
Delta canceled 260 flights on Saturday and about 170 flights on Friday due to omigran and adverse weather.
See: False call that created the way to follow the path of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve in the middle of the Cold War
More than a dozen Alaska Airlines flights were also canceled, with some employees saying they were "vulnerable to the virus" and needed to isolate themselves.
READ Corona virus | Cook Islands: A paradise archipelago opposing Govt-19 and no lawsuits have yet been filed The world
The reason for the high number of cancellations by Chinese airlines was: At 0720 GMT on Saturday, China Eastern canceled about 480 flights, more than 20%; And Air China accounted for 15% of its total scheduled departures.
Frustration and division
After the severe blow dealt by the corona virus at Christmas 2020, the cancellation added frustration to the epidemic as many were unable to reunite with their families over the holidays.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates that more than 109 million Americans will leave their area by plane, train or car between December 23 and January 2, an increase of 34% over last year.
But most of those holiday and family reunion plans were created long before the Omigran variant appeared, which dominated the United States and overwhelmed some hospitals and health workers.
Fortunately, these disruptions did not affect Santa's travel plans, which the North American Space Defense Command (NORAD) has been following for 63 years.
NORAD Commander Lt. Gen. Eric Kenny said, "Santa Claus has been doing so well so far. He's already been in it for hours and will do it all night."
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill confirmed the smooth running of Santa's trip via video conference with NORAD officials on Friday.
The president then spoke by video call with several families, asking what gifts the children should have and told them to stay in bed before midnight, otherwise Santa would not come.
But as a sign of the deep political divisions affecting the United States, communication took a bitter turn when a father who greeted Biden Happy Holidays insulted him.
READ Corona virus: 4.5 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19 | The world
According to reporters there, the father responded: "Merry Christmas" followed by "Come on, Brandon!", Which was used contemptuously against Biden by Donald Trump supporters.
Previous Christmas: Santa Claus or Santa Claus, what's the correct name? | Answers
Next Christmas with the death penalty, imprisonment or torture: these countries do not celebrate Christmas and do not ban it | North Korea | Israel China | Iran | The world

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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In Defence of Electoral Apathy
Date: Tue, 2007-05-08 02:12
People's apathy, particularly young people's, towards elections is normally presented as some sort of failing in civic responsibility. However, indifference towards the outcomes of elections is actually a sensible position to have - it recognises that the emperor has no clothes.Despite all the exhortations encouraging people to vote, large numbers do not see any point - it's not a particularly difficult or time consuming thing to do, about as much work as going to the local shop and buying a pint of milk - yet fewer and fewer people are voting. Politicians, media and the powerful in general tell us that this is because there's something wrong with the public - lazy, self-centred and so on. The case that voting in these elections is an important, civic responsibility is so widely accepted that it is rarely questioned. It's like the cast of a play which attracts small audiences giving out about the lack of sophistication in the public, and never thinking to ask themselves if their play just might be crap.
In this case we can see that a sizeable chunk of the population has decided that they can see no practical difference to their lives depending on which particular government gets elected - it makes less of a difference than having milk for your tea. They are sceptical about politicians and elections and they are right.
There is little or no differences beyond the rhetorical between the underlying philosophies of the parties, or their basic policies - to such an extent where it's impossible to identify any definite thing that will be different if this or that government gets in. Instead most of the debate is about who makes the best manager - the policies are assumed and they are assumed because they are decided in advance, completely outside of anything resembling democracy. A good example of how non-existant the differences are is that Colm O'Gorman had been in discussions with the labour party before he eventually decided to join the PDs - who claim to be on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Winning elections nowadays depends primarily upon having money and attracting favourable media coverage. In both cases this means that the primary target is to win over the rich and powerful - they're the ones who own the papers and who fund the parties (the best-known example being the FF tent at the galway races). This means that all the parties shy away from anything that might annoy the multi-nationals, the developers and the media barons - meaning they basically follow neo-liberal policies, privatisation, consumer taxes for basic services like waste and water, public-private partnerships and so on. If they step outside this consensus, they will get hammered by the media and the business community, their funding may dry up and they may face threats of capital flight - it doesn't take much to provoke this and, for example, although Sinn Fein's policies only represent a minor adjustment to corporation tax and capital gains tax, many articles have been devoted to telling the public that a vote for SF would destroy the economy. Indeed, for a period of several months last year, the Sunday Independent attacked SF on their front page virtually every week - with virtually zero news content. The repeated media attacks have obviously hurt SF and will also help to make them moderate their policies to avoid such attacks in future, a dynamic that is alread well-evident in the north where their economic policies are sufficiently close to those of the DUP that they can form a government with them with very little argument about important economic matters and most of the debate about nationalist symbolism.
As a good example of this, the only actual issue that has generated much debate in this election is stamp duty. This is because the parties are chasing the approval of the Sunday Independent who have waged a campaign against stamp duty since August 2006 - or more accurately they are chasing the approval of its owner, Tony O'Reilly. Absurdly the sunday independent issue of April 22nd was largely devoted to trumpeting the fact that stamp duty was the election issue, in the same paper they published the results of an independent IMS opinion poll which revealed that stamp duty was ranked in last place of all the issues mentioned in terms of its importance to the electorate.
By contrast the major issues that have motivated large numbers of people in Ireland since the last election have been things like the use of Shannon airport by US troops travelling to and from Iraq, the exploitation of immigrant workers and the 'race to the bottom' and Shell's attempts to bully a community in Rossport. All of these issues have motivated tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people, predominantly young people, to hit the streets. Yet none of them are anywhere near the election agenda. In fact the media has been so reluctant to investigate public opinion in recent times that PANA had to pay a market research company to investigate public feeling on the use of Shannon by US troops - the results? 58% of people were opposed, just 19% of the public supported the practice - yet these views are just completely ignored by all the major parties.
In this globalised world, governments are increasingly bound by global financial institutions and treaties - the EU, WTO, IMF all serve as bodies that limit the range of policies available to national governments and more or less constrain them to implement neo-liberal politics.
We also should remember that much decision making has been outsourced to private companies and to unelected bureaucrats and quangos - much of which the government has no real control over.
And this is well known to those working within the system, although they rarely put it honestly. One example however, saw Barry Andrews write in the Irish Times in 2003 that:
"The following is a rough attempt to grade them in order: (a) capital markets; (b) the European Union; (c) the Government (not quite non-parliamentary, admittedly); (d) the Social Partners; (e) the World Trade Organisation; (f) the Civil Service; (g) the United Nations and (h) county managers. The role of Dáil Éireann trails in somewhere after these."
Therefore, due to the convergence of policies as parties pursue the support of the wealthy and powerful, our election campaigns consist mostly of the following:
* banal utterances which just amount to saying "good things are good, bad things are bad" - for example, many politicians will boast that they are "for safer communities" - who the hell isn't?
* attempts to claim credit for all sorts of stuff that mostly involved other people's hard work (e.g there has been a fight over which party is responsible for Ireland's economic boom - as if all those people who actually did the work to produce stuff had nothing to do with it and it was all merely down to a clever politician.
* attacks on opponents and these are coming more common as at least the candidate can be honest when criticising opponents.
* aspirational promises which have a long, consistent history of being broken
The increasingly meaningless nature of elections stems from a fundamental problem in representative democracy - it doesn't contain very much democracy at all. We elect people who are supposed to make decisions on our behalf, but it's entirely up to them to decide what they will actually do once elected. We can't vote for policies, we can't force our elected representatives to implement any particular policies and we can't even replace them if they break all of their promises and implement the exact opposite of what we elected them to do. Probably the best example of such anti-democratic cynicism was seen in the election of 1987 - Fianna Fail flooded the country with posters and billboards declaring "Health Cuts hurt the old, the sick and the handicapped". When they got elected, FF minister Rory O Hanlon cut 3,000 beds in two years - the most extreme cuts that the country has ever seen and the beds have still not been replaced.
Even when politicians have some intention of fulfilling their promises, anything distinctive is likely to end up being bargained away in coalition negotiations or to be ditched when budgetary restraints kick in, or turn out to be impossible to put into practice due to some unexpected factor (the garda reserve and the cafe-drinks licenses were the two promises that McDowell attempted to fulfil - he failed miserably in both in the face of opposition from publicans and rank and file gardai - we often over-estimate the power of government vis a vis the institutions of the state).
Therefore, for all these reasons, I think people are right to be indifferent about the outcome of the election - the only thing it is likely to change, whichever way it goes, is the set of faces on our tv screens and whose bums are in the limos; the candidates aren't even as entertaining as big brother candidates, so it's no surprise that lots of people are sensible enough to not trouble themselves to vote.
Having said all that, being indifferent to elections is not the same as being indifferent to politics and the evidence suggests that most people are acutely concerned about the basic political problems - how resources are distributed and how public services are provided. Health, education, security, housing, all consistently elicit strong opinions from the public.
Lots of people are also involved in political activity outside the electoral sphere. For example, I am involved with Anti-War Ireland, Indymedia Ireland and the Workers Solidarity Movement and am broadly supportive of various other campaigns yet I always either spoil my vote or abstain - all of that political activity requires far more effort than it takes to go out and vote - yet I am somehow supposed to be apathetic?
Now, although most people probably aren't involved with many overtly political groups, involvement with grassroots organisations is actually very pervasive - residents associations, community groups, voluntary associations campaigns, trade unions and so on provide a useful way for people to engage with political issues, albeit often on a small scale. That's the type of political activity that I advocate - and I think that people should get involved in such things and demand that they have a say in the decisions that affect them. It's only by building public involvement in political issues through such democratic means that we can start to take back control over our lives from distant forces - and while changing the government doesn't make much of a difference, all governments and powerful institutions feel and respond to pressure on the streets.
The democratic freedoms that are most important are civil liberties, the freedom to organise and freedom of speech - we should be using those freedoms rather than fooling ourselves into thinking the our rights and responsibilities begin and end at the right to put an 'x' beside the name of some inherently untrustworthy individual or another.
Subject: Elections
Topics: Miscellaneous


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Bad Practice: Standing in front of your Shooters
There have been a rash of videos lately from Brazil to Africa showing firearms training with guys forward of the firing line. What should we make of this taboo?
ISG Team
Often times we look at bad practice with a sort of reflexive 'nope'... a habit which is magnified by the speed with which condemnation rolls in in the digital age.
We try to avoid attacking the people and focus on discussing why what we are seeing is poorly thought out. As such, we can't so much blame the students for the instructor's practice, so we'll focus on that as we dissect this training session from Brazil:
Our pony-tailed student is a major tell as to the level of skill these shooters possess.
Watching this video, you can see he has to signal a range safety to come help him clear a stoppage. As we discuss frequently, behind loading, drawing, and firing a handgun, clearing a stoppage is an absolutely essential task that doesn't get nearly enough credit. If you're interested in why, we have a video discussing stoppages here.
Before we go on discussing why this drill itself is poorly constructed, we need to drag the well-beaten horse of "match the skill level to the course" back into the limelight.
As we discussed in the article linked above, it's a failing of the student when they enroll into a course they're not ready for, but it's a failing of the instructor if they don't recognize that a student is dangerously unprepared for the material. As often it's tough for students to assess their level of skill, it becomes very important to try and ensure the students are in step with the material.
When we start doing training with friendlies 'downrange', we need to be absolutely sure they have the level of competency, maturity, and tactical acumen to do so safely.
We can't afford to have a dude who can't clear his own weapon pointing a gun at us or other students.
Now, with that said, this might be surprising, but this concept isn't as awful as it seems at first blush. This drill just doesn't do it justice and fails to match the instruction to the students level of skill, but if we're honest, having non-hostiles in front or around us in defensive encounters is almost a given.
Despite the initial hate and "WTF" going on at every level, this drill fundamentally trying to teach some very important, relevant, and realistic concepts. So, while we disagree with what we're seeing here in terms of the students readiness to perform the drill and some of the execution (which could be done far better), the idea behind this drill is crucially important.
So, what are we talking about? What is worth taking from this video and retooling? Quite a bit...
Muzzle Control, En Extremis
In the video, we see the shooters attempting to avert their muzzles when a non-hostile target presents an obstruction to the hostile target. This cannot be understated: This is a realistic and useful skill. Especially in situations in which the a shooting is occurring in a public space, such as an active shooter crisis. In these situations, stimulation overload is a very real, very disorienting force that exerts a lot of weight on your mental processing. Engraining good habits as it relates to moving around non-hostiles while you're armed is well worth considering. *With that said*, there are safer, better ways to conduct this kind of training.
Mental prescience in the face of non-hostile targets downrange
Another thing to consider is that threats don't occur in bubbles. Whether in your home, vehicle, or out and about, if there's a shooting, there will almost certainly be other people present. Quick story: my first real Force on Force training was a joint exercise between the County and Base police, and we were working response to active shooter problems. This was a pivotal experience for me, because our team did exceptionally well on the simple problems. Our final iteration was two shooters who had us in the L, and running 'innocent' role players. More on this in a second, but two very important concepts were introduced to me at that time:
Target discrimination
When lead is flying, there are some reflexive responses that turn otherwise ordinary stimulus into threats. The more compounded these threats are, the more pronounced - which I'd learn later overseas, but that initial dose of stress inoculation was a turning point for a couple reasons:
a. It familiarized me with that overload in a way that made me aware it would happen under worse circumstances, and;
b. It taught me about trigger inhibition. More on that in a second.
When people are running towards you, or moving furtively, it triggers a 'spook' response in the brain, which often means if you're training to pop rounds after a 'surprise' stimulus (say, a shot timer, for example), that's exactly what you're going to do. This lesson was pivotal for me because as we finished engaging our 'active shooters' during that training, we were rushed by fleeing hostages, making noise and flailing their arms.
Two of them got nice little controlled pairs to the torso before I realized "shit, these are innocent people." That was an earthquake that happened early enough in my career to help me correct some of those habits before I'd really need them. You do not want to be the guy or gal who shoots a bunch of innocent people on account of your nerves. You need to train to not shoot and check your fire as well as make quick, accurate hits.
Trigger inhibition
The final consideration was the outflow of target discrimination. Once I'd reflexively taken the leap to let the lead fly, I continued to let the lead fly. Thankfully, the casualties were notional and I didn't have to carry around the burden of a bad shoot, but once you begin pulling the trigger, it takes another burst of nerve to switch that off again. Trigger inhibition is a well-documented phenomenon, and this by no means does it justice - just be aware that it exists, and when you 'break the seal', it becomes very easy to continue shooting everything that startles you. *Train on no-shoot/shoot targets* It doesn't feel cool being the guy training to not shoot, but it feels a hell of a lot better than a Manslaughter charge.
Training to Move by Fire
As we advance from individual tactics within the self-defense space into more complicated tactics used by small teams, there may be times when we deliberately place ourselves or our people downrange from us. A firm understanding of how to use tactics to keep guns on threats is a much larger portion of success than just marksmanship alone, and while citizens will probably not find themselves bounding by fire, if you move in a circle where your spouse or friends are armed, you should be considering how to make entry or exit from buildings, navigate interior and exterior spaces, and understand security in uncertain or threatening environments.
This drill, done correctly, could reinforce ALL of these points, all of which are important... especially to the citizen. So, think on that while we take a look at another example of edgy 'friendly downrange' training.
Another (worse) Example
Before we move on to some solutions and ideas for training the important skills mentioned above, let's take a look at another video that's valueless. Truly, it's little more than an edgy trust exercise.
This video has no context (why would your buddies be standing in a line like that? There's no principal, there's no skill being worked here that could be done without living humans downrange, etc).
That not all of these drills are created equal. This isn't fundamentally that different, other than it's obviously for show. There's no movement to simulate a real shooting environment. There's no muzzle discipline being reinforced. There's no obvious purpose.
So whereas our first video was an example of having the right idea, poorly executed, this is the wrong idea, which should never have been executed.
Now that you've got eye-Ebola, let's discuss how we can train for no-shoot/shoot discrimination, movement and muzzle control with friendlies downrange, and work on some force on force.
Training For the Fight
This should go without saying by now, but the absolute, non-negotiable pre-requisite to this kind of training should be solid fundamentals, starting with the rules of gun safety up.
The easiest litmus test for whether or not you're ready for working these kinds of drills is this:
Do you muzzle people on accident?
If yes, full stop. To get the most out of working force on force, you're going to want to have mastered some shooting fundamentals, first and foremost of which is 'always knowing where you're pointing your weapon'.
Forward of the firing line doesn't mean "in the line of supporting fire" if you do it right. That said, you still have to be concerned about moving non-hostile targets downrange in real-world situations.
At the range
When your'e at the range, practice strings where you check your fire. If you've got a training partner, this can be done by having them orient targets without your knowledge, and using targets that vary or are questionable, or those that can be configured to change the threat and still require some judgment. Work on them at varying distances, as well. If you've got access to a range that has programmable targets, many have a no-shoot/shoot function. If you're working something else, get your boys to set up the targets while you load magazines or do something other than see the way they're setting them up.
Stack targets in front of one another, if you've got enough stands. This will force you to consider over penetration and shot placement.
If you're doing things on the cheap, colored paper plates can work well as a simple, inexpensive drill. Use certain colors for no-shoot, other colors to denote a string of fire (controlled pairs, or the like), and others to signify vital areas. These are very easy to stack, as well, so you can make a useful training aid without much more than a couple target stands and a couple dozen colored paper plates.
Force on Force
To really drill on these situations, there's nothing better than facing off with an actual living human being who doesn't want to get shot. Without a doubt, the best way to get this experience is find a reputable instructor who teaches force on force with Sim/FX. That's the gold standard in training, and there will be a day in which people who aren't training with Sim/FX might as well be using a cup-and-saucer grip on their service revolver. Especially if the class has no script and good role players, you'll learn a lot about yourself integrating verbal skills, physical tactics, weapons handling, and judgment. The chief benefit of Sim/FX is that the pistol look and function exactly as your normal carry pistol, give you a physical sting if you get popped, all while retaining the exact manual of arms as the real firearm.
If you can't pull that off, SIRT guns can be a suitable alternative if you've got a training partner and structure to work in. SIRT won't leave permanent marks from which to learn from, but if can still be used to work angles and tactics.
Barring SIRT, Airsoft can work as well. Yes, we know, people laugh at Airsoft, the bad tactics, and the suspension of disbelief that goes into it, but in the hands of dedicated people using good tactics, Airsoft can give you some realistic feedback regarding where you're at, especially if you use a high quality replica of your carry gun.
An Edgy Conclusion
If you carry a firearm for self defense, you need to know the feeling of putting someone at gunpoint. That's not PC. It's not something you'll hear in the NRA's curriculum, and most importantly, we're not saying that needs to be a loaded and chambered pistol pointing at your instructor.
With that said, you do not want the first time you draw down on a person to be your first time drawing down on a person. There's something very real and very serious about the act of putting a bead on a human, and a lot of students have a very hard time with it the first time. We're trained, and continue to train, to keep our muzzle OFF anything we're not willing to destroy. That's absolutely crucial, and it's a rule for a reason.
We have discussed before that while your defensive encounter might be your first time pulling a weapon on a person, it's likely not the first time that person has had a weapon pulled on them. They will not suddenly become compliant because you've upped the ante, and if you're nervous or not committed to your action, it's going to be absolutely obvious, and you can expect they'll call your bluff.
So, be safe. Be sane. Know when you need to be obeying the fundamental rules of firearms safety (hint: when you've got a live weapon), know better than to point a live weapon at another human, but don't shy away from finding workarounds like Sim/FX, SIRT, or Airsoft.
There comes a point where we're no longer discussing just marksmanship, but fighting. Know the difference, so you don't end up like the guys in these videos... the laughing stock of the internet.
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2020: Basic Training for the Decade
Here's to hoping for a safe, happy, and productive 2021 - while acknowledging that it was very likely the first in a series of very troubled years.
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A widowed farmer, with a brave but brutal military past, decides not to join up when the British arrive in 1776. However, when his son enlists and is later captured by the enemy, the former soldier must abandon his new-found pacifist principles in order to rescue his oldest child, and forms a regiment of Carolina patriots, whose guerrilla tactics prove pivotal to the US war effort.
Starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson
Director Roland Emmerich
Benjamin Martin
Gabriel Edward Martin
Charlotte Selton
Jason Isaacs
Colonel William Tavington
Colonel Harry Burwell
Exciting Revolutionary War tale has graphic battle scenes.
Centropolis Entertainment, Inc.; Mutual Film Company
© 2000 Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Co. Movie KG. All Rights Reserved.


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Huram
The fleet of King Solomon's ships (2 Chr 9:21-9:21)
"The king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks."
Once again, this is almost word for word from 1 Kings, chapter 10. Solomon had a fleet of ships that he shared with the Phoenicians, particularly Huram of Tyre. Tarshish was either in southern Spain, India or Africa. The Phoenicians were great sailors and would have helped King Solomon. Once every 3 years they would come in with a great haul of gold, silver, and ivory. For some reason they also brought back either live or dead animals, apes and peacocks.
Uncategorized	1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, apes, gold, Have you ever been on a merchant ship?, Huram, ivory, peacocks, silver, Tarshish, The fleet of King Solomon's ships	0 Comments
The rebuilding of cities (2 Chr 8:1-8:2)
"At the end of twenty years, during which King Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house, King Solomon rebuilt the cities which Huram had given to him. He settled the people of Israel in them."
Based on 1 Kings, chapter 9, King Huram and King Solomon had been cooperating for 20 years, during the construction of the Temple and Solomon's palace. The main difference between here and 1 Kings is who was giving the 20 cities to whom. In 1 Kings, Solomon wanted to give Hiram (Huram) 20 cities in Galilee, but Huram (Hiram) was upset because they were not very nice cities. Here, King Solomon rebuilt the cities he got from Huram. In 1 Kings, Hiram (Huram) sent a lot of gold, but that is not mentioned here.
Uncategorized	1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Have you ever helped build a city?, HIram, Huram, Solomon, temple, The rebuilding of cities, Yahweh	0 Comments
The bronze work (2 Chr 4:11-4:18)
"Huram made the bronze pots, shovels, and basins. Thus Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God. He made the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars. He made the two lattice works to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars. There were four hundred pomegranates for the two lattice works, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice work, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars. He made the stands, and the basins on the stands, the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these, Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of Yahweh. In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. King Solomon made all these things in great quantities, so that the weight of the bronze was not ascertained."
Now Huram (Hiram) comes up with all the bronze work as in 1 Kings, chapter 7. Here it is Huram, not King Solomon who made all these bronze works. Huram built the 2 bronze pillars, with the tops or capitals on each one. He did the ornate lattice work. Their ornamentation included over 200 pomegranates and various flowers on each capital or top. On top of that he made 10 large basins to go on the bronze stands. Also he, not King Solomon, was responsible for the bronze sea with its 12 oxen bulls holding it up. Huram-abi was the artisan in charge even though King Solomon was the overseer of the total project. They used so much bronze that they were unable to weigh it.
Uncategorized	1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, capitals, Do you use anything made of bronze?, forks, Huram, pillars, pots, shovels, Solomon, The bronze work	2 Comments
The sons of Bela (1 Chr 8:3-8:5)
"Bela had nine sons, named Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram."
Bela was the first born son of Benjamin. In the census in Numbers, chapter 26, Bela, the clan of the Belaites, listed only 2 sons, Ard and clan of the Ardites and Naaman, the clan of the Naamites. Here Bela has 9 sons and only (5) Naaman is the same. (1) Addar, the grandson of Benjamin, also was the name of a place on the Benjamin border with Judah. In Genesis, chapter 49, (2) (7) Gera was listed as a son of Benjamin, but here he is the grandson of Benjamin, and listed twice. Gera was the name of an ancestor of the 2nd judge Ehud, in Judges, chapter 3, as well as the name of the father of Shimei, the Benjamite, who cursed David when he fled from Absalom. (3) Abihud was also the name of another person in the Jesus genealogy of Matthew. The only other (4) Abishua was a grandson of Aaron. (6) Ahoah and (8) Shephuphan are only mentioned here. (9) Huram appears here but may be the same as Hiram, the king of Tyre and the artisan from Tyre at the time of David and Solomon.
Uncategorized	1 Chronicles, Abihud, Abishua, Addar, Ahoah, Do you come from a large family?, Gera, Huram, Naaman, Shephuphan, The sons of Bela	0 Comments


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Photo Theft Versus Conceptual Art
Acclaimed photographer Harry Benson was recently flipping through the New York Times when he came across an article about the Whitney Biennial exhibition in NYC, one of the leading shows for up-and-coming artists. He was shocked to find that the installation featured in the main photograph was using one of his photographs without permission.
It was a portrait of Michael Jackson that Benson had taken at Neverland Ranch:
He soon discovered that it was part of Lorraine O'Grady's art piece titled "The First and Last of the Modernists". O'Grady had taken Benson's photograph, desaturated it, and placed it in a diptych with a photo of poet Charles Baudelaire.
Here's the photograph that Benson had shot for design magazine Architectural Digest in 1993:
PDNPulse reports that,
Benson contacted O'Grady, who lives in New York, to question her unauthorized use of his image. According to Benson, she told him she is "a conceptual artist." […] O'Grady also told Benson she was planning to reproduce the diptychs in an edition of 10.
A lawyer for the museum offered to place a credit to Benson next to the installation, but Benson refused, asking for the image to be taken down. Benson's wife Gigi informs us that Benson has spoken to a lawyer and is currently waiting to see whether the museum takes action on his behalf.
What are your thoughts on this case? Is it image theft, or acceptable conceptual art?
Image credit: Photograph by Harry Benson and used with permission.
art, conceptualart, conceptualartist, theft
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Second Mind
https://feed.podbean.com/secondmind/feed.xml
Second Mind empowers you to become the greatest version of yourself and better the world. To ignite personal growth and intrigue your mind, we showcase the journeys, ideas and mindsets of inspiring people. We broadcast guests who live and think differently to create their mark on the universe. Their messages will challenge your perspectives and give you the fuel to master your potential.
How to Restore Balance in Your Body and Mind | Dr Ian Tennant on SECOND MIND
I am in conversation with Dr Ian Tenant, a wellbeing specialist helping people make inexpensive and simple choices that improve their health. With a doctorate from The University of Edinburgh in Clinical and Surgical Sciences and qualifications in sports massage and holistic lifestyle coaching, Ian works with knowledge on the frontiers of medical research to help his clients feel more energised and understand why the habits of healthy people actually work. Ian has previously worked as a researcher at the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research, but now helps clients face-to-face with health issues, including professional athletes and high-level entrepreneurs. Read the rest of this entry »
Why You Need to Reconnect with Nature | Faith Douglas on SECOND MIND
In the last 50 years, humanity has destroyed 50% of all wildlife on Earth. Currently, there's more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than any other time in human history, causing a climate breakdown. It is clear our modern society's relationship with nature is heavily out of balance. Whilst all this destruction is occurring to our environmental life support systems, people in the UK spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, disconnected from nature. How can we value and respect something that we do not feel connected to?
Enter my newest podcast guest, the brilliant Faith Douglas, who has made a career out of helping people with nature connection, a powerful process where an individual can use their senses to mindfully engage with the elements and environments of the natural world. Faith runs forest bathing courses in the UK and she is the curator for Thorp Perrow Arboretum, helping people to enjoy a special selection of tree species. She has recently completed her awesome new book called The Nature Remedy, a guide to help anyone connect back with elements of the natural world, from the sky to the earth to the trees.
You Are Your Own Best Doctor: Using Food to Heal & Thrive | Grace Kingswell on SECOND MIND
In this episode, I am joined by Grace Kingswell, a functional nutrition therapist who is passionate about the healing power of food.
Through her functional nutrition practice, Grace works to treat and heal the root causes of health issues, guiding her patients on complex chronic issues such as thyroid disorders, gut imbalances and eczema. She also has gained qualifications in breathwork and acupuncture, which she uses to help her patients improve their health with a holistic approach.
Ignore the Fear and Find Your Adventure | Fiona Quinn on SECOND MIND
My guest on the show is the fantastic Fiona Quinn, an endurance adventurer, entrepreneur and keynote speaker.
Just a few years ago, Fiona was new to adventuring, finding her feet with small local cycling trips. Fast forward to the end of 2018, she was able to paddleboard 800 miles across 81 days from Land's End to John O'Groats, despite having a deep fear of the sea created when she almost drowned as a child. In completing this paddleboarding achievement, she became the first ever woman to complete a length of Britain triathlon, having already walked and cycled the route in previous years.
Humans ARE Nature: Reviving Our Connection to Nature, Society and Our Inner Selves | Satish Kumar on SECOND MIND
In this episode, I am in conversation with former monk, long-term peace and environmental activist and world-renowned speaker, Satish Kumar, who has been quietly setting the global agenda for change for over 50 years.
At the age of just 9 years old, Satish left home to become a Jain monk and campaigned for Gandhi's vision of a renewed India. In the 1960s, he embarked on an 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage with no money, walking on foot and relying only on the kindness of strangers to travel to each of the 4 nuclear weapons capitals, delivering a message of peace.
After settling in the UK, Satish served in the position of Editor at Resurgence and Ecologist magazine for over 40 years. He is founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College International Centre for Ecological Studies, and of The Small School, promoting an innovative model of holistic education. He is the author of 9 books, including Soil, Soul & Society: A New Trinity for Our Time.
In this conversation, we discuss how tending to our inner wellbeing can benefit world issues and humanity as a whole. Satish gives his advice on how we can increase our wellbeing through our daily choices. Our guest shares his perspectives on why he thinks we should be careful not to over-specialise in our skills and experiences. We talk over the vital importance of connecting to nature for individual wellbeing, and identify some key techniques people can use to connect back to the natural world. The former Jain monk talks on the power of optimism in the face of great planetary challenges, and outlines his three key values for his vision of a sustainable and happy society: Soil, Soul and Society. We deliberate the place that money and competition could have in a fairer, more ecological society. Finally, Satish tells of his experiences from his incredible 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage to the world nuclear capitals.
Lessons from a global adventurer - upgrading your travel | Ash Bhardwaj on SECOND MIND
We dive into the experiences and learnings of Ash Bhardwaj, a travel adventurer, writer, film-maker and storyteller who explores the world with curiosity and excitement. He has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Times and Huffington Post and has produced programmes for Channel 4 and the BBC.
Just to name a few of his accomplishments, he has:
- Travelled 8500km through 11 countries along Russia's European border.
- Retraced WW2 secret missions through Albania's mountains on foot.
- Walked 800km through India on the tv documentary 'Walking The Himalayas'.
- And walked 1100km through Uganda and Sudan with Levison Wood on the documentary Walking The Nile.
On our show, the adventurer gives his advice on how to gain richer adventure experiences that allow travellers to gain deeper insight and understanding of local environments and communities. We explore how he broke into the travel and adventure industry, picking up key tips for others to follow a similar path. Ash recounts the fascinating experiences he gained whilst travelling 8500km overland from the top of Norway to Romania, exploring former Soviet countries and their neighbours. Our guest gives his insights into how geopolitical tensions and events impact the real grassroots communities on the frontlines of change.
We also delve into his incredible journey with Levison Wood on the documentary Walking The Nile. In our conversation, we discuss the ethical and moral dilemmas of the travel industry in an age of increasing environmental and social pressures. Our guest drops some great insight on travelling alone, keeping motivated through tough travel experiences and the value of walking as a tool for discovery. If you are looking to upgrade the way you travel and gain the most from your adventures, then this conversation will serve you well.
Small steps will change the world – my 1000km paddle | Skip Graham on SECOND MIND
In this episode, we explore the story of Skip Graham AKA Barefoot Skip, who recently completed his latest adventure prone paddle boarding 1000km around the South West coast of the UK in just a matter of weeks. Skip, a passionate environmentalist, stopped off in coastal areas along the way to help out in local beach cleans, whilst also raising money for the #2minutebeachclean charity.
We discuss the mindset and techniques Skip used to take on such an epic challenge, covering how to manage the internal dialogue that is crucial for athletic performance and many other areas of life. Skip also give his perspective on knowing when to accept temporary defeat, managing risk and coming back stronger in the long run. Our guest recounts the process of the paddle itself and discusses the reasons why it is so important to bring the spirit of adventure into your life, even on a small scale.
During the show, we dive into the current environmental crisis that has led to polluted beaches and impacted communities. Skip gives his empowering perspectives on facing environmental issues and discusses the importance of community action through inspiring campaigns like the #2minutebeachclean. We finish the conversation acknowledging the importance of everyday inspiration in making the planet a better place for all. Never underestimate the impact you can have on the world day by day!
Unlocking your inner power to break through fear | Jon Boys on SECOND MIND
Our guest for this episode is a former RAF communications specialist and professional engineer Jon Boys, who empowers people to break through their limits using fire walking. After a self-proclaimed 'nervous breakthrough', Jon started his own personal development company and trained as a firewalking instructor. Running his own workshops across the UK he has helped transform the lives of countless people through the fire walking process, providing a catalyst for individuals to find their inner strength and work through fear.
In our conversation, we talk about the pressures and stress that led to Jon experiencing his 'nervous breakthrough', which sparked a deeper interest in personal development and self-care. We talk about the relationships between leadership roles in society and practising individual vulnerability. Jon shares his perspectives on allowing self-worth/love in every stage of your individual journey. We talk through Jon's changing relationship to fear and he gives insight on how people can create fears and limiting beliefs that do not serve them. We discuss how people are able to uncover the power that is inside every one of us at our core using different techniques. Jon shares his perspectives on the relationship between money and happiness, and details daily techniques he uses to live a more fulfilling life with nature and gratitude. He also details his challenges with mental health and how he currently maintains his personal wellbeing.
How to create your own luck | Henry Blanchard on SECOND MIND
Henry Blanchard left a boring corporate job at Deloitte to create an adventure sports business, set up a charity in rural Uganda, and travel the world. He now shows others how to do the same. Working with Oxford University Business School, Enterprise Nation, TEDx, and others, Henry delivers events and workshops to help people get the most out of their work and life. A social entrepreneur, he's raised more than £2million for good causes across the world, and his work has been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, Red Bull, London Evening Standard, The Telegraph and more.
In this episode, Henry tells his truths on seemingly 'overnight success' and reveals the grit and determination it took to create the first ever Uganda Marathon. The social entrepreneur details how you can embrace unpredictability and create new opportunities in life by finding comfort outside of your comfort zone. He offers valuable perspectives on the power of mindset in the ability to progress your projects and ideas. Most importantly, we cover how people hold themselves back from discovering and following an exciting new life direction, with Henry offering his guidance on how to take successful action.
Using habits and leadership to achieve your dreams | Leyth Hampshire on SECOND MIND
In this episode, we travel inside the mind of Leyth Hampshire, a globetrotting businessperson and digital creator who is blending the line between commerce and environmentalism. Still in his early 20's, he has already co-founded the sustainable food business Pelico, and is now spreading useful habits and mindset tips through his personal brand, Me Being Leyth. His dedication to ethical volunteering initiatives led him to receive the prestigious, Spirit of 2015 volunteer award in Bristol's historic green capital year, recognising his powerful drive and enthusiasm to address the largest environmental challenges that face humanity.
Leyth takes a deep dive describing how you can become a more effective leader, of both others and your own self. Discussions reveal the strategies to employ habits to create massive life change, whilst also covering the process of finding happiness and contentment in the present moment. The digital creator describes the techniques he uses for focussing his excitement to build a career around what he truly loves most.
Liberating yourself from ego & social conditioning | Adam Laidler on SECOND MIND
After losing his business, ending a long-term relationship and being diagnosed with depression, Adam Laidler began to reinvent himself by seeking to help others and embarking on a journey of continual self-discovery. We explore the experiences and mindset behind the radical change in the councillor, life coach and public speaker, whilst discussing how people can be mindful about the potentially damaging influences of mainstream culture and associated social conditioning.


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Young Cree attend Montreal demonstration to support the people of Elsipogtog
in Archives, In The Issue / by Jesse B. Staniforth / on November 5, 2013 at 11:55 pm /
In Montreal's Cabot Square, at the edge of the crowd waiting for the October 18 Solidarity for Elsipogtog march to begin, stood four young people from Chisasibi: Summer Twenish, Dakota Quachegan, and their two roommates Melissa and Stephany.
The day before, the RCMP had launched a full-on military assault against the blockade set up by the Mi'kmaq First Nation of Elsipogtog to protest a corporate fracking operation near Rexton, New Brunswick. Snipers in full battle dress, officers leading attack dogs and hundreds of RCMP officers in bullet-proof vests converged to brutally enforce a court injunction against the protest camp that began last June. In the confrontation that followed, some reported that snipers aimed their rifles at Elders and children. Six police cars were later set on fire and supporters reportedly threw Molotov cocktails into the road to bolster barricades. The RCMP arrested 40 people, including Chief Arren Sock, and used rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and pepper-spray against protesters.
Immediately, dozens of solidarity demonstrations were organized across the country, like the one in Cabot Square. Twenish, who moved to Montreal in July to attend Vanier College, knew right away that she wanted to take part.
"I am very big on Aboriginal rights, and there was just an explosion of it on my Facebook and in the news," she said. "I thought I'd go check it out and show that I'm also interested in that aspect of Aboriginal culture – the rights and freedoms that we have."
But her roommate Quachegan, a Dawson College student who arrived in the city in August, wasn't sure whether it was worth attending. He followed his friends to the Square but still hadn't made up his mind.
"When I first heard about it, I didn't really feel like going," he said. "But then I heard women singing, and realized the gravity of the situation, with fracking and the RCMP. It just got to me."
Watching a woman pass with a braid of burning sage, Twenish said, "I really wish I could smudge. You think I could just go over and ask her?"
"Sure," said one of her friends.
Twenish hesitated. "I wish I had my own smudge kit," she said.
The crowd moved around to one side of the statue to hear speakers and singers – including noted Métis writer Chelsea Vowel – and then began the march. As if on cue, Montreal police immediately informed the marchers over a loudspeaker that the demonstration was illegal under a bylaw that forbids public protests that haven't been previously approved by authorities.
"Part of me was nervous," said Twenish later, "but I figured the worst that could happen is maybe they bring out the tear gas. I felt it was more important to show my solidarity than to fear something happening."
Quachegan was equally worried, though he said it was concern more for his friends than for his own personal safety.
"I felt a little nervous," he said. "Not for me specifically, but for [my friends]. I didn't want them to be caught in anything if they tried to block us. I was really generally worried."
As they got ready to walk, Quachegan asked, "What ever happened to Idle No More, anyway?" As he later explained, "I remember back in March, hearing about the walkers getting to Ottawa. Then they got back and the whole protest was done. Harper didn't show up – he went to see the pandas instead. I thought that was ridiculous."
After the Nishiyuu walkers completed their 1,600 km trek, Quachegan had the impression that Idle No More disappeared.
"We didn't hear about it anymore," he said. "It seemed like everybody forgot about it all at once. It felt like we did all that stuff for nothing. We walked from up north to Ottawa, showed them we could do that, and Harper didn't even come. That really shocked and surprised me."
Twenish agreed, saying, "It's going on a year since this big movement started and it needs more attention: nothing has changed. Things are still going to happen to Aboriginal people in the future. Just because we walked to Parliament or had a hunger strike, nothing's changing."
That might explain why Twenish and Quachegan were in the streets of Montreal with their friends, trying to keep a comfortable distance from the police. As they walked, they looked over their shoulders, nervously joking about the situation or quietly listening to traditional singers, all the while making sure they weren't about to be surrounded and arrested. But the police kept their distance, to everyone's relief.
The protest made its way down St. Catherine St., finally arriving at Berri Square without incident. Drummers sang and protesters chanted. The mix was a little odd, said Twenish.
"I wish there was more involvement here in the city with Aboriginal people who live here," she said. "I know there are quite a few, but at the protest there were none. It's great that people were showing solidarity with other young people, caring about the environment or our rights, but it'd be nice to see more Native people out there. This started with Aboriginal people, and they should stick with it through to the end."


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How Philadelphia Flipped: Second Chances for Youth
On January 11, 2020 By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Media and Culture,, Schools,
Bethel's aha moment came after he went to a conference and heard terms like "trauma" and the "school-to-prison pipeline." He said he had no idea what they were talking about.
When he returned home, he pulled up the data on in-school arrests. And he was taken aback by what he saw.
"I thought, let's take that back 20 years. Look at the thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of kids we had locked up for minor offenses. And where they are now?… And why were we doing that?" Bethel said. "I mean, thousands and thousands of kids for fighting in school. Stuff that I did as a kid in school."
…Early studies by the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab at Drexel University show that even though school arrests are down, school safety hasn't been compromised.
…She showed me on a white board a list of minor offenses that used to get students arrested.
"Scissors. Knives. Marijuana. Pills. Vandalism. Trespassing," she said. "You know if the kid is fighting in school…they would actually charge him with disorderly conduct."
…"I was in solitary confinement. So, I was in my cell like 22 hours a day," Le said. She is 20, and one of the youngest staff members at YASP. Even if all the current reforms had been in place when she was arrested, they wouldn't have applied to her. Because she had a gun charge, she was held in an adult facility.
There are rules saying that the youth jail population should never interact with the adult jail population, which is why Le was held in solitary by default.
How Philadelphia Flipped: Second Chances for Youth – YR Media
Mnuchin seeks delay of proposed disclosure of Secret Service spending on presidential travel until after election
Fifth Pentagon official announces resignation in seven days


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The Domestic Violence Center SCV
by Monica Rodriguez June 9, 2017 10:00 am 595 views0
By Monica Rodriguez
He held Alice up against the wall squeezing her throat, Alice was dangling off from the floor like a rag doll and the only thing she could do was yell for help. For the protection of my source I changed her name to Alice.
The person who heard Alice's voice was the abusers mother, "I have called her because he was so out of control and [his mother] was literally 10 feet away "saying no don't do that stop you know you need to stop,"" Alice said.
Now Alice is living a happy life without her ex-partner.
Domestic violence is an aggressive behavior that starts within the home, and involves with violent abuse of a partner or spouse.
Domestic violence "happens behind closed doors people don't really know what's going on. People pretend that [domestic violence] doesn't exists and it exists so much more then we think it does," said Tammy Mahan Psychology Professor College of the Canyons.
Domestic violence has grown rapidly nationwide, and here are statistics of surveys from the National Statistics Domestic Violence, Los Angeles County Domestic Violence and California Partnership To End Domestic Violence.
National Statistics Domestic Violence:
Domestic Violence Fact Sheets:
• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
• 1 in 3 women and 1in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• There are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
Survey Results from the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Data Sources:
Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCWS):
• Among mothers married to or cohabiting with fathers, 44% experienced some aspect of controlling behavior in their unions, and 5% experienced violence in their unions.
California Women's Health Survey (CWHS):
• (2005 survey; last year results available): 9.2% of women reported Domestic Violence (DV) in the last 12 months (4.6% reported physical or sexually violence or both; 4.6% reported psychological abuse)
California Partnership To End Domestic Violence:
Rates of Domestic Violence:
• According to the California Women's Health Survey (CWHS), approximately 40% of California women experience physical intimate partner violence in their lifetimes (male lifetime prevalence rates are not available).
It could be difficult to understand why a person would stay in an abusive relationship. "Sometimes situational realities like a lack of money keep the victim from leaving. The reasons for staying vary from one victim to the next, and they usually involve several factors," Mahan said.
For example, how Alex's relationship started out meeting her prince charming, but a couple months into the relationship become abusive. For the protection of my source I changed her name to Alex.
"He started wanting to spend time with me, and then he isolated me from my friends and family. He started telling me how much he loved me, and [would be] very entangled in my life. He would call and text me just relentlessly, and if he could not reach me at my work he would start calling other people to find me," Alex said.
During the time Alex's partner was obsessed with her to the point he stolen a chart that had a list of her colleagues contact information.
"He accused me having an affair with different people on that list. He would start showing up at my work. When I went to lunch with my other colleagues he would within 45 minutes to an hour of me receiving three or four phone calls and text messages saying " where are you, are you back yet, who are you [eating] lunch with,"" Alex said.
He started to follow Alex and at first "I thought that it was all because he just loved me so much, and I was just head over heels for him," Alex said. "So within a matter of dating him for six to eight weeks I said yes to marring him then after the marriage his behavior [became violent]."
For instants, Alex explained what her now ex-husband's behavior became extremely violent to "taking a hammer he laid me down [on the bed] and hit the hammer as hard as he could, [it] looked like it was going towards my face, and he hit it on the pillow right next to me," Alex said.
The violence that Alex's ex-husband showed increased to the point he killed the family dog and blamed it on Alex's 10-year-old daughter for leaving the side gate open.
"So it stared escalating to where he was becoming more, and more of a threat to me and my daughter. I didn't know what to do and my sister who I worked with try to make sure I was going to be safe, but I know even if I was given help I was going to put everyone at risk," Alex said.
It was because Alex's ex-husband had the chart with the list of Alex's colleague's information.
Alex's ex-husband went to the building where she worked and "he told somebody else that he worked up stairs with this particular planning group. So he got into the building and that day the police officers were called everybody was locked down, because he was showing up and he was in a rage [and the authority arrested him]," Alex said.
After retelling the story about Alex to Mahan she gave examples as to why she might have stayed with the ex-husband.
For instance, "reasons [victims] stay because they think that person is going to change, emotional they are invested. [Victims] think they took a value, and don't want to break that value financially they can't make it on their own," Mahan said.
The abuse victims could not even go outside of their house or get a job. The victims "don't have anywhere else to go, and are isolated from friends and family. If their family members live out of state that is going to server to another barrier, but a lot of times they are embarrassed," Mahan said.
There are many different organization, and facilities that can help people escape from domestic violence.
For example, at College of the Canyons we have The Health and Wellness Center that has a close relationship with The Domestic Violence Center.
A domestic violence advocate comes on Fridays to the Health and Wellness Center to see students "who are or who have been in domestic violence situations or want to get some assistance with relationships. People can call Alexandra Garcia at 661.259.8175 to schedule an appointment with her, or can come and talk to one of our [Health and Wellness] counselors and we can help with the referrals," Larry Schallert Assistant Director of the Student Health & Wellness/Mental Health said.
The Health and Wellness Center refer directly to The Domestic Violence Center "when a student is in a domestic violence situation or in need of some legal assistance e.g. a restraining order, or need shelter," Schallert said.
The Domestic Violence Center has many different opportunities that the agency provides for example, "some services we offer at the center we have support groups so we have a 16 week support group in English and Spanish. We also have individual therapy, help with court and restraining orders. A 24 hour hotline and that is 661.259.HELP. A three day shelter for women and children who are fleeing domestic violence," Alexandra Garcia Domestic Violence Advocate and Youth Prevention Specialist said.
The shelters give families protection and a new start on life.
The shelters are "homes, it's not your average shelters to where here is a cotton where you can lay on a pillow. It's actually a home and they go into their own rooms, they have their spaces, they have a restroom, they have a kitchen where they cook and share and visit with each other. They have a living room so it's like a home," said Nicole Feast-Williams Domestic Violence Advocate and Development Officer.
"When someone comes into the shelter we see it first hand and that's when it becomes reality. Until you see it you don't understand it, but me seeing it since I walk in that door scared for their life there kids scared for their life they have to transformed there whole life for 30 days. In this one place what they're not use to, and make it happen to make a better life for them it's a really big accomplishment to the client," Williams said.
The Domestic Violence Center protects their clients identities and never releases any information to the public.
The people who work at The Domestic Violence Center takes great care for their clients, and will do whatever it takes to get their clients out of an abusive situation. While their clients follow The Domestic Violence Center's programs process.
If anyone is interested on learning more about The Domestic Violence Center here in the Santa Clarita Valley it's located at Savia: A community Partnership, 23780 Newhall Ave.
Visit The Domestic Violent Center website.
City of Santa Clarita
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Pitney Bowes Announces In...
Pitney Bowes Announces Integrated Printing for Industry-Leading DI900/950 Inserters
Security, Process Integrity are Key Features of New System
STAMFORD, Conn., February 01, 2007 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today announced the release of integrated document printing for its industry-leading DI 900/950 series of tabletop inserters, bringing outstanding levels of security and process integrity within the reach of mid-volume mailers.
The system is especially useful for midsize organizations that are printing sensitive documents but currently do not have a robust method to ensure that private or sensitive information is adequately protected. With integrated document printing, each mailpiece can be created and formatted, printed, folded, inserted, sealed and metered without operator intervention – a true end-to-end system. Moreover, process verification software provides piece-level tracking to enhance the integrity and accuracy of every job.
Estimated printer capacities are up to 250,000 black-and-white, or 100,000 color pages per month. The printers also feature environmentally-friendly duplex printing options on both color and black-and-white models.
"The addition of integrated document printing to our high-end DI 900/950 tabletop inserter brings a tremendous level of security to the mid-volume mailer," said Kevin Weiss, Executive Vice President and President, Mailstream, The Americas. "The big mailers have long had access to these benefits, and now they can be enjoyed by a much larger number of organizations that handle private or sensitive information. It's a lot of value in a small package."
Using the optional PB FIRST"¢ file management software, the mailer can design customized bills, statements, invoices, or any other number of documents. Depending upon the printer selected, these documents can be printed in color or black-and-white, folded, inserted into an envelope along with other customized materials, sealed and metered at unprecedented speed. Total system capacity is estimated at up to 250,000 pages per month for black-and-white documents, and up to 100,000 pages per month for color.
Overseeing the entire operation is process verification software that tracks the disposition of each job down to the piece level, thus enhancing the integrity of every activity. The software also quickly identifies and isolates any errors that may occur in production, allowing the mailer to reprint only those mailpieces affected, and to do so on the fly without any hindrance in performance.
Other customer benefits include paper and postage savings by taking advantage of two-sided printing, complete flexibility in mixing pre-printed letterhead with plain paper; and enhanced direct mail response rates through application of spot color to marketing messages. Moreover, integrated printing with the DI 900/950 makes the multi-step mail production process a thing of the past.
The new integrated print system will be on display at the Pitney Bowes booth at the Graphics of the Americas/XPLOR show in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 2-4, 2007.
Pitney Bowes provides the world's most comprehensive suite of mailstream software, hardware, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication. Pitney Bowes, with $5.6 billion in annual revenue, takes an all-inclusive view of its customers' operations, helping organizations of all sizes enjoy the competitive advantage that comes from an optimized mailstream. The company's 86 years of technological leadership have produced many major mailstream innovations, and it is consistently on the Intellectual Property Owners Association's list of top U.S. patent holders. With approximately 34,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information about the company can be found at www.pb.com.


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The same they let Nintendo off the hook for no built in chat
2 points submitted 9 hours agoI would, and I was planning to, but the combo of me just wanting a bigger screen with the same general design as my phone along with the fact that my mom also needs a new phone now is just pushing me to upgrade now. I plan on keeping this phone at least as long as my current one (2.5 years) because honestly other than the screen size I have absolutely no complaints about my phone and I really don mind waiting until at least next year launch of new phones to upgrade. If the phone I have now had a bigger screen I probably just keep it until it died on me.gutigen 25 points submitted 1 day agoNyko is definitely in the wrong here for not cleaning up, but I don understand how people can let Nintendo off the hook for this.The same they let Nintendo off the hook for no built in chat, save backups, no gorilla glass screen, dock scratching said screen, broken left joycon connectivity, overpriced games, $40 joycon grip cause one that comes with Switch has no USB port and charging, security updates that are meant to prevent homebrew that can be prevented instead of functionality updates people need homebrew for in first place.
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The Best Exercise for Men That Men Don't Do (Much)
This single move can strengthen your back, your grip, and your range of motion!
For a recent story, we asked the top Men's Health experts a simple question: What's the best exercise that almost no one does? Their collective reply: the wide-grip deadlift. "It's a total-body movement that builds muscle and strength from head to toe, and burns tons of calories," says Men's Health adviser Joe Dowdell, C.S.C.S. Plus, compared to the classic deadlift, this version of the exercise has three bonus benefits: 1) The wider grip increases the demand on your upper back muscles, 2) forces your forearm and hand muscles to work harder, and 3) boosts the range of motion of the exercise—a key for building more muscle.
(Here's more on how to get the most out of your deadlift.)
Of course, there's a simple reason plenty of guys don't do this exercise: It's hard. And not just in terms of the effort it requires, but also because you have to really focus on your form to do it safely and effectively. But watch the above video for how to master the wide-grip deadlift. When it comes to building muscles and strength, it'll pay off like no other exercise.
And for full-color photos and instructions of 600 more exercises, along with tons of workouts and useful fitness advice, check out The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises today. It's the most comprehensive collection of exercises ever created.
LADIES: There's a women's version of the book, too! Click here to see The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises.
Better Grip, Bigger Gains
The 16 Best Exercises for Your Grip
How to Master the Deadlift
The Best Way to Target Your Pecs during a Pushup
The Bicep Exercise That Strengthens Your Grip
How to Do Stiff-Legged Deadlifts