text:
Das Kriegerdenkmal Heinrichsberg ist ein denkmalgeschütztes Kriegerdenkmal im zur Gemeinde Loitsche-Heinrichsberg gehörenden Dorf Heinrichsberg in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Lage
Es liegt nördlich der Elbstraße, östlich der Einmündung der Loitscher Straße.

Gestaltung und Geschichte
Das Denkmal entstand um 1920 zum Gedenken an die Gefallenen Einwohner Heinrichsbergs im Ersten Weltkrieg. Es ist als Stele aus Sandstein ausgeführt und wird von einem ebenfalls aus Stein gefertigten Eisernem Kreuz bekrönt. Gestalterisch weist es Formen des Expressionismus auf.

Die Stele steht in einer an eine Apsis erinnernde Nische einer Backsteinmauer, die durch auskragende Ziegelsteinlagen gegliedert ist.

An der Stele befinden sich, zum Teil nur noch schwer oder nicht mehr lesbar, die nachfolgenden Inschriften:

Auf der nach Süden ausgerichteten Frontseite befindet sich die Widmung:

Unseren tapfern
Helden in treuer
Dankbarkeit
gewidmet, die
Dorf- und Guts-
Gemeinde
Heinrichsberg 1914-1918

Auf der Westseite befinden sich Angaben zu den Gefallenen:

Hermann Günther•
gefl•28•10•1914•i•Flandern•
Wilhelm Nowack•
gefl•29•8•1915•i•Russland•
Otto•Arndt•
gefl•29•7•1916•i•Russland•
Otto Sandmann•
gefl•23•6•1916•i•Frankreich•
Otto Schmidt•
gefl•18•1•1917•i•Rumänien•
Heinrich Hübner•
gefl•10•2•1917•i•Rumänien•

Weitere Namen der 1917 und 1918 Gefallenen befinden sich auf der Westseite, sind jedoch kaum noch lesbar (Stand 2019):

Otto Theue•
gefl• ? •i•Frankreich
Fritz Schulle•
gefl• ? •i•Frankreich•
 ? • ? pe•
gefl• ? •i•Frankreich•
 ? Voigt•
gefl• ? •i•Frankreich•
 ? •
gefl• ? •i• ? •

Im örtlichen Denkmalverzeichnis ist das Kriegerdenkmal unter der Erfassungsnummer 094 70354 als Baudenkmal eingetragen.

Literatur
 Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt (Hrsg.): Denkmalverzeichnis Sachsen-Anhalt. Band 10: Holger Brülls, Dorothee Könemann: Ohrekreis. Teilband 2: Altkreis Wolmirstedt. fliegenkopf verlag Halle (Saale) 2001, ISBN 3-910147-71-2, Seite 65.

Weblinks
Kriegerdenkmal Heinrichsberg auf www.elbe-heide.de
Heinrichsberg, Gemeinde Loitsche-Heinrichsberg, Landkreis Börde, Sachsen-Anhalt auf www.denkmalprojekt.org

Einzelnachweise

Kulturdenkmal in Loitsche-Heinrichsberg
Heinrichsberg
Erbaut in den 1920er Jahren
Gedenkstätte des Ersten Weltkriegs


text:
international›
An Iraqi man makes $1,700 a month helping dig up and disable thousands of bombs that are still buried in Iraq after the war with ISIS
An Iraqi man makes $1,700 a month helping dig up and disable thousands of bombs that are still buried in Iraq after the war with ISIShttps://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/an-iraqi-man-makes-1700-a-month-helping-dig-up-and-disable-thousands-of-bombs-that-are-still-buried-in-iraq-after-the-war-with-isis/slidelist/97332078.cms2023-01-26T03:33:43+05:30
Sarah Al-Arshani,Selima HussainJan 26, 2023, 03:33 IST
Thousands of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are still buried in Iraq after the war with ISIS.Meethak Al Khatib/Insider
At its height in 2014, ISIS planted many IEDs across Iraq but mostly in and around Mosul.
The homemade explosive devices can be set off by the slightest touch or movement.
As the militant group ISIS tried to take over Iraq in 2014, they left behind IEDs.
A member of the Iraqi Civil Defence Unit holds an Improvised Explosive Device disarmed June 24, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq. The units are dealing with over 150 Improvised Explosive Devices every week and yet have no protection or adequate equipment for this hazardous duty. All of the members of the I.C.D.U. wish to remain anonymous. This is due to threats against them and their families for what the resistance views as collaboration with the Coalition forces. As the handover approaches in Iraq, unpredictable bombings are responsible for a great deal of fear and apprehension amongst the Iraqi population.(Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
The prominence of these improvised explosive devices around Iraq has meant that highly trained deminers are now going around searching for and dismantling thousands of IEDS.
"Our job has a saying that goes, "There's no room for mistakes to happen twice. Because the first mistake will be death," Falah Hassan, a reminder, told Insider.
Our job has a saying that goes, There's no room for mistakes to happen twice. Because the first mistake will be death, Falah Hassan, a reminder, told Insider.
ISIS planted a majority of the IEDs almost a decade ago
Falah Hassan digs up an IED.Meethak Al Khatib/Insider
Hassan told Insider that most of these IEDs were planted by ISIS in 2014. At their height, the militant group controlled as much as 40% of Iraq.
The majority of IEDs have been found in and around Mosul, which ISIS had once deemed its capitol.
"This was to prevent the [Iraqi] army from advancing during military operations and also to prevent civilians and residents from leaving the city of Mosul," Hassan said.
This was to prevent the [Iraqi] army from advancing during military operations and also to prevent civilians and residents from leaving the city of Mosul, Hassan said.
Insider followed Hassan and his team as they demined a site in several miles outside of Mosul.
Falah Hassan enrolled in the Basmaya School in Baghdad to become a deminer instead of a high school teacher. He'd initially studied Arabic literature in college.Meethak Al Khatib/Insider
The team met at a base where local NGO groups that specialize in demining met before driving to the village of Abzakh, about 240 miles north of Baghdad.
The team starts by searching for the precise location of an IED with metal detectors.
Falah Hassan uses a metal detector to find IEDs.Meethak Al Khatib/Insider
Hassan told Insider that the equipment used in the search and stabilization efforts is "heavy," and affects workers' bodies.
But beyond that workers risk accidentally detonating the devices that are typically buried underground and can detonate by the slightest touch.
"IEDs can be detonated in three different ways. First, by a timer, and second, by an initiated order — by a wire or wirelessly using a phone. Third and last is by the victims themselves, either by pressure or movement," Hassan said.
Hassan told Insider that the equipment used in the search and stabilization efforts is heavy, and affects workers' bodies.
IEDs can be detonated in three different ways. First, by a timer, and second, by an initiated order — by a wire or wirelessly using a phone. Third and last is by the victims themselves, either by pressure or movement, Hassan said.
The process requires precision and steadiness
Explosive remnants of war in a bombed-out IED factory in East Mosul.Noe Falk Nielsen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
IEDs typically have a detonator, a battery, a main charge, and a pressure plate that acts as a switch. While some may be covered in plastics, others are metal which could also turn into shrapnel is the device explodes.
"The digging process is very, very scary and very hard. It requires steadiness and self-confidence in order to do it," Hassan said.
Even if a device doesn't have an obvious switch, it's usually loaded with chemicals that make it just as likely to explode, or worse, the switch could be hidden.
IEDs have killed more than 50,000 people over the past 10 years.
The digging process is very, very scary and very hard. It requires steadiness and self-confidence in order to do it, Hassan said.
Hassan makes $1,700 a month doing this.
Iraqi Special Operation Forces (ISOF) soldiers in the Islamic State occupied Old City district where heavy fighting continues on July 8, 2017 in Mosul, Iraq. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance from Islamic State with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide bombers, heavy mortar fire, gas attacks and snipers hampering their advance.(Photo by Martyn Aim/Corbis via Getty Images)
Despite the risks, Hassan sees a lot of reward in his job, which sometimes includes disassembling 15 IEDs a day in the blazing heat of the Iraqi desert.
"I can see my achievements right away. But, if I were a teacher, I would have to wait an entire year to see the results of my teaching on the students. The energy I get here is linked to being a humanitarian," he told Insider.
I can see my achievements right away. But, if I were a teacher, I would have to wait an entire year to see the results of my teaching on the students. The energy I get here is linked to being a humanitarian, he told Insider.
Next StoryThese are 10 of the most expensive luxury yachts ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"Look, Jason, there's the mothership at last! I'd know the sight of it anywhere."
"Me too, Hector! All year long I've been drawing sketches and building scale models of it, driving everyone nuts with my crazy obsession."
"I even made a full size replica of the ship out of mashed potatoes."
"Incredible, dude! How did that turn out?"
"There's no question, Hector, we were invited!"
"Yes, we were. Although I'm a little annoyed the invitation didn't say we could bring a date."
"C'mon, let's go run for the mothership!"
"Okay! Wonder who or what we'll find in there, Jason."
"Yeah, that would be so boring."
From "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Well, there you have it - you've experienced a close encounter of the third kind, and you weren't even invited! Sorry about the boring derivative aliens.
The stories and posts of the other Friday Fictioneers based on the picture prompt at the top of the page will appear if you click here. You should have a close encounter with as many of them as you can.
Okay, I'm going to go and finish that mashed potato mother ship now. Hey, you got any butter?
I agree about the boring part, Dude. Who wants to hang out with some skinny little stick guys who are about as hard to understand as a software support geeks from Pakistan. I bet they don't even have any beer on board.
Just as boring as the party hosts.
I think I would check it out first, but then, nothing can be worse than we human beings are to each other.
If they invite the Aliens to have some mashed potatoes, who knows what happens? Maybe they'd not be boring at all. Fun story.
Grin, grin, grin! Love the down-to-earth fun in it!
That mashed potato line cracked me up! Thank goodness I wasn't drinking anything. Fun story, once again.
My Led Zeppelin reference is only by accident here. It's a "Close Encounter of the Third Kind," reference, with some generous variations from the initial movie including the inclusion of young Jason, who, yes, is a stoner.
What self-respected alien doesn't turn out to eat humans any more?
Sensible, but these two guys haven't had a handle on sensible since they were building mashed potato spaceships.
Boring does well define the whole story, I'm afraid. And there IS beer on board but no bathroom, which really poses problems for interstellar travel. Hopefully it'll be a couple of centuries before these guys even notice.
Love that the mashed potato model was so delicious!
Grin. So funny, Perry. That's it! I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon building a mashed potato mothership! Worst case scenario is I just eat it.
There's the music! I wonder if there's any stinking thinking going on aboard the mother ship or if my Hector and your Hector are both Hectors? And what does hector mean anyway?
Yep, the little bug eyed aliens are a walk in the park after we earthlings.
And good thing you weren't eating mashed potatoes too!
Yeah, but I have to confess I used a mix.
Let me know when you're done. We can fly it into the meatloaf and really cause a large scale commotion!
Oh gosh. Now I'm hungry for mashed potatoes.


Stora Enso and Sulapac have signed a joint development agreement to combat the global problem of plastic waste by accelerating the use of fully renewable, recyclable and biodegradable materials in packaging.
Through the joint development agreement, Stora Enso will licence Sulapac's materials and technology, and begin the development of fully renewable caps and closures for liquid packages. Other areas for joint development work include food packages and packages for consumer electronics.
"The World needs material solutions that are one hundred percent biodegradable. Sulapac material has all the benefits of plastic yet it completely biodegrades without the issues of microplastic. With Stora Enso's global expertise we can really speed up the global launch of our Sulapac material," says Suvi Haimi, Sulapac CEO.
The cooperation between the companies began in 2017 through Stora Enso's Accelerator programme, which involves partnering with Aalto University and start-ups to ideate and innovate around renewable products. Stora Enso is the first customer to use Sulapac's material and technology license.


text:
Drowning in debt, South Florida restaurants resort to crowdfunding to stay afloat
Lisa Montgomery executed, the first woman put to death by US government since 1953
As Trump leaves office, South Florida is poised to become his new 'MAGA' capital
17-year sentence for West Palm Beach eye doctor in $73 million Medicare fraud case
Chaos could rock South Florida this weekend with protests and ATV crazies
Sex, drugs and pickleball: What a 24-year-old filmmaker learned about growing old in the Villages
The Electoral College is as obsolete as the quill pens that wrote it | Editorial
Ask a Real Estate Pro: Is landlord responsible for storm shutters?
By Gary Singer
Sun Sentinel correspondent |
Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary M. Singer writes about the housing market at SunSentinel.com/business/realestate each Friday. To ask him a question, go to SunSentinel.com/askpro
Q: We rent a house, and our landlord told us to put up the shutters in case a hurricane hits. The lease doesn't address this issue, but isn't the landlord responsible? After all, he owns the house. — Anonymous
A: Unless the matter is agreed to in the lease, neither the landlord nor the tenant is obligated to put up hurricane shutters. But I think it's a good idea for the landlord to do it.
The landlord should be concerned about protecting his investment. It makes no sense to have a tenant who is unfamiliar with the house put up shutters. If the landlord is receiving an insurance discount, and the property is damaged because the shutters were not properly in place, the insurance may not pay out the claim.
Paying a professional installer to put up shutters is one of the costs of being a landlord and should be considered when determining the amount of rent to charge.
With a storm is approaching, the landlord and tenant should work together to ensure everyone gets through the storm safely.
But if your landlord refuses to install shutters, you should consider doing it to protect your own safety — or leave the home during the storm if you have another place to stay. By the way, this is a good reminder to make sure you have adequate renter's insurance.
Ask a real estate pro: We want to buy a house but can't afford to do any major repairs for a few years. What should we do?
Pro athletes Caroline Wozniacki and David Lee selling Fisher Island condo
LA real estate investors buy David Cassidy's Florida home
Most Read • Real Estate
What Kim and Kanye's mansion looked like before its all-white makeover


IG Nachosol Premium Apartments by Servatur for adults only are designed to offer maximum comfort and a complete relaxing experience. Their fantastic location on the western slope of Puerto Rico will allow you to enjoy a holiday full of sun with privileged views of the beach and the ocean.
The apartments are equipped with complete services and facilities to make you feel at home. The swimming pool and the solarium are located on the rooftop, with spectacular views of the ocean and the valley of Puerto Rico. The reception desk is open from 8.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Outside of these hours, check-in will be at the reception of IG Nachosol Atlantic ****, located on Avenida de Fuerteventura, 15.
The IG Nachosol Premium apartment complex includes 16 apartments, 12 of which with large terraces overlooking the sea furnished with a table, chairs and sunloungers. All apartments are equipped with a complete kitchenette, living area with tables and chairs, wardrobe with safety deposit box and TV.
Apartment with two single beds joined together, living area with sofa, table and chairs; wardrobe, bathroom with hairdryer and magnifying mirror, fully equipped kitchenette, flat screen TV, Wi-Fi and air conditioning.
Apartment with two single beds joined together, living area with sofa, table and chairs; wardrobe, bathroom with hairdryer and magnifying mirror, fully equipped kitchenette, flat screen TV, Wi-Fi, air conditioning and large terrace furnished with table, chairs, sunloungers and parasol.
Our swimming pool and solarium are located on the rooftop of the building. Enjoy endless hours of sun with the best views of Puerto Rico Beach.
IG Nachosol Premium by Servatur is located on the western slope of Puerto Rico, where you can enjoy endless hours of sun and exceptional views of Puerto Rico Beach.
Avda. de Veneguera, 3, 35130, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria.


text:
Article from BTNews 13 MAY 2019
COMMENT: Scotland on the wrong foot
Perish the thought Scotland's first minister should be bandwagon-climbing but linking her government's decision to scrap its commitment to removing air passenger duty (APD) north of the border with the climate change movement looks like a political move rather than a serious consideration.
Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party promised when it was voted into power in 2016 to halve and possibly abolish APD altogether. Last week, that pledge was abandoned, with Sturgeon citing the need to cut carbon emissions.
In the furore that has followed the APD announcement, comments by Scottish Passenger Agents' Association (SPAA) president Ken McLeod are particularly worthy of a wider audience.
"Not only has the Scottish government failed to deliver on this key pledge to provide tax breaks to the aviation industry, its position on issues affecting its roll-out has completely altered," he said.
"We were told that the significant delays to the introduction of a devolved Air Passenger Duty were as a result of EU state aid rules, and today Nicola Sturgeon cites the need to cut carbon emissions as part of the effort to tackle climate change.
"Studies have shown that direct emissions from aviation account for about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions: there are many other polluters which account for far greater levels of emissions."
McLeod said the move was "bad news" for Scottish passengers and Scotland's travel industry, and claimed airlines were already moving routes elsewhere, thereby reducing Scotland's connectivity.
His views were echoed by AGS Airports chief executive Derek Provan. AGS owns and manages Aberdeen International and Glasgow airports. Provan said: "The Scottish government's decision to abandon its manifesto pledge to cut aviation tax is a huge blow for our airports and for Scotland's connectivity."
On the economic argument, he said: "Over the course of the past year alone, we have seen the withdrawal by airlines of almost 30 routes from Aberdeen and Glasgow airports because of APD.
"We need only look to Inverness, which is currently exempt from APD, to see how airlines can and do respond. British Airways withdrew capacity at Aberdeen while adding services in Inverness, which benefits from the lack of APD.
"By dropping plans to cut this tax on passengers, we are missing a very real opportunity to secure new routes and, more worryingly, maintain existing services which play a vital role in supporting our economy."
On the climate change argument, he added: "Together with the wider industry, we have always said growth in aviation can and must go hand in hand with action on the environment but scrapping this policy will do nothing to reduce global CO2 emissions.
"As a global sector by nature, the only way to achieve this is through international action, and that's why over 190 countries have signed up to a carbon offsetting scheme that will address increases in total emissions from international aviation above 2020 levels."
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar also joined the fray, saying: "We've gone from personal commitments to all-out cancellation in the space of just two weeks, which shows just how reactionary this decision is.
"It does not show leadership and means airports and airlines have been led down a path of failed promises for three years by this Scottish government. It also raises questions about continued support for our tourism sector when airlines have already walked away from Scotland due to this failure to deliver."
He pointed out Edinburgh Airport had previously published a report which predicted halving the departure tax would create almost 4,000 jobs and add £1bn to the Scottish economy.
The wider APD debate is also affecting different airports in different ways. Newcastle in the past has highlighted fears proposals to cut the tax in Scotland which could see passengers heading north of the border rather than using the local airport.
Thus there are two sides to any argument. In Scotland, the Greens and Liberal Democrats have supported Sturgeon's stand. BTN believes it is short-sighted given the rapid advances in the industry aimed at protecting the environment. Travel begets business and business produces profits, to the benefit of all.
Would-be trendy politicians playing to the gallery produce little but the hot air that they complain about.


Leaving review just because this great product has too many bad reviews for its price/quality.
Sellers send note with the product directing me to the link on their website for Installation instructions, but provided page "was not found". But I've looked up the product on their site and watched heplful installation video.
I bought this euro style front bumper license plate mounting bracket bcz I got a fixing ticket and I didn't want to spend $140 with some other (non Amazon) company that has great reviews and was giving me 100% guarantee that they have the best plate for 6 series... I bought this iJDMToy cause I was planning just to "fix a ticket" I had, but I ended up leaving it on after inspection, cause I like how it looks.
Long story short, I'm very happy. The seller said it will work for my make and model and it's sure did.


Finally! All the wonderful places to eat in Binondo, all those legendary Manila Chinatown restaurants are now in one map! I have to give it to my tokayo Ivan ManDy of Old Manila Walks for producing the Big Binondo Food Wok Map, a must-have map for any serious foodie.
In National Geographic's Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe, Manila's Chinatown is among the Top 10 Chinatowns of the World (6th to be exact). In fact, established in 1594, it is the oldest Chinatown in the world!
Now, you can explore and eat your way through Chinatown on your own two feet! It has restaurant (over 80 food establishments) and shop listings, various cultural attractions and a heritage trail among others. Not only that, the map contains coupons and various freebies you can claim at selected restaurants. And it's just Php100!
Purchase your map now from the Bahay Tsinoy Museum, Libros Filipinos Bookshop (Filipinas Heritage Library) or the La Monja Loca Store. Mail orders are also accepted (plus shipping charge). Just e-mail fun@oldmanilawalks.com for inquiries.
Oh, did I mention they're given free if you join the Old Manila Walks tours?
We just got a hold of copy of the Big Binondo Food Wok DIY map after our tour with Ivan last Sunday.
It has lots of freebies! Every travel blogger should get a copy.
Yes, it's at Nielson Tower, near the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenue.
Hi Ivan. Which establishments offer the Big Binondo Food Wok DIY map? Thanks in advance!
i am inluv with u.... well, the blog of course! LOL! anyway, i hope you can organize a small group of people to walk around Binondo and try the Food Wok Map. make sure you do it sometime in July coz i will be in Manila by then. i am hoping to read more from you.. happy blogging!
How can i get the map???


Fans are trolling her in the comment section.
Of course, nothing directly indicates pregnancy here, but that didn't stop commenters from saying it. "Hiding that bump tho.." one person wrote. "Is she trynna cover her bump by wearing baggy stuff, shes been wearing baggy stuff lately," said another person.
If Kylie is pregnant, we can understand why she would want to keep it private, and people should respect her decision. Of course, it hasn't stopped fans from trying to figure it out on their own. Regardless, we hope she's happy, healthy and doing well no matter what her status is.


Combien Ca Coute 30 gm Acticin Bon Marche. La crA?me Acticine GA�nA�rique sert A� traiter la gale. Generic Acticin (Permethrin topical) is an anti-parasite medication. Generic Acticin is one of the most prescribed medications for treating scabies and head lice and now you can order it for a fraction of its regular price! Generic Acticin is also marketed as Elimite and Permethrin.
Note 4.5 A�toiles, basA� sur 120 commentaires.
Commander Acticin Permethrin Bon MarchA� Sans Ordonnance bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento, bactroban unguento.


Why am I being charged a fee for my contact lens Rx?
Contact lenses are medical devices that sit directly on the eyes. They must be evaluated every year to maintain good eye health. This is a separate service from the exam or test for glasses.
I've never had to pay this before. Is this a new thing?
No. Fitting/Evaluation fees (contact lens exam services) have always been in effect.
That depends on what course of treatment the doctor determines you need, which type of lens you require and how many follow up visits you are likely to have.
Will I have to pay this fee for each visit?
No. The fit fee covers your follow up visits for up to 90 days.
How can I find out if my insurance covers this fee?
Most insurances do not cover this fee. Some insurances incorporate a discount to the member. We will be happy to call your insurance regarding your plan benefits or you can access them directly by going to their website or calling the number on the back of your card.
Can't I just order online and bypass an exam?
Federal Law mandates that contact lens vendors must verify the accuracy and validity of an Rx with the provider before selling them to you. If your prescription is expired or nearing expiration, RMEC will deny or limit the amount of lenses requested.
My prescription doesn't expire for a few months. Can I order enough supply for a year?
You may not be able order a full year, but we may allow a minimum supply order.
My prescription expired more than a month ago and I need to order more. What should I do?
I had an appointment, but it was re-scheduled by RMEC and now I need more contacts. Can I get another pair?
Please call us, we will try to accommodate you based on your need. In most cases we can get you a pair of lenses until your upcoming appointment.


Harrison, Maria J., Gary R. Dewbre, and Jinyuan Liu. "A Phosphate Transporter from Medicago truncatula Involved in the Acquisition of Phosphate Released by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi." The Plant Cell 14.10 (2002): 2413-2429. Web. 18 April. 2019.


Music, storyline, scenery, strategy - it's all there. This was one of those games where you are playing for hours and realize you need to do laundry. This is the kind of game that makes me feel that there is such hope for the future of the world. Just thinking of the imagination and creativity involved sparks optimism.
A skilled teacher knows that technology implementations won't have any impact as long as you try and retrofit them on to outdated teaching methods. Only when combined with the creativity and ingenuity of dedicated teachers can technology have a truly disruptive and transformative effect. "
My sons recently got this, so I often "peak" as they play. It looks interesting! I can't find time enough to commit to regular sessions that will get me through these RPGs.... I have started a few games (like Assassin's Creed) but only get so far before the rest of life occupies me.
I did watch the YouTube trailer for this game. Trailer Since this is a RPG not a MMORPG is there an actual end to the game? Like something you seek and then when you find it, the game is over, or is it continuous?
This is the kind of game that makes me feel that there is such hope for the future of the world.


text:
POLITICS: STURGEON DEFENDS HER DECISION TO BACK FERRIES FINANCIAL DISASTER
May 5, 2022 heaneymedia Argyll and Bute, Balloch, Dumbarton, Helensburgh, Latest News, Scotland Wide, West Dunbartonshire Leave a comment
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Tory leader Douglas Ross and Jim McColl – "she's lying," he said.
By Bill Heaney
Another day at Holyrood – another ferry story from the SNP.
A story in which feisty First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was accused of using "weasel words" by the Conservative leader Douglas Ross.
He said: "A quarter of a billion pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent and not a single ferry has been built, and the crucial document detailing why this awful decision was made has disappeared.
"However, all we hear from Nicola Sturgeon is that the situation is 'regrettable'.
"When the First Minister suggested chopping off the bottom of classroom doors, that was regrettable; wasting a quarter of a billion pounds is much, much worse.
"Does the First Minister understand how angry it makes the public to hear her use weasel words such as 'regrettable' rather than giving them the apology that they deserve?"
And so it was that we were set up for the usual stairheed row that passes for First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament.
Nicola Sturgeon said: "I know that there is a lot of anger right across Scotland right now, although I am not sure that it is for the reason that Douglas Ross has raised today, and I suspect that he is going to feel the full force of it tomorrow [the council election results].
"On the issue of ferries, I have made it very clear that the delays and cost overruns are deeply regrettable. I believe that, when things do not go right in Government, it is important that leaders say so. If only other Governments followed the same principle, perhaps things might be a bit different.
"However, I will not—I am afraid that I am not going to be moved from this—apologise for decisions that allowed the last commercial shipbuilder on the Clyde to continue in business and that have allowed 400 workers to be employed there today, earning a wage and supporting their families.
"I also will not apologise for investment in new ferries. The yard and the Government are focused on ensuring that the ferries are completed as part of our overall investment in Scotland's ferry network.
"I will always take responsibility when things do not go right, and I will continue to act in a way that is in the interests of the country overall. Of course, tomorrow [Thursday], people have the opportunity to cast their verdict on all of that."
But Mr Ross would not be put off. He told MSPs: "Nicola Sturgeon says that she is taking responsibility. Those are weasel words to the island communities that are still without these vital ferries.
"Although Nicola Sturgeon will not tell it straight, Jim McColl [the former owner of Ferguson Marine] did not mince his words on the radio yesterday. He called the First Minister out for lying. He said that 'there was no danger of the yard going under at that time'.
"The man who the Scottish National Party Government trusted to save the yard and who Nicola Sturgeon stood next to and said, 'This is the man to turn it round', says that the jobs at Ferguson Marine were safe no matter what because the yard had other strong contracts.
"The First Minister's only justification for charging ahead against expert advice has been grandstanding in saying that she saved the jobs. Now it has emerged that she did not—the jobs were never at risk. Has the First Minister's main excuse not just been shredded, perhaps like that vital missing document?"
Ms Sturgeon was up for the fight. She hit back: "Let me say categorically that I stand by what I said on the radio the other morning 100 per cent. Jim McColl is many things, but he is not a disinterested and objective observer on these matters. Perhaps that is something that we should bear in mind."
Mr McColl is in fact the man who used to operate a kitchen manufacturing business at Broadmeadow in Dumbarton and who has taken over important businesses in West Dunbartonshire such as Clyde Blowers and Weir Pumps.
She told parliament: "Let us look at the two key points that Jim McColl was taking issue with. First, he seemed to claim that I said that there were 400 people employed in the yard back in 2015. I did not say that, as the transcript will show.
"I said that 400 people are currently employed there, earning a wage and supporting their families, who would not be in employment today had the contract not been awarded. That is just a matter of fact.
"Secondly, Jim McColl said that the yard would not have been in jeopardy and would not have potentially closed had the contract not been awarded. That was not tested, of course, so that can only be a matter of opinion.
"However, I tell members this: if Jim McColl is seriously arguing that he would have continued to invest his money in a yard that had no major contracts, all I can say is that that is not the Jim McColl I know.
"People can make up their own minds, but what I know is that the decisions that the Government took have ensured that the shipyard is still open and operating today, focusing on delivering the ferries, and that, today, there are 400 people working in the yard, earning a wage and supporting their families, as I said.
"For all that the delays and overruns with the ferries are deeply regrettable, I do not regret the fact that there are 400 people employed in the shipyard today."
Secret Scotland reared its head yet again. Mr Ross said: "Of course, the ferries scandal is just one example of the secrecy and incompetence that the Government is famous for.
"Just look at Nicola Sturgeon's rap sheet of damning failures: £250 million lost on ferries; £50 million lost on Burntisland Fabrications [in Fife]; £40 million lost on the Rangers scandal; the worst ever accident and emergency waiting times on record; violent crime at record highs since she came to power; the widest ever attainment gap in our schools, with the lowest results in international school rankings; and the highest number of drug deaths in Europe. Surely that is a record that the First Minister is ashamed of."
Ms Surgeon countered: "BiFab is also still open and employing people. There are challenges with A and E services across the whole of the United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the world, but A and E services in Scotland have been the best performing of all four nations in the UK for six years.
"Recorded crime is at one of the lowest levels since 1974 and is down 41 per cent since the Government took office. Over the long term, we have seen a 36 per cent reduction in police-recorded non-sexual violent crime since the Government took office. Homicide cases are at their lowest level since comparable records began back in 1976. The numbers of those who experience crime are down and are lower than the numbers in other parts of the UK.
"On education, 1,000 school building projects have been completed since the Government took office. When we took office, only 61 per cent of schools were in a good or satisfactory condition, but that figure is over 90 per cent today.
"Council tax is lower for people in Scotland than it is for people in other parts of the UK, and we have lower income tax for the majority.
"We have free prescriptions. Free personal and nursing care has been extended. We have the Scottish child payment and other new benefits including the carers allowance supplement and the young carer grant. We have the baby box. The amount of early years education and childcare has trebled since the Government took office and has doubled in my time as First Minister. More staff are working in our national health service than in any other part of the UK, and we have more general practitioners per head of population.
"I can go on, if Douglas Ross wants me to. One hundred thousand affordable homes have been built, and yes, crime rates are down. What have we had in 12 years of Tory Government at Westminster? We have had Brexit and austerity, and poverty has increased; we have seen pension cuts, tax increases and—worst of all—we have had Boris Johnson."
Mr Ross was not finished however. He said: "That is shameful, First Minister. It is shameful that the 1,319 individuals who died as a result of drugs in the past year did not even merit a mention in the First Minister's response.
"That is 1,319 lives lost and families destroyed, and Nicola Sturgeon—yet again—ignored them to get cheap applause from her SNP back benchers. We know that when Nicola Sturgeon takes her eye off the ball, Scotland suffers.
"At a local level, the SNP's record is just as bad. It has cut hundreds of millions from council budgets, overturned hundreds of local planning decisions, brought in controversial sex surveys in schools, hit drivers with new taxes and let Scotland's biggest city be overrun by rubbish and rats. The SNP has let people down, and Labour has helped it—they share power in councils across Scotland.
"This election is a chance to get the focus back on things that really matter to people: improving local services, rebuilding roads, investing in schools and cleaning up our streets. Scottish Conservative councillors will focus on local priorities and stand up to this SNP Government when it wastes a fortune on ferries, slashes council budgets and cuts vital services."
Previous Post: HEALTH: My pandemic baby inspired me to become a midwife
Next Post: KILTWALK: A Letter From Sir Tom Hunter


text:
Dr Darwin CHEN, SBS
President, UNESCO Hong Kong Association
Darwin Chen was responsible for the establishment of several professional arts companies and museums while serving as Director of Cultural Services of the Hong Kong Government in the 70′s and 80's. He subsequently served as Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Commissioner of Labour and Director of Buildings and Lands. He was former Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and currently serves as President of the UNESCO Hong Kong Association. Dr. Chen serves on the board of many charitable organizations in Hong Kong and Mainland China as well as international non-profit bodies, including Habitat for Humanity China, Plan International (Hong Kong), Amity Foundation, Bright China Foundation, Hong Kong Christian Service, and St. Christopher's Home. He is also Senior Advisor to the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong and council member of the Centennial College. Awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences (honoris causa) by the University of Hong Kong, Chen is also an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong University of Education and Honorary University Fellow of the University of Hong Kong.. He was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in recognition of his community service. He also received the award of All China Outstanding Philanthropic Worker from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Chinese Government.


text:
Lefteast
FeminEasts
A Brief History of the Turkish Left, Part I: from the Origins to the 1980 Coup
Post author By Foti Benlisoy
The cover of Yeni Hayat ("New Life"), the newspaper of the People's Communist Party. Source: toplumsol.org. Legend: "workers of the world, unite!"
The cover of Yeni Hayat ("New Life"), the newspaper of the People's Communist Party. Source: toplumsol.org. Legend: "workers of the world, unite!"
We have interviewed prolific Turkish leftist commentator Foti Benlisoy on the history of the Turkish left, from its Ottoman beginnings on to the present day. In what follows, Benlisoy provides a historically grounded perspective on the background and prospects of today's movements to counter the now regnant authoritarian conservatism. He also outlines the left's recurrent tensions between advocacy for national and religious minorities and the defense of a unitary, sovereign Turkish nation-state.
In an upcoming second part, Benlisoy will examine the situation since the 1980 military coup, attending particularly to the shifting social basis of the organizational left, in the vicissitudes of the traditional proletariat and of a managerial middle class caught between social patriotism and the seductions of neoliberalism. Please stay tuned!
LE: One of the goals of the LeftEast summer school in Istanbul (July 15-20, 2016) was to foster connections between the Turkish and East European left. At the same time, the events that took place during those days (an attempted coup by sections of the army followed immediately by a counter-coup of the Erdoğan regime) not only prevented most Turkish participants from showing up but also made it abundantly clear to us why our lefts are so different. So let me take advantage of your knowledge about the international history of the Turkish left, and ask you about its connections with the East European left, starting from the very (Ottoman) beginning.
FB: The Ottoman left was to a great extent an offspring of Balkan-East European socialism. First, you have the Armenian revolutionary national organizations, which were affected strongly by the Russian populist movement. During the first decade of the 20th century these organizations (The Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Hintzak) had become socially rooted in Ottoman Armenia and had popularized socialist-populist themes. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnak) had become a member of the Second International in 1907. On the other edge of the empire, you have two different brands of Balkan socialism. On the one hand, there is the famous Socialist Workers Federation of Salonica [Thessaloniki],which was defending a position regarding the national question that was akin to Austrian Marxism and the Bund in Russia. Although it was an organization that represented mainly Jewish workers, it sought to appeal to Greek, Bulgarian and Muslim workers as well. The Salonica Federation asserted that all nationalities in the empire should have their own socialist organizations and that these should be organized under a federation. Such an understanding regarding the autonomous organization of the nationalities was the key to preserving the Ottoman Empire. The Socialist Federation of Salonica was also linked to the Second International. On the other hand, you had Bulgarian social democracy (especially the "narrow"-tesni-faction of it) which played an immense role in shaping the first socialist organizations and trade unions in Istanbul. With the support of some international leaders of social democracy like Parvus and Rakovsky, figures like Vasil Glavinov and Theodor Sivachev helped introduce into the Ottoman Empire what Lars Lih calls "Erfurtianism," that is, the basic tenets of European (German) social democracy. One should not forget also the impact of the left-wing of the Interior Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). One member of this organization was Dimitar Vlahov, who was elected in 1908 as deputy from Salonica and consistently raised in the Ottoman Parliament the issue of workers' rights.
However, these early organizational and programmatic links with Eastern European and Balkan socialism proved short-lived. As is well known, the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic was characterized by ethnic cleansing and genocide. The nationalist conflicts of the years 1912-1922 eliminated the first multi-ethnic socialist attempts and this rupture led to the formation of socialist movements that were purely national (Greek, Turkish etc.). Thereafter, the links between the Turkish left and East European left become limited to the confines of rather bureaucratic relations within the context of the Moscow-oriented international Communist movement. For example, during the Cold War, the Turkish Communist Party had an "external bureau" based in Eastern Europe, with broadcasting facilities. Bu one has to admit that these links have nothing to do with the vibrancy of the programmatic and organizational intercourse of the late Ottoman years.
At the 1920 Baku Congress of the Peoples of the East, the Comintern's major early initiative vis-à-vis the non-Western world, the Turkish delegation was probably the largest outside of the former Russian empire and a Communist Party of Turkey was founded the same year, only to be shortly clamped down on by the Kemalist government. And yet for the next couple of decades the USSR maintained friendly relations with the Turkish Republic. Didn't Turkish communists feel betrayed by Soviet/Comintern support for a government by the national bourgeoisie that was actively suppressing them?
The Turkish left that emerged after the end of the First World War had three roots. The first came from the Ottoman prisoners of war in Russia who had adopted Bolshevism. This group, led by Mustafa Suphi, formed the Communist Party of Turkey under the auspices of the Soviet Republic and the Third International. A second group was formed by the students who came from Germany, influenced by the revolutionary turmoil there—that's why they were called Turkish Spartakists—and by other political exiles like Şefik Hüsnü. These formed the Türkiye İşçi ve Çiftçi Sosyalist Fırkası in Istanbul, while some members of the group later joined the national struggle in Ankara. It is important to note that during the post-WWI occupation by British, French, and Italian forces, Istanbul witnessed a vigorous workers' movement that enabled the formation of various socialist groups with some influence over the workers of the city. Lastly, the third group consisted of rather heterogeneous groups sympathizing with the Bolsheviks in the USSR and was scattered across Anatolia.
The major recruitment pool of these left currents came from former members of the Committee of Union and Progress. The intellectual disorientation and the existential crisis that followed the end of the war brought many former members of the CUP to revolutionary ideas and to Bolshevism. A significant part of the Unionist political, intellectual and military elite turned its eyes to the Bolsheviks as a source of inspiration in this moment of acute crisis. The new Soviet regime appeared as the sole hope for the salvation of the empire. In the words of Doğan Avcıoğlu, "to become Bolshevik instead of becoming Armenian" seemed the only option left to save Turkish independence. Thus, every component of the Turkish left in this period, that is, the Turkish Communist Party, the Green Army Society, the Populist Group in the National Assembly, the official Communist Party, the Halk İştirakiyun Fırkası (the People's Communist Party) had become inundated by a mass of members of the CUP. Many intellectuals and activists who until the end of the war were ardent Turkish nationalists and even Pan-Turkists turned their faces toward Bolshevism.
What strikes the observer of the newly developed Turkish left currents of this period is the central role assigned to Islam. In Anatolia in many cases Bolshevism was treated simply as an extension of Islamic principles. To give an example, according to the deputy from Bursa, Şeyh Servet, who was also one of the founders of the People's Communist Party of Turkey (Halk İştirakiyun Fırkası), Bolshevik principles resembled the Age of Felicity (Asr-ı Saadet), that is, the times when the Prophet lived. Increasingly the Bolshevik revolution was interpreted according to the West/East dichotomy and antagonism. Accordingly, Bolsheviks were seen as representatives of the East striking fatal blows to the West, as harbingers of the rise of Asia and the inevitable collapse of Europe.
But the rise of the left opposition threatening the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha over the national movement would lead to his change of attitude against these currents. Moreover, relations with Bolsheviks and the newly emerging Communist left became part of the implicit antagonism between Mustafa Kemal and the exiled Unionist leaders over the leadership of the national struggle. The zenith of the strength of the left was the election by the National Assembly of Nazım Bey, the deputy from Tokat and a leading figure of the People's Group (Halk Zümresi) in which leftists were very active, to the ministry of Interior instead of Refet Pasha, Mustafa Kemal's favored candidate. Nazım Bey was forced to resign afterwards and Mustafa Kemal Pasha adopted a policy of crackdown towards leftist currents.
Mustafa Suphi. Source: Academic Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (enacademic.com)
In order to contain and control the increasing influence of Bolsheviks and the left-leaning factions in the Grand National Assembly, Mustafa Kemal even took the rather bizarre step of establishing an "official" Communist Party of Turkey staffed by "rational and trustworthy friends" on 18 October 1920. This party aimed at the monopolization of pro-Communist policy. Such tactical manoeuvres were accompanied by political violence: in January 1921 Mustafa Suphi (the leader of the Comintern-recognized Communist Party) and his 15 comrades were murdered in Trabzon. Afterwards the legal People's Communist Party of Turkey was closed and its deputies were arrested. The Green Army Society was dissolved. In spring 1921 the newly established Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a "fatwa" that denounced Bolshevism as a dangerous and false tendency and called the believers to resign from the People's Communist Party of Turkey.
After the repressions beginning in 1921, the fate of the Turkish left increasingly became subject to the tides of Turkish-Soviet relations. In the Turkish-Soviet friendship and commercial treaty of 16 March 1921, the Ankara government agreed to repress all pan-Turanian agitation and in turn the Soviet government agreed not to promote anti-government agitation in Turkey.
The end of hostilities and the liberation of the country changed dramatically the tone of the relationship between the Kemalists and Moscow. The People's Communist Party was finally dissolved and accused of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and many militants were arrested. But despite this new wave of repression, the Comintern did not press for the release of the prisoners and instead in its Fourth Congress stressed the importance of Turkish-Soviet friendship before the Lausanne Conference. The Second Congress of the Communist International had adopted after intense debate the position of supporting bourgeois nationalist anti-imperialist struggles. The Third Congress, which had met in 1921, issued a call to support the Kemalists and the national liberation movement. Following this line the Fourth Congress declared "its support to any national revolutionary movement against imperialism," including Turkey's, and reaffirmed the decisions of the Third Congress concerning the support of communists of the colonial or semi-colonial countries for the nationalist bourgeoisie. According to the Comintern, "in the colonial East at the present time the key slogan to advance was the anti-imperialist united front" and "the demand for a close alliance with the proletarian Soviet republic was the key-note of the anti-imperialist united front."
Thus, the government of Ankara was reassured once more that it could repress its national Communist Party without endangering the support and goodwill of the Soviet government. Previous Soviet representatives like Şerif Manatof who actively tried to organize Communist groups in Anatolia were replaced by more "trustworthy" and "diplomatic" representatives like Semyon Aralov. The persecuted Turkish communists were even accused of "left adventurism" and thus discredited. Therefore, this whole process revealed that Turkish-Soviet relations were increasingly based primarily on a governmental basis. Being depended on the pendulum of Turkish-Soviet relations led the Turkish communist movement to become an isolated sect with unpredictable policies. Unable to perform mass work because of the continuous oppression and forced to remain underground, the movement remained small and ineffective.
The history of the Turkish left seems to me a history of discontinuities. During the 1960s-70s, another major moment for the Turkish left, it comprised a volatile cocktail of pro-Soviet, Maoist, Hoxhaist, Trotskyist groups, intellectual circles, urban and rural, Kurdish and Alevi guerillas. As you can imagine, to the East European ear, which associates this period of the left with struggles between "socialism with a human face" and neo-Stalinism, with the state balancing between the two, this all sounds very rich and exotic. So that we won't get lost in an alphabet soup of organizational acronyms, could you tell us of the main debates and strategies within the Turkish left of that period? Outside of the official Turkish Communist Party, which presumably was still receiving instructions from Moscow, what if any was the relationship between sections of the Turkish left and Eastern European or Soviet left?
With the 1960s Turkey entered a twenty year period in which almost every form of social struggle was experienced by millions of people: from the youth movement to peasant mobilizations, from working class movements to urban guerrilla activities. One can easily say that these twenty years, until the military coup of 1980, constitute the heyday of the Turkish left. The 1960s are the formative years for the Turkish left in the sense that it was the first time that leftists participated and led mass struggles. During the early 1960s the Turkish Labour Party (TİP) was the main attempt for an independent, class-based leftist political party. The Party took 3% of the vote in the elections of 1965 and entered the parliament. However the ideological and political struggle within the leftist movement led to many splits in the Labour Party and to the formation in the 1970s of several organizations. One major rift was between pro-Russian and pro-Chinese organizations. However, during the 1970s the major organizations of the Turkish left (with the exception of the Turkish Communist Party) were ex-Guevarist and left-populist movements like Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Path) and Kurtuluş (Liberation).
In fact, it was the second half of the 1970s that became the litmus test for the Turkish left. Since despite the level of social struggles at that time, the left was unable to put forward a coherent political programme and strategy, especially as an alternative to the Kemalist Republican People's Party. You had slogans like "one solution—revolution" but no revolutionary strategy. Although you had a vibrant atmosphere of political and theoretical creativity in the 1960s, during the second half of the 1970's a certain dogmatism prevailed. The ready-made formulas of the pro-Soviet, Maoist, Hoxhaist and Guevarist movements were seen to be enough to explain almost every theoretical and political problem. An older Comintern analysis regarding Kemalism as a progressive and anti-imperialist movement had also a rather permanent effect on the strategic orientation of many organizations. You had also defects of Stalinist origin—both theoretical (stageism) and organizational (monolithic, non-democratic organizations). Another problem was the political and organizational fragmentation and especially the sometimes violent internencine struggles between left-wing groupings. These (sometimes bloody) confrontations especially in the mass organisations like trade unions and student organizations etc., had disastrous results for the credibility of the left.
May 1 in Istanbul. From the May-June 1977 issue of the magazine of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK).
One major factor that determined the fate of the Turkish left during those years was the violent clashes with the extreme right that erupted especially from 1975-1976 on, first in universities and then in several areas around the country. These clashes sometimes followed religious (Sunnite-Alevi) or ethnic (Turkish-Kurdish) divisions, with the left being disproportionately strong among ethnic and religious minorities, and caused around 5,000 deaths. These were part of a "tension strategy" deliberately pursued by the Turkish state. In the context of the successive governments' inability to re-establish order despite the declaration of a state of emergency in many cities, the army allowed the situation to deteriorate so that it could intervene and style itself as the restorer of order which was being threatened by "communists." During the late 70s the left was in an defensive position trying to counter the fascist attacks. However,the nature of the anti-fascist struggle itself also functioned to isolate the revolutionary cadres from ordinary people who themselves had been the object of the fascist terror. Thus, by the 1979-1980 the popular movements were in retreat and the left was confused and fragmented. So when the military coup happened in September 1980 there was no massive resistance to it and leftist cadres and political organizations found themselves rather isolated. Thus, the military junta suspended rather easily all political and trade union activities and rounded up tens of thousands of political activists.
Regarding the links of the Turkish left with the Eastern European left during those years, first I must stress the rather limited internationalist perspective of the Turkish left. When you look back at those years, one surprising thing is that the international revolutionary events which shocked the world in the 1970s were watched rather passively by the Turkish left. For example, neither the Portuguese revolution nor the collapse of the Greek dictatorship, neither the military coup in Chile nor the Solidarnosc movement in Poland were seen as opportunities to draw theoretical lessons. Of course there was an abstract sense of solidarity with the struggles taking place in the world, but in general there were only limited attempts to either see and discuss these experiences as political lessons or to form practical channels of international solidarity. So any link with the Easten European left was limited in the context of any organization's international affiliation. Of course, the Moscow-oriented organizations had much more contact with the official communist parties of the Eastern Bloc. The Beijing-oriented organizations, too, were part of international networks and until the gradual Sino-Albanian break of the mid-1970s, enjoyed particularly strong links with their Albanian counterpart for a certain period of time. However, one should admit that these links had nothing to do with a revolutionary internationalism and should be seen as bureaucratic contacts between state bureaucracies and party bureaucracies.
Part II of this article will appear early next week.
Foti Benlisoy, a member of Başlangıç, is a historian and co-founder of the Greek-Turkish publishing house Istos. He has published books the protests of Greece, Tunisia and Egypt and the Gezi movement – both in Turkish.
← "Yerevan Spring": A New Day For Armenian Democracy? → Armenia after Sargsyan: do the people really need a savior?
Non-capitalist Mixed Economies: The Soviet Monetary System and the Functions of Money in Socialism
Against superficial internationalism: from left exuberance to liberal tears over Afghanistan
A Color Revolution or a Working-Class Uprising?: an Interview with Aynur Kurmanov on the Protests in Kazakhstan
Waste Colonialism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The War-time Logic Continues
The Conflict between Russia and Ukraine Is Neither Bluff nor Ultimatum
© 2022	Lefteast


text:
Inspiration » Venues » The 12 Best Lake Tahoe Wedding Venues
The 12 Best Lake Tahoe Wedding Venues
by Bailey Gaddis December 3, 2019
written by Bailey Gaddis
An acclaimed and popular destination that resides in California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe offers couples a wide array of stunning wedding venues. From lakeside and ski resorts to hamlets offering mindblowing mountain views and forest nooks, Lake Tahoe is an ideal setting for an outdoor ceremony.
Because there are so many gorgeous options to choose from, we've pulled together the twelve best Lake Tahoe wedding venues to ensure your special day is filled with spectacular views, first-rate service, and the ample charm of this coveted destination.
1. Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino
A premier Lake Tahoe resort, Hyatt Regency offers a majestic waterfront and sprawling lawn backed by mountains which is ideal for a summer or spring wedding. It also offers a mountain lodge and ballroom with lake views that are perfect for a winter wonderland celebration.
Regardless of the time of year that you'll say "I do," your stay at the Hyatt is sure to be infused with impeccable service, posh rooms, luxurious spa treatments, and ample adventure including water sports, snowmobile, and ski offerings. When people think of the classic Lake Tahoe getaway, this iconic resort is often what comes to mind.
Typical Cost: Site fee ranges from $2,000 – $5,000; meals range from $50 – $105 per person
Bonus: If you want to let your wild side come out to play after the wedding reception, head to the resort's Wild West-style Cutthroat's Saloon.
Find Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
2. Black Bear Lodge
tahoeblackbear.com
One of the most charming wedding venues in South Lake Tahoe, Black Bear Lodge is the ideal spot to host an intimate destination wedding. This location is primed for winter nuptials, as it features a gorgeous lodge with hand-hewn logs, a river-rock fireplace, and picturesque grounds that meander through the towering pines of Lake Tahoe.
You can savor this cozy ambiance by staying in one of the lodge's guest bedrooms or booking one of the onsite cabins. And if you want to sprinkle your wedding celebration with some trips down the slopes, you'll appreciate having the Lake Tahoe and Heavenly ski resorts nearby.
Typical Cost: Rental fee is $3,000 – $5,000
Bonus: The rental fee includes a bride's dressing area and suite, a groom's dressing area, outdoor lighting, a day-of coordinator, and full kitchen facilities.
Find Black Bear Lodge on Facebook and Instagram.
3. The Chateau at Incline Village
yourtahoeplace.com
The Chateau at Incline Village, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, provides traditional vibes with Tahoe stone and timber construction. Think vaulted timber ceilings, two massive stacked rock fireplaces, spacious covered decks, and impressive views of the mountains and lake.
Popular spaces for an outdoor wedding ceremony include nooks on the large lawn that fade into the soaring pines (which make Tahoe such an appealing site) and a fairytale-like creekside area. Not to mention, many of these outdoor spaces feature jaw-dropping views.
If you're saying "I do" in the colder months, you can celebrate your union in the sophisticated 5,200-square-foot Grand Ballroom that can be divided into three rooms to accommodate smaller gatherings.
Typical Cost: Around $5,000 for 50 guests
Bonus: The venue's convenient location in Incline Village makes it close to many of the most appealing Lake Tahoe hotels and resorts.
Find The Chateau at Incline Village on Facebook and Instagram.
4. Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe
ritzcarlton.com
A dream venue for couples wanting a luxury celebration, Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe provides an ethereal wooded area, a charming, slope-side meadow, and two elegant ballrooms for winter weddings.
The large Ritz-Carlton Ballroom wows with soaring, wood-beam ceilings, wrought-iron chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling windows opening to dazzling views of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Meanwhile, the more intimate Pines Ballroom features a private outdoor terrace and an expansive foyer.
The wedding ceremony packages include a wedding specialist, a rehearsal space, venue set-up, mahogany garden chairs, and an indoor backup for outdoor weddings. As for reception packages, you can expect set-up of the venue and bar, cocktail tables, dinner tables and linens, white-gloved synchronized service, china, stemware and flatware, and votive candles.
Typical Cost: Site fee starts at $2,500 for ceremonies and $4,000 for receptions
Bonus: The venue provides discounted guest rooms if you book 10 or more and offers complimentary upgrades when available.
Find Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
5. High Camp at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows
squawalpine.com
Experience the thrill of feeling like you're floating above the awesome terrain of Lake Tahoe by saying "I do" at High Camp. This stunning lodge is accessed via a gondola that carries you 2,000 feet up the mountain. When you reach the top, you're met with some of the best 360-degree views of the area.
After pledging your love on the Upper Deck, head into the circular Terrace Room where you'll be treated to the sweeping mountain and meadow views and mountain-chic décor. A six-hour event at High Camp includes a ceremony, a cocktail hour, catering, and a wedding reception location.
Typical Cost: Site fees range from $3,000 – $4,000
Bonus: The venue provides all tables, chairs, linen and napkins, silverware, plates, and glassware.
Find High Camp at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows on Facebook and Instagram.
6. Granlibakken Tahoe
granlibakken.com
The place for a perfect wedding in Tahoe City, this idyllic family-owned resort is set among a wonderland of pine trees and provides the sophistication that only a historic site can provide.
Granlibakken Tahoe's history includes tobogganing down its slopes in the 1920s, Olympic hopefuls testing their skills on the resort's ski jump (the first in the Tahoe area), and in 1947, the Norwegian Ski Jumper Kjell "Rusty" Rustad building a log cabin that's grown into the current iteration of Granlibakken Tahoe.
Forge your union in a stand of pine and fir trees adjacent to a landscaped patio with an elevated stage. From there, you can enjoy your winter wedding reception in one of the resort's main rooms including the spacious Granhall, the serene Mountain Ballroom, or the cozy Cedar House that features a large fireplace.
Typical Cost: Rental fee is $500 – $6,900 for a ceremony and reception and four hours of event time; $250 per hour for additional time
Bonus: The resort provides comfortable lodges, townhouses, and suites that reflect its alpine ambiance. Additionally, a hot breakfast buffet is provided for all overnight guests.
Find Granlibakken Tahoe on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
7. PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn
plumpjacksquawvalleyinn.com
An inn that's mastered the balance of elegance and laid-back vibes, PlumpJack is a choice venue for couples wanting a wedding day that's upscale without being stuffy.
During warmer weather, the wedding ceremony can take place outside among the dramatic trees that dissolve into the mountains, impressive boulders, and fresh air that seems to be reserved for this alpine oasis. For the reception, or for a ceremony when the snow is falling, you'll head to the lodge where guests will be wowed by wooden beams, wrought-iron chandeliers, and glowing lanterns.
While PlumpJack's ambiance is stunning, its real magic is in its fine dining offerings. The chefs work with you to craft a seasonal menu that might include favorites like seafood cones, seared diver scallops, or miso-glazed eggplant. Additionally, the resort has an award-winning wine list to pair with your selected dishes.
Typical Cost: Site fee is $3,500 – $7,000 for a reception and starts at $1,000 for a ceremony
Bonus: If you're looking for a super chic location for your rehearsal dinner, you've found a winner in PlumpJack.
Find PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
8. Zephyr Lodge at Northstar California
tahoeunveiled.com
Located between Truckee and Lake Tahoe, Zephyr Lodge is only accessible by gondola or chair lift, sitting at an altitude of 8,610 feet.
The vintage-vibes make you feel like you've been transported to a classy lodge in the '70s while the spectacular meadows, overlooks, and mountainscapes surrounding the venue make you feel like you've been transported to a nature-made nirvana. This is where to go if you want to make an impression.
The venue's comprehensive wedding package includes parking and transport, a ceremony site and chairs, two fireplaces, a dressing area, an on-site planner, and so much more.
Typical Cost: Site fee ranges from $8,500 – $10,000; food and beverage minimum ranges from $16,000 – $20,000
Bonus: Booking this package scores you four invitations to the resort's Wedding Preview Event & Grand Tasting.
Find Zephyr Lodge at Northstar California on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
9. Edgewood Tahoe
edgewoodtahoe.com
The remarkable Edgewood Tahoe offers the wonder of the sparkling lake and the majesty of the mountains all at once. Couples and guests are able to experience all these vistas from almost every corner of the mansion, and its grounds allow guests to create a dream wedding regardless of the event space they select.
If the weather is kind, the venue's lakefront deck is where to be. It allows couples to blend the serene energy of the lake with the power and grace of the massive pine trees lining the bank. Once the rings are exchanged, head into the clubhouse's North Room to continue soaking in the lake views while savoring the delicious creations by the onsite catering team.
Typical Cost: Site fee ranges from $8,000 – $10,000; food and beverage minimums range from $18,000 – $30,000
Bonus: Each of the 154 guest suites features a gas fireplace, private deck or terrace, soaking tub, and walk-in shower.
Find Edgewood Tahoe on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
10. Resort at Squaw Creek
destinationhotels.com
A gem of Lake Tahoe that's steeped in elegance, Resort at Squaw Creek allows you and your guests to relish in well-deserved opulence as you celebrate your big day.
You can choose to walk down the aisle on the golf course that's surrounded by ponderosa pines and mountain peaks, say "I do" at the Pavilion alongside a 250-foot waterfall that dissolves into a stream flowing into a garden, or pledge your love on the sunny Spa Deck that's flanked by lush foliage and features a cozy fireplace.
The resort's ceremony package includes a venue location for two hours, an arbor arch, white garden chairs, an altar table, a water station, a sound system, one microphone, and a one-hour rehearsal. Receptions include an abundance of menu choices, tables, chairs and linens, a bridal party staging room, and all the other reception essentials.
Typical Cost: Facility rentals range from $3,500 – $5,000
Bonus: A Special Events Manager works with you from the start to help ensure each element of your wedding turns out just as you've envisioned.
Find Resort at Squaw Creek on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
11. Valhalla at Lake Tahoe
valhallatahoe.com
Nestled in Olympic Valley, this gorgeous venue offers exquisite lake views and a sweeping manicured lawn, making it ideal for spring and summer nuptials.
Constructed in 1924, Valhalla features hardwood floors and French doors that open onto a lodgepole pine porch. From there, a short flight of stairs transports guests onto the Grand Lawn where they can enjoy an alfresco celebration under giant pines.
Plus, the venue's rich history only adds to its appeal. Valhalla's Grand Hall is located on the Tallac Historic Site which held the title of the "Grandest Resort in the World" a century ago and was the summer retreat for three of the San Francisco Bay Area's most elite families.
Typical Cost: $3,600 – $8,000
Bonus: The venue provides you with exclusive use of the building for up to 13 hours.
Find Valhalla at Lake Tahoe on Facebook and Instagram.
12. The Landing Resort & Spa
thelandingtahoe.com
This boutique resort is the perfect choice for couples wanting a unique alpine wedding. The Landing Resort & Spa aptly describes itself as being "chic-yet-cozy, opulent-yet-intimate."
Couples can choose from three event spaces, the most popular being The Grand Rooftop Terrace that boasts hypnotizing views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Meanwhile, the Lakeview Ballroom stuns with its retractable glass walls, and the intimate Bijou Boardroom provides modern amenities mixed with classic lake views.
You can be sure the guest rooms will please even the pickiest of wedding guests as they offer a seamless blend of contemporary and rustic-chic accommodations. Get ready to celebrate your wedding night by a cozy fire in your lakefront suite.
Bonus: The culinary team is superb and provides amazing dishes made with fresh seafood, seasonal vegetables, and locally-sourced ingredients.
Find The Landing Resort & Spa on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Bailey Gaddis
Bailey Gaddis is a travel writer at IntrepidTravelTribe.com and author of Feng Shui Mommy: Creating Balance and Harmony for Blissful Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood. She is also a regular contributor to media outlets including Huffington Post, Flight Network, TRVL, Disney's Babble, Working Mother, Pregnancy & Newborn, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Woman's Day, and others. She lives in Ojai, California with her husband and son. You can find Bailey on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!
The 6 Best Small Wedding Venues in New Orleans
The 9 Best Napa Valley Wedding Venues
10 Amazing Outdoor Wedding Venues in Miami
7 Surprisingly Affordable Wedding Venues in Miami
8 Unique San Diego Wedding Venues
6 Amazing Small Wedding Venues in San Diego


text:
Tillery: Week One Highlights
Week one of the 2021 General Assembly is underway. One of the first things I noticed was all the new faces. Out of 56 state senators, 11 are starting their first term. This represents an almost 20% turnover from last session. The three pressing topics are clear: (1) the state budget, (2) COVID-19 and (3) election integrity.
The budget is the only bill we are constitutionally required to pass. The constitution also requires that it is balanced. Governor Kemp's budget proposal hit our desks Thursday. It includes no further across-the-board reductions seen in last year's budget. It begins to fill some of the holes last year's budget created, as well as adding over $650 million back to the Quality Basic Education formula that funds local schools. The Governor also included $30 million for broadband expansion into rural areas.
The state is administering approximately 11,500 COVID-19 vaccination doses daily. But this number is highly outpaced by demand for the vaccine. I've heard the frustration from many of you. The Governor is marshalling the Georgia National Guard and Georgia Emergency Management Agency to assist in further distribution. To further assist in distribution, the Governor has also waived state laws via executive order to allow EMT's and Cardiac Technicians to administer the vaccine as well. This year's legislative fights concerning COVID-19 will likely center around allowing Georgia businesses to stay open. Some expect the federal government may wish to head in a different direction. Governor Kemp and the legislature have been clear – if a business can safely operate, Georgians need their jobs and services.
In just four session days, there have been at least six election reform measures floating through the halls of the Capitol. They range from requiring a photo identification for absentee ballots to eliminating drop boxes for absentee ballot collection. I expect many more bills to be introduced on this topic. Whether all these ideas remain separate or roll into one large bill, the message is clear – there will be election reform and it will happen this year.
From January 19th to the 22nd, the legislature will not convene for session days so that the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate may hold joint meetings with state department heads and commissioners. These meetings are streamed online and you are welcome to tune in at www.legis.ga.gov. As always, if you have a question about anything going on at the Capitol, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly. Thank you for allowing me to represent you in Atlanta.
Sen. Blake Tillery serves as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He represents the 19th Senate District, which includes Appling, Jeff Davis, Long, Montgomery, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, and Wheeler counties and a portion of Liberty and Tattnall counties. He can be reached by email at [email protected]
By Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia)


All the stories about people rushing out to buy guns after recent mass shootings may give the impression that more Americans have guns at home. Yet a survey reveals that the percentage of U.S. homes with a gun has been in steady decline over the past four decades, with a surprisingly sharp drop in the South and Western mountain states. Whereas an average of 50 percent of households owned a gun in the 1970s, that number declined to 35 percent in the 2000s, with 34 percent of households reporting gun ownership in 2012, notes the New York Times.
The Times analyzes data from the General Social Survey, carried out by a research center at the University of Chicago, for its findings, but not everyone agrees. Gallup, for example, shows a higher ownership rate and a much smaller drop, with 43 percent of Americans reporting having a gun in their home last year, compared to 50 percent in 1968. The NRA also expresses skepticism that there has been such a steep decline.
The researchers behind the University of Chicago survey insist that while their survey is relatively small, they have no doubt about the overall trend. A general decline in hunting and a decrease in violent crime over the years have made owning guns much less of a priority for many Americans. In addition, as more people moved away from rural areas and into the city in recent years makes it less likely that they'll own guns.


text:
RED WEDDING - some cold war comforts in the company of Joseph Porter and Steven Cooper. Mr Porter has been ploughing the Blyth Power furrow for twenty years now as a crooning drummer. Mr Cooper is a former member of Thanet's finest, The Maccabees. Both played together in The Whiskey Priests, whilst Mr Cooper has latterly been seen with Goth supremos, Dance on Glass. Two voices, guitars, mandolin and harmonica - concentrating on the huge pile of unrecorded songs languishing on Mr Porter's shelves.
Red Wedding, whilst being essentially a tuneful acoustic duo, such as would not bring a wince to the face of even the most traditional of folk club organisers, will also carry on the great Blyth Power tradition of being as outspoken and opinionated as its members deem necessary. What folk music did next has happened - this is what it's going to do after that!
For further information and enquiries about Red&nbspWedding; please contact:


text:
package org.apache.zookeeper.common;

/**
 * Path related utilities
 */
public class PathUtils {

	/** validate the provided znode path string
	 * @param path znode path string
	 * @param isSequential if the path is being created
	 * with a sequential flag
	 * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the path is invalid
	 */
	public static void validatePath(String path, boolean isSequential)
		throws IllegalArgumentException {
		validatePath(isSequential? path + "1": path);
	}

    /**
     * 校验提供的znode节点path字符串
     * Validate the provided znode path string
     * @param path znode path string
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the path is invalid
     */
    public static void validatePath(String path) throws IllegalArgumentException {
        if (path == null) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Path cannot be null");
        }
        if (path.length() == 0) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Path length must be > 0");
        }
        if (path.charAt(0) != '/') {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                         "Path must start with / character");
        }
        if (path.length() == 1) { // done checking - it's the root 长度为1 表明为根节点
            return;
        }
        if (path.charAt(path.length() - 1) == '/') {//path 不能以'/'结尾
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                         "Path must not end with / character");
        }

        String reason = null;
        char lastc = '/';
        char chars[] = path.toCharArray();
        char c;
        for (int i = 1; i < chars.length; lastc = chars[i], i++) {
            c = chars[i];

            if (c == 0) {
                reason = "null character not allowed @" + i;
                break;
            } else if (c == '/' && lastc == '/') {
                reason = "empty node name specified @" + i;
                break;
            } else if (c == '.' && lastc == '.') {
                if (chars[i-2] == '/' &&
                        ((i + 1 == chars.length)
                                || chars[i+1] == '/')) {
                    reason = "relative paths not allowed @" + i;
                    break;
                }
            } else if (c == '.') {
                if (chars[i-1] == '/' &&
                        ((i + 1 == chars.length)
                                || chars[i+1] == '/')) {
                    reason = "relative paths not allowed @" + i;
                    break;
                }
            } else if (c > '\u0000' && c < '\u001f'
                    || c > '\u007f' && c < '\u009F'
                    || c > '\ud800' && c < '\uf8ff'
                    || c > '\ufff0' && c < '\uffff') {
                reason = "invalid charater @" + i;
                break;
            }
        }

        if (reason != null) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                    "Invalid path string \"" + path + "\" caused by " + reason);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The following is an excerpt from Navigant Healthcare's Pulse Weekly. Click here for a complete copy of this week's article.
The focus: a group of 95 Fort Myers urologists who receive compensation for the lab tests they refer to their in-house lab, specifically a bladder cancer test known as FISH (fluorescent in situ hydridization). After starting its in-office lab service in 2009, the volume of FISH tests ordered by the group increased from 202 in May, 2009 to 942 in October, 2009. The FISH test was reimbursed at $700-$1000/test at the time, and is now reimbursed at $430/test by Medicare. Per the Wall Street Journal's reporting, the Office of the Inspector General's analysis of the Medicare Physician billing data found the lab's Medicare reimbursement per ordering physician was $107,700—24 times the average for all non-independent labs.
Physicians play a unique role in the U.S. health system. They are patient advocates, and for the majority of patients, the primary decision-maker when it comes to the treatments they use.
Physician preferences and decisions, therefore, are directly linked to the financial performance of the industry and to health costs.
Physician business relationships have not been readily transparent to key stakeholders—health plans, employers, regulators and taxpayers.
The case can reasonably be made that the medical profession is unique in its influence on patient choices and costs. Last month, the Office of the Actuary's forecast that health costs will exceed 6% annually for the next decade: meaning increased pressure from payers and regulators to control costs and intensified scrutiny about how physician business relationships might drive avoidable or unnecessary costs. Understandably, this is not welcome news for physicians, most believing their financial circumstances off limits and revelations from recent releases of data from the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Medicare Physician Database misleading and counterproductive.
In all likelihood, if in their shoes, we might feel the same. The profession relishes in its unmatched and well-earned respect and trust. To protect that, it must embrace transparency in its business relationships and distance itself from real or perceived conflicts of interest that could be seen as inconsistent with the profession's ethical code.
And, this same burden must be shared by the hospitals, device and drug manufacturers, health plans and others who partner with physicians in risk sharing arrangements and other business relationships.
The public's appetite to know how the business of medicine works seems unquenchable. The integrity of the profession is at risk unless it embraces full transparency in disclosing its business relationships forthrightly, however uncomfortable or revelatory.
Sources: John Carreyrou, Janet Adamy, "How Medicare 'Self-Referral' Thrives on Loophole," Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2014; Note: Since 2010, the Wall Street Journal has published a series, "Secrets of the System," exposing fraud, waste and abuse in the healthcare industry.
© 2014 Navigant Consulting, Inc.


Some of you are being shown dream scenarios that embody your deepest fears, others are being confronted with situations that bring up their fears regarding relationships, health, and their place in the world. These are not coming up as a way to keep you from moving forward, but so that you can finally see them for what they are: fears. These beliefs, thought patterns and reactions that are being invoked have been held by you for a long time and you must now choose to move beyond them. So many of you are able to offer unconditional love to others in an admirable fashion, yet you lack the ability to turn it inward on yourself. This is the time that this must be done. You must love yourself enough to move past the fears and insecurities that have plagued you and shaped you for so long.
The feelings of sadness, despair and anxiety that have swept over some of you may feel nameless, and there by belonging to another or the collective as you are not able to pin point a cause. This is not the case, for those of you deep in the ascension process your are doing a final inventory, what you are feeling is yours and yours alone. It is in these moments that you must understand that how you feel and react to these unnamed emotions is a choice. In those moments, decide to let those feelings go and choose to feel differently. Ask yourself when you are confronted with these deep unsettling emotions, if they are in your highest good, your highest interest. If they are not, why would you want to explore them or hold onto them? Let them go by declaring that they no longer have a place in your life.
For those being confronted with scenarios that they felt they had moved beyond, we ask you to look at the emotions and thoughts it evokes within you. What is the basis for this? Is what you are feeling rooted in love or in fear? If what you are experiencing is rooted in fear, then choose in that moment to do something different, say something different, think something different. When you visualize your fears as a wall that is stopping your progress, you will understand that you must transverse that wall. Charge through the barrier and leave it behind you as you continue on your journey. This is the time to move past your conditioned response.
As you progress on this journey many of you are experiencing increased synchronicity, intuition, and manifestation. This is wonderful and yet for some it breeds doubt and fear. Some of you are doubting what you are experiencing feeling it is too good to be true and this by its very nature keeps you from what you want to experience most. This too is a product of fear. Is it that you fear being wrong? Is it that you have compared your journey to another and it has created doubt? Or have you allowed another's opinion of your growth to hold you back? Again, we say to you, it is time to put these feelings behind you and stand in your truth, your light. Go through those barriers of doubt and be fearless and by doing so you give others the permission to do the same.
Me: I am experiencing this on many levels. I dreamed that my husband was electrocuted and I was away and couldn't make it back to him right away. I woke up terrified that he was dying and I was not by his side. Then the next day I dreamed that while I was away working a care giver molested my child. I woke devastated, and full of fear. My first thought was that I should not peruse working outside the home, because obviously I was shown the world would fall apart if I did. Then the more I sat with that and felt the continued fear, I realized that I couldn't let fear stop me. I sat with my guides and they explained that fears must be dealt with as I move forward on this journey. That I had to choose which path to take.
Quan Yin: That is it exactly, you have a choice. Do you make yourself small and stop your growth because of fear or do you expand into love knowing that all will be well? Choosing to grow does not mean that all will be perfect in your life, but it is you saying that you trust that all that happens will be in your highest good and for your growth.
The areas in which you are vulnerable, that you fear are being exposed so that you can understand them fully and not allow them to hinder your progress.
Me: I also feel that my body issues are being brought up with the intensity of these codes. I am experiencing bloating and some weight gain though I do not eat a lot and my body seems to be doing a cleanse.
Quan Yin: This is a normal part of this process. Your light body upgrades cause a bloating. Your cells are being upgraded and as they are upgraded, they swell, like a bruise. This subsides with time. If the swelling is invoking emotion, then that is also a fear pattern that must change. Do you understand what I am saying?
Me: Yes, I think so. We think in an ABCD and so on configuration. Our natural inclination is to go to e, but to bring about change we need to not do, think or say E, but instead throw in an X into the pattern to disrupt it.
Quan YIn: Exactly! It is a conscious choice to do what you have not done before. First you must be aware of the pattern in order to rewrite it.
NextIs hypnosis a legitimate form of therapy?


text:
Cops: Teen and Mom Shot Dead by Her Husband, Who Confesses to 911: 'I'm the Person With the Gun'
News 1:38 PM PST, February 15, 2017 - Caitlin Nolan
1:38 PM PST, February 15, 2017 - Caitlin Nolan
A Florida man was arrested in the killings of his wife and her teenage daughter after allegedly telling multiple people he'd murdered them before calling 911 to admit to what he had done.
Police on Monday received a 911 call from a man reporting shots fired in Sunrise, but the conversation quickly took a turn when the caller claimed responsibility for the incident.
"Sir, did you see the person with the gun?" asked the 911 operator.
"I'm the person with the gun," the man said, giving the operator the names of two people who he claimed to have shot.
"Where are they now?" asked the 911 operator.
"Dead," the man replied, before hanging up.
The call had been made using a phone registered to 32-year-old Kevin Nelson, who later told police crisis negotiators: "I hurt people. I'm a failure... I'm going to prison forever."
After nearly five hours spent talking with the Sunrise Police Department's Crisis Negotiation team, Nelson agreed to put his semi-automatic handgun down and emerged from his Balboa Street home to surrender at 3:30 p.m., a police report said.
Read: Wife Being Questioned In Murder Of KKK Leader Found Shot To Death
Inside the home, police found 15-year-old Shanice Smith with a gunshot wound through her left cheek.
Her mother and Nelson's wife, 40-year-old Karen Lyle, was found dead inside the master bathroom with a gunshot wound to her forehead.
Both bodies had been covered with blankets, police said.
It was not immediately clear when the killings occurred, but a neighbor told police he heard shots fired on Friday.
After hearing several shots first at 7:30 p.m. and then between five and seven more two hours later, the neighbor went outside with his own firearm to investigate and saw a man and a young boy leaving a nearby home.
The neighbor said he didn't call 911 because he couldn't tell where the gunshots came from.
Nelson's sister told cops that he and his 8-year-old son came to her home Friday night, saying he had gotten into an argument with Lyle and killed her, the police report said.
She asked him if he was kidding, and Nelson said he was before leaving his son in her care, she told police.
Nelson allegedly texted and called Lyle's brother and her friend on Monday saying he killed them. In text messages to Lyle's friend, Nelson allegedly accused his wife of cheating on him.
"I'm in trouble. There are two dead people in there," Nelson allegedly said during an interview with police after he was read his Miranda rights. "I can't explain this. No matter what I say, it doesn't matter. The facts are still there."
Read: Former Cop on Trial for Murder After Wife's Death Initially Deemed Suicide
Nelson invoked his right to counsel once he was taken to the police department, cops said.
He was charged with two counts of murder without premeditation. He appeared in court Tuesday, where he was ordered to remain jailed without bond.
Loved ones mourned the loss of Lyle and her daughter, whose deaths left the community stunned.
Anthony Cruz, a reggae singer, posted pictures of Smith on Facebook, writing: "I can't believe they kill my one and only daughter in Ft. Lauderdale..."
Smith was a student at Piper High School, where she reportedly thrived in academics.
"She had a bright future ahead of her," her grandfather, Courtney Smith, told WSVN-TV.
Lyle had been married to Nelson for less than a year, her brother, Christopher Lyle, wrote on Facebook.
"This is the saddest day in my life," Christopher Lyle wrote. "This domestic violence has to stop. Too many people are hurting from selfish behaviors. They say love hurts but it should not take lives."
Watch: Teens Charged with Murder After Killing Man who Responded to Craigslist Ad: Cops
Teens Charged With Murder After Killing Man Who Responded To Craigslist Ad: Cops


Virginia Berninger, a psychologist at the University of Washington, recently demonstrated that handwriting and typing on a computer involve distinct and separate brain patterns. The two are not at all equal in their ability to stimulate thought and enable recall, and today we're in the process of losing the better of the two skills.
That request used to be followed by grabbing a pencil or pen. Now, it's more likely to prompt a tap on a glass screen or QWERTY keyboard—responses, unfortunately, that are accompanied by a reduced involvement of neurological systems that are normally engaged in writing.
Brain imaging shows that handwriting involves both sides of the brain. Cursive writing, particularly, requires fine motor control over the fingers, and it forces you to pay attention to what you're doing. Keyboarding trains you to forget about your hands on the keys as you work. Touch-typing requires rote movements that trade awareness for speed, sort of like those stretches of road that you drive semiautomatically without being able to visually recall the distance covered. In both cases, memory weakness is due to the fact that you can remember more only when you more closely pay attention to the events at hand.
Students using laptops in class can take more notes than those who follow the lecture with handwritten notes. Their notes are also likely to be more complete and verbatim because they're recording faster. Despite the mechanical efficiency, three studies involving hundreds of students in 2014 from UCLA (Daniel Oppenheimer) and Princeton (Pam Mueller) verify that those with paper notebooks generally remembered and understood more of what they were recording than the group using laptops. The researchers speculate that the computers impair learning because their use results in shallower processing. The laptop users did take more notes, but those who wrote out their notes had a stronger conceptual understanding of what they were recording. The researchers concluded that's due to how much easier it is to "rely on less demanding, mindless processes when typing." The advantage of handwritten notes prevailed even when the testing was done a week after the note-taking session, when you might expect that verbatim content would give the typists an advantage in preparing for the test.
This problem is compounded by a generalized turning away from handwriting in our lives outside the classroom. Docmail, a U.K.-based mailing company, conducted a recent study that found one in three participants "had not been required to produce something in handwriting for more than half a year." The subjects also admitted their handwriting was noticeably declining. The same complaint had previously been noted in a 2012 study where 33% of those responding said they had difficulty reading their own handwriting.
One way around the devolution of this skill might be to extend the handwriting classes in primary school to two or three years, but that seems unlikely given the current turf wars between iPads and Chromebooks in schools around the country. Computers offer many other educational bonuses online that lined paper can't compete with, starting with networks, student-teacher email contacts, and, of course, the planet-size library resources of the internet.
There are personal conservation measures you can take besides stocking up on Moleskine or marble composition notebooks. Handwrite on your computers, tablets, and smartphones. The styluses are getting much better, with one of the best now available for Apple tablets. The Apple Pencil will open those circuits your keyboard closes. Get a notebook app like Notability or Notes Plus and start building a library of notebooks.
One final note. If you find writing on glass a little strange, check out the new reMarkable tablet in this month's Tools column. It recreates the feel and even sounds like writing on paper with a No. 2 pencil, and there are no interruptions from a browser posting notifications calling you away from the page. There's no browser, just endless empty lined pages for writing.