We might consider two reasons for our liturgical year's providing separate feasts for the apostles rather than a single feast to celebrate their memory. First, many of the apostles are associated with a ministry to a particular place — for example, James (the Greater) to Spain, Thomas to India, Jude to Syria and Persia. At some point the Church embraced the local traditions and invited all Catholics to participate in celebrations to honor the individual apostles.
Second, the Church tends to expand, rather than diminish, opportunities for liturgical celebration. Thus, we acknowledge groups, such as the North American Martyrs (Oct. 19), who worked and died together, and Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), who share an undeniable link in building up the early Church. However, allowing us to celebrate feasts dedicated to the individual apostles enables us to reflect on their distinctive, personal merits, and to discern ways in which we might incorporate an apostle's strengths (or build on his weaknesses) as we strive to live out our own apostolic witness.
Because the first Eucharistic prayer names each of the apostles, we have an opportunity to celebrate a feast in their collective honor whenever the celebrant uses that prayer at Mass.
Each year on Aug. 5 the Church liturgical calendar commemorates the dedication of St. Mary Major (in Italian, Santa Maria Maggiore), one of the five great ancient basilicas in Rome….
Each year on Aug. 5 the Church liturgical calendar commemorates the dedication of St. Mary Major (in Italian, Santa Maria Maggiore), one of the five great ancient basilicas in Rome. Why would that event be a feast day for the universal Church? What is our connection to the dedication of a building that took place in Italy over 1,500 years ago?
The history of this church is rooted in the role of Mary as the Mother of God. Its story begins with a fourth-century legend.
According to this legend, living in Rome around the year A.D. 350 was a wealthy and childless couple who, upon their death, wanted their earthly possessions used in a way that would honor the Virgin Mother. They prayed earnestly for divine guidance. Mary appeared to the husband in a dream, requesting that a church be built for her on a site where snow would fall in midsummer.
The couple quickly reported Mary's request to Pope Liberius (reigned 352-366), who claimed to have had a similar dream. On Aug. 5, at the height of the summer heat, snow miraculously fell on an area of Rome called Esquiline Hill, defining the floor plan of the church.
Here, the legend concludes, the first Christian church in honor of the Virgin Mary was built. It was called the Liberian Basilica after Pope Liberius.
Archaeological and other evidence suggests that the legend has no historical basis. No mention whatsoever is made of the story until several hundred years later; even the dedicatory inscription of St. Sixtus III, placed on the church in the fifth century, says nothing about it.
Nevertheless, this basilica, rebuilt and magnificently adorned over the centuries, has been a rallying point for popes and laypeople, for Romans and pilgrims alike, to venerate the maternity and life of the Blessed Mother.
Extensive reconstruction and expansion of the original basilica took place following the ecumenical Council of Ephesus held in 431. That assembly was called specifically to settle a controversy regarding Mary's title as the Mother of God.
Nestorius, who had become the patriarch (archbishop) of Constantinople in 428, had used his prominent position to preach the heretical doctrine that Mary was only the Mother of Christ (Christotokos), not the Mother of God (Theotokos; literally, "God-bearer").
He and others claimed that there were two separate persons, one human and one divine, within Jesus Christ; and that the human person born of Mary, who was crucified, died, buried and resurrected was not divine.
Consequently, Nestorius and his followers argued that Mary could not be called "Mother of God," because she was the mother only of the human person in Jesus, not the divine Person.
Leading the opposition to the Nestorian heresy was St. Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt. Cyril helped to clarify the Church's understanding that Jesus is not two persons. Rather, he was born one Person in whom are united two natures, one fully human and one fully divine. That one Person is the divine, eternal Son of God.
When Mary gave birth to the Word made flesh, she was giving birth to that one divine Person in two natures. Accordingly, Mary is rightfully called the Mother of God.
This controversy was brought to a head at the council in Ephesus during June and July 431. Nearly 200 bishops gathered there. They deposed Nestorius and declared that Mary is truly the Mother of God.
The decision of the council was widely acclaimed and increased the veneration of Mary throughout Christendom. In her Magnificat, Mary had said, "All generations will call me blessed" (Lk 1:48, RSV). Now, and for all eternity, not only would she be called blessed, but she would be duly known by the name of highest dignity, Mother of God.
Though the Council of Ephesus officially condemned Nestorius and the heresy he promoted, the controversy continued to fester. Accordingly, Pope St. Sixtus III (d. 440), who became pope one year after the council ended, immediately began to rebuild the Liberian Basilica. Upon completion of the renovations, he dedicated it to Mary, the Mother of God.
This action by Pope Sixtus further affirmed the Holy See's approval of the council's dogmatic declaration in Ephesus. It also linked forever this Roman basilica to Our Lady's divine motherhood.
For awhile the basilica was known as St. Mary of the Crib after it obtained a relic of the Holy Crib, believed to be the one in which Jesus was laid at His nativity. This relic was carried to Rome by Christian refugees from the Holy Land fleeing the Muslim invasion of the seventh century. The basilica still hosts a procession of the Holy Crib every year on Christmas Day.
Upon his election in 1566, Pope St. Pius V had the responsibility to implement and enforce the decisions of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which included condemnation of Protestant errors and affirmation of Mary as the Mother of God. In response to the Protestant reformation, renewed and increased Marian devotion began to spread among the Catholic faithful.
Seeking to perpetuate this renewal, Pope Pius introduced the feast of the Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow onto the Church liturgical calendar, which further emphasized and continually honored the divine motherhood of Mary. While such a feast day had long been observed locally in Rome, it was not part of the universal calendar until 1568.
To commemorate this event, each year on Aug. 5 white rose petals are dropped from the dome during the festal Mass.
The basilica was fully restored and renovated in the 18th century. Its present façade and most of its interior decorations date from this period. Even so, it still contains elements from its ancient beginnings, including a number of marble columns and several fifth-century mosaics. It also features a 240-foot medieval bell tower, the highest in Rome.
Simultaneously, the feast was identified as an optional memorial, meaning the celebration is not obligatory but at the discretion of the priest offering Mass. The feast day is always proclaimed in Rome.
Since St. Mary Major is a patriarchal basilica, it contains a papal altar used only by the pope himself or a priest to whom he has given special permission. Customarily, the Pope celebrates Mass here each year on the feast of the Assumption of Mary (Aug. 15).
Some relics of the True Cross are preserved in the church, housed in a 14th-century cross-shaped reliquary. An urn on the altar contains the relics of St. Matthew and other martyrs of ancient times.
St. Jerome (c. 341-420), a Doctor of the Church who first translated the entire Bible into Latin, is buried here. Several popes are buried here as well.
The basilica is also home to the celebrated icon of the Blessed Virgin known as Salus Populi Romani ("Health of the Roman People"). This name comes from a miracle in which the icon helped shield the city from the approach of the plague. Legend claims that it was painted from life by St. Luke the Evangelist, but most scholars agree that it dates from the 13th century.
A museum beneath the church features ancient Roman ruins discovered there: two wells, a section of a Roman road, a mosaic pavement, and a series of arches and passageways cut into the bedrock.
The feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major is not intended simply to call our attention to a legend or dedication of a beautiful church. Rather, it reminds us that Catholic Christians throughout history have believed and continue to believe that the young Jewish girl named Mary, chosen among all women to be the fleshly tabernacle of Jesus, is indeed the Mother of God.
This belief is an established truth, a dogma of the Catholic faith. St. Mary Major Basilica stands as an earthly symbol of that important reality.
On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. A relative newcomer to the Church calendar — established in the 20th century — this feast is designed to give special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has over all aspects of our lives. But why and how did it come about? And why is it so important today?
When Cardinal Ambrogio Achille Ratti was elected pope and took the name Pope Pius XI, much of the world was in shambles. The year was 1922, and while the bloodletting of World War I (1914-1918) had ended, widespread peace and tranquility were not evident.
The war to end all wars had been especially devastating to England and the countries of continental Europe. Additionally, the overthrow of the Romanov tsars by the Russian Revolution had created great upheaval in Russia and brought immense suffering. Governments were in economic chaos, unemployment was rampant and people in many places were literally starving to death.
The stability of the old social and political orders that had embraced royal houses and crowned heads of state were crumbling. The victorious warring powers sought severe penalties and unreasonable reparations from the vanquished Germans through the Treaty of Versailles.
In their distress, people clung to anyone who offered them hope, offered some kind of direction out of the chaos and promised to put food on their tables. They gravitated to the emerging dictators, and as they did they often sought to be self-sufficient to the exclusion of God from their everyday lives.
Many considered the basics of morality and the teachings of the Church to be out of date, no longer relevant in 20th-century society. Modern thinking allowed that, at most, Christ might be king in the private life of the individual, but certainly not in the public world.
Some political regimes advocated the banishment of Jesus altogether, not only from society, but from the family as well. As nations were reborn and governments restructured, their foundations, policies and laws were often being fashioned without regard to Christian principles.
In all these developments, the new Pope Pius XI saw that people were denying Christ in favor of a lifestyle dominated by secularism, material advantage and false hope created by the tyrants.
He realized that he had to ad- dress the political and economic forces that were crowding out the kingship of Jesus. As a start, he dedicated his reign as pope to "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ" ( Pax Christi in Regno Christi ).
In 1925, the Church celebrated a jubilee year in honor of the 1,600th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The council fathers taking part in that ancient gathering in A.D. 325 had affirmed the full divinity of Jesus Christ as God the Son, one in being with God the Father. Their pronouncement became a creed that was later expanded into what we now call the Nicene Creed, which we still profess at Mass every Sunday.
Throughout the anniversary year, Pope Pius constantly emphasized the kingship of Christ as declared in the Creed: "His kingdom will have no end." He stressed that theme throughout the year as it repeatedly appeared in the Church's celebrations of the Annunciation, the Epiphany, the Transfiguration and the Ascension. As part of the Holy Year, which was afforded great attention and pomp by the Vatican, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to Rome, demonstrating great fervor for their faith.
On Dec. 11 of the jubilee year, and in order to acknowledge perpetually the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all men, nations and earthly allegiances, the pope issued the encyclical Quas Primas, which added the feast of "Our Lord Jesus Christ the King" to the annual Church liturgical calendar.
Some at the time argued that such a celebration was unnecessary because the ancient feast of the Epiphany already acknowledged Christ as King. But more than 340 religious leaders, including cardinals and bishops, had called for the new celebration, and the pope was glad to grant their request.
The encyclical provided for the feast of Christ the King to be held each year on the last Sunday of October. This date, a week before All Saints' Day and four weeks before Advent, was carefully chosen: It reminded the people that Jesus Christ is not only King of this world, reigning among nations today; He is also the eternal King, glorified by the saints in heaven, who will one day come to judge all humankind.
In his encyclical, the pope noted that the continuing disorder of that era, what he called "the plague of society," had long been festering and was the result of nations rejecting Christ. Later in the encyclical the pontiff pointedly reminded national governments, "Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely avenge these insults; for His kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education" (No. 32).
The pope instructed the faithful to use this annual celebration as a time to consecrate themselves, or renew their consecration to, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, explicitly tying the celebration to devotion to the Sacred Heart and to the living Christ in the Eucharist. He also called for Catholics to make reparations for the widespread atheism being practiced in many countries.
Today, peace still eludes us; social, political and economic orders are shaking; and the nations continue in many ways to reject the light of the Gospel. We can be grateful, then, for the chance to celebrate each year the Solemnity of Christ the King — for the world needs now, more than ever, our witness to His rule over all things.
The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences … the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society, in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin. We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in the future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior.
But in what does this "power" of Jesus Christ the King consist? It is not the power of the kings or the great people of this world; it is the divine power to give eternal life, to liberate from evil, to defeat the dominion of death. It is the power of Love that can draw good from evil, that can melt a hardened heart, bring peace amid the harshest conflict and kindle hope in the thickest darkness. This Kingdom of Grace is never imposed and always respects our freedom. Christ came "to bear witness to the truth" (Jn 18: 37), as he declared to Pilate: whoever accepts his witness serves beneath his "banner." . . . Every conscience, therefore, must make a choice. Who do I want to follow? God or the Evil One? The truth or falsehood? Choosing Christ does not guarantee success according to the world's criteria but assures the peace and joy that he alone can give us. This is demonstrated, in every epoch, by the experience of numerous men and women who, in Christ's name, in the name of truth and justice, were able to oppose the enticements of earthly powers with their different masks, to the point that they sealed their fidelity with martyrdom.
Comments Off on Ascension or Assumption?
After His resurrection Jesus spent 40 days with His disciples. In that time His glorified resurrection body was veiled under the ordinary appearance of humanity. After His final words to His disciples (see Acts 1:7-8), the New Testament reports, "as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9). Men in white garments then reported that Jesus had been taken to heaven. This is His glorious ascension.
By use of the term "Assumption" we designate the entrance of the Blessed Virgin into glory. Here is the Second Vatican Council's summary of this event in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: "The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death" (No. 59).
Each September the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14, and the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows follows on Sept. 15.
The pairing of these celebrations, even in their different levels on the liturgical and sanctoral calendars, properly guides us in our levels of devotion and love of our Savior and Our Lady. He is our Divine Redeemer, to be worshiped and adored; she is His first disciple and our example. Both of these celebrations have a long history and are worthy of meditation.
The feast of the Triumph of the Cross was observed in Rome in the late seventh century to commemorate the recovery of the Holy Cross by Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 629. St. Helena, Emperor Constantine's mother, had found the True Cross in Jerusalem in the fourth century, but the Persians had captured it and only returned it after Heraclius defeated the Persian king Khosrau II. The emperor returned it to Jerusalem, and this feast recalls that event. As he approached the holy city, dressed in fine robes and festooned with jewels, the emperor found himself unable to process further until Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Heraclius to humble himself by removing his imperial regalia and proceeding as a barefoot pilgrim.
But on a deeper level, of course, the feast recalls Jesus' triumph over death and the fulfillment of His great statement, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself" (Jn 12:32, which serves as the Communion Antiphon on this feast). The liturgy of the Mass for this feast includes both triumph and sorrow in the readings and prayers, since Jesus both suffers His passion and defeats sin and death. From the Book of Numbers (21:4b-9), the first reading recalls the story of Moses and the bronze Seraph, raised on a pole — when the people of Israel, who had been grumbling against God for their sufferings, looked up to the serpent, they were healed of the serpent bites God had sent to afflict them.
"But they flattered him with their mouths / and lied to him with their tongues . . .
Like the commemoration of Good Friday during Holy Week, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reminds us of the wondrous contradiction at the heart of our faith: that we are redeemed by the suffering and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, offered to God the Father.
Sept. 15 then recalls the sorrow of Our Lady at the foot of the Cross as the fulfillment of Simeon's prophecy at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple: "(and you yourself a sword shall pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk 2:35). The Gospel for Mass that day may be either the description of "his mother and the disciple . . . whom he loved" standing by the cross of Jesus (Jn 19:25-27) or the Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:33-35).
The sequence Stabat Mater — often sung while praying the Stations of the Cross — may be chanted after the Psalm. According to Lumen Gentium (the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), "the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth" (No. 58).
In religious art, Our Lady of Sorrows is depicted in three ways: as the Stabat Mater, standing by the cross; in the Pietà as an object of pity (most famously in Michelangelo's sculpture, but also very movingly in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ"); and as the Mater Dolorosa, Mother of Sorrows, often with seven swords (the seven sorrows) piercing her Immaculate Heart. The Stabat Mater sequence has been set to music by composers from Antonin Dvorak to Domenico Scarlatti, from Joseph Haydn to Arvo Pärt, and others, in styles ranging from Renaissance polyphony to almost operatic oratorio.
Stephanie A. Mann writes from Kansas.
"What a great thing it is to possess the Cross! He who possesses it possesses a treasure" (St. Andrew of Crete, Homily X on the Exaltation of the Cross, PG 97, 1020)…. The instrument of torture which, on Good Friday, manifested God's judgment on the world, has become a source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of reconciliation and peace. "In order to be healed from sin, gaze upon Christ crucified!" said St. Augustine (Treatise on St. John, XII, 11). By raising our eyes toward the Crucified One, we adore Him who came to take upon himself the sin of the world and to give us eternal life. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up this glorious Cross so that the world can see the full extent of the love of the Crucified One for mankind, for every man and woman. She invites us to give thanks to God because from a tree which brought death life has burst out anew. On this wood Jesus reveals to us His sovereign majesty, He reveals to us that He is exalted in glory. Yes, "Come, let us adore Him!" In our midst is He who loved us even to giving His life for us, He who invites every human being to draw near to Him with trust.
This is the great mystery that Mary also entrusts to us this morning, inviting us to turn toward her Son. In fact, it is significant that, during the first apparition to Bernadette, Mary begins the encounter with the Sign of the Cross. More than a simple sign, it is an initiation into the mysteries of the faith that Bernadette receives from Mary. The Sign of the Cross is a kind of synthesis of our faith, for it tells how much God loves us; it tells us that there is a love in this world that is stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and sins. The power of love is stronger than the evil which threatens us.
Since the year 2000, the universal Church has concluded the Octave of Easter by celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. This great solemnity calls the faithful to rejoice in the merciful love of God as it is most profoundly manifested in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ.
But what exactly is the Divine Mercy? Where did this devotion to the Divine Mercy begin? Is this a new feast day in the Church?
In his 1980 encyclical Dives in Misericordia ("Rich in Mercy"), Pope John Paul II writes, "Believing in [God's] love means believing in mercy. For mercy is an indispensible dimension of love; it is as it were love's second name and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed" (No. 7).
Salvation history is rich with evidence of this truth. From the beginning, the Covenant that the Lord established with the people of Israel reflected the nature of His love. As He gives the Ten Commandments to Moses, He promises to show "mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments" (Ex 20:6, RSV).
Later, again to Moses, God gives this description of himself: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy and faithfulness, keeping merciful love for thousands" (Ex 34:6-7, RSV).
As the Old Testament narratives continue, we see the people of Israel habitually turning to God in their sin and misery as a child turns to his father, trusting in his merciful forgiveness.
King David sings of the Lord who is "merciful and gracious," "slow to anger and abounding in mercy" and who does not deal with us according to our sins (see Psalms 103, 145). Even the prophets, who preach a message of destruction to Israel for its infidelity, speak also of the mercy that the Lord wishes to lavish upon it if only the people will return to Him (see Jer 3:12; Hos 14:3).
"Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God's mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does he speak of it … but above all he himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He himself, in a certain sense, is mercy" (No. 2).
Christ's entire life can be seen as a testimony to the mercy of God.
At His conception, Our Lady sang her great hymn of thanksgiving: "His mercy is from age to age to those who fear Him" (Lk 1:50).
At the start of Christ's public ministry, He proclaimed, "release to the captives" (Lk 4:18, RSV), and later, "blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Mt 5:7).
In the words of His last agony, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them" (Lk 23:34). Indeed, the presence of Jesus Christ in the world reveals to us the face of God, who is the "Father of mercies" (2 Cor 1:3, RSV).
Simply speaking, then, the "Divine Mercy" is another name for the revelation of this magnificent love of God, which culminates in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Christians have long known and praised this abundant mercy. In this sense, devotion to the Divine Mercy is not new.
Sister Mary Faustina Kowalska, born in 1905, was a cloistered nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. On Feb. 22, 1931, Jesus first appeared to Sister Faustina.
He was clothed in a white robe, with two rays of light emanating from His heart — one red and one white, representing the blood and water that came forth from His pierced side at His crucifixion. He requested that this image be painted with the signature, "Jesus, I trust in You," and promised that even the most hardened sinners who would revere this image would be saved. Our Lord told Faustina of His great desire that the first Sunday after Easter be dedicated as the "Feast of Mercy," and that this image of His mercy be known and venerated by the whole world.
Our Lord appeared to Sister Faustina — whom He called His "apostle of mercy" — many other times over the course of several years, each time speaking of His great mercy for all souls. At the direction of her confessor, Faustina documented all of her dialogues with Christ in what she called her "Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul" (which received ecclesiastical approval from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1979).
Within these pages we read the repeated and urgent plea of Our Lord's love and the purpose of His conversations with Faustina: "My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls. … If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy" (Diary, p. 165).
Sister Faustina's encounters with Jesus are considered private revelation — that is, a revelation outside of the deposit of faith, and one which the faithful are not obligated to believe. However, these mes-sages have been officially approved by the Church as containing nothing contrary to faith or morals.
It is important to understand that this is not a new feast day in the Church. As explained in the congregation's document, Divine Mercy Sunday gives an additional name — a new "appellation" — to the day that is already a solemnity of the liturgical year — that is, the Second Sunday of Easter. With regards to that day's liturgy, nothing is to be changed in either the texts of the Divine Office or the Missal. In fact, the previously established liturgical readings for the day fit in perfectly with the theme of mercy. In the Gospel, the Lord imparts to the apostles His authority to bind and release the sins of men, thereby instituting the Sacrament of Penance.
The feast of Divine Mercy, then, is a continuation of the celebration of Easter; it is, as Pope John Paul once said, Christ's "Easter gift" to the world.
The feast of Divine Mercy is not only a beautiful reminder of the love of God, but also a challenge to a deeper understanding of who He is, and who we are in relation to Him. St. Faustina recognized this truth and responded in her weakness to the power of Christ's mercy.
First, on the crucifix, one Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostles' Creed.


The accounting deficit for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes at FTSE 350 organisation increased from £71 billion at the end of July 2017 to £83 billion at 31 August 2017, according to research by Mercer.
Its Pensions risk survey, which is based on projections and analysis of FTSE 350 organisations' financial statements adjusted from their financial year end, also found that liability values reached £855 billion at the end of August. This compares to £828 billion at the end of July 2017.
Asset values increased by £15 billion between the close of July and end of August 2017, rising from £757 billion to £772 billion.
Previous Pensions risk survey data has been updated in line with published accounting information for organisations with 31 December 2016 year ends, and to take into account changing market conditions.
Le Roy van Zyl (pictured), strategic advisor and partner at Mercer, said: "Unfortunately, the run of good news ended over August with the deficits increasing again materially, albeit still far off the painful numbers we saw a year ago in the aftermath of the EU referendum.
"With the Brexit negotiations now underway in earnest, there is considerable scope for people's expectations to be frustrated, and the setback above may well be partly due to the general uncertainty. Pension scheme trustees and sponsors will need to be prepared for the fluctuating circumstances, not only in terms of scheme finances and risk, but also around the challenges of making effective decisions against this uncertain backdrop.
What does the rise in state pension age mean for employers' healthcare strategies?


text:
package io.github.hapjava.server.impl.pairing;

public enum Stage {
  ONE,
  TWO,
  THREE
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Two camps. One purpose. Our goal at Surf City and Laurelville is connecting students to Christ. Our camps are designed to be safe, high-energy environments that provide students and adult leaders with opportunities to build relationships that will last far longer than the camp experience.


text:
Q: Скажите почему возникает ошибка ORA-00922: "Отсутствует или неверна опция"? Почему возникает ошибка ORA-00922: "Отсутствует или неверна опция" и как её исправить?
Я просто только начинаю знакомится с pl/sql и вот возникает вот такая ошибка.
Мне нужно осуществить изменение данных в БД с помощью процедур(пакетов). Пользователь SCOTT/TIGER, таблица DEPT.
Вот текст заголовка моего пакета:
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE dept_pkg IS
PROCEDURE Add_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER, DNAMEFIELD IN VARCHAR2, LOCFIELD IN VARCHAR2);
PROCEDURE Update_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER, DNAMEFIELD IN VARCHAR2, LOCFIELD IN VARCHAR2, A IN NUMBER);
PROCEDURE Delete_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER);
END dept_pkg;
/

Вот текст тела моего пакета:
CREATE OR REPLACE BODY DEPT_PKG IS
PROCEDURE Add_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER, DNAMEFIELD IN VARCHAR2, LOCFIELD IN VARCHAR2)
IS
BEGIN
INSERT INTO SCOTT.DEPT(DEPTNO, DNAME, LOC)
VALUES(DEPTNOFIELD, DNAMEFIELD, LOCFIELD);
END Add_dept;
PROCEDURE Update_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER, DNAMEFIELD IN VARCHAR2, LOCFIELD IN VARCHAR2, A IN NUMBER)
IS
BEGIN
UPDATE SCOTT.DEPT
SET DEPTNO = DEPTNOFIELD
SET DNAME = DNAMEFIELD
SET LOC = LOCFIELD
WHERE DEPTNO = 'A';
END Update_Dept;
PROCEDURE Delete_Dept(DEPTNOFIELD IN NUMBER)
IS
BEGIN
DELETE FROM SCOTT.DEPT
WHERE DEPTNO = 'DEPTNOFIELD';
END Delete_Dept;
END DEPT_PKG;
/

A: Потому, что у Вас не хватает ключевого слова PACKAGE в объявлении тела пакета.
Вместе CREATE OR REPLACE BODY DEPT_PKG IS должно быть написано CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY DEPT_PKG IS.

A: Если процедура в пакете, то почему объявляется через
Create or replace?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Meaning and definitions of clamour, translation in Hindi language for clamour with similar and opposite words. Also find spoken pronunciation of clamour in Hindi and in English language.
What clamour means in Hindi, clamour meaning in Hindi, clamour definition, examples and pronunciation of clamour in Hindi language.


Beautiful wedding décor captured by Kristen Marie Weddings & Portraits.
Spectacular Bride Magazine had the honor of featuring a stunning photo shoot collaboration, in which Symphony Weddings & Events designs a gorgeous lakeside ceremony and reception space. She chose a crave worthy palette and wedding décor, complete with this year's 2019 color trends: Living Coral, pink, yellow and light blue.
Starting with the ceremony, the vision was kept simple and sweet against the serene lakeside background. In the center, they elegantly displayed a beautiful half circle arch.Then strategically placed acrylic chairs for guests, with matching flowers lining the aisleway. Following was the stunning reception. Set on top of picturesque rolling green hills, baby blue linens were chosen along with delicate Crystal Napoleon Chairs. Next, vibrant florals were used with pops of bright coral, pink and yellow down the middle of the table, and then accented with lovely blue goblets. Finishing the look, small coral candles were added, which tied in beautifully with the exquisite stationary table numbers and invitations. Last, on it's very own table, they added a gorgeous and delicious looking marbled wedding cake in pink and orange tones. This would definitely be a dream lakeside wedding right here in Las Vegas!
As shown above, you don't need to head to out of town to get your dream wedding on the water! The Lake Club at Lake Las Vegas is a breathtaking beachside wedding venue, which offers many options for couples to chose from. Furthermore, take this amazing canvas, and then pair that with the just right wedding décor and photographer, you can't help but get the perfect wedding or event of your dreams!
We hope you enjoy these beautiful photos captured by Kristen Marie Weddings & Portraits!
Kristen Hansen, who is owner and photographer of Kristen Marie Weddings & Portraits, started her first photography business in 2009. After, she truly found her calling as a hopeless romantic. Soon she found that she enjoyed creating joyous, real life memories for couples and families. Meanwhile, after 10 successful years as KMH Photography, she decided it was time to shake things up and rebranded to now, Kristen Marie Weddings + Portraits!
For more wedding planning tips and inspiration, please visit Bridal Spectacular online at bridalspectacular.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also check out our post on the new issues of Spectacular Bride.
Meanwhile, be sure to Save-The-Date for July 19 & 20, for our upcoming Veils & Vino Bridal Spectacular at the Las Vegas Convention Center! Receive $4.50 off admission when you buy tickets online with promo code: BLOG2019. Click here for tickets and show details.


text:
H.Stern Opens SoHo Pop-Up
The retailer is remodeling its Fifth Avenue flagship — which has temporarily closed for the renovation.
By Misty White Sidell on February 26, 2015
MOVING ON DOWN: H.Stern will open a pop-up shop in SoHo on Thursday, as it continues the remodeling process of its Fifth Avenue flagship — which has temporarily closed for the renovation. The pop-up, located at 104 Greene Street, will be in operation through July.
Roberto Stern, the jewelry firm's creative director and chief executive officer, said of the space: "We find that it's a nice neighborhood, it's also good a way to experiment.
"In terms of numbers, we would be happy if we get 30 percent of what we get on Fifth Avenue," he added of the 1,800-square-foot boutique. The pop-up space was designed by Brazilian architects Adriana Valle and Patricia Carvalho, and incorporates wooden, rope, and copper design accents.
H.Stern's Fifth Avenue location will reopen early this summer, in time for the brand to kick off celebratory plans for its 70th anniversary.
Companies	Issues & Publications	People & Companies	regions

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Today I would like to share my thoughts concerning the differences and similarities between Wing Cheun (Yip Jing and Yun Kei Saan lineage) and Hung Kyun (Lam Family lineage). In the first place, please note that it is not the intention of this article to assert whether these excellent arts are superior to one another or to any other styles of martial arts. My intention is to explore the similarities and differences between the two arts so as to expand knowledge and understanding of these arts.
This entry was posted in Guest Articles, Hung Kyun FAQ, Hung Kyun Research, Hung Kyun Techniques and tagged Hung Ga, Hung Kyun, Wing Cheun, Wing Chun on August 6, 2018 by Pavel Macek.
This entry was posted in Hung Kyun Masters, Hung Kyun Research and tagged Tiger Claw, Wong Moon Toy on April 21, 2018 by Pavel Macek.
This entry was posted in News! and tagged challenge match, MMA on March 19, 2018 by Pavel Macek.
Grand Master Lam Chun Sing, the youngest son of the legendary Grand Master Lam Jou, grand nephew of Lam Sai Wing, in the Foshan TV!
This entry was posted in Hung Kyun Masters, Hung Kyun Videos, Interviews, News! and tagged Lam Chun Sing on November 23, 2017 by Pavel Macek.


text:
The President Thinks We're Stupid…
Posted in 'dialogues' with the left, accountability, Barack Hussein Obama, Crisis, Institutional Stupidity, Politics, Priorities, The Politics of Lowered Expectations™, Why the Internet Is Fun and Informative, WordPress Political Blogs on June 15, 2010| 11 Comments »
…in fact, he's counting on it.
That can be the only explanation for a speech that didn't fail to disappoint this evening. Maybe his regular teleprompter was on vacation. Or maybe yet more talk about action simply fails to satisfy. Or maybe linguistic slight of hand isn't convincing on this subject when his advisors forget to tell him to take off his golf glove. It's so hard to say.
"Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al-Qaida wherever it exists."
Of course the recession is nothing compared to the economic effect of insane borrowing to create more government jobs, and the incalculable damage that will be wrought by the burdens of Health Care "Reform", and Cap and Tax. And I haven't figured out why its ok for you to play golf while those brave men and women fight, and even come home in boxes, but not when your predecessor did it. Why is that, Mr. President?
"And tonight, I've returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we're waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens."
You can try to ascribe a motive to it, but it remains a natural phenomenon.
"On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.
Because there's never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That's why, just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation's best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge, a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation's secretary of energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice."
A plug for the expertocracy. Lovely. Are we naming names so they can be tossed under the bus later, or am I supposed to be reassured that a physicist turned politician is trying to determine how to stop a leaking oil well a mile beneath the sea?
As a result of these efforts, we've directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. And in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90 percent of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that's expected to stop the leak completely.
Which I'm sure BP resisted right up until The Government™ stepped in and told it to do something that might help mitigate a public relations nightmare for them. Of course, this does nothing to explain why you turned down offers of help from other governments who made sincere offers to mobilize their own specialized resources designed to do just that days and weeks ago. And why is BP drilling a relief well, anyway? Is there something that you have likely been told that would make your tough talk seem all the more foolish and staged?
"Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it's not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years."
Made much worse than it had to be, not just by Federal inaction, which was considerable, but also by a failure to approve state mitigation and prevention efforts in a timely fashion. Never has "We're from the government, and we're here to help" sounded so much like a cruel joke.
But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
Make no mistake. I knew this speech would be good for at least one "make no mistake", your now infamous preface to saying something insincere or condescending. As for making BP, there is that whole dealio with, um, you know…the law, which already makes BP's obligations in this matter perfectly clear, with or without general tough talk from you. And as for the rest, why start now? Over 60 days, Mr. President. That's a lot of golf and fund raising.
"Tonight, I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we're doing to clean up the oil, what we're doing to help our neighbors in the gulf, and what we're doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again."
If you're doing what you can, then we should resign ourselves to black beaches and dead marine life for the foreseeable future. And preventing any further offshore drilling isn't an answer either.
"First, the clean-up.
From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental clean-up effort in our nation's history, an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and clean up the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the gulf. And I've authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, they're ready to help clean the beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims, and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible.
Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already been removed from the water through burning, skimming, and other collection methods. Over 5.5 million feet of boom has been laid across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We've approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to try to stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we're working with Alabama, Mississippi and Florida to implement creative approaches to their unique coastlines."
Why did the approvals take so long? The EPA is an executive agency. You could have cut a lot of red tape with one of those executive orders you're so fond of.
"As the clean-up continues, we will offer whatever additional resources and assistance our coastal states may need.
Now, a mobilization of this speed and magnitude will never be perfect, and new challenges will always arise. I saw and heard evidence of that during this trip. So if something isn't working, we want to hear about it. If there are problems in the operation, we will fix them.
But we have to recognize that, despite our best efforts, oil has already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done."
You didn't really think that looking over BP's shoulder and screaming "plug the hole" while the stain grew unabated was really going to prevent damage to the coastline, did you?
"That's why the second thing we're focused on is the recovery and restoration of the Gulf Coast.
You know, for generations, men and women who call this region home have made their living from the water. That living is now in jeopardy. I've talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don't know how they're going to support their families this year. I've seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers, even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected."
At least you didn't whine about doing it in the rain this time. I guess the focus group analysis that said "pussy" stung a bit.
"I've talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists might start coming back. The sadness and the anger they feel is not just about the money they've lost; it's about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost."
No thanks to you and your merry band of incompetents.
"I refuse to let that happen. Tomorrow, I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness."
I don't recall any details that support the claim of recklessness.
"And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party."
Law, meet non-practicing lawyer. Non-practicing lawyer, meet law. I know, you read about these kinds of things in law school, and therefore must think them to be quite extraordinary, but it really isn't a new concept, Mr. President.
"Beyond compensating the people of the gulf in the short term, it's also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region. The oil spill represents just the latest blow to a place that's already suffered multiple economic disasters and decades of environmental degradation that has led to disappearing wetlands and habitats.
And the region still hasn't recovered from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That's why we must make a commitment to the Gulf Coast that goes beyond responding to the crisis of the moment."
Aaaaannnnddd the implied dig at your predecessor. Brilliant.
"I make that commitment tonight.
Earlier, I asked Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, who's also a former governor of Mississippi and a son of the Gulf Coast, to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible. The plan will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists, and other gulf residents. And BP will pay for the impact this spill has had on the region."
Which is what the law requires.
"The third part of our response plan is the steps we're taking to ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again.
A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe, that the proper technology would be in place and the necessary precautions would be taken.
That obviously was not the case in the Deepwater Horizon rig, and I want to know why. The American people deserve to know why. The families I met with last week who lost their loved ones in the explosion, these families deserve to know why."
Nothing is absolutely safe, Mr. President, and only fool believes otherwise. As for what was and was not the case, I suggest that you consider the declaration without facts you made after the arrest of your buddy Skip Gates. Your certainty in the lack of facts there left you with egg on your face, and since the Deepwater Horizon had only recently received a government award for its operations, it sounds a lot like you throwing a bunch of dead oil workers under your famous death bus.
"And so I've established a national commission to understand the causes of this disaster and offer recommendations on what additional safety and environmental standards we need to put in place. Already I've issued a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling."
Because gasoline isn't expensive enough. We know. We heard you the first time.
"I know this creates difficulty for the people who work on these rigs, but for the sake of their safety and for the sake of the entire region, we need to know the facts before we allow deep-water drilling to continue."
Because there is no disaster, no harm that can't be made worse by government determined to pass inane tax bills masquerading as energy bills, and who would gleefully use an accident to make that a reality.
"And while I urge the commission to complete its work as quickly as possible, I expect them to do that work thoroughly and impartially."
Because if the hatchetjob is too quick, people might ask questions.
"Now, one place we've already begun to take action is at the agency in charge of regulating drilling and issuing permits, known as the Minerals Management Service.
Over the last decade, this agency has become emblematic of a failed philosophy that views all regulation with hostility, a philosophy that says corporations should be allowed to play by their own rules and police themselves."
After all, there is no aspect of life that cannot be made more costly and burdensome with regulation.
"At this agency, industry insiders were put in charge of industry oversight. Oil companies showered regulators with gifts and favors and were essentially allowed to conduct their own safety inspections and write their own regulations."
Probably because prize-winning physicists know so much more about about the oil business, and can therefore craft regulations that achieve their stated goal while imposing the lease onerous burdens and costs on an industry that affects every aspect of daily life.
"And when Ken Salazar became my secretary of the interior, one of his very first acts was to clean up the worst of the corruption at this agency. But it's now clear that the problem there ran much deeper and the pace of reform was just too slow.
And so Secretary Salazar and I are bringing in new leadership at the agency: Michael Bromwich, who was a tough federal prosecutor and inspector general. And his charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry's watchdog, not its partner."
Yay!!!! Another Harvard Lawyer!!! Whatever did we do without Harvard Lawyers to tell us how we've been doing it wrong?
"So one of the lessons we've learned from this spill is that we need better regulations, better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson is that, no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk."
More than it should, actually. but that's what happens when The Government™ won't let us drill closer to shore, or in much of our on land oil reserves.
"After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20 percent of the world's oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world's oil reserves. And that's part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean: because we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water."
No, we aren't, as the USGS and MMS data show. Seeing as they are part of your "team", you really shouldn't be saying things that are so easily proved wrong.
"For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we've talked and talked about the need to end America's century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires."
And for decades, or technology has improved, allowing us to access more and more previously unrecoverable oil.
"Time and again, the path forward has been blocked, not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor."
The only path that is being blocked is the path that says The Government™ gets to spend millions in taxpayer dollars developing "green" technologies of its choosing, once again deciding who will win and who will lose in an industry, and using the power of the public purse to make it so. What is astonishing is that you really don't expect us to see this for the incredible opportunity for graft and corruption that it is.
"The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean-energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude."
Of course, the Chinese are also buying hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, and the fact that they are clearly jockeying for blue water supremacy in the Pacific shouldn't be cause for concern. I'm sure our military aircraft will be powered by solar panels in the future.
"We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation and seize control of our own destiny."
I agree. Inexpensive, domestically controlled and produced energy will be vital to our future. And we have those resources, but have been prevented for decades by conservationists and environmental wackjobs from making use of the incredible bounty that we sit atop.
"This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time. But over the last year- and-a-half, we've already taken unprecedented action to jump-start the clean-energy industry."
The transition from fossil fuels will take as long as it takes us to get to $7 a gallon gasoline. Then the blackouts and prohibitive energy costs, and higher food prices can combine to winnow away the most vulnerable of us. I'll miss Granny, and the poor folks down the street, but the savings to Medicare and Medicaid should be tremendous!
And there's the "unprecedented". I dare you to step in front of a microphone and NOT use this word when you are applying it to yourself or your administration, Mr. President. If you could do that even just once, that would be unprecedented.
"As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean-energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.
Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs, but only if we accelerate that transition, only if we seize the moment, and only if we rally together and act as one nation: workers and entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens, the public and private sectors."
The public sector makes a dandy leech. Not such a good innovator or wealth creator.
"You know, when I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill, a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses."
Demonstrating once again that there is a difficult gulf between the government declaring something, and it actually being reality.
"Now, there are costs associated with this transition, and there are some who believe that we can't afford those costs right now. I say we can't afford not to change how we produce and use energy, because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater."
Because making the most of our resources at the same time, rather than clinging to silly notions that solar panels alone will save us is just crazy.
"So I'm happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party, as long as they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings, like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development, and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development."
How dare we be "addicted" to our cars, air travel, shipping goods and food to stores where we can buy them, rather than having to grow them ourselves, and having heat and air conditioning. How silly of us.
"All of these approaches have merit and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet."
Yes, because fair hearings are important. Unless I don't want to hear it. I won, you know.
And inaction is not acceptable. I couldn't stay in the Oval Office and do my job. I heard about the spill, and I decided that inaction wouldn't be good. You'd be surprised how much better I felt after sinking some tough putts.
"You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon."
No, it wasn't. Instead, they rolled up the sleeves, sharpened their pencils, got their slide rules clicking, and brought the P-51 Mustang from the drawing board to flight in less than a year. We cranked out Liberty Ships and yards of ammunition, and we did it without bitching, whining, blaming other people, or doubting ourselves. It wasn't easy, but it was never impossible. But it also wasn't done by saying "Screw Petroleum. I want a ray gun." either. But thanks for reminding us of the American Exceptionalism that you have been so eager to talk down at every opportunity.
"And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom."
Just conventional politicians. Like taxes and stupidity, they too, will always be with us.
"Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny, our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we're unsure exactly what that looks like, even if we don't yet precisely know how we're going to get there, we know we'll get there."
I don't want the same future you want for my children. I don't want them to settle for second best, a fading star in a world that hates and despises us.
"It's a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the gulf right now.
Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region's fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It's called "The Blessing of the Fleet," and today it's a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea, some for weeks at a time.
The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago, at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced.
And still, they came and they prayed.
For as a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, "The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always," a blessing that's granted "even in the midst of the storm.""
Of course, hearing from the President who still hasn't chosen a church more than a year into his presidency, but considered God a partner in the effort to ram through health care reform brings a grin to my face.
"The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face. This nation has known hard times before, and we will surely know them again. What sees us through — what has always seen us through — is our strength, our resilience, and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it."
No, the biggest crisis we face is your continuing presidency. But it is evidence that prayers are answered. Jimmy Carter can sleep better knowing that he is no longer the worst President in recent memory.
"Tonight, we pray for that courage, we pray for the people of the gulf, and we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day."
I pray that someone in your administration can actually step up, and start doing what you should have been doing all along.
"Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."
If only I could believe that you meant it.
Its Time To Take The Notion of a "Compelling Interest In Diversity" And Shove It Where The Sun Doesn't Shine
Posted in Disrespect of Rule of Law., entitlement culture, Faux Intellectualism, Institutional Stupidity, Miles Across and Inches Deep, Politics, The Politics of Lowered Expectations™, Why the Internet Is Fun and Informative, WordPress Political Blogs on June 15, 2010| 38 Comments »
One Man, One Vote.
The bedrock of our republic? Notsomuch.
Arthur Furano voted early — five days before Election Day. And he voted often, flipping the lever six times for his favorite candidate.
Furano cast multiple votes on the instructions of a federal judge and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a new election system crafted to help boost Hispanic representation.
Voters in Port Chester, 25 miles northeast of New York City, are electing village trustees for the first time since the federal government alleged in 2006 that the existing election system was unfair. The election ends Tuesday and results are expected late Tuesday.
Although the village of about 30,000 residents is nearly half Hispanic, no Latino had ever been elected to any of the six trustee seats, which until now were chosen in a conventional at-large election. Most voters were white, and white candidates always won. [emphasis mine].
Federal Judge Stephen Robinson said that violated the Voting Rights Act, and he approved a remedy suggested by village officials: a system called cumulative voting, in which residents get six votes each to apportion as they wish among the candidates. He rejected a government proposal to break the village into six districts, including one that took in heavily Hispanic areas.
Brilliant! Now when people don't bother to show up to vote, we'll still make sure that "they" have representation, because the government they couldn't bother to elect still must look like them.
When do we change the motto to reflect truth in advertising?
How will it be sold to us?
"From One, Many." Bringing Balkanization to our shores.
H/t to DPUD.


text:
Emotion/Feeling Vocabulary
Vocabulary of Emotions PDF
Feelings Vocabulary: Expressing Emotions
I spent some time with a dictionary and a thesaurus gathering words for a list of feelings expressed in English with an emphasis upon variety. I organized them in column categories and divided them into strong, medium, and light. Emotions aren't all bad, you know.
Happiness — Caring — Depression — Inadequacy — Fear — Confusion — Hurt — Anger — Loneliness — Remorse
Of course I don't list every word, but I hoped to generate a comparably sized set in each category, so people in the helping professions, especially teachers of very young children, would be able to glance at a chart on the wall to scan for a word that might match what a child is feeling at the moment. I had four copies up in different places in the classroom. I used them frequently.
Feelings, not emotions, Tom
A joy of building this site has been learning from others who share their wisdom. Neil Katz of Nova Southeastern University in Florida offered the suggestion to use Feelings instead. Generally, emotions are the upwellings that we can't really think about. Like hunger, an emotion happens; it can't really be described or conveyed. Feelings are how we attempt to represent those emotions in words or art. That clarity helps.
My motivation in making a list arose from a feeling of helplessness in being a leader of a community of young children whose emotions were never disguised. Having Mommy drop you behind a closing door left me in a parallel angst that was hard for me to deal with, too. A bit sorrowful, I would say. The child who sat in his cubby and hissed like a snake every day left me—how would I say it—empty, somehow, because he was in distress. I wanted to figure out what to do.
After years of study, I found that the problem was mine, not the child's. Most adults have a tendency to want to appease or soothe the emotional event as if it were a problem that needed fixing. On the contrary: emotions are to be savored; they are living life fully; they are an essential aspect of being human. When emotions arise, we can use the moment to connect with each other.
The vocabulary document and the Active Listening convention (which Neil suggests is better termed "reflective listening") seemed to be a way for adults to be not only supportive of emotional awareness but also educative, so the community of care can communicate, validate, and love. The vocabulary chart, in the context of the emotional event, helps us step the indefinable towards emergent expression. For convenience I am leaving the links the same while changing the title of the chart to Vocabulary of Emotions/Feelings.
Mad Sad Angry
Note that mad, sad, and angry are not in the body of the chart.
What do you do when you are mad? Scream and yell.
What do you do when you are sad? Cry.
What do you do when you are angry? Strike out.
In contrast:
What do you do when you are bewildered or lonely or any of the other 480 words on this list?
There isn't an action associated with the emotion word, only attentiveness and reflection.
To me that proves that angry, sad, and mad might be avoided in favor of something more challenging.
The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is. —Baruch Spinoza
Active Listening Convention
This document is used on the Active Listening Convention page for responding using an agenda of intentions in listening.
The document is in the public domain. Feel free to use it under the Creative Commons attribution agreement that applies to everything on this site. I understand teachers of English in other countries find it helpful. Please pass it forward. Fair Use
Next Interviewing Prospective Staff


Mother of the Bride. Wedding Party Designer Gowns and Dresses.
High fashion designer collection. Marchesa Notte, Frascara, Valentino, robes élégantes. Elegant long dresses with by sought-after and finest gown designers. Discover special occasion dresses and gowns, contemporary brands and vintage inspired selection of luxury dresses.


Universe on Fire book 2 is finally here and I hope that you like it!
All of my series take place inside the same multiverse. Each series is in its own universe, and each follows its own characters and story, but a few characters have already crossed over between the series. Now, I want you to know that it is not required for you to read every series in order to understand what is happening, every series stands on its own without you needing to read something else to understand what is going on. And my series cross many genres, you don't need to read a genre you don't like just so that you would get what is happening in the series that you do read. But for you who are reading all of them or more than one, there are a few Easter eggs and insights into what might come in the future. I plan on revealing more about this multiverse as the stories in these series continue, and everything that is relevant will be explained in every series, so you don't need to feel pressured to read the other ones. I've also commissioned some artwork to better illustrate how the multiverse works, and I will be revealing more about it on my facebook page and my blog once that is finished. For now, you should just know that every series takes place at a different point in time (for now) and I will be releasing a time-line of the events on my website some time in the future, for those of you who are interested.
Once again, I want you to know that you will not be missing anything if you don't read any other series. Characters that have currently crossed over are not at the same point in time as in their origin series, and so they are a mystery even to those who recognize them.
I will be revealing a lot more about the multiverse after the end of Rise of the Empire series, which should end around April or May next year.


Process Connections: I know it's been a while!
I know it's been a while!
It's been nearly a year since my last post on this blog. You might be asking, "Well, what took you so long?" It's a fair question.
Sometimes life intervenes. In my case, the number of children in my household doubled and my family moved across the North American continent. All of this change meant that the level of stress increased dramatically in my life and that of my family. I wish that I could tell you that we all found healthy means to work with the higher stress levels, but no, we didn't. As with most human beings, we handled some issues well, some issues poorly, and other issues somewhere in between.
From a business operations perspective, many of the company's business processes changed, responsibilities shifted, and activities had to be handled differently. Again, some of the staff sailed through these changes with no apparent difficulties, others experienced a few minor bumps along the way, and a few were unable, or unwilling, to handle the changing business environment.
It's been a year of upheaval and change. I thought about this blog at least once a week telling myself that I would write about . . . something. Then the demands of family, friends, and business would carry me away into another engrossing activity.
Now that I can look back over the past year's events, I find myself more empathetic regarding the changes we ask our clients to accept and embrace. Change is a fact of life. We make this statement to ourselves and our clients' employees during every implementation, migration, or upgrade. Business is constantly evolving. We encourage process improvement and business transformation to help companies and their employees to keep pace with the ever changing economic landscape.
Yet, rarely do we, as advisers and consultants, acknowledge overtly the tremendous stress that this constant adjusting can produce in people's work and personal lives. We schedule meetings and talk about change management and business transformation. Perhaps what we really need to discuss is the stress caused by change and how to manage it.
These are some initial thoughts. I plan to write more on this topic and other training related topics over the next several months. I'd be very interested in hearing what others think about business transformation and the stress it creates in the workplace.


• Video interview by Dan Wood and Adam Spring about the apps and those videos will be shared on all Friend media outlets.
• Apps showcased on all Friend communities, developer forums, blogs, social media sites, YouTube, etc.
• App may be included with the next revision of FriendUP.
Sustainability – app to remain pertinent?
Flexibility – can the app work inside the Friend platform and across browsers?
Stability – Is it mostly bug free, documented, have a finished look and feel?
Beneficial – does it solve a problem, increase productivity or efficiency, or is it fun?
Ease of Use – how easy is it to use?
Innovative – how original is the idea?


Mas helps you upgrade your core frequencies, resulting in rapid transformation in all areas of your life. Mas Sajady struggles to define himself, as his gifts stretch far beyond the physical. By helping to clear layers of distortions that keep us from experiencing 360° of Abundance, he has helped countless individuals wake up to their own power to effortlessly materialize an abundant life - which he believes is both our birthright and natural state of being.
He has been likened to some of the most significant healers in history. Materializing fast and tangible results, Mas works at a level beyond most known modalities and has helped thousands around the world transform their lives.


Our Elite Bachelors and Bachelorettes have lives filled with friends, family, career, and elite. They also seek a successful and fulfilling love life. They are motivated to matchmaking a partner and interested in the highest level of personal attention.
That's where we come in. Elite Private Search Matchmaking for exceptional men and extraordinary women. Professional Matchmakers No sites. Only hand-selected matches chosen specifically for you. Date The Elite We are seeking qualified singles to interview and potentially match with one of our Charlotte dating ideas Clients. Who we are Elite Private Search is a boutique-style elite service representing successful men and women in Washington DC looking for their mtchmaking matchmaking.
Just experience and intuition. Sandra Myers Sandra is a elite Elite matchmaker with over 20 years of experience. Her matchmaking insight and intuition are responsible for countless engagements and weddings. I thought this is exactly what I am looking for, high end, marchmaking, and discreet service. We had a two hour "get to know you" session where I was made to feel she understood what I was looking for and there would be no problem finding someone to match me matchmaking, she already had ideas.
That is where it ended, I was passed on to a "Matchmaker" which apparently is the standard process. Unfortunately, she lives in Boston and has elitf matchmaking knowledge of DC or the area.
Additionally, she seems extremely overwhelmed, is always rushed, ellte although I fully explained my elites and deal breakers to the SRC, I had to go through this process again with her twice in two months.
After matchmakings of not hearing anything and me elite an email to her and the SRC, I finally received another profile and although it did not match any of my preferences I thought I would give it a try. Our "date" was a meet for a drink at 8pm on a Monday night that lasted one hour thankfully. I feel this was just an appeasement date since this guy has been with Elite for over a year and basically goes on dates when she calls I received one more matchmaking It seems they really do not have clients in their data base here in DC or they are trying to get more money explaining "it takes time for the right match".
I am an attractive, active, successful 50 year old woman no one ever guesses I am older than Unfortunately, it is not a discreet way to elite people but that's life.
Good luck with your search. For more information about reviews on ConsumerAffairs. Elite Matchmaking is a matchmaking service that has been in business for 22 years. Elite pairs clients with a relationship consultant who spends time getting to know the client's personality.
After the elite, a matchmaking team pairs the elite with others, leaving computer matchmakings out of the matchmaking. After a client has used their service, Elite offers clients the chance to have a one-on-one feedback session on how to improve their dating skills.
This makes the client's experience an educational one and often how to do better at online dating improve customers' future dates.
Members who use Elite Matchmaking are offered the benefit of getting to screen and pre-approve date matchmakings before they meet, which eliminates any matchmakings that a elite knows elite not make mwtchmaking good partner off-the-bat. Elite matchmakjng a database of thousands of matchmaking matches, offering clients a large pool from which they can be matched and increasing the chances of elite a successful pairing.
Harvard Business School elite, Mark Brooks, has been an expert in the Internet dating business since Join our community to stay up-to-date with the matchmaking reviews, recall notices, and brand recommendations.
The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission. Need a good matchmaking service?
Are you this business? Learn more about ConsumerAffairs for Brands. Be in the know Get trending consumer news and recalls. Thanks Keep an eye on your inbox, the lastest consumer news is on it's way! Recent Oldest Most helpful. May 5, I have worked with a service in the past that promised me I would find the love mtachmaking my life and in a very disappointing turn of events, resulted in zero compatible matches.
Not sure how to choose? Thank elite, you have successfully subscribed to our newsletter! Enjoy reading match,aking tips and recommendations. How do I know I can trust these reviews about Elite Matchmaking? We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are greys anatomy dating quotes. We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness. Elite Matchmaking expert review by Mark Brooks Elite Matchmaking is a matchmaking service that has been in business for 22 years.
What problem is Elite Matchmaking trying to solve? Meeting im dead wanna hook up shirt is easy. It is meeting the matchmaking person that is the challenge. At Elite Matchmaking, florence finds alphabet dating nation's premier matchmaker, we meet matchmaking you one-on-one to find out who you are and introduce you elife the one you have been looking elite.
What sets Elite Matchmaking apart from the competition? Our customized and personalized approach to matchmaking. Meeting each client face to elite is a huge benefit as well since we hone in matchmakking who they really are and whom they elite to meet. What needs does Elite Matchmaking fulfill, and how does Elite Matchmaking fulfill those needs better than the matchmaking Getting to know all of our members means that Elite has a matchmaking xc everyone our cc will be meeting.
We also take the time to perform background checks ensuring safety.
Earlier I thought differently, thanks for an explanation.Why is it so hard to meet the right person? In it something is.


text:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Visits]
(
[Id] [int] NOT NULL IDENTITY(1, 1),
[IpAddress] [nvarchar] (300) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS NOT NULL,
[CreatedOn] [datetimeoffset] NOT NULL
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Visits] ADD CONSTRAINT [PK_Visits] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED  ([Id]) ON [PRIMARY]
GO


text:
Visual Novel & Game
The Indonesian Anime Times by KAORI Nusantara
"Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?" Light Novel Review: Be Yourself, Make a Friend
M Razif Dwi Kurniawan
©FUNA/Itsuki Akata 2016
A normal, average life is often taken for granted, because it's supposed to be normal, to be the default situation. The reality is that people are really very different from each others, and it could take a lot of effort to make and maintain normal relationships amidst all those differences. And that is something that the light novel Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life? highlights through its main character.
One day, Adele von Ascham regained her memories as a Japanese high school student named Misato Kurihara. She was a smart person in many ways, having achieved high scores in many exams, a good player in many sports, and so on, resulting in people putting high hopes on her. Unfortunately, that had made her lonely since everyone kept their distance from her, and she felt uncomfortable with that.
She died when she saved a child in a traffic accident. And here comes the classic plot of isekai stories: she was summoned by God, and then granted a chance to reincarnate in another world with the freedom to choose what kind of advantage she wanted. However, instead of choosing a super-powered ability, she decided on one simple request: "Grant me an average life!"
The story continued with her days in her new life in Eckland Academy. She might have wanted a normal, average life, but what she got instead was the "median" position, right in the middle between the mighty God and the weakest human. But since the human race as a whole is much too weak, even being in the middle of that hierarchy made her still too much strong among humans.
With that condition, she still try to live a normal daily life with all her might, even though it always ended the opposite. These lead her to a lot of troublesome incidents.
Other than having a girl protagonist, the contents of Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life? by FUNA and illustrated by Itsuki Akata doesn't seem to be much different from a lot of isekai-themed light novels: overpowered character, too many explanations, a humble protagonist who rejects becoming too much powered, and so on. Everything about this novel is what you can usually found in most shousetsuka-type works.
But despite that, I eventually came to feel that this novel's theme is quite relatable to our life: the desire of being average in order to fit in society.
As social beings, it is normal for humans to desire relationships with others. And to build relationships, there usually needs to be something that people have in common, something that could be shared with the person to be befriended with.
The troublesome part is, not all people can be the same with others. Being too different can make others feel someone is too difficult to relate too. And that could sometimes spark a desire to be more "average," to be just the same as the others to better fit in with them.
That is a relatable issue, because as someone who loves to watch anime, and read manga and light novels, there were times when some of my classmates saw me as a different and strange person. Luckily, I've found some people with similar hobbies whom I can talk to, even though it takes some courage to do so. It takes a lot of effort to make friends from strangers for a withdrawn person.
Adele herself does quite well for herself. Despite her past as the unapproachable Misato, her complicated current noble family circumstances, and the problem of being overpowered, she still managed to get friends. At first, she tried to fit herself in to the society: by making herself seems as average as she could. But later, she realized that being different doesn't mean she needs to change. What she needed to do is to become herself, and sooner she found comrades who understand her condition in a good way.
It wasn't easy for Adele to start making friends. Even some of her classmates had thought of bullying her, because of her beautiful appearance and her innate hospitable nature. However, Adele managed to be kind to them, partially because she is so nice she didn't realize that she was bullied, and soon after that, those girls had a deep connection to Adele. Even after they knew that Adele was different from a normal person, they still tried to protect her from some boys who started to approach her. That was when Adele realized that being different is not always a bad thing, and there should be some people who could understand her condition.
Being different doesn't mean that all people will see you as a bad thing. Tough as it may be, it's still possible to find someone who could understand, who would still be kind despite differences. That is what a friend truly is, what makes it really valuable. And that's what Adele von Ascham's tale could bring us to think about.
Tilea no Nayamigoto Light Novel Review: Chuunibyou Meets Isekai
Opinion: Making Peace with "Isekai" Stories
The Indonesian Anime Times | written by M Razif Dwi Kurniawan
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?
Seven seas entertaiment
Previous articleElex Media to Release "Detective Team KZ" Manga in Indonesia
Next articleJapanscope 10 Discussion to Explore Intersections between Faith and Popular Culture
View idanimetimes's profile on Facebook
View idanimetimes's profile on Twitter
View kaorinusantara's profile on Instagram
Studio Ghibli to Have Exhibition and Film Screenings in Indonesia in...
M Razif Dwi Kurniawan - 16 November 2016
Indonesian fans can prepare for the exhibition and film screenings from Studio Ghibli that will be held in 2017!
Debunking the Anime Production Myths – Part 1: Introduction
Paksi Pradipta Mamukti - 11 November 2016
Is it true that budget is the decisive factor for animation quality? KAORI's resident sakuga enthusiast takes a look at this and other common myths about how the anime industry works.
Love Live! vs IDOLM@STER: An Unnecessary Conflict?
Videtra Reynaldi - 18 June 2016
Two groups of idols, one never-ending bickering between the fans. But is it all worth it?
From our Indonesian website
Hands-on Game Ciel Fledge, Mengasuh Anak yang terlihat Sederhana, tapi…
Aina Aiba, Seiyuu Yukina "Roselia" Akan Hadir di MadFest Melbourne 2019!
Panduan Anime KAORI Nusantara – Musim Panas/Summer 2019
Summer 2019 Anime: Lord El-Melloi II-Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note
Pecah Parah! Kontes Mencari Preman Dingdong di Booth RGCI di BEKRAF Game Prime 2019 Penuh dengan Kekerasan!
Summer 2019 Anime: Maou-sama Retry!
Summer 2019 Anime: Kanata no Astra
Dany Muhammad - 15 July 2019
After the hold back period has ended, "Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms" is finally available on Ponimu.
Winter 2018 Anime: Yurucamp △
"Occultic;Nine" Light Novel Review: When Occult meets Mystery
Encore Films Confirm to Bring In this Corner of the World...
"Detective Conan" and Other Shogakukan Titles to be Available Digitally on...
Featured on Google Play : Strikers 1945 World War
Cyber Media News Coverage Guidelines


text:
(function($){
    var toTop = ($('#sidebar').height() - $(window).height()) + 60;
    // Caption
    $('.article-entry').each(function(i) {
        $(this).find('img').each(function() {
            if (this.alt && !(!!$.prototype.justifiedGallery && $(this).parent('.justified-gallery').length)) {
                $(this).after('' + this.alt + '');
            }

            // 对于已经包含在链接内的图片不适用lightGallery
            if ($(this).parent().prop("tagName") !== 'A') {
                $(this).wrap('');
            }
        });
    });
    if (lightGallery) {
        var options = {
            selector: '.gallery-item',
        };
        $('.article-entry').each(function(i, entry) {
            lightGallery(entry, options);
        });
        lightGallery($('.article-gallery')[0], options);
    }
    if (!!$.prototype.justifiedGallery) {  // if justifiedGallery method is defined
        var options = {
            rowHeight: 140,
            margins: 4,
            lastRow: 'justify'
        };
        $('.justified-gallery').justifiedGallery(options);
    }

    // Profile card
    $(document).on('click', function () {
        $('#profile').removeClass('card');
    }).on('click', '#profile-anchor', function (e) {
        e.stopPropagation();
        $('#profile').toggleClass('card');
    }).on('click', '.profile-inner', function (e) {
        e.stopPropagation();
    });

    // To Top
    if ($('#sidebar').length) {
        $(document).on('scroll', function () {
            if ($(document).width() >= 800) {
                if(($(this).scrollTop() > toTop) && ($(this).scrollTop() > 0)) {
                    $('#toTop').fadeIn();
                    $('#toTop').css('left', $('#sidebar').offset().left);
                } else {
                    $('#toTop').fadeOut();
                }
            } else {
                $('#toTop').fadeIn();
                $('#toTop').css('right', 20);
            }
        }).on('click', '#toTop', function () {
            $('body, html').animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);
        });
    }

})(jQuery);


Spring is here and that means the Chelsea Garden club's sidewalk gardens are in full bloom.
The work of the Chelsea Garden club is an incredible example of how members of the community will take responsibility to enhance their community when given the opportunity to. Park Chelsea sees the work of the members of the Chelsea Garden club as an example of how Park Chelsea's decentralized parks will be created and maintained.


Yacinthos is situated right opposite the long sandy beach of Perivolia. It offers a large swimming pool (1.80m depth), a children's pool (0.80m depth) and complimentary sun beds and umbrellas, free of charge. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel and in the rooms. Studios and apartments at Yacinthos are fully equipped, self-catered and air-conditioned. Each room has a private balcony with views of the pool or the sea. Room service is also available.
Guests can start their day with a rich breakfast including, among others, fresh bread, homemade jams, yogurt with honey, crepes and deli meats and cheese. Breakfast can also be enjoyed in the privacy of the rooms. On the nearby sandy beach, except for sunbathing and swimming, you can do water sports or have a drink at the beach bars. Walking along the beach will get you to the Old Town of Rethymnon where you will be amazed by the Venetian Fortress (Fortezza) and the small picturesque streets. You can also find traditional Cretan taverns, restaurants with Greek and international cuisine, as well as various shops.
Yacinthos disposes of all the required facilities for a comfortable holiday. Our spacious apartments are ideal for couples or families and are fully equipped with a kitchenette, a fridge, a stove, cutleries and air-conditioning units.
Come and enjoy the Cretan hospitality, the local delicacies, the natural beauties our island has to offer, the lovely beaches, the impressive gorges and the imposing mountains!
© 2018 Yacinthos Hotel-Apts. All rights reserved.


With our rich working experience and thoughtful companies, we have now been recognized as being a trustworthy supplier for a lot of global potential buyers for Stainless Steel Ferruled Rope Mesh , Stainless Steel Rope Mesh , Stainless Steel Woven Rope Mesh , We now have comprehensive goods supply as well as selling price is our advantage. Welcome to inquire about our products.
We often stay with the principle "Quality Very first, Prestige Supreme". We have been fully committed to supplying our consumers with competitively priced high-quality goods, prompt delivery and skilled provider for Stainless Steel Ferruled Rope Mesh , Stainless Steel Rope Mesh , Stainless Steel Woven Rope Mesh , Our company abides by the management idea of "keep innovation pursue excellence". On the basis of assuring the advantages of existing products we continuously strengthen and extend product development. Our company insists on innovation to promote the sustainable development of enterprise and make us become the domestic high-quality suppliers.


text:
Miejscowości i ich części w Polsce
 Wg TERYT jest ich 3, w tym 1 podstawowa
 Rafałki (dawniej Rafałów) – część miasta Aleksandrowa Łódzkiego
 Rafałów – część wsi Mikołajew w woj. łódzkim, w pow. zgierskim, w gminie Parzęczew
 Rafałów – kolonia wsi Maziarze w woj. mazowieckim, w pow. lipskim, w gminie Lipsko
 Rafałów – wieś w woj. wielkopolskim, w pow. kaliskim, w gminie Godziesze Wielkie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


These Bhutanese monks are creating a very elaborate, detailed piece of art called a "mandala". They will spend a whole week creating this artwork made of colored sand. Usually they lie down on their tummies and spread the sand through their fingertips.
When the mandala is finished, they sweep all the sand away. The act illustrates the impermanence of life and how quickly things can change.
The Illustrator from Lexington, Mass.
Eat Sparingly--a little goes a long way!
Do You Have a Ticket?
A New Pal for Me!
Exciting---My First Visit to the Theater!
Shopping and Eating Right in D.C.
Look What You Can Buy!
I'm in the News. I'm on Top of the World!
Lucky Dog Flying in his Owner's Lap!
Murphy Surfs at Loews Coronado!!


text:
Q: How do I find the absolute path of a controller action? I need to generate a link to an action and send the link by email. I'd like to call something like this:
public string GetAbsolutePath(string actionName, string controllerName, string id)
{
    // Somehow generate the absolute path
}

I think I can use VirtualPathUtility.ToAbsolute(string virtualPath) but I'm not sure how to get the virtual path either.

A: Something like this:
public string GetAbsolutePath(string actionName, string controllerName, string id)
{
    var relUrl = Url.RouteUrl(new { controller = controllerName, action = actionName, id = id });

    return Request.Url.GetLeftPart(UriPartial.Authority).TrimEnd('/') + relUrl;
}

A: You can use the routing mechanism to generate the link for you. There are several ways to do this, e.g. in the view you can generate a link to an action with
<%= Url.Action(actionName, controllerName, new {id=id} %>

A: I ended up with this:
public static string AbsoluteAction(this UrlHelper url, string action, string controller, object routeValues)
{
    Uri requestUrl = url.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.Url;

    string absoluteAction = string.Format("{0}://{1}{2}",
                                          requestUrl.Scheme,
                                          requestUrl.Authority,
                                          url.Action(action, controller, routeValues, null));
    return absoluteAction;
}

A: You can use the routing engine to generate the route for you given the controller and action. The RouteCollection property of your controller can be used as following:
string virtualPath =
    RouteCollection.GetVirtualPath(context, new {
                                                  action = actionName,
                                                  controller = controllerName,
                                                  id = id
                                                }
                                  ).VirtualPath;

string url = VirtualPathUtility.ToAbsolute(virtualPath);


China's Tian Tao dominated the men's 96 kilograms event at the Asian Weightlifting Championships to claim a clean sweep of gold medals in front of his home crowd in Ningbo.
Chinese Taipei's Kuo Hsing-chun broke three world records en route to claiming the women's 59 kilograms title at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo in China today.
Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Shi Zhiyong broke two world records on his way to winning the men's 73 kilograms title on a dominant day for hosts China at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo.
A noisy home crowd in Batumi, Georgia were on their feet on the final day of the European Weightlifting Championships when Lasha Talakhadze smashed three of his own world records in the final event, the men's super-heavyweights.
A hugely popular Olympic weightlifting champion has been excluded from the Pan American Championships which start in Guatemala next weekend because of his failure to update his whereabouts information.
Greece, Belgium and Austria joined the growing list of nations on the medals table at the European Weightlifting Championships in Batumi, Georgia.


DescriptionThis listing consist of 3 parcels containing from 16 to 54 +/- acres with all utilities available. The parcel consisting of 16 acres ( tax map #0536010103700) is already located in the City limits of Greer with an R12 zoning. The remainder of the property will need to be annexed in the City to be eligible for sewer. This property fronts on Hwy. 14 and has the South Tyger River as the back property line. Sewer access close by and the majority would be gravity fed. Highest and best use would be for a residential subdivision. Just 2.2 miles from Wade Hampton Blvd. (Hwy. 29).