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Super bugs bedevil food safety
By Cookson Beecher on December 20, 2021
"Super bugs" and "food safety." You can say the two in one breath simply because they are so closely connected.
"Super bugs" is a popularized term for "antibiotic resistance," or "antimicrobial resistance." They don't go by that name for nothing. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the United States, at least 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria or fungi. More than 35,000 people die as a result. Antibiotic resistant bacteria frequently show up in outbreak strains of pathogens such as E. Coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
When looking ahead, the picture only gets more daunting. Some medical experts predict that worldwide by 2050 the number of deaths attributed to antibiotic resistance could reach 10 million and cost trillions of dollars — unless collective action is taken on a global scale.
No wonder then that some human and animal health experts are referring to this as a "slow moving pandemic."
What in the world is this all about?
Antibiotics, often referred to as "miracle drugs," are medicines that kill or stop the growth of bacteria, which is a good thing. That applies to humans and animals alike. But in the case of livestock and poultry, especially at large-scale operations such as industrial farms, antibiotics are often overused in ways that promote drug resistance to them. This can happen when low doses are routinely added to feed and water to promote growth and to prevent health problems caused by overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions. That's different from using them to treat a specific medical problem.
In this conflict between bacteria and antibiotics, resistance happens when the bacteria develop the ability to evade the antibiotics designed to kill them. That means the germs continue to grow and to outcompete other drugs — potentially leading to infections that are harder to treat. Thus the name "super bugs."
To see an animation about how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, click here.
As a result of the over use of antibiotics, some dangerous strains of foodborne bacteria found in animals and poultry, such as E. coli, Salmonella and S. aureus are now resistant to multiple antibiotics. If a person becomes infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of a foodborne pathogen, what was once, in many cases, an easy-to-treat disease can quickly develop into a life-threatening illness — one that requires expensive medical care and can even lead to death.
But what does this have to do with food safety?
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, when animals are slaughtered and processed for food, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, if present in the animal, can contaminate meat or other animal products. Microscopic amounts of animal waste can also carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Fruits and vegetables can become contaminated in many ways, including through contact with soil or water containing waste from animals.
People can get foodborne infections in different ways:
From handling or eating meat, seafood, milk or eggs that are raw or undercooked and contaminated with resistant bacteria;
From handling or eating fruits and vegetables contaminated with resistant bacteria;
From contact with animal waste, either directly or when it gets into water and the environment;
From touching or caring for animals without proper handwashing;
From breathing in dust particles downwind of livestock farms or feedlots on which drug-resistant bacteria are hitching a ride.
In the case of food safety, foodborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria have already made their way into the food chain, which can make curing people sickened with the bacteria all that more challenging.
According to a 2013 CDC report, of the 18 drug-resistant organisms highlighted as "alarming," four are potentially fatal foodborne bacteria: Campylobacter, E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella.
The report also points out that resistant bacteria in food-producing animals are of particular concern because these animals serve as carriers. Resistant bacteria can contaminate the foods that come from those animals, and people who consume these foods can develop antibiotic-resistant infections.
Bottomline, animals — like humans — carry bacteria, including antibiotic resistant bacteria, in their gut. When meat animals and poultry are slaughtered and processed, these bacteria can contaminate the meat or other products. In addition, the people handling these products can then be infected. And so can the people and produce crops downwind or downstream from where these animals are raised.
Over time, warns the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine, the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs will further complicate health care professionals' efforts to select the appropriate antibiotic for treatment.
This issue of antibiotic resistance applies to humans and animals alike, especially considering that humans rely on some of the same antibiotics — referred to as "medically important" antibiotics — as animals to cure health problems. Some of these problems in humans are pneumonia, meningitis, and strep throat.
As in the case of livestock health, these medically important antibiotics cannot be misused or overused without running the risk of having a patient develop antibiotic resistant pathogens.
Examples of medically important antibiotics are penicillins, tetracyclines, erythromycins, cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones.
Although the CDC points out that the majority of drug-resistant infections occur in hospitals, it also says that there's growing concern over antibiotic-resistant infections from food.
Also, according to the CDC, 75 percent of dangerous new infections, including pandemics, spill over from animals to human populations. These animal-borne threats include viruses as well as new forms of antibiotic resistance genes and the multi-drug resistant superbugs that carry them.
Pointing out that effective antibiotics have been one of the pillars allowing people to live longer, be healthier and benefit from modern medicine, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, formerly a Special Representative for Antimicrobial Resistance for the Director-General at the World Health Organization (WHO), put it this way: "Without urgent coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries that have been treatable for decades can once again kill."
"Unless we take significant actions to improve efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, the world will lose more and more of these global public health goods, and the implications will be devastating," he warns.
Tackling an out-of-kilter problem
For decades now, U.S. policymakers, as well as medical and veterinary professionals, have sent out warnings about the rising threat from superbugs.
All in all, the general public believes that "surely something is being done about this," especially since it's such a serious health issue.
But consider this: According to recent research done by the Center For Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the use of antibiotics in livestock is rising while medical use in humans is falling.
"Our analysis shows 44 percent more medically important drugs are destined for cattle and swine than for human medical use," says a website developed by the two associations.
In coming up with this conclusion, they joined forces to fill in what they see as a "critical data gap." They did this by presenting a side-by-side comparison of antibiotic use in animals and humans in the United States over time. In a post, they supply charts and graphs highlighting their findings.
"In the United States, we don't track antibiotic use very well," said Dr. David Wallinga, senior health officer at NRDC and one of the authors of the blog, in an interview with Food Safety News. "FDA does report each year on antibiotics sold for use in livestock, including those that are medically important. In terms of the latter, our latest blog showed that nearly twice as many antibiotics are being sold for use in poultry and livestock as are sold for human medicine."
One of the main problems, he said, referring to the gap in data, is that there's no specific information supplied about when the antibiotics were administered to the animals, how and why.
This would bring to light why antibiotics are being given to the animals in the first place. In 1973, the FDA ruled against using medically important antibiotics to promote growth in animals. However, they are allowed to be used to prevent disease as would be the case if some of the animals in a herd were ill or they had gone through stress through shipping or hot weather, for example.
Unfortunately, they're often used to prevent diseases when there are no sick animals in the herd.
Since 2016, FDA officials have been saying that they wanted to get more concrete "duration limits" — how long certain antibiotics can be used — on the labels of antibiotics put into animal feed. This year, the agency put forward a draft "concept paper" for how duration limits might come about for different antibiotics already on the market.
However, Wallinga said that the "flawed approach" depends too much on drug companies to set their own limits, and even then would allow supposed limits that instead would be too vague and meaningless to offer the needed level of public health protection.
Administering antibiotics for a longer time than needed, which is often the case with livestock, can trigger antibiotic resistance, said Wallinga. "The more we use them, the faster they'll become ineffective. Long-term, it will be the superbugs rather than us that benefit," he said.
This doesn't translate well to the U.S. livestock industry, where many if not most medically important antibiotics are routinely put into animal feed for entire herds for so-called disease prevention, said Wallinga.
He said he believes that FDA's approach has been primarily to get the livestock industry to voluntarily decrease antibiotic reliance, but he also points out that in the United States, three or four companies control 80 percent of production.
That's why he believes "comparable and integrated analyses" covering both sales and use of medically important antibiotics are urgently needed.
Such analyses are essential, he says, for policymakers and the public to understand more precisely how these precious medicines are being used on farms and feedlots, and whether U.S. efforts to curb unnecessary use is succeeding or falling short.
Courtesy of the Natural Resources Defense Council
Wallinga said that since 2009, the FDA has reported annual sales of livestock antibiotics but no information on veterinary prescriptions or orders. At the same time, human sales data also are not reported. Meanwhile, the CDC now issues annual reports on antibiotic prescriptions in human medicine, but these reports do not provide national data on medical antibiotic sales.
Providing the public each year with side-by-side comparisons of the use of these precious medicines in human medicine and in food-producing animals, is an important step, said Wallinga.
He said that these additional essential steps should also be followed:
Ensuring that livestock producers are required to report annually on their on-farm use of antibiotics.
Making critical investments to create a national system that collects, integrates, and publishes annual data on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, both in human and animal settings.
Setting national targets for reducing medically important antibiotic use, especially in specific livestock sectors such as the beef and pork industries where most such antibiotics are now used.
Unlike Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark or the Netherlands, the U.S. government does not release annual reports that integrate the human and animal sides of the antibiotic resistance problem. Wallinga said countries that do release such information have seen cases of resistance decline.
Some good news from the FDA
In recent days, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine published a report summarizing antibiotics sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals in 2020. It puts out a report on this topic each year.
It had some good news to share. It shows that domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobial drugs approved for use in food-producing animals decreased by three percent between 2019 and 2020.
That represents a 38 percent decrease since 2015, which was the peak year of sales.
"This suggests that continued efforts to support the judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals are having an impact," says the report.
According to the agency, although sales data on antimicrobial drug products intended for food-producing animals do not necessarily reflect the actual use of antimicrobial drugs, sales volume observed over time can be a valuable indicator of market trends related to these products.
It also points out that sales and distribution information does not represent actual use of the products.
And it reminds the public that the agency's goal in all of this is to to slow the development of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials for fighting disease in animals and humans.
"The agency's aim is not simply measured by a reduction in sales volume of antimicrobials but also includes fostering good antimicrobial stewardship practices by optimizing the use of these products and limiting their use in animals to only when necessary to treat, control, or prevent disease."
Good farming tactics
Wallinga said that every country in the European Union is already collecting information about antibiotic use on farms, or will soon be legally required to do so.
"In Europe, it was the federal officials telling livestock producers the direction they need be going," he said, pointing out that the approach there is to promote healthier animals so as to prevent disease and therefore avoid antibiotics in the first place. In fact, next month the use of antibiotics for disease prevention absent any disease, will become illegal in livestock production in Europe. By contrast, he said, FDA not only allows it, but goes one step further by claiming that such use is "therapy."
"By now, many of the largest livestock-producing countries in Europe have reduced their use of antibiotics by 50 to 60 percent in the last 10 years," Wallinga said.
Here in the United States, many sustainable farmers rely on good farming practices instead of antibiotics, to keep their animals healthy.
"If we do that, why would we need antibiotics. unless, of course, an animal is actually sick," said Linda Neunzig, a sheep farmer in Western Washington.
Organic producers, meanwhile, are not allowed to use antibiotics, or, if they do, in the case of treating a sick animal or bird, they can't sell the meat, milk or dairy products as "organic."
Dairy farmers who treat their cows with antibiotics can't sell milk from those animals until the animals' systems are clear of them.
For George Vojkovich, co-owner of Skagit River Ranch, which produces and sells pasture-raised organic beef, broilers, pork and eggs, it all comes down to good animal husbandry. His farming practices include building the soil, culling animals with genetic tendencies for certain health problems, using selective breeding, rotational grazing, planting a diversity of grasses and legumes and making sure the animals get the trace minerals they need.
Oregon organic dairy farmer John Bansen, said that raising healthy cows is a matter of making sure that the good bacteria outnumber the bad bacteria.
"It can't be about 'no bacteria,' " he said. He also believes that when the bacteria in the gut is healthy, the whole cow is healthy.
"You don't want to subtract from a cow's natural immune function," he said. "Our job isn't to replace her immune system with antibiotics and vaccines."
Although many people believe that smaller "family-size" farms are the only places where animals and poultry can be raised without an excessive use of antibiotics, veterinarian Charles Hofacre, formerly a professor at the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety in the Avian Medicine Department, would disagree.
In an earlier interview with Food Safety News he said that raising animals and poultry in large-scale farming operations without pumping them full of antibiotics is being done every day and has been done for the 30 years that he's been a poultry veterinarian.
And Wallinga is quick to praise Perdue Farms for being one of the first large companies to say that it will move away from antibiotic use, "No antibiotics ever" say the labels on its chickens and turkeys,
On a broader scale, the CDC offers this perspective about what it refers to as antibiotic stewardship:
"Perhaps the single most important action needed to greatly slow down the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections is to change the way antibiotics are used. Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe.
"Stopping even some of the inappropriate and unnecessary use of antibiotics in people and animals would help greatly in slowing down the spread of resistant bacteria," according to the CDC. "This commitment to always use antibiotics appropriately and safely — only when they are needed to treat disease, and to choose the right antibiotics and to administer them in the right way in every case — is known as antibiotic stewardship."
CDC's advice to livestock and poultry producers:
Only give antibiotics to animals under veterinary supervision.
Don't use antibiotics for growth promotion or to prevent diseases in healthy animals.
Vaccinate animals to reduce the need for antibiotics.
Support the implementation of effective interventions put in place to reduce the spread of AMR through the environment.
A global prospective
Early this month, the World Health Organization came out with its own guidelines for national governments and the global food animal industry. No waffling here. The guidelines not only call for a prohibition on the use of medically important antibiotics for disease prevention but also urge significant limits be put on using critically important antibiotics in food animals to treat diseases.
Here are the new guidelines:
Reduce overall use of all medically important antimicrobials in food animals.
Fully prohibit use of all medically important antimicrobials in food animals for growth promotion.
Fully prohibit use of all medically important antimicrobials in food animals for preventing infectious diseases that have not yet been clinically diagnosed by a veterinarian.
Prevent use of critically important antibiotics in food animals for disease control and use of highest priority critically important antibiotics in food animals for disease treatment.
"We have consistently advocated for FDA to better align domestic policies with the WHO and to take stronger measures to restrict and reduce use of antibiotics in food animals raised in the U.S.," said Cameron Harsh, senior manager for Organic & Animal Policy for the Center for Food Safety. "The new guidelines illustrate the degree to which our regulators and large food animal producers are falling short."
Harsh also said that the Center for Food Safety "will continue to advocate for best practices that include stocking densities that allow for full freedom of movement and expression, adequate access to sunlight and the outdoors, appropriate and nutritious diets, and breeding for traits that prioritize health and immunity benefits over growth and productivity."
What about labels?
Food labels such as"No Antibiotics Ever (NAE)" or "Raised Without Antibiotics," or "No Added Antibiotics" are used by farmers who voluntarily avoid using antibiotics on their livestock or poultry. When these labels accompany a seal that states "USDA Process Verified," it means USDA inspectors visited the farm to verify antibiotic use on that farm.
Symptoms mimic foodborne illness
Symptoms of antibacterial infection are similar to symptoms foodborne illnesses but often more severe:
Fever over 102 degrees F, measured by mouth
Frequent vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down
Signs of dehydration, including little or no urination, a very dry mouth and throat, or feeling dizzy when standing up
Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days
In cases like this, medical attention should be sought.
Food safety advice for consumers
Go here https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://battlesuperbugs.com/article-archive/new-arac-video-safe-handling-meat-and-poultry-products__;!!NO21cQ!Th3N6fotqpDJCEV0mge-8QFJbUVj3tagnOcJjZt5CG38HlxwDggs2SPyIc4g4g$ for some advice from the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center about choosing meat and poultry in the store and preparing it in the kitchen. One of the points is to look for labels. Another is to avoid eating raw or undercooked meats.
An important priority
"Pandemic preparedness and public health protection should be our nation's foremost priority," said Wallinga. "We must therefore invest to robustly track antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use wherever it occurs."
Tags: antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, CDC, FDA, World Health Organization (WHO)


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Overcast. Low near 25F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
The Washington Life Center's Elfed program will appear on the "TODAY" show Christmas Eve. Photo courtesy of MERRI PETERSON
Over 100 area seniors were "Elfed" this year. Photo courtesy of MERRI PETERSON
WLC's Elfed program to appear on 'TODAY' show
Marine City WLC's Elfed program to appear on 'TODAY' show
More than 100 area seniors get 'Elfed'
By Emily Pauling epauling@medianewsgroup.com
The Council on Aging's Washington Life Center's Elfed program, which spread cheer this December by allowing people to sign up local seniors to receive gifts and be sung to by WLC staff dressed as elves, will appear on the "TODAY" show on NBC on Christmas Eve.
The program will appear on a segment of the show during the 11 a.m. hour Dec. 24.
"We are so thrilled to be able to show the nation what a wonderful and generous community we live in," said Merri Peterson, activity director at the WLC.
The Elfed program consisted of people signing up seniors in the area for a small fee to be "Elfed." Each package included a visit from the "Elfmobile," wrapped gifts and a personal 10-minute concert with the WLC's singing elves. Over 100 Elfed packages were delivered.
"The program was just amazing," Peterson said. "The amount of smiles, laughter and tears that we experienced is something we will never forget. People loved it."
"We were stopped by random people walking by, construction workers, road workers, gas station employees," she added. "They all were interested in what we were doing — mostly why we were dressed so crazy, I'm sure — and how they could help."
She said the WLC is blown away by the support it has received from the community.
"The looks on the seniors' faces as they sang along with us, there just isn't words to describe it," she said. "I just kept thinking to myself, 'This, this is the true meaning of Christmas.' It really puts all the problems we've faced this year into perspective. I feel like we all get so wrapped up in the news and social media nowadays, we forget to appreciate the small things in life. The simple act of giving, even something so simple as your time, can bring so much joy to a person and really turn their whole day around. Kindness goes a long way and it's free. That's a win-win in my book."
In a Facebook post, the WLC also thanked some local businesses that helped out, including The Cookie Bar – St. Clair, Silk's Flower Shop, Marwood Nursing and Rehab, Orthopedic Associates of Port Huron, Fifth Third Bank of Marine City and the WLC staff.
Peterson said the WLC plans on continuing and expanding the program in the near future and is "in talks with the Easter bunny."
Emily Pauling is a staff writer for The Voice. She can be contacted at 586-273-6200 or epauling@medianewsgroup.com.
Washington Life Center
Elfed Program
MDOT virtual meeting Jan. 21 to discuss M-29 improvements in Fair Haven
Study: Consolidation of Marine City water plant with townships feasible
Viscount Pools - Clinton Twp.
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About Life Science
Life Science improves our lives and informs our personal as well as societal decisions. Our health depends on the latest research in laboratory animal science, genetics, and cellular and molecular biology. Environmental stewardship relies on knowledge of terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems and organisms. CRC Press publishes books from leading scientists on topics ranging from molecules to global environments. We publish books for researchers in biomedicine, ecology, and the environmental sciences, as well as for scholars in genetics, cell, developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biology.
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Basic Biophysics for Biology
Gene Expression Studies Using Affymetrix Microarrays
Aging: Exploring a Complex Phenomenon
Hydrogen Peroxide Metabolism in Health and Disease
The Biology of the First 1,000 Days
Chemical Biology of Natural Products
Autophagy and Signaling
Biology and Breeding of Crucifers
Biomedical Application of Nanoparticles
Neurobiology of TRP Channels
Telomeres, Diet and Human Disease: Advances and Therapeutic Opportunities
Aquaculture Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 1
Edward K. Ph.D Yeargers
Basic Biophysics for Biology presents the fundamental physical and chemical principles required to understand much of modern biology. The author has made extensive use of illustrations rather than a mathematical approach to establish connections between macroscopic-world models and submicroscopic...
Hinrich Gohlmann, Willem Talloen
The Affymetrix GeneChip® system is one of the most widely adapted microarray platforms. However, due to the overwhelming amount of information available, many Affymetrix users tend to stick to the default analysis settings and may end up drawing sub-optimal conclusions. Written by a molecular...
Shamim I. Ahmad
This book is a detailed and comprehensive synthesis of the scientific study of aging. Dozens of contributions from leading scholars review various theories of aging, and molecular, cellular, biochemical and microbial aspects of aging, among just a few of the topics included. Authoritative, wide...
Margreet C M Vissers, Mark Hampton, Anthony J. Kettle
Much of the biology of oxidative stress and oxidative signalling centres on the generation and handling of hydrogen peroxide. The overall aim for this book would be to provide an insightful and useful forum to assist with the understanding of the relevance of hydrogen peroxide generation and how...
Crystal D Karakochuk, Kyly C. Whitfield, Tim J Green, Klaus Kraemer
The first 1,000 days, from conception to two years of age, is a critical period of growth and development. Exposures to dietary, environmental, hormonal, and other stressors during this window have been associated with an increased risk of poor health outcomes, some of which are irreversible. The...
David J. Newman, Gordon M. Cragg, Paul Grothaus
Chemical Biology of Natural Products This unique, long-awaited volume is designed to address contemporary aspects of natural product chemistry and its influence on biological systems, not solely on human interactions. The subjects covered include discovery, isolation and characterization,...
Esther Wong
Autophagy and Signaling is an up-to-date overview of the many signaling pathways regulating autophagy in response to different cellular needs. Discussion includes the status and future directions of autophagy signaling research with respect to different aspects of health and disease. These include...
Surinder Kumar Gupta
Considerable interest has developed in recent years in crucifers and particularly in their wild relatives, as they contain genetic material that may be utilized for further evolution of superior crop varieties through introgression and distant hybridization. Until now, there has been no single...
Bertrand Henri Rihn
Biomedical Application of Nanoparticles explores nanoparticles, their chemical and physicals properties, and how they interact in biological systems with proteins, immune system and targeted cells. Risk assessment of nanoparticles for human is described, including: cellular paradigms,...
Tamara Luti Rosenbaum Emir
During the last two decades, there has been an explosion of research pertaining to the molecular mechanisms that allow for organisms to detect different stimuli that is an essential feature for their survival. Among these mechanisms, living beings need to be able to respond to different...
Amelia Marti, Guillermo Zalba
The maintenance of telomeres—repetitive sequences at the end of chromosome—is essential to health. Dysfunction in telomere maintenance pathways plays a role in aging, cancer, atherosclerosis and other diseases. This has led to telomere maintenance as a prime target for patient therapies. This book...
Didier Montet, R.C. Ray
Aquaculture is currently one of the fastest growing production sectors in the world. It now accounts for nearly half (45%) of the worlds food fish (which refers to production of aquatic animals: fish, crustaceans, molluscs, amphibians) and this increase is expected to reach 50% in 2015. Genetic...
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How Does the New Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act Affect Your Disability Claim?
May 2, 2019 | By Natalie | Disability Attorneys, Disability Denials, Veterans Disability Denials
There's good news for disabled veterans who have applied for disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Congress recently passed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 designed to make it faster and easier to navigate through the review and appeal process. These new laws went into effect in February 2019.
The number of pending VA appeals grew 350% from 100,000 in Fiscal Year 2001 to 450,000 in Fiscal Year 2017. The previous VA appeal process was considered to be too complex — hard to understand, difficult to explain with too many steps — and took too long — there were no defined endpoints or timeframes; the average wait time for an appeal decision is currently three years.
Three Lanes for Appeals
Under the act, veterans will now have three options, or "lanes", for claims and appeals:
Higher-Level Review – Veterans can request an entirely new review of the original jurisdiction's (AOJ) decision by a higher-level adjudicator within AOJ. The new review is based on the same evidence presented during the original review.
Supplemental Claim – Veterans now have the opportunity to file a supplemental claim to submit additional evidence and have a hearing.
Appeal – Veterans can appeal directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, with three options:
Direct docket: No new evidence submitted, no hearing requested
Evidence only docket: Review new evidence but without a new hearing; new evidence must be submitted within 90 days following NOD.
Hearing docket: Request a new Board hearing to consider new evidence.
Veterans can change "lanes" if they receive an unfavorable decision.
How Does The New Law Help?
The new law is designed to:
Create a more accessible and understandable decision review system
Modernize the current claims and appeals process
Provide veterans with multiple review options for disagreements with decisions
Provide earlier claim resolution
Improve notification of VA decisions
Ensure veterans receive the earliest effective date possible for their claims
The new law also allows veterans to maintain the original effective date of a claim if they submit new and relevant evidence within one year of the most recent decision and retain the services of attorneys and accredited agents who charge a fee when the AOJ provides notice of the original decision.
All decision reviews submitted after February 2019 will fall under the new system.
Questions? Speak to a Houston Veterans Disability Benefits Attorney
Are you a disabled veteran who is unsure of how the new laws will affect your claim? M. Stanley Whitehead is an Accredited Veterans Claim Attorney who has helped hundreds of disabled veterans and workers all over the U.S. obtain the benefits they deserve.
If you need to submit a new claim for veterans' disability benefits, file an appeal or have questions about how the new laws may affect your claim, please contact the law offices of M. Stanley Whitehead.


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The Global 100: Lawyers
H. Rodgin Cohen, Sullivan & Cromwell; Richard Gitlin, Bingham Dana; William Lerach, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach; Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General.
CFO Magazine
Alix Stuart
Lori Calabro
H. Rodgin Cohen
Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell
By his involvement in numerous bank mergers, Cohen has fundamentally altered the banking landscape. He worked, for example, on the combinations of Chase Manhattan and Chemical Bank, Mitsubishi and Bank of Tokyo, and, more recently, First Union and Wachovia. Last year, the 58-year-old oversaw the acquisition of Mexico's Banacci by Citigroup, in a $12.8 billion deal, and served as counsel on some 30 other financial-service mergers, including three European deals valued at more than $26 billion each.
Richard Gitlin
Partner, Bingham Dana
Bankruptcies neared record levels this year, and Richard Gitlin worked on some of the largest global ones. He pioneered the process of transnational bankruptcies, and his breakthrough came in 1991, when his plan for reorganizing the late publisher Robert Maxwell's estate was approved in both the United States and the UK. Currently, Gitlin is applying his talents to huge debt restructurings in Singapore (Asia Pulp & Paper Co.) and England (Marconi), among others. In addition, he is working with Japan and the IMF to develop a sovereign debt restructuring system.
William Lerach
Partner, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach
In 1995, when Congress was cracking down on securities-fraud cases, its main target was San Diego litigator Bill Lerach. Since then, however, such cases have exploded — up 60 percent last year, according to a Stanford University study — and by all accounts Lerach has flourished. Lead attorney in hundreds of suits against companies whose stock prices have dropped, he got top legal billing this year in the shareholder suit against Enron, and then expanded it to include nine investment banks and two national law firms. The 56-year-old attorney's views on financial reporting and financial fraud have been roundly criticized by Corporate America. In the wake of Enron, however, those views have found a wider audience.
Eliot Spitzer
New York State Attorney General
In case anyone has forgotten, as New York Attorney General in the 1980s, Rudolph Giuliani launched a successful attack on Wall Street's Michael Milken, which in turn fueled his political career. Now here comes Eliot Spitzer, whose probe into conflicts of interest among Wall Street stock analysts has thus far produced a public apology from Merrill Lynch CEO David Komansky and catapulted Spitzer onto the international scene. Armed with damning E-mails from former star analysts such as Henry Blodget, the 42-year-old former prosecutor wants Merrill and other brokerages to make sweeping changes to further separate investment banking and research. If they don't, he may hold public hearings or make criminal cases out of any civil suits the SEC pursues.
Bridging the divide between IR and PR
Apple's stock falls with new Trump tariff looming
Microsoft's market value briefly surpasses Apple
Energy companies lose combined value of $1 trillion in 40 days
Apple lose $40bn as "peak iPhone" fear infects investors
Why cybersecurity is the new priority for CFOs
Apple's value dips below $1 trillion mark despite high revenues
Facebook saturated in developed countries claims Zuckerberg
Amazon loses $250bn one month after becoming a $1 trillion company
Samsung warns of weaker earnings despite record growth
Spotify's stock hits new low
Qualcomm demands $7bn from Apple as legal battle escalates
IBM to acquire Red Hat for record-breaking $34bn
Amazon shares plummet as Microsoft overtakes it as the second largest company
Apple Watch driving huge growth in wearable heart monitoring devices
Finance At BeyondCore


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Term insurance in Haliburton is something that should be considered throughout various stages of life —whether you're young or an older adult. Depending upon your needs, critical illness insurance coverage may provide lump sum benefit amounts which can range from $25, 000 to $2, 000, 000. You're certain to find the term insurance coverage you need from The Co-operators in Haliburton.
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OnPrem Solution Partners is a consulting and tech- nology innovation firm founded in 2013 by four consulting industry leaders in Southern California working with some of the most innovative companies in the world including major studios, large broadcasters, leading consumer product companies, distinguished technology companies, financial services firms, and non-profit organizations. On-Prem's focus on top talent, company culture, and creating the next generation consulting firm makes it an exciting place to work for anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset, says Candice Lu, a Founding Partner of OnPrem. "We're experts at making things better. We implement strategies and technologies that help companies achieve their business goals—growth, profitability, transformation," Lu says. "We pride ourselves on being specialists in the digital solutions that almost all companies need to achieve operational excellence and to deliver differentiated customer experiences." That includes anything from DAM and CRM, to Rights Management, to AI, to Data & Analytics, she says. Lu sat down with Consulting to discuss the firm's financial performance and outstanding revenue growth.
Lu: Our core value is, "To provide the best service to the best clients by the best people." It's our mantra that we, as a company, hold ourselves to fulfill across every facet of our business.
Consulting How is this year shaping up for your firm?
Lu: We've had another exceptional year anticipating double-digit growth from 2017. We remained heavily active in the media and entertainment space serving many of the studios and networks while also expanding into the retail, CPG, and automotive industries.
Lu: We anticipate another year of double digit growth. We will continue to have a strong hold in the M&E space with deeper expansion into CPG and retail. If I had a crystal ball, I'd surmise that our digital media supply chain practice and data and analytics practices will be stronger than ever along with CRM.
of our company culture or our clients.
Lu: To be recognized by our peers for our work and to serve as a point of inflection for other growing firms, is an honor we don't take lightly. And, of course, it's an opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to our amazing team of OnPrem'ers who are the reason for our success.


Gabe and Krista met at Delaware College of Art and Design. Part of the inaugural class of the school. Since the fall of 1997 they have pursued creative passions: painting, drawing, design, fabrication, and photography. They have served as educators, administrators, creators, and parents.
Krista earned her BFA in Fine Art at Moore College of Art and Design.
Gabe earned his BFA in Photography at Pratt Institute.
They are interested in creating beautiful objects, dynamic and engaging imagery, and collaborating with other creative people.
They are available for contract/commissioned work, as well as reproduction prints of work visible here or at artofkristarothwell on facebook.


Description: This research-based video shows young dads nurturing their child's development while dealing with the realities of being a father. The Dad Difference features a diverse group of real fathers, candid comments, and practical tips. Topics include: child development, health, and safety; setting limits and coping with frustration; having personal goals and finding support; dealing with your own father; resolving relationship conflict; making work more father-friendly; shared parenting, and long-distance fathers. 2004.


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text:
Keith-Lucas is a surname. This surname was used by three brothers in honour of their father Keith Lucas:

Alan Keith-Lucas (1910–1995), social worker and professor
David Keith-Lucas (1911–1997), aeronautical engineer
Sarah Keith-Lucas (born 1982), BBC weather presenter, grand-daughter of David
Bryan Keith-Lucas (1912–1996), political scientist

See also
Keith Lucas (disambiguation)
Keith (surname)
Lucas (surname)

Compound surnames
English-language surnames
Surnames of English origin

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Dry Tortugas
National Park Florida
Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving
Explore Dry Tortugas Underwater
With less than 1% of Dry Tortugas National Park being dry ground, the best way to see this remarkable national treasure is by getting in the water.
Dry Tortugas National Park is situated at the southwest corner of the Florida Keys reef system, the third largest in the world. Due to the remote location, and easterly flowing gulf current just south of the park, you are sure to discover a much greater abundance of marine life and often much larger versions than anywhere else in the Florida Keys.
Remember: Look, but don't touch!
All coral, reef fish, and cultural artifacts are protected. You should not fear an attack from the marine wildlife, but you need to keep a lookout to make sure YOU don't bump into them. Not only will an accidental brush up against the coral probably kill it, you may be bumping into any number of potentially dangerous animals, include fire coral, jellyfish, sea urchins, or the exotic venomous lionfish.
The park's corals and seagrass communities are among the most vibrant in the Florida Keys. Shipwrecks are just as abundant as marine life. Be sure to follow all rules and regulations while enjoying what Dry Tortugas has to offer. Visit our safety page to learn more.
Remember to not disturb coral or shells. All coral, living and dead, is protected from collection.
Shipwrecks and all historic artifacts are protected by law. You must display an approved dive flag when snorkeling outside of the designated snorkel area.
For your safety, never snorkel alone. Always use the buddy system when entering the water.
Snorkel & Dive Areas
Visitors arriving to Garden Key by way of the commercial ferry or seaplane will be able to explore a variety of unique underwater habitats and cultural artifacts.
IMPORTANT: The ferry and seaplane are unable to carry compressed canisters aboard. If you are planning to dive, plan to arrive by your own boat or a charter vessel in order to bring all dive gear, including dive tanks.
Garden Key & Nearby Sites
Moat Wall
In order to protect Fort Jefferson from an amphibious assault, and to add protection from the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a wall was built around the fort creating a moat in between the fort and the moat wall.
While swimming in the moat is prohibited, swimming around the moat wall is a wonderful way to discover some of the great cultural artifacts and superlative marine life in the park. Visitors can expect to see anything from reef squid, cement barrels, nurse sharks, anchor chains, and hogfish.
Historic Coaling Pier Pilings
In the late 1800s the US Navy built coaling warehouses and piers to refuel their ships. Eventually a particularly strong hurricane saw to the destruction of these structures and the Navy decided not to rebuild them.
Fortunately for the visitor today, the pilings these piers were built upon did survive and offer an excellent opportunity to see some of the parks larger marine animals. The shelter created by the pilings, mixed with a deep drop off into the dredged channel, attract large grouper, tarpon, barracudas, and the occasional shark. You can also expect to see a variety of smaller fish and colorful coral living on and around these pilings.
Snorkeling the Moat Wall at Night
This is a rare treat. Outside the moat wall of Fort Jefferson an eerie sense of history meshes with the natural wonders of the underwater world. It is safe enough for kids who are comfortable in the water and exciting enough to stimulate the kid in the most jaded adult.
If you are new to night diving, we offer two bits of advice. Snorkel or dive the area first in the daylight, so it won't be totally foreign to you when the lights are out. And don't forget to bring a strong dive light. The best place to enter the water is the beach on the west side of the fort. From here swim along the moat wall to a point about halfway around the fort and then come back the same way. The water depth will vary depending on the tide but shouldn't exceed six to eight feet. You will find many creatures out and about that you will never see during the day. The octopus is a common sight, slipping along the bottom searching for some choice mollusks for dinner. The basket starfish is another creature that is common at night but very hard to find during the day. These critters usually hang out on the sea fans and look like a mass of thin starfish legs that are suffering from total confusion.
The fish are much more docile at night and can be approached much closer than during the day. Be careful not to shine your light directly at the fish as this both startles them and temporarily blinds them. They will then dart off and run straight into a coral head or the moat wall. Remember we are only visitors here and should respect those that make this place their home.
Other things you are apt to see include lobsters, decorator crabs, arrowhead crabs, coral shrimp, and squid. Daytime diving is for the underwater vistas; night diving is a more intimate experience. Your world has shrunk and you need to bring your focus into a smaller field of vision. In that reduced field, you will begin to see much more detail.
Texas Rock Coral Reef
This area is almost due north of Garden Key in about 55 feet of water. It consists of a huge mound of coral that emerges from the sand at about 55-60 feet of water and rises toward the surface to a depth of about 35 feet. The reef is rather isolated and is surrounded by sand. It takes a full dive to swim around the mound.
As you slide over the side of your boat, you may be immersed in a cloud of fish that are stacked up from the top of the reef almost to the surface. At first glance, they seem to be a fluid extension of the coral. Because the mound protrudes from a much lower reef, it is a magnet for marine life. On the north side of the reef is a forest of deep water sea fans that will rival anything to be found in the Caribbean. If you carefully investigate some of the nooks and crevices in this area of the reef, you will find some rare black coral.
For the underwater shutterbug, this is a great place to photograph corals. With the exception of elkhorn and staghorn, almost every species of stony coral can be found here. In fact, this area is used as a coral growth monitoring station for ongoing research. If you happen on some obviously manmade apparatus while exploring this reef, it is probably part of this program. Please do not disturb any, of these sites as you could be harming some valuable environmental research.
Loggerhead Key Sites
Windjammer (Avanti) Shipwreck
ALERT: The Windjammer dive site mooring ball (SW of Loggerhead Key) has been damaged and is off-station. Please call "National Park Service, Dry Tortugas" on vhf16 when within the national park for latest information on availability of this dive site.
The most popular dive in the park is the wreck known as the Windjammer. Its real name was Avanti. Built in 1875, the three-masted, iron-hulled, sailing ship wrecked on Loggerhead Reef in 1901 on its way to Montevideo with a cargo of lumber. Before diving this site, be sure to pick up a laminated underwater map at the visitor center. This map will provide you with a self-guided tour of the wreck and allow you to make sense of what you are seeing. Depths on this site range from zero feet, where a small piece of wreckage actually breaks the surface, to 20 feet.
It is a perfect place for snorkelers and scuba buffs to dive together. The best visibility on the site is during flood tide. The wreck has the greatest relief from the bottom and the most marine life at the very bow and the very stern of the wreckage. Consult the map to see how to locate those points since the ship is broken in half and you may become a bit confused without the guide. The site is a veritable aquarium of reef-dwelling, free swimming, and benthic (bottom) life. The structure serves as an artificial reef attracting a host of fish ranging from 200-pound jewfish to small tropical.
Little Africa Coral Reef
Located off the north side of Loggerhead Key, this area is protected, shallow, and calm-a great place for snorkelers, and under most conditions, for children. Juvenile barracuda, lobsters, corals heads, soft corals, and tropical fish are usually visible.
Eastern Park Boundary Sites
Long Reef Key
Snorkel site
Pulaski Shoals Area
This area marks the eastern boundary of the park. A navigational light tower marks the shoals themselves. Here the reef consists of scattered very shallow coral heads. In the days before navigational aids and accurate charts, these shoals claimed many ships and as a result, the diver can find the scattered remains of a wide variety of shipwrecks. When diving these sites, please remember to leave all the artifacts where you find them. This courtesy will allow other divers who come after you to enjoy the same sense of discovery. It is also against the law to remove any cultural artifacts and this particular law carries some serious penalties for divers who ignore it.
For more adventuresome diving, go just beyond the boundary buoys in about 75 to 80 feet of water and follow this depth curve looking for changes in reef elevation. It should not take long to find open ocean critters that will make for some exciting diving. Be very careful of the currents out here, as they are strong and variable in direction. As you descend into the deep blue water, you can expect to see very large grouper, and abundance of snapper, and often sharks. Black tips, hammerheads, bull, and nurse sharks are all common sights out here. In addition, you may also get to see turtles and some large formations of eagle rays. The diving out here is not for the timid or the novice diver. Be sure you know what you are getting into before you take the plunge. If you get yourself into trouble out here, you are a long way from help.
Helpful Snorkel & Dive Resources
Plan your trip to Dry Tortugas, including transportation, eating and sleeping, and safety.
Learn more about the 30+ species of coral living at Dry Tortugas
Reef Fishes
Learn more about the fishes at Dry Tortugas
40001 SR-9336
Homestead , FL 33034


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Win Lunch At How Sweet It Is With 90's At Noon
We teamed up with How Sweet It Is to bring you a Mixed Up 90's at Noon lunch hour. Every weekday you'll have a chance to win a $10 gift card.
Nickelodeon Is Bringing Back 'Legends Of The Hidden Temple'
When everything is all about reboots and nostalgia these days, Nickelodeon jumped on the bandwagon and is bringing back one of the best game shows for kids in the 90's 'Legends Of The Hidden Temple'.
The Splat bringing back all you favorite Nicelodeon 90's TV Shows
Rumor has it Nickelodeon will be a launching a TV channel called The Splat which will show reruns of all your favorite TV shows (Nickelodeon shows of course) of the 90's.
6 Best TV Theme Songs of the 90's [VIDEO]
With the fall TV season in full swing, I decided to fly back in time and take a look back at the best TV theme songs of the 90's.
Do You Really Know What The Macarena is Really About?
This very popular dance song came out in 1992, but the version you're most familiar with is the remixed version released in 1996 with English lyrics. While it's a fun-sounding dance song; now that I've looked at the lyrics, the Macarena doesn't seem as 'feel good' anymo…
Win Tickets to See Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker and More with Mix108
Under the Sun tour with Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Eve 6 and Better Than Ezra is coming to Grand Casino Mille Lacs Hinckely and you can win tickets by listening to 90's at Noon with Mix 108.
Ian's Time Machine: March 27th, 1992 [VIDEO]
Today we're jumping back to this week in 1992 and look at 'White Men Can't Jump', fashion, 'The Price is Right' and one of Technotronic's big hits.
Ian's 90's Time Machine:1995 [VIDEO]
Every week day during 90's at noon we're jumping in the time time machine for a look back on memorable events that happened. Today we went to the year 1995 to reminisce on a popular comedy, a book series at a number one hit song.
The Muppets Cover Naughty By Nature's Hip Hop Hooray
It's hard not to throw your hands in the air and sing along to Naughty By Nature's 1993 hit "Hip Hop Hooray". Video popped up online this week of Kermit, Fozzie, and the gang cut to look like they're singing along to the song, and it is AMAZING!
'Barbie Girl' Voted Worst Song of the '90s by Rolling Stone Readers – See What Else Made t…
Rolling Stone asked their readers to name the worst songs of the '90s and 'Barbie Girl,' Danish group Aqua's infectious techno-pop take on Mattel's iconic doll, took first place.
Top 10 Cheesiest Music Videos of the 90's
The 1980's brought music videos into the world, but the 1990s is when music videos exploded into pop culture. With the hundreds of memorable videos that were released through the 90s, these are ten of the cheesiest and goofiest videos that come to mind. Son
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell Hard at Work on New Solo Album
Former Spice Girls star Geri Halliwell is ready to get her fans moving again.
Halliwell — also known as Ginger Spice — is working on a solo album.
Drew Weisholtz


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Oxford Union Debate Rejects the American Dream
Posted by MLToday | Jan 24, 2013 | Marxist Theory | 0
The Oxford Union voted narrowly to reject the motion 'That this House still dreams the American Dream' on Thursday evening January 24. The Oxford Union is a debating society in Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from Oxford University. Founded in 1823, it has gained a worldwide reputation for vigorous, sharp debate.
Speakers in favour of the motion included former CIA agent Ray McGovern (now a campaigner against US government torture policies) and former Islamic fundamentalist turned American cheerleader Maajid Nawaz. On the winning side were US author (and now British resident) Bonnie Greer, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray, and Communist Party of Britain general secretary Robert Griffiths. His contribution is below.
Madame Comrade President, comrades … the implication of this motion before us is that the Oxford Union has been dreaming the American Dream up to the present day, and is now considering whether to kick the habit.
If so, it's about time, because anyone who still dreams the American Dream must either be fast asleep or high on drugs.
The American Dream became one of the great myths of the 20th century. It has been assiduously promoted by the multimillionaires whose fortunes have been made – or more often inherited – in a system based on exploitation, discrimination and gross inequality.
The myth makers, who own most of the mass media in the United States, must keep everyone on the treadmill, trudging after that bunch of carrots being dangled before them.
The multi-billionaires, of course, have shedfuls of carrots, many of which they would rather let rot than share with those who actually labour to produce them.
The reality is that, for the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st, according to the OECD, the USA is one of the most unequal societies in the world.
The wealthiest 1 per cent of the population own one-third of all the country's personal wealth and more than 50 per cent of the stocks and shares.
The wealthiest 10 per cent own two-thirds of the wealth. The poorer one half of the American people own just 2.5 per cent of the country's wealth and 0.5 per cent of the stocks and shares.
More than 20 per cent of US children are officially classified as living in poverty – twice the level of those in Britain and France.
The average company chief executive takes home 343 times as much money as the average worker, and for decades that gulf has been widening.
None of these figures are seriously in dispute. Indeed, because the wealthy hide so much of their wealth, they probably under-estimate the extent of inequality in Real America.
In real-world America, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the value of wages has not increased in 50 years. One hour's work today will buy you no more for your dollars than it would have done in 1962.
Where has all that productivity gone? Well, you're bright people – you work it out.
The hard-working American family is not a myth. But the idea that they reap even a small share of the fruits of their labour – that's a myth, sustained by the American Dream.
Because a dream is all that it will ever be for most people, in a ruthless system dominated, distorted and corrupted by giant monopoly corporations.
A system, by the way, in which corporate fat cats preach the virtues of 'free enterprise' and 'standing on your own two feet', while the US public underwrite a $21 trillion bailout of that system's giant corporations and markets.
That's what US governments spend on Federal welfare programmes over a period of 50 years.
The real cost of college tuition in the US is five times higher today than it was in 1978. The average cost of tuition fees, room and board at America's private universities has risen to $37,000 a year – that's more than£23,000.
Meanwhile, 17 million graduates are doing jobs that don't even require a college degree – and McDonald's now turn away a higher percentage of applicants than Harvard.
Healthcare costs account for 16 per cent of household spending in the US, more than three times the cost of paying for the NHS in Britain. More than one-third of working age Americans are struggling to pay their medical bills or debts.
But here's the beauty of the American Dream for the private healthcare profiteers … the billionaire mass media has convinced a substantial proportion of the US population that even a statutory medical insurance system is a symbol of socialist tyranny!
Britain's NHS must be full-blown communism!
This is an example of how big business and right-wing fanatics have debased the currency of political debate in the USA.
But the corruption runs far deeper. No candidate can hope to become President unless he or she is either a multimillionaire or relies upon corporate sponsorship.
Exceptions to this rule are rare even in the US Congress.
No wonder that only 28 per cent of adult Americans voted for the winning candidate in last year's presidential election. Forty-four per cent of them either could not vote or wpuld not vote at all.
Perhaps they've rumbled the fact that the US is a one-party state run by two parties, both committed to the interests of big business at home and abroad.
By the way, best not mention the American Dream to the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Greece – countries where US military intervention has killed more than five million of their citizens since 1945.
And let's not forget, that defending and promoting the American Dream was also a major pretext for installing and sustaining military dictators, their torturers and their death squads across large parts of the Third World for most of the 20th century.
Comrades (perhaps some of you are by now) … reality itself is killing the American Dream.
With some of the highest crime rates in the world, and among the lowest rates of upward social mobility, many of America's own citizens have stopped believing in fairy tales.
Most black and Native Americans never swallowed the myths in the first place.
Many millions of US citizens know that – in a system dominated by corporate liars and crooks – hard work does not guarantee a safe family, a secure home, a decent job or a retirement in dignity.
But building a system which does – now that requires new, fresh and courageous vision, not the regurgitation of threadbare cliches from the past.
Madame Comrade President, I'd like to end not with a quote from Marx or Lenin, but one from the First Book of Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 11, with apologies for the sexism:
'When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things'.
This Union can show its solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of the decent, hard-working majority of Americans by voting down the childish, deluded, discredited proposition now in front of it.
Robert Griffiths is general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain and a contributor to 21centurymanifesto
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What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?
by Melusina
Fandom: PoTC Rating: R Pairing: Jack/Will/Elizabeth Full Header
Autumn was coming on fast with torrential rains and high winds. The storms had turned the streets to mud and kept Elizabeth confined at home; after days of bad weather, she was bored and restless. She was too fidgety to sew, her novel failed to hold her attention, and when she tried to write a long-overdue letter to her Great Aunt Arabella, she garbled her words hopelessly. Attempting to strike out a poorly phrased sentence, she knocked over the inkwell, making a sticky mess of the letter. She threw it in the fire in disgust and stretched out on the settee for a nap.
Without meaning to, she found herself recalling Jack's last visit and the alluring trick he had of looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, as if they shared some great secret. Of course she loved Will and would never play him false, but she couldn�t help but wonder what it would be like to have a pirate in her bed. She and Will had been equally innocent on their wedding night, and although she took great pleasure in their explorations, she suspected there were delights yet to be discovered, if only they had an experienced guide.
Both horrified and aroused by this thought, she jumped up and began to pace the length of the narrow parlor, trying to banish the improper ideas, and wishing for Will's return from the smithy. Finally, she gathered up her cloak, told Estrella to hold dinner, and went to see what was keeping him.
Before she got more than a few feet from her front stoop, her shoes were filled with water and her cloak was spattered with mud. She carried on nonetheless, unwilling to turn back now that she'd started. When her hood blew off, she didn't bother trying to pull it up; instead she tipped her head back and let the water wash over her face. It beat against her closed eyelids and stung her cheeks, rousing her from the lethargy that had dulled her spirits.
Laughing, she broke into a run and breathlessly dashed into the door of the smithy. The heat of the forge, such a contrast to the cool evening air, struck her like a blow to the chest. Wisps of steam rose from her wet clothes.
"Will?" she called, already heading for the back room where he settled accounts.
She stopped short. Was that a moan? She rushed to the door, envisioning Will afflicted with some sudden illness.
The door swung open at her touch. Will sat at his desk, his eyes squeezed shut and tension drawn in every line of his body. The bottle he kept for Jack's frequent visits sat on the desk, along with two glasses, but Jack was not in evidence.
Before she could ask Will if he was well, he moaned again, and stuttered out, "J-Jack." Elizabeth's eyes widened as she lowered her gaze to see Jack, his head between Will's legs and Will's hands tangled in his hair. With a little hiccup of understanding, Elizabeth realized what he must be doing, and was filled with indignation. How dare he. . .interfere with her husband? But Will was making the most intriguing sounds, and doing something quite obscene with his mouth, and Elizabeth's earlier speculations were fresh on her mind. She gripped the door frame, the first burst of anger rapidly transmuting into fierce lust.
She wondered if Will would respond similarly to her mouth on him. It had never occurred to her that a lady could serve her husband so, although in retrospect, it seemed so obvious, she wondered how she could have missed it. In a very few minutes, his hands tensed and he bit his lip to stifle his cry, then slumped back in his chair, passed out from too much strong drink. Elizabeth sagged against the wall, her heart pounding wildly.
Jack sighed morosely and said, "It's all right, love, you can return the favor when you're feeling a bit more yourself."
Perhaps it was the noise she made at this thought that betrayed her, or perhaps Jack, no longer quite so engaged, heard the water dripping off her cloak and pattering on the hard floor. He whirled around. "Mistress Turner! What are you doin' hiding in the shadows?"
Elizabeth forced her face into a bland expression, as she shed her cloak and began pulling the pins from her destroyed coiffure. "I was looking for Will. I was worried when he didn't come home for dinner."
Jack chuckled uneasily and swiped at his beard, dislodging a strand of Will's hair that had caught in his mustache. He was not so far gone as Will, but obviously he was feeling the affects of the rum as well. "Will and I were just. . .catching up. Poor boy can't hold his liquor. Just like his father. Why, I remember a time when William-" He stopped abruptly and from somewhere on his person, produced a silver locket hanging on a delicate chain. "Nearly forgot. . .I brought you a present."
As distractions went, this was rather thin. Clearly Jack was hoping she'd just arrived and hadn't seen anything compromising. Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure why she didn't correct this misapprehension, but merely arched an eyebrow and said, "Thank you."
Jack stepped behind her and lifted the hair off her neck to fasten the clasp. Rough fingers brushed her skin and she couldn't stop herself from shivering. He made a surprised noise, then dragged his thumb over the nape of her neck, humming with satisfaction when she gasped. He pulled her closer to him and whispered, "Just how long had you been standing there, hmm?"
"Long enough," she confessed, with the feeling she was stepping off a precipice into the unknown.
Slowly, giving her time to move away if she wished, Jack wrapped his arms around her waist. When she did not protest, he turned her in his arms and kissed her lightly, teasing her lips with his tongue and teeth. There was an odd taste overlaying the rum on his breath, and the realization of what it must be made her kiss him harder. He fumbled behind her for the desk, and they both tripped on her sodden skirts, landing with a crash on top of Will.
"Ow! What in bloody hell are you doing?"
"Kissing your wife," Jack replied insouciantly. "Care to join us?"
Will suddenly appeared a good deal more sober. "Elizabeth?"
"It's fine, Will, truly. All of it."
Understanding hit him and he flushed dark red. "I'm not sure I like this," he muttered.
"You will," Jack assured him, yanking him down onto the floor with them.
Melusina's Page


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L'oratorio della Madonna dei Sette Dolori si trova a Casciana Terme.

Storia e descrizione
Faceva parte di un ospedale dedicato a san Bartolomeo. Collocato all'inizio del castello di Aqui forse inizialmente ebbe la destinazione di accogliere i pellegrini e i poveri di passaggio. II vescovo di Lucca nelle visite pastorali lo visitò e dispose che, come opera pia, adempisse a questa funzione con decoro.

Sull'unico altare si trova un affresco con un gruppo centrale della Pietà – la Madonna Addolorata che tiene in grembo Gesù morto - attribuito dal padre Giovanni Mariti (1736-1806), nel suo Odeporico, a Giunta Pisano, appoggiandosi al parere dell'abate Ranieri Tempesti, noto pittore de1 '700. Ai lati sono state aggiunte le figure di san Bartolomeo, scorticato vivo, titolare dello spedale, e di san Rocco, che mostra la piaga della peste.

L'oratorio è servito anche da sepoltura per i fedeli. Tra le lapidi funebri da notare quella posta ai piedi dell'altare, che segnala la tomba del pievano Marinetti e di sua sorella, uccisi insieme nel 1750 da un pretendente di lei, a cui il fratello si opponeva. Un'altra tomba è di un forestiero spagnolo morto durante le cure.

L'oratorio è stato usato anche dalla Confraternita della Misericordia locale, che vi ha lasciato come ricordo nella parete a sinistra la memoria dei suoi caduti nella guerra del 1915 – 1918 e la devozione a sant'Antonio da Padova.

Di proprietà delle famiglie Borri, che ne curarono gli ultimi restauri nel 1964, l'oratorio è diventato la chiesa della contrada della Casina, che l'ha ridecorato nel 1986 e 1995. Sulla parte destra Africano Paffi ha dipinto due affreschi della Madonna e san Giovanni ai piedi di un crocifisso ligneo.

Oltre alle già citate opere era presente nell'oratorio un affresco importante della scuola di Benozzo Gozzoli, andato perduto.

Purtroppo oggi l'oratorio si trova in un deprecabile stato di abbandono. La conservazione dell'ambiente, e in particolare dell'affresco di rilevante valore storico e artistico che ospita, è messa in grave difficoltà dagli escrementi dei piccioni che indisturbati trovano ospitalità nell'oratorio.

Bibliografia
Notizie tratte da un dépliant sull'oratorio, senza data - anni '90 - e senza editore.

Altri progetti

Madonna dei Sette Dolori
Casciana Terme


The 150-acre nature park welcomed two Reticulated Giraffes to their facility. The male and female giraffe yearlings, named Ziphora and Moses arrived from a zoological facility in the USA and are now enjoying their new enclosure at Safari Niagara.
Clearance has been given to Safari Niagara to allow Ziphora and Moses full access within the entire giraffe house. They will now be spending a great deal of time getting to know Rainbow, our 14-year old Reticulated Giraffe. We are asking for your understanding and patience during this time as the new family members may be off exhibit temporarily while they adjust to their new environment. Stimuli can be an overwhelming experience for the sensitive giraffe species.
We encourage you to come help them acclimate by observing from a distance; as all 3 giraffes will be held in the paddock near the barn and not in the main exhibit. Safari Niagara, a member of the Canadian Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZAAZAC), is a 150-acre nature park located only 10 minutes from Niagara Falls, in Stevensville, Ontario, home to over 1000 animals, reptiles and birds.
For more information on Safari Niagara, visit www.safariniagara.com or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/safariniagara and Twitter @SafariNiagara.