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Tag Archives: Mozart
Masonic Ritual: The Intention [Part III]
4 Oct 2019 By universalfreemasonry in Freemasons, Universal Co-Masonry Tags: Bro. Wilmshurst, Brothers, Bubble, Ceremony, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, Freemason, Freemasonry, hierophanies, Hierophany, Hieros, initiation, Intention, Lodge, Mason, Masonic Initiations, Masonry, Masons, Master, Meaning of Masonry, Mircea Eliade, Mozart, Mystery Schools, Right Intentions, Ritual, Service, Spirituality, Symbolic, Temple, The Magic Flute, Truth, Universal Co-Masonry	Leave a comment
PART III: INTENTION OR EXOTERIC
By Very Ills..... Bro... Kristine Wilson-Slack 33o
The third installment in the series on the effects of Masonic ritual. Masonic Ritual is the play; it stresses the structure and foundation of the story while the thought form and creativity are in the hands of the individual actors in the ritual.
The intent of the Masonic ritual working is the fundamental basis for the first bubble's skin.
Masonic rituals are an initiatory rite, one that marks the beginning, entrance, or acceptance into a different state of being. It is a transformation of one state of consciousness into another. This is true for every degree of Freemasonry. The story enacted may be one of birth, death, mental or ethical transformation. It may be teaching morality via a play; in essence, the transformation of the human state of consciousness is enacted upon the human by thought form creation of the other humans enacting the play.
Masonic Ritual is the play; it stresses the structure and foundation of the story while the thought form and creativity are in the hands of the individual actors in the ritual. Mircea Eliade discussed initiation as a principal religious act by classical or traditional societies.
He defined initiation as "a basic change in existential condition," which liberates man from profane time and history. "Initiation recapitulates the sacred history of the world. And through this recapitulation, the whole world is sanctified anew… [the initiate] can perceive the world as a sacred work, a creation of the Gods."
Eliade believed that the basis of religions were hierophanies. A hierophany is a manifestation of the sacred. The word is a formation of the Greek adjective hieros (sacred) and the verb phainein (to show). In other words, initiatory rites are those which transport the participants from profane (before the temple) time and space into sacred space and time.
When the intention is created, by the form of the Lodge, it will take the outward manifestation of "work to be performed." This could be a ritual ceremony with the focus on an individual, a ceremony that invokes different energies for the accomplishment of some "thing," or it may be the creation of ideas from an educational essay and discussion. The Lodge as a living entity in and of itself creates the intention by the will of its membership; a request for an increase of knowledge, a desire to discuss ideas, or the joy of simply performing a ceremonial service for the good of the world are the intentions of the members. The Master of the Lodge takes these intentions and solidifies them into a working plan for a period of time, intending each Lodge meeting to be an act on the will of the Whole.
The intention of the Lodge is first created through the sending of a Lodge summons to each of the members. By this act, the Work of the Lodge is planned, and a thought form begins for the individual Freemason. The Brother thinks about the ceremony to be performed, his physical part and actions in it, as well as preparing for the mental work to be accomplished. He thinks about who he will be working with, how he should move, and how his intention will meet its mark.
For those who cannot attend, their response helps the Master solidify the workers and their positions, thus ensuring that the work to be performed is focused towards the needs of the Lodge. Neither the acceptance or rejection of the summoning should be a matter of indifference to the Freemason, as their personal energies, ways of working, and thoughts are what build that first bubble once the gathering begins. The intent and preparation of the members of the Lodge are what form that first bubble of energy, surrounding the Lodge and Temple and securing the mindset for the work within.
While this bubble is the first to be created, it is the last to be discharged. Discharging comes at the end of the day, once the work has been completed. We will examine the dispersal of energies at the end of this essay.
This is Part III of a Five part series. You can find the previous installments here: Part I and Part II.
Why Have So Many Famous Jazz Musicians Been Freemasons?
8 Mar 2019 By jonathandinsmore in Freemasons Tags: classical music, famous musicians, freemasonic, Freemasonry, freemasonry and jazz, Freemasons, jazz, jazz and freemasonry, jazz and masonry, jazz artists, jazz musicians, masonic, masonic history, Masonic Music, Masonry, masonry and jazz, masonry and music, Masons, Mozart, Music, music and masonry, Prince Hall, Prince Hall Freemasonry, prince hall lodges, sun ra	Leave a comment
When we think of the connection between Freemasonry and music, where most people's minds probably go first is to Mozart, who is the most famous classical composer to be a documented Mason, although some speculate about Beethoven as well. Indeed, Mozart even wrote Masonic themes into some of his music, as was discussed in another of our posts.
What many do not realize is that there are perhaps more famous jazz musicians who were Masons than classical composers, or perhaps any other genre. Why does Freemasonry count so many renowned jazz artists among its ranks? That's what we'll be learning about in this post: both the history and reasons for Masonry's jazz connections.
As always, this writing does not reflect the official views of Universal Co-Masonry, but is merely the reflections of one Co-Mason.
A History of Great Jazz Masons
First, let's just take a look at some of the big names from jazz history who have been a part of the Brotherhood. Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, and Dizzy Gillespie are just a few household names you might recognize who were either proven or almost certainly Freemasons. There are yet more to list, but these are probably the biggest names who even casual jazz fans will recognize.
Sun Ra, an interesting character by any measure, is also theorized to have been a member of a Prince Hall Lodge, or a lodge of a related fraternal order, throughout his career. While not the most well-documented Mason, his flamboyant, Egyptian-inspired stage garb and "cosmic" philosophical expressions certainly make him at least the most colorful character to be associated with both jazz and the Masonic tradition.
So, why is there such a connection between Freemasonry and jazz?
Hip to Be Square
One of the suggested reasons that Freemasonry has been so appealing to musicians throughout history is that along with valuing music as one of the seven liberal arts, it also made it easier for those who lived on the road. By being a Freemason, traveling musicians could easily plug into any community and support network they encountered, via the local lodge. It also provided support at times of sickness and death, which to the sometimes empty-pocketed musicians, could be a godsend.
Jazz history is also intimately intertwined with African American history, and so it shouldn't surprise us that many of these jazz musicians were connected to Freemasonry through Prince Hall Lodges. Prince Hall Freemasonry is an order that was chartered by the Grand Lodge of England for African Americans who were rejected from mainstream Lodges at the time, and are predominantly African American in their membership.
At the time when jazz proliferated, and many of the African American jazz Masons were in their hayday, much of the country was still segregated, and racial tensions were still quite high. Life as a musician already wasn't easy, and if you add to that being part of an actively persecuted ethnic group, it's not hard to see why the benefits of Fraternal Life would be appealing, even empowering to African American jazz musicians in the early-to-mid 20th century.
However, it also seems likely that there are deeper reasons for the connection than simple utility and networking.
On the Same Wavelength
Jazz is known by most as a type of music, but it's also a subculture, and that subculture has its own sort of philosophy and ethic. If we reflect upon both the ideas embodied in the music of jazz, as well as the culture surrounding it, we can find many correlations which give a deeper understanding to the connections between jazz and Freemasonry than simply being a useful fraternal organization for musicians.
Both Freemasonry and jazz, for instance, are about generating new ideas; innovation and forward thinking are qualities that are embraced both in the Lodge and in the creation of jazz music. There is also an inclusiveness to jazz, having originated in the intermingling of various cultures and musical styles in New Orleans in the early 20th century, and that symbiosis and confluence of cultures towards a common goal of progress together is certainly a value held by Masonry, as well.
On a more abstract level, we can look at the actual musical nature and structure of jazz, some of which can be quite abstract, and draw another correlation. Anyone who has developed an appreciation for jazz, especially the more abstract variety, can understand how the phrase "Ordo Ab Chao" could be equally relevant to the craft of jazz as it is in the Craft of Freemasonry.
Mozart: A Freemason Inspired by the Craft
3 Nov 2017 By Pamela McDown in Freemasons Tags: Clarinet Concerto in A Major (K 622), Co-Freemasonry, Co-Masons, Freemason, Freemasonry, Lodge of Sorrows, Masonic Music, Masonry, Masons, Minuet and Trio in G major, Mozart, Mozart and Masonry, Music, Paul Nettl, Prelude and Fugue in C (K 394), Requiem	1 Comment
A few years ago, I spent a great deal of time researching Mozart's life and especially his affiliations with Freemasonry. We know much about Mozart because there are many letters that have been preserved in the archives. As I poured over these amazing documents, I learned a lot about history. But it especially got me thinking about how the themes of freemasonry affected his musical style. After he became a Freemason, his tools of making music evolved into something completely different.
Do the ideals of Freemasonry inspire an artist?
We know the craft attracts many men and women from all walks of life. They not only change and shape their Lodge but the world around them. Mozart, a prolific musician and a Freemason was a mover and shaker of his time. He left his mark on the world with more than 600 works in a great range of genres. There are so many timeless lessons from his character, his creative process and his music that we can learn from.
At around five years old, he wrote his first composition, a Minuet and Trio in G major, listed as K 1. He eventually made it all the way up to K 626, his Requiem. Mozart possessed the outstanding ability for "photographing" everything that he heard. He could attend a concert and later write down the full composition of the concert. In one of Mozart's letters to his father about Prelude and Fugue in C (K 394), Mozart writes:
I composed the fugue first and wrote it down while I was thinking out the prelude.
His genius was unquestionable. However, we don't really know what inspired him. Where did his inspiration come from? What is inspiration, anyway? When we break apart the word "inspired," we find it comes from two words "in" and "spirit." The word literally means "in spirit." In other words, when you are inspired by something, it means that you are living in spirit or in more masonic terms, "on the plumb."
Just how important was the tie to freemasonry with his inspiration?
The Fraternity
Mozart knocked on the door of Freemasonry in 1784. Being twenty-eight years old, the enlightenment was a glorious time for this young lad. The setting was revolutionary. Humanity stood on the threshold of a new era. Composers and musicians would no longer be viewed as mere servants, but as craftsmen in their own right.
In an excellent book by Paul Nettl called Mozart and Masonry, he remarks:
What led him to Masonry was the reflection and self- contemplation which followed his extensive wandering, and this also brought about the creation of his unique style.
Membership in the Royal Art for Mozart was not an impulsive act. He attended his Lodge regularly, advanced in the degrees and had many friends through his connections with the Lodge.
There is something very crucial to understand that relates to all this. Years and years of hard labor gave him a solid foundation to take his music to the next level. He labored incredibly hard, up at 5 am in the morning and often burned the midnight oil. He always pushed for something unique as a true gift to humanity, introducing his own shade of meaning into whatever he touched.
It would seem that the disciplines of Freemasonry inspired him greatly. No?
Masonic Music
Mozart wrote a staggering amount of music considering his short years. It must be acknowledged that being controversial didn't stop him. His music wasn't appreciated by everyone – not even close. He was willing to put himself out there, especially with his masonic music. What exactly constitutes Mozart's masonic music?
Music scholars say that Mozart's "masonic" music generally falls into three categories.
Masonic in nature, obviously written for Lodge occasions.
Masonic in spirit, but not written specifically to be performed in a lodge.
Written for other purposes, but adapted for use in lodge.
For example, the famous Clarinet Concerto in A Major (K 622) falls into the third category. Although not written for a Lodge occasion, he composed it for Anton Stadler, a member of his Lodge, who he shared the utmost of fidelity. Whenever he wrote as a token of friendship, he would add a different nuance depending on what the music was for. It was his gift. His wide circle of Lodge brothers inspired him greatly.
Most artists have admitted that they require the aid of inspiration to accomplish their work. Etienne Gibson, French philosopher, in Choir of Muses tells how music composer Sibelius describes an inspired experience:
When the final shape of our work depends on forces more powerful than ourselves, we can later give reasons for this passage or that, but taking it as a whole one is merely an instrument. The power driving us is that marvelous logic which governs a work of art. Let us call it God.
I believe that Sibelius is speaking of a different kind of inspiration, one that comes from still Higher Sources, the Great Architect of the Universe. Music is so abstract at times it gives you infinite ways to contact the Divine.
After his death, the Freemasons held a Lodge of Sorrows in Mozart's memory, and the oration there delivered was printed by Ignez Alberti, a member of Mozart's own Lodge.
An excerpt follows:
Though it is proper to recall his achievements as an artist, let us not forget to honor his noble heart. He was a zealous member of our order. His love for his brothers, his cooperative and affirmative nature, his charity, his deep joy whenever he could serve one of his brethren with special talents, these were his great qualities. He was a husband and father, a friend to his friends and a brother to his brothers…
Every so often when I'm lazing about, it makes me incredibly motivated to think about these histories from classical composers like Mozart. Sadly, we may never know what inspired Mozart. The composer's intentions remain unknowable. I have to say the sheer intensity of his life does suggest something exceptional. Something inspired by the craft.


For some people, home is a specific place: a town, a city, a village, a house, a shack, a camper, a gymnasium. For others, it's a state of mind: we're at home wherever we're comfortable.
Some of us - more than there should be - don't have a home, either physically or emotionally. We don't know comfort, and are suspicious of every place we go, as though the lights could scorch us and the walls could swallow us.
The authors in this issue explore the concept of home. They dig inside our collective discomfort and, by helping us understand it, help assuage our fears.
Art by Lora Northway; new fiction by Carrie Mac; new poetry by Dani Couture and Peter Richardson.
Cover Image: Lora Northway, Lintukotu.
Contributors: Yuan Changming, Carrie Mac, Eugene Dubnov, Dani Couture, Brent Raycroft, Tim Lehnert, Peter Richardson, Sean Howard, Paul Zits, Madeline Bassnett, Reg Silvester, Sharon Bala, Trisha Rose, Myron Shutty, Lucian Childs, Pascal Poirier.


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Björn Jan Otto Hallman, född 1 december 1944 i Luleå, är en svensk kompositör, dirigent och musiker (piano, altviolin, flöjt).

Verksamhet
Hallman var anställd som kapellmästare vid Kungliga Operan i Stockholm 1971–1997. Under 1980-talet blev han känd som tonsättare och inledde sin tonsättarbana med Mässa för sopran, oboe, orgel och kör, framförd i Vatikanen.

Under åren 1984–1986 skrev han ett tjugotal verk, bland annat Sagan om Snövit (1981). Klarinettkonserten (1983) beställdes och uruppfördes av Göteborgssymfonikerna. Niklas Piccolas vänner (1983) framfördes över 100 gånger enbart i Sverige. Operan Förföraren (1984) handlar om Don Juans framfart i helvetet.
Familjeoperan Pomperipossas syster, som bygger Falstaff Fakirs berättelse med text av Birgitta Ribbegren, var ett beställningsverk av Kungliga Operan i Stockholm (1984), vilket återkom under flera  säsonger. Andra verk av Hallman är Cellokonsert, uruppförd i Åbo 1984, och Konsert för Två Violiner och orkester (1986). Sångcykeln Kalejdoskop (1984) för alt och orkester slår an ett tonspråk som kan påminna om den sene Sjostakovitjs inåtblickande musik. Till Helsingborgs 900-årsjubileum skrev han Suquamhövdingens brev (1985), uruppförd av Håkan Hagegård, som även framförde cykeln Den lycklige prinsen (1984), uruppförd av Elisabeth Söderström.

Bland senare verk kan nämnas Änglarnas trädgård för soli, kör och orkester (2000), Solitär opera i två akter (om Christina Nilsson), beställd av Operan och Musik i Kronoberg vid Växjös 650-årsjubileum (1992), Konsert för sopransaxofon och orkester (2004), Konsert för gitarr och orkester (2004), Konsert för flöjt och orkester (uruppförd 2005 av Jönköpings Sinfonietta), Konsert för piano och orkester (2011), Symfoni nr 1 (uruppförd 2013 i Kiev) och Konsert för trombon och orkester (2013).

Filmmusik

Källor

Björn Hallman på Svensk mediedatabas

Externa länkar
Björn Hallmans hemsida

Svenska filmmusikkompositörer
Svenska dirigenter
Svenska kompositörer under 1900-talet
Svenska kompositörer under 2000-talet
Musiker från Luleå
Män
Födda 1944
Levande personer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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With each passing year, we add a little more sugar, spice, and geekiness to our Christmas tree, and I love it a little more. Because we've had Star Wars on the brain, we've made several additions in that vein, including the best nutcracker ever conceived. And after much searching, contemplation, and meditation, we finally added a tree topper for the first time. Jeff found the perfect one. Praise Cthulhu!


San Diego area anglers continue to focus their efforts on fishing for sand bass, calico bass, sculpin and halibut while in state waters, as a seasonal two-month rockfish/groundfish closure remains in effect until March 1. Those wishing to target rockfish have been traveling south to fish spots in Mexican waters — and they have been finding good action on trips to Los Coronados islands, the Finger Bank and Punta Colnett, among other places.
When fishing or boating in Mexican waters, make sure you have a Mexican fishing license and a Mexican visa for each person aboard. The boat operator also needs to make sure that he or she has all the boat registration paperwork aboard. It is good practice for each person to carry a passport: the best means of identification.
Boats fishing on 1.5-day trips south to Punta Colnett have been doing very well on an assortment of rockfish. Most trips have been highlighted by limit fishing for big reds and some nice-sized lingcod.
There have been occasional flurries of yellowtail action reported by boats fishing the Punta Colnett region. Most of the yellowtail have been located down deep with scanning sonar, and the few that have been caught have been biting on yo-yoed iron.
There have not been many boats fishing around Los Coronados islands lately, so reports have been scarce. The best areas for rockfish around the islands have been along the outer ridge areas between the outside of South Island and South Kelp Ridge. A couple of other productive areas include the hard-bottom spots north of North Island and at the lower end of the 9-Mile Bank in Mexican waters.
The sportfishing boat Voyager out of Seaforth Sportfishing made a recent three-quarter-day trip into Mexico, with 24 anglers aboard catching 46 rockfish, 17 whitefish, one lingcod and one sheephead.
Boats fishing the San Diego area coast have been catching a mixed bag of sand bass, calico bass, sculpin and halibut. There have been occasional white seabass and yellowtail caught, but for the most part, there has not been anything consistent to report.
The Imperial Beach area has been producing bass, sculpin and an occasional halibut for boats drifting areas near the Imperial Beach Pier. Some of the better sand bass fishing in the region has been found by boats fishing southeast of the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma.
The Jetty Kelp out in front of Mission Bay has been productive for sand bass, calico bass and sculpin. Another productive zone for bass and sculpin has been in hard-bottom areas outside the kelp beds along the middle part of La Jolla. There have also been a few halibut biting for boats drifting the sandy bottom outside of Mission Beach.
Off La Jolla, occasional schools of yellowtail have been spotted working near the surface. The showings of yellowtail have been erratic, and the fish have been hard to hook when they do decide to show. It's a good idea to have a surface iron outfit rigged up and ready to cast, should you get lucky and be in the right spot at the right time when a school of yellowtail pops up.
The Oceanside area has also been producing a mix of sand bass, calico bass, sculpin and halibut. Capt. Joe Cacciola of Sea Star out of Helgren's Sportfishing reported that squid have bee available to catch for bait at night, for boats fishing outside the Anderson Pipeline at Carlsbad and at San Mateo. Look for an occasional white seabass to bite in the squid area.
Cacciola reported that sand bass have been biting well on the live or fresh dead squid, fished on a dropper-loop rig. He suggested working structure and rocky reef areas for sand bass and sculpin. Try the Anderson and Buccaneer pipelines and the artificial reefs out in front of Oceanside Harbor.
Sandy-bottom areas adjacent to structure have been producing some nice-sized halibut. Cacciola reported recent halibut of 32 and 35 pounds taken aboard Sea Star. Cacciola also reported that a private boater recently weighed in a 45-pound halibut.
The winter fishing season can be lots of fun and usually produces some great-eating fish. Keep on fishing, and I hope to see you out on the water.


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The misconception is that those things are detectable when they aren't.
People just 'assume' such things are detectable. They don't read up on anything and jump to conclusions.
As @DarkstaR has already stated, nothing can be 100% undetectable. Things can be done to reduce the risk of the bot being detected but remember that when you purchase any sort of tibiabot, you're purchasing it at your own risk and if you're caught, you've only got yourself to blame.
I think the thread should be locked with just the original post so that people actually read it.
I agree with @DarkstaR said... There is no bot, completely safe, but for now, i think xenobot is our best choice to move on!
By used properly he means keep switching places you bot in, sometimes hunt manually and do not bot for extremely long times nonstop. non-human behaviour is what gets you caught, not the mana bars.
Most likely the way cip takes care of botters is server-sided bot detection, monitoring the way ppl behave, the way ppl move.
If cip detected bots in another way, for example if they could see that you're manipulating the client or running a program called "neobot.exe" while playing, they could just bann every botter at once and get rid of the botters. But thats not the case since they have not banned everyone, just some ppl. These are most likely the ones who probably never used skip nearby nodes in neo, botted the same spawn for more than 10h in a row without taking a break, behaving like a bot.
More facts about injecting to the cilent that backs up what I just wrote and what darkstar has said about this matter. Written by darkstar himself!
Healing at the exact same hp is non human behaviour, sure you had it randomized? And about being banned by cavebotting, thers a shitload of things that lowers the risk of being caught, anything that breaks the pattern in moving lowers the risk. Probably even a depositter will do it. In neo skipping nodes makes it also harder. Basically almost everything that has impact on how the character moves will do it.
Last edited by Fire; 12-28-2011 at 12:42 PM.
so you saying its not safe but i can use?
So, let's put like this: XenoBot is as safe as NeoBot, as long as you aren't a moron.
I'm finding it quite interesting. Since Neo is dead, this is my goal.
Intresting facts, let's see what happen on next massban !.


From growing up in the countryside, blackberries are one of the first ingredients to come to mind when summer produce is being discussed. I have fond memories of spending afternoons picking baskets full of them straight from the brambles, hands stained purple from the juice. Luckily, they're easy to come across in supermarkets, and can be found in abundance on the market stalls this time of the year, so a trip to the countryside is, although definitely recommended, not completely necessary.
Blackberries are packed full of vitamin-c to help boost your immune system as well as being lower in natural sugars than other fruits, making them a great, healthy choice. Being in season from early July to late September, they're traditionally mixed with the first apples of the season to make a warm and comforting crumble as the days start to get cooler, but can also be enjoyed fresh during the warmer months.
To help you make the most of blackberry season, we've put together a few tips and tricks of how best to incorporate them into your meals, as well as the recipe for our healthy gluten, dairy and refined sugar free blackberry and apple crumble for a healthy slice of nostalgia!
- Although blackberries tend to be used more in sweet dishes, they also work well in sauces or as a marinade for game such as quail or partridge.
7. Bake in the oven for about half an hour, or until golden brown.


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Good development to information revolution.Keep it up.


text:
By M. David Stone
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You can also use the touch-screen menus to print from and scan to a selection of websites (including Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneDrive, and OneNote). Even better, the Brother Apps on the menu let you scan to a variety of file formats and then save the file to a cloud site or send it as an email attachment without needing a PC. Choices for the file formats include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and searchable PDF, with Brother's servers in the cloud doing the work of recognizing the scanned text when they create the file.
If you connect the printer to a single PC via USB cable instead of connecting it to a network, you won't be able to print through the cloud or use the other Web-related features. However the MFC-J5720DW also offers Wi-Fi Direct, so you can still connect to it directly from a mobile device to print and scan.
Paper handling is definitively a strong point, with a built-in duplexer (for printing on both sides of a page), two 250-sheet drawers in front, and a one-sheet manual feed in the back, along with a multi-purpose tray that can take 80 letter-size sheets or five tabloid-size sheets. Both front drawers can take paper as large as tabloid size.
For scanning, the MFC-J5720DW supplements its letter-size flatbed with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) that can handle up to legal-size pages. Even better, the scanner itself can duplex, meaning that it scans both sides of a page at once, rather than scanning one side, turning the page over, and scanning the other. For copying, the combination of duplex scanning and printing lets you copy both single- and double-sided originals to your choice of single- or double-sided copies.
Setup, Speed, and Output Quality
One of the nicer touches for the MFC-J5720DW is that it's relatively small for a tabloid-size printer, 12.1 by 19.3 by 13.6 inches (HWD) with the rear tray closed and the front drawers set for letter-size paper. Opening the ADF output tray adds only 1.7 inches to the width. Adjusting one or both drawers for tabloid-size paper and fully extending both the front output tray and the rear multipurpose tray increases the depth to 29.3 inches. It weighs in at 31 pounds 11 ounces. For my tests, I connected the printer to a network using its Ethernet port and installed the drivers and other software on a system running Windows Vista. Setup is typical.
According to Brother's ratings, the printer is slightly faster than the Brother MFC-J4710DW, but it came in slower on our tests. I timed it on our Business Applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at 3.9 pages per minute (ppm) compared with 5.7ppm for the older model. It's also slower than the Epson WorkForce WF-7610 ($269.96 at Amazon) , at 5.4ppm, but a bit faster than the HP Officejet 7610 Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer ($549.00 at Amazon) at 3.5ppm.
See How We Test Printers
Output quality, like speed, is good enough for most office use, but not impressive. Text on plain paper and photos printed on photo paper are both a match for most inkjet MFPs. For text, that translates to being good enough for most business use, as long as you don't have an unusual need for small fonts. For photos, it translates to being roughly a match for drugstore prints.
Graphics quality is at the low end of a tight range that includes the vast majority of inkjet MFPS, which also makes it easily good enough for any business need. Most people would consider it good enough for PowerPoint handouts and the like, despite a tendency for colors to be a little washed out—an issue that also applies to photos printed on plain paper.
Very much in the plus column is the MFC-J5720DW's low claimed cost per page, at just 1.7 cents for a black-and-white page and 7.4 cents for a color page. That's a touch lower than the Brother MFC-J4710DW's running cost, and notably lower than what the Epson WF-7610 offers, at 3.2 cents for a black and white page and 11.4 cents for a color page.
If you care more about text quality and speed than running cost, be sure to consider the Brother MFC-J4710DW and the Epson WF-7610. Both offer faster speed than the MFC-J5720DW, as well as better text quality, although the Epson printer offers somewhat lower quality for graphics, and the Brother MFC-J4710DW delivers significantly less capable paper handling.
That said, keep in mind that the Brother MFC-J5720DW offers perfectly acceptable speed and output quality, and it also delivers excellent paper handling, mobile printing and scanning, highly useful Web-related features, and a notably low cost per page. The combination makes it a highly attractive pick overall, as well as our Editors' Choice tabloid-size printer suitable for heavy-duty use in a home office or light- to medium-duty use in a micro or small office.
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About M. David Stone
M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for the Hewlett-Packard HP Invent Awards. His more than 30 years of experience in writing about science and technology includes a more than 25-year concentration on PC hardware and software. He has a proven track record of making technical issues easy for non-technical readers to understand, while holding the interest of more knowledgeable readers. Writing credits include nine computer-related books, major contributions to four others, and more than 4,000 articles in national and worldwide computer and general interest publications. His books include The Underground Guide to Color Printers (Addison-Wesley) Troubleshooting Your PC, (Microsoft Press), and Faster, Smarter Digital Photography (Microsoft Press). Much of David's writing has been for PC Magazine and PCMag.com. He has been a frequent contributor since 1983, a Contributing Editor since 1987, and Lead Analyst since 2004. His work has also appeared in a number of other print and online magazines and newspapers, including Wired; Computer Shopper, eWeek, and Science Digest, where he was Computers Editor. He also wrote a column for the Newark Star Ledger for several years. Non-computer-related work runs the gamut from the Project Data Book for NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (written for GE's Astro-Space Division) to occasional science fiction short stories. (His work has appeared in Analog.) After being born in and spending most of his life in or near New York City, David moved to Pennsylvania several years ago, but still considers himself a New Yorker, and refuses to give up the New York area code on his cell phone.
Read the latest from M. David Stone
LaCie Rugged RAID Shuttle Review
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How We Test Scanners
HP OfficeJet 4650 All-in-One Printer Review
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: validate an email without firebase auth - Kotlin Is there any simple way to validate an email in kotlin without using firebase authentication? Need to validate an email before entering firebase.
Ex:- if a user fill the email field like abcdefg without @ need to display error message. if a user fill the email field like abc@gmail.com then those data will enter to the firebase.
like this:- (other fields like name, Phone number)
if (FullName.text.trim().isNotEmpty() && PhoneNo.length()
                    .equals(10) && PhoneNo.text.trim().isNotEmpty()){

}
else{

Toast.makeText(this, "fill all required details", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()

}

A: You can write this function.
private fun isItEmail(email: String): Boolean {
        return !TextUtils.isEmpty(email) && Patterns.EMAIL_ADDRESS.matcher(email).matches()
    }

then call isItEmail("yourEmail@email.com")  function with your email string. If it return true, then it is a valid email like yourEmail@email.com else it return false then you can Toast it is not valid email.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The natural and social capital accounting in the apparel sector white paper evaluates both the current state of natural and social capital accounting and valuation in the apparel industry, and explores its potential to accelerate the transition to a sustainable apparel industry.
The ideas presented in this document are intended to help advance the discussion regarding value in the apparel industry, frame the challenges and opportunities, and inspire collaborative action.
The paper has been developed using a wide range of literature, and based upon industry stakeholders' opinions and experiences. The Sustainable Fashion Academy would like to thank the many apparel companies, government representatives, NGOs and other stakeholders who have inputted into the research either through structured interviews, or through the consultation period of the paper.
In particular, the SFA thanks The Prince's Charities International Sustainability Unit for funding this exciting and important research.
Given the scale, complexity and urgency of the challenges sustainable fashion faces, much more needs to be done. The demands on the industry for constant economic growth can be at odds with environmental and social sustainability. We need new approaches that will reconcile the demands of the market and the requirements of the planet and people. We need individuals and organizations that are willing to openly question established conventions and pioneer new practices. We need leaders who can help us envision new pathways that can guide us during this great transition.
The Sustainable Fashion Academy commissioned this study in order to assess both the current state of natural and social capital accounting in the apparel industry, and to explore its potential. It is their hope the ideas presented in this document will help advance the discussion regarding value in the apparel industry, frame the challenges and opportunities, and inspire collaborative action.


Rosser's work Form, speaks of the human condition and our increasing alienation from our own bodies. Function, continues this journey through meticulous, inclusive eyes as figures connects further. In these photographs, what should be intimately familiar is transformed into an unfamiliar sculpture. Photographed in this contorted fashion, the body becomes almost inhuman; it is a mindless mass of flesh, a growth. Although the figures are abstract they still retain many human qualities; foetal like poses, flecks of freckles and the subtle arc of the spine. The forms photographed are a stark contrast to our society's concept of an 'ideal body'.


text:
January 12, 2012 — 6:52am
Video (46:10) : Sid Hartman predicts the Timberwolves will start winning as soon as they get Michael Beasley back into the lineup.
SID HARTMAN @SidHartman
After several seasons in which both the Lynx and Timberwolves did poorly on the court and at the box office, owner Glen Taylor seems to have hit the jackpot with both teams.
The Lynx won the WNBA title and showed a profit for the first time in their existence. And while the Wolves are 3-7, they have been competitive in almost every game against some of the top teams in the NBA and they also are setting records at the gate.
On Tuesday night, the game with the Bulls was the first sellout of any Timberwolves game played between Monday and Thursday (not including home openers) since March 3, 2004, against Seattle. The gross gate was over $800,000, according to one Wolves official, one of the highest takes in a long, long time.
Right now Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are big stars in this town, and even non- basketball fans are attending the games, just to see what everybody is raving about.
In the Wolves' entire existence, I have never seen a packed Target Center lobby like Tuesday night. People were lined up outside on the sidewalk trying to get in.
The enthusiasm of a good Timberwolves crowd is second only to the Williams Arena throngs back when the Gophers have had good basketball teams and were beating Indiana and Illinois.
Taylor, who spends his winter vacationing in Florida with family and has been to all but a couple of the home games, said he never expected not only the good start of the team, but also the fan interest.
"I'm really pleased with the way we've started out this year," Taylor said. "There's certainly hope. We have a great coach, and I just feel comfortable that he'll bring this team around. It's probably started a lot better than I anticipated."
Taylor praised president of basketball operations David Kahn, who did a good job in hiring coach Rick Adelman and also talked about how Kahn "had a lot of faith in Ricky Rubio, which appears as if it's going to pay off. We'll see if some of our other guys can keep developing, and if they can, we should have a very good team.
"There were guys that had played with [Rubio] who said that he would play very well [in the NBA], but I just think that he stepped in so fast and is willing to play so well under pressure is what has surprised everybody."
Taylor, while recalling Kevin Garnett being very popular as a rookie, said he believed Rubio has to be the most popular rookie with the fans of any in the Wolves' 23 seasons.
What is going on at Target Center reminds me of the days the Minneapolis Lakers packed the old Minneapolis Auditorium for every game the first year and continued for a long time. The only difference is that the Lakers won titles from the start.
But with Adelman at the helm, it won't be long before the Wolves will be contenders.
Forget about Shakopee
As for the viability of Shakopee as a site for a new Vikings stadium at this late date, forget about it.
Wednesday's news conference, held by new Mayor Brad Tabke, was just a great grandstand act.
But there are some good things going on with the Minneapolis sites. Last Monday night, top Twin Cities business leaders had a meeting at the Minneapolis Club and a downtown stadium was discussed. Those leaders are doing a lot of contacting of politicians and trying to help in getting a deal done.
While the Linden Avenue site might be the only hope for the stadium to be built in Minneapolis, Vikings owners realize there is some opposition from the people at the Basilica of St. Mary. But the Vikings have had conversations with the Rev. John Bauer, the rector of the Basilica, and they have been working with him.
"We're working with him on making sure that the Basilica issues get addressed," said Lester Bagley, vice president of public affairs/stadium development for the Vikings. "It didn't help today when one of the parishioners took a shot at Zygi [Wilf] by saying, 'Why would we ruin this institution for a East Coast developer who doesn't live here?'
"That's what your newspaper put on the front page of the paper today, and it's not a representative feeling of the Basilica group. ... But they apologized profusely about those comments towards the Vikings owner."
Bagley is confident the Vikings can satisfy everybody connected with the Basilica if land near the famous church is chosen as the stadium site.
"The leadership of the Basilica and the pastor believe there are legitimate issues, and they will be and can be addressed if the stadium is built there," Bagley said. "I think those issues are legitimate but they can be resolved, and if the stadium goes there, they will be resolved."
• Apparently, former Vikings coach Brad Childress had some good endorsements from the Tampa Bay Area press when he recently interviewed for the Buccaneers head coaching job. Childress told the Tampa Bay Times that "[The Bucs] have a good, young football team. I liked Josh [Freeman] when he came out of college. If you don't have a quarterback, you are always looking for one. I believe he can be that guy, and I like him a lot."
• Former Gophers defense- man Keith Ballard played in his 500th NHL game Monday night in the Canucks' 2-1 loss to Florida. Ballard has one goal and six assists in 39 games this season. ... Former Gophers defenseman Chris Harrington is playing for the Oji Eagles in Japan.
• Connor Schaefbauer will be joining the Gophers baseball team next season as a shortstop, but he is currently a part of the No. 1-ranked high school basketball team in South Dakota. Schaefbauer is the leading scorer for Sioux Falls O'Gorman, which is 9-2 overall in Class AA and has a 47-game winning streak against in-state opponents.
• Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano has pitched in two games for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. Liriano has posted a 8.31 ERA in 4 1/3 innings and has a 0-2 record so far.
Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. shartman@startribune.com
Former sports columnist Sid Hartman.
shartman@startribune.com 612-673-4452 @SidHartman
More From Sid Hartman
Sid Instant Replay from 1977: Vikings' Super Bowl loss to Raiders hurt the most
Read Sid's column from the Jan. 10, 1977, edition of the Tribune following the Vikings' loss to Oakland in the Super Bowl.
Read Sid's column from 1974, when Ara Parseghian left Notre Dame
On every remaining Sunday in 2020, the Star Tribune will republish a memorable Sid Hartman column from the archives.
Sid instant replay: Undefeated Gophers topple No. 4 Penn State
On every remaining Sunday in 2020, the Star Tribune will republish a memorable Sid Hartman column from the archives. This one is from last fall.
Sid Instant Replay: Bud Grant surprises team by deciding to retire
On every remaining Sunday in 2020, the Star Tribune will republish a memorable Sid Hartman column from the archives. This one is from Jan. 28, 1984.
Hartman: Thielen says Vikings have the talent to bounce back from 1-4
Making the playoffs after a 1-4 start undoubtedly will be a challenge for the Vikings , but there's no doubt this offense has enough weapons to go on a big winning streak starting Sunday against the Falcons.
Golden State 31-11
Minnesota 20-22
Wolves Schedule & Results
Teaching Steph and Seth Curry is Melissa Nori's 'claim to fame' • Wolves
Wolves boss Gupta sees team as 'buyers' as trade deadline looms • Wolves
'Big Three' not enough. Reserves let down Wolves as Memphis wins 11th straight • Wolves
Wolves welcome Warriors, but Curry and Green will sit • Wolves
Wolves play Thunder, Bucks in preseason games at Target Center • Wolves


One of the biggest barriers to video conferencing adoption by businesses, and particularly among small businesses, has been concern about quality. No organization wants to spend money on conferencing equipment, only to experience quality issues like latency and jitter. Video conferencing monitoring software completely cancels out those concerns, ensuring conferencing systems perform at peak quality and are an actual asset instead of a liability.
Video and audio conferencing are pretty much ubiquitous in today's unified communications platforms. A comprehensive monitoring and management solution will look at an organization's entire communications infrastructure, adjusting traffic flows and resources in real time to meet the demands of specific applications and services like video. Offerings may reside on premises or in the cloud, accessible on an as-a-service basis.
A holistic videoconferencing monitoring solution will provide information like live performance data, which is critical to troubleshooting potential audio and video quality issues. Solutions can also offer information on site-to-site testing, call disconnect statistics and incident reports, hardware disconnect alerts, the ability to remotely reboot systems, and information on conferencing schedules. By managing the health of all communications within an organization, managers and IT staff can troubleshoot potential issues before they become problematic and impact call quality.
The business landscape is becoming increasingly global, and videoconferencing enables workers to collaborate "in person" without the time and expense of traveling to a different location. According to research from Global Market Insights, the market for videoconferencing is expected to top $20 billion by 2024, propelled by globalization and falling prices for video conferencing solutions.
And the market for videoconferencing opportunities spans multiple verticals, with corporate enterprises as well as government organizations and healthcare and educational institutions driving adoption. Educational uses alone are expected to expand the market by 14-percent CAGR through 2024, thanks to applications like video tutoring and online education.
Organizations that want to remain competitive, no matter which vertical market they are in, will make use of videoconferencing as well as some sort of monitoring and management solution. By taking advantage of the myriad benefits of a monitoring solution, businesses can ensure their communications systems are operating as flawlessly and efficiently as possible.


On the ground floor, there is a small fitness room available to the guests of the hotel. Running tracks and a selection of cardio exercise machines are there to keep you fit and on schedule. Keys for the gym are available at reception.


"Someday your little database will grow up. When it hits the teenage years - about two in human years - it will get moody, sullen, and resentful. In the worst case, it will start undermining the whole system (and it will probably complain that nobody understands it, too)."


Several hundred visitors flocked to the parking lot of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces to attend the second annual "Flagstaff Summertime Tardeada" fiesta on Saturday, June 27.
The Tardeada, a vibrant afternoon festival and social dance celebrating Flagstaff's Hispanic culture and community history, drew even a larger crowd than the 500 visitors who attended the 2014 event.
The church is a significant site because it was the pride and centerpiece of the Hispanic community when it was built in the late 1920s by Flagstaff Hispanic pioneer families, who had strong bonds to the church.
The entertainment stage featured Ballet Folklorico de Colores – Flagstaff; dance music presented by Grupo Fierro of Tucson; Desierto de Colores Ballet Folklorico de Holbrook; Flagstaff Artists Unidos featuring Alena Chavez, Monico Nunez, Steve Carrillo and Tim Valdez; Compania de Danza Folklorica Arizona from Tucson and the showcase group, Mariachi Sol Azteca from Tucson.
Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces extends its heartfelt thanks to the record number of sponsors to who came out to support this year's Tardeada.


text:
Equity Group Appoints Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO)
Posted on December 1, 2022 November 30, 2022 by Staff Reporter | 15291 Views | 17 min read
Samuel Kirubi, has been promoted to the position of GCOO from his current role of Managing Director of Equity Bank Uganda
In his seven years of duty in Uganda, he turned around the entity from No 16 to the 5th most profitable bank in Uganda and the 6th largest bank in deposits and assets
He holds immense experience in banking and leadership and has risen through the ranks in Equity since 2001
Equity Group Holdings Plc has announced the promotion of Samuel Kirubi to Group Chief Operating Officer. Kirubi moves from the position of Managing Director, Equity Bank Uganda to head the Group operations from the Equity's head office in Nairobi.
Samuel holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Moi University and a BA in Economics and Statistics from Egerton University. He is a graduate of Advanced Management Program (Strathmore IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain). He joined Equity Bank in 2001 and has gained vast experience in operations, marketing and customer service. He previously served as Chief Operations Officer in Equity Bank South Sudan from 2009. He was promoted to the Founding Managing Director of Equity Bank Rwanda in 2011 before being reassigned in the same position to Equity Bank Uganda in 2015. Last year, Equity Bank Rwanda became the 2nd largest bank in Rwanda. During his tenure in Uganda, he turned the subsidiary from loss making to become the 5th most profitable bank in Uganda and the third most profitable subsidiary of Equity Group after Kenya and DRC. Prior to joining as a staff, Samuel was one of Equity Group's pioneer interns in the bespoke Equity Leaders Program (ELP).
Samuel will oversee the enhancement of the Group's capacity to deliver on its strategy by aligning people, processes, systems, commercial business and business risk to customers aspirations. He will work with all the banking subsidiaries to deliver globally benchmarked exceptional banking services and solutions and leverage on technology to drive efficiency and seamless customer experience characterized by ease and convenience of lifestyle.
Speaking while announcing the appointment, Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said, "As Equity rolls out its ambitious Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan with the aim of scaling its customer base to 100 million by 2025, this calls for the scaling up of our operations, footprint and distribution infrastructure driven by technologically driven digitization and virtualization of the Bank. The Board has expressed confidence in Kirubi's capability, experience and deep knowledge of the transition culture in taking up this responsibility at a critical time of the bank's growth and expansion."
Equity Bank has also been undergoing internal business transformation towards delivering integrated financial services under the One Equity business model. Samuel joins a highly talented team of C-suite executives tapped from some of the world's leading business firms, providing a vastly experienced base of management executives and well equipped to drive the execution of Equity Group's strategy
Speaking on his appointment, Samuel Kirubi said, "I am delighted and humbled at the opportunity afforded to me by the board to steer the Group's operations across the Group. My tour of duty in South Sudan where I was in charge of Operations, then moved to Equity Bank Rwanda as the first Managing Director before being assigned to turn around Equity Bank Uganda has indeed prepared me for the role of Group Chief Operating Officer. My commitment to the Board is that I will uphold their expectations and work with my colleagues in taking Equity to the next level as we focus our eyes to making Equity the home of 100 million customers."
Prof. Isaac Macharia, Equity Group Holdings Plc Board Chairman said "We congratulate Samuel Kirubi for his excellent track record of leading teams in different countries. This experience has prepared him well to oversee Group operations in the different markets and we are confident that he will play his role effectively as the Group rolls out an ambitious Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan."
The Board of Equity Bank Uganda congratulated Samuel Kirubi for his exemplary leadership and turnaround of Equity Bank Uganda. In his place, the board has appointed Mr Anthony Kituka, the current Executive Director as the Managing Director. Anthony has been working under Samuel Kirubi since 2015 providing a smooth transition of leadership in that subsidiary.
Posted in Activity, Africa, Banking, Business, Company, Featured, Kenya, News, Uganda
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text:
package com.github.invictum.tricks.core;

import com.github.invictum.pages.AbstractPage;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

public class TrickFactory {

    private final static Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(TrickFactory.class);

    public static <T extends AbstractTrick> T getTrick(Class<T> trickClass, AbstractPage context) {
        T trick;
        try {
            trick = trickClass.newInstance();
            trick.setContext(context);
        } catch (ReflectiveOperationException e) {
            LOG.error("Failed to init {} trick", trickClass);
            throw new IllegalStateException(e.getMessage());
        }
        return trick;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Because resources available to improve global health are limited, it is becoming increasingly important for those who produce and disseminate health-related information and services to gauge the impact of their work.
Evaluating Technical Exchange Networks at Management Sciences for Health: Communities of Practice in Development: A Relic of the Past or Sign of the Future?
MSH has 10 TENs composed of approximately 600 members from 45 countries. Over two-thirds of members are based in field-based projects supported by MSH. Each TEN is focused on a technical area, such as reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis; a health systems function, such as leadership and governance, health care finance, and human resources for health; or cross-cutting topics, such as gender, youth, monitoring and evaluation, and country operations. A review of the literature, development of an operational framework, assessment, and analysis with case examples provide important insights into how the TENs can be used to collaborate with peers around the world and add value to the agency's mission and vision. MSH now can identify which TENs are ready to be pushed to the next level of functionality to meet MSH's evolving performance and learning priorities.
The Knowledge Management Indicator Library is a comprehensive resource for measuring knowledge management in global public health with a searchable database of generalized indicators. The library can be used by knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, communication, and program management professionals as they manage and share knowledge.
This report summarizes significant USAID MTaPS achievements, key challenges, program performance, and adaptation in response to new demands and lessons learned for the October through December 2018 period. The report is organized by health area, objective, region, and country.
To upgrade from an older version of QuanTB download and read these instructions. QuanTB 4.2 QuanTB E-Course An e-course for health professionals on how to use QuanTB, a downloadable forecasting, quantification and early warning tool for TB medicines. Version 4.2 available as of 31 January 2019.
The TRACK TB project's goal was to increase the case detection rate (CDR) and the treatment success rate (TSR) in focus areas to meet national targets for reducing the burden of TB, MDR-TB, and TB/HIV.
Determining the cost of health services is an essential step toward strengthening health systems and working toward universal health coverage.
Afghanistan faces a burden of tuberculosis (TB) among the highest in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). An estimated 60,000 new cases arise yearly, with 110,000 Afghans now living with TB; 14,000 Afghans died from the disease in 2015. Only about two in three presumed patients are found, and the treatment success rate is only 49 percent on average in the country.
Urban health facilities present particular challenges in TB service provision.
USAID supports strategies to improve pharmaceutical-sector financing, including resource mobilization, allocation, and use.
Attaining the goals of universal health coverage requires clear policies, robust legislation, and sound management practices supported by good governance. This premise is relevant to pharmaceutical systems, which are particularly vulnerable to corruption due to the economic value of medicines and the multiplicity of stakeholders.
Weaknesses in pharmaceutical regulatory systems contribute to limited access to quality-assured, safe, and efficacious life-saving essential medicines, including those for malaria; HIV/AIDS; and reproductive, maternal, and childhood diseases, and to the disruption of health service delivery, thereby preventing achievement of better health outcomes.
In recent years, significant donor and global TB community support has led to encouraging developments, giving low- and middle-income countries better diagnostic, prevention, and treatment tools to increase case detection and improve outcomes.
An AIDS-free world requires resilient and sustainable pharmaceutical systems that ensure universal access to the best available diagnostic, preventive, and treatment tools.
Pharmaceutical systems and the health system in general in many low- and middle-income countries suffer from poor data availability and accessibility. Typically, data are manually collected at service delivery points and then sent to the district, regional, or Ministry level for processing and storage with the hope that they will be captured electronically and analyzed.
Ensuring the uninterrupted availability of quality-assured medicines and health technologies from the manufacturer to end users is the ultimate goal of pharmaceutical supply chain systems. However, strategies to strengthen key supply chain components are inadequate in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and systems cannot effectively manage local and global health program demands.


Remember those days of yore, when John McCain was a man who put principle over partisan politics, somebody who could be counted upon to speak the truth?
All of these are cuts in the obligations that we have assumed and are the rightful benefits that people have earned... I will eagerly look forward to hearing from teh authors of this legislation as to how they can possibly achieve half a trillion dollars in cuts without impacting existing Medicare programs negatively and eventually lead to rationing of health care in this country.
In October 2008, the McCain campaign announced that the Senator would pay for his health plan "with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid…in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs." Those cuts would have reduced Medicare and Medicaid spending by as much as 20% over 10 years and cut into benefits.
McCain has plenty of company in his hypocrisy. As Volsky goes on to note, many of the Republicans likely to vote in favor of McCain's amendment voted for the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, whichalso called for substantial Medicare cuts. Sam Brownback, Charles Grassley, Jon Kyl... the list goes on.
Of course, there were some critical differences between the Medicare reductions Republicans backed during the 1990s and the ones Democrats propose today. But those differences don't exactly put the Republican attacks in a more favorable light.
During the 1990s, Republicans eyed Medicare savings as a way to free up money for tax cuts, the majority of which would benefit the wealthy. Today, Democrats want to use Medicare savings as a way to finance health care reform, which will--on balance--do a lot more to help the poor and middle-class. You can argue whether such a shift is fair--more on that later--but it's hard to argue that such a shift is less fair than what the Republicans had in mind.
In the '90s, the Republicans weren't overly specific about the kinds of cuts they had in mind. They simply wanted to slash Medicare's funding, in many cases because they supported Newt Gingrich's crusade to let Medicare "wither on the vine." The Democratic approach is to find savings that target the program's inefficiencies, whether it's unjustified subsidies to private insurance companies or payments to hospitals that have chronically high rates of inpatient infections. If those reductions work as planned--and I think there's good reason to think they will, although I concede that's a fair debate--one result will be better care for seniors.
Most important of all, though, may be the sheer magnitude of the cuts on the table. In October, the Kaiser Family Foundation compared the proposed reductions in the House and Senate health reform bills to the ones that passed into law as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. The Foundation's staff concluded that the Senate bill would reduce Medicare spending by 5 percent over ten years, while the Balanced Budget Act reduced spending by 12 percent (which, by the way, was a lesser reduction than the Republicans originally proposed).
Kaiser based its comparison on the bill that the Senate Finance Committee passed. I'm pretty sure the final Senate bill has slightly larger Medicare reductions. (I'm still checking on that.) But the bottom line would be the same: The reductions in Medicare Republicans are now decrying are more equitable, better targeted, and not even half as large as the ones many of those same Republicans endorsed in the '90s.
Of course, seniors on Medicare don't really care about who's being intellectually consistent and who's being hypocritical. They want to know what's going to happen to their Medicare, period. It's a reasonable question--one I'll address shortly, in a separate post.
Update: Media Matters discovers even more GOP hypocrisy on Medicare.