text:
The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/2019/01/column-politics-of-religion-religion-of-politics.html)
Column: Politics of Religion, Religion of Politics
By Lyonel Perabo | January 5, 2019
The Norwegian parliament, the Storting [Photo Credit: Lyonel Perabo]
The Wild Hunt is community supported. We pay our writers and editors. We also have bills to pay to keep the news coming to you. If you can afford it, please consider a one-time donation - or become a monthly sustainer! Thank you for reading The Wild Hunt.
Pagan Perspectives
Today's column comes to us from our international columnist Lyonel Perabo. Lyonel holds an M.A. in Old Norse Religion from the University of Iceland and resides in the cold, Arctic city of Tromsø in Northern-Norway (69° north), where he works in the tourism industry, principally as a tour-guide, as well as a writer. His personal research focuses on local history from northern Fenno-Scandinavia, the Viking Age, and circumpolar religions, among others.
The Wild Hunt's weekend section is always open for submissions, Please send queries to eric@wildhunt.org.
I doubt any reader of The Wild Hunt has heard about Knut Arlid Hareide and the political party he helms. Why would anyone need to, indeed, unless they happened to be a fellow compatriot of his? Yet, Hareide is, in some ways, quite important. He is the emblematic incarnation of one of society's most enduring conflicts, the struggle between the secular and religious worlds.
Knut Arild Hareide in 2011 [nordiskemediedager.no, used under Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 2.0].
As the current leader of the Norwegian Kristelig Folkeparti (abbreviated KrF, "Christian Democratic Party"), Hareide occupies a peculiar place in the Norwegian political landscape, together with his party, which is in and of itself something of an oddity. KrF is one of Norway's oldest parties, established in the early 1930s, and it is the only national political party that is explicitly centered around religious values and tradition. While the center-right party Høyre ("Right") and the hard-right party Fremskrittspartiet (Frp, "Progress Party") briefly mention Christian values in their party programs (the word "Christian" appears twice and ten times, respectively), the KrF takes this to a different level.
The party's political platforms reads like a cross between a tome of religious apology and one of those flyers found at the entrance of a church. In every other paragraph, the text reminds its readers of the importance of the "Christian worldview," "Christian brotherly love," "Christian culture," "Christian-democratic ideology," "Christian heritage," and so forth. But besides being unapologetically Christian, what does the party stand for, and how could it be relevant outside the confines of little Norway?
While it could come as a surprise for many, the KrF is a relatively liberal party when it comes to a number of issues. The party wants to increase immigration, support the welfare state, fight child poverty, steer away from fossil fuels, and invest in infrastructure. On the other hand, the party is, at its core, a Christian party, and this religious background informs another set of key party positions: restrictions on abortion, support for Christian education in schools, and opposition to same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. This unique blend of what one could call "social Christianity" on one hand and traditional conservative positions on the other has lead, in recent years, to the formation of a split in the party's base and leadership alike.
Hareide, the party leader since 2011, saw this split form and develop as his party started to lose what little relevancy it previously had. A solid contender in national politics as late as the early 2000s, where it gave Norway a prime minister, the KrF has since slid into a state of quasi-irrelevancy. Gathering less than five percent of the national votes in the parliamentary election of 2017, the party ended up seventh out of nine parties in terms of votes, only beat in unpopularity by the Green and Communist parties.
The Norwegian parliament, the Storting [Lyonel Perabo.]
Following this election, the incumbent government, lead by the conservative Høyre and anti-immigration Frp parties, continued to direct policies, but without the majority they enjoyed prior to the vote. After receiving the support of the Venstre (the Left), a centrist party with little national support, the government needed but a handful of additional votes in the house to form a majority government. On the other side of the political spectrum, the left-wing Arbeiderpartiet (AP, "Workers Party") and Sosialistisk Venstreparti (SV, "Socialist Left") parties, supported by the anti-centralization Senterpartiet (Sp, "Center Party"), were just a few votes short as well. In the middle of this confusing mess sat the KrF.
By some amazing workings of fate, a divided party, a party that put up its worst electoral performance in 80 years, would decide the political fate of the country. Ultimately, Hareide, who wanted an alliance with the left-wing parties, lost his bet, and the party's internal direction voted instead to side with the right-wing coalition. As of writing this article, negotiations between the three government parties and the KrF are still ongoing, but could soon lead to the formation of a new majority government. Just like that, Norway's Christian party might very well get some of its demands met, despite the fact that over 95% of voters did not express their support for them. What could this all mean for the future of faith in the country, and in Europe at large?
As I have written previously in my column What of the Christians, Norway is a country that has been experiencing extensive post-Christianization in recent years. Despite the Church's increasingly liberal metamorphoses (for example, since 2017, the Church now recognizes and performs same-sex marriages), Norwegians still leave the Church in droves, and attendance levels remain among the lowest in the continent. It is a bit of an an anachronism that a near micro-party whose ideological core is based upon a religion that fewer and fewer Norwegians identify with would even have a say in national politics.
As an immigrant, I must admit that I am somewhat conflicted. My status as a non-citizen quite logically bars me from voting in the national elections, and I do not believe that it is my prerogative to tell the native Norwegians how they should govern themselves. Yet, as someone who was raised in one of the most secular countries in Europe, France, I cannot help but find the current politico-religious situation eerie and absurd.
In France, while I was growing up, the local counterpart of the KrF, the Parti chrétien-démocrate (PCD, "Christian Democratic Party") was mocked relentlessly and had little to no influence on national policies, and almost no political figure of note ever openly associated themselves with any religions. This tendency toward avowed secularism (or, as we call it in France, laicité,) continues to this day. When I attempted to find any mention of Christianity in the political programs of the French parties represented at the parliament, I was only able to find one: a vague acknowledgment of Christian-democratic values on the program of a centrist party with two (out of 577 total) representatives. To me, the idea of a political party openly associating itself with a religious movement or institution just does not sit right.
The Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes by Abraham Bosse [public domain.]
As a Pagan, I also believe that political representation ought not be based on religious affiliation. We, as members of small covens, hearths, groves, and other occult groups, are often attempting to create new forms of shared identity and solidarity first and foremost on a local level. While a number of Pagans have run for office in recent years, none, at least to my knowledge, has ever attempted to utilize their religious background to define their political ideology. This, in my opinion, is the only way to go. It's not that I believe that Pagan ideology is absolutely incompatible with our current political systems, but I have always understood Pagan beliefs and practice as being first and foremost grounded in the reality of lived experience, an experience that, all things considered, is, or at least once was, common across all cultures and nations. There is a reason why so many Pagans profess a more or less universalist world view. As we do not believe in the dogma of revered sacred texts, it is easier to imagine sharing our own understanding of wisdom with others. This is I think the main difference we might have with the proponents of Christianity and other similarly dogmatic religious systems.
Yet, while I, and I believe the majority of Pagans living in Europe would agree with me, do not deny the place of Christianity in the development of our civilization, I can safely assume that most of us would be happy to continue our development without the influence of the Church. In this, we are not alone. Secularists, members of religious minorities, atheists and many others agree for the most part with this assessment. Even among the Christians, the fault line separating social-Christianity and Evangelistic conservatism will not heal any time soon. Following the KrF's decision to join the government, over a thousand members left the party. A few months earlier, when one party representative and part-time priest performed a marriage ceremony for a homosexual couple, several hundred others left as well. It is probable that parties like the KrF have run their courses. Far right parties will siphon away the voters who are more concerned about social stability and Christian identity, while various centrist and center-left parties will welcome those Christians who wish to keep in line with the idea of brotherly love and charity. The coming disappearance of organized political Christianity in Europe is, in the end, proof that questions of faith have now taken a back seat to broader and more critical questions of identity and civilization which are now on the table.
In the meanwhile, we Pagans will be left to our devices, which is probably for the better. We won't be seeing the meteoric rise of a "Witches and Pagans Party" or a "United Heathen Front." Instead, as long as our traditions become better understood, our various ideals and ideas will influence civil society further, a process that has arguably already started on both ends of the political compass. While they will never be fully contained within the walls of temples and churches, we can all hope that in the future, religions won't represent a similar source of division, strife, and intolerance as they do today.
In the secular world I pray will rise from the ashes of ours, I envision a society in which religion is first and foremost seen as a source of individual spiritual enrichment that is better left to its own devices, something that is freely embraced, rather than a mere tool of societal control. I hope for something more akin to what makes life worth living, as Albert Camus wrote in Caligula, retelling the words of the mad emperor in the mouth of the poet Scipion:
"He told me that life isn't easy, but that there still exists religion, art, and the love people have for us. He repeated, often, that inflicting suffering was the only way to be wrong."
The views and opinions expressed by our diverse panel of columnists and guest writers represent the many diverging perspectives held within the global Pagan, Heathen and polytheist communities, but do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wild Hunt Inc. or its management.
christian democrat
hareide
About Lyonel Perabo
Lyonel Perabo holds an M.A. in Old Norse Religion from the University of Iceland and resides in the cold, Arctic city of Tromsø in Northern-Norway (69° North) where he works in the tourism industry, principally as a tour-guide, as well as a writer. His personal research focuses on local history from Northern Fenno-Scandinavia, the Viking Age and Circumpolar Religions among others.
More by Lyonel
Column: A New Year, A New Vow
Speaking in Tongues


text:
Et Tu Bruté
Chosen City
Get a Story Critique or Copyediting
Faith in Science Fiction/Fantasy
Talking Dog
The Yukon
Scifi Writing Groups
Jerome Stueart + Queerness, Art, Books, Geek Culture, and the Yukon
Eisenhower and Churchill: UFO cover up?
December 15, 2010 jstueart
Released in a wave of declassified UFO documents in England comes this gem: that Eisenhower and Churchill purposely covered up UFOs. There was a short time in US history where talking about UFOs wasn't censored–especially the military. People in the military left and right were commenting on "saucers" and technology from "Mars"–and then, it's said that Eisenhower decided to hush the whole thing down.
This New York Daily News article talks about a letter declassified in England:
A letter sent in 1999 by an unnamed person from Leicester, England, relays a story he was told by his mother, which came from his grandfather, who claimed to have witnessed the alleged cover-up.
"It is claimed that my grandfather, [REDACTED] was present during a debate between Winston Churchill and Mr. Eisenhower during World War II involving making a decision about an unexpected incident," the letter states, dated Sept. 20, 1999.
The incident in question took place off the English coast and involved a Royal Air Force bomber crew, which was returning from a "photographic mission" in either Germany or France.
"The aircraft was intercepted by an object of unknown origin," the letter explains, "which matched course and speed with the aircraft for a time and then underwent an extremely rapid acceleration away."
Photos and/or film were supposedly captured of the object, which "hovered noiselessly" and seemed metallic.
The incident sparked a discussion between Churchill and General Eisenhower, presumably via telephone, who commanded the Allied forces during the later period of the war.
According to the letter, the grandfather who witnessed the conversation heard Churchill state: "This event should be immediately classified since it would create mass panic amongst the general population and destroy one's belief in the Church."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/08/05/2010-08-05_winston_churchill_dwight_d_eisenhower_covered_up_ufo_sighting_in_england_letter_.html#ixzz18FjARGfF
The story is backed up in several other newspapers–the document is real. Now if the story is real, that's another matter. But if it is, then it will go well with this 1952 UFO buzz of the White House.
You want the truth? We'll get as close as we can. Come to Longest Night, Dec 20, 21, 8pm, Yukon Arts Centre.
We'll be talking about visitation…. aliens, UFOs, and the sightings that started them all.
history, science, science fiction and fantasy writing, Yukonaliens, churchill, cover-up, december 20, december 21, eisenhower, Longest Night, UFOs, Whitehorse, Yukon
Previous Article Researching for Longest Night (Dec 20, 21): We Are Not Alone
Next Article Longest Night features aliens, musicians, wacky fun, and lunar eclipse
The Angels of Our Better Beasts from ChiZine Publications "..easily one of the best collections by a single author I have ever read." Brandon Crilly, Black Gate Magazine
Journal the Hell OUT of 2020
Great Queer Fantasy and Science Fiction
The Virtue of Virtual Conventions
Big Bear Tarot–a new gig
Original Art Available on Squarespace
Happy 100th Birthday, Ray Bradbury!
Why Pilgrimages Can Be Good For Us: My Pilgrimage to the Brandywine Museum of Art
Family and Community in ZZ Claybourne's "The Air in My House Tastes Like Sugar" (GigaNotoSaurus, March, 2020)
Fairies in the Garden, my newest painting series
How to Keep Garden Veggies Fresh All Winter: The Pedersen Method
The Other "Hijacked Airliner" Story: Whitehorse, Yukon 9/11
Yes, Captain Kirk has a Character Arc
For the Love of Whitehorse: Why I Live in the Wilderness City
Jesus in Science Fiction
Wealth has always been the greatest (unspoken) Superpower
UFO Sightings in the Yukon Territory
Inaugural Poem: Take Out Your Pencils. Begin.
art Canadian politics civil rights Clarion San Diego, 2007 Graduates fiction Fiction review food gay Harry Potter history literature magazine review Mishmash Movie Reviews music new star trek series Novel Writing Class politics radio religion sarah palin science science fiction and fantasy writing Star Trek Story links teaching theatre whitehorse writing Yukon
Month to Month Select Month December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 December 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 January 2016 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 July 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 June 2011 April 2011 March 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007
Faith in Science Fiction: Wrestling With Gods posts: Wrestling With Gods (Tesseracts 18)
Jesus in Science Fiction: The Course
Suddenly, Mother Teresa: Writing Religion with Comedic Insight
Researching and Writing Faith: Inspired by Tesseracts 18 Wrestling With Gods
Faith and Knowledge: How Can We Know?
They Don't Stand For That: Symbols, Vampires, and Faith
Why I Wrestle With Gods
Not So Monolithic
Talking Dog Gay Christian Resources Recent Posts: Talking Dog
The Book of Birmingham: Adding Martin Luther King Jr's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to the Bible
Scenes from Stalled Marriages: Free Writing Workshop Justice Event
Writing the LGBT Spiritual Journey, Saturday April 5, Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids MI
How Anne Lamott Saved My Life: the Mercy of 'Traveling Mercies'
Gays Will Save the Church: my story in the Queer Story Archives
Christian Parents Who Tried to Love Their Gay Son the way the Church Taught them to
Sunday in the Court of Religion: After the death of DOMA and Prop 8
Marketing Masculine Stereotypes for Father's Day

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When Maame Biney slices through the ice at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February, she will be the second African-American speed skater to represent the U.S. Olympic team, and the first Black woman.
Ghanaian-born Biney (pronounced mah-may bye-nee, like hiney) immigrated to America at age 5. Now at age 17 she is the youngest speed skater on the U. S. team. She will compete in the 500 meter.
"It's a really good feeling, but it has to set in first," Biney said after she made history by becoming the first African-American woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic speed skating team. She won first place at the 500m races at December's Olympic Trials. "I can't believe I'm on the Olympic team," she said in a recent Associated Press interview. "When I realized that I made the Olympic team, I started cheering like crazy, and then I made my epic fall,'' she said.
She is the second Black speed skater on a U.S. Olympic team. Shani Davis was 19 when he qualified for the short track team in 2002. He later switched to long track and won four medals, including two golds.
He discovered his daughter was not only a natural but hooked. Every morning she would bounce out of bed to wake up her father for the early morning practices. She tried figure skating first, but a coach noticed how fast she was and encouraged her to take up speed skating. She competed in local events before moving up to the U.S. Junior Championships, where she won a bronze medal.
She is under intense pressure as she prepares to compete in U. S. Olympics. However, her father said he just wants her to have fun and enjoy speed skating in the 2018 Olympics. Seeing her walk with Team USA during the opening ceremony will be enough of a reward. Anything more will be a bonus, he said.
Biney entered the world stage at the 2017 World Junior Championships, held last January in Innsbruck, Austria. Biney won a bronze in the 500m, and finished seventh overall.
When she competes in Pyeongchang, she will become the second African-born athlete to represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. The first was biathlete Dan Westover, who was born in Madagascar and competed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.


text:
[WoT] Public Test of 0.9.1
Give your feedback on the 0.9.1 update that is being publicly tested these days.
Main things to pay attention to:
1. Performance and stability
2. New Map: Kharkiv
3. Marks of Excellence on barrels
4. Reworked matchmaking for light tanks tier IV-VII. Rebalanced MT-25 and VK 28.01
5. Increased visibility for TDs after firing
6. Two new Historical Battles added: Bryansk Front (USSR, 1942) and Siege of Tobruk (North Africa, 1942).
Labels: 0.9.1, feedback, pc, public test, wot
Tanks against Hooligans
In 1992 the Balkans erupted into civil war. As most civil wars do this one descended into atrocity and crimes against humanity. As a teen watching the news it was the first time I'd ever heard the words "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing". The years before the outbreak of the war had seen violence in the area, to such an extent the United Nations had stepped in to try and stabilize the situation and setting up the UN Protection Force. This multi-national force worked throughout the civil war to try to keep the excesses of the combatants in check and save lives.
While partially successful things carried on getting worse, as the situation deteriorated heavier forces were dispatched. In the autumn of 1993 the Danes stepped up, and dispatched a squadron of tanks to reinforce NORDBAT 2. NORDBAT 2 was a battalion of Nordic raised troops based at Tuzla in Bosnia.
The squadron was made up of ten Leopard 1A5's from the Jutland Dragoons called DANSQDN.
On April the 4th a small fire fight broke out between the tanks and Serbian forces, this had followed increasing tensions in the area. Soon afterwards the UN positions were being regularly shelled. NORDBAT 2 then came up with a response plan called Operation Bøllebank, which translates as "Hooligan Bashing". The idea was the tanks would act as a reaction force, as the UN soldiers had noticed that Serb forces tended to stop shooting when the tanks arrived.
As the situation got worse the Serbian forces decided to lay a trap.
At 2200 on April 29th, 1994 the Serbian forces began to fire upon an observation post called TANGO 2, which watched the Serbian border. This was a fairly regular occurrence, as the position had been hit twenty eight times in the preceding weeks. This time the position was taken under direct fire as well as indirect. The seven Swedish soldiers manning the position radioed for help and Operation Bøllebank was set in motion again. Two platoons led by the Squadron Commander, Major Carsten Rasmussen moved out, and as they neared TANGO 2 they met the APC of the second in command (Colonel Lars Møller) of NORDBAT 2 who was heading to the position as well.
TANGO 2
At 2315 the column reached the town of Saraci. They drove in boldly, the bright white Leopards gleaming in the headlamps of the other tanks. They still had to cover ten kilometres to reach TANGO 2. That's when Serbian forces from the Sekovici brigade began to shell the Danish tanks. Col. Møller left one of the tank platoons in the village to provide overwatch and carried on the advance with the remaining four tanks.
Barrelling forward at speed it took about fifteen minutes to reach the village of Kalesija, all the while the Serbians fired upon the column.
Just outside of Kalesija a road led towards TANGO 2, however there is a tight hairpin turn in the road. The heavy tanks had to slow to a crawl to get around it. The first two tanks had negotiated the turn when a warning blared out across the radio. The overwatching platoon had seen the flash of guided missiles launching, and could see the flares from the booster rockets tracking across the darkness towards their colleagues on the road.
The first missile was off by only a few metres hitting the ground between two tanks. A second missile had been aimed at Col. Møller's APC, but hit a building he was parked next to. The final missile was perfectly aimed at the rearmost Leopard. Flashing arrow straight towards the bright white tank, the driver alerted by the warning slammed his brakes on, and the missile blew a hole in the road just in front of the skidding tank.
Against the darkness the Serbian positions began to twinkle with lights as cannon and HMG began to pepper the road. The two Leopards that had made the hairpin turn were ordered forward to TANGO 2, they came under fire from the Zvornik brigade, but blasted through the Serbian positions and reached TANGO 2.
The rest of the column below the hairpin retreated into Kalesija. Under cover from direct fire the Serbs started shelling the tanks with mortars.
At this point both Maj. Rasmussen and Col. Møller came to the same conclusion. That enough is enough, and the Serbs had filled the Rules Of Engagement (ROE). In Bosnia UNPROFOR's ROE said that they could return fire in self defence, at any weapon shooting at them.
In Saraci the overwatch platoon received the orders "Neutralize the anti-tank positions!". The long range was not a problem for the tanks, fully fitted with computerised fire control systems linked to laser range finders and fitted with thermal sights, the three Leopards effortlessly destroyed the anti-tank missile positions. But the enemy was well dug in with several positions and carried on firing. The two tanks in Kalesija joined in firing against a second set of positions on a nearby mountain. Their next salvo knocked out a light AA gun, observation post and crippled a bunker.
The expert gunnery of the Danes and the lack of targets quickly silenced the Serbian positions. The vehicles in Kalesija waited a while to see if any other fire would be incoming, when it wasn't they broke cover to fall back to Saraci. However as soon as they were visible again the Serbians opened fire once more. The overwatch platoon responded immediately by giving the Serbian positions a massive beating. The three Leopards fired constantly as fast as they could fire for 15 minutes.
As the overwatch platoon opens fire they see a flicker in their thermal scopes. Three Serbian T-55's had switched on their infrared searchlights. However the thermal sights showed that the gun barrels of the tanks are cold. What happens next differs from account to account. Some say all three T-55's are knocked out by the Danish fire, others that they are not engaged at all. All we know is the Danish vehicles managed to get into Saraci without taking any hits. Then the Danish forces pull out of Saraci, the last shot fired by one of the overwatch platoon gets lucky and hits a ammunition stockpile causing a massive explosion that provides excellent confusion to help cover the tanks withdrawal.
During the fight the Danes fired 72 rounds, with 44 being high explosive, nine white phosphorous and 19 sabot, and they took no casualties. The Serbians admitted to nine killed, although estimates suggest a figure of about 150 is closer to the truth.
Col. Møller said after the battle:
"It was an ambush, and a damn good one, Tango Two was the cheese, and we were the mouse. But this time the mouse ate the cat."


text:
SEAPA denounces dismissal of Filipino journalists' suit vs. police, government
2010/06/01 2013/06/20 seapa 0 Comments
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups in Southeast Asia, joins the Philippine media community in denouncing a dangerous court decision that could have a chilling effect on how journalists will henceforth cover unfolding crises or emergencies.
On 20 June 2008, a lower court in Manila dismissed a class suit brought by journalists against the national police.
The suit stemmed from the evening of 29 November 2008, when the journalists were rounded up, arrested, and imputed with having obstructed justice, after they refused to abandon the scene of an unfolding story in Manila's financial district: an ultimately failed rebellion led by a disgruntled senator and former military officer. After the news events of that day, the journalists were handcuffed and hauled off on military buses for interrogation in police offices. Imputed with having "obstructed justice", and worse, being complicit in the failed rebellion, the Filipino media practitioners filed a class suit against the police for unlawful arrest, while warning that the police's conduct (eventually rationalized and backed up by government memoranda) would have a chilling effect on press freedom in the country.
Human rights lawyer Harry Roque notes that the police after the crisis in November "treated the journalists as suspects in a crime, taking them into custody but without informing them what offense or crime they have committed and without providing them with a counsel of their own choice." Eventually, he added, "the Secretary of Justice and other members of the President's cabinet, approved of the abusive, arbitrary and repressive manner in which policemen treated the journalists who were covering the Manila Peninsula standoff and threatened to unleash the same treatment against journalists in future news events of similar nature."
Indeed, on 11 January 2008, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez issued an advisory – delivered in all-capital letters addressed to the chief executive officers of media networks and press organizations. The advisory warned that the journalists and media companies "may incur criminal liabilities…if (they) disobey lawful orders from duly authorized government officers and personnel during emergencies…"
Believing that leaving the police and government stance unchallenged would threaten press freedom, the Filipino journalists filed a class suit challenging the same.
The dismissal of that suit on 20 June 2008, and the executive rationale behind the police's arrest of the covering journalists to start with, immediately brings uncertainty and danger to media practitioners in future urgencies – uncertainty and danger not from the inherent risks of emergencies, but from the mandate that police and the government have granted themselves (now with court backing) to dictate what would be out of bounds for news coverage.
As the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), a founding member of SEAPA, has stressed: "Deciding whether to stay and to continue to cover a developing story, or to withdraw from the scene is the editorial prerogative of a constitutionally protected press. No regime has the right to dictate that a decision to stay and cover is wrong and can be penalized. These issues, all vital to the capacity of the press to do its mandated duty of providing the public the information it needs, are among those that the class suit sought to resolve in favor of press freedom."
SEAPA encourages and supports the Filipino press community in their stated intention to immediately appeal this decision before the higher courts. A truly free press works for the people's right to information, and must therefore be protected in its mandate to cover events of public interest. Moreover, members of the press must, as their original suit insisted, be free from harassment and threats from government agents that could have a chilling effect on their work as journalists.
← ASEAN challenge to Vietnam
PM Must Guarantee Media Freedom →
Drop Charges against Phuketwan Journalists
2019/05/07 Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) 0
ASEAN limits free speech scope in rights declaration, says regional media group
Press Hits Back at Thaksin's Claim They Had Hidden Agenda in Attacking Him
Another journalist slain, third in a week
Cyber-Dissident Gets Five-Year Prison Sentence
Speech restrictions cloud constitutional referendum
Tougher actions needed to end impunity in media killing


Hector N Ortiz is a SIC: 811103 - Attorneys based in San Francisco, California . You can call them at 4152859990 or check the details below for more contact information about the firm. The record of Hector N Ortiz law firm profile that we have is not complete, if you are the representative of this company then please contact us to update this company profile information in our website.


NEW LISTING: 1 BD Condo in Great Washington DC Location!
JUST REDUCED: Gorgeous Beaux Arts Building in Capitol Hill D.C.
SOLD: 2 BDR Renovated Condo Located in "THE COVE"
SOLD: Herndon Home With Renovated Kitchen, Large Yard & More!
SOLD: Beautifully Renovated Row Home in D.C.


text:
New Zealand »
Latitude and longitude coordinates are: -43.525650, 172.639847.
Christchurch is one of the largest cities and an important port in New Zealand, its South island. Its population is about 350,000 people. It is a historic city with plenty of attractions. Recently, it suffered from a series of earthquakes, and is recovering now.
Map of Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch, New Zealand Lat Long Coordinates Info
The latitude of Christchurch, New Zealand is -43.525650, and the longitude is 172.639847. Christchurch, New Zealand is located at New Zealand country in the Cities place category with the gps coordinates of 43° 31' 32.3400'' S and 172° 38' 23.4492'' E.
Christchurch, New Zealand Geographic Information
43° 31' 32.3400'' S
172° 38' 23.4492'' E
Coordinates of Christchurch, New Zealand is given above in both decimal degrees and DMS (degrees, minutes and seconds) format. The country code given is in the ISO2 format.
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand
Taupo, New Zealand
Cities in New Zealand
Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand (-37.683334, 176.166672)
Taupo, New Zealand (-38.685692, 176.070206)
Nelson, New Zealand (-41.270634, 173.283966)
Lower Hutt, New Zealand (-41.209164, 174.908051)
Auckland, New Zealand (-36.848461, 174.763336)
Christchurch, New Zealand (-43.525650, 172.639847)


text:
| aamt |
| Donate |
Maths300
Maths Education
Problemo
Future Proofing eCon
AAMT Journals
Focus on Maths
Maths Store
AMT Programs
National Mathematics Summer School
National Mathematics Talent Quest
Texthelp
AAMT
International Associate
Internal Reports
External Reports
reSolve to be a Champion
reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry is a bold national program to promote innovative and engaging approaches to the teaching and learning of mathematics in Australian schools.
It is managed by the Australian Academy of Science in collaboration with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.
The project is a component in the National STEM School Education Strategy 2016–2026. It furthers the goals of ensuring all students finish school with strong knowledge in mathematics and ensuring students are inspired and equipped to take on more challenging STEM subjects, including intermediate and advanced mathematics in the senior school.
There are three elements of the reSolve project: teaching resources, professional resources, and the reSolve Champions.
Classrooms using reSolve resources and approaches to inquiry foster mathematics learning through engaging activities that are meaningful to the students and support the development of both content and all four of the Proficiencies in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (fluency, reasoning, understanding and problem solving).
They are learning environments in which students are challenged and supported to build their knowledge by taking risks, and by exploring and discussing their ideas.
There are over 300 reSolve Champions across Australia. They are predominantly teachers and others based in schools, but there are also Champions who are officers of education authorities, principals and teacher educators.
The teachers who are Champions are diverse – working in different school locations, sectors and contexts, some experienced and others in the early stage of their career; teachers with backgrounds in mathematics and expertise in its teaching and teachers without formal qualifications for teaching mathematics (e.g. primary 'generalists', 'out of field' secondary).
All have a commitment to better mathematics outcomes for their students, and to working with colleagues in and beyond their school in mathematics. Their diversity brings different perspectives and strengths to the group of Champions able to reflect and connect with the population of teachers of mathematics in Australia's schools.
AAMT acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
AAMT Office
170 Hayden Drive
Bruce ACT 2617
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Copyright
AAMT supports educators and learners to achieve excellence in mathematics teaching and learning.


text:
Q: Motherboard lightning victim dies hard I have an Intel board, and I really do not know which board it is, I built the machine for a relative, but he forgot to keep the documentation.
Long story short, the computer was disconnected during a lightning storm, but a lightning strike travelled in via the ethernet cable (It was directly connected to a power brick commonly seen on those long distance ISP Wireless transmitters), and the motherboard was shocked.  I am attempting to get this PC going.
The problem is as follows: The computer will randomly reboot, just in the middle of anything as it pleases.  May load to EFI (or whatever firmware is nowadays), may load to bootloader, may even get to the OS.  But before 5 minutes is up, the system will always die.  Out of curiosity, I plugged my voltmeter in to a molex connector.  On the 5V side, it gets a good, consistant +5.13V.  On the 12V side, it fluctuates, as follows: Upon immediate startup, it soars to 12.11-12.13V.  It will now do one of two things: it will immediately jump down to 12.04-12.05V, or hover for about a minute at 12.11-12.13, then jump down.  It seems the longer the voltage stays at 12.11-12.13, the shorter the machine will stay running.
Also, post codes, whenever the machine locks up, but does not die hard, seem to be between "AA" and "AC".  Does this make any sense to anybody?  Do you all think this motherboard is salvageable?  It was an expensive bugger, and I'd prefer to not replace it.

A: Try two things (I'll start with the no-cost option first):

*

*Unplug everything, press the power button (in an attempt to turn it back on), then plug everything back in and power it on again; this is a "deep power cycle" and I am guessing that the extra power that might have traveled over your network wiring may have overcharged some of your capacitors (or other such components), and I'm hoping that all you'll need is this deep power cycle to reset things and get it all working normally again.

*Replace the power supply (they can fail without notice, and subtle outputs may not be detectable with a general purpose volt meter).
I hope this helps you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation was a non-profit organization which incorporated in 1981 which supports the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation. In January, 2015, Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation joined with the Oakland Parks Coalition to form the Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation. 2 More than 55 Oakland parks have been renovated by the group, and have sponsored over 150 grants to various worthy programs.
The Friends group was founded in 1981 by Anne Woodell and others.


2 tbsp chopped walnuts, for easy chewing, put them in the coffee bean grinder!
Heat the water to boiling; stir in oats. Cook oats on medium low heat for 3.5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Dump in the blueberries, banana, and nuts, and stir. Cover pan and let cook another minute and a half, stirring once or twice.
Remove from heat and pour in a bowl and eat. Yum!


I have four online savings accounts already (all join accounts with my wife): ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, HSBC, and Virtual Bank. ING Direct used to have all my deposits when it offered superior rates than other online banks did. Now it fell far behind with a 4.50% APY. At one time early this year, I put all our cash at Virtual Bank when it was hot. With an interest rate of 4.60%, it's only better than ING Direct and I only have a little over $100 with them now, just to keep the account alive (I am too lazy to close the account).Currently, Emigrant Direct and HSBC are our primary savings banks. Tied at 5.05% APY, there's no better or worse between these two. I have $300 automatically transferred to Emigrant Direct on every pay day (biweekly) and my Treasury Direct account is linked to HSBC for weekly T-Bill purchases. Other than these, Emigrant Direct and HSBC are the same to me. I don't really care their interfaces, or whether they have easy to use web site, or if they offer any extra security features. Except once-in-a-while manual fund transfers, I don't even log into my accounts. I am only interested in rates, nothing else.
At 5.05% APY, they are OK, but not great. There are quite a few banks offers higher rates. For example, E-Loan has a 5.38% APY (did they have a 5.50% APY just a month ago?), but its $5,000 minimum amount to open an account isn't something that I like. I want to have the option to keep the account with a low minimum required balance so I can switch back and forth based on the rates. $5,000 is too high for this purpose. Actually, when I checked the rate list on BestCashCow.com, I found that there are only two banks offer high than 5.05% APY and require low minimum balance ($1,000 is the maximum I can accept). One is GMAC Bank (5.25% APY, $500 minimum balance), the other is UFB Direct (5.32% APY, $1 minimum balance).
I have heard a lot about GMAC, but UFB Direct is relatively new to me. After a quick glance on their website, I found their Free ATM Reimbursement Program quite attractive. According to the policy, not only UFB Direct doesn't charge customers any fees to use other banks ATM to withdraw cash, it also reimburse fees imposed by other banks for using their ATMs. For the money market savings account, monthly reimbursement is $4.50 (probably good for only one withdraw, but it's enough as it will be only for emergency). On the other hand, GMAC doesn't have this policy and only offers check-writing ability, which I don't think is very essential for a savings account.
From what I see so far, UFB Direct appears to be a better option (higher rate, free ATM) than GMAC. The only problem is I know nothing about it. But as long as the deposit is FDIC insured, there isn't much to worry about. Probably I should go with UFB Direct.
Update: For latest rates and discussions on UFB Direct, GMAC and other banks, check out the Savings Account Deals page.
-They have check writing and debit card associated with their account. With free checks.
-You are limited to 6 free outgoing transfers per month. This includes transfers to other bank accounts or paying bills from the account. This also includes your check writing and debit card transactions. This does NOT include ATM transactions. If you surpass this 6, they hit you with a 10 dollar fee per violation.
-They reimburse you ALL ATM fees. I think it's unlimited withdrawals without incurring charges. So I try to use cash most of the time to avoid the "6 limit" from above.
-It's my main bank account. I'm pretty happy with it.
I believe GMAC does a hard check for new accounts.Read this link at here.
Sun, just a flying remark. You mentioned you have all joint accounts. ING says on it's website that joint accounts and individual accounts are insured separately (each for $100,000)…I am not sure if this information will be helpful to you.
BD: If they also reimburse ATM fees, then that's better than UFB as UFB only reimburse about $4.5 every month. Regarding the checking writing, I don't think I will write a lot of checks.
Bob: Thanks for the information. I heard about the hard credit check by GMAC, but what I read from Fatwallet.com is that the hard check was at the early stage of the bank. Now it seems only soft pull is conducted recently. But I definitely want to find more about this. If they are still doing the hard pull, then I will go with UFB.
Golbguru: I am not so sure how the insurance will change anything. If you don't use it (which I definitely don't want to), you never know the real difference.


text:
Tried And Tested: Can Prescriptive Skincare Help Treat My Spotty 30-Something Skin?
Spotty teenager syndrome bypassed me completely; instead my skin decided to cause havoc when I was 25. What started off as the occasional spot soon turned into breakouts on my forehead whenever I was stressed, followed by a bout of adult acne that was quickly squashed by going on the pill.
Since then, my skin and I have not always been on the best of terms, and now that I'm in my 30s, it's not improving. The spots, when they do flare up tend to pop up in the same place, and usually, I try and get rid of them as quickly as possible by trying to pop them. Disgusting, I agree.
But I'm not alone in dealing with problem skin as an adult rather than a teenager – according to various reports including one from skin expert Dr Perricone, adult acne is on the rise due to the body trying to deal with modern living and the impact that has on hormones.
I've also noticed an increase in sensitivity, and after a recent bout with exfoliation left me with a forehead that looked like an angry dartboard, I made an appointment with skin expert Donna Glazer.
Donna doesn't just fix your skin temporarily by doing a nice facial that gives you good skin for a few hours, I was told. She goes a bit deeper to find out what the root of the problem might be.
Since I've been trying to solve the issue of my problem skin for a while with no real resolution, I'm hopeful but also mildly cynical as to whether this is actually going to work.
I made my way to the Face It clinic where Donna operates from, and as she sits me down and talks through my skin history, I quite like her no-nonsense approach – it's firm, warm and reassuring. Also, she's really interested in skin (not in a Buffalo Bill way, before you hesitate), and that really comes through with the advice she gives.
One of the most illuminating things she makes me realise, after I ask her whether expensive beauty products are actually worth the money, is that a lot of the products we tend to use are cosmetic or aromatherapy style products which "have beautiful packaging and smell really nice, but don't really do a huge amount for the skin."
Story continues below the slideshow:
50 Beauty Tips
"What do you think caused this?" she asks, looking at my forehead. I tell her it was because I started using a facial scrub because I'd heard that it was important to exfoliate the skin.
She proceeds to tell me that a lot of facial scrubs are too rough on the skin and take too much off, including natural oils your facial skin actually needs. "Creating a spot is rather like baking a cake," she says. "You need just the right ingredients, so it could be skin getting trapped in the pores, coupled with your hormones and lots of other things. When the skin gets inflamed, like it has done here, it shows me that something has irritated it."
The biggest takeaway I have from the session, however, is understanding that sometimes, spots just happen. You can't control it, but you can control how you deal with it.
Whereas I was a champion picker, Donna says that this is just about the worst thing you can do. Of course I know that picking spots is bad, but until she explains why, the penny doesn't drop.
"The more you pick, the more you're inflaming the area, and you're then likely to have more than one spot in the same area. It's like inviting the devil in. Then, even when the spot has gone, what you've done is weaken the area, so the next time your face wants to create a spot, it'll pop up in an area like that. Which is why people tend to get spots in the same area."
Donna Glazer
The best practice is to keep the skin clean – for instance, taking your make-up off before you do a workout in the gym – and cleaning your facial with a muslin cloth at night to take off your makeup. If you do get a spot, let it just come to a head – don't touch it – and then when it's ready to pop, you can rub it with a towel to so that it breaks naturally rather than using your fingers. "Once it breaks," says Donna, "you then take a dab of tea tree oil on a cotton bud and touch it lightly to the head of the spot to clean the area."
There's no real solution as to why I started getting spotty at 25 – one reason could be going on the pill, others could be that my body has just decided of its own accord to produce more of one hormone than another.
Ballet-Inspired Class Had Me Weeping In A Non-Dignified Ballerina Way
Could This Treatment Get Rid Of Cellulite?
But, there is still the matter of the many painful red spots on my forehead, and I mention plaintively, I'm going on holiday in about 10 days. As she peers at my forehead, she says one of them is definitely going to stick around for about two weeks, but that the others may go down.
She gets to work by cleansing my face. Instead of exfoliation, Donna says that what she does is 'desquemation', which is encouraging the skin to naturally shed its layers rather like a snake, than scrubbing them off. She then puts on this incredibly thick mask which is meant to draw out all my impurities and finishes off with a solution that will calm the skin down.
This is only half the battle, however. When I leave, my skin looks about 5 shades less red than it did when I came in. Donna gives me products to try over the period of four weeks. The skincare range is called Dermaviduals. It includes a serum, cleansing milk (gels can sometimes take too much off), Liposome Concentra Plus for the spotty area and a facial moisturiser. "Whatever you do," says Donna, "don't use any other skincare products during this time."
The following day, my skin is definitely looking a lot more angry, and this continues to the third day. I'm about to wobble and reach for my usual moisturiser, but I keep with it and by day five, it's looking a lot more even. In fact, apart from the one bastard spot that Donna warned me about, the rest are already going away. I feel a lot calmer about it, and in turn, this is probably helping the spots to stay away.
Donna asks me to use the products for four weeks, which I do, but I'm not sure I'm totally sold on Dermaviduals as a product.
There's no doubt that specially-formulated skincare is better for the skin, but during my four weeks I notice my blackheads – which I had gotten rid of using Skinceuticals B5 serum – have returned, and four weeks on I start developing another slew of spots. However, I love the cleansing lotion as it's gentle and mild and seems to last forever.
There's no perfect rule when it comes to skincare - I suspect my spots are hormonal which no amount of face cream is going to fix. Would I visit Donna again for a facial? Absolutely - I haven't visited another facialist as knowledgeable as her. But I might just hold on to my other nice-smelling skincare for a while yet.
Face It, 17 Highgate High Street, London, N6 5JT. To make an appointment with Donna call 020 8340 1770 or visit the website.
spots SkinskincarefacialBeauty


StorePAK Corrugated are corrugated carton manufacturers predominantly serving the UK South East region including Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Essex and London.
The Environmental Policy of StorePAK is determined by the Board of Directors and the Senior Managers within the company.
It is the policy of StorePAK to manage its activities in a way that reduces their environmental impact to a minimum.
Ensure that this policy is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels in the company.
Ensure that all employees are aware of the potential environmental effects of their activities and the environmental benefits of improved performance.
When applicable, develop the operational site in ways which blend as sympathetically as possible with the surrounding environment.
Conserve and protect the environment operating in a socially responsible manner according to the highest standards of environmental management available and the application of strict environmental assurance disciplines.
Comply with all existing regulatory legislation, consents and codes issued at European, national and local levels and adopt a proactive response in anticipating more stringent regulatory requirements.
Design, operate and maintain all equipment to the highest practical standards and improve working practices as new technology becomes available.
Minimise waste throughout the company aiming for "waste free processes" wherever possible. This will be achieved through manufacturing design and careful utilisation of energy, the recycling of the company's product packaging materials will be used where ever possible.
Adopt the least environmentally damaging transport strategy for both our company vehicles and when utilising those of outside haulage contractors.
Trade with selected, reputable suppliers who have met the company's requirements in terms of environmental policy and associated environmental management systems.
Develop effective means for responding to accidents or emergencies thereby avoiding or minimising environmental damage.
Provide appropriate environmental training for all employees and actively promote and encourage the pursuit of environmental excellence not only within the company itself but also through its suppliers and customers.
Lessen the risk of operational failure which might lead to environmental damage.
StorePAK Corrugated are proud to count many UK leading pharmaceutical companies amongst our customer base. We've won numerous awards for our outstanding contributions to the supply chain within this sector.
Our design team have engineered corrugated cartons that efficiently flow through even the most challenging case erecting machinery. Our management team are veterans in this field and carry the expertise to overcome inefficiency and downtime through innovative design.
Our design team are responsible for numerous, innovative Counter Display Units (CDU's) to assist retailers merchandise their products.
However, our biggest strength lies in our service levels, delivered by our dedicated, efficient, Kent based team.
Are you looking for a corrugated carton manufacturer that is truly dedicated to servicing your needs? A supplier that doesn't rest on its laurels or take your custom for granted.
Call our team today and find out exactly what sets us apart from our competitors and why the largest UK Pharmaceutical brands place their orders with us time, after time, after time.
For security purposes, what is...5+3=?


I'm not really sure how to categorize this music. I'm sure there are others out there that know exactly what this is, but the combination of electronic synth noise, crunching, almost heavy metal bass lines and almost dancey beats and some passionate and at times screamed vocals lead me to the whole dance punk thing. Though they do have less cowbell than The Rapture, I take it they're kind of in the same ballpark, though they are more on the aggressive side like Test Icicles. I mean I'm not even sure what kind of dancing you'd actually do to this music aside from smashing into things and whipping your head around in some sort of frenzy. It certainly ain't the running man with the double hand wave that I fancied during my college years. There are some pretty cool things going on in several of the songs, though consecutive multiple listens to its high energy might make one bleed from the eyes. The trouble I have with this kind of music is finding an appropriate time and place to listen to it. I suppose in one's bedroom while getting ready for a Four Loco party might be a good call, but those days are behind me and I'm not sure the younger kids want to be exposed to this kind of raw emotion—it would be too taxing on their fragile gen Y/Z nerves.


text:
Q: Can we get the Device object detail / name from a Device handle I am writing a DeviceIoControl API hook application which will trace all the DeviceIoControl() calls a target application makes. Following is the signature of DeviceIoControl for easy reference  :

BOOL WINAPI DeviceIoControl(
  In         HANDLE hDevice,
  In         DWORD dwIoControlCode,
  _In_opt_     LPVOID lpInBuffer,
  In         DWORD nInBufferSize,
  _Out_opt_    LPVOID lpOutBuffer,
  In         DWORD nOutBufferSize,
  _Out_opt_    LPDWORD lpBytesReturned,
  _Inout_opt_  LPOVERLAPPED lpOverlapped
);

My problem here is, how do I figure-out which device is this Ioctl being targetted to, i.e. How do I reverse the hDevice HANDLE and find the actual device.

A: Use NtQueryObject() to determine the type and name of the object that the handle represents. You might also need to use QueryDosDevice() to resolve hardware device names to local filesystem paths.  See this article to get you started:
HOWTO: Enumerate handles
http://forum.sysinternals.com/howto-enumerate-handles_topic18892.html
Once you know the device type, you can
then use type-specific APIs, like GetVolumeInformationByHandle(), GetFileInformationByHandleEx(), etc to get more detailed information.


Even if you think you don't have any time to knit, I promise you that you can find at least 5 extra minutes. Time is somewhat subjective. You can find time to do anything- it's a matter of prioritizing it over productivity suckers.
Throw a project in your purse ( in a Ziploc bag or GoKnit Pouch) and knit where ever you go. On the subway? Knit. In the car? Knit. At a boring meeting? Knit and say it helps you focus! Even if you get only a few rows done, it all adds up.
Knitting without looking will allow you to knit WHENEVER (unless you're driving. please, don't knit while driving).
Practice this all the time, and soon, you won't even need to look for simple lace patterns!
Save the 2 color brioche cabled hat for relaxing at home. When you're knitting on the go, simpler knitting is easier to carry around and knit without looking. This could mean socks, a sweater with a simple stitch, a simple hat, or hexipuffs.
Knitting is pretty easy to quickly pick up and down. Leave it near you when cooking and bang out a row while waiting for the water to boil. Grab it while the commercials are going when watching TV. If you're sitting around waiting, you could be knitting.
Is this an excuse to knit or an excuse to watch TV…. the world may never know. You don't have to stop watching TV to knit- do them at the same time! In an episode of Girl Boss, you can finish the edging on a hat or sweater. In an episode of friends? Half a hand warmer if you knit fast.
Everyone has time to knit. It's a matter of seeing those hidden cracks of time, the moments of inspiration to interweave the fibers of passion into another finished project.
Where do you sneak in extra knitting time? Leave a comment below!
This post made me smile! The only place I don't take my knitting is to church. In fact, last evening, my husband and I had a burger in a casual and dimly lit restaurant. Turned a heel on my sock, I did! About knitting in front of the TV? I have a hat on my project page that I named 'Later' because it was knit during an episode of 'Later with Jules Holland'!
Have a blessed day and keep knitting.
I'm glad you enjoyed the post! I also knit all the time, anywhere ( accept for in sacred spaces!). I even knit in class.
Don't forget public transit! My bus ride is where most of my knitting yet done.
Yes! Public transit is a good one!


text:
The 50 Greatest Musical Places (Paperback)
Sarah Woods
A trip around the
world, played out to the most eclectic soundtrack, discovering hidden musical gems
along the way.
From mosh pits to
cabarets, Berlin's beatnik band haunts to Korea's peppy k-pop clubs, from
visiting the infamous Dollywood, to tracing Freddie Mercury's childhood in
Zanzibar, The 50 Greatest Musical Places of the World has
something for music fans of all genres.
where iconic songs were written, groups were formed, music legends
were born and extraordinary talent is celebrated.
Sarah Woods is the author of over a dozen travel books, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers. She writes for national newspapers and travel magazines and appears regularly on TV and radio. She has been awarded the BGTW 'Travel Guide Writer of the Year'.
Category: Lifestyle & Travel, Popular Culture
Series: The 50 Greatest


Please take a moment to answer these six questions. The survey is anonymous and will help the Assembly Secretariat to support you in your work.
Select an option that represents how much you agree with each of the below statements, where 10 is strongly agree and 0 is strongly disagree.
Please specify which venue you would prefer for the Public Roundtable Meeting on April 6, 7pm - 9pm.
If you have any questions, contact us at info@dnc-cama.ca or the toll-free line, 1-844-610-5672.


text:
After being diagnosed with early-onset dementia five years ago, aged 34, Chris has raised more than £43,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK by cycling around North America and Canada.
Four members of his family, including his father, died in their 40s from a rare, inherited form of Alzheimer's and his 43-year-old brother also has the disease and needs round-the-clock care in a home.
When Chris, a dad of three, was given the same devastating diagnosis, he was determined to raise awareness and money for research while he was still physically able.
Knowing he faces the same grim decline as his brother, he resolved to take on the challenge of a sponsored 16,000-mile cycle ride around the USA and Canada.
Former soldier Chris, who was medically discharged after 23 years in the army, knows any a cure will come too late for him, but he is fundraising to try and make sure his three children, who have a 50/50 risk, and other families are free from the fear, harm and heartbreak of Alzheimer's and other dementias.
Chris, from Oxfordshire, is a dedicated supporter of Alzheimer's Research UK, the UK's leading dementia research charity.
"Although I know what will happen to me in the coming years, I now have direction in life," he says. "I wanted to do something to fight back against the disease – to do as much as I can while I can. It's simple for me, you have to hit the enemy directly, so I've taken on a challenge to help support research and I'm taking part in studies.
"Being nominated for a Pride of Sport Award makes me very proud. Even if I don't make it through to the final round I'll be thrilled to have come this far, representing other people like me living with Alzheimer's and their families."
His challenge has earned the support of Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised Mr Graham's 'extraordinary grit and determination'. We couldn't agree more.
Dame Sarah Storey | 2016 Winner
INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE 2016


text:
Who Is to Blame?
No. 4 2009 October/December
The global crisis has given a new lease on life to an archaic
view suggesting that the past 150 or so years represent a play of
ambitions by several business groups (industrial monopolies,
financial clans, banking empires, etc.). These groups ostensibly
possess the necessary sufficient resources to manipulate
international processes out of their petty egotistic objectives and
which misuse national interests, political ideals, social
institutions, governments and nations, using them as instruments to
cover up their own disastrous designs.
This yet another edition of the conspiracy interpretation of
history was thrown to the public by retired intelligence officers
who have a tendency to over-exaggerate the effectiveness of total
control over unfolding developments. The fact that they have taken
part in some successful local special operations adds weight to
their extrapolative views in the minds of certain groups of the
public at large.
These misconceptions grow out of a false interpretation of
actual events. The evolution of capitalism beginning in the 1850s
was a chain of crises from which the leading players (Britain and
later the U.S.) would recover with the help of extensive use of
external sources. This happened because their status and reputation
let them mobilize the resources of other parties involved in the
same events and reap the maximum profit in their own petty
interests.
The sporadic search for possible optimal models for overcoming
and preventing the crisis phenomena was interrupted by wars,
launched in the hope of cutting the Gordian knot of problems.
Attempts to manage crises in periods between the wars were
invariably opportunistic – they would smooth out the rough
superficial contradictions without getting deep into the root
causes. The theories that aspired to offer some new strategies were
always frustrated by reality. This was precisely what happened to
the emission/liability type of economy that rested on theoretical
mathematical premises of its functioning.
The tensions of the second quarter of the 19th century erupted
into a series of revolutions in Europe which persisted in the
second half of the same century and eventually led to the Crimean
War, the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune. Since they did
not entail any radical changes in the dominant economic order, the
deficiencies inherent in it triggered not only the turmoil in
Russia in 1904-1907, but also the crisis of 1907 in the U.S. The
Russian and American upheavals did not untangle the skein of
contradictions and Europe slid into the First World War, which did
nothing to eliminate the economic discrepancies of the capitalist
system and could not even escape them. That is why it was followed
by the Second World War, forerun by the pan-European crisis of the
1920s-30s and the Great Depression in the U.S.
The tragedy that raged from 1939-1945 was also an attempt to
dodge difficulties rather than eradicate them, and this unleashed a
series of social cataclysms in the 1940s until the end of the
1960s, bringing about the dramatic crisis of 1971-1975. The ensuing
renunciation of the Bretton Woods system was actually the
continuation of the same vicious practice of estrangement from
efforts to address the snowballing challenges. After several shocks
of variable intensity that occurred in the 1990s, this practice
eventually ended up in the current systemic global crisis.
While evading the solution of essential problems, the capitalist
system expanded its consumer market after each new tectonic shift.
During the Great Depression, millions of Americans got highly paid
jobs at construction sites in the Soviet Union; in World War II
they earned big revenues at home thanks to Lend-Lease contracts;
later the U.S. economy grew thanks to the Marshall Plan. This
inherent ability of the market to convert everything into benefits
for itself gives the deceptive impression of the existence of a
conspiracy.
What we said above proves the importance of coming up with a
correct diagnosis for the current global crisis. Many of its
symptoms may testify that the mechanistic proliferation of
capitalism has reached its natural limit and that it requires
profound modernization. Unfortunately, an adequate diagnosis of the
unfolding events is lacking. Economists have shown a fatal slowness
in identifying the problems that befell us. When it was already
clear that the crisis was an economic one, they continued branding
it as "financial." And when protests in Iceland, France, Germany,
Spain, Greece and Italy gave it an unquestionable social dimension,
they reluctantly admitted that it was "economic." By the middle of
the spring of 2009 some experts began to talk about the social and
humanitarian threat, although contrary to the plainly evident facts
they discussed only Eastern Europe and Central Asia in this
context. Yet even if used broadly, this definition has outlived
itself. If we put together factors that are separately admitted
without reserve, we will see that the case in hand is an in-depth
cultural (civilizational) crisis.
If, according to the general conviction, the crisis reveals a
systemic nature, then it is only culture that represents a
full-fledged self-sufficient system, while the economy – viewed
beyond purely scientific analysis – is only a subsystem devoid of
all-sufficient significance. (Obviously, any combination of facts
can be called a system within the scope of narrow research, but
this approach will be of exclusively academic value.)
What is more, when practical experts speak about a crisis of the
dominant economic concept or about formational or tectonic shifts,
they use the semantics of culture, not economics, while some of
them make direct references to it. Allusions to culture are also
made during discussions of newly-exposed moral risks, the crisis of
trust, the importance of toughening the rules of conduct on the
market and even about religion that is destined to play a key role
in the control over the direction of reforms so much needed by
capitalism (since religion is the main source of moral values).
Trust underlies relationships even in the most primitive societies
and it is older than economics. The latter does not produce ethics
and that is not its objective. All of these notions have been
borrowed from the system of culture.
THE DEFICIENCY OF POSTMODERNISM
Since this is a cultural crisis we should understand what type
of culture is experiencing it. Cultural crises have occurred many
times in the past and all of them represented the decline of a
separate type of culture. The current crisis is not an
exception.
To my mind, the world has come to grips with two major
interconnected sets of crisis phenomena in contemporary
The first set encompasses a variety of aspects of postmodernism
as a cultural type.
First, postmodernism has long lost the main
reference point: genuine art was replaced by mass culture and
variety shows, which signaled the start of the breakdown of
civilization in the West. Then the same happened to politics, which
manifested itself in the spread of dictatorial regimes in the 20th
and 21st centuries, the proliferation of fashionable Western
concepts about the end of democracy, and neglect of public opinion
in post-Soviet countries. Economic agents resisted the
postmodernist virus much longer than others. Still, it eventually
hit the economy and grew into a mechanism that triggered economic
destruction (since the circulation patterns of both derivatives and
futures only have a formal link to the basic value which they have
been derived from). It has become obvious that postmodernism poses
a fatal danger as a worldview and as a strategy.
Second, the ideologeme of a "civilization of
means, not objectives" that Western European intellectuals took
pride in fairly recently has proven bankrupt. One could suspect
that this philosophy was disastrous long before, but only now we
are beginning to realize that humankind will not survive if it is
not guided by eternal values and places ideological and material
values above them.
Third, the "civilization of speed" has proven
deficient. After the collapse of stock markets, referring to speed
as a major achievement of an informational and post-informational
economy has become inept. Apart from this, there are at least three
more negative consequences of the passion for speed, although this
factor has received little attention from analysts so far. Speed is
especially dangerous for society as it kills normal communications
between people and deprives them of the spiritual comfort that is
essential for their personal progress; speed also overshadows
eternal values.
Remarkably, acceleration for the sake of stimulating consumption
and constantly bringing new brand name products to the market has
yielded the same results for the liberal economy as it did for the
planned economy – a decline in the quality of goods. However
paradoxical this might seem, producers see no sense in
manufacturing durable commodities, as they become morally outdated
increasingly rapidly. The deterioration of quality has gradually
embraced all things offered, including ideas and solutions, as more
and more of them are promoted without due account of even their
medium-term impact.
Another pitfall lies in accelerating the rate of innovation. The
time between the development of technological novelties to their
marketing, which would previously take years or decades, has been
cut to several months and may fairly soon shorten to just several
weeks. And when, in the long run, this timeframe is reduced to just
a few days (due to the unending desire to optimize profits),
innovative activity will lose all sense, as innovations will become
morally outdated before people have an opportunity to use them in
full. This may result in a crash worse than the current one.
THE DOWNFALL OF ECONOMIC CENTRISM
The second set of crisis phenomena in contemporary culture
involves the crisis of concepts rooted in Marxism and related
theories (since even those who reject Marx's predictions and
practical advice tend to recognize him as an outstanding
sociologist and economist). Marx was the first to make economics
absolute, turning an ordinary instrument for serving the interests
of society into a self-reliant entity that ostensibly has an
imperative power over man. Naturally, he has been extolled to the
skies by those who appeal to the chimera of the supremacy of
economic needs.
The first factor of the crisis of Marxist
conceptions is the psychological deficiency of economic centrism
that dominated, in one way or another, the entire world over the
past 150 years.
Generally speaking, this is far from the first instance where
humankind initially defies man-made things and then starts
worshiping them. Religious concepts known as fetishism were an
initial form of this fallacy. In subsequent eras, the public would
hold ideologies, governments, etc. as idols. This practice has
always had a lamentable finale, so today's evolution of the economy
into a routine fetish is quite logical. It looks like the time has
come to part with this idol and start treating it as a trivial
instrument – the way it was conceived. We should realize that it is
not people that must work for the economy, but the economy that
must work for people.
The second factor is the deficiency of the
expansion of market relations beyond their legitimate borders,
which again stems from Marx's economic centrism. Many outstanding
minds agree with Adam Smith's postulation: even if the market is
efficacious in the sphere of private interests, it is absolutely
ineffective in the sphere of the public good. Although the crisis
dealt a blow to the economy of consumption, the blame for the
situation goes to the consumer society, which emerged as a result
of ignoring Smith's warning.
The two notions are confused so often that they require a
special note: there is nothing bad about consumption per se; the
evil hides in the extrapolation of the principles of material
(economic) consumption to the spheres where they are completely
inapplicable (human contact, arts, etc.). This extrapolation forms
a society where consumption suppresses everything else. When people
start treating each other as consumers, they lose genuine mutual
responsibility. The transformation of education, science, culture
and medicine into simple services perverts their import.
Infatuation with pragmatism turns education and science into
trivial craftsmanship, culture stops cultivating recipients and
regresses to their level, and medicine undergoes cynical
commercialization and starts neglecting the Hippocratic Oath.
Third, the bluntly mechanistic approach to
regulating social processes, which also sprang from 19th-century
socialism, has outlived itself. While a similar method in economics
was fathered by the utopianists Owen and Fourier, various types of
social engineering were conceived by Saint-Simon, one more
predecessor of Marxism whose disciples – exclusively engineers from
the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris – inspired Marx to work out the
prescriptions for universal happiness. Although the ideas
predominant today have largely deviated from Marx's
recommendations, the habit of looking at individuals and society as
simple mechanical devices – not really more sophisticated than
ordinary machines – persists.
The work of governments, corporations, consultants, experts and
researchers at all levels began to be dominated by the
technological constructs of society that overshadowed its real
appearance. This phenomenon has prompted the famous Horngren's
Observation: "Among economists, the real world is often a special
case" (that is, of their conceptions). Administrators and managers
have developed a habit of trusting the efficiency of artificial
patterns that totally disregard the diversity of the natural world.
This practice, which was made absolute in the second half of the
20th century, is far from harmless, since the vitality of all forms
of everyday activity – and the crisis has made it clear as day –
hinges exactly on their superfluous diversity.
Fourth, the vulgar interpretation of the
rational choice theory that was a logical extension of Marxism and
that was unconditionally spread to all players and segments of the
market has been discredited by reality. Its stipulations fall short
of describing the behavior of all the participants in retail trade
where women constitute the majority of buyers and their preferences
do not fit into the Procrustean bed of rational motivation. Nor
does the theory help model the situation on exchange markets. The
volatility of financial and stock markets, the dynamics of which
depend to a greater degree on the swift emotions and moods of
exchange gamblers rather than on the real situation in the economy
or on information about it, has manifested itself the strongest
during the current crisis and it clearly points to the limitation
of its applicability.
Fifth, the era of the Marxist political economy
is over. Marx analyzed the economy of a classical type based on the
production and sale of physical material values, and his
adversaries and followers have been doing the same thing ever
since. Although the situation changed dramatically at least a
quarter of a century ago, the power of inertia has kept everyone on
the track of applying the old rules, suitable only for days gone
bye, to the new reality, and this partly explains the
unexpectedness and depth of the global crisis.
The policy of an unnatural whipping up of growth (i.e.
consumption) and speculative markets that was launched in the U.S.
in the 1970s had brought up a new type of economy by the mid-1980s.
It can be tentatively labeled as an emission/debt economy. Its
hallmark is the transformation of the markets of all commodities –
from wheat to metals to crude oil – into exceptionally financial or
speculative markets (through a system of trading in futures and
derivatives).
Today the exchanges trade not in the real volumes of products
with precise dates of delivery but in securities issued against
these products. The securities are nothing more than a financial
instrument existing in the virtual world, since neither of the
parties is interested in the availability of physical commodities
at any stage of the transaction. This explains, for example, how
the bubble of the food crisis appeared out of nothing several years
ago. As it turned out, it had nothing to do with the threat of
famine, which was fanned in the interests of exchange gamblers.
This means that commodity markets have turned into analogues of
stock markets and trading there abides by the same logic of
financial speculation.
The same thing has happened to the capitalization of businesses,
the parameters of which are used almost entirely for speculative
considerations. The current situation stands in dramatic contrast
to the one known to Marx and his opponents. This new reality calls
for a new assessment and old instruments do not fit the purpose. No
adequate methods of curing the hitherto unknown disease will be
devised and one will not be able to claim the evidence of a steady
revival from the crisis until this urgent intellectual work is
Unfortunately, this moment is far ahead and the global crisis is
unfolding against the background of a chain of crises in specific
spheres that further complicate it. Most of them offer extra
confirmation of the cultural character of what is happening, as
none of them has a purely economic source.
SPECIFIC CRISES
First among them comes the crisis of economic science.
Theoreticians and practical economists as different as Robert
Zoellick, Joseph Stiglitz, Nouriel Roubini, Martin Gilman and
Warren Buffett are all lost in reasoning on when the current
upheaval may end. Ben Bernanke demands that U.S. banks continue to
get support at any price. U.S. President Barack Obama says that the
economy is beginning to move out of the recession, and Alan
Greenspan warns that a fall of the mortgage loan market by another
5 percent (a realistic prospect) would kill the U.S. economy.
This dissonance of opinions is easy to understand, as scholars
are unable to say anything definite about the nature of the global
crisis. All of their answers reflect their negative knowledge: the
ongoing crisis is not cyclic and not related to overproduction, in
which lowering interest rates results in a shrinking money supply,
a drop in demand, falling prices and, subsequently, a new reduction
in the rate. The research community has no consensus even on the
origins of the crises of the distant past, which adds to the
general pessimism and breeds apprehensions about the scientific
incapacity of previous concepts. There is no clarity about the
further course of the economic crisis, which is based on
artificially boosted consumption, is divorced from the gold
standard, and is characterized by volatility and speculative
commodity markets.
Although all markets have actually turned into financial ones,
there is no reliable theory that would explain how they function;
even the leaders of the financial world do not have much of an idea
about the specificity of the new financial instruments. It appears
that the theory of long-term economic cycles has become outdated,
while the theory of real cycles does not have a practical value.
The existing models of business cycles do not guarantee that
computations and the results presented in them are realistic and
this makes them a pure play of mind. This fact was brilliantly
proven by the gap between the results of mathematical calculations
and the true market performance of derivatives.
Then comes the psychological crisis. The enthusiasm caused by
the gains on derivatives and the financial sector on the whole has
given way to a deep pessimism. After yet another mirage vanished,
many people began to bid a final farewell to capitalism as such and
to curse the greedy bankers.
The third factor exerting a most profound impact on the events
is the crisis of the liberal economy when its actors remained
unaware of the threats coming from the absence of alternatives to
it. There was no need to compete for a place in the sun and this
quickly stripped that economy of its self-control. The West's
victory came to an abrupt halt because, amidst overblown euphoria,
it lost the basic idea of liberalism – personal responsibility for
the results of one's own actions.
This lost value should be urgently regained in a situation where
blows are dealt to the very core of freedom with a rare unanimity
that deserves a better application. Voices from the left and the
right of the political spectrum propose giving up freedom. They
obviously do not understand that freedom is not to blame and that
the root causes lie in its internal monotony which everyone took
for granted. This is a wily trap as it conceals the danger of
reviving "the socialist paradise" as an alternative (attempts have
already been made in Latin America) and spreading it globally.
The sad thing is that the fourth crisis, namely the crisis of
philosophy lies in wait for world leaders exactly in the sphere of
ideas which is so much needed now. At best, the leaders confine the
entire reform of capitalism to the ritual confirmation of their
banal dislike of its Anglo-Saxon model. At worst, they themselves
foster socialism and thus are pushing the world towards a new
disaster.
The fifth crisis is the crisis of action which stems directly
from the four previously mentioned ones. Since no one understands
the paradigm of the global cataclysm, the moves being taken are
measures to cure previous upheavals, not the present one. The
tightening of the state's control over the rules of market
relations, the growth in a number of global and/or regional
currencies and financial centers, or redistribution of quotas and
votes in the IMF may be really needed, but the problem is that all
of these measures do not relate directly to the circumstances of
the current crisis. That is why the efficacy of time-tested
regulatory mechanisms and the designing of new mechanisms based on
old logic remains highly questionable. In other words, the therapy
seems to be correct, but only if applied to a different
disease.
Meanwhile, humanity is facing challenges that are far from
ordinary. The first challenge consists of whether
or not capitalism will show a capability for intensive development.
This sounds like a paradox, since everyone is accustomed to drawing
an equation mark between the two phenomena. Yet it appears that
this applies only to technological progress, while the capitalist
system itself has been developing extensively on its own. It
explored new markets with the aid of the same methods that had been
tested in the old markets. At present, it has reached the
geographic limits of its mechanical expansion. Of course there are
still the poorest countries of Asia and Africa and it is still
possible to move deep down into India and China with their billions
of people. But the development of these regions will require new
and massive investment which would not inspire anyone, except for
China and Arab countries. And it will only mean a continuation of
the same extensive way of development.
The same logic was behind the so-called innovative financial
technologies. The regularly surfacing novelties, like futures and
derivatives, were instruments (types of securities that did not
exist before), while the method of their circulation (the
technology) remained the same as in Theodore Dreiser's The
Financier, which describes the events of a century and a half
If hopes for capitalism's quality growth are not futile, it
should be based on the understanding that the world should no
longer be viewed as a trivial raw material for action or as a
theater which stages a play of interests of virtual persons. The
world has really become our common and very compact home and our
behavior must consider that fact accordingly.
The second challenge is closely linked to the
previous one and revolves around whether or not economic science
will be able break out of its incipient descriptive condition where
there is no consensus even concerning past events and arrive at
working theories like botany and zoology did, which later merged
into biology.
The third challenge has to do with China. Will
it become the main beneficiary of the crisis or will it decline
into chaos because of the crisis? Whatever the outcome, it will
have a profound impact on the situation in the entire world.
Beijing already knows everything about the transactions and
financial flows of foreign companies working in China through a
network of Communist Party committees based there. China has
clearly stated that it does not intend to help anyone (hundreds of
thousands of foreign businesses that used to operate in China have
gone bankrupt) or to share its reserves with anyone. With reliance
on Moscow (which expects who knows what), China is demanding a
reform of the IMF. China is confidently moving towards making the
yuan a reserve currency, simultaneously buying up Africa's mineral
resources and territory (along with the Persian Gulf Arabs). If
everything works out well for the Chinese, this will be something
bigger than a mere return to the 17th century situation when the
East had a clear technological lead over the West. China will then
have all the opportunities to become a global dictator. In the
reverse case, it may slide into an abyss, and the information it
possesses makes it quite capable of pulling all the developed
countries down with it.
A Different View on the European Anniversary
Without Ideology or Order
Timofei V. Bordachev
Policy Transformation
Viatcheslav Morozov
Assimilating Experience
Lai Hairong
Tradition Breaks Reform
Leonid Sedov
Missing in Translation
Russia's Future: Nation or Civilization?
Igor A. Zevelev
Where Is the "Pilot Region" Heading?
Vadim Smirnov
Twenty Years of Drifting Apart
Nikolai Silayev
Once Again about a New Entente
Yevgeny Savostyanov
Arctic Diplomacy
Alexander Oreshenkov
Financial Architecture: Urgent Repair
Leonid Grigoriev, Marcel R. Salikhov
The Road Map of an Anti-Crisis Strategy
Vyacheslav Kopiev
"Everything must be carried through to the end"
Mikhail S. Gorbachev


I was searching for a Property and found this listing (MLS® #19000381). Please send me more information regarding 1239 Canyon Creek, College Station, TX, 77840. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing of 1239 Canyon Creek, College Station, TX, 77840 (MLS® #19000381). Thank you!


Growth hormone deficiency is a rare disease characterized by low secretions of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland present at the base of the brain.
GHD may be present since birth due to a genetic mutation or development problems in the brain, GHD may be due to a later development in life due to a trauma, infection, radiotherapy, or brain tumors and it may be idiopathic or without a known reason, GHD in children may be one of these three types.
Delay in growth of bones in accordance with age.
All types of GHD are treated with daily injections of recombinant Human growth hormone.