Unraveling the global warming puzzle is simple at its face, complex when you pierce the surface.
We know that burning fossil fuels, that the activity of mining coal, fracking for gas, and drilling for oil all result in dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. We know that the vast majority of these warming gasses are coming from fossil fuel based sources. We know that, now, the burning and mining and fracking and drilling have pushed atmospheric CO2 above 405 parts per million and the global concentration of all CO2 equivalent gasses to an amazing 485 parts per million CO2e (levels not seen in at least 15 million years). And we know that the heat re-radiated by these gasses has warmed the world by about 1 C above 1880s levels — forcing weather patterns to change, seas to rise, ocean health to decline, and setting off a wave of die offs in the animal world while increasing the near-term risk of hunger, spreading tropical disease, and mass displacement in the human world.
All this is pretty simple and straightforward. But it's when we start looking at what are called amplifying feedbacks — the Earth System Sensitivity responses to human forced warming — that things really start to get dicey. And wrapped up in the Earth System Sensitivity equation is methane — a greenhouse gas with the ability to strongly influence global temperatures over rather short time-frames.
On February 20th, for about 12 hours, the NOAA METOP measure recorded a major atmospheric methane spike in the range of 3,096 parts per billion at 20,000 feet in altitude. This was the first time that any measure had recorded such a high methane spike and the first time any measure had exceeded the 3,000 parts per billion threshold. For context, just two years ago, a methane spike in the range of 2,660 parts per billion would have been significant. Now, we're getting peak readings that are more than 400 parts per billion higher than that previous maximum threshold.
It's a pretty ominous signal — especially when you consider the fact that global atmospheric methane averages are in the range of 1830 parts per billion. The recent major spike was about 1170 parts per billion higher. In other words — a pretty extraordinary excession. It's evidence that the methane sources of the world are growing more vigorous in their output. And when you consider the fact that methane — on a molecule-by-molecule comparison to CO2 — traps about 80 times more heat over the decadal timescale, large additions of methane on top of an already dangerous CO2 forcing is certainly cause for some concern. An issue that may further speed the already rapid pace of human-forced warming such that we become at risk of hitting the 1.5 C and 2 C thresholds sooner than expected. Outcomes we should urgently be working to avoid — by cutting the human-based emission as rapidly as possible at this time.
Perhaps still more concerning is the fact that we really don't know exactly where this significant methane spike is coming from.
We do, however, have a long list of usual suspects. The first, of course, would be from any number of very large and dangerous fossil fuel emission sources. China, with its massive methane belching coal mines, gas infrastructure, and dirty coal burning facilities would be a prime suspect. Mongolia, where equally sprawling coal and gas facilities operate is another likely hot spot. Russia — with its vast and leaky oil and gas fields. The Middle East — which is choked with fossil fuel infrastructure. Europe — where many of Russia's pipelines terminate and where many nations burn a high-methane brown coal. And the United States — where the geologically destructive practice of fracking has now also recently and greatly increased methane emissions.
Looking at the very low resolution METOP graphic above, we find a number of methane hot spots around the globe. And many of these hot spots do coincide with our usual suspects list. But others are well outside the range we would typically expect. Far up in the north. Over the tundra and the Arctic Ocean where few major fossil fuel burning or extraction facilities now exist. There, somewhat ironically, great piles of permafrost spreading over millions of square miles and sometimes mounding up as thick as two miles are thawing due a greenhouse gas heat forcing from fossil fuel burning often happening hundreds or thousands of miles away. This thawing permafrost is filled with organic material. And when freed of its icy prison it is exposed to the world's elements and microbes. These forces then go to work turning the organic carbon in that permafrost into carbon dioxide and methane.
This is rather bad news. In total, more than 1,300 billion tons of carbon are locked away in the permafrost soils. And carbon emissions from permafrost make an already bad heat forcing coming from fossil fuel burning even worse.
But if all the human emissions and potential permafrost emissions weren't bad enough, we have one more major carbon source in the Arctic to consider — methane hydrate. A controversial potential methane release source to be certain. But a very large one that we would be remiss to ignore. Due to the fact that the Arctic has remained very cold overall for the past 3 million years of long ice ages and brief interglacials, this massive store of carbon has been given the opportunity to build up within the relatively shallow and now swiftly warming Arctic Ocean waters and even beneath large sections of now-thawing permafrost. Much of this carbon is in the form of the frozen ice-methane called hydrate. And as the Arctic Ocean warms and sea ice recedes to expose blue ocean to the heating of the sun's rays for the first time in hundreds of thousands of years, there is concern among some scientists that a not insignificant amount of that submerged frozen methane will release, pass the ocean-atmosphere or thawing permafrost boundary, and add more heat forcing to the world's atmosphere. The shallow sea of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf has been identified by some to contain as much as 500 billion tons of carbon in the form of frozen methane. And a fossil fueled heating of the Earth may be just now risking amplifying feedback level releases from this large clathrate store along with a number of other very large stores scattered all across the Arctic Ocean basin and on throughout the global ocean system.
A Clearer Picture? Or One Far More Complex?
So who among all the various suspects — usual and unusual — may be responsible for the record methane spike now showing up in the METOP measure?
Here we can see the range of surface methane readings according to Copernicus. A higher resolution image that may provide us with a better idea of the point-source location for daily global methane spikes. Here we see that the major methane sources are predominantly China, Russia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, India, Indonesia, Fires in Africa and the Amazon, and, finally, the Arctic.
Though the Copernicus measure doesn't show the same level of Arctic overburden as what has tended to show up in the METOP measure, it's a confirmation that something in the near Arctic environment is generating local spikes in above 1940 parts per billion for large regions of this sensitive zone.
The Copernicus measure, as noted above, also shows that the human spikes are quite intense, remaining the dominant source of methane emissions globally despite a continued disturbing overburden in the Arctic. Spikes in Africa, the Amazon, and Indonesia also indicate that declining rain forests and related fires in these tropical zones are also probably providing an amplifying feedback to the overall human emission.
Given this month's spikes and the overall disposition of surface methane readings around the globe, it does appear that the large human base methane emission is being enhanced by feedbacks from local emissions from carbon stores both in the tropics and in the Arctic. This enhancement signal, though somewhat smaller than the fossil fuel related signal in some measures, is concerning and hints that Robert Max Holmes' warning at the top may be all-too-relevant. For Earth System feedbacks to massive and irresponsible fossil fuel emissions appear to already be starting to complicate our picture of a warming Earth.
If you look at the annual methane fluctuations in the Arctic — the region where peak global values tend to crop up — highest readings typically occur during the September-through-October time-frame and then again in January.
Over the past few years, peak values have ranged as high as 2600 parts per billion during the fall of 2014 and then again during January of 2015. Typically, peak values then subside as Northern Hemisphere Winter locks in most of the emitting High Latitude sources and we wait for the Autumn and early Winter overburdens to again emerge. So those of us who keep track of methane kinda just sat tight, expecting at least a somewhat calm spring, and waited for the new peak values that would be most likely to pop up by late this year and early next.
A whopping peak value of 2845 parts per billion at the 14,000 foot level of the atmosphere where methane concentrations tend to top out — especially in higher level clouds that have tended to be associated with Arctic wildfires. A value more than 200 parts per billion higher than daily peaks during January of 2015. All-in-all, a huge and unexpected jump at a very odd time for it.
If we look at the above map we find that most of the peak values are in the region of Russia. With many peak values in areas where major wildfires have been ongoing (Lake Baikal region, Khakassia), where wildfires were just starting to flare up (Northern Ukraine), or above other recently thawing permafrost zones. We also find decent spikes over China, Europe, Iceland, spots of the High Arctic, Canada and Alaska, Central Africa, The Indian Ocean, and over Antarctica.
And what we find, from looking at the graph, is that not only did peak values spike to an extraordinary high level in late April, but mean values also took a big jump — rising from 1807 ppb on January 10 to a peak of 1829 ppb on April 22nd. A 12 parts per billion bump in the entire global measure over a four month period (average annual rates of increase have been in the range of 7 parts per billion each year recently). A raging pace of increase 5 times faster than the annual trend.
It's worth noting that daily peak and mean values do tend to swing back and forth quite vigorously. As an example, a peak mean value of 1839 ppb was recorded on September 7 of 2014. But, as noted above, these are extraordinarily abnormal high values for April. A quite unsettling methane spike at a very odd time of year and happening on dates and over locations that may suggest permafrost zone fire involvement.
For context, methane is an extraordinarily powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential about 30-40 times that of CO2 over meaningful timescales. Global atmospheric averages for methane have jumped from around 725 parts per billion during the 18th Century to above 1820 parts per billion now. A major scientific controversy is now ongoing over the issue of how rapidly global carbon stores will respond to an extraordinary pace of human warming — with some observational specialists raising the possibility of a very large methane contribution from now activating carbon stores in the Arctic.
Tracking the Footprints of the Arctic Methane Monster: Black Craters in the Siberian Tundra, Methane Lacing 2,500 Mile Wide Smoke Plumes Over Gigantic Arctic Wildfires.
Is the Arctic Methane Monster climate science's version of he who must not be named?
For apparently, Arctic Methane, in all its various permutations, has become the gas that mainstream media and climate media now no longer mentions.
NASA's CARVE study has been silent for a year, the University of Maryland has stopped putting out publicly available AIRS methane data measures, the NOAA ESRL methane flask measures, possibly due to lack of funding, haven't updated since mid-May, and even Gavin Schmidt over at NASA GISS appears to have become somewhat mum on a subject that, of late, has generated so much uncomfortable controversy.
Despite this fading out of the topic and related publicly available data, likely due to an overall discomfort with the potential nasty implications of an expanding Arctic methane release combined with efforts by conservative political forces to de-fund observational climate science, large Arctic carbon and related methane stores remain vulnerable to the various forces set in motion by human-caused warming. In essence, it's a problem that won't go away no matter how much you ignore it.
The subsea permafrost, methane clathrates locked in mud and sediment on and beneath the sea bed, methane generated from wet, thawing tundra, and methane locked in pockets far beneath the boreal forests and tundra all remain in stores of untold gigatons and gigatons. A massive volume that represents an extraordinary potential amplifying feedback to the unprecedentedly rapid human-caused warming of Arctic lands and oceans risking a very dangerous release.
Did Explosive Methane Release Gouge a Black Crater in Siberian Tundra?
Other potential culprits include a meteor impact or tundra collapse due to subsurface ice melt. But the ejecta signature appears to be one of a crater that underwent a violent explosion and Russian scientists seem certain that a meteor was not involved. Anna Kurchatova of the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre believes the most likely suspects are the explosion of thawing methane due to a volatile mixture of water, methane and salt triggering an eruption or the building up of pressure due to the venting and expansion of the thawed gas causing the overlying land feature to be violently ejected like a champagne cork.
The large sub-surface methane stores are certainly there and we've known for some time that risks of explosive out-gassing of this material, due to human caused warming and thaw of frozen methane stores, was possible given a chemical or thermal release and ignition mechanism. If the Yamal (which unhappily translates to mean 'end of the world') crater is the result of a violent explosion of thawing methane and ejection of the overlying earth strata, it will have implications not only for tundra permafrost thaw but for sea-bed permafrost thaw and ocean methane clathrate thaw as well.
So the question remains — how many more explosions ripping apartment building-sized or larger holes in the Earth are we in for if thawing and exploding methane was, indeed, the culprit of this, admittedly odd and disturbing, event? And what impact will this have on an atmosphere already well overburdened with human greenhouse gasses?
Meanwhile, investigation of 18,000 foot methane readings reveals high levels of methane gas lacing the large clouds of smoke spreading from massive wildfires over Canada and especially Siberia. NOAA's METOP sensor shows atmospheric methane in the smoke/cloud layer at and above 18,000 feet ranging in excess of 2,000 parts per billion over sections of Canada and North America as well as over a broad swath covering Central and Northeastern Siberia. Highest atmospheric methane readings at this altitude were in smoke clouds over Siberia at levels near 2,200 parts per billion.
For reference, the current atmospheric average is around 1860 parts per billion at the surface.
Absent other research provided by scientists, both the very large hole in the tundra in Russia's Yamal Peninsula (that some scientists are saying was the result of a very large methane pocket erupting to the surface) together with coincident measures of high methane readings in smoke plumes over Arctic wildfires provide evidence of an ongoing and hazardous Arctic methane release. Though overall emissions rates have, likely, not yet reached catastrophic levels, the potential for moderate to catastrophically strong feedback from this very large and volatile carbon store should be serious cause for concern and the focus of concerted national and international investigation. Given the risk, the current silence and apparent scientific withdrawal from broader Arctic methane research is entirely inappropriate and short-sighted.
Apparently, CARVE's Arctic methane observation mission is still underway and will be posting updates based on currently ongoing research soon.
CARVE is fully funded and flying in Alaska and Canada this year. Expect first results at the AGU meeting in December… NASA is doubling down on Arctic research having just announced a $100 million decade-long field campaign, the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment. http://above.nasa.gov or follow me on twitter @NASA_ABoVE.
Notably, Chip Miller is still heading the project at JPL as well.
Continued funding for both CARVE and expanded funding for the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment are certainly reassuring. No word on satellite methane sensors providing publicly available and detailed information (other than METOP, as the more refined AIRS data is difficult to access publicly). ESRL flask measures, as noted above, have also been slow to update, possibly due to funding constraint.
On the issue of the first and third questions, scientists are divided between those like Peter Wadhams, Natalia Shakhova and Igor Simeletov who believe that large methane pulses from a rapidly warming Arctic Ocean are now possible and warrant serious consideration and those like Gavin Schmidt and David Archer — both top scientists in their own right — who believe the model assessments showing a much slower release are at least some cause for comfort. Further complicating the issue is that estimates of sea-bed methane stores range widely with the East Siberian Arctic Shelf region alone asserted to contain anywhere between 250 and 1500 gigatons of methane (See Arctic Carbon Stores Assessment Here).
With such wide-ranging estimations and observations, it's no wonder that a major scientific controversy has erupted over the issue of sea bed methane release. This back and forth comes in the foreground of observed large (but not catastrophic) sea-bed emissions and what appears to be a growing Arctic methane release. A controversy that, in itself, does little inspire confidence in a positive outcome.
But on the second point, an issue that some are now calling the compost bomb, most scientists are in agreement that the massive carbon store locked in the swiftly thawing tundra is a matter of serious and immediate concern.
At issue here is the initial power of the human heat forcing and what consequences that forcing is likely to unlock. Consequences that are directly tied to the amount of greenhouse gasses we emit. A total forcing that is now likely equivalent to around 425 CO2e when taking into account the effect of human aerosols and an even more ominous 480 CO2e when and if those aerosols fall out (IPCC and MIT).
The first number, 425 CO2e, were it to remain stable over years, decades and centuries, is enough push global temperatures above the 1.5 C warming threshold that would thaw the northern hemisphere tundra. And within this tundra is locked a store of about 1,500 gigatons of carbon. A massive store that is set to eventually, thaw, decompose and release its carbon as either CO2 or methane over the long period of warmth that is to come.
The immense size of this carbon store represents an extreme risk both for extending the period of human warming and for, potentially, generating a feedback in which natural warming adds to, rather than simply extends, human warming. By comparison, human fossil fuel emissions have already resulted in about 540 gigatons of carbon being released into the atmosphere. The tundra store alone represents nearly three times this amount. But the concern is not just the massive size of the tundra store now set to thaw, or the rate at which the tundra will, eventually, release its carbon to the atmosphere. The concern is also how much of the tundra store carbon is released as either methane or CO2.
Since methane's radiative absorption is about 35 times that of CO2 by volume in the IPCC climate assessments (and its short term global warming potential is as much as 72 to 105 times that of a comparable amount of CO2) and since methane release sets off other feedbacks by turning into CO2 after it is oxidized and by increasing atmospheric water vapor, a strong greenhouse agent in its own right, a significant portion of tundra carbon being liberated as methane could result in a rather powerful heat amplification. In the worst case, such an amplification could set off conditions similar to those during which other mini-greenhouse gas runaways occurred — such as the Permian, Triassic and PETM events.
Which is why the release of a new paper should be cause for serious concern.
This week, a paper published in Nature Communications described findings based on a study of thawing Swedish permafrost. The study investigated how microbes responded to thawing tundra in various mires throughout warming sections of Sweden. What they discovered was the increased prevalence of an ancient methane producing micro-organism.
Billions of years ago, methane producing cyanobacteria or archaea were prevalent in the world's oceans. The methane they produced helped keep the Earth warm at a time when solar output was much less than it is today. Later, as oxygen producing plants emerged, the archaea, to which oxygen was a poison, retreated into the anoxic corners of the more modern world. Today, they live in the dark, in the mud, or in the depths of oceans. There, they continue to eek out an existence by turning hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methane.
A kind of archaea, the newly discovered organism, named methanoflorens stordalenmirensis, was found to be exploding through sections of rapidly melting Swedish tundra. In fact, it is so at home in regions of melting permafrost that it blooms in the same way algae blooms in the ocean. As a result, it comes to dominate the microbial environment, representing 90% of the methanogens and crowding out many of the other microbes.
"Methanoflorens stordalenmirensis seems to be a indicator species for melting permafrost. It is rarely found where there is permafrost, but where the peat is warmer and the permafrost is melting we can see that it just grows and grows. It is possible that we can use it to measure the health of mires and their permafrost. The recently documented global distribution also shows, on a much larger scale, that this microbe spreads to new permafrost areas in time with them thawing out. This is not good news for a stable climate", said study author Rhiannon Mondav.
So what we have here is a billions year old microbe that thrives in wet regions called mires where permafrost is melting, rapidly converts tundra carbon to methane, readily spreads to new zones where permafrost melt occurs, and explodes into algae like blooms to dominate these environments.
Recent research shows that the current methane emission from all natural sources north of 53 degrees north latitude is on the order of 81 trillion grams (TG) each year. A portion of this, about 17 TG, comes from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Other inputs are from sea bed sources, thawing tundra and existing wetlands in the region. Meanwhile, the global emission, including both human and natural sources is in the range of about 600 TG each year. Overall, this emission is enough to overwhelm current sinks by about 40 TG each year, which results in continuing increases of atmospheric methane.
As more and more of the tundra melts and as seabed methane continues to warm it is likely that total Arctic methane emissions will continue to rise, perhaps eventually rivaling or, in the worst case, exceeding the size of the human methane emission (350 TG). But, to do so, current Arctic and boreal emissions would have to more than quadruple — either through a slow increase (high likelihood) or through more catastrophic large pulse events (lower likelihood, but still enough for serious concern). By contrast, recent warm years have shown increases in the rate of methane flux/emission of around 5% with the average flux increase being around 2%.
It is worth noting that NOAA and a number of other agencies do track methane emissions in the Arctic but that a comprehensive tool set for accurately tracking the total emission does not appear to be currently available. Instead, various studies are conducted in an effort to capture total emissions levels. Monitoring does, however, track total atmospheric values.
Is a Sleeping Giant Waking in the Arctic?
Steadily increasing Arctic methane emissions over the past decade are a dangerous amplifying feedback to human caused climate change.
This emission is a direct result of a rapid heating of the Arctic caused by human global warming via the ever-increasing volume of CO2 emitted and stored in the Earth's atmosphere. Since the year 2000, world CO2 levels have risen from about 365 ppm to 396.8 ppm today. This rapid increase in CO2 is driving enhanced heating of the Arctic environment on the order of about one degree Celsius per decade.
The extra heat in the Arctic does work melting glaciers, reducing sea ice, and rapidly reducing spring time snow cover. The result is a warming of the Arctic tundra and sea bed. As these areas warm, methane stored in the frozen permafrost and in methane hydrates on the sea bed are released.
Since the year 2000, we have seen growing levels of methane release throughout the Arctic. This methane provides an extra push to global warming by adding more heat-trapping gasses on top of already high and rising values of CO2. Over the course of a century, methane provides 20 times the amount of heat trapping by volume compared to CO2. But short-term warming caused by methane is even greater, about 100 times that of CO2. So increasing levels of Arctic methane as a feedback to human-caused warming further amplifies the overall problem of climate change.
The above series of images provides Arctic methane levels from January 21-31 of 2009 through January 21-31 of 2013. As you can see, over this period Arctic methane levels ramped steadily higher, increasing by about 10-20 ppb on average each year. This steady increase provides a substantial additional forcing to an Arctic that is already much warmer than in previous decades.
Increasing Arctic methane levels combine with sea ice melt and early snow melt to create a powerful amplifying feedback over much of the Arctic. And carbon stores in the Arctic are massive. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center estimates that there are 1400 gigatons of carbon locked in Arctic permafrost alone. This volume compares to the 880 gigatons of carbon already put into the atmosphere via human greenhouse gas emissions. Arctic methane hydrates compose at least another 1000 gigatons of carbon. So for even a fraction of this carbon to be released would result in a substantial addition to human-caused warming.
All these hundreds and thousands of gigatons of methane would have remained locked in frozen storage without the ever-increasing amounts of CO2 we keep dumping into the atmosphere. From February of 2012 to 2013, global CO2 levels increased by 3.2 parts per million, far higher than even for the already high average of 2.2 parts per million each year over the past five years. At 396.8 parts per million, CO2 is now providing a large amount of heat forcing to the atmosphere. And it is this rising level of heat trapping gasses that has set the Arctic environment in motion.
These increased feedbacks through human forcing make the challenge of dealing with human-caused climate change all the more difficult and urgent. From this point forward, the more we push the climate, the more it is likely to respond by contributing its own stores of carbon from sinks that are now in the process of turning into sources. A rapid transition away from the use of fossil fuels is, therefore, necessary to ensure an already difficult problem does not grow worse.
Barrow Data Shows Large Methane Pulse: Erroneous Reading or Reason For Concern?
Over the past few days, observations of anomalously high methane readings have been coming in from Barrow Alaska. These four reading show a jump of ground level methane concentration at Barrow to 2090-2140 parts per billion (ppb). This is a massive increase over previous measurements of around 1890 ppb. You can see these readings in the graph above in the form of four orange dots in the far upper right hand of the graph.
Barrow is just one reporting station around the Arctic. So, in order to validate any large pulse in methane, we would have to see high readings around the Arctic. As yet, this doesn't appear to be happening.
In addition, sometimes methane data gets corrupted by bad sensors or faulty process. The result can be anomalously high readings. This has happened before and there is good reason to suspect that these high readings could be caused by a failure of the methane monitoring process.
All that said, this year has seen a number of very strong global warming signals in the Arctic. We've seen record warmth over much of the region. We've seen record sea ice melt and a trend that shows a potential for ice free Arctic seas within ten years. And we've seen an immense increase in melt over the Greenland ice sheet. The sea ice melt is particularly troubling because it is occurring in weather conditions that should not be conducive for melt. And what this points to is a lot of latent heat in the Arctic doing the melting.
So given this context, it would be very unwise to ignore an anomalously high set of methane readings at Barrow. The reason is that heat can destabilize frozen sea bed or tundra methane and result in large pulses of methane hitting the atmosphere. These pulses can contribute large volumes of methane that can dramatically increase atmospheric concentrations. In addition, the over-all trend in the satellite record over the last ten years is for increasing pulses of methane emitted from the Arctic from September to January. Each year, the methane signal has been stronger, so this trend is also cause for concern.
It is still likely that these numbers are the result of error or faulty equipment. But there is a small but not insignificant possibility, perhaps a 20 or 30 percent chance, that this pulse showing up in the Barrow data is real. The fact that four observations are now showing anomalously high readings and that these readings are continuing to rise is serious cause for concern and needs close monitoring.
A large methane pulse in the Arctic this year would be a terrible result. It would add an amplifying global warming feedback to the already strong feedback of sea ice loss and loss of Greenland reflectivity. It would also show that the Arctic environment and the methane stores there are far more sensitive to temperature changes than most scientists had expected. So these observations at Barrow are serious cause for concern.
I got a response from Andy Crotwell a NOAA scientist specializing in greenhouse gas emissions. He notes that the wind on the day these samples were taken was likely from a developed area where methane readings would have been higher. So he's pretty sure these are not representative of the Arctic environment and will be listed as outliers in the data.
In California, Idaho and Washington, large regions were still under threat of massive fires today.
Across California, more than a dozen fires blazed forcing thousands to evacuate and threatening many homes. One northern California fire near the towns of Manton, Shingleton and Viola threatened more than 3,500 homes spread across a ridge near the blaze. In total more than 350,000 acres still burned across the state.
In Idaho, a fire on Trinity Ridge swelled to more than 15 square miles posing a major problem for the more than 1,000 firefighters currently battling the blaze. Hot temperatures and dry conditions were factors that added to the fire's intensity. In Featherville, more than 350 homes were evacuated as smoke from a nearby blaze encroached on the community there.
Large fires continued to burn through central Washington as lightning strikes threatened firefighters' efforts to contain blazes there. Fires in the Cascade range were mostly contained after having destroyed nearly 300 structures over the past week.
Overseas, the Greek island of Chios suffered a major fire today. The blaze began early Saturday morning and has since swelled to a 16,000 acre inferno. Nearly 400 firefighters and 50 vehicles are currently involved in fighting the blaze. The Aegean island has lost the majority of its bee hives and a significant portion of its crops to the fire. Smoke from the blaze was visible 230 miles away in Crete.
In Siberia, the hottest temperatures in 170 years continued to contribute to sporadic blazes there.
Current estimates are that fires over Russia may rival the epic spree of fires that took place in 2010. However, since most fires have occurred in Siberia, these blazes appear to have resulted in less loss of life and property damage than that tragic year.
Furthermore, and somewhat off topic, it has been very difficult to find summer estimates for methane release in the Siberian tundra and East Siberian Arctic Shelf. We're currently involved in researching the matter and hope to bring you more information shortly.


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There are few areas of human history as interesting as Ancient Egypt. For me it's the age, the time involved. There were Ancient Egyptians living in the shadow of already ancient monuments. They have so many deities and figures to include in their stories it's hard to keep track. So much time passed that things changed, gods took on new roles and pharaoh's rose and fell from favor. It's easy to get lost in the history of Egypt.
For this list I used two sources, Ancient Egypt: the Mythology and Ancient History Encyclopedia. Please forgive spelling discrepancies as there are many ways to spell most of the names and I tried to stay true to the source I was reading at the time.
1) Creation Story
First there was nothing but shapeless water and a god of magic, Heka. Then the Ben-Ben, a large hill, and atop it was Atum. He was lonely so Heka helped him mate with his shadow after which he spat out Shu, god of air, and Tefnut, goddess of moisture. These children went out to explore the world and Atum became concerned at their long absence. He plucked out his eye and sent it out after them. They returned with it and he was so happy to have them back he shed tears of joy. His tears, upon hitting the earth, created men and women.
Shu and Tefnut had two children, Geb, earth, and Nut, sky. Geb and Nut fell in love but Atum didn't like it because they were siblings so he separated them. But Nut was already pregnant and gave birth to the main Egyptian pantheon, Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus. When Atum stepped down, he put Osiris in charge.
The Prompt
Allow me to don my amateur scholar hat because I'd like to point out a couple of strange things. First, incest in the form of sibling relationships is pretty common among mythologies and creations myths in particular. There's no one else to marry. I get it. What I haven't seen much is a scenario where someone takes exception to it. Especially when the couple's parents are also siblings. What makes Geb and Nut's love so wrong as opposed to their parents', I couldn't guess.
The other interesting thing is that humans were created before the main pantheon. For humans to be created before any gods is odd enough but this? It would be like humans coming before Zeus and company.
My first thought was a robot/AI spin. It's been done a thousand times. The AI feels superior to the humans and takes over. But in the case of this myth, the gods are superior and were created by other gods.
So, here is your prompt. Create a story where the races (think Tolkien-esque races with dwarves, elves, etc) have an odd hierarchy of some sort. A younger but more powerful race is in charge. The creator of both has retired and put this younger race in charge. Are they benevolent? Does the older, but weaker, race rise up? (It doesn't have to be the main story; it could just be the setting.)
2) Osiris
After assuming leadership, Osiris set about creating the world where people live. Isis helped him organize it and he did a great job. Set was jealous of Osiris and decided to get rid of him.
He made a chest the exact same size as Osiris. Then he threw a big party and told everyone whoever fit best inside the chest could keep it. When Osiris got inside Set slammed the lid shut and threw it in the Nile. He declared Osiris dead and took over.
Isis didn't believe it and went to find Osiris. She discovered the chest in a tree and got the locals' help getting it down. Then she hid Osiris' body and had her sister Nephthys guard it while she gathered herbs and potions needed to fix Osiris.
Set got worried because Isis was powerful and he thought she might actually bring Osiris back. He talked to Nephthys. He was able to get her to tell him where Osiris was. He went to the place and chopped the body into 42 (or 14) pieces and flung them all over.
Isis was devastated to return and find what had been done. Nephthys offered to help find the pieces. They went around finding them, burying them, and building shrines over them. Thus they founded the provinces of Egypt.
The sisters gathered all the body parts and Isis reassembled her husband. But fish had eaten his penis so she made him a new one. They had a child, Horus, who took over when Osiris left for the underworld. He was not whole and was no longer fit to rule.
Horus was hidden away to be raised but battled Set when he was grown. The fight lasted eighty years and at the end Horus won. There are versions where Set is banished, destroyed, or given part of the kingdom.
Horus ruled with Isis and Nephthys as counselors and things went back to normal.
The thing about this myth that always rankled me was that Osiris is given credit for coming back to life and is given dominion over the dead when it was Isis who actually did the work. She performed the magic that resurrected him but got none of the credit. That could have been a Christian tweak in the versions I was exposed to but it would fit with what I've seen in other cultures as well. Then after all that when her husband is deemed unworthy of ruling due to literally losing his manhood, she has to advise her son rather than rule herself.
Write a story with a powerful woman who keeps getting passed over. The main man in her life gets all the credit and she's overlooked as a leader when the time comes. How does she react? How does the man react? Is all of this deliberate or do the others not notice they are doing it?
A side note. The idea of being incomplete and therefore not fit to rule also showed up in Irish mythology. In that story the king lost a hand and a woman had to make his fake silver hand into a real one before he could rule again. Once more, I don't think she got the credit she deserved. But the difference in body parts makes for an interesting comparison.
3) Pharaoh Hatshepsut
Amun-Ra told the other gods he thought there should be a woman pharaoh. He wanted her to be the most magnificent ruler Egypt had seen. He wanted her to unite all of Egypt and conquer new lands. Thoth told him the new wife of the current pharaoh would be the perfect mother for this queen and he took the form of an ibis to fly down and put everyone in the palace to sleep.
Then Ra went down and removed the spirit of Pharaoh Thutmose from his body so that he might inhabit it. In the form of her husband, Ra impregnated queen Ahmes. He came back when the baby was born and blessed her. He had the Hathors weave the girl's life before her mother's eyes. She saw all the wonderful deeds her daughter would accomplish. She saw the military victories, the prosperity, the building projects, and finally her tomb.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut would be the only woman to rule such and one of the greatest Egypt would ever see.
So, this myth has to come with a little background. You see, Hatshepsut had it written to help legitimize her rule. She was not the first woman to rule but she was the first to take the title pharaoh. She also wasn't the last but was definitely the greatest. It's argued she was second only to Ramses in terms of building programs and prosperity.
Hatshepsut began her reign as regent for her stepson. She already had the highest title a woman could, God's Wife of Amun. She married her own daughter to her stepson and gave her the title. Then after seven years, she named herself pharaoh. This was unheard of and so she set about legitimizing. This myth was part of that campaign. She also began commissioning statues of herself as a man. Not to hide but to suggest she had the same authority and right as a man.
She did accomplish the things the myth said she would. Her building program was one of the greatest in Egyptian history. Her temple was the beginning of the Valley of the Kings. She added more territory and some that had never been part of Egypt before. Luxury items poured into the country under her rule.
But when she died, of an abscesses tooth, her stepson took over.
A quick aside is needed now. Ma'at is the concept of order. Egypt was based on it. The Nile is very consistent in its flooding and receding. The Egyptians life was much less volatile than, say the Greeks who dealt with mountainous weather and stormy seas. You see this reflected in a host of much more benevolent gods who want to impose order and balance on human existence and afterlife.
After Hatshepsut's death, her name was erased from most of her buildings and statues. Thutmose III took credit for her deeds. We only found her name because there were some inscriptions inside her burial temple that remained intact. This may have been deliberate as Egyptians believed a person ceased to have an afterlife of their name was forgotten.
She was essentialy forgotten though. Until the 19th century when excavators found the inscriptions and references to a female pharaoh.
Thutmose III never moved against her so he may have simply erased her in order to restore Ma'at. Women had roles to fulfill and pharaoh wasn't one of them. Whatever the reason, her 20 year reign was nearly lost to history.
There's so much here. A story of Hatshepsut's life would be interesting but that's too easy. I'd like the story of the person who wrote her myth. Virgil to the first woman Pharaoh. What must it have been like to be asked? Or did they lose a bet? Was it likely written by a priest or other holy person? What pressures would they have faced from the queen, from her enemies, and from the priests whose gods were being used to create what was essentially propaganda?
4) The Doomed Prince
Once, a king with no sons prayed that he might be blessed with one. His wish was granted but it came with a price. When the Hathors wove his life they said he would meet one of three fates; and end by crocodile, snake, or dog.
The king was so upset and wanted to keep his son safe so he built a secluded house in the mountains. But the boy, upon learning why he was kept apart told his father to let the gods' will be done and allow him to leave the house. The king agreed and the boy, now a young man, went into the world. He even got a pet dog.
In his travels he came across Nahairana, whose chief had just made a challenge for the hand of his daughter. Any man who wished to wed her must climb a 70 cubit (32 meter) wall to the girl's window.
When the prince met the chief he introduced himself as the first son of an Egyptian official whose second wife hated him. He had fled her wrath. The chief allowed him to stay.
But then the prince climbed the wall and the chief didn't want his daughter to marry a fugitive so he tried to get rid of him. Every attempt was met by anger from his daughter. She threatened to starve herself if anything happened to her suitor. Finally, the chief allowed it.
The prince wanted to keep wandering and he left Nahairana with his wife and an attendant. He came to an Egyptian village with a mean crocodile. There was a man there who captured it and tied it up so the prince felt safe.
One day while he was sleeping, his wife was keeping watch. A snake came in and the attendant laid out some milk to distract it. While the snake was drinking, the wife stabbed it. When the prince awoke he saw the snake and was impressed. The wife said the gods had sent one of his fates after him and he should be careful.
Then when he was walking one day his dog chased some animals into the river. The prince followed and the crocodile nabbed him. It began taking him through the river to the man who kept him tied up.
It said, "I am your doom following you"
So, I'm sure you noticed that is not a proper ending to the story. The papyrus that holds the story was damaged and the ending was lost.
The prompt is simple, write the end of the story.
5) Ra and Sekhmet
Ra took the form of a human and ruled on earth as a pharaoh. But since he had a body he grew old. As he aged, the humans made fun of him and this angered Ra.
He went to the other gods and asked them what he should do. He wanted to smite them but thought he'd ask the others first. They agreed and said he should send his wrath in the form of his daughter Sekhmet.
So Ra created Sekhmet with the glance of his eye and she set about slaughtering the humans. She killed gleefully and the Nile ran red.
At last Ra wanted the killing to stop but Sekhmet had to stop on her own, he couldn't force her. So he made a plan. He sent for ochre from Elephantine and mixed it with the beer from Heliopolis until it resembled blood. Then he had it spread in the place Sekhmet was headed next.
When she arrived she saw the blood and laughed. She thought she'd already killed them all. She drank the blood until she became intoxicated. Sekhmet stumbled up to Ra, docile. He changed her name to Hathor and made her no longer the goddess of rage and death but love and peace.
Sekhmet was created to wreak havoc upon earth and appeared to enjoy it. How completely was her transformation into a goddess of love? Could she be hiding an inner desire to revert? What problems could she cause in her new position?
6) Ra's Secret Name
Ra was ruling on earth in human form. And his body grew old and he fell victim to the same maladies as old men everywhere. He began to shake and he even drooled. The gods new he should step down but he refused and they could not make him without his Secret Name. So Isis, the cleverest of the gods decided to find out what it was.
She followed him one day as he walked the earth looking at his creation. When his saliva hit the sand it created mud and Isis scooped it up and made the first cobra. She set it on the road ahead of Ra and when he got close, the snake bit him.
The poison coursed through his veins and caused him the greatest pain he'd ever known. He cried out and his voice carried across the whole of Egypt. The other gods rushed over to see what was the matter. He told them he was bitten by a snake he did not create and he did not know how to end the pain. He called for all the healers and magicians to come and help.
Isis was the greatest healer and most knowledgeable about magic. She came to Ra and told him she could only heal him if he told her his Secret Name.
"'I am Maker Heaven and Earth.' he said. 'I am Builder of the Mountains. I am Source of the Waters throughout all the world. I am Light and Darkness. I am Creator of the Great River of Egypt. I am the Kindler of the Fire that burns in the sky; yes, I am Khepera in the, morning, Re at the noontide, and Tum in the evening.'" (Ancient Egypt: the Mythology)
Isis told him she knew his Secret Name was not among those. He must give it to her so she could save him.
Finally he agreed if she took an oath that she would tell no one save her son Horus and that only if she made him incapable of telling anyone else. She took the oath and his name became known to her.
Isis healed Ra but also ended his rule on earth. From then on he passed over in the form of the sun and during the night he traversed the underworld in his boat.
Ra didn't make Isis promise not to use his name for anything else, just not to tell anyone. What could the cleverest of the gods get up to with something as powerful as Ra's Secret Name?
7) Khonsu and the Princess of Bekhten
Once the king of Egypt was collecting taxes at the edge of his kingdom when he came to Bekhten. The princes there gave the king gifts and one prince even gave his eldest daughter. The Egyptian king took her home and made her his chief wife.
Then one day the prince of Bekhten, came to beg for help. His other daughter was very ill. The king called his helpers and asked who was best suited to help and he sent that man right away. But when that scribe arrived it became clear the girl was possessed by a demon and he could not help.
The prince returned to Egypt to ask for a god to help. Khonsu the moon god was sent. It took 17 months to arrive and when he did he saw that there was, in fact, a demon in the girl. He told it to leave and it gave in to his superior power. The demon asked to dine with the god before returning to its home and so the prince had a banquet. Then the demon returned home.
The prince of Bekhten convinced Khonsu to stay for three years before returning to Egypt. Finally the god returned to his home laden with gifts from the happy father. The story was told as proof of the power of Khonsu.
What if the whole demon thing was a trap? What if they were luring Khonsu away for some nefarious reason. And the older sister, wife of the king of Egypt, was in on it.
8) The Golden Lotus
The reign of Pharaoh Seneferu was a peaceful one, but that meant it could also be boring. One day the Pharaoh was wandering the palace, looking for something to do, when he thought to call his Chief Magician, Zazamankh. The magician told him to take his boat and sail along the Nile and the lake. Pharaoh protested that he'd already done that dozens of times but Zazamankh told him instead of taking rowers to take beautiful maidens to power his boat. Pharaoh agreed that this would be new and delightful so he did.
As they were sailing around, and Seneferu quite enjoying himself, the steering oar brushed the head of one of the women steering and the golden lotus fell from her hair and sank below the surface of the lake. She stopped singing and cried. As her song ceased, the rowers on her side could no longer keep time and the boat stopped. The Pharaoh tried to comfort her by telling her he'd replace the hair ornament but she was so distraught over the loss of that particular one she could not continue. So, Pharaoh called for Zazamankh.
Zazamankh said that he had a spell that could be used to retrieve the golden lotus. He spoke the words and a huge section of water separated and rose up. It set down on top of the water next to the hole it left behind creating a huge cliff of water. The boat glided down to the dry lake bed. The woman leaped from the boat and retrieved her golden lotus. Now appeased, she was able to climb back in and resume her duties. The boat rose back to the surface and Zazamankh replaced the section of lake he had moved. The boat continued as if nothing had happened.
Seneferu was overjoyed. This was an entertainment no one had ever enjoyed and he praised Zazamankh as the best magician ever.
Did anyone else think of a giant slice of gelatin? Just me? Okay. Anyway…
Your prompt is to write a story about the lengths to which someone will go in order to alleviate boredom. The Pharaoh in question made a spectacle of women who'd never done a hard day's work in their lives and then was entertained by magic so powerful it defied all the laws of physics it possibly could. What can you come up with?
9) The Prince and the Sphinx
When Tutmose IV was still a prince, he had a troubled life. His many brothers were constantly plotting against him in order to prevent him from being named heir to the throne. This caused him to develop a preference for being alone and he often snuck off from festivals and other gatherings to go hunting with just a few trusted servants.
It was on one of these occasions that Tutmose decided to pray to the god Harmachis. He had been out hunting and was near the pyramids of Giza. He told his servants to wait for him and took off in the chariot. He approached the sphinx, the form the god took when he was hunting Set, and began to pray.
Tutmose felt the earth begin to move and when he looked up the eyes of the sphinx were no longer just stone, but alive. The god spoke to him and told him that he was the father of all pharaohs and he would help Tutmose and make sure he was raised to the throne and had a good reign if only Tutmose would free him from the sand.
Tutmose collapsed from the heat of the day and when he awoke he remembered the encounter. He shouted for the gods to hear that if he became pharaoh, the first thing he'd do was clear the sand from the great statue and erect a plaque.
Tutmose's life was much easier from then on. He was selected as the official heir of the pharaoh and rose to the throne soon after.
It is worth noting that a plaque was indeed found at the foot of the sphinx when it was dug out again in recent history. It is also worth noting that Tutmose IV was not originally the chosen successor so we are faced with more revisions to history.
Messages from gods and talking statuary, or objects in general, are found in many stories. What I like about this one is that the god wants his image to be treated better. I would like to see this scenario set in a modern, or even future, time when people aren't used to stories of magic and deities. What sort of image would seek assistance and what would the reward be?
10) Mummies!
I'm cheating for this one and not really using a myth, but mummies are a trope that cannot be ignored when talking about Egypt. It's been done about a billion times from Universal's 1932 film with Boris Karloff to Brendan Fraser's 1999 romp to the the 2017 take with Tom Cruise and all the others scattered in between. And that's not even mentioning the books! The first book that ever scared me was the Magic Tree House book with a mummy. There has to be a reason that mummy stories are so fascinating. Why do we keep making them?
Sit down and really think about it. What about mummies is interesting and scary? Either make a story that takes those factors away from mummies altogether or use mummy in a different way.
I hope you enjoyed these Egyptian Myths as much as I did. If you'd like more mythological inspiration be sure to check out my other collections of prompts here. Let me know in the comments which story you can't wait to write. (Or your favorite mummy story!)
EgyptGodsIdeasInspirationMythsPromptsWriting
15 Writing Prompts from Lovecraft
10 Writing Prompts from Hans Christian Andersen
10 Writing Prompts from Bulgarian Folklore

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Microstegium vimineum is a delicate, sprawling, annual grass that is 0.5-3.5 ft. (0.2-1.1 m) in height. The stems can root at the nodes.
The leaves are pale-green, alternate, lance-shaped, 1-3 in. (2.5-7.6 cm) long, asymmetrical with a shiny, off-center midrib. Upper and lower leaf surface is slightly pubescent. A silvery line runs down the center of the blade. Stems usually droop.
Flowering begins in September, when delicate flower stalks develop in the axils of the leaves or at the top of the stems.
Fruit is produced from late September through early October.
When Japanese stilt grass invades a site, it can quickly crowd out native plant species. Invasions can also change soil nutrient cycling processes, inhibit tree survival and growth, and reduce light availability. After it dies back in late fall, it forms a thick layer of smothering thatch that is slow to decompose. Because stilt grass is relatively unpalatable, it may encourage heavier deer browsing on native plant species.
Japanese stilt grass was first documented in Tennessee in 1919. Its introduction into the United States was accidental, likely a result of its use as a packing material for porcelain.
Stilt grass reproduces exclusively by seed. One plant may produce 100 to 1,000 seeds that typically fall close to the parent plant. Seeds may be carried by water during heavy rains or move about in contaminated hay, soil or mud stuck in footwear. Stilt grass seeds remain viable in the soil for five or more years and germinate readily.
Hand pull: Stilt-grass is a weak rooted annual and small populations can be hand pulled any time during the growing season when the ground is soft. Be sure to pull up the entire root system. Pulling is easier and probably more effective in mid-to-late summer when the plants are much taller and more branched. Hand pulling of plants will need to repeated and continued for many seasons until the seed bank is exhausted.
Mowing: Larger infestations can be mowed or weed-whacked when plants are mature but seeds have not yet set. Because stilt- grass is an annual plant, cutting late in the season before the plants would die back naturally avoids the possibility of regrowth.
Foliar spray: This method is used for dense populations and best left to a contractor. For extensive stilt-grass infestations, use of a systemic herbicide such as glyphosate is a practical and effective method if used with caution. Glyphosate is a non-specific herbicide that will kill or damage almost any herbaceous plant and possibly some woody plants it contacts. Grass-specific herbicides (graminicides) work very well on stiltgrass and if used correctly can reduce potential damage to woody or broadleaf plants.


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Watch Lewis Capaldi perform '2002' (Anne-Marie cover) at BBC Radio 1 — gorgeous
Is there a song British singer Lewis Capaldi cannot sing phenomenally well? Take Capaldi's performance of '2002', the Anne-Marie cover he sung at the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge this week, for instance — it is utterly gorgeous.
Capaldi was at the Live Lounge to promote his upcoming debut album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, which hits shelves on May 17th.
To that end, along with the Anne-Marie cover, he also performed stunning live versions of his singles 'Someone You Loved' and 'Hold Me While You Wait'.
Songs that were even more touching than in their recorded versions. Particularly as Capaldi's vocals are so ridiculously perfect live.
'2002' was the sixth single from Anne-Marie's debut album Speak Your Mind. Released in 2018, it hit the number 3 spot on the UK Singles Chart.
Watch Lewis Capaldi performing '2002′ in the BBC video below, as well as his performances of his two singles below that.
And pay close attention. Because, while Capaldi has been very successful with the release of the three singles from his debut album, just wait till the album releases.
Because this guy? He is going to be a huge star.
Related Reading: Listen to Lewis Capaldi's 'Grace' from Grey's Anatomy — and watch that fabulous video
Previous Morrissey Sings 'I Won't Share You' live for first time ever during Broadway residency concert
Next The Black Keys 'Go' video has the duo at a spiritual retreat, and it's funny
DEEMO II's 'Bento Box Bivouac' Mili's prettiest song yet, as it sings the praises of a favorite food
Aimer's 'Asa ga Kuru' music video is powerful, dramatic and magnificent — Watch!!
Rie Tanaka's Uz:ME looks so cool — Japanese singer joins forces with Swedish rock musicians


How Can Trump Make the Country Great Again for Business? How Can Trump Make the Country Great Again for Business?
How Can Trump Make the Country Great Again for Business?
President Trump has made, and continues to make a lot of promises to all Americans about taxes and the economy. Throughout his campaign the president continued to push his "Make America Great Again" slogan to the delight of all those who helped him get elected. Obviously, his message resonated with enough people in the right places in order for him to win the White House. Since he took office he has been busy with many issues, including immigration and healthcare reform. At the same time, there continues to be a lot of talk regarding tax reform, including how it will affect the business world the and nation's economy.
Time will tell if real change is coming and who will be the most affected by it, but the business world is eagerly waiting for those promised changes to come. So with that in mind, what things should the president be focusing on to truly make the country great again for business? The real key is to start by creating more jobs in the United States. However, it's not just more jobs, but the president and his administration need to create more good jobs. So how will they accomplish that?
Our country is lagging in infrastructure. Our basic organizational and physical facilities and structures, such as freeways, highways and airport systems all need improvement. When compared to emerging market economies and countries it's clear that the U.S.'s infrastructure is not something that can be overlooked. Improving this would no doubt increase jobs across many levels.
One of the greatest ways to increase jobs and improve the economy is by encouraging new innovations. If you consider just a few of the new industries that have been created in the last decade, it's easy to see how many more new jobs could be created if other new industries emerge as well. For example, consider the impact of things like social media, Internet retail, electric automobiles and virtual reality. More new industries such as these could lead to millions of jobs and billions of dollars.
There are several changes that could change Middle America, or the Middle Class, and help increase jobs. For example, focusing on growing middle-market companies could be a huge boost for job growth. Likewise, giving the middle class a large tax break would help improve the economy and in turn increase job production. Another step in this direction is to move certain industries to middle America. One idea is to create and fund a Rural Industrialization Act, which would move many jobs back to rural areas in the country. In addition, by expanding and building on the Small Business Act of 2013 the administration could also help promote new job creation.
Lastly, although the new administration has been very outspoken and active in reducing the number of immigrants to our country, there are several industries that could use even more. Many of the most highly skilled and intelligent people in the technology industry come from other countries. By allowing more of these individuals to live and work here, the advancements in many industries could be improved, which could have a positive affect on employment and the economy.


On 4th April, 2017, the Institute of Product Leadership hosted a webinar by Mandar Parikh, Vice President for Product Management and Engineering at Entytle, Palo Alto, California.
A senior practitioner with experience kick-starting data science products in large enterprises such as salesforce.com as well as startups, Mandar spoke about "Product Management in the Era of Data Science" and shared his thoughts on how to build great products with Data Science.
Data Science is an approach that analyses large amounts of data and extracts patterns and insights; it allows one to makes predictions from them to impact business drivers. Data Science is not something that is new – it is a new term for statistical techniques that have existed for many decades. Data science-enabled products are those products where data science is at the core of the offering – some well-known products using data science at their core are Linkedin, Uber and Salesforce.
To understand in simple terms what data scientists do, Mandar stated that they build models that work on large data sets and make predictions from the models that are built. Mandar outlined the main difference between data science and machine learning – while data science is about models that extract patterns and make predictions, machine learning takes those results and feeds them back into the model and automatically calibrates them to improve the predictions over time.
Mandar emphasised that the fundamentals of Product Management do not change in the face of data science – deep customer empathy remains the most important aspect of Product Management. With data science being just a means to an end – it was important to focus on solving the use case and driving value for the user.
To make the data actionable, interpretability of the data was important. Mandar also asked everyone to note that more data does not necessarily mean better predictions – for example, having old data that is out-of-date could hurt the predictions made by data scientists.
Mandar ended his presentation by encouraging Product Managers to collaborate closely with data scientists and make them an integral part of the product and engineering team. He also stated that there should be no hesitation to bring data scientists into customer conversations, in order to build better products.
The webinar ended with an interesting Q&A, where Mandar answered questions ranging from how to know when the data is completely cleansed and how to successfully implement data science in non high tech companies.


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Tower 12 by Continental Properties
Pride Takes to the Sky in Tower 12
Continental Properties sets record for per-unit sales price
Rising 440 feet at Second Avenue and Virginia Street with an expansive view of the famed Pike Place Market and Olympic Mountains, Tower 12 apartments cater to those who truly love Seattle. Named with a nod to the Seattle spirit and civic pride, Tower 12 boasts 314 units with 5,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail.
With apartment units ranging from 44 studio apartments to 12 penthouses, Tower 12 was originally designed as condominiums, but with the high rental demand in Seattle, Continental Properties opted to build the project as apartments instead. More than 200 of the units feature one-bedroom or one-bedroom plus a den and 69 percent of apartments overlook the water.
The building boasts numerous amenities for residents, including an outdoor terrace with sitting areas and barbecues on the 34th floor overlooking the Puget Sound. The floor also includes a resident lounge, library, a billiards room and exercise facility. On the sixth floor, residents can take advantage of a media center, conference room and more outdoor space.
As with most parcels in downtown Seattle, Tower 12 would be bound by two 240-foot-tall residential towers to the north and west. Design architect, Weber Thompson, designed the building to open up to light and air to create space between the other towers and mitigate density and crowding in the area.
THE PURCHASE
Continental Properties purchased the half-acre parcel and its approved master-use permit in March 2014 for $16 million from Columbia West Properties as one of the last big prime development sites in downtown Seattle. Continental Properties received funding from a Canadian private equity firm.
In the early 1990s, the site was proposed for two 27-story towers with 145 units each called "One Pacific Towers" that was later canceled. In 2008, the Justen Company submitted a proposal to build a 39-story, 234-unit condominium project that would span Virginia Street, but the proposal did not move further into the design review process.
Construction of Tower 12 began in March 2015 and the building opened to residents in May 2017. The general contractor on the project was Bellevue, Washington-based PCL Construction.
In October 2017, Continental Properties announced it sold Tower 12 for $225.3 million, setting a nearly $719,649-per-unit record for apartment sales in the region. The previous record was for $676,923-per-unit, set in 2013 for an apartment project in Bellevue, Washington. The buyer of Tower 12, Weidner Apartment Homes, has more than 40 years of experience as a leader in the apartment industry across the country.
Bellevue, Washington-based Continental Properties specializes in residential development and previously built the Metropolitan Tower Apartments at Seventh and Westlake Avenues and the Cosmopolitan Tower Condominiums at Virginia and Ninth Avenue.
Foster Pepper PLLC © 2019


At Myers Park Dental Care, we work diligently to prevent gum disease in our patients. This is a condition that is incredibly common, and most adults will suffer from some form of gum disease during their lifetime. The challenge is that this condition can lead to bone and tooth loss, making it incredibly important to both prevent and treat it. If you live in Charlotte, NC or the 28207 area, we can examine you and let you know if you are showing any signs of the condition, along with making recommendations for how you can prevent it. To schedule an appointment, call (704) 376-1696.
We recommend doing what you can to prevent gum disease so you do not experience discomfort or additional health problems. One of the best ways to prevent this condition is to keep your teeth clean. At Myers Park Dental Care, we encourage our Charlotte patients to brush their teeth two to three times a day and to do so in a circular pattern, moving food particles and plaque away from the gums toward the center of the mouth. You also need to floss on a daily basis, and be sure to reach all the way down, rather than stopping at your gum line. Using an antiseptic mouthwash can also help kill lingering bacteria.
You also need to have your teeth cleaned at least twice per year. It is difficult to remove all of the plaque at home, and tartar is too hard to remove by brushing and flossing. We can remove both plaque and tartar in our 28207 dental office so your risk of gum disease is greatly reduced. Simultaneously, we recommend that you stop smoking, keep your blood sugar under control, and drink plenty of water, since this can also help improve your gum health.
Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: Gum Disease Charlotte.
If you notice any of these symptoms, we recommend that you call 704-376-1696 to schedule an examination with our dental office.
Periodontal infection therapy. This is a therapy where chemicals are used to slow the growth of gum disease. In this case, your Charlotte dentist may prescribe the use of an antiseptic mouth rinse, designed to reduce or fight gum disease. Used daily, it can work to kill bacteria.
Antibiotics. Very often, your Charlotte dentist will prescribe antibiotics to be taken in combination with gum therapy. This is done to eliminate any infection that could be lingering.
If you suspect that you may have gum disease because your gums are red, swollen, or receding, call our 28207 dental office right away. At Myers Park Dental Care, we can examine you, let you know if gum disease is present, and make recommendations regarding how to treat it.


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Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) - FK Mladá Boleslav Stadium Guide
Home » Czech Republic » Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav)
Mestsky stadion is a municipally owned football stadium located in the central Czech Republic city of Mladá Boleslav. Home to First League side FK Mladá Boleslav who seemingly have a badge inspired by Juventus, the ground has a matchday capacity of 5,000.
FK Mladá Boleslav Stadium Guide
Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) History
The Municipal Stadium of Mladá Boleslav first opened in 1965, and the football ground is merely one part of the wider sporting complex which consists of an athletics track, skating rink and an artificial training pitch. It is built adjacent to the club's former stadium which features an athletics track around the perimeter of the pitch.
Capable of seating 5,000 supporters, FK Mladá Boleslav's stadium consists of three stands in a rectangular arrangement, the ground horseshoe in design and features no terrace places for supporters. There are around 50 special places for journalists and members of the press, and the stadium is now equipped with under-soil heating and a modern floodlight system.
Since Mladá Boleslav earned promotion in 2003/2004 and established themselves as a top flight team, the club have qualified for European football several times. The highest level of football held at M?stský stadion Mladá Boleslav was arguably the qualification matches of the Champions League during the 2006/2007 season against Vålerenga Fotball and Galatasaray.
However the club have progressed much further in the Europa League, reaching the group stages twice when the competition was known as the UEFA Cup. After defeating Palermo in the play-off match, Mladá Boleslav were drawn against Villareal, Elfsborg, AEK Athens, and Fiorentina during the 2007/2008 season No one can therefore say that the municipal stadium has not hosted some giants of European football!
Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) Seating Plan
Below is a seating plan of FK Mladá Boleslav's Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav):
Mladá Boleslav City Stadium is comprised of four stands: North, East, South and West.
How to get to Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav)
Where is Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav)?
Who plays at Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav)?
Czech side FK Mladá Boleslav play their home matches at Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav).
What is the capacity of Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav)?
As of 2023 Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) has an official seating capacity of 5,000 for Football matches.
When was Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) opened?
Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) officially opened in 1965 and is home to FK Mladá Boleslav
Covid Restrictions may be in place when you visit Lokotrans Arena (Mlada Boleslav) in 2023. Please visit the official website of FK Mladá Boleslav for full information on changes due to the Coronavirus.
Largest Stadiums in Czech Republic
Stadion Juliska
Sinobo Stadium
Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
Na Stinadlech
Andruv stadion
Mestsky fotbalovy stadion Srbska
Doosan Arena
Bazaly Stadium
Stadiums in Czech Republic
1. FC Slovacko 1. FK Pribram Baník Ostrava Bohemians 1905 Ceske Budejovice Dukla Prague FK Jablonec FK Mladá Boleslav FK Teplice FK Varnsdorf Hradec Kralove SK Sigma Olomouc Slavia Prague Slovan Liberec Sparta Prague Viktoria Plzen Vysocina Jihlava Zbrojovka Brno
Stadion Juliska - Dukla Prague Sinobo Stadium - Slavia Prague Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena - Sparta Prague Na Stinadlech - FK Teplice Andruv stadion - SK Sigma Olomouc


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Founded by Jeff Cirino in 1993, Alpha Planning & Financial Services, Inc. is made up of qualified financial professionals who are passionate about helping individuals and families achieve their ideal retirements.
Jeff has been a well-known fiduciary advisor for over 25 years. In addition to giving year-round workshops on Social Security, Tax Planning and Investments, he has been heard frequently on radio stations WTAM 1100 and WHK 1420 in Cleveland-Akron, Ohio. Ever since founding the firm, he has developed his team's skills in using advanced planning concepts, with a primary focus on clients nearing or already in retirement. Jeff has great passion for the challenge of helping usher people through the complex process of the retirement transition. He understands the confusion and stress people may sometimes feel when approaching financial issues at this important phase of their lives.
Throughout the years of growth for his firm, he has written three books, "The Complete Guide to College Funding" (2003), "The Skinny on How to Have a Fat Retirement" (2013) and his latest work, "The BIG Squeeze: How Boomers Can Survive and Thrive in the New Retirement Frontier" (2017).
Jeff is a lifelong accomplished pianist and guitarist. He lives in Brecksville with his wife, Elizabeth, and sons Reese and Foster. The family is very active as volunteers for several charities as well as the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Aaron Simpson is a financial advisor at Alpha Planning. After working college summers at a financial firm in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada, Aaron joined the industry full time in 2016. He focuses on helping clients by creating and implementing personalized planning strategies designed to maximize retirement income and wealth.
Graduating with a degree in Business and Communications from the University of Mount Union in 2012, Aaron has always had a passion for helping others work through challenges and solving complex issues. He enjoys cultivating long-lasting relationships with clients that are built on trust and transparency in order to best serve their interests and achieve ultimate retirement satisfaction.
Outside of the office, Aaron enjoys the warm weather months around Ohio playing golf, hiking in the Cleveland Metroparks and spending time with his wife, Megen. He also enjoys traveling and experiencing new cities around the world.
Wendy Hutchison is a Notary Public who has over 25 years of experience working at financial and insurance-based organizations as the primary point of contact for both clients and institutional groups. The Alpha team is very fortunate to have someone with Wendy's people skills and operations management. Wendy has become an invaluable client relations and service leader in assisting clients with any and all service requests, networking and sharing the Alpha Planning philosophy.


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Michałów-Reginów  is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wieliszew, within Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately  south of Wieliszew,  north-east of Legionowo, and  north of Warsaw.

The village has a population of 1,318.

References

Villages in Legionowo County

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A Victorian oak 3-bottle tantalus with brass mounts.
A bronze gundog on plinth, a bust of a lady and an eagle and a fish, (4).
A pair of gilt metal plaques with script design in Kashmiri frames.
A pair of Antique wooden boot trees.
2 ''Gonatites'' fossils mounted on stands.
A carved wood Eastern dancer, a goblet, a beaver, carved wood vase, etc., (5).
Vintage topographical postcard album, Hastings and the South of England.
An album of Bonzo Dog postcards and a topographical postcard album, (2).
A large album of Greetings postcards.
A carved wood stand, an Eastern carved wood group and a carved bust of a man.
A silver plate on copper Vintage samovar with chimney.
A box containing toys, door handles, Cloisonne box, etc.
A carved stone deity, a seal figure and a carved wood box.
A Japanese sword in scabbard.
An album of sketches, a 19th century scrap album and an Edwardian photograph album featuring polo matches, etc.
A Chinese Cloisonne enamel box, with dragon decorated lid, diameter 19cm.


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Havoc and Newsboy's Sell-Out Tour - Gay Man's Rock
Irreverent 90s youth show hosts Mikey Havoc and Jeremy 'Newsboy' Wells went on the road in this hit series. Down south they infamously outed Gore as the "gay capital of New Zealand". While many viewers had a laugh at the Auckland duo's lampooning of small town conservatism, some took the bait and were not amused by Newsboy's "gay man's Gore" moniker, preferring to tout the town's trout fishing, line-dancing and country music. The mischievous pair also visit Dunedin, Fox Glacier and Queenstown, where they 'promote' attractions and meet base jumper Chuck Berry.
Havoc at the Big Day Out
This special 1999 edition of the youth show travels to Auckland music festival The Big Day Out. Mikey Havoc and Jeremy 'Newsboy' Wells slip, slop, slap and survey the "punters, munters, sights and sounds" at Mt Smart Stadium. They meet musical acts of the era, including Marilyn Manson, Fatboy Slim and Korn (whose lead singer loves his guns). Newsboy interviews "Nelson College old girl, grunge super bride and Big Day Out recidivist" Courtney Love, who gives him the glad eye (apparently), and a strange man who may be related to Havoc goes onstage to introduce Shihad.
The Unauthorised History of New Zealand - Visitors (Episode One)
This 'alternative' version of New Zealand history was made by the team behind Eating Media Lunch. Channelling Kenneth Cumberland —presenter of heavyweight 80s series Landmarks— Jeremy Wells plumbs the TV archives to poke fun at New Zealand, and its people. Some excruciating hilarity is mined from artifacts of visitation to southern shores, from Bill Clinton to the Beatles. Muhammad Ali's fast food tastes down under are examined; the Dalai Lama finds bad karma in Christchurch; Charles and Diana visit in 1981; and mirth is mined from all things ovine.
Choice! 2002: Havoc and Newsboy's Election Special
Mikey Havoc and Newsboy (Jeremy Wells) take a typically sideways glance at the 2002 general election in this one-off special, broadcast live from inside "a giant stainless steel question mark on the neutral electorate of Rangitoto Island." In case you hadn't noticed (Havoc presents in Paul Frank pyjamas), the analysis is more satirical than factual, and along the way they find time to put the boot into Auckland's then-mayor John Banks, learn parliamentary etiquette from Jonathan Hunt and compliment Don Brash on his six-cylinder Ford.
50 Years of New Zealand Television: 1 - From One Channel to One Hundred
The opening episode of the Prime TV series celebrating 50 years of New Zealand television travels from an opening night puppet show in 1960, through to Outrageous Fortune five decades later. It traverses the medium's development and its major turning points (including the rise of programme-making and news, networking, colour and the arrival of TV3, Prime, NZ On Air, Sky and Māori Television). Many of the major players are interviewed. The changing nature of the NZ living room — always with the telly in pride of place as modern hearth — is a story within the story.
Havoc and Newsboy's Sell-Out Tour 2 - Suck Out the Venom
Havoc and Newsboy's Sell-out Tour saw the intrepid pair ramble up and down the country offering their irreverent take on all things Aotearoa. This episode from the second series (subtitled 'Ratings Drive') is a deadpan homage to Discovery Channel as they go on the hunt for dangerous animals. They head to Nelson to cage-swim with sharks; then down to Waimairi Beach sand dunes to check out NZ's deadliest spider, the rare katipō. Finally they don disguises on return to Gore, the town they'd infamously outed as "the gayest in New Zealand" in series one.
Havoc - First Episode
Irreverent 90s youth show Havoc launched the TV careers of hosts Mikey Havoc and Jeremy 'Newsboy' Wells (the pair worked together at radio station 95bFM). This first episode played on MTV (then run by TVNZ). Guests are Shortland Street actor Angela Bloomfield, Metro editor Bill Ralston and musician Darcy Clay. Amongst pop culture montages, videos and archive (future MP Lockwood Smith hosts kids' knowledge test The W Three Show), Newsboy meets Hustler magazine centrefold Kimberly. The show is date-stamped by Spice Girls, drum'n'bass, Sodastream and Wells' gelled hair.
Eating Media Lunch - Best Of Episode
In this highlights special culled from the first four years of Eating Media Lunch, presenter Jeremy Wells manages to keep a straight face while mercilessly satirising all manner of mainstream media. Leaping channels and barriers of taste, the episode shows the fine line between send-up and target. The 'Worst of EML' tests the patience of talkback radio hosts and goes behind the demise of celebrity merino Shrek; plus terrorist blooper reels, Destiny Church protests, Target hijinks, and our first indigenous porno flick (you have been warned: not suitable for children).
7 Days - Series One, Episode Three
Well-received comedy panel series 7 Days debuted on TV3 in 2009. The show takes an irreverent look at the past week in the news with such regular segments as "my kid could draw that" and "what's the taxi driver talking about". Jeremy Corbett hosts, and there are two teams of regular and guest comedians including Ben Hurley, Jeremy Elwood, Dai Henwood and Paul Ego. This episode's special guests are Rhys Darby and Australian comedian Lindsay Webb, while Labour MP Darren Hughes features in "politician in the hot seat".
The City of No
It's Wellington in the 1970s and Bob (Jeremy Stephens) is having a midlife crisis. Square-peg Graham (Bill Johnson, who later played Mr Wilberforce in Under the Mountain) tries to convince Bob to quit his bohemian lifestyle (and his lover/muse Carol) and return to his wife Jean. But is Graham really acting in his mate's best interests? Featuring a young Sam Neill as the epitome of handsome, unfettered youth (flared jeans, bushy beard) this early, well-received TV drama was one of several produced by the NZ Broadcasting Corporation to tackle 'difficult' contemporary issues.
11 – 20 of 21


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Master in International Management and Sustainability
Master in Finance and Strategy
Master in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
Master in Innovation & Digital Transformation
Master Communications, Media and Creative Industries
Master Marketing: New Luxury & Art de Vivre
Joint Master of Law and Finance
Home > Education > Dual degrees > Bocconi University
Dual degree with Luigi Bocconi University (Milan, Italy)
Bocconi University
FGV-EAESP
Strate (fr.)
University of Saint Gallen
Please note that only current first-year students registered in the Master Finance et Stratégie or in the Master in Economics and Business are eligible to apply for this dual degree programme with Bocconi.
This two-year programme aims to engrain young professionals with a truly international background and culture, and to equip them with the skills to operate in national and international public institutions as well as in the private sector or in non-profit organizations.
First year at Sciences Po
During the first year, students attend courses of the Master in Finance and Strategy (taught in French) or the Master in International Management and Sustainability (taught in English).
Second year at Università Bocconi
The second year takes places at Università Bocconi, in Milan, where students join the Master in Economics and Management of Government and International Organizations and follow courses in English. During this year, they are trained to carry out policy analysis and evaluation, to conceive strategies and to manage projects.
During the second year, students must:
Write and defend a master thesis (Tesi di Laurea) of about 80 pages, in English;
Complete a 10-week internship in France, Italy or somewhere else in the world (during the summer between the two years of study).
Only Sciences Po students currently in the first year of their master at the School of Management and Innovation are eligible to apply for this dual degree.
The following students will not be accepted into the Double Degree Program at Bocconi:
Italian Bachelor graduates nominated by partner institutions
Applicants who were rejected for or refused participation in Graduate Programs at Bocconi University, nominated by partner institutions
Interested students should apply via our online admissions portal and choose "Partnership Programs" when asked for which program they would like to apply.
At Sciences Po:
Marie Lizardo, Academic Advisor, Master Finance et Stratégie – International Business
Fécilité Gasparetto, Academic Advisor, Master in International Management and Sustainability
Paolo Modugno, Direction des Affaires Internationales - Ph.: +33-(0)1 45 49 51 12
more about Dual degree with Luigi Bocconi University (Milan, Italy)
Two-Year Dual-degree
Open House Day, Graduate Schools: 23 november 2019
Meet faculty members, students, and representatives from our international mobility office and student services and learn more about our Master's programmes.
Limited financial resources are not a barrier to receiving a Sciences Po education.
Nearly one in three students receives a full-fee scholarship.
Scholarships and financial aids
Documents to download
Academic rules and regulations (PDF, 136 KB)
Regulations on student life (PDF, 51 KB)
Anti-plagiarism regulation (PDF, 59 KB)
Administrative registration


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Generic Address Book is a portable, no-frills address book aimed at small businesses.
It struck me that having an address book, where customers could buy the product with one address and send it to another address allowed people to use stolen credit cards.
Sabook is an easy-to-use XML-based contacts/address book to store your relations' personal information including birthday, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, and much more.
My Address Book is a Web-based contact list program.
My Address Book SQL is a Web-based contact list program.
GContact is a web application (in Ajax / PHP / MySQL) which allows you to manage your address book online.
pyLBB is an address book manager written in pure Python.
With Our Contact Importer (Address book Importer), it allows members to invite their friends and online buddies through your website.
ldapContacts is a tool written in PHP intended to handle a shared address book on a LDAP server (openldap).


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24/7 Toll Free Help 800-554-3107
Filing Bankruptcy
What is Chapter 7?
What is Chapter 13?
Bankruptcy Articles
Home > Bankruptcy Articles > Municipal bankruptcy filings illuminate folly of stigma: Bankruptcy is tough--but it's a business decision
Municipal bankruptcy filings illuminate folly of stigma: Bankruptcy is tough--but it's a business decision
Taxpayers let Wall Street off the hook, but individuals have to act for themselves
Some bankruptcy basics
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is often called "liquidation" bankruptcy because assets that can't be protected by state exemptions or federal exemptions will be liquidated (sold off) by the bankruptcy trustee. (Fifteen states plus Washington D.C. allow choosing between either state or federal exemptions; businesses that choose Chapter 7 receive no exemptions.) In many cases, the debtor has few or no assets over and above the exemptions, so there's nothing to sell.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is often called a "wage-earner plan" because the debtor has enough steady income to pay back (over three or five years) at least some of the total debt. Unlike Chapter 7, which is rarely used to protect a home with a mortgage, Chapter 13 is often able to prevent being forced into foreclosure. A debt cap exists in Chapter 13 filings: As of April 2010, the limit was increased about 7 per cent; the limit for a debtor's unsecured debt is $360,475 and $1,081,400 of secured debt. A debtor who owes more has to file Chapter 11, the Chapter commonly thought of as a business-only vehicle.
Chapter 11 is also a "reorg plan," which can be quite versatile for individuals, but many business don't like it because the plan, in effect, brings in outside forces who have quite a say in how the business operates--including creditors. Nevertheless, for a going concern with legit re-org chances, Chapter 11 is much better for everyone involved than Chapter 7 would be.
Another kind of bankruptcy is called Chapter 9, and it's made many a headline this year, most recently when Jefferson County, Alabama filed for Chapter 9 protection, the chapter in the bankruptcy code reserved for municipal entities (in this sense, municipal is not limited to a city or town but any governmental entity below state level; states can not file for bankruptcy protection).
Jefferson County 'biggest in US history'
A Nov. 9 article at Bloomberg.com says, "Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy after an agreement among elected officials and investors to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds fell apart.
"The county, home to Birmingham, the state's most-populous city, listed assets and debt of more than $1 billion in Chapter 9 papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Birmingham.
"The county's bankruptcy attorney, Kenneth Klee, said the filing was necessary because talks with creditors and the receiver in charge of the sewer system built by the bonds broke down."
Harrisburg, Central Falls, Orange County
Other municipal bankruptcies this year include Harrisburg, PA ("debts of over $400 million that were largely tied to a trash incinerator project"), and Central Falls, RI, high-centered on pension debt. These bankruptcies are significant: first, the Jefferson County case is not only the largest-debt municipal bankruptcy but also it's so much larger than the previous record holder, Orange County, CA, which filed owing creditors a tidy $1.7 billion; second, cash-strapped cities and counties around the recession-plagued nation will be closely following these cases to see what kinds of deals they might get.
No shame, no stigma in business decision
Third, and most important for individual consumers, is the recognition and realization that bankruptcy no longer carries the stigma and shame it once did. If tycoons, auto companies and even cities and counties can ask for bankruptcy protection as a business decision, why can't individuals make a similar business decision without worrying about labels such as failure and deadbeat?
After all, we taxpayers bailed out the big banks who caused the financial crisis, in tandem with the lax government regulation that they bought via their lobbyists. Those same legion of banks own the credit-card companies, and they are the driving force behind such shoddy foreclosure practices that 14 of them have had to arrange settlement funds for people who lost their homes in 2009-2010.
'This is why people hate Wall Street'
As Matt Taibi writes, in a Nov. 10 Rolling Stone piece, "This is why people hate Wall Street. They hate it because the banks have made life for ordinary people a vicious tightrope act; you slip anywhere along the way, it's 10,000 feet down into a vat of razor blades that you can never climb out of."
And he's spot on about the emotional hell of that vicious tightrope scenario--but he's wrong about never having a way out. If you're up against the financial wall, you have to set emotion aside and realize that filing for the very powerful protection of bankruptcy may be the best business decision you've made in a long, long time.
Consider free case evaluation
We can help: If you're interested in learning more about the power of bankruptcy protection, please, browse our site for more information; if you need help filing for bankruptcy protection for yourself, consider signing up for a free case evaluation.
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Can I file bankruptcy without a lawyer?
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