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Chonbuk National University Hospital Anwenderbericht
Delphi Anwenderbericht
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Chonbuk National University Hospital
Medizinischer CUBIS-Informationsdienst
Verwendete Tools
Application development time
Ongoing system maintenance costs
Need to improve staff productivity
Increased productivity for medical staff
Reduced maintenance costs while maintaining high quality of service
Enhanced functionality for more widespread distribution
Established in 1909, Chonbuk National University Hospital (formerly Jeonju Gwangjae Jah-hye Hospital), is a general hospital that has continued to maintain its status of excellence over the years. As of January 2015, the hospital has a total of 1,160 hospital beds and has serviced 868,000 outpatients and 368,000 inpatients in 2014.
Among its many awards and recognitions, the hospital has been ranked number one by the Regional Cancer Center as the best in treating acute Myocardial Infarction nationwide. It was also recognised as number one in liver and kidney transplants in the Chungcheong/ Honam region and acknowledged by the Ministry of Health and Well Being as the leader in cardiovascular surgeries.
Since selected general management and medical support departments were computerized in 1989, the hospital has been expanding computing systems more widely. In 2013, a comprehensive medical information service known as CUBIS (Creative Unique Best Information System) was established. The key components of the system are: EMR (Electronic Medical Record), OCS (Order Communication System), and HIMIS (Hospital Integrated Management Information System), all of which were developed using Delphi.
"Because Delphi runs natively on the Windows operating system, we were able to create an application with a highly functional user interface... Selecting Delphi was an excellent choice for the CUBIS development team."
– Sam-Kyeong Kim, IT Manager, Department of Medical Information for Chonbuk National University Hospital.
When it came time to develop CUBIS, the objective of the project team was to create an application that was easy to use while minimizing maintenance costs. Most critical of all was the need to identify the appropriate technology that could help the team build an application with a highly functional user interface.
As part of its criteria, the application had to enable medical staff to quickly view a complete set of patient information on the one screen while allowing them to perform other hospital tasks at the same time. With this in mind, the CUBIS project team considered two options: a virtualized runtime technology (Web Technology and .NET) or a native technology to develop the solution.
In comparing various development tools used by major hospitals nationwide, the team found that applications built on web-based systems appear differently across different browsers such as Internet Explorer or Chrome, or even across different browser versions. The CUBIS project team realized that if were to use web technology, they would have faced issues maintaining a consistent user interface and not been able to meet their objectives.
In addition, it discovered that applications running on virtual machines, such as those written in Java and .NET, need additional software in order to run which would dramatically degrade performance. "We concluded that using Java and .NET could limit CUBIS' performance and may not display sufficient patient information, which is necessary for deploying medical information system of this scale," says Sam-Kyeong Kim, IT Manager, Department of Medical Information for Chonbuk National University Hospital.
The team decided to move their analysis to native development technologies. As a result, Delphi was selected as the development tool for its functionality and performance. Compared to other technologies, writing CUBIS in Delphi meant less developers were required to maintain it therefore cutting the ongoing operational costs for the Hospital.
Using Delphi, Chonbuk National University Hospital was able to develop an information system with advanced functionality and fast performance. "Because Delphi runs natively on the Windows operating system, we were able to create an application with a highly functional user interface, which the medical team highlighted as a critical requirement at the start of this project," says Kim. "Selecting Delphi was an excellent choice for the CUBIS development team."
Given that developers at Chonbuk National University Hospital had used PowerBuilder in the past, many had limited experience with Delphi. They found that Delphi was not only easy to learn, developers were able to be productive quickly compared to adopting other development tools, Kim explains. "We used Delphi for the first time on the CUBIS project, so we all underwent a three-day Delphi workshop provided by DevGear. As a result, our developers learned Delphi rapidly and we are now able to maintain the system without seeking assistance from external parties."
As a well-established Integrated Development Environment that pioneered Rapid Application Development (RAD), Delphi has been actively supported through continuous research and development investment by Embarcadero Technologies, Kim notes. "What sets Delphi apart from other development tools is that it supports not only Windows but also Mac OSX, Android, and iOS platforms. Embarcadero also continues to invest in Delphi by supplying frequent releases that adapt to the rapidly changing IT environment."
CUBIS performance has received positive feedback from the medical staff due to its user- friendly interface which mimics the previous manual approach, Kim notes. "By not disrupting this process, but rather automating it, the system has significantly increased the medical staff's productivity. It provides convenience and optimal performance, allowing for fast and stable treatment because it runs directly on the operating system."
Delphi has also significantly reduced maintenance costs, he reports. "Delphi's excellent framework and object-oriented programing language resulted in high code reusability. After the completion of CUBIS, we were able to maintain the system independently with a small number of developers, while still providing high quality service."
In order to optimize development productivity, as well as provide the foundations for future deployments, the CUBIS project team introduced a development approach at the onset of the project by establishing a series of packages. "Delphi gives us the flexibility to develop and manage our functionality in reusable packages. This has not only enhanced development productivity but it has allowed us to distribute modified packages separately, making new version rollouts convenient and less time consuming," Kim says.
"Delphi...has allowed us to distribute modified packages separately, making new version rollouts convenient and less time consuming."


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Q: $E$ compact, real-valued $f : E \to \mathbb{R}$ continuous iff graph is compact - is real valued necessary? Problem
The graph $G$ of $f$ is defined as the points $(x, f(x))$ for $x \in E$.
Suppose $E \subset \mathbb{R}$ is compact, then $f : E \to \mathbb{R}$ is continuous iff its graph is compact.

Question
My solution doesn't use the fact that $E$ is a subset of $\mathbb{R}$ nor the fact that $f$ is a real function. Are these necessary hypotheses?

My solution
Let $Y$, some metric space, be the codomain of $f$, then $G$ is a subset of $E \times Y$. Define a metric  on $E \times Y$ - the choice of metric is irrelevant.
If $x$ is continuous because it's a polynomial, and $f(x)$ is continuous by hypothesis. Then $g := (x, f(x))$ is continuous (Theorem 4.10 in Rudin). Since $E$ is compact, so is $G$ since $g$ is a continuous mapping from $E$ to $G$.
Suppose $G$ is compact. We have $g^{-1} (x, f(x)) = x$; clearly $g^{-1}$ is bijective. The inverse of $g^{-1}$, i.e. $g$ itself, is continuous since $G$ is compact and $g^{-1}$ is bijective. Thus $f(x)$ is also continuous.

Is this right? I don't think we need real-valued or $E \subset \mathbb{R}$. I'm a bit skeptical because usually all given hypotheses are necessary so that the strongest possible statement is proven.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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KAWS' New Companion Figure Pretty Much Sums Up 2020
2020-12-17 23:57 in DesignWords By Jonathan Sawyer
KAWS is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his signature Companion figure by releasing a commemorative iteration. Aptly dubbed Companion 2020, the character has been designed to be displayed face down, and we can't think of anything more fitting for the current year.
Optioned in three colorways of brown, tan, and green; black and yellow; and gray, the Companion features a flattened face and body — again — so it can be properly displayed facing down. This particular version somewhat rivals that of KAWS' Holiday Japan figure, which was also depicted laying down, albeit in a more relaxed position.
In true 2020 fashion, the artist has revealed that "part of the shipment is stuck out at sea," so he is releasing some newly arrived Holiday Space and BFF figures alongside the 2020 Companion. The 20th anniversary work has been made available on kawsone.com, with the remaining pieces launching at some point in the future.
A post shared by @kaws
kaws companion
Jonathan SawyerStaff Writer
Not NYC, not LA.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Position: fixed Background DIV with images makes scrolling slow: How to make conditional CSS rules for browser-compatibility? A known old known problem is that various old browsers both IE 7 (perhaps also IE 8) and FireFox 3.0 ~ 3.6, are the experiencing of very SLOW scrolling down through a webpage whenever a background image img or div with an image has the position: fixed; property.
Having built a site with this feature I noticed that in IE 7 (maybe 8 too) that had a terribly sluggish scrolling experience ruing the good enjoyment of the entire website. All other JQuery effects were also not smooth anymore. Now, as soon as I commented the position: fixed; property of the background image div:img, everything becomes good again.

img#bg {
/*  position:fixed;*/
    top:0;
    left:0;
    height:auto;
    min-height:100%; /* proportionally fit height (eg panorama images)  */
    width: 100%;
    z-index:-2;
}

Q1: How to make that line conditional? Users with IE7 or IE8 /*position:fixed;*/ and users with IE9 or FF4 position:fixed
Q2: Could anything in my css have triggered the bug except position: fixed? for example should img#bg be written differently?
Some links: MozzilaZine, StackOverflow, LinDesk
Thanks very much for your suggestions and ideas on this browserbug. Much appreciated!

A:
Q1: How to make that line conditional?

For IE older than version 9 there's always a conditional comment override:

For Firefox, one way would be to find some hack that distinguishes version 4 from its predecessors, which I can't really think of right now.

Q2: Could anything in my css have triggered the bug except position: fixed?

That and the fact that it's an image. But mostly the fixed positioning. This also happens if you used a background image with background-attachment: fixed, and is a well-known performance issue on those browsers.

A:
Q1: How to make that line conditional?

If you'd rather not to use conditional comments (per BoltClock's reply), a summary of browser-specific CSS hacks can be found on Paul Irish's site.

Q2: Could anything in my css have triggered the bug except position: fixed?

Short answer: Yes, but probably none as much as position: fixed. If removing it fixes your issue, it's your biggest problem.
Slightly longer answer: box-shadow has been shown to cause performance issues. So will IE's proprietary filters. Inefficient selectors are sometimes mentioned, but it's debatable whether they have a large effect.
To profile your code, use the CSS Stress Test bookmarklet to drill down on exactly which selectors are causing your browser trouble. It's great!


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All Sci Fi
Multicultural Protagonists
My Original Short Fiction
On Craft
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Posts Tagged 'books'
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, A No Spoiler Review
By Susi Jensen | September 8, 2020 | 0
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, by Michael Crichton, was the first novel published by Crichton under his actual name. He had published previously under a variety of pen names. His reason for publishing under other names…he was a medical student at Harvard and was actually thinking he might practice medicine someday and didn't want his patients to know that he was writing on the side. This must have been a "thing" in that era because it strikes me that wouldn't phase anyone now.
However, Crichton soon after became a best-selling author and gave up the idea of practicing medicine.
I read this novel because of a recommendation by a friend during Covid19…
Do I recommend this novel? No, I don't and here are 5 reasons why:
The novel puts forward an interesting premise, but not fully baked (I am pretty sure this novel would never get published today)
Bland main characters. It's hard to keep them straight, they all seem like the same guy (except they attended different Ivy League schools and have slightly different occupations)
So-so tension, but nothing like one of his better books, Jurassic Park, for example
Characters are all white dudes in lab coats and even the non lab-coat characters are all white dudes. *note…when THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN was turned into a film in 1971, the screenwriter changed one of the dudes to a female…even in the 70s the character line-up was thought to be way too monochromatic.
Too much data and exposition and not enough heart. I felt nothing for all the people (except for the infant…who seems to be completely neglected)
Longer Review…
Crichton, who passed in 2008
So…this novel became a best-seller and gave rise to a film that bears the same title. Both were hits/made a lot of money. In fact, this book catapulted Crichton's career. I can only surmise that there was a great hunger for techno-thrillers at the time and that Crichton scratched an itch that had be itching for a long time.
The funny thing is, immediately following this read, I'm consuming Philip K. Dick's, DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP and I am so wowed by the writing and how different it is from Crichton's. Dick knew how to flesh out a character. Crichton did not, at least he didn't yet. He got much better at it in subsequent novels, many of which I have enjoyed.
So, let me just nit-pick a little…
If I was ever to teach a writing class on the development of a writer…I might choose Crichton and force my class to read this book and then give them the pleasure of Jurassic Park as examples of how one gets better at the craft. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN almost feels like a "freshman novel", that novel written by an aspiring author who has one great idea, but can't quite figure out how to tell the story.
In that class, I would also ask the students to read DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, by Philip K. Dick, written in the same era.
There is a reason that BLADE RUNNER, a brilliant film and subsequent franchise, emerged out of Dick's novel, published in 1968, one year before THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN.
The character of Rick Deckard is brilliantly written, fleshed out. The reader feels his pain, his angst, his story as he/she reads. Not only that, the secondary characters are complex, mysterious and full of emotion even when Dick writes about androids. His androids seem more human than Crichton's actual human characters.
I do believe that Crichton saw his errors and improved immensely, but it will be a mystery to me for a long time that this book, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, was published and was sold and was read by so many, including me!
If for some reason you want to buy this book, click here.
To watch the film via Amazon Prime, click here.
Tagged alien, alien invasion, aliens, amazon, Amazon Prime, apocalypse, book review, books, fiction, film adaptation, Michael Crichton, no spoilers, pandemic, sci fi, science, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, space, susi pritchett jensen, technology, The Andromeda Strain
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, by Walter M. Miller Jr., A No Spoiler Review
By Susi Jensen | July 30, 2020 | 0
This morning, I finished reading the classic science fiction novel, A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ. I rate this novel PG for violence.
First, the short review…
To purchase the novel, click A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ.
5 Reasons I Recommend A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ
A Sci-Fi Classic
If you are a science fiction fan and want to be fluent in the genre's history, Leibowitz is on many lists of must read sci-fi.
The novel's world is depicted plainly and purposefully, capturing the tragedy of a post nuclear holocaust world without sentimentality. The prose is often lovely and the story becomes more and more gripping as it unfolds.
Especially for the philosopher and the theologian, A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ puts forward some of the most profound ideas around human evil and our propensity for self-destruction.
Even if you're not a philosopher, the characters and ideas come together in a way that does not allow the reader to ignore our society's seeming dance toward self-destruction.
In a similar vein as On The Beach, by Nevil Shute, A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ is a story that has the capacity to change our minds about nuclear arms and warfare.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ was originally published in three parts.
Fiat Homo…Let there be man
Fiat Lux…Let there be light
Fiat Voluntas Tua…Let thy will be done
The first two section titles refer to the Biblical account of creation, when God spoke the earth and humankind into being. The third section's title refers to the Christian New Testament. Not that the idea lacks foundation in the Hebrew Bible, but the phrase itself is taken from The Lord's Prayer and Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane before his death. "And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."
A fair amount of Latin is spoken in this novel and I did not understand all of it, but most phrases are translated within the story or the context makes the meaning clear. All of the main characters and narrators are associated with a religious order, the monks of The Leibowitzian Order, that was established following what the novel calls The Flame Deluge.
The monks, much like Irish monks during the Dark Ages, copy, preserve and make available ancient knowledge to those who will have it. For the most part, the barbarians who dwell around the monastic fortress, whose setting is the old American West, hate this knowledge and see it as the reason destruction came to the planet.
An excerpt from the novel:
"After the bombs and the Fallout came the plagues and the madness. Then, in the bloodletting known as the Age of Simplification, the people – those few who remained – rose up against their teachers, their scientists and their rulers, those they held responsible for turning the world into a barren desert…"
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, published in 1959, channels the zeitgeist of an era when people were genuinely terrified of and preparing for nuclear war. For many readers, especially, younger readers, that period of history can feel like a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…but given Covid19, the economic shock that has hit the globe through the shutdown as well as the rise of a belligerent Communist China and a perpetually divided United States, war and/or chaotic one-upsmanship between two superpowers seems less far distant than it has since 1989, when the Soviet Empire collapsed. If World War III were to happen today, what would be the fallout?
Many of the questions posed by Miller in A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, are relevant today. There is wisdom and a degree of sobriety that can be gained by our society paying closer attention to stories like this one.
Tagged A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, apocalypse, book review, books, dystopian fiction, fiction, literature, Nevil Shute, no spoilers, nuclear holocaust, nuclear war, nuclear warfare, On The Beach, sci fi, science, science fiction, science fiction classic, sciencefiction, scifi, susi pritchett jensen, technology, technology and ethics, Walter M. Miller Jr.
THE CALCULATING STARS, A No Spoiler Review of the Novel:
By Susi Jensen | May 15, 2020 | 0
THE CALCULATING STARS, by Mary Robinette Kowal
A Short Review
A Lady Astronaut Novel
I highly recommend reading or listening to this novel. Below are 4 reasons why I loved it…
Lots of dynamic female characters, told in first person by a female pilot/mathematician
Well-written prose, making it easy to read and enjoy
The characters are well drawn and realistic, despite the fact that they're intellectual superstars
It portrays a healthy marital relationship (for once!). Sometimes, you just want the husband to not be a jerk, and in this novel, that is absolutely the case. *Elma and her husband also enjoy a dynamic sex life, which is why I give the book a PG-13 rating. Nothing terribly graphic, but there are a few heated encounters between husband and wife.
THE CALCULATING STARS is a part of the Lady Astronaut Series, by Kowal, which includes a short story, The Lady Astronaut of Mars and another novel, The Fated Sky.
These stories emerge in an alternative history of Earth, focusing on the US Space program after a meteor plunges into the ocean off the coast of Maryland. The disaster strikes on March 3, 1952 and kills nearly all of the inhabitants of the Eastern Seaboard, including DC and most US government officials.
Kowal quickly frames the narrative from here. A meteorite of this magnitude will change the climate of the Earth forever. It is a matter of time (5-10 years) before the Earth becomes uninhabitable. Nations must work together to relocate to another planet and on this front, women have to be trained alongside men, don't they? That is the question around which the book pivots. This is the 1950s and not only does racism rear its head in the space program, so does sexism.
The main character, Elma York narrates the story in first person, and I liked her as narrator. She is ambitious and brilliant, but flawed enough to give the story tension.
Elma is not only a renowned mathematician, she is also an experienced pilot, having flown for the WASPs in WWII. Her husband becomes the lead engineer of the new space program. Elma is recruited as one of the computers, seemingly an acceptable "role" for women in the new space venture (think Hidden Figures), but her real hope is to convince the NACA bosses that women are just as able to fly into space as men.
THE CALCULATING STARS won the 2019 Nebula for Best Novel, the 2019 Locus Award for Best Scifi Novel, the 2019 Hugo for Best Novel and the 2019 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
Click here to purchase THE CALCULATING STARS
Tagged book review, books, Elma York, fiction, Hugo Award, Lady Astronaut, Mary Robinette Kowal, mathematician, NACA, NASA, Nebula Award, no spoilers, physics, sci fi, science, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, Sideways Award, space, susi pritchett jensen, technology, The Calculating Stars, WASP
When Science Fiction Brings History Alive
By Susi Jensen | April 11, 2020 | 0
I love science fiction, dreaming about the future, imagining what our life in outer space might look like someday, but my passion for the genre has as much to do with the past as it does with the future. Science fiction shows us the future but also has the ability to teach us about our past and often does so without the baggage of politics and biases. The stories below are launch pads. Their portrayals of history through story are not by any means comprehensive, but rather snapshots into the lives of people encountering challenges that may be imagined by the author, but mirror history.
Here are a handful of scifi stories that bring the reader face to face with the past:
Superman Smashes the Klan
An Excess Male
History Lesson #1. SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN. Launch a discussion about the Ku Klux Klan (it's inception and impact on US race relations).
In this three-issue Superman Comic, Gene Luen Yang gives historic tidbits at the end of each issue. You can read my review of the series here.
In issue 1,Yang highlights the 13th amendment to the constitution (abolition of slavery) and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
Following issue 2, Yang discusses the Jewish immigrants who created Superman.
Following issue 3, Yang discusses the challenges of his own parents, both of whom were immigrants from Taiwan
History Lesson #2. Watch or read, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (book by Philip K. Dick. The Amazon Prime TV series was produced by Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett). Discuss and learn about World War II.
This series is a great way to understand the Axis powers and that tentative alliance that almost took over the globe. You'll find yourself or your student understanding the world that was inhabited by those who lived under occupation during that war. The French, The Koreans, and many others were forced to survive under Nazi or Japanese rule. Some made compromises, others rebelled. Can you imagine who you would have become to survive an occupation? That question is a great way for students to enter into and understand history.
Josh Holloway, Sarah Wayne Callies
History Lesson #3. Watch COLONY on Netflix to begin to grapple with the reality of living under occupation.
In the case of COLONY, the true enemy is an alien race that has invaded Earth, but some of the darkest villains are the human beings who have allied themselves with this conquering force.
Living under occupation, whether under the Greeks, Romans, The Islamic Caliphate, the Brits, the USSR, it requires turncoats, or those who will help to subdue the masses for the sake of the little bits of power and privilege that are doled out by the occupying power. The tv series COLONY does an amazing job of capturing this reality. A longer review can be found here.
Maggie Shen King
History Lesson #4. Read AN EXCESS MALE, by Maggie Shen Chen, to begin to understand 20th century Chinese history.
Although this book imagines a future China, this story highlights what is perhaps the most disastrous public policy mandate of all time, THE ONE CHILD POLICY. For my review of this novel, click here. To read my guide for educators, click here.
History Lesson #5. KINDRED, by Octavia Butler. Read this book (fictional) and one of the other historic slave narratives like, MY LIFE AS A SLAVE, by Frederick Douglass. Discuss the ways slavery dehumanizes all those who participate in its reality.
KINDRED, by the late and great Octavia Butler, gives the reader a taste of the slave-inhabited South of yore. The brutality is evident and palpable. Lessons are brought so close…it's hard to read this book, yet it is valuable for those trying to understand slavery in 18th and 19th century US. Here is my longer review of Kindred
Tagged alien, alien invasion, aliens, amazon, An Excess Male, book review, books, Carlton Cuse, Chinese Exclusion Act, COLONY, comics, fiction, Gene Luen Yang, history, Kindred, Ku Klux Klan, Maggie Shen King, Octavia Butler, One Child Policy, Philip K. Dick, Public Policy, sci fi, science, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, scifi series, Slavery, Superman, SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, susi pritchett jensen, The Man In The High Castle
SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN ISSUE 3, A Review Without Spoilers
By Susi Jensen | March 18, 2020 | 1
Read All Three Issues of SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN You Won't Be Sorry
Short Review: Here's why you need to read all three…
Comic book action and a great story
Relatable kid characters who make poor or good choices and learn from them
Even Superman grows and changes
History lesson combined with Gene Luen Yang memoir tidbits in the final pages of each issue are perfect for spurring deeper conversations about racism in the US
I can't get enough of Gurihiru's lovely art
Longer Review:
It's a sad season for many of us on planet Earth who are living under the threat of COVID19 spread. Schools have been shuttered, so many activities cancelled and parents are left trying to figure out how to keep their kids off screens and at least somewhat engaged in their education. Great books, ones your kids will be motivated to read without any of your coaxing, are the home-school parent's best friend.
On my website, you can use the menu bar for educators to see what science fiction books might appeal to your student. It's not an exhaustive list, but there are more than a few gems you'll want to check out. When I review a book, I give the story a movie type rating…G, PG, PG-13, etc.
If you want to read a review of issue 1 of this series, click SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, A No Spoiler Review
Superman makes peace with his identity
If you want to read a review of issue 2, click here
In the case of issue 3, I have no reservations in recommending this book to all kids and adults, though you might give it a PG rating for the serious topic it tackles, racism and violence.
The story (as portrayed in all three issues) is accessible to a child. He/she might need to be old enough to engage in a basic conversation about race, justice and belonging, but my experience in having two kids who attended public schools in California, they were ripe for the beginning of that conversation by kindergarten. I would recommend you don't shield your young ones from starting this conversation early.
In this third issue of SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, the story climaxes with a confrontation between Superman and the Klan of the Fiery Cross. Superman has befriended the Lees, an Asian American family that has moved out of Chinatown and into the suburbs. They are the focus of the Klan's animosity and Superman is defending them against the Klan's violence. Author, Gene Luen Yang does not pull punches. There is a real portrayal of race hatred in this comic series, but that is what makes this story all the more powerful…it delivers truth.
Roberta, the young sister in the Lee family plays a crucial role in helping Superman beat back injustice. She will appeal to both girls and boys with her quirks (in the opening sequence of the first issue, she gets car sick and has to throw up while her family is driving out of Chinatown) and her bravery (she confronts evil and injustice head on, even though she can't always defend herself). In this issue, Lois Lane takes Roberta under her wing and encourages her to research a mystery for the Daily Planet as a cub reporter. Roberta is a wonderful hero.
Given the talented writer that he is, Yang draws out a number of characters on both sides of the conflict who have depth. The bad guys are more than just foils. Likewise, the good guys are not always perfect. Even Superman is grappling with flashbacks around his own childhood, trying to make sense of his alien nature. It's one of a number of great storylines that will please the Superman fanatic and add much to the themes that emerge in SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN.
A bonus delight in all the issues are the final pages where Gene Luen Yang puts forward a bit more history of his own immigrant story and that of the Klan…In a vulnerable and testimonial way, he reflects on both the challenges and the beauty of our mixed cultural nation.
The Klan of the Firey Cross
SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN is a story in three issues. One issue every other month released since October. This is something comic book readers understand. You buy one issue, read about your favorite hero and wait in anticipation for the next issue to come out. Comic book adventures are serial-styled stories. Each comic book usually contains one story arc and always ends with a cliffhanger. That is one reason why readers buy the next issue. There is delight in this way of consuming a story, but it requires more patience than most of us are used to.
In case that style does not appeal to you or your child, buy all three. All three SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN issues contained in one book, a story that will grab your child and keep him or her reading. The three will be released together on May 12. To preorder the story in one paperback instead of 3 separate issues, click here.
My advice in case you plan to discuss race with your child, make sure you read the story too. The education that will come out of the reading will benefit parent and child.
To buy SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, ISSUE 3, click here.
To buy the previous issues, click
Tagged alien, book review, books, comics, DC Comics, fiction, Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, Ku Klux Klan, literature, middle grade fiction, racism, sci fi, science, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, scifi series, space, Superman, SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, susi pritchett jensen, young adult fiction
SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, Part 2
By Susi Jensen | January 23, 2020 | 1
SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN Part 2 hit comic book stores in December. It's over a month old and I have been delinquent in reviewing it, until today. This story is appropriate for just about all readers. Rated PG.
For a review of Part 1, see this no spoiler review
Warning: This review will have spoilers if you have not read the first installment.
Inspired by the 1940s radio series Clan of the Fiery Cross, Gene Yang picks up the cliff-hanger from part 1. In part 1, Tommy Lee, a Chinese-American boy has been abducted by a white supremacist group, Klan of the Fiery Kross.
Yang does not sugarcoat the violence of the Klan
The aim of the Klan is to tar and feather Tommy, therefore teaching his parents a lesson. They resent the Lees moving out of Chinatown and into their white neighborhood. The Lee family has made this move because Dr. Lee, Tommy's father, has been offered a job in a nearby lab.
All the storylines ratchet up a notch in Part 2.
Worth noting:
Superman backstory: Superman continues to have flashbacks of his parents, aliens who look very different than humans. He is grappling with his own "alien" identity. His journey parallels the journey of the immigrants and their children in the story
A little bit of romance: Yes, it's a bit comedic and fun to see the budding affection between Superman and Lois and a little flare between Jimmy and Roberta, the main character in the story, the Lee's spunky daughter.
A community undergoing change: Yang captures an aspect of American life that rings true…especially, second generation immigrants moving out of the inner cities, out of enclaves and integrating into white America, changes that have historically led to tension. As in Part 1, Yang treats the "bad guys" fairly, always grappling with their feelings and their perspective. Not excusing their views or actions, but giving all his characters humanity.
Another history lesson/bio on race relations in the US: At the end of the comic, a memoir section called Superman and Me describes Gene Yang's childhood relationship with Superman and other comic heroes. Underneath Yang's love affair with comics is the power of story and how they provided a sense of identity and empowerment for the author. In case you're enamored by the history lesson, consider Yang's early graphic novel masterpiece, American Born Chinese Definitely worth owning and passing around to friends, especially young teens.
Overall, this is a great middle to the story. I look forward to reading the finale, Part 3 when it is released on February 19, 2020.
Superman's Flashbacks
A note on the art: The art in the series, created by Gurihiru, is colorful, capturing a blend of retro and anime. It seems apropos that this Japanese female duo would create the artwork for a comic grappling with some of the first Asian-American characters portrayed in a sympathetic way in the American Comics Universe.
To buy Part 1, click here
Tagged alien, alien invasion, aliens, American Born Chinese, book review, books, comic books, comics, DC Comics, fiction, Gene Luen Yang, Gurihiru, middle grade fiction, no spoilers, sci fi, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, Superman, SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, susi pritchett jensen, young adult fiction
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2019. Worthy of a Post. Worthy of Purchase.
By Susi Jensen | October 1, 2019 | 0
Good friend, LaShawn Wanak, wrote a lyrical, dreamy story that was picked up for the BEST OF anthology (see link below…it was first featured in APEX magazine).
Writes editor John Joseph Adams…"The BEST AMERICAN SERIES is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor—a leading writer in the field—then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind."
To order this anthology, click Best of SFF 2019.
LaShawn's story was first featured here…but why just read hers…there are so many great stories in this anthology.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing the Stumps Down Good
Tagged amazon, Best American, Best of Anthology, books, fantasy, fiction, LaShawn Wanak, literature, Memphis Minnie, science fiction, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Stumps, susi pritchett jensen, writing
KINDRED, A No Spoiler Review
KINDRED, perhaps the most admired novel written by the late, great Octavia Butler is a nearly perfect novel.
I rate this novel PG-13 for the violence that is shown, though not celebrated, against black slaves.
I plan to write a separate post for educators after this general review of the novel.
Short Review…3 Reasons to Read
KINDRED is a page-turner. As a novelist, I so admire this book. It ain't easy to keep your audience on edge. Butler does it with genius.
KINDRED humanizes slaves and slaveholders…In my mind, KINDRED is a literary narrative because it does not simplify the incredibly complex story of slavery in US history/society.
KINDRED is literary, yet it is also an adventure story…Read the book to gain empathy, knowledge and understanding, but count on being entertained and in suspense while you learn.
Octavia Butler did write great science fiction, like The Xenogenesis Trilogy, but KINDRED falls into a different category. It's a time-travel fantasy with fewer of the typical time travel tropes. We all know those tropes, how tension builds as the reader/audience wonders whether a character who impacts past will change the future. In KINDRED, that tension (changing the future by impacting the past) stays in the background. It is a worry, but not the primary worry. What creates the tension in KINDRED is the survival of the main character.
The story premise is brilliant.
Dana, whom the reader affixes to very early, is an African American woman, married to a white man living in the 1970s. She is living her life in the present as a happy person. Suddenly, she finds herself yanked back into history. It takes her a while to figure out why, but eventually, she and the reader understand that every time one of her ancestors (a white slave owner) finds his life in danger, Dana is summoned to the past. This happens multiple times. Dana comes back into real time when she finds herself in danger of being severly injured or killed. The going back and forth is painful, but an interesting narrative device. The reader, who empathizes with Dana, finds these short respites back in the modern era as hopeful and yet terrifying because the readers knows, as does Dana, that she will be yanked back in time within minutes, hours or days of her respite. Her oasis in the modern era taunts the reader and gives the reader pause. At least in part, our society has grown out of the horrifying reality of slavery. That reality cannot be denied, or at least it is harder to deny when the reader is identifying so powerfully with this main character.
Dana, because of her experience of liberty in the 1970s as a black woman, becomes a guide to those in the past. She has agency, yet because of her skin color, she is also threatening to everyone who exists in this past world, including the slaves she will try to help.
Regarding KINDRED's captivating narrative, I challenge you to read the first twenty pages of this book and be able to put it down.
Regarding KINDRED's story, I challenge you to read something of greater substance that falls into the category of "time travel narrative". I doubt you will find one.
To buy this masterpiece, click KINDRED
To buy the first of Butler's science fiction the Xenogenesis trilogy, click DAWN
To buy the whole trilogy, click The Xenogenesis Trilogy
Tagged book review, books, dystopian fiction, fiction, Kindred, literature, middle grade fiction, no spoilers, Octavia Butler, Slavery, susi pritchett jensen, US History, writing, Xenogenesis Trilogy
Fighting Screen Addiction and Getting Your Teen to Read
By Susi Jensen | August 2, 2019 | 0
It's August, which means we're almost done with summer, but it is not too late to steer your teen away from screens and toward reading. I have a soft heart for parents of teens. I have two kids and know well the battle parents wage relentlessly to engage their teens with anything other than their devices. (Truth…we parents have an addiction as well…which is why tackling this issue is so tricky!).
But why even fight? Why fight the powerful riptide that sucks our kids into the digital universe?
I interviewed reading specialist, Dr. Marnie Ginsberg, who focuses on training teachers of early readers and has two teenagers of her own. Even she is familiar with the struggle! This is what she says about teen reading…
"Good teen readers read hundreds of hours more each year than average readers. As a result of this reading practice, they keep developing their reading achievement. And reading achievement is strongly correlated with so many positive outcomes for teens and their future selves that one can hardly count them all…"
Dr. Ginsberg's list included these: "Higher reading achievement leads to…
better school achievement–in all subject areas, including math
stronger oral and written language knowledge and skills
better job prospects
higher wage earnings
better health; and even better life expectancy!
Besides these long-term benefits, time spent reading helps in immediate ways, too, such as mood regulation and stress reduction."
Yet, Dr. Ginsberg said that most teens today are not reading enough to enjoy these varied benefits of high reading achievement. Multimedia usage instead, soaks up most of the typical teen's day–upwards of 8 hours a day.
If you are an educator and want to learn more about how to better teach young readers the skills that will help them succeed at reading, check out her website. ReadingSimplified
Discovering Great Stories Your Teens Will Love…
The challenge for parents and teachers is to help the teens in their life discover great stories. Our kids still love stories, but they tend to take them in via the screen. Stranger Things, the Netflix hit, is one example, which became a must see event each season for most of our teenagers. Another must-see event, the latest Avengers' blockbuster. Who will stand in line for a ticket and a seat? Those who want to engage the current story and amazingly, our teens want to do that in community. Great stories bring communities together.
Stories still matter us and they matter to our kids. Let this be your best ammunition as a parent. If you work hard at finding good stories in the books you are putting in front of them, your kids have a much better chance of actually reading.
Compelling stories are waiting to be uncovered by you/your teen, but how do you find them? Try going to Goodreads (book review site) or googling something like The Top 10 New Novels for Teens. Also, follow the lead of your teen who might have a favorite author or genre. I would advise heading to a library over a bookstore when looking for the right story because librarians are golden when it comes to know what is the latest great story for teens.
A goot librarian is like a matchmaker. Librarians read enough to know the answer to a question like this…What is the best Middle Grade book with a female protagonist who isn't an orphan that is under 300 pages. A great librarian will be able to give your teen one or two books that fit that description.
However, if you're in a hurry and a little stuck, check out reviews on my website (not all are teen appropriate), but here are a few I would put forward that are…
All these books except for AMERICAN BORN CHINESE are speculative fiction or sci-fi. To find out if the book is right for your teen, all of these books (with the exception of DOGSBODY) are reviewed on my site. You can find them via the search function.
FEED, by MT Anderson. To buy the audiobook, click here.
THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION, by Nancy Farmer. To buy this audiobook, click here.
DOGSBODY, By Dianna Wynne Jones. Click here to buy.
DESCENDER SERIES (graphic novel series), by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (See below for links to purchase)
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (graphic novel), by Gene Luen Yang. Click here to purchase.
Cover Art for Machine Moon
DESCENDER, Volume 1 Tin Stars
DESCENDER, Volume 2, Machine Moon
DESCENDER, Volume 3 Singularities
DESCENDER, Volume 4 Orbital Mechanics
DESCENDER, Volume 5 Rise of the Robots
DESCENDER, Volume 6 The Machine War
In addition to finding the right stories. Here are a few strategies that will encourage teen reading
Take a road trip where screens are forbidden in the car and listen to an audiobook that everyone has agreed on. Bonus…if you pick the first book in a series (and there are many of those out there), your teen might pick up the subsequent books on his/her own.
Make it a summer tradition (or an all-year tradition) to read aloud together as a family before bed each night. I know a few families that practice this habit and their kids cherish the time. Think of it in a similar category as watching television together…
Don't despise the graphic novel. There are sophisticated stories, characters and lengthy dialogue to be had in the modern graphic novel.
Go on a phone-free, screen-free vacation where every member of the family gets to take his/her own book of choice This NY Times article gives tips on how to best unplug in case one phone must come along.
And…GOOD LUCK!
Tagged amazon, books, comics, Descender, Dustin Nguyen, fiction, Jeff Lemire, nancyfarmer, netflix, scifi series, space, susi pritchett jensen, television, TheHouseOfTheScorpion, Tim-21, young adult fiction
BINTI, A Review Without Spoilers
By Susi Jensen | June 7, 2019 | 1
BY NNEDI OKORAFOR
BINTI, by Nnedi Okorafor, is a novella about a young woman from a desert tribe on Earth. Her people are called the Himba people and they make a vital piece of technology on Earth called an astrolabe. Binti is the name of the main character. The story, told in first person, begins with Binti climbing aboard a transporter that is taking her to a launch port, then onward to Oomza Uni. Oomza Uni is a university on a distant planet where Binti will have the opportunity to study mathematics with the best and brightest from all over the universe. She is the first of her people to be admitted, so there is the sense of her achieving a great honor. However, she and we (the reader) clearly understand how high the cost is as she leaves her tribe and family behind, potentially forever.
Binti is a 16-year-old, but this book is not a YA book according to the author. However, the back cover of the paperback calls it a "coming of age story", which might put it in that genre for some. I believe it will appeal most to the middle grade and YA audience, with some degree of PG-13 gore (one incident).
The Novella, BINTI, won the Hugo award in 2016 and the Nebula in 2015 for best novella.
To order BINTI, click here.
What I enjoyed about BINTI.
Sometimes, a novella is just right. There aren't many around, but novellas can be a satisfying reading experience. To get through a story in one long sitting or two or three short sittings is a lovely thing. Also…light-weight, perfect for a 2-hour plane ride.
The main character is unique and different than a typical caucasian protagonist. Her culture will feel different to many readers. Okorafor has ties to Nigeria and I am guessing that her place of origin impacts the writing of this world. That world is powerful in many respects in how it anchors the character's identity. For the sci-fi reader who loves to enter into new cultures and worlds, this story will scratch an itch.
Decent tension to keep the reader going.
A satisfying introduction to an author's burgeoning world. (two novellas follow this one)
It's a bargain to order the complete trilogy. To do so, click here.
What annoyed me about BINTI and makes me hesitant to give it the highest review…
Somewhat shallow character development. This is the negative of the novella format…it's a challenge to develop the characters deeply.
The conflict is resolved too easily.
There are wonderful characters here, but I found the writing a bit underwhelming. My exposure to literary fiction makes me a snob sometimes…the writing won't be a problem for most readers.
The tech is more like magic in this story than science…or might as well be. I'm wondering if it will be explained in the next novella in a sciency way or not?
Tagged alien, aliens, astrolabe, Binti, book review, books, fiction, Hugo Award, Khoush, literature, math, Meduse, middle grade fiction, Nebula Award, NNEDI OKORAFOR, no spoilers, novella, Okwu, Oomza Uni, otijize, sci fi, science, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, space, susi pritchett jensen, technology, writing, young adult fiction
All Sci Fi | All the Time


text:
Reading: PPC Zimbabwe
Magazine > Issues > 33 > PPC Zimbabwe
33Corporate StoriesManufacturingPPC Zimbabwe
PPC Zimbabwe
Laying the Foundations for Infrastructure Growth
As Zimbabwe's largest producer of ordinary Portland cement, and the only local producer of grade 42.5 cement, PPC is ideally positioned to play a leading role in developing the country's infrastructure
Writer: Emily Jarvis | Project Manager: Ben Weaver
As Zimbabwe's largest and oldest cement manufacturer, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) continues to remain one step ahead of the increasing competition filtering into the local market. With its operational performance buoyed by increased infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe, driven by the government's concerted focus on addressing the infrastructure gap through foreign direct investment (FDI), PPC is strengthening its production capabilities with the advent of a second manufacturing plant in order to cater for demand.
"What is opening up now is private sector participation…The government has come to the realisation that the best way to progress is through FDI, and to become investor-friendly," stated PPC Zimbabwe's Managing Director (MD), Njombo Lekula, earlier this year.
Some of the major multi-million dollar infrastructure projects taking place in Zimbabwe today include the refurbishment of the Kariba Dam wall, construction of Kariba South Power Plant and Plumtree-Mutare Highway construction; all of which have been made possible through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
To cater for these projects, PPC is spending $86 million on expanding its production facilities to meet increasing demand, as the country's cement market evolves from mostly cash-in-hand sales for home building and renovation, to renewed maintenance spending on the nation's infrastructure.
Msasa expansion
Equipped with its new plant in Msasa, near Harare, which is due to be fully completed by 2020, PPC will be able to produce a further 600,000 tonnes of cement per annum, almost doubling the current 700,000 tonne production capacity. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant in August, 2015, Lekula said the investment in the plant was a vote of confidence in both PPC's and Zimbabwe's manufacturing future.
"PPC Zimbabwe is looking toward the future of the country, with today's event providing a promise of things to come. While our existing factory in Bulawayo has positioned us well in Matabeleland, it's clear that much of our country's future growth centres around Harare and northern Zimbabwe," he said.
This latest investment in Zimbabwe is part of a rapid ramp-up in the PPC Group's African investments outside of South Africa in order to remain competitive.
While the Company has a continuous improvement policy to support its main South African operations, the Group seeks to garner 40 percent of its overall revenue from the rest of the continent by 2017 in a bid to branch-out and explore more of the continent's most lucrative markets.
Indigenisation
After obtaining an indigenisation certificate in 2012, PPC Group has forged ahead of its competitors as a Company that is aware of the importance of local empowerment through local job creation and sustainable development. In Zimbabwe, PPC is in the process of implementing this indigenisation law, which will see an increase in the local shareholding within the Company.
Commenting earlier this year on the law, the Company said: "While we've enjoyed growth in market share, we still maintain an extensive capacity and this compares favourably to the international competition."
Since the country adopted multiple foreign currencies, the cement industry has enjoyed a solid recovery and good growth. The market remains challenging however, since 70 percent of the world's cement production comes from emerging markets, and for Zimbabwe, this means the market has become further saturated with multinational companies who want to capitalise on the country's infrastructure growth.
In spite of this, in 2014, the parent Company's annual report commended the Zimbabwean operation for recording a fifth consecutive financial year of growth. "Cement volumes were under pressure in South Africa and Botswana, while sales volumes in Zimbabwe continued to improve.
"Sales volumes in South Africa were affected by poor economic growth, increased strike activity and above-average rainfall, while Zimbabwe enjoyed a fifth consecutive year of rising cement demand, albeit on a slower growth trajectory than prior years," the report said.
World-class
Despite the challenging economic situation in Zimbabwe, the country has witnessed increased construction activity – both on a large and small-scale basis – and PPC is keen to lead the pack and set the standard for a quality cement product.
The new plant in Msasa is being built to world-class standards by Chinese Company, Sinoma International Engineering and will feature bulk-handling and palletising capabilities that drive efficiencies and production targets, similar to those introduced at the Bulawayo factory previously. Moreover, PPC has placed emphasis on engaging with numerous local suppliers to leverage the scope of opportunity for value-add services beyond the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) agreement.
With a growing local team who are up for the challenge, PPC Zimbabwe is to continue capitalising on the country's increasing need for infrastructure and to play its part as Zimbabwe begins to rebuild and resume its role as one of the largest sub-Saharan markets outside South Africa.
"As Zimbabwe's largest producer of ordinary Portland cement, and the only local producer of grade 42.5 cement, we are ideally positioned to play a leading role in developing the country's infrastructure. We have the equipment, processes and tanker fleet in place and are thus able to handle the bulk deliveries that are vital to these big projects.
"As such, we see ourselves as providing not just cement but a total solution to our customers," Lekula concluded.
VIEW THE PPC Zimbabwe BROCHURE
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Historic First Meeting of the World's Professional Leagues sets agenda for future
Twenty four leading Professional League organisations from across the world of football met in London today, 28 April 2015, at the first ever Global Leagues Forum.
This historic meeting brought together Presidents, Chairmen, Chief Executives and General Secretaries from Professional Leagues that represent over 1100 of the world's top Clubs. Professional Leagues from Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, USA, as well as the European Professional Football Leagues Association, were represented. Between them, their clubs provided just under 90 per cent of the players who took part in the FIFA World Cup 2014.
The discussion between leaders of Professional League football was wide ranging, focused on strategies for the successful development of Professional League football in each of their countries. These focused on relationships with players and fans in particular, and Professional League business models.
Whilst all Professional Leagues are different, the issues they face are the same as each looks to develop the professional game in their country. Experiences and approaches will be shared, with established Leagues committing to assisting developing Leagues across the world.
The Leagues agree that wherever a common view on issues can be achieved, Leagues should speak with a single voice, as leading members of the global football family. A focus of the next meeting in the USA (19-20 October 2015) will be on formalising a new way of working more closely together.
This first Forum was hosted by the Premier League and organised together with La Liga, with the next meeting to be hosted by Major League Soccer.
At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the EPFL Frédéric Thiriez stated: "Today was an important day for professional football. This was a first and decisive step for the world leagues to speak with a single voice on issues of common concern"
Those who attended:
Jack Oguda (CEO, Kenyan Premier League)
Nduka Irabor (CEO, Nigerian Professional Football League)
Shehu Dikko (Chairman, Nigerian Professional Football League)
Irvin Khosa (Chairman, Premier Soccer League)
Rafael Espinosa (General Secretary, DIMAYOR)
Fernando Humerez (President, Liga de Futbol Profesional Boliviano)
Decio de Maria (President, Liga MX)
Selim B. Canahuati (President, Liga N. de Futbol Profesional Honduras)
Mark Abbott (Deputy Comissioner, Major League Soccer)
Todd Turbin (EVP of Competition, Major League Soccer)
Julian Solano Porras (President, Primera Division de Costa Rica)
Ma Chengquan (Chairman, Chinese Super League)
Liu Weidong (General Manager, Chinese Super League)
Mitsuru Murai (Chairman, J-League)
Shoji Fujimura (General Manager, J-League)
Hani T. Ballan (CEO, Qatar Stars League)
Mushtaq Al Waeli (Senior Advisor, Qatar Stars League)
Mohammed Al Nowaiser (Chairman,Saudi Professional League)
Yasser Al Misehal (CEO, Saudi Professional League)
Suhail Al Areefi (CEO, UAE Arabian Gulf League, Pro League Committee)
Frédéric Thiriez (President, French League and EPFL Chairman)
Christian Seifert (CEO, Bundesliga)
Georg Pangl (General Secretary, European Professional Football Leagues)
Javier Tebas Medrano (President, La Liga)
Giovanni Pifarotti (Head of International Affairs (Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A)
Joao Martins (General Secretary, Liga Portugal)
Frederic Thiriez (President, Ligue 1)
Richard Scudamore (Chief Executive, Premier League)
Nic Coward (General Secretary, Premier League)
Sergey Pryadkin (President, Russian Premier League)
Neil Doncaster (CEO, Scottish Professional Football League)
Edmond Isoz (Senior Manager, Swiss Football League)


There has been a buzz surrounding India-Pakistan relations in recent weeks. The decision of the Narendra Modi government to invite all heads of governments of all SAARC countries and Mauritius to the swearing-in ceremony was seen by many as a positive step. It was as if the incoming Prime Minister had read the words "All the world's a stage," in Shakespeare's As You Like It and had taken it to heart. Many in India felt that by extending the invitation, India had seized the initiative rather than responding to an existing situation, crisis.
Given that Indians continue to fixate on Pakistan, most of the media coverage and discussions focused on Pakistan, overshadowing the fact that heads of eight other governments were also attending the swearing-in ceremony. However, the fact that the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to come to India in spite of the strong domestic opposition is indicative of the importance both leaders place on improving India-Pakistan relations. Having made a great beginning, Prime Ministers Sharif and Modi will now have to walk the talk.
While I was following these developments, two questions kept coming back to my mind. First, Why should India continue to engage Pakistan and what does it seek to gain from such an engagement. Second, who should India engage with in Pakistan?
Why and for what end should India continue to engage Pakistan?
The first question – frequently posed by the hawkish lot – stems out of a general disillusionment in India about the lack of any success in normalising relations with Pakistan and resolving bilateral issues. There has been little change in Pakistan's policy as it pertains to India. Therefore, is there any need to invest significant political capital on improving its relations with Pakistan. More importantly, what does India seek to achieve out of such engagement?
India is clocking a decent rate of growth despite the recent hiccups. We have largely been successful in tackling the militancy problem in Jammu and Kashmir and the insurgency in the North Eastern states. Pakistan is staring down a cliff when it comes to its internal security situation. Also, it is facing enormous challenges on the economic and energy front.
Despite all the commonalities the two countries share in terms of history, language, culture, food etc, the differences could not have been starker. To use an analogy, it is as if India is driving away and Pakistan is receding in the rear-view mirror.
In October 2013, while discussing India-Pakistan relations at a Young Scholars Workshop organised by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Stimson Center jointly with the Observer Research Foundation, I had made use of the above analogy. Dr. George Perkovich who was moderating the discussion responded to this with a comment which I felt captured the reality of India-Pakistan relations. He agreed that India is doing better economically and the security situation has improved over the past couple of years. However, went on to state that even if Pakistan might be receding in the rear view mirror, India and Pakistan are neighbours and when we (India) return home, Pakistan will be there waiting for us.
Such a sentiment was also expressed by the former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. By reaching out to Nawaz Sharif, the Modi government has in essence, signalled its thinking on the issue. India and Pakistan (as is the case with India's other neighbours) are bound by geography (among other things) and we cannot avoid engaging each other.
Great Article Arun…i'm waiting for the second part to know your take on how you see India-Pakistan relations evolving under the premiership of Narinder Modi. How much impact do you think will factors such as Shiv Sena have on these relations?
Thanks Amina, for reading the article. Glad that you liked it. Given Modi's credentials and the numbers he enjoys in the Parliament, I feel he will have much more leeway in any negotiations with Pakistan.
Therefore the current situation, as many have said, presents a good opportunity. Whether we will 'walk the talk' I don't know. I guess only time will tell.
About your question about Shiv Sena, I urge you not to take their statements – however irresponsible they might be – very seriously. I know, its difficult to do so esp. given that they are part of the ruling alliance. But, they're a bunch of extreme right wingers who are best left alone. I think going by what we've seen, the BJP govt. will not give them any great weightage in ForPol issues.


text:
Q: Kotlin to Java interoperability in hierarchial interfaces I have two modules defines like this:
interface Module {
    val parameter: JSONObject
}

abstract class FirstModule: Module {
    abstract val message: Message
}
....
// many more Modules

I created a base listener interface for Module and another for FirstModule:
fun interface ModuleListener {
    fun ready(module: Module)
}

fun interface FirstModuleListener: ModuleListener {
    fun ready(module : FirstModule)

    override fun ready(module: Module) {
        ready(module as FirstModule)
    }
}

assuming there is a function named firstModule() like this:
fun firstModule(listener: FirstModuleListener)

In KOTLIN when I call firstModule() things work as expected (to let user only override ready() with FirstModule as parameter:
firstModule ( object: FirstModuleListener {
       override fun ready(module: FirstModule) {
           Log.v(TAG, "module: $module)
       }
    }
}

but the same is behaving differently in JAVA. It is expecting user to override both the interface methods even when one of them is already overridden and has some content in child interface.
firstModule(new FirstModuleListener() {
   @Override public void ready(Module module) { }

   @Override public void ready(FirstModule module) {}
}

How can I skip the first overridden method call in Java. Is it causing due to the method definition support in Kotlin and not in Java?

A: Essentially: When kotlin implements FirstModuleListener interface, it still implements two ready().
In FirstModuleListener, fun ready(module: FirstModule) is an abstract method, and
override fun ready(module: Module) {
        ready(module as FirstModule)
    }

It is a concrete realization method.
The interface in kotlin can define specific methods, and the kotlin compiler behind it is converted into the corresponding static method in Java. Your FirstModuleListener defines both abstract and non-abstract methods.
Kotlin will generate a DefaultImpls static inner class to implement the ready(module: Module) method of FirstModuleListener at compile time.
public interface FirstModuleListener extends ModuleListener {
   void ready(@NotNull FirstModule var1);

   void ready(@NotNull Module var1);

   @Metadata(
      mv = {1, 5, 1},
      k = 3
   )
   public static final class DefaultImpls {
      public static void ready(@NotNull FirstModuleListener $this, @NotNull Module module) {
         Intrinsics.checkNotNullParameter(module, "module");
         $this.ready((FirstModule)module);
      }
   }
}

When implementing FirstModuleListener, a ready() essentially calls ready() of DefaultImpls.
 firstModule((FirstModuleListener)(new FirstModuleListener() {
         public void ready(@NotNull FirstModule module) {
            Intrinsics.checkNotNullParameter(module, "module");
         }

         public void ready(@NotNull Module module) {
            Intrinsics.checkNotNullParameter(module, "module");
            FirstModuleListener.DefaultImpls.ready(this, module);
         }
      }));

This is no different from Java.
#################################################
interface Module {
    val parameter: JSONObject
}

abstract class FirstModule : Module {
    abstract val message: String
}

abstract class SecondModule : Module {
    abstract val message: String
}

interface ModuleListener {
    fun ready(module: Module)
}

fun firstModule(listener: ModuleListener)

fun main() {
    firstModule(object : ModuleListener {
        override fun ready(module: Module) {
            when (module) {
                is FirstModule -> {
                    Log.v(TAG, "module: $module)
                }
                is SecondModule -> {
                    //...
                }
            }
        }
    })
}


The temperature is falling, the leaves are changing, and autumn is upon us. There's something about this time of year that makes us want to find a comfy spot, complete with hot beverage, tasty treat, and, of course, a book in which to while away a few restful hours. This cozy scene is the perfect setting for indulging in a cozy mystery courtesy of Ames Public Library.
The temperature is falling, the leaves are changing, and autumn is upon us. There�s something about this time of year that makes us want to find a comfy spot, complete with hot beverage, tasty treat, and, of course, a book in which to while away a few restful hours. This cozy scene is the perfect setting for indulging in a cozy mystery courtesy of Ames Public Library.
What exactly makes a mystery a cozy mystery? According to �Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests,� a cozy �is represented by genteel characters and gentle stories, where everyone and everything is nice and civilized, and the murder usually occurs off-scene with no directly observed violence.� These titles generally feature a cast of quirky characters and a well-developed sense of place. Humor is often a major element. Despite these niceties, murder and mayhem still haunt these cozy settings and amateur sleuths still match wits with the bad guys. The latest trend in cozies features stories built around a variety of hobbies with cooking and food-related settings luring in lots of readers.
Since our cozy autumn scene includes a hot beverage and a tasty treat, let me complete the picture by introducing a few cozy mystery series options that feature those indulgences�some even include recipes and may send you to the kitchen to whip up a batch of cookies!
Joanne Fluke, one of the grande dames of the culinary cozy, began her Hannah Swenson Mystery Series with �The Cookie Jar Mystery. � Hannah runs a cookie shop in a small Minnesota town and is drawn into a murder case when a delivery man is found dead in the alley behind her shop. In the guise of helping her deputy sheriff brother-in-law investigate, Hannah gads about town making deliveries, catering events, and generally gathering clues.
Jessica Beck�s Donut Shop Mysteries are set in North Carolina where recently divorced Suzanne Hart follows her dream of opening a donut shop. A dead body dropped on the shop�s doorstep in �Glazed Murder,� brings out Suzanne�s snooping instincts in this first book in the series.
Maggy Thorson�s introduction to sleuthing comes on opening day of her Wisconsin coffee shop when one of her partners is found dead on the floor, seemingly electrocuted while making a latte. In �Uncommon Grounds� by Sandra Balzo, the first installment of the Maggy Thorson Mystery Series, Maggy�s investigation into this suspicious death turns up some interesting secrets involving prominent members of the community as well as some of her friends.
Cupcakes are everywhere today, so why not enjoy them in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series by Jenn McKinlay. The series opener, �Sprinkle with Murder,� features Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura, owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery in Scottsdale, Arizona. After coming under suspicion when a fashion designer dies while taste- testing one of their cupcakes, the two are forced to investigate in order to clear their names.
As �On What Grounds� by Cleo Coyle shows us, cozies don�t have to be set only in small towns. The Village Blend is located in Greenwich Village, the setting for the Coffeehouse Mystery Series. This first book finds owner Clare Cosi doing her own investigation into the incident that left her assistant unconscious at the bottom of the shop�s staircase. The police dismiss it as an accident, but Clare is not so sure.
So, if the changing leaves and dropping temperature have you ready to settle into your favorite chair with a cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate at your side and a cookie, cupcake, or other sweet treat nearby, check out one of the many cozy mysteries available at the library to complete this warm, relaxing scene.


It's been a while since I've reviewed an album that came remotely close to top 40, but Sigur Rós's Ágætis Byrjun is well worth the sacrifice. Having recently been featured on both How to Train Your Dragon movies and a Game of Thrones episode, lead singer Jónsi has created quite the buzz in the Nordic country of Iceland, the album in question reaching #2 on Pitchforks best albums of the year 2000. Although all their music is worth talking about, this release in particular hosts one of favorites and I just couldn't stay away. Svefn-g-englar (taken from the Icelandic pun "sleepwalkers") follows the intro on Ágætis Byrjun and it's easy to see why this song took the coveted spot of being the first listed on the album. Although I'm not exactly clear on the translation, the lyrics seem to tell a somber tale of a being frustrated by finding himself trapped without a voice. The accompanying video goes along with this story well, featuring a rather predominant group society tends to alienate, the teenage participants all possessing down syndrome. The rest of the album proves itself to be just as pensive, the combination of Jónsi's dreamy counter tenor and a mostly string orchestra makes for a beguiling rapture.


Selling used vehicles from stock and reaching the targets with help of commercial advisors by telephone.
Why do Tele sales exist?
Used vehicle sales is a very seasonal activity and requires many skills. It needs 'flexibility of resources', high level of experience (product, market), good relationships. DEKRA is a specialist in that domain.
Working on synergies between "Telesales" and "Online sales"
DEKRA is an expert in telesales with close to 200.000 UV sold each year in Europe through this service and is the only player on the market offering a complete sales service : tele sales, e-sales platform, transport management and steering, invoicing services, call center, claims portal.


Brochure Displays for Your Next TradeShow by Capital Exhibits put you way over the top of your competitions. Brochure displays are one of the cost friendly ways of managing affordable advertising of numerous products. With brochure displays, one can promote the brand name and its services in an easy way.
The brochure display stands like SPACE-SF03 are fitted with graphic or fabric drops and one can easily change the graphics in every promotional campaign whenever required. There is a comprehensive range of functional as well as stylish brochure displays that are used at different presentations. The brochure displays are available in various frame sizes and shapes that include circular, straight, curved and triangular. These brochure displays can hold literature of A4 to A3 portrait literature. There are some brochure display stands have one presentation pocket whereas in other displays there are up to 10 pockets for displaying the literature and brochures. The brochure displays are customized according to the requirements of the customers and saves lot of space by displaying the literature in orderly manner. A wide range of accessories that include shelves, lights and literature dispensers can enhance the effect of brochure displays.
There are permanent brochure displays that are either free standing or wall mounted.
The portable and lightweight collapsible brochure displays are easy transported from one event to another. These folding brochure displays are available at cost effective prices.
The Modular displays are also known as information kiosks or Panel & pole kits as these kits are composed of pole kit so it's truly cost effective.
Along with standard displays, the products are also customized specially sizes and colors can be specified providing more flexibility to the customers.
The rotating stands are eye catchy as well as appealing to the viewers so used to display various products also in retail stores. The displays are made up of different materials like plastic, acrylic and wood. These rotating display stands provide easy access as can be easily moved around. One can have large or small display depending on the space provided in store or office for it. It also helps in keeping the clients and guests engaged, as they get busy in reading the brochures. It is easy to maintain and move while rearranging the furniture of the area. There are also electronic rotating display stand that is either powered by an electric cord or batteries. Such displays are more common at airports, jewelry stores, gift stores at hotels and restaurants, libraries and super markets. The rotating displays are widely used at exhibitions also. One can find some classic display for office at antique stores that are packed with fancy as well as crafted stands.
The selection of any brochure display depends on budget, exhibition size and its reuse. As if the brochure display will be used, again then, the display should be durable and if the exhibition is big, then the display size should be according to its position in the arena.
The brochure displays are ideal for displaying corporate literature, posters, leaflets, documents and brochures. The brochure displays are widely used in trade shows, exhibitions and events. The displays are also used for reception, corporate, museum and retail environments. One can place the order for brochure displays online and even get some discount on the total purchase.


Coffee and Watches - My new Silver Brew Special Blend watch.
It's no secret that I love coffee. But not many people know I also have a bit of a thing for watches.
And while I'm not one of those wealthy guys who can go out and spend thousands of dollars on luxury brand watches, I do keep my eyes open for interesting finds.
So imagine my surprise when I found an industrial designer who shares both of my passions – coffee and watches.
He's the founder and lead designer of Brew Watch Co, and his name is Jonathan Ferrer.
The watch you see featured on this page - the Silver Brew Special Blend - is the first he designed under his own brand.
The off-white face of the watch makes me think of mid-century time pieces. A touch of vintage within a modern design.
I'm now the proud owner of this watch.
Nope... this isn't one of those sponsored posts, or thinly-veiled promotional pitches. I bought the watch at full price, because I like it.
Oh, and if you have zero interest in watches, even if they carry a subtle coffee theme, now would be a good time to bail on this article!
If you're really into the design of watches, you'll likely cringe at the thought of someone designing one while using coffee as an inspiration.
It's bad enough when the major luxury brands clutter their watch faces with references to various sporting events.
And coffee? How about a watch face shaped like a coffee bean? Ouch.
Fortunately, Jonathan is a much better designer than that, and the references he makes to coffee and coffee making are a lot more subtle.
Side by side with one of its brushed-steel cousins.
As you can see from the photo above, the brushed steel case for the watch is reminiscent of the brushed steel finish found on many espresso machines and some coffee brewers and grinders. As are some of the lines and curves of his design.
And yes, there is that subtle coffee bean graphic level with the nine o'clock position on the face. And the crown is signed with the same graphic.
But these are light touches and references.
Anyway, I won't go into a full-blown review of the watch itself. This is, after all, a coffee blog and not a watch blog.
But if you have been following my writing about coffee for any length of time, you already know I have an eye and a passion for clean, simple design.
This is why I love the Chemex brewer, the Hario drip kettle, the Bialetti stove top brewer and the humble French press. They are simple, functional and a pleasure to look at and use.
Maybe it's just me, but the dial design speaks to me of the clean open spaces in a modern coffee shop.
I like the clean, open designs of many modern coffee shops, and I feel the same with my Silver Brew Special Blend.
The design is very clean, with no clutter. But it does have some wonderful details.
Look through the photos and you'll see what I mean. In particular you'll see how Jonathan has played with two tones - steel and rose gold PVD - which he uses for the backplate, pushers and crown.
Here you can see the coffee bean logo on the crown, and the dual tone of the steel and rose gold.
Play with the scale in your mind's a little, and perhaps you'll see the steel and brass finish of a high-end Italian commercial espresso machine.
If you're interested enough in watches to be wondering about the movement, it's a Swiss quartz. Some watch collectors might wish it had a mechanical movement. Frankly, it doesn't bother me that much. Certainly not at this price point. On the plus side, you do get a sapphire crystal.
As I write this in September of 2016, Jonathan Ferrer is launching a second watch, which he is funding through Kickstarter.
His new watch does have a mechanical, automatic movement.
And its design is even cleaner.
You can feast your eyes on both watches at the Brew Watch Co website.
As for me, I'd better get back to thinking less about my new watch, and more about coffee and coffee makers.
Or maybe I should give some thought to persuading Jonathan to give watches a short rest and design some coffee making equipment instead.
See how the straps attach at the level of the back plate. No traditional lugs on this watch.


text:
Serve The People
Fuck The 150
Québec's "territorial integrity" against First Nations
In the September issue of the monthly L'Aut'Journal newspaper, a member of a group called Intellectuals for Sovereignty ("Intellectuels pour la souveraineté" or IPSO in French), André Binette, engaged in a dubious plea for a show of strength from the Québec government for it to assert its sovereignty over the Arctic territories north of the […]
In the September issue of the monthly L'Aut'Journal newspaper, a member of a group called Intellectuals for Sovereignty ("Intellectuels pour la souveraineté" or IPSO in French), André Binette, engaged in a dubious plea for a show of strength from the Québec government for it to assert its sovereignty over the Arctic territories north of the province.
Reacting to the recent maneuvers by the federal government that pursue the same goal, but across the country, the author protests that Canadian state is the only one to claim control of this protectorate inhabited by the Inuit people. According to him, the Québec government should no less imitate the Canadian state and behave as a colonizer! This is another case where the defense of Québec's territorial integrity involves the denial of aboriginal peoples right to self-determination.
André Binette notes that "Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, a waterway linking Asia to Europe and eastern North America, which is taken by an increasing number of ships each year, is disputed even by 'friendly' countries like the United States." This former Parizeau government adviser during the 1995 referendum and author of an essay on Québec sovereignty finds it perfectly normal that Canadian imperialism defends its own interests in the North. What worries him is that Québec does not do as much and that eventually, the strengthening of Canada will undermine Québec's territorial integrity, especially in a situation where Québec will claim its own independence.
For him, the right to sovereignty is only good for Québec and Canada; the Inuit people, who are more than 90% of the inhabitants living in northern Québec, are not entitled to the same right. Its ancestral land can not be anything other than the backyard of Québec and Canada to pillage and plunder.
The fact that the United States, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland sit with Canada within the Arctic Council is not a problem for our "intellectual." That these countries are given such a forum to discuss their respective claims over colonial territories, which in fact are not theirs, seems to be the order of things. The problem for him is that Québec isn't represented in that organization, while a Inuit grouping (the Inuit Circumpolar Council) had a voice.
André Binette fears that the announced plan for Greenland's forthcoming independence encourages the Inuit to claim their right to self-determination. He wrote: "Many Inuit, including those from Québec, cherish the dream of a great Inuit nation that would include Greenland, Canada's Nunavut and Québec's Nunavik." Binette sees this–rightly–as a threat to Québec's territorial integrity, but he then conveniently fails to take a position regarding the legitimacy of the national claims of the Inuit on their ancestral lands.
In fact, his opposition to "national oppression" stops at the borders of Québec: no question for him to recognize the right to sovereignty to the Inuit people. Instead, the writer from L'Aut'Journal suggests that Québec makes sure "that the draft treaty on self-government in Nunavik, currently being drafted, will not take into account any arguments similar to the partitionist claims that were put forward during the 1995 referendum campaign". For him, the Québec state must "assume right now its nordicity." According to his paternalistic vision, Québec's role would be to protect the interests of the Inuit of Nunavik at the international level, "in the same measure that Canada does with those in Nunavut, and Denmark with those of Greenland."
The right to independence for Binette, is first and foremost the right of the strongest, the one from the dominant nations and particularly their ruling classes to occupy and colonize other territories and to secure their profits.
Mr. Binette laments that the Inuit who live on some islands a few hundred meters off Québec territory are not considered "Québécois" whereas their relatives living in Nunavik are. But the fact is that whether they are in Nunavut, Nunavik, Greenland or elsewhere, the Inuit are primarily… Inuit! And in light of what was seen recently in the Montréal's Villeray district (where the district administration, including a former Parti Québécois MP Elsie Lefebvre, combined with a racist local notary, fought against a project to establish a shelter for Inuit who had to undergo medical treatment in Montréal), one wonders why the Inuit should consider themselves "Québécois."
The legal arguments of lawyer Binette, that are based on the Canadian Constitution and international law, show how racism and national oppression of indigenous peoples (including Inuit) are institutionalized. They also demonstrate, perhaps inadvertently, how former Québec premier Jean Lesage's moto "Maîtres chez nous" at the start of what was to be called the "Quiet Revolution" served as an ideological foundation for building a strong state, whose colonial claims are in no way different than those of the former British Empire and of modern Canada.
That L'Aut'Journal makes itself the spokesperson for a position as chauvinistic is in retrospect hardly surprising. This newspaper, which sometimes still claims to "defend workers" and to be "popular," is primarily a nationalist one. And its nationalism is of a nation led by an imperialist bourgeoisie which, objectively, is involved in the subjugation of indigenous nations and peoples of oppressed countries.
L'Aut'Journal was created in 1984 by a core of activists, including its current editor Pierre Dubuc, who had been associated with a small Hoxhaite group called the "Bolshevik Union of Canada." This group loudly made itself known in the 1970s having been one of the first, if not the first to correctly uphold the right to self-determination for First Nations living on Canadian territory. That position, which apparently had been dictated by its willingness to criticize other Marxist-Leninist groups that limited themselves to recognizing only partial Aboriginal right to "self-government," was however quickly set aside in favor of an absolute and unconditional support to bourgeois nationalism in Québec.
The publication of this recent article by André Binette shows once again that Pierre Dubuc has long abandoned his Marxist pretensions. Is it not Engels himself who wrote this simple elementary sentence, namely that "A nation cannot become free and at the same time continue to oppress other nations?"
(First published in Le Drapeau Rouge, No. 94, October 2010)
The Whole Working Class Is Under Attack
Boycott the Elections!


Jesus pronounced an exceptional blessing on those who are inwardly spacious, accepting on themselves the full burden of existence, living without a sense of entitlement, pursuing honesty and integrity, reaching out and helping others in need, cultivating pure and wholesome motives, and who are working diligently and patiently for peace.
Once again, we can detect a progression here. From inside to outside, the blessed and truly happy person is one who is deeply rooted in God and compassionately involved in the world. If this is Jesus' definition of "true religion," then it is curiously absent of orthodoxy and ceremony – the twin forces that hold together the system of conventional religion.
Since conventional religion rolls along smoothly so long as its members remain sufficiently entranced, the presence of even one awakened person who sees through all the mystification and pageantry is an intolerable threat. Soon questions will be asked and curiosity will be aroused.
And if these are not checked and thrown under judgment early enough, doubts will arise and the methods for enforcing conformity – catechism for the young and unison creeds for the standing congregation – will be exposed for the propaganda devices they are. The authoritarian system is debunked when just one dissident speaks up for truth. Actually, instead of always leading to disillusionment and collapse, this can be a moment of revelation and revival.
In retrospect we can see that, while Jesus gave his full attention to the promise of individual awakening, his longer vision was of a community of such enlightened and liberated persons who together can change the world. The full picture of this salvation process reveals the shape of a circle, beginning with the individual's complete immersion in the collective habits and beliefs of the tribe. This is the place of conventional religion.
Upon the moment of awakening, which may break suddenly or else gather more slowly over time with the accumulation of questions, doubts, and discoveries, the individual is granted a new perspective. The center of meaning shifts from the shared environment of traditions, symbols, rituals and myths, into the inner space of a deepening spirituality.
This is where the all-important "individuative-reflective" stage in faith development takes place, focusing with great intensity on the emergent need for a personal, relevant, and more mystically grounded worldview.
Finally – and this brings us full-circle, though many who make it this far choose at this point to opt out of "organized religion" altogether – the awakened one returns to the group to help in the formation of spiritual community, the corporate life of radical grace, universal compassion, and unconditional forgiveness.
But as we've said, conventional religion itself (and conventional society as a whole) resists and will even try to violently suppress the one who seeks the transcendent flame of truth. Better to keep that flame at a distance, framing it in our theologies and worshipping it in our sanctuaries.
If you should dare throw yourself into identity with it, as Jesus did, you'd better expect trouble with the authorities!
The complex systems of philosophy that religion constructs in its pursuit of a comprehensive worldview have often wandered into the fabulous and bazaar. Mythical beings, metaphysical dimensions, and elaborate theories of immortality of the transmigration of the soul can strain the limits of logic and common sense.
But then again, that shouldn't surprise us. The primary language of religion is more imaginative than intellectual. There is nothing inherently wrong with such musings, and the exquisite world pictures described in the religions are successful for many in getting them connected to a universe of higher meaning.
What Paul observed, however, is the way that all this "wisdom" can so fascinate and occupy us that we float off the earth and away from the real situations of life. So what if there are seven realms of angels surrounding the throne of God, or infinite Buddha-fields in the dimensionless expanse of nirvana – how does that help me "work out my salvation" (a phrase of Paul's) in the face of today's challenges.
Yes, it is helpful to know that I'm not alone in this sometimes crazy world, and that a greater wisdom is available to me if only I can transfer the focus of my awareness to a point beyond the urgencies of this moment. But how do I find my way back? And how can all of this help me become more authentic, more present to my life?
The "way back" for Paul was represented in the cross of Christ, the image of Jesus dying for the sake of his gospel.
Now, lest we think that Paul had a morbid obsession with torture and death, we must proceed into his theory of the cross with patience and care. To start with, it is imperative to know that, for Paul, the cross of Christ did not stand in utter isolation as the vertical axis around which world salvation turned.
He understood it, as it must be understood, in the light of Jesus' message and life. Without that context the cross can easily take on an almost magical power, or else get appropriated into a theory that completely contradicts the spirit and teaching of Jesus' gospel.
The cross as a talisman for warding off evil is a popular superstition still today, and atonement theories that interpret the crucifixion as serving to placate God's anger and pay sin's penalty are also prevalent among the mainline traditions of Christian orthodoxy. In each case, the way to understanding the cross of Christ as "the power and wisdom of God" is abandoned for something far less demanding.
The great revelation that came through Jesus had to do with the superiority of love in its aspect of compassion. Compassion is not love from a distance, or love in the abstract, or love on principle. It is love that "suffers with" another under the conditions of pain, brokenness, or bereavement. Jesus revealed the heart of God to be compassion, which to him meant that God is fully present with us in our struggle.
The "power and wisdom" of God's compassion hang on the cross in the midst of our world.
2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; 3 who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; 4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 5 who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
This can sound a lot like "works righteousness," a term used by Protestants against what has been perceived as the merit system of Catholic Christianity. Even though the list of virtues is unarguably beyond the abilities of any of us – who can "live blamelessly," do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart all the time? – are we being led to believe that moral performance is the key to eternal life?
Actually, this is yet another place where religion has reversed the proper order of cause and effect in the spiritual life. We must not assume that the psalmist is a booster for works righteousness (just as it is wrong to assume every Catholic is).
More likely, and if the writer of this particular psalm is David, then almost certainly the "good behaviors" that are listed and praised are to be understood as manifestations of a healthy communion with God, rather than as prescriptions for getting in God's good company. Causal order in the spiritual life is always inner to outer, soul into body, purity of heart bearing fruit in a life of moral commitments.
We might say that the shift by which a person becomes aware that life must be lived from the inside-out is the critical step from religious duty to spiritual calling. It's no longer about fitting in, defending the tradition, bowing to orthodoxy, or "pleasing God," but is instead about living authentically, loving expansively, and allowing the gracious presence of Spirit to live through you.
Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
One of the dangers that religion has had an impossible time avoiding is the temptation to think that its sacred symbols, ritual performances, and doctrinal formulations somehow qualify its members for God's special favor.
The elaborate superstructure of religious tradition, architecture, and orthodoxy can become so impressive as to eclipse the metaphysics of spirit altogether. Consequently the holy Mystery and gracious Presence at the heart of all things can get lost in a view obstructed by the self-glorification of a belief system.
As often as religion has fallen to this temptation of an inflated self-importance, there have thankfully arisen the clear lights of men and women who knew better. In the biblical narrative we can find Abraham stepping away from the polytheistic practices of his countrymen, Moses grinding up the golden calf idol of the impatient Israelites, Amos exposing the systemic violence and inhumanity in the government programs of his day, and later Jesus defending human dignity and demonstrating God's love in the face of a religion too fixated on being right to be concerned with doing good.
The prophet Micah was another one of these clear lights. In his day (a rough contemporary of Amos in the southern nation of Judah) so much of religion had collapsed into becoming little more than blind ceremony. People had been made to believe that giving the right sacrifice, on the right day, and in the right way, earned them merit in God's eyes.
What are sacrifices – and, we might add, what are buildings, writings, rituals, sacred objects, appointed officials, liturgies, and even tradition itself – but the "mechanics" of spirituality?
None of these things are that mystical current of creative power and love we call Spirit. Their role is to serve as vehicles for Spirit, icons of Spirit, witnesses to Spirit, and even bearers of Spirit, but never its substitutes or permanent containers. The problem, of course, is that Spirit is essentially ineffable (beyond words) and our brain (at least our left brain) is incessantly verbal.
Add to that the ingredient of our egos – that nervous bundle of insecure, guilt-ridden, and control-fixated self-consciousness – and you have the recipe for fundamentalism. Soon enough, we have made God in our own image: self-righteous, judgmental, vengeful and violent.
As one who "speaks for" God (Gk. prophetes), Micah confronted the dying system of his religion with the fresh winds of spirituality. What does God want of you, but to work for equality, practice charity, and cultivate your relationship with Spirit? Notice how these virtues and disciplines fit together in an organic whole: our journey deeper into God produces loving-kindness in us, which seeks to build a safe, fair, and just society for all.