text:
Pike County Health Department Home Health & Hospice
Public Health, Home Health, Hospice and so much more
Meet Our Board and Staff
Food Inspection Reports
Mental & Behavioral Health Services
Preventing Public Disease
Private Water Testing
Sewage & Septic System Information
Lifeline Medical Alert Service
Becoming a Mom
Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program
Car Seat Safety Program
Farm Safety for Just Kids
First Aid & CPR Classes
Program Presentations
Safe Sitter® & Safe @ Home® Training Courses
Need Help? / ¿Necesita Ud. ayuda?
PCHD Newsletters
SHOP PCHD
PCHD Web Admin January 19, 2023 0 Comment
Up to $5,000 sign on bonus for a Weekend RN!
We are also seeking a PRN Physical Therapist!
Learn more and apply online:
https://pikecountyhealth.org/about-us/career-opportunities/
Sickness on the rise in Pike County!
PCHD Web Admin December 14, 2022 December 14, 2022 0 Comment
It likely goes without saying that there are many unwelcomed illnesses arriving at your household this holiday season. Our communicable disease nurse reports that the COVID level is high as well as flu; especially influenza A. We are also aware that strep throat and RSV is hitting our county hard. We want to take this time to remind everyone to take these proper preventative precautions to keep yourself, your family and friends safe during this holiday season:
Check with your healthcare provider on vaccines you may be eligible for to help prevent illness such as Flu, Pneumonia and Covid.
Take everyday preventive measures to help reduce the spread of illnesses:
Avoid close contact with sick people
If you are sick, limit contact with others as much as possible
Do not go to work or school if you are sick
Cover coughs and sneezes
Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects
Holiday Diaper Give-Away!
PCHD Web Admin December 5, 2022 December 16, 2022 4 Comments
Tis the season for giving!
Pike County Health Department will be giving away diapers along with a gift bag containing baby wipes and other infant-related items.
Limit to 1 gift bag per family & 1 pack of diapers per child.
Dec. 12th-16th
Schedule your pick-up appointment right here! You can add up to 3 children on one appointment time. Can't make one of these pick-up dates and/or times? have more than 3 children in diapers? Contact our office today and we can help 573-324-2111.
*Diaper Drive has Ended* BUT you can still stop by our office anytime to receive a free pack of diapers!
PCHD Web Admin November 3, 2022 0 Comment
We are Hiring! Apply online right HERE! >>>
RN Case Manager or LPN Field Staff Nurse: PRN
The Pike County Health Department Home Health and Hospice is seeking an "as needed" nurse to assist with home visits for both home health and hospice. Applicant must have at least 1 year experience in home care or an acute setting. Applicant must also be familiar with patient assessments, quality of care, teaching of patients/caregivers, and performance of skilled procedures. Applicant must have a current nursing license in the state of Missouri.
Home Health & Hospice C.N.A.: PRN, Full-Time, OR Part-Time
Pike County Home Health and Hospice is currently seeking a compassionate Aide (C.N.A.) to provide patient care in and around the Pike County Missouri area. As a Home Health and Hospice Aide, you are responsible for observing the patient, reporting these observations, and documenting observations and care performed. Our Home Health and Hospice Aides are assigned in a manner that promotes quality, continuity, and safety of a patient's care. Must have High School Diploma or G.E.D., Minimum one (1) year experience as a C.N.A. in an acute care or long term care setting preferred but not required and one (1) year of hospice/home health experience preferred but not required. C.N.A. license preferred, Monday through Friday day shift with flexible schedule and amazing benefits.
Physical Therapist: PRN
Pike County Health Department Home Health and Hospice is looking for a compassionate and dedicated PRN Physical Therapist, PT, to join our team. We offer services to adult and geriatric clients throughout Pike, Lincoln, Ralls and Audrain counties. The Physical therapist provides direct patient care activities to home health patients according to physician orders in the home environment including assessment, evaluation, treatment planning, implementation and instruction/supervision of physical therapy practice. Establishes treatment plan and provides treatment, considering discharge needs; expected discharge functional status; and appropriate equipment and supplies. Educates, collaborates with, and conferences with patients, families, and other health care providers; making recommendations for referrals to specialists as needed. Completes documentation in accordance with agency policies. Provides reassessment and/or consultations for Physical Therapy Service. If you enjoy providing patient care within a home setting and are inspired to uphold our promise of quality care, this is your opportunity to make a difference!
Qualifications for a Physical Therapist (PT) include:
Current PT license in Missouri
Minimum of one (1) year clinical experience, preferably in an acute care or rehabilitation setting
Reliable transportation
Proof of current auto insurance
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor: Part Time
Pike County Health Dept. (@ Hannibal Regional Hospital). The Pike County WIC Program has an immediate opening for a part time (16.5 hours per week) non-benefit eligible position. The selected candidate will give basic breastfeeding information, support and encouragement to new mothers and help mothers achieve their own breastfeeding goals. Candidate must be willing to accept after hour phone calls, Breastfeeding support group at Hannibal Hospital, and make home visits. Personal breastfeeding experience is a must. Selected candidate must work a 16.5 hours per week. Must have good communication skills, computer skills and organizational skills.
This institution is an equal opportunity employer.
All COVID-19 Vaccines now Walk-In Welcome
PCHD Web Admin October 20, 2022 0 Comment
We are now able to offer all COVID -19 vaccines during our walk-in clinic hours – no appointment necessary for those ages 12 and up!
Pfizer: Ages 6 months+ (2-dose Primary Series & Booster doses available)
Moderna: Ages 12+(2-dose Primary Series & Booster doses available)
Novavax: Ages 12+(2-dose Primary Series available for those who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine yet)
Our Walk-In Clinic hours are: Monday through Friday : 8am-12pm & from 1pm-4pm
For those who are under the age of 12 you can book your appointment here >>>>
PCHD announces continued WIC contract and Income Guidelines
PCHD Web Admin September 30, 2022 0 Comment
Bowling Green, MO – The Pike County Health Department announces a contract continuance to provide WIC services for federal fiscal year 2023 has been signed with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a special supplemental nutrition program providing services to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up to their 5th birthday based on nutritional risk and income eligibility. The primary services provided are healthy, supplemental food, risk assessment, nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding promotion and support, health screening and referrals to health care. To be eligible for WIC, applicants must have an income of less than or equal to 185% of the poverty level and be at nutritional risk. Migrant families are also eligible.
WIC supplemental food packages are specially chosen to provide foods high in protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. Eligible women and children receive fortified milk and cheese, eggs, whole grain bread products, hot or cold cereals, 100% fruit juices, and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. The WIC program recommends breastfeeding, provides breastfeeding support, baby foods, and infant cereal. For women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, infants may receive supplemental, iron fortified formula. WIC participants obtain their foods by using their eWIC cards for specific items at participating local grocery stores and pharmacies.
Studies confirm that pregnant women who enroll in WIC during the early months of pregnancy have fewer low birth weight babies, experience fewer infant deaths, see the doctor earlier in pregnancy and eat healthier.
WIC is administered in Pike County by the Pike County Health Dept. Persons interested in applying or who are in need of more information should contact the Pike County Health Dept. at 573-324-2111. WIC clinics are offered at 1 Healthcare Place, Bowling Green, Missouri, 63334 and 608 S. Carolina St., Louisiana, Missouri, 63353. Hours of both 9am-4:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. WIC can be reached 8am-4:30pm Monday-Friday.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
email: program.intake@usda.gov
Missouri WIC Income Guidelines – May 1, 2022
Guidelines reflect gross (pre-tax) income. Family Size Annual Monthly Twice-Monthly Bi-Weekly Weekly
1 $25,142 $2,096 $1,048 $967 $484
2 $33,874 $2,823 $1,412 $1,303 $652
5 $60,070 $5,006 $2,503 $2,311 $1,156
10 $103,730 $8,645 $4,323 $3,990 $1,995
12 $121,194 $10,100 $5,050 $4,662 $2,331
Each additional family member Plus $8,732 Plus $728 Plus $364 Plus $336 Plus $168
Body Safety Parent Night – Free Event!
Join us for a free event, no registration required! This program will discuss information about child sexual abuse, how to reinforce safety lessons at home, and prevention tips on how to keep kids safe. This event will be held on Thursday, October 16th at 6pm in our community conference room (side entrance).
The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities. CSA is also not uniformly defined, so statistics may vary. Statistics below represent some of the research done on child sexual abuse.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau report Child Maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted (page 24).
Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, show that:
1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse;
Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident;
During a one-year period in the U.S., 16% of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Over the course of their lifetime, 28% of U.S. youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Children are most vulnerable to CSA between the ages of 7 and 13.
According to a 2003 National Institute of Justice report, 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well.
Download this flyer >>>
Temporary benefit increase extended for Missouri WIC participants
PCHD Web Admin September 30, 2022 September 30, 2022 0 Comment
New benefit amounts begin Oct. 1
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Missouri WIC announces the extension of the temporary increase of the Cash Value Benefit for Fruit and Vegetable Purchases (CVB) starting Oct. 1, 2022. The new amounts will be $25 per month for child participants, $44 per month for pregnant and postpartum participants and $49 per month for breastfeeding participants. Previous CVB values range from $9 – $11. WIC is the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Eligible participants need to contact their WIC local agency starting Sept. 30 to schedule an appointment to load the additional benefits on their eWIC card before redeeming any October benefits. Participants who redeem any October benefits before receiving the increase will not receive the increase until November.
Missouri WIC provides additional healthy fruits and vegetables for up to 60,000 women and children per month. WIC families have the opportunity to shop for nutritious foods at approximately 600 authorized WIC retailers throughout Missouri and can receive services at any of the 116 local agencies. WIC serves financially eligible women, infants and children under the age of five. Fathers, stepparents, foster parents, grandparents and guardians are also encouraged to apply for WIC benefits for any children in the household under the age of five.
Missouri WIC provides quality nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, nutritious foods and referrals to health services. It is also one of the most successful, cost-effective and important nutrition intervention programs in the country.
Missourians interested in learning about the benefits of WIC may visit wic.mo.gov or call TEL-LINK at 1-800-835-5465 to find the WIC local agency closest to them.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. Nondiscrimination and complaint information can be found on our website at wic.mo.gov.
WIC is funded by the USDA and is administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
New DHSS branding: https://stateofmissouri.app.box.com/s/8ijidcbv6720oirugqk234im28fik35x
About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS): The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at health.mo.gov or find us on Facebook and Twitter @HealthyLivingMo.
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Now Available
We now offer the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is authorized as a 2-dose primary series only—and not as a booster dose—at this time and is is for those ages 12 and older.
Learn about the recommended timing between the Novavax COVID-19 vaccines for people >>>
*UPDATED* Pfizer & Moderna bivalent boosters now available
*Updated 9/15/2022 to include Moderna bivalent boosters*
We are now stocked with the Pfizer & Moderna bivalent boosters and have set up walk-in clinic dates to make it easy for you to receive yours! We will be offering these boosters at all of our shot clinics as well as the following dates and times at our office:
September 13th: 1-4pm
September 22nd: 1-4pm
Updated COVID-19 boosters are now available. What are they, who should get them, and when?
On September 1, 2022, the CDC issued new recommendations for COVID-19 boosters, after the FDA authorized updated booster formulas from both Pfizer and Moderna. The CDC recommends that everyone who is eligible stay up-to-date on vaccinations by getting an updated booster dose at least 2 months after their last COVID-19 shot—either since their last booster dose, or since completing their primary series. Pfizer's updated booster shot is recommended for individuals 12 and older, and Moderna's updated booster shot is recommended for adults 18 and older.
These new boosters contain an updated bivalent formula that both boosts immunity against the original coronavirus strain and also protects against the newer Omicron variants that account for most of the current cases. Updated boosters are intended to provide optimal protection against the virus and address waning vaccine effectiveness over time.
Eligible individuals can get either the Pfizer or Moderna updated booster, regardless of whether their primary series or most recent dose was with Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
As per the CDC's recommendations, the new bivalent booster replaces the existing monovalent vaccine booster, therefore that vaccine will no longer be authorized for use as booster doses in people age 12 and up.
Walk-In Clinic Hours:
8:00 am to 12:00 pm & 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
2023 Holiday Closings
Pike County Health Department
Home Health & Hospice
1 Healthcare Place, Bowling Green, MO 63334
FAX Home Health & Hospice: 573-324-5517
FAX Public Health: 573-324-3057
FAX Communicable Disease: 573-324-3133
Patients for After Hours Nurse: 573-324-2111 Option #9
facebook@bgpchd
<< Subscribe to PCHD E-NEWS! >>
Copyright © 2023 Pike County Health Department Home Health & Hospice
Keep up-to-date on our upcoming activities.
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The former contestant on "The Apprentice" who followed President Trump to the White House also reportedly recorded her conversations with him.
According to a report Wednesday in the Daily Beast, Omarosa Manigault-Newman not only used her smartphone to record secretly her conversations with Mr. Trump, but has been using her tapes to help shop her upcoming "tell-all" book.
One of those sources had heard the tapes personally and it did involve Mr. Trump, the Daily Beast reporters wrote.
Such recordings would still "represent a dramatic betrayal of trust by a one-time Trump confidant who has since abandoned years of professed loyalty to the president and has apparently decided to profit off her years of closeness to Trump," the online magazine wrote.


text:
Australian academics weigh in on explosion in Beirut
Wednesday 19, Aug 2020
Explosions in Lebanon's capital Beirut have killed 78 people and injured thousands more, sending an enormous blast wave across the city. Lebanon's Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, said the main blast at Beirut's port was caused when an estimated 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate ignited. Diab said the chemical had been left unsecured for six years in a warehouse, and vowed to punish those responsible. Australian experts from the Australian National University and Flinders University have addressed the explosion itself, the chemical involved and the disaster response.
Dr David Caldicott is an Emergency Consultant and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Medicine at the Australian National University. Dr Caldicott said the explosion in Beirut can be considered as a 'high order' explosion, with an obvious blast wave seen to be propagated from a secondary explosion that followed on from the event. Dr Caldicott believes that could have serious implications for the number and types of casualties that might be expected, with the reported number of deaths likely to be higher than currently identified.
"Ammonium nitrate is an important fertiliser, but also a key component in improvised explosives around the world," Dr Caldicott said. "The Oklahoma bombing in 1995 involved 3–4 tonnes of the material, and it has been alleged that as much as 2600 tonnes has been involved in Beirut's case." Dr Caldicott used computer modelling to research the possible effects of a five-tonne ammonium nitrate/fuel oil device on the Adelaide CBD in the mid-2000s, with results showing several hundred dead and thousands injured. Shortly after, more stringent accounting of ammonium nitrate was introduced in Australia.
"The cause of such a blast will still be under investigation — whether it was accidental or deliberate is still unclear. Given the geopolitical history of the region, either is still possible," Dr Caldicott said.
Associate Professor Stewart Walker, from the School of Forensic, Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at Flinders University, has interests in ammonium nitrate and other improvised explosives. "Ammonium nitrate is classified as a Dangerous Good (Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail (ADG Code), 7th Edition). It is classified as 'not flammable' but will support a fire by providing oxygen to burn with a 'risk of explosion'," Associate Professor Walker said. According to Associate Professor Walker, ammonium nitrate contains two groups: the ammonia, which contains a nitrogen and four hydrogens that provide the fuel, and the nitrate, comprised of a nitrogen and three oxygens that provide the oxygen necessary for combustion. If heated, then the three components of the fire-triangle (fuel, oxygen and heat) are present.
Associate Professor Walker explained that an explosion occurs when a large amount of an energetic substance detonates, producing a large volume of confined, hot gases that expand and cause a shockwave. "The video footage of the incident shows initial white/grey smoke followed by an explosion that released a large cloud of red/brown smoke and a large white 'mushroom cloud'," Associate Professor Walker said. "These indicate that the gases released are white ammonium nitrate fumes, toxic, red/brown nitrous oxide and water."
Associate Professor Walker noted that other incidents have occurred in Australia, where ammonium nitrate in storage or transit caused an explosion. A truck carrying ammonium nitrate experienced an electrical fault and a fire and exploded, killing three people in Taroom, Queensland, in August 1972. Similarly, a truck carrying ammonium nitrate exploded after rolling in Wyandra, Queensland, in September 2014. "Implementation of safe handling and risk assessments have kept the number of incidents involving ammonium nitrate down," Associate Professor Walker said.
Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen, Leader of the Telecommunications Research Laboratory at Flinders University, has researched disaster and attack resilient technology. "Where the health system or other critical infrastructure is already strained, this leaves the population particularly vulnerable to tragic events such as this," Dr Gardner-Stephen said, "as the system has little or no spare capacity to respond to the surge in demand." Dr Gardner-Stephen believes that the current coronavirus (COVID-19) overwhelmed the supply of ventilators and intensive care beds in hospitals, along with the supply of a range of facilities.
Resultantly, lives that could have otherwise been saved following a disaster like the explosions in Lebanon will be lost. Dr Gardner-Stephen said the challenge for the global community is to find ways to help all nations to strengthen their health, water, food, communications, education and other critical infrastructure. "Preparation is always much cheaper than response, if we can find ways to afford it," Dr Gardner-Stephen said.
Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Hiba

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It was wonderful getting to meet everyone involved with Pulse and putting a name with a face. The passion and committment for our Pulse assignments was inspiring. I look forward to sharing our 2014 Pulse stories!


text:
Picchio dal Pozzo est un groupe de rock progressif italien, originaire de Gênes. Il est formé en 1976 et encore en activité. C'est un des rares groupes de rock italiens que l'on peut rattacher à l'école de Canterbury.

Biographie
L'activité de Picchio dal Pozzo est occasionnelle ; seuls cinq albums ont été publiés en 40 ans (1976-2011). Le style musical du groupe diverge du rock progressif italien classique, et s'inspire de la scène de Canterbury, et de groupes de jazz rock/avant-garde (comme Soft Machine, Henry Cow et Frank Zappa). Le nom Picchio dal Pozzo (qui signifie littéralement ) émerge lorsque l'un des membres réalise une couverture qui montre un chevalier en armure avec une plume sur le casque ; Picchio dal Pozzo devait être le nom du chevalier

Même si le groupe n'atteint pas le succès commercial, ses morceaux sont bien accueillis par la presse. Leur premier album, l'éponyme Picchio dal Pozzo (1976, dédié à Robert Wyatt) est décrit comme le  et reste apprécié des connaisseurs.

Leur deuxième album, Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi, est plus expérimental, et est comparé à Zappa, Henry Cow, The Muffins, et National Health. Après la sortie de  Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi, Picchio dal Pozzo se sépare.

Au début des années 2000, les albums de Picchio dal Pozzo sont réédités, et un nouvel album, Camere Zimmer Rooms, est publié. Le groupe joue aussi sur scène. En 2004, ils sortent leur premier album depuis 1980, Picnic @ Valdapozzo, avec Demetrio Stratos. Le groupe reste actif en 2011.

Membres

Membres actuels
 Aldo de Scalzi - claviers, percussions, chant (depuis 1976)
 Paolo Griguolo - guitare, chant (depuis 1976)
 Andrea Beccari - basse, chant (depuis 1976)
 Roberto Romani - saxophone, flûte (depuis 1977)
 Aldo di Marco - batterie, percussions (depuis 1977)

Anciens membres
 Giorgio Karaghiosoff - saxophone, flûte, percussions, chant (1976)
 Claudio Lugo - saxophone, flûte (1977-1979)

Discographie

Albums studio
 1976 : Picchio dal Pozzo (Grog)
 1980 : Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi (L'Orchestra)
 2001 : Camere Zimmer Rooms (Cuneiform)
 2004 : Pic_nic @ Valdapozzo (Auditorium)

EP
 1980 : Uccellin dal bosco (L'Orchestra)

Apparitions
 1981 : Raccomandato di vinile, L'Orchestra (contient Uccellin dal bosco)
 1982 : Recommended Records Sampler, Recommended (sorti uniquement au Royaume-Uni, contient Uccellin dal bosco)

Notes et références

Liens externes

Groupe italien de rock progressif
Groupe musical formé en 1976

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Financial planning and investing
carbon free investing
Carbon-free investing
Fossil fuel investments are bad for our environmental future – are they bad for our financial future too?
By Andy Kollmorgen
andykollmorgen
Are fossil fuels bound to lose value?
Why not help reverse the tide of global warming and protect your investments at the same time? That's the question posed by the Australia Institute in a May 2014 report that calls for a re-think on future returns.
Prepared in partnership with 350.org and Market Forces, the report argues that now is the time to start ridding your investment portfolio of fossil fuel assets. Why? Because the carbon-emitting companies and their financial backers are bound to see their share prices drop when they're forced to comply with tougher emissions standards and leave the fuel where they found it. Plus, an ethical investing strategy is better for the planet.
The phenomenon has come to be known as "stranded assets" or "unburnable carbon". The Australia Institute argues that regardless of where you stand on the global warming debate, divesting from carbon producers and their backers won't significantly impact your return on investment in the longer term.
What's the problem with fossil fuel shares?
The trap waiting to spring shut on everyday investors is that the corporations haven't factored climate change into their balance sheets. So fossil fuels that are still in the ground are counted as assets, even though the corporations may not be able to mine all of them. The institute's report says that when the expected mandatory climate change mitigation rules come into play over the coming years and those assets aren't realised, shares related to fossil fuels will take a big drop and investment portfolios will take a big hit.
Even without a personal investment account, many – if not most – Australians would still be vulnerable because of fossil fuel-related assets in their superannuation accounts.
The report cites a London-based think tank, Carbon Tracker, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They claim that most of the world's coal, oil and gas reserves will remain untapped if polluters are obliged to stick to a "carbon budget" aimed at limiting global warming to a maximum of 2°C. According to the institute, "fossil fuel companies have committed to extract over three times this budget".
Are you investing in fossil fuels?
It can be hard to know if you're investing in carbon producers or services that support them. To find out, here's what you need to check:
Do you have direct share holdings in fossil fuel companies? Check your latest portfolio statement.
Do you have an account with a bank that lends your money to companies that build the infrastructure used to extract, transport and burn fossil fuels?
Are you a member of a super fund or managed fund invested in fossil fuel businesses? Ask your super fund provider for a breakdown of investments. "Energy" shares generally means fossil fuels.
Can you go green and still profit?
Screening out fossil fuel producers and related companies doesn't mean you'll have to accept lower returns on your investments, according to the Australia Institute's calculations. It compared a portfolio of a specially selected group of ASX 200 companies whose business model doesn't depend on fossil fuel with the full ASX 200 list over a projected 10-year period. The findings? Getting rid of fossil fuel-related investments had "no significant impact" on returns.
Ethical investing made easy
The Australia Institute divides publicly listed miners, fossil fuel-related companies and banks into four categories depending on their level of exposure to fossil fuels. The lower the category, the more likely the company's shares will decrease in value due to being left with stranded assets.
Banks that don't lend to coal and gas
The big four banks (NAB, CBA, Westpac and ANZ) are all involved in lending money to fossil fuel businesses. The following financial institutions are some that claim to have steered clear of fossil fuel financing. Check the Market Forces website for a more complete breakdown.
Defence Bank
Members Equity Bank
Beyond Bank
People's Choice Credit Union
CHOICE verdict
The Australia Institute mounts a strong case for the phenomenon of unburnable carbon. Although it's generally not practical for consumers to ask their super funds to realign their portfolios to avoid carbon-related assets, it may be a good time to have a look at your investments and consider the perspective outlined by the report.
The institute identifies a number of ethically managed funds with little or no fossil fuel exposure, including Australian Ethical's Smaller Companies Trust, Hunter Hall's Deep Green Trust and Perpetual's Wholesale Ethical SRI Fund. We think protecting your investment account from future loss and cutting down on carbon emissions are both pretty good goals.
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text:
require "spec_helper"
require "capistrano/ext/sshkit/backend/thread_local"

module SSHKit
  module Backend
    describe "#current" do
      require "sshkit/dsl"

      it "refers to the currently executing backend" do
        backend = nil
        current = nil

        on(:local) do
          backend = self
          current = SSHKit::Backend.current
        end

        expect(current).to eq(backend)
      end

      it "is nil outside of an on block" do
        on(:local) do
          # nothing
        end

        expect(SSHKit::Backend.current).to be_nil
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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School and Education news | Njus Australia
Blood sucking capitalists fasten on international students
School and Education MacroBusiness Friday, July 19, 2019 2:01:41 PM
The extraordinary growth in international student numbers (see below chart) has led to accusations that Australia's tertiary education providers are using them as "cash cows" to be milked for easy fees and profits: And it's not hard to see why.
Creative Generation takes the stage
School and Education Townsville Bulletin Friday, July 19, 2019 8:26:57 AM
Queensland state high school students in action during the first performance of Creative Generation 2019. Video: Liam Kidston
NCVER report shows disturbing VET trend
School and Education Campus Review Friday, July 19, 2019 5:39:34 AM
New figures released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show a 6 per cent decline in government-funded VET students across Australia between 2015 and 2018, sparking concerns about the state of the sector. However, two
'New figures released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) show a 6 per cent decline in government-funded VET students across Australia between 2015 and 2018, sparking concerns about the state of the sector. However, two jurisdictions bucked the trend by showing growth, analysis by Claire Field and Associates shows. New South Wales, for instance, posted a growth of 26 per cent over the same period. In 2015 there were 318,375 government-funded VET students in the state studying at TAFE as well as 'other' providers. The figure jumped significantly to 421, 095 the following year before falling back to 390,945 in 2017. In 2018, government-funded VET students in NSW increased again to 400, 890. Annual 1.9% decline in government-funded VET is not the most worrying figure. There's been a 6% decline since 2015 – which includes growth in NSW of 26%. Excluding NSW the overall decline was 18% @NCVER @TafeDirectors @ITECAust More at: https://t.co/ecLRNNBayK pic.twitter.com/NO4gdUHW7t — Claire Field & Assoc (@CFieldAssoc) July 19, 2019 The ACT was also another standout jurisdiction in terms of government-funded students. In a similar vein to NSW, the ACT posted solid numbers in 2015 (16, 275) before experiencing a decrease the following year. Government-funded VET student numbers increased again in the following years, with 17,745 such students in the ACT in 2018. New figures from @ncver show another annual decline in the VET sector. Student numbers down 1.9 per cent in 2018, with new enrolments falling 5.7 per cent. Business wants urgent action to boost the ailing sector. https://t.co/vWsywCzR0c — Fergus Hunter (@fergushunter) July 18, 2019 All other states and territories recorded declines in student numbers, with Victoria recording a whopping 26 per cent decrease. Last year an estimated 1.1 million students in Australia were enrolled in a government-funded VET course. The NCVER report also found that overall subject enrolments dropped by 5.7 per cent between 2017 and 2018 and hours and full-time training equivalents decreased by 6.4 per cent over the same period. All the more reason that #FreeTAFE in Victoria is so important Looking forward to a significant boost in Victorian #VET numbers for 2019 VET leads to high paying jobs in skill shortage areas & is a passport to the world of work @NCVER @AVETRA1 @DETVic @31LLENS @CEAV_echo https://t.co/oNUIV0Dy0a — Wimmera SM LLEN (@WSMLLEN) July 18, 2019 The report follows wide-spread concern about the state of the VET sector, with concerns an ailing sector will be ill-equipped to handle the skills shortages and business demands of the future.'
Fire engulfs building at heritage-listed Queensland school
School and Education ABC News Friday, July 19, 2019 5:50:01 AM
Firefighters are battling a blaze at Warwick East State School on Queensland's Southern Downs, one of the oldest schools in the state with a building that dates back to the 1850s.
'Evil' US doctoral student spared death over Chinese woman's brutal murder
School and Education 9News Friday, July 19, 2019 1:54:50 AM
A former University of Illinois doctoral student was spared the death penalty Thursday and sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and killing a 26-year-old scholar from China.
'A former University of Illinois doctoral student was spared the death penalty Thursday and sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and killing a 26-year-old scholar from China. Her parents, disappointed he was not sentenced to death, publicly begged for the killer to reveal where her remains are so they can be returned home. Jurors deliberated about eight hours over two days before announcing they were deadlocked on whether 30-year-old Brendt Christensen should be put to death for killing Yingying Zhang in 2017 as part of a homicidal fantasy, automatically resulting in a sentence of life behind bars without the possibility of parole. The federal trial judge, James Shadid, castigated Christensen in court later Thursday as he formally sentenced him, telling him his \'inexplicable act of violence has taken its toll on so many, first and foremost the Zhang family.\' \'The Zhang family .. must live with the thought that Yingying was ripped away from them by a total stranger, thousands of miles away, fulfilling his self-absorbed and selfish fantasies,\' he told Christensen. The same jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict Christensen last month for abducting Zhang from a bus stop, then raping, choking and stabbing her before beating her to death with a bat and decapitating her. Prosecutors called for the death penalty, which the Zhang family also supported, but a jury decision on that had to be unanimous. Christensen, who has never revealed what he did with Zhang's remains , shut his eyes in obvious relief and looked back smiling at his mother when he heard that his life would be spared. He also hugged his lawyers. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011, but Christensen was charged under federal law, which allows for capital punishment. Speaking through an interpreter outside court later, her father, Ronggao Zhang, appealed to Christensen to reveal where her body is so that the family can take her remains back to China. \'If you have any humanity left in your soul, please end our torment. Please let us bring Yingying home,\' he said. The US Attorney for Central Illinois, John Milhiser, said that efforts to find Zhang's remains would continue. As he spoke, Zhang's mother, Lifeng Ye, sobbed. When the judge asked Christensen if he wanted to make a statement at the formal sentencing on Thursday, Christensen responded politely, \'No, thank you.\' Minutes later, Shadid blasted him for not taking the opportunity to make a statement for the first time publicly and express remorse, especially when he no longer had anything to lose. \'You could have said whatever you wanted to say for as little or as long as you wished,\' the judge said sternly. \'And yet today, 769 days after you took Yingying's life, you could not muster a simple 'I'm sorry.'\' As the judge chided him, Christensen sat stone-faced, looking straight ahead and not at the judge. Shadid said he hoped Christensen might one day consider an apology before he dies \'lonely\' and \'isolated\' in prison. \'Maybe, just maybe,\' the judge said, \'the moment will strike you to pick up paper and pen and write, 'I'm sorry,' to Mr. and Mrs. Zhang.\' Getting 12 jurors to agree on imposing the ultimate punishment can be difficult. Defence lawyer Elisabeth Pollock geared her remarks in closings on Wednesday toward convincing at least one of the 12 jurors to hold out against execution, urging each not to be swayed by a majority that may support execution. She also sought to humanise Christensen, telling jurors how he once bought a stuffed toy his sister wanted using his allowance money. She teared up as she walked behind Christensen, put her hands on his shoulders and said, \'He is not just the worst thing he ever did.\' Prosecutor James Nelson said during his closing that Christensen is heard laughing as he described in a secret FBI recording how he killed Zhang. \'Pride was dripping from his voice\' about what he'd done, Nelson told jurors. Another prosecutor, Eugene Miller, added: \'What the defendant did was evil.\' Among the most poignant testimony during the penalty phase was from Zhang's mother. She said Christensen dashed Zhang's dreams, killing her months before she had planned to get married. \'My daughter did not get to wear a wedding dress,\' she said. \'I really wanted to be a grandma.\' Christensen's parents took the witness stand, too, and appealed to jurors to spare their son's life. Both said they loved him unconditionally. Christensen, a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, began his studies in Champaign at the university's prestigious doctoral program in physics in 2013. Zhang, who had aspired to become a crop-sciences professor to help her working class family financially, had been in Illinois for just three months. It was her first time living outside China.'
Why I'm Still Irrationally Angry That Schools Banned Trading Cards Back In The '00s
School and Education Pedestrian TV Friday, July 19, 2019 2:47:29 AM
Look, I get that schools have to put certain measurements in place for the safety and wellbeing of the students. However, there's a difference between looking out for the young'uns and straight-up ruining a good time because you're crusty and out of
17 John Gray Avenue, Mooroopna
School and Education Shepparton News RSS Feed Friday, July 19, 2019 2:32:42 AM
Close to sporting facilities and an easy walk to schools and shops This spacious family home is set on a large block in one of the most desirable streets in Mooroopna. With space for six cars this would be a great house for a family whose children..
Silicon Valley has hijacked the language of space
School and Education The Australian Financial Review Friday, July 19, 2019 1:49:19 AM
Letting Silicon Valley steal the term 'moonshot' hurts our collective ability to understand just what NASA achieved 50 years ago.
What is authentic assessment and do we need it in higher education?
School and Education Campus Review Friday, July 19, 2019 12:00:46 AM
There are many fad and buzz words in the higher education sphere. Most recently the terms authentic learning and authentic assessment have been spruiked as essential to good pedagogy. But what is authentic assessment and do we need it in higher
'There are many fad and buzz words in the higher education sphere. Most recently the terms authentic learning and authentic assessment have been spruiked as essential to good pedagogy. But what is authentic assessment and do we need it in higher education? The short answer is yes. However, it is more complex than it first appears. Authentic assessment aims to provide students with the replication of tasks they will complete in "industry", which in itself is a very broad term. Does this mean the tourism industry, auto industry, fashion industry, or some other yet to be defined industry for Gen Z graduates (born after 1995)? In addition, given the relatively new focus on authentic assessment, does this mean that what we have previously provided students was inherently inauthentic assessment? Hopefully not. Yet, while providing a real-world context for assessment appears logical, the continued dominance of essays and exams across many disciplines suggests we have a way to go in terms of "authenticity". Authentic assessment and student engagement In addition to forging stronger industry knowledge, authentic assessment is heralded as the answer to dwindling student engagement in higher education, especially for on-campus learners. Indeed, attendance at most universities has dropped significantly as technology provides students with the flexibility of studying from home, on the train or even at the beach or pub. Authentic assessment is the application of "real world" tasks that enable students to demonstrate the attainment of new knowledge and skills within an educational context. There is growing evidence that authentic assessment can enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This assessment can come in a variety of forms, including simulation of a discipline-relevant task, conducting field research, or pitching an idea to industry, academics or peers. The role of "Industry" Most definitions of authentic assessment claim that having links to industry, and even co-creation of assessment, enables more authentic assessment. Yet, this in itself creates issues in terms of quality and academic rigour and compliance, as employers are usually unaware of tertiary education standards or the importance of curriculum mapping. It is arguable that most industry training is better suited to the vocational education sector rather than higher education, where more lofty aims are postulated. This said, there can be little argument that the workforce of tomorrow will be more volatile and complex than that of today, signifying the importance of strengthening industry engagement. It is argued that more active involvement with industry provides students with a taste of the future that awaits them outside of university, and therefore better prepares them for the future world of work. Is authentic assessment the "cure" for student cheating? Despite earlier claims by some that implementing authentic assessment will mean cheating will be non-existent, we now understand this is not entirely true. Authentic assessment can help reduce the likelihood of plagiarism and contract cheating, however, it does not provide a silver bullet. Although authentic assessment is widely recognised as an important feature of good assessment design, even the most authentic and personalised assessment task can still be outsourced. As previous scholars have suggested, what is important is that the motivation and opportunity to cheat is minimised. The best thing we as academics can do to reduce student cheating is to design engaging, and perhaps even fun, assessment tasks where the inherent value in completing that task is obvious to the student. Developing a shared understanding of authentic assessment Authentic assessment has the potential to benefits all parties, including students, teachers, administrators and ultimately employers. However, a clear understanding of what authentic assessment is, and how to successfully implement it throughout a degree, is needed. Importantly, this involves a recognition that authentic assessment occurs on a continuum and that there are degrees of authenticity. Indeed, not all assessment tasks must involve working directly on an outcomes-based project for an industry partner. Not only would this be a logistical nightmare, given the number of units in a degree, but it would also be difficult to accomplish given the number of students in some units. It is also unfair to expect first year students to be able to produce work that is of an acceptable standard for industry. After all, this is what they are at university to learn, otherwise they would most likely be employed already. Instead, other forms of authentic assessment such as case studies using real-world data, analysis of recent media articles, or the development of role-play scenarios, may be more appropriate. To embrace authentic learning, teachers need to better understand the opportunities and limitations of authentic assessment and be prepared to move away from the comfort of more traditional assessment tasks. Universities and administrators need to support teachers who want to create innovative and authentic assessment tasks that motivate and engage students. This means providing time, technical support services, professional development opportunities and potentially even financial support to staff. At the same time, industry needs to understand the broader objectives of higher education, around skills development, communication, problem-solving etc. and work within the existing regulatory frameworks that govern the quality of higher education courses. Students, too, need to understand the benefits of more authentic assessment, and realise that not every assessment will be an exact replication of what they will (hopefully) be doing upon graduation. Some tasks will help to develop more generic skills, such as communication and team-work skills. If all stakeholders understand and commit to their role of engaging with authentic assessment, then the potential benefits for all parties, including society, will be realised. Dr Ryan Jopp has co-ordinated a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and online units at various institutions, across the fields of management, tourism and marketing. After completing his PhD in 2012, he has had several articles published in top-rated journals and has presented his findings at international conferences. In his role as Academic Director at Swinburne University, he is responsible for ensuring quality and consistency of course delivery. He has also developed his research in scholarship of teaching and learning, particularly relating to authentic learning and assessment. The full version of this article was first published in Teaching in Higher Education :1-17 .'
Nation's Teens Unsure How To Measure Self Worth Now That Instagram Not Showing Likes
School and Education The Shovel Thursday, July 18, 2019 11:34:09 PM
Sydney student Lily Maples has been left without any way of determining her value to society, it has emerged. With Instagram deciding to hide the number of likes a post gets on its platform in Australia, millions of people like Lily now have
'Sydney student Lily Maples has been left without any way of determining her value to society, it has emerged. With Instagram deciding to hide the number of likes a post gets on its platform in Australia, millions of people like Lily now have absolutely no way of telling whether they are living a fulfilling life or not. "It's now totally impossible for me to know whether I'm better than Naomi Benson. Or Katie Wilson for that matter," Maples reported. "I literally don't know whether to feel good about myself or not. "Like the other day I posted this selfie that was super hot and my self worth was something like 180, compared with Katie Wilson's, which I think was less than 100. Actually, I know it was less than 100. It was 89. But the point is, what about today? It could be 200 or 20. I've got no way of knowing". The change will have wider implications, Maples said. She now has no way of telling which Instagram influencers to look up to. "And how do I know if my lunch is acceptable to other people? This is a nightmare"'
Weekly roundup 8: : Research links to 're-education' camps, Grattan departures and reputation rankings
School and Education Campus Review Thursday, July 18, 2019 11:21:09 PM
Hi and welcome to another Campus Review weekly roundup of the top news stories we covered this week. I'm Wade Zaglas, the education editor. All stories can be found on our site, campusreview.com.au. You can either read this summary or listen to the
'Hi and welcome to another Campus Review weekly roundup of the top news stories we covered this week. I'm Wade Zaglas, the education editor. All stories can be found on our site, campusreview.com.au. You can either read this summary or listen to the podcast below. A Four Corners report on alleged links between two Australian universities and China's 're-education' camps hit the headlines this week. The explosive report revealed that the University of Technology Sydney and Curtin University were reviewing their research funding and approval procedures over concerns research associated with both was being employed in detecting and detaining ethic minority groups in Xinjiang, China. Both universities condemned the alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang and denied any links. Associate Professor James Leibold from La Trobe University, an expert in ethnic minority groups in China, urged Australian universities to sever any links they have with the Chinese Communist Party. "I think UTS and other universities here in Australia that have connections with any party state company, particularly in the military or security sector, needs to end those contracts, and to pull out of those collaborative arrangements," Leibold told Four Corners. This week the Grattan Institute revealed it will be ending its Higher Education Program , which is as old as the institute itself. The decision coincides with the departure of program director Andrew Norton, who will leave the institute in September. The Higher Education Program contributed significantly to the policy directions of the sector over the years and offered practical solutions and recommendations to improve it. Reflecting on Andrew Norton's time at as the institute, Grattan CEO John Daley said: "Andrew [Norton] is truly irreplaceable, and in view of his departure Grattan has made the difficult decision not to extend the Higher Education Program further." Finally, another set of international rankings was released last week – the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings . Australian universities doubled their representation in the rankings this year, with six Australian institutions ranking in the top 100. The University of Melbourne was our top performer this this year, securing equal 44 th – three spots higher than last year. The University of Sydney, ANU, Monash, UQ and the University of New South Wales also secured top 100 spots. The Reputation Rankings is based on an invitation-only survey of more than 10,000 leading academics from 135 countries. The questionnaire asks each respondent to list the top 15 universities for teaching and the top 15 universities for research. And that's another weekly roundup for Campus Review .'
Moonboorli (Beyond) – Ocean Stories
School and Education National Science Week Thursday, July 18, 2019 12:51:17 PM
Join Uncle Shaun Nannup and Marine Science Masters student Alanna Kursar speaking about Ocean Stories. Drawing on Indigenous knowledge, relationships between us, the water, animals and the environment, you will be guided through an introduction of
'Speakers: Shaun Nannup and Alanna Kursar Join Uncle Shaun Nannup and Marine Science Masters student Alanna Kursar speaking about Ocean Stories. Drawing on Indigenous knowledge, relationships between us, the water, animals and the environment, you will be guided through an introduction of the ocean and why it is so important. Aware of the value this marine environment holds for us, and what is being lost, it is increasingly important to unite traditional ecological knowledge and create emotional connection to what lays below.'
Sam Connor, 14, 'left a suicide note with a code to unlock his mobile phone
School and Education Home | Mail Online Thursday, July 18, 2019 3:29:41 PM
EXCLUSIVE: The brief note is also said to have contained two names and was handed with his phone and school bag to a friend before the 14-year-old stepped in front of a train at Chertsey station.
'I don't know who to vote for': students trigger civics revamp
School and Education Sydney Morning Herald Thursday, July 18, 2019 1:44:00 PM
Students are calling for an overhaul of civics education amid concerns that too many of their peers are disengaged from politics.
Educating students to fight back against diseased mozzies
School and Education frasercoastchronicle.com.au: Headlines Thursday, July 18, 2019 2:00:00 PM
Schools across the region can book an education session with the council's Environmental Health team.
Gendered language like 'manhole' will soon be banned from this US city's municipal codes
School and Education 7NEWS.com.au Thursday, July 18, 2019 10:10:36 AM
Soon there will be no more manholes in the city of Berkeley, California. There will also be no chairmen, no manpower, no policemen or policewomen.


The map collection in the Owen Science and Engineering Library includes USGS topographical maps for Washington State, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. There are also some older topographical maps for the other U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
Our collection includes geologic maps put out by the Washington State Division of Geology and Earth Resources and USGS series maps (including Miscellaneous Investigation, Geologic Quadrangle, Geophysical Investigations, Hydrologic Investigations Atlas, Miscellaneous Field Studies, Land Use Series, and Oil and Gas). We also have some older geological, agricultural, mineral, bathymetric, topographical maps and atlases of the region, country, world, and universe, including the Mt. Palomar Sky Atlas.
River plans for the region's main rivers, some with projected dam sites, are also available. We regularly receive U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, BLM Public Land, and some road maps for regional states.
All maps in this collection are located on the third floor of Owen Science and Engineering Library. Most maps and atlases can be checked out for 7 days.


Some of you might know me personally and know that I have recently had my third child. A lovely little boy who is 5 months old. I also have a 2.5 and a 4.5 year old so my life is pretty crazy.
So three kids, just had a baby and trying to work all combined leaves me not much time.
I am lucky to have a shower each day let alone have the energy or inclination to exercise.
That all being said I also have one of those type A personalities where I am driven to achieve goals no matter how unrealistic. I am also a geek and like my tech gadgets. Why am I telling you this?
I recently discovered this cool fitness band called Jawbone UP. I thought it might be useful to review jawbone up for you. It's like a pedometer, personal trainer, sleep tracker and calorie counter all in one. Basically it tracks all your steps, your sleep and you enter the food you have eaten that day.
Then it creates very cool graphs in the iPhone app and gives you tips each day to keep you moving.
It also has a team area where you can connect with buddies also using it and you can see their updates and they can see yours. It has also been beautifully designed and comes in a number of colours (although only the blue and black ones are readily available). It has a fairly hefty price tag of $150.
I have to agree with USA today's review of Jawbone UP, – it's great for the app happy health nut. I would even go a little further and say it's great for someone who is also focusing on improving their health.
Someone like me, for example! I found it very difficult to do the 10,000 steps a day and the device was right people like me (my age, my weight, my gender) generally do about 5,700 steps a day. That is what I did when I wasn't really trying to do the 10,000 steps a day.
Personally I found it motivating and rewarding to track my steps through something so visual and immediate.
What I would really have liked is for the band to sync automatically with my iPhone. Instead you have to insert the band into the headphone jack and now sadly I have lost the connection that goes over the jack on the band so I will have to order another one from the store if I want to continue to use it. Battery wise it lasts about 10 days which I imagine would be less if it synced via blue tooth with your iPhone.
Although I have a fairly active social media life (can you say that?) I wasn't really surprised none of my friends were using it.
I think it would be a better experience if you had friends using it and you could motivate/compete with each other every day.
I would love to see personal trainers using them with their clients. I think it would be an awesome tool for clients to gain an awareness of their movement, sleep and eating has on their health.
Previous Should Exercise Be Promoted as Fun?


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Fantastic opportunity to purchase off plan this spacious two bedroom ground floor apartment. The apartment will comprise entrance hallway, open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. The apartment will feature gas central heating, double glazing, allocated parking and courtyard garden area. The apartment offers great investment potential with a rental value of £525pcm giving a yield of 7.41%. For more details contact selling agents Mannleys.


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If you would like anything special added to the basket please call or email and we will be happy to arrange it.
If you're looking for a gift or centrepiece, then our selection of luxury fruit baskets are a great choice for any occasion. Our delivered fruit baskets feature a stunning selection of top quality fresh fruit, arranged by hand in a wicker basket. We have four options available: Select, Premium, Deluxe, and Luxury, all of which contain a delicious selection of fresh fruits.


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Study Buddhism › Advanced Studies › Vajrayana › Kalachakra: Advanced
Kalachakra, Tantra and Their Relation with World Peace
The Prediction
The Kalachakra Response
Does Buddhism Advocate Conversion?
Does Buddhism Advocate Holy Wars?
Shambhala and Shangrila
Theosophy, the Source of Hitler's Misconceptions about Shambhala
Hitler and the Quest for Shambhala
The Kalmyk Mongol Connection
Confusion about Tantra
Modern Confusion about Tantra Is Nothing New
The Imagery of Sexual Union Does Not Refer to Ordinary Sex
Tantric Vows Do Not Give Free License to Kill
Tantric Vows Do Not Release One from Ethical Responsibility
The Symbolic Tasting of Alcohol
Forceful Figures Do Not Represent the Devil
In October 2002, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama will confer the Kalachakra initiation in Graz, Austria. The event is open to the public, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike. The purpose of the initiation is to provide an opportunity for people of all faiths to gather in a peaceful atmosphere to listen to teachings on love and compassion and to reaffirm their commitments to upholding the pure ethics of their traditions. Hence, the initiation is publicized as "Kalachakra for World Peace." For Buddhist practitioners, the additional purpose is to empower them to engage in the advanced tantric meditation practices of Kalachakra.
Some people have misunderstood the intent of the event, because of confusion about certain aspects of the Kalachakra literature. To avoid interfaith suspicion and mistrust, it is important to examine the issues objectively, in a scholarly manner.
The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra warns against a future invasion by a non-Indic people who will follow the line of prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mani (the founder of the primarily Iranian religion Manichaeism), Muhammad, and Mahdi (the Islamic messiah). To meet the threat, the king of the mythical land of Shambhala united the Hindus and Buddhists into one caste with the Kalachakra initiation. As a united society, the people of Shambhala would then be able in the future to follow a Buddhist messiah-king in defeating the invading forces and establishing a new golden age.
One of the main themes in the Kalachakra teachings is the parallel between the physical world (astronomy, geography, and history), the human body, and Buddhist tantra practice. Accordingly, the invaders that Kalachakra warns against, and which the forces of Shambhala will defeat, have historical, physiological, and meditative levels of meaning. Let us focus on the external level of meaning.
Externally, the non-Indic-speaking invaders refer to followers of late tenth-century messianic forms of Islam who will claim to have the messiah Mahdi as their political and spiritual leader. Mahdi will unite and rule the Islamic world, restore Islamic purity, and convert the entire world to Islam before the coming of Dajjal (the Muslim version of the anti-Christ), the Second Coming of Christ (who is a Muslim prophet), the apocalypse, the end of the world, and the Last Judgment.
In the late tenth century – the period when the Kalachakra teachings first emerged in India - the Arab Abbasid rulers of Baghdad and their vassals feared invasions from Islamic empires having such ambitions. Specifically, they feared an invasion from their main rivals, the Fatimid Empire of Egypt and their vassals in Multan (central Pakistan). Such fear was the predominant mood of the times, due to the widespread belief that the world would end five hundred years after Muhammad – in the beginning of the twelfth century.
Based on the historical context of the Kalachakra literature, it is inappropriate to conclude that Buddhism at that time was anti-Hindu, anti-Muslim, or anti-Christian, or that it is now. Buddhism was merely responding to the spirit of the times from the Middle East to northern India at the end of the tenth century. In the face of widespread fear of an invasion, an apocalyptic battle, and the end of the world, and the popular preoccupation with the coming of a messiah, Kalachakra presented its own version of the prediction.
To face the threat, Kalachakra recommended a policy already followed by Hinduism and the ruling Abbasid Muslims. The policy was to show that Buddhism too had open doctrinal doors for including other religions within its sphere. An essential foundation on which a multicultural society needs to stand in order to face a threatened invasion is religious harmony among its people. Joining others in a Kalachakra mandala symbolizes this commitment to cooperation. However, as was the case with Hinduism and Islam, the implication of the Shambhala King's tactic was that Buddhism offered the deepest truth.
The Kalachakra depiction of the non-Indic prophets and its prophecies of a future war with their followers must be understood in this historical and cultural context. Despite the recommended policy, neither Buddhist leaders nor masters at the time actually launched a mass conversion campaign to bring Hindus and Muslims into its fold. No one held a Kalachakra initiation with such an aim in mind, nor launched a Buddhist holy war.
Both Buddhism and Biblical religions have been tolerant of other faiths. Both have also instigated forced and subtle conversion campaigns, although each has used different methods. Biblical religions have launched holy wars, while the King of the mythical land of Shambhala gathered non-Buddhists into the Kalachakra mandala through a demonstration of psychic powers. Biblical religions have used economic incentives as a subtle means for conversion, while Buddhism has used debates of logic.
Is the Kalachakra portrait of joining the people of Shambhala into one "vajra caste" under the umbrella of Buddhism merely a description of what might have been beneficial and necessary in West Asia and the Indian subcontinent from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, or is it timeless advice? Granted the universal wisdom in members of all religions reaffirming the spiritual values of their creeds in order to ward off threats to their societies, is the optimal defence convincing as many people as possible to practice Buddhism?
It would be difficult to defend this position, either in reference to only the above-mentioned historical period or as general advice, without being chauvinistic. The unbiased conclusion, then, is to admit that the tone of the Shambhala legend is indeed chauvinistic, although understandable, given the circumstances of the times. It does not follow, however, that Buddhist teachers nowadays need to be or are chauvinistic when presenting Buddhism to non-Buddhist audiences.
When teaching in the West, the Dalai Lama always stresses that he is not trying to win converts. He is not challenging others to a debate contest, with the loser required to adopt the assertions of the victor. He explains that he is merely trying to educate others about Buddhism. Peace among different societies comes from understanding each other's systems of beliefs. Educating others differs greatly from trying to convert them. If others find something of value in Buddhism, they are free to adopt it, without any need to become Buddhists. For those who are strongly interested, they are welcome to pursue their studies further and even to become Buddhist, but only after a long period of deep reflection. For most, however, the Dalai Lama strongly cautions against changing religions.
Buddhism is no different from other religions or philosophical systems in that it claims to have the deepest truth. Nevertheless, the Buddhist assertion is not an exclusivist claim to the "One Truth." Buddhism also accepts relative truths – things that are true relative to certain groups or to certain circumstances. So long as one's views are not aggressively antagonistic, one's relatively true beliefs may serve as provisional stepping stones on the way to the deepest truth as Buddhism defines it. They may also serve as stepping-stones to the deepest truths that other religions teach. So long as the Buddhist assertion of deepest truth is not chauvinistic and does not belie a missionary policy, it may benefit those for whom it suits.
Often, when people think of the Muslim concept of jihad or holy war, they associate with it the negative connotation of a self-righteous campaign of vengeful destruction in the name of God to convert others by force. They may acknowledge that Christianity had an equivalent with the Crusades and the Inquisition, but do not usually view Buddhism as having had anything similar. After all, they say, Buddhism is a religion of peace and does not have the technical term holy war.
A careful examination of the Buddhist texts, however, particularly the Kalachakra literature, reveals both external and internal levels of battle that could easily be called "holy wars." An unbiased study of Islam reveals the same. In both religions, leaders may exploit the external dimensions of holy war for political, economic, or personal gain, by using it to rouse their troops to battle. Historical examples regarding Islam are well known; but one must not be rosy-eyed about Buddhism and think that it has been immune to this phenomenon. Nevertheless, in both religions, the main emphasis is on the internal spiritual battle against one's own ignorance and destructive ways.
The Kalachakra presentation of the Shambhala war and the Islamic discussion of jihad show several similarities. Both Buddhist and Islamic holy wars are defensive tactics for stopping attacks by external hostile forces, and never offensive campaigns for winning converts. Both have internal spiritual levels of meaning, in which the struggle is against negative thoughts and destructive emotions. Both need to be waged based on ethical principles, not on the basis of prejudice and hatred.
Moreover, just as many leaders have distorted and exploited the concept of jihad for power and gain, the same has occasionally occurred with Shambhala and its discussion of war against destructive foreign forces. For example, Sukhe Batur – leader of the 1921 Mongolian Communist Revolution – inspired his troops with the Kalachakra account of the war to end the kaliyuga ("the age of disputes"). During the Japanese occupation of Mongolia in the 1930s, the Japanese overlords, in turn, tried to gain Mongol allegiance and military support through a propaganda campaign that Japan was Shambhala.
It is faulty reasoning, however, to take these isolated examples as proof of a general policy and to infer that present Buddhist masters conferring the Kalachakra initiation have a similar hidden military agenda. It is also unfair to Buddhism as a whole to focus on abuses of Kalachakra's external level of spiritual battle and to dismiss the internal level of battle against the destructive forces within one's own mind. The same is true concerning Islam and Christianity.
[See: Holy Wars in Buddhism and Islam]
Many additional myths have grown around the idea of Shambhala. James Hilton's twentieth-century American novel Lost Horizon speaks of Shangrila, a spiritual paradise found in an inaccessible, hidden valley in Tibet. "Shangrila" is undoubtedly a romantic corruption of "Shambhala." Many people have even set out to find this utopian paradise. In doing so, they have often mixed various Buddhist ideas with concepts from other religions and some ideas of their own. It is important not confuse what they have taught with Buddhism itself. Let us look at some of the more famous examples.
Madame Helena Blavatsky was born in the early nineteenth century in the Ukraine to Russian nobility. Endowed with extrasensory powers, she traveled the world in search of occult, secret teachings. She was particularly interested in Egypt, India, and Tibet, and spent many years on the Indian subcontinent. She purportedly also visited Tibet.
Madame Blavatsky regarded all the esoteric teachings of the world's religions as one body of occult knowledge, and in the process, confused everything together. She encountered fragments of Tibetan Buddhism at a time when European Oriental scholarship was in its infancy and hardly any translations were available. Consequently, she interpreted these fragments within the inappropriate contexts mostly of Hindu Yoga and Vedanta, mixing in freely ideas from ancient Egyptian lore and European spiritualist movements. As her interest was in psychic phenomena and mystery, she stressed the supernatural, as did other early European seekers of the occult in Tibet.
Madame Blavatsky said that Indian and Tibetan "Mahatmas," who are supernatural humans from Shambhala, telepathically dictated to her their teachings, which she compiled in The Secret Doctrine. Shambhala, she explained, is a mystic kingdom in Tibet, which preserves the secret teachings of Atlantis. Its inhabitants are the descendants of the people of Atlantis, the land mentioned by Plato that sunk beneath the sea. In actuality, however, Kalachakra has no mention whatever of the mythical land of Atlantis. The association was a product of her vivid imagination.
Blavatsky purported that the Atlanteans of Shambhala are a fourth human race who are nearly immortal and who work for the good of mankind and fight evil. The present world must learn their teachings since soon a great war will occur. The forces of light must combine to combat the forces of darkness. She also discussed another mystic kingdom in Tibet, Agardhi, which is more aligned with mankind.
[See: Mistaken Foreign Myths about Shambhala]
Even Hitler was intrigued with the idea of Shambhala. In his youth, he studied the occult and yoga in Vienna. Later he turned to Theosophy. After assuming power, Hitler gathered information about as many occult groups of the world as he could. His aim was to find the elements common with Theosophy and to reinterpret these teachings in terms of its theory. With the help of the explorer Sven Hedin, he sent several expeditions to Tibet. Misled by Blavatsky's fanciful description, they were searching for contacts with the fabled Shambhala to obtain their help for ruling the world. They claimed that although Shambhala rejected them, they were able to contact and gain help from the mystic kingdom of Agardhi that Blavatsky had also mentioned. Clearly, the Nazi expeditions ended in farce.
[See: The Nazi Connection with Shambhala and Tibet]
The false notion that thousands of Tibetans lived around Berlin during the Third Reich arose from confusion about the Kalmyk Mongols. The Kalmyks are a Western Mongol people who migrated to the Volga Region of European Russia in the seventeenth century. Having sided with the anti-Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution, a large number emigrated to Belgrade, Serbia, in 1920.
Starting in 1932, Stalin destroyed the Buddhist monasteries and temples in Kalmykia and severely persecuted the population. Hoping to overthrow Stalin and to liberate Kalmykia, many Serbian Kalmyks fought with the German army on the Eastern Front in the Second World War. Kalmyks in Kalmykia supported their efforts. When Stalin deported the entire Kalmyk population to Siberia in 1944, this was in punishment for their siding with his enemy.
Wishing to gain occult support for the war, Hitler brought a small group of Kalmyk monks to Berlin to perform rituals for his victory. Like the medieval Mongol conquerors Chinggis Khan and Kublai Khan, he was desperate for any supernatural help he could win. According to private interviews with survivors from among those monks who later settled in Munich, the Nazis had no understanding of Buddhism or of the tantric rituals the monks were performing. Realizing the Nazis' true intentions, the Kalmyks prayed merely for the liberation of Kalmykia and for world peace.
One of the more perplexing and most easily misunderstood aspects of tantra and its ritual is its imagery suggestive of sex, devil-worship, and violence. Buddha-figures often appear as couples in union and many have demonic faces, stand enveloped in flames, and trample helpless beings beneath their feet. Seeing these images horrified early Western scholars, who often came from Victorian or missionary backgrounds.
Even nowadays, some people believe that the couples signify the sexual exploitation of women. Others imagine that couples in union represent the transcendence of all duality to the point that there is no difference between "good" and "bad." They think that, consequently, tantra is immoral and not only sanctions, but even encourages usage of alcohol and drugs, and hedonistic, criminal, and even despotic behavior.
Some go as far as wildly accusing well-respected tantric masters of plotting to take over the world and that the Kalachakra teachings were the source of Nazi ideology and are the inspiration for modern Neo-Nazi cults. Curiously, such paranoid accusations parallel the Nazi obsession with blaming the Jews for all the evils of the world. Extreme caution is required.
Westerners were not the first to declare tantra a degenerate form of Buddhism. When tantra originally came to Tibet in the mid-eighth century, many took the imagery literally as granting free license to ritual sex and blood sacrifice. Subsequently, in the early ninth century, a religious council banned further official translation of tantra texts and prohibited the inclusion of tantra terminology in its Great Sanskrit-Tibetan Dictionary. One of the main incentives for the Tibetans' inviting Indian masters for the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet was to clarify misunderstanding about sex and violence in tantra.
Not all Westerners who had early contact with tantra found the imagery depraved. A number misunderstood it in other ways. Some, like many early Tibetans, found the images erotic. Even now, some people turn to tantra hoping to find new and exotic sexual techniques or spiritual justification for their obsession with sex.
Still others found the terrifying figures alluring for their promise of granting extraordinary powers. Such people followed in the footsteps of the thirteenth-century Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan, who adopted Tibetan tantra primarily in the wish that it would help him gain victory over his foes.
Misunderstanding about tantra, then, is a perennial problem. The reason for tantra's insistence on secrecy about its teachings and images is to avoid such misconceptions, not to hide something perverse. Only those with sufficient preparation in study and meditation have the background to understand tantra within its proper context.
Tantra in Buddhism is an advanced method of practice that emphasizes the union of method and wisdom. The union is represented by a couple in union. The Tibetan word for the couple, yab-yum, means "father and mother." Just as a father and mother in union are required for producing a child, likewise method and wisdom in union are required for giving birth to enlightenment.
Method, the father, stands for bodhichitta, the determination to achieve enlightenment to benefit others as much as is possible. It also represents various other causes taught in tantra for gaining the enlightening physical bodies of a Buddha. Wisdom, the mother, stands for the realization of reality with various levels of mind, as causes for a Buddha's enlightening mind. Gaining the union of a Buddha's physical bodies and mind requires practicing a union of method and wisdom. Because traditional Indian and Tibetan cultures do not share a Biblical sense of prudishness about sex, they do not have taboos about using sexual imagery to symbolize this union.
Another level of meaning of father as method is blissful awareness. The union of father and mother signifies blissful awareness conjoined with the realization of reality – in other words, the realization or understanding of reality with a blissful awareness. Here, blissful awareness does not refer to the bliss of orgasmic release as in ordinary sex, but to a blissful state of mind achieved through advanced yoga methods to control and centralize the subtle energies of the body. The embrace of father and mother, then, also symbolizes the blissful aspect of the union of method and wisdom, but in no way signifies the use of ordinary sex as a tantra method.
It is important not to become confused or misled by symbols used in foreign cultures. Someone unfamiliar with Christianity, for instance, might see the symbol of a man nailed to a cross and think that Christianity teaches methods of torture. One must always look deeper to learn what symbols represent. For example, tantric textual references to union with a series of nine women progressively one year older, starting with twelve, symbolizes gaining progressively more intense levels of blissful awareness of reality. It represents the nine stages of eliminating the subtlest level of confusion about reality and certainly does not refer to sexual abuse of teenagers.
Tantric initiations, such as Kalachakra, require the taking of vows to refrain from destructive behavior. These include "bodhisattva vows" to refrain from behavior that would either harm others or damage their abilities to help others. The required foundation is upholding some level of lay or monastic vow, such as refraining from taking life, stealing, lying, engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior, and taking intoxicants.
Initiates also pledge not to use these vows as an excuse for refusing to take life, steal, and so on, when compassion demands taking drastic actions and there are no peaceful alternatives. For example, to stop a rabid dog on the loose that is biting people, or a mass murderer who is shooting at a crowd from a tower, it may sometimes be necessary to shoot the dog or the murderer. This is only the case if it is impossible, with peaceful means, to stop the dog or the murderer from injuring or killing more people, and only if one has the ability to stop the continuing attacks by resorting to forceful means. In such situations, to refuse to use those forceful means is a breach of the tantric pledge.
In short, the pledge not to refuse to take life is a pledge of commitment to use even drastic measures to stop harm to others, if absolutely necessary, but only if all other methods fail. Moreover, it must be implemented based on sincere compassion, not based on fear or hatred. It is certainly not an oath to kill enemy troops wantonly, as when joining an army.
Initiation into the two highest classes of tantra, such as Kalachakra, also requires taking the "tantric vows." These entail restraint from behaving in ways that would damage one's spiritual progress, such as neglecting to remain mindful of the true nature of reality each day, in terms of voidness.
Voidness does not mean that everything, including ethics, in actuality do not exist. It never negates the conventional distinctions between destructive and constructive behavior, or the functioning of behavioral cause and effect. Non-duality, as represented by couples in union, means that categories such as "destructive" and "constructive" do not exist independently of each other. They are designated in relation to each other and in relation to their causes and effects. Thus, going beyond dualism does not mean gaining authority for indulging in selfish or exploitative behavior and for abrogating responsibility for one's actions. It means gaining awareness of the totality of reality, with a vision of the interrelatedness and interdependence of everything.
Moreover, when tantric practitioners accept a small taste of specially consecrated alcohol and meat during certain rituals, this symbolizes the purification and usage of the subtle energies in their bodies for reaching enlightenment. As in the taking of specially consecrated bread and wine during a Christian communion, the symbolic act hardly sanctions alcohol or drug abuse.
Buddha-figures may be peaceful or forceful, as indicated on the simplest level by their having smiles on their faces or fangs bared. More elaborately, forceful figures have terrifying faces, hold an arsenal of weapons, and stand surrounded by flames. Part of the confusion that arises about the role and intent of these forceful figures comes from the usual translations of the word for them as "wrathful deities."
For many Westerners with a Biblical upbringing, the term wrathful deity carries the connotation of an almighty being with righteous vengeful anger. Such a being metes out divine punishment as retribution for evildoers who have disobeyed its laws or somehow offended it. For some people, a wrathful deity may even connote the Devil or a demon working on the side of darkness.
The Buddhist concept has nothing to do with such notions. Although the Tibetan term derives from one of the usual words for anger, anger here has more the connotation of repulsion – a rough state of mind directed toward an object with the wish to get rid of it. Thus, a more appropriate translation might be a forceful figure.
Forceful figures symbolize the strong energetic means often required to break through mental and emotional blocks that prevent one from being clearheaded or compassionate. The enemies the figures smash include dullness, laziness, and self-centeredness. The weapons they use span positive qualities developed along the spiritual path, such as concentration, enthusiasm, and love. The flames that surround them are the different types of deep awareness (wisdom) that burn away obscurations. Imagining oneself as a forceful figure helps to harness the mental energy and resolve to overcome "internal enemies."
In conclusion, "Kalachakra for World Peace" might appear to some as a chauvinistic claim by Buddhism that it has the exclusive umbrella for interfaith cooperation. It might also appear inappropriate to some to associate Kalachakra with world peace when its account of Shambhala suggests mass conversion and, under a Buddhist messiah, fighting a war against a future invasion by a false messiah. However, one must not lose sight of the historical and cultural contexts in which the Kalachakra teachings arose.
At the end of the tenth century of the common era, a widespread belief pervaded the Middle East and parts of South Asia that the apocalypse and the end of the world would occur a little more than a century later. Most people of the time were preoccupied with the issue of the coming of a messiah, and Buddhism responded to their need by presenting its spiritual path in a structure relevant and meaningful to their situation. Thus, it fashioned a prophecy that paralleled the advanced stages of Kalachakra meditation practice. Accordingly, accepting the prophecy opened the way for people of that time and region to accept the Kalachakra spiritual path. To read more than that into the external level of the Kalachakra prediction seems to be stretching the point. The material neither reflects nor shapes the current Buddhist view of the present world situation.
The Dalai Lama has never claimed to be a Buddhist messiah intent on forging the entire world into a "vajra caste" under his rule to fight off an invasion of immoral forces. Moreover, tantra does not teach sexual magic that can rid the universe of all evil. Even in the face of the current "moral war against terrorism," the Dalai Lama does not claim to be the moral symbol to unite the world.
In conferring the Kalachakra initiation, the Dalai Lama states that he is merely presenting an opportunity for people of various faiths to join together for a few days in a peaceful atmosphere and to reflect on compassion. Non-Buddhists who find something useful in his teachings are welcome to accept them into their own belief structures. Anything they might find unreasonable, they are welcome to dismiss. Such type of honesty and openness is the hallmark that makes the Kalachakra initiation indeed for world peace.
History of Central Asia Kalachakra Religious Harmony
The Perspectives for Buddhist-Muslim Harmony
Kalachakra Initiation: Practical Advice for Day Three
Kalachakra Initiation: Entering the Mandala – Details
next in Kalachakra: Advanced
Attending a Kalachakra Initiation for World Peace