text:
How Can We Address Noted Disparities in Multiple Myeloma?
May 20, 2021 /in Health Equity, MM Newly Diagnosed, MM Programs, MM TelemEDucation, MM TelemEDucation Survivorship, MM Treatments and Clinical Trials, MM Videos ND, MM Videos TC, Multiple Myeloma /by GIna Craig
How Can We Address Noted Disparities in Multiple Myeloma? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What can patients and healthcare providers do to improve health disparities for myeloma patients? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael explains the communities that need more outreach about myeloma and those he views as vital to educating about myeloma risk and symptoms for earlier diagnosis and better health outcomes.
See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center
How Can Myeloma Patients Take Disease Ownership and Connect With Resources?
What Are the Benefits of Telemedicine for Myeloma Patients?
Will Telemedicine Be a Mainstay for Myeloma Patients After the Pandemic?
Dr. Joseph Mikhael:
Well, I have to tell you, this is a very personal issue for me, disparities in multiple myeloma, and I have the privilege of being involved in many programs and platforms to try and address this. And like with any major consideration, there isn't a simple solution, it is going to take a multi-fold solution that has many parts. The first part that I think is critical is engagement of our communities, whether it is the Black community, the Hispanic community, even though in more rural areas or patients uninsured, we really require a kind of an engagement that's real to build trust, to build confidence, this is stemmed from years of mistrust and understandably, so that we have to re-build.
I try to do that personally in my practice, but advocate for it on a larger sphere. Secondly, I want to empower my patients to learn and for communities to learn, whether someone has myeloma might have my load or as already myeloma, and I don't have it might have it, or do you have it? Those patients need to be educated about myeloma so that they can understand who's at risk and facilitate a more early and a more accurate diagnosis. Thirdly, I believe very much so, in educating the primary care world, the majority of patients with myeloma are still diagnosed by a primary care physician. They may ultimately see a hematologist-oncologist to confirm that, but the suspicion comes at the primary care level. And so I'm involved in multiple programs to educate primary care docs to think about myeloma, as I like to say, "If you don't take a temperature, a patient won't have a fever, you need to look for it." And so if there are certain signs or symptoms that may include bone pain, significant fatigue, signs that we see like protein in the urine or a low hemoglobin or kidney dysfunction, these things need to push us to look for multiple myeloma. And then lastly, to look at disparity as an important area of work across the whole board that we need to better access to have better access for clinical trials and for the therapies that we know will benefit our patients, and that's on us as physicians. But it's also on the community at large, our regulators, our insurance companies.
Those are the kinds of things that I'm working on so that we can make a long-standing difference and really start to reduce this currently awful disparity in multiple myeloma.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/How-Can-We-Address-Noted-Disparities-in-Multiple-Myeloma.png 600 600 GIna Craig https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png GIna Craig2021-05-20 15:53:202022-01-14 11:53:08How Can We Address Noted Disparities in Multiple Myeloma?
May 20, 2021 /in MM Newly Diagnosed, MM Programs, MM TelemEDucation, MM TelemEDucation Survivorship, MM Treatments and Clinical Trials, MM Videos ND, MM Videos TC, Multiple Myeloma, Patient Empowerment, PEN Blog /by GIna Craig
How Can Myeloma Patients Take Disease Ownership and Connect With Resources? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What actions can multiple myeloma patients take to ensure the best care? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares his perspective on how patients can take ownership towards optimal myeloma care.
Why Is Multiple Myeloma Nearly Twice As Common in BIPOC Communities?
Will Telemedicine Mitigate Financial Toxicity for Myeloma Patients?
I have long believed in patient advocacy, that we need to make systemic changes, we need to make changes within the healthcare system. But our patients are partners alongside of that, and there are many ways in which patients can be empowered to ensure that they have access to the best treatment possible, and this really begins with their own belief and understanding that they are part of that solution. This is…as one of my patients always used to tell me, I am taking ownership of this disease, I don't want to own it, but I'm taking ownership of this disease. And that initial thought process, I think is important, secondly, to educate oneself about it, there is so much to learn, and there are a lot of difficult ways that it can be difficult to navigate resources. But there are great resources available because patients who are informed and understand their condition more can definitely facilitate the process to their best care. Thirdly, we've come to appreciate that having access to a specialist is very important, multiple myeloma may account for only 1 to 2 percent of all malignancies, and so very often, it may be difficult for a community oncologist to keep up with all of the details, and so…
Now, perhaps more than ever through the pandemic with access to telemedicine, patients can seek out an expert opinion. I prefer to call it an expert opinion over a second opinion because it doesn't mean the first opinion is wrong, it just allows further education, further understanding to enhance one's care. And then, of course, lastly, to be involved in community and other efforts that really push us towards better access for treatments for patients and better education are reducing the stage of this disease, so we can all provide the best care possible for our patients.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/How-Can-Myeloma-Patients-Take-Disease-Ownership-and-Connect-With-Resources-2.png 600 600 GIna Craig https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png GIna Craig2021-05-20 15:52:332022-01-11 09:20:52How Can Myeloma Patients Take Disease Ownership and Connect With Resources?
Why Is Multiple Myeloma Diagnosed Much Later in BIPOC Patients?

Why is Multiple Myeloma Diagnosed Much Later in BIPOC Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
How do multiple myeloma diagnosis and treatment differ in BIPOC communities? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael details some statistics on BIPOC myeloma patients, factors that can impact myeloma survival rates, and myeloma clinical trial participation rates of African Americans.
Is MGUS More Prevalent in BIPOC Communities?
We know that multiple myeloma is a unique disease in the African American, in the Black community, really for many reasons, primarily the disease is twice as common in Blacks than it is in Caucasians, we don't fully understand all of the rationale and the understanding of that, the science behind that, but we know it's just twice as prevalent. What's perhaps most disturbing is that despite knowing that it is twice as common, it is often not recognized and not recognized in time. The average time to diagnosis from the onset of symptoms to an accurate diagnosis is significantly longer in the African American community than it would be in the Caucasian community, and that's an unfortunate reality. And that along with the treatment that individuals have access to, we've learned, unfortunately, that African Americans are less likely to receive triplet therapies or the combinations of chemotherapy that are so important, transplant that we know is stem cell transplants are very important in the treatment of myeloma, and access to clinical trials. African Americans constitute somewhere between 17 percent to 20 percent of all myeloma patients in this country, but actually, only reflect about 5 percent to 6 percent of clinical trial participation, and all of that has led unfortunately to an inferior survival rate in African Americans compared to Caucasians.
We've seen huge advances in survival in myeloma over the last decade, but for every 1.3 years gained by Caucasian patients, we've only seen 0.8 years gained in Black patients, so this is a disparity that is disturbing and that we need to address.
The disparity in multiple myeloma is honestly, not only confined to the African American community, we see this in many other vulnerable communities, in particular, the Hispanic community, where we know that the disease is diagnosed at a younger age than we would typically see in the Caucasian community. Also reflective of the healthcare system in our country where many patients of the Hispanic background have less access to healthcare, and this clearly influences outcomes, and so as we study this more and appreciate it more, we come to understand that there are many vulnerable populations by virtue of race, by virtue of insurance status, by virtue of a documented status, all of these things, unfortunately, have a significant impact in a patient's survival with multiple myeloma. COVID-19 has really affected so many things in the medical community. But thankfully, one of the things that we have not significantly seen, apart from for a period of time, reduced access to clinical trials, we have been able to maintain the supply of our key agents and treatments that we use in multiple myeloma. So I'm very thankful that I have not had to delay or cancel my patients' treatments by virtue of a supply chain issue, we're very grateful that that supply chain has pretty well been maintained after out the pandemic, and we trust will continue to be maintained.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Why-is-Multiple-Myeloma-Diagnosed-Much-Later-in-BIPOC-Patients-2.png 600 600 GIna Craig https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png GIna Craig2021-05-20 15:49:562022-01-14 11:53:12Why Is Multiple Myeloma Diagnosed Much Later in BIPOC Patients?
May 20, 2021 /in MM Newly Diagnosed, MM Programs, MM TelemEDucation, MM TelemEDucation Survivorship, MM Treatments and Clinical Trials, MM Videos ND, MM Videos TC, Multiple Myeloma /by GIna Craig
Why Is Multiple Myeloma Nearly Twice As Common in BIPOC Communities? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Why does multiple myeloma impact some BIPOC communities nearly twice as often compared to white Americans? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares factors that affect diagnosis and treatment of African American and Hispanic American patients — and how to improve health outcomes for BIPOC myeloma patients.
Almost twice as common in the African American population, it's diagnosed younger, and the African American population is actually also diagnosed younger in the Hispanic population. And then even though we tell myeloma is having this amazing survival advantage over the last decade, which is true, that advantage has not been seen in the African American population as much as we have seen in the Caucasian population, similarly not as much in the Hispanic population as well. So those are the key highlights. When people have access to those treatments, when there is that kind of equity, we actually see the outcomes, if not the same, are actually better for African American patients. So it highlights, what I often call the three T's that are not accessed as well in the African American population, triplets, transplant, and trials. So those are some of the key things I like to say. And then when we talk about how we correct this.
I think there was a question about how are we going to do it, that could be a 20-minute answer, but it's not just a function of having more transplants, triplets, or trials, it is really engaging the community to change this course of my alumni really is an issue of trust and of long-term strategies that engage people in a way that resonates with them, to be able to trust their institution in their hospital or their physician or within their community.
Number one, we know even from studies that we've done in Africa and gone on in other countries that, for reasons we don't really understand the disease is twice as common from its early stage from MGUS right through to myeloma. It's not an environmental factor, it's not a later acquired phenomenon, so the baseline risk is significantly higher. But that's secondly experiencing myeloma, having it has a lot to do with the whole experience that patients have with myeloma from diagnosis through treatment. And we know that, unfortunately, along the way, there's a significantly longer time to diagnosis, in the African American population which has multiple reasons. Some of it is a lack of understanding, a lack of trust, a lack of education in the physician community. As part of one, the big projects that I'm working on later this year is to educate primary care doctors in primarily African American communities, so that when that man comes in with symptoms that I think of myeloma, they think of diabetes, diabetes, diabetes.
And I want them to think diabetes, diabetes, myeloma. I want it to be added to that differential diagnosis, so it's a multi-headed beast for the diagnosis. But also as I mentioned before, access and so on all the way through, so it's a complex problem. We do know that certain side genetic features are more common in African Americans, namely what's called the translocation t(11;14), which with the right treatment actually can have a better outcome. So it tells us that there is a goal line that we can reach, that can actually get superior outcomes, and yet we're now in inferior outcomes.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Why-Is-Multiple-Myeloma-Nearly-Twice-As-Common-in-BIPOC-Communities-4.png 600 600 GIna Craig https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png GIna Craig2021-05-20 15:49:202021-05-20 17:40:27Why Is Multiple Myeloma Nearly Twice As Common in BIPOC Communities?

Is MGUS More Prevalent in BIPOC Communities? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Does the multiple myeloma precursor of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) occur more frequently in minority (BIPOC) patients? Expert Dr. Sarah Holstein from the University of Nebraska Medical Center shares information that myeloma studies are researching on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color patients and how to improve myeloma awareness and care.
Dr. Sarah Holstein:
: When we look at data sources like the SEER (The Surveillance Epidemiology, and End Results) data source, it's not necessarily so granular that we can always distinguish whether the population is Black/Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, but really where I've seen the increased risk is whenever there are population-based studies and they describe the population at least in the U.S. as Black. I will admit I don't know the details as to further sub-division amongst the category of Black and whether or not it's appropriate to use the term BIPOC in this setting with respect to why do Black Americans have higher risk of plasma cell disorders than white Americans? I think that's still a question that we can't completely answer. There are a lot of really good research teams in this country and really worldwide that are trying to understand the different genetic-based risks, and it's clear based on some studies that there's some differential with respect to for example, what the frequency is of particular genetic abnormalities that happen in the plasma cells as they go from normal to abnormal. So, one example that I've seen is a higher frequency of translocation 11;14 in patients who are Black compared to patients who are white, but ultimately, I don't think there's an easy, easily understood answer to that very complex question right now with respect to why the risk is two to three-fold higher in Black individuals compared to white individuals.
And then that's a little bit of a separate—I mean it's related, but in some ways, and that's somewhat separate from the issue of when Black individuals actually get diagnosed with myeloma, whether that's at a more advanced state of the disease than in white people that I think is a little bit more dependent on access to care as well, as knowledge of the disease. I would say that in general, myeloma is not a cancer that most Americans are actually that familiar with, and that's regardless of white, Black, race or ethnicity, it's still a relatively rare cancer and most people have never heard of it and don't know other people who've had it. But I think what is key in the Black community is to really increase awareness of not only myeloma, but the precursor condition MGUS just like there have been enormous efforts to increase awareness of the risks of high blood pressure and diabetes, and how that can affect health later on, there's also… I think sometimes a decreased frequency of access to primary care, sometimes myeloma is picked up just because of routine blood work, and that can be done sometimes on an annual basis by a primary care provider. And if individuals aren't getting their annual physical and annual labs drawn, then by the time myeloma presents itself, sometimes it's at the point where it's presenting, because bad things have happened, like bones are breaking, or patients are very anemic, or there are serious infections, etcetera, as opposed to being found in a more asymptomatic stage when abnormalities such as high protein levels in the blood are noted that patients are otherwise feeling well. So I think you raise some really excellent questions, and I think there's a lot of room for improvement in this country for not only improving the research so that we understand what the genetic bases are for developing plasma cell disorders, but also increasing education throughout this country, but specifically in the Black population, and then making sure that everybody has access to care.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Is-MGUS-More-Prevalent-in-BIPOC-Communities-2.png 600 600 GIna Craig https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png GIna Craig2021-05-20 15:48:422021-05-20 16:23:51Is MGUS More Prevalent in BIPOC Communities?
Financial Resources for Patients and Families
March 16, 2021 /in MM Programs, MM TelemEDucation, MM TelemEDucation Survivorship /by Kara Rayburn
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Financial-Resources-for-Patients-and-Families.png 600 600 Kara Rayburn https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png Kara Rayburn2021-03-16 07:43:082021-11-08 13:38:45Financial Resources for Patients and Families
February 26, 2021 /in MM Newly Diagnosed, MM Programs, MM TelemEDucation, MM TelemEDucation Survivorship, MM Treatments and Clinical Trials, MM Videos ND, MM Videos TC, Multiple Myeloma /by Kara Rayburn
Will Telemedicine Mitigate Financial Toxicity for Myeloma Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
With the entry of telemedicine into the multiple myeloma care toolkit, there are some real benefits to the cost of care visits. Dr. Sarah Holstein outlines some of the financial benefits that she's seen for her patients – and how the logistics of scheduling appointments has changed.
Will Telemedicine Be a Long-Term Survival Tool for Myeloma Patients?
Is Telemedicine Here to Stay for Multiple Myeloma Care?
How Will the Pandemic Impact Multiple Myeloma Trials?
Dr. Sarah Holstein
So, there's definitely quite a bit of financial toxicity associated with being a patient who has myeloma. There of course is the cost of the drugs and treatments themselves, but there's also the personal time cost. So, the cost that it takes to perhaps take a half day off of work or a full day of work to see your provider in person, and the flexibility that telemedicine allows, namely being able to do your appointment from either the privacy of your own home or in some cases the privacy of your own office or even your own car, really allows patients to keep going about their business without having to take all that time off to come travel. There's the cost associated with gas mileage in some cases, costs associated with parking, although thankfully, that's not a cost that's occurred here at Nebraska Medicine. But I certainly know that that can be an issue at other institutions and can really add up for patients over time. So, it's really been so much easier for patients to get in to see me even when my schedule is fairly full, because they don't have to think about, "Well, I don't need to leave work an hour, try to go over my lunch break," or something like that, they can just schedule it and do it from their office.
I think it's been a good thing for patients and hopefully is cutting down costs for them.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Will-Telemedicine-Mitigate-Financial-Toxicity-for-Myeloma-Patients_-1.png 600 600 Kara Rayburn https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png Kara Rayburn2021-02-26 11:00:272021-03-19 19:19:42Will Telemedicine Mitigate Financial Toxicity for Myeloma Patients?
Will Telemedicine Be a Long-Term Survival Tool for Myeloma Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What can multiple myeloma patients expect for the use of telemedicine as part of their long-term care? Dr. Sarah Holstein shares her experience of using telemedicine for those with MGUS and those managing controlled disease – and her thoughts about the future of telemedicine.
Are There Limitations of Telemedicine for Multiple Myeloma Patients?
How Can Myeloma Patients Reduce Infection Risks During Medical Appointments?
So, I think telemedicine is a really good fit for patients for either long-term survivorship issues or for patients that perhaps you're just following with the precursor to myeloma, so for example, MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) where overall the risk is low that there's actually going be a progression to myeloma over their lifetime.
So I have a number of patients who I see perhaps on an annual basis for those types of visits, and of course, over the last year, I've been doing a number of those visits via telehealth, and I think they've gone really well. It still allows me to ask my entire review of systems where I check through and make sure that there's no subtle signs that I might be missing that somebody's plasma cell disorder is progressing. They've had their blood work or scans or other testing done, and we can review those, but again, in those types of situations where the risk is low and somebody is doing well and it's a fairly routine visit, I think the need to do a full physical exam, it's pretty low, I think whether or not you'd hear anything on the lung exam in somebody who's doing well and it's just there for an annual basis exam, I don't think that lung exam is going to add a whole lot, but really having the ability to still talk to each other, go over laboratory studies, really make sure that I'm not missing any subtle signs that might suggest concomitant lite amyloidosis or progression to myeloma can still very readily be done via telehealth.
https://powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/Will-Telemedicine-Be-a-Long-Term-Survival-Tool-for-Myeloma-Patients_.png 600 600 Kara Rayburn https://www.powerfulpatients.org/pen/wp-content/uploads/New-Logo-300x126.png Kara Rayburn2021-02-26 10:43:342021-03-19 19:25:22Will Telemedicine Be a Long-Term Survival Tool for Myeloma Patients?


text:
package org.unitime.localization.impl;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.TreeSet;

import org.dom4j.Document;
import org.dom4j.DocumentException;
import org.dom4j.Element;
import org.dom4j.io.SAXReader;
import org.unitime.localization.messages.PageNames;
import org.unitime.timetable.gwt.resources.Constants;
import org.unitime.timetable.gwt.resources.GwtMessages;
import org.unitime.timetable.gwt.resources.Messages;
import org.xml.sax.EntityResolver;
import org.xml.sax.InputSource;

import com.google.gwt.i18n.client.Messages.DefaultMessage;

public class PageNameGenerator {
	private TreeSet<String> iPageNames = new TreeSet<String>();
	private File iSource;

	public PageNameGenerator() {
	}

	public void setSource(File source) {
		iSource = source;
	}

	public void checkPageNamecClass() {
		for (Method method: PageNames.class.getMethods()) {
			DefaultMessage dm = method.getAnnotation(DefaultMessage.class);
			if (dm != null)
				if (iPageNames.add(dm.value()))
					System.out.println("[names] " + dm.value());
		}
	}

	public void checkMenuXML() throws DocumentException, IOException {
        SAXReader sax = new SAXReader();
        Document document = null;
        InputStream is = PageNameGenerator.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("menu.xml");
        if (is != null) {
            sax.setEntityResolver(new EntityResolver() {
            	public InputSource resolveEntity(String publicId, String systemId) {
            		if (publicId.equals("-//UniTime//UniTime Menu DTD/EN")) {
            			return new InputSource(PageNameGenerator.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("menu.dtd"));
            		}
            		return null;
            	}
            });
        	document = sax.read(is);
        } else if (iSource != null) {
        	File file = new File(iSource, "menu.xml");
    		sax.setEntityResolver(new EntityResolver() {
            	public InputSource resolveEntity(String publicId, String systemId) {
            		if (publicId.equals("-//UniTime//UniTime Menu DTD/EN")) {
            			try {
            				return new InputSource(new FileInputStream(new File(iSource, "menu.dtd")));
            			} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {}
            		}
            		return null;
            	}
            });
    		System.out.println(" [menu] Using " + new File(iSource, "menu.xml"));
    		document = sax.read(file);
        }
        if (document != null)
        	parseMenu(document.getRootElement());
	}

	protected void parseMenu(Element element) {
		for (Iterator i = element.elementIterator("item"); i.hasNext(); ) {
			Element item = (Element)i.next();
			String name = item.attributeValue("name");
			if (name != null && !name.isEmpty()) {
				if (iPageNames.add(name))
					System.out.println(" [menu] " + name);
			}
		}
		for (Iterator i = element.elementIterator("menu"); i.hasNext(); ) {
			Element menu = (Element)i.next();
			String name = menu.attributeValue("name");
			if (name != null && !name.isEmpty()) {
				if (iPageNames.add(name))
					System.out.println(" [menu] " + name);
			}
			parseMenu(menu);
		}
	}

	public void checkLocale(String locale) throws IOException {
		Properties properties = new Properties();
		InputStream is = PageNameGenerator.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("org/unitime/localization/messages/PageNames_" + locale + ".properties");
		if (is == null && iSource != null) {
			is = new FileInputStream(new File(iSource, "org" + File.separator + "unitime" + File.separator + "localization" + File.separator + "messages" + File.separator + "PageNames_" + locale + ".properties"));
		}
		if (is == null) return;
		try {
			properties.load(is);
		} finally {
			is.close();
		}
		for (Object o: properties.keySet()) {
			String name = property2name((String)o);
			if (iPageNames.add(name))
				System.out.println("   [" + locale + "] " + name);
		}
	}

	public void checkGwtMessages() {
		for (Method method: GwtMessages.class.getMethods()) {
			if (!method.getName().startsWith("page")) continue;
			boolean doNotTranslate = (method.getAnnotation(Messages.DoNotTranslate.class) != null) || (method.getAnnotation(Constants.DoNotTranslate.class) != null);
			if (!doNotTranslate) continue;
			DefaultMessage dm = method.getAnnotation(DefaultMessage.class);
			if (dm != null && !dm.value().contains("{0}"))
				if (iPageNames.add(dm.value()))
					System.out.println("  [gwt] " + dm.value());
		}
	}

	public void checkOnlineHelp() throws IOException, DocumentException {
		URL url = new URL("https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/unitime.org/help43?kind=webpage");
		while (url != null) {
			Element feed = readHelpContentFeed(url).getRootElement();
			url = null;
			for (Iterator i = feed.elementIterator("entry"); i.hasNext(); ) {
				Element entry = (Element)i.next();
				String name = entry.element("pageName").getTextTrim();
				String title = entry.element("title").getTextTrim();
				if (name2property(title).equals(name) && iPageNames.add(title))
					System.out.println(" [help] " + title);
			}
			for (Iterator i = feed.elementIterator("link"); i.hasNext(); ) {
				Element link = (Element)i.next();
				if ("next".equals(link.attributeValue("rel"))) {
					System.out.println(" [next] " + link.attributeValue("href"));
					url = new URL(link.attributeValue("href"));
				}
			}
		}
	}

	protected Document readHelpContentFeed(URL url) throws IOException, DocumentException {
		InputStream in = url.openStream();
		try {
			return new SAXReader().read(in);
		} finally {
			in.close();
		}
	}

	public String name2property(String name) {
		return name.trim().replace(' ', '_').replace("(", "").replace(")", "").replace(':', '_');
	}

	public String property2name(String property) {
		return property.trim().replace('_', ' ').replace('_', ':');
	}

	public Properties getProperties() {
		Properties properties = new Properties();
		for (String name: iPageNames) {
			properties.put(name2property(name), name);
		}
		return properties;
	}

	public Collection<String> execute() throws Exception {
		checkPageNamecClass();
		checkMenuXML();
		checkGwtMessages();
		checkOnlineHelp();
		checkLocale("cs");
		return iPageNames;
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		try {
			PageNameGenerator task = new PageNameGenerator();
			task.execute();
			task.getProperties().store(System.out, null);
		} catch (Exception e) {}
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Gibson's two goals carry SI to victory
By BY Examiner Staff • November 30, 2010 12:00 am
St. Ignatius senior forward Audrey Gibson scored two second-half goals and the Wildcats shut out last season's Central Coast Section Division I finalist Palo Alto 2-0 in the season opener for both teams at J.B. Murphy Field.
"First game of the season. I was definitely excited, so the adrenaline was running," Gibson said. "I just came off the bench ready to play."
The first half of play lacked much action, as both teams tried to feel each other out and combined for only four shots.
Palo Alto (0-1) came out after halftime and pressed the action, as the Vikings controlled possession for most of the first 20 minutes of the second half.
But St. Ignatius (1-0) would get a break, though, as it got a good run from Stephanie Reiser, who dribbled down the right sideline and blasted a shot toward Vikings goalie Alex Kershner.
The shot deflected off of Kershner, and Gibson, who was right in the front of the net for the rebound, blasted a shot inside the right post to put the Wildcats up 1-0 in the 65th minute. Ten minutes later, with Kershner playing out of position, Gibson garnered in a pass from Kate Bettinger and chipped it over Kershner's head to put the Wildcats up 2-0 and seal the victory.
"Audrey works very hard and she gets all over the field with her work ethic and pace," St. Ignatius head coach Carlos Escobar said. "Once Audrey came in, she took advantage of opportunities on both goals."
Even though the Vikings were shut out and only managed four shots on goal, Palo Alto head coach Ernesto Cruz was still happy with his team's performance.
"It was a good game, and I'm very happy with what I saw from my team," Cruz said. "The communication was good and the girls seemed to bond together nicely. I feel we'll have a good season."
For St. Ignatius, Escobar was just looking to see how his team would react to live competition.
"[In the] first game of the season, you just want to see how the girls would gel," Escobar said. "There were a couple things we can build and improve on, but overall I was thrilled with the effort the girls put in, especially towards the end of the second half."
Gibson, the star of the show, said the win set the tone for a season of high expectations for the Wildcats.
"It's a great start to the season and Palo Alto is a really good team," Gibson said. "It's points for CCS and it sets the tone for our season."
Preps sports coverage provided in partnership by The San Francisco Examiner and SanFranPreps.com
Tags: Prep Sports, San Francisco, sports, WCAL
Rookie showing flashes of brilliance, with room to improve
Deep in the heart of Texas: Niners corral Cowboys, 23-17
San Francisco holds off late charge. Packers up next

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Fisherman of all ages will want to reel this cookie cake recipe in for the holidays. See details here for a very Merry Fishmas!
Preheat oven at 350°F. Lightly grease 9″ round pan.
In a large bowl, combine ingredients as instructed by cookie mix pouch. Beat ingredients at a low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at a medium speed for 2 minutes until cookie dough is smooth.
Fill 9″ round pan with chocolate chip cookie dough and spread out smoothly with a spatula.
Bake for 10–15 minutes and remove from oven. Place the chocolaty Merry Fishmas into the center of the cookie cake and press down gently. Bake for another 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cookie cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
Write a Merry Fishmas message on the cookie cake using the red writing icing. Give your Merry Fishmas Cookie Cake Plaque as a gift or take it along to your next holiday party.


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Backed by the Burlington guarantee, these fixtures are built to last, and with their evergreen appearance it is highly unlikely that they will need replacing. Compatible with the baths and basins within the Burlington range, these mixers and valves match their sister products naturally.


text:
Агитация
The De-Seg
The Operative
The Security
The Untouchables in the Prison Hierarchy
Rebellions Against the Divine Hierarchy
The Divine Retribution
A Riot in the Prison Quarantine
The Spaced-Out
The Wizard
The issue of the prison caste system is often raised in the media, and recently it has been discussed in relation to political prisoners. However, almost everyone who writes on the subject knows about the matter from the stories of former inmates or use common social stereotypes at best. As a result, there are often a lot of blunders and false representation.
The aim of this article is to shed light on some aspects of such a complex and multifaceted phenomenon as informal hierarchy in Belarusian prisons.
People even write scientific works on this subject. And, of course, I do not mean to consider the phenomenon in all its diversity in one article. I'm going to discuss mainly one prison caste, the existence of which characterizes the system as a whole, and the knowledge of which is critically important for any person getting to jail in Belarus, especially for a political prisoner. These are so-called "petukhs" ('downcasts', 'brats', 'punks', 'prison bitches').
So, from this text, you will learn:
How did the 'downcasts' appear in prison;
How do people become one;
What are the conditions of these people in jail and correctional colonies;
What functions are performed by these people in penal institutions;
Why is the existence of this caste vital for the administration of penitentiary facilities?
Part 1. Blatnoy, muzhik, kozyol, and petukh
How did the caste of 'petukhs' appear?
Let's make a retrospective journey into history. The caste of so-called 'petukhs'is traditionally associated with homosexuality. And if you approach from this point of view, everything is simple: homosexuality in prisons has always existed, including tsarist prisons and the Gulag. Due to the extremely macho and homophobic nature of prison code ('ponyatiya') and convicts subculture, it becomes clear why a gay person in prison is automatically relegated to 'downcasts'. Machismo is characterized by contempt for everything female, leveling of women to subhuman creatures that do not have the right to their own will. This attitude is transferred to homosexuals.
But the 'downcasts' only consist of homosexuals to a smaller degree. For the most part, the caste consists of people who have committed offenses against the informal prison law - 'ponyatiya'. It should be pointed out that 'petukhs' as a cast with strict rules of entry and getting out of it (or rather, the impossibility of getting out) appeared not so long ago. It was not, for example, inherent to tsarist prisons and the Gulag. According to the sources I am familiar with, the emergence of a caste of prison untouchables (which also includes homosexuals) relates to the late Soviet period.
Some researchers believe that the emergence of a caste of prisoners whom you may not touch with hands is a reaction of the crime lords to 'Bitches wars'[1]. To save themselves, the crime lords had to invent an alternative to murder as punishment of the guilty.
Others write that this was a reaction to the overcrowding of pre-trial detention centres: in a situation of overpopulation and being in plain view of other inmates 24/7 the most effective and severe form of punishment would be universal contempt and ostracism, an extreme form of ignoring.
About 'masti' (castes) — a rundown
Historically, there have been only three 'masti' (castes, or lifestyles) in the criminal world: a thief 'vor', a bloke 'muzhik', a brat 'petukh'. In this hierarchy, you can descend from the highest (vor) to the lowest (petukh). You can't work your way up the caste ladder. In the modern criminal subculture of Belarus, prisoners are divided into somewhat different castes, namely: a crime lord 'blatnoy', a bloke 'muzhik', a jackass 'kozyol', a brat 'petukh'.
Blatnoy is a professional criminal who lives by conducting a criminal business on the outside. His mission is to promote the 'thieves' idea', wherever he is, to establish 'backdoor' (encourage corruption of correctional administrators), transfer the life of prisoners from the line of official rules and concepts into the law of thieves ('ponyatiya'), etc.
According to the 'ponyatiya', only they have the right to classify a prisoner as a downcast. However, due to the fact that not all Belarusian correctional colonies have blatnoys ('thieves' movement' of Belarus, in general, is in a state of decay), this rule is not always followed, that's why downcast downgrade is done by anyone: operating officer, 'kozyol' or sometimes simply by 'muzhiks' after a collective decision.
Muzhiks is the main part of the prison population. 'Muzhik' is not nosy, he works, is not interested in anything, except for how to leave on parole. He is in a situation of a 'cross-command' of several forces: blatnoys (if any), kozyols and prison administration staff.
Kozyol (activist) is a prisoner openly collaborating with the administration. It is usually a convict with a long term of imprisonment. Administration gives him duties and some power over other inmates. The amount of this power depends on the degree of correction officers' laziness. I know some cases where 'kozyols' filed a violation report on the other prisoners and administration officials just signed it.
Often 'kozyol" is allowed to beat other prisoners to maintain subordination. And, of course, quite officially 'kozyol's' duty is to snitch on other prisoners. In one penal colony, for example, one 'kozyol' put it badly: '"Trash-cops told me to keep an eye on you'. At least two more didn't come out, but performed their 'work' very actively.
In my own disciplinary case that led me being sent to prison the decision was made on the basis of a written testimony composed by my cellmate, which detailed how I was brought into the barrack, how I behaved, with whom I communicated, with whom I argued, what topics I discussed, etc.
There is a nuance
While discussing the 'petukh' caste it should be noted that apart from it there is another related 'subcaste' — the so-called 'separated before clarification', those who are 'na kruzhke' (on a mug).
The point is as follows: for example, there is a suspicion that someone had homosexual contacts on the outside, but there is no sufficient proof of this suspicion, there is only a rumour. In this case, until confirmation or refutation of this accusation will appear, the person is 'na kruzhke': he eats separately from the rest and uses only his dishes (thence the origin of the term - 'to seat apart on a mug').
A person can be in this status for years, until a 'blatnoy ('kozyol' or operating officer — depending on the penal institution) confirms the accusation, i.e. transfers him completely into the caste of 'petukhs' or disproves it, i.e. transfers him officially to 'muzhiks' caste.
The position of a person 'na kruzhke' is very close to the position of a 'petukh', but not equal to it. He can not drink tea with other inmates and has no voice, but no one can call him 'petukh'.
This is the only case when it is possible to upgrade from a lower caste to the higher one. A prisoner 'na kruzhke' is in a kind of quarantine - in order to avoid physical contact with other convicts: what if he is 'petukh' and can 'infect' others. Everyone, who, for example, drinks tea with a 'separated' person, automatically gets the same status.
In other cases, 'separated' or people 'na kruzhke' are equal to the notion of 'petukhs', and it's quite easy to fall into this status.
How one becomes a "petukh"
Here is an exhaustive list of cases in which a person is downgraded to 'downcasts' ('into faggot zone', 'into harem'):
Passive homosexual contacts. Persons who admit having experienced of homosexual contact, forever receive the label of 'petukh', 'fag', etc. Active homosexuality is however considered normal and is not viewed as homosexuality, it's a normal behavior. However, it is noteworthy that in the last ten years this concept has been changing. Those who have sex with 'petukhs' are considered as suspicious.
I myself repeatedly heard the opinion, like — '"There is no difference who f*cks whom - both are fags'. But, of course, a person who was active in a homosexual intercourse can't be called 'petukh'.
Any non-traditional sexual relations with a woman. If the prisoner admits having performed cunnilingus or if she was performing a fellatio on him and then he kissed her, or was eating/drinking from the same dish - he is a 'petukh'.
Naturally, it is almost impossible to learn about this against the will of the person. So in most cases, people fall into the 'fag zone' after their own revelation. You have to understand that no one has the right to inquire about your sexual life by threats or trickery. About it, by the way, in the 1990s there was a special message, 'progon' ( a kite, containing innovation in rules) from the thieves, who tried to decrease an oversized amount of 'petukhs' in prisons.
In some way, prison staff is trying to deal with this problem. For example, in Zhodino jail before a person was sent into a cell, the operating officer would instruct him, 'Remember, you never sucked a dick or ate a pussy!'
This also includes communication with homosexuals on the outside. If someone suddenly mentions that his friend is gay, that person immediately is considered a 'petukh'.
Any contacts with excrements/urine and contents of dumpster. A man splashed with urine or one who put his hands into the toilet automatically becomes a 'petukh'. For this reason, for example, plumbers are considered 'separated' in most prisons.
There is a well-known incident from Ivatsevichi colony No. 5 that could be a good example. In one of the sections there was a supply clerk, zavkhoz' (the main 'kozyol'in a section - a person who controls conditions in a section and is a right hand man of the administration), who for a long time had severely bullied one guy, abusing him verbally in every way possible. In revenge, that guy splashed the zavkhoz' with a jar of urine right during the morning check in front of the line of inmates. Of course, the guy was beaten and put in the de-seg. In theory, the fate of the 'zavkhoz' was foregone, but the prison staff intervened with the situation. Probably, zavkhoz' was a 'valuable asset' for the administration. They announced to convicts that 'zavkhoz' was splashed with ... green tea. And those who would call him a 'petukh', would be beaten. Anyway, almost no one spoke with 'zavkhoz' ever again. And the guy was transferred to another prison.
I also personally knew a 'petukh' who fell into this caste because his head was struck against the toilet bowl during a fight in a youth colony.
As for the dumpsters, people can fall into downcasts when they want to smoke too much and search for cigarette butts in a dumpster.
This also should include such cases as unintentional touching of someone's genitals, for example, when slipping in a shower room.
To be honest, it should be pointed out that an exception sometimes is made for people with health problems (depending on the sanity of the decision-makers). For example, if a man has urinary incontinence, he will not be categorised as a 'petukh'.
Performance of any 'petukh's' work. Strictly 'petukh's' types of work are cleaning of toilets (this applies to the penal colony; in pretrial custody jail or prison any prisoner can clean the toilet in his cell), in some colonies - cleaning of wash basins, as well as taking out the garbage. Doing these actions automatically relegates the person to 'petukh' caste.
Here's an example that happened in Mogilev colony No. 15, when I was there. A man was standing at a check line. Suddenly he really wanted to go to the toilet. He ran, as fast as he could, but did not make it — he shitted himself before reaching the toilet. Perhaps, being a shy and conscientious person, he decided to clean after himself. He took a broom, a rag... This was seen by some prisoners who called zavkhoz' as a witness, who verified the transfer to the downcasts. Informal rules prohibiting cleaning of toilets is very convenient for the prison staff when they need to put any prisoner to the de-seg.
Every section has an official schedule of cleaning that, of course, doesn't take into account the caste system. At the same time, everybody knows that only 'petukhs' clean the toilet. Political prisoner Igor Olinevich was many times put in the punishment cell for refusing to clean toilets. For sure, any prisoner in his right mind would prefer serving any amount of days in a tiny cold room without personal belongings to becoming a 'petukh'. Prison staff know this perfectly well and gladly use such a convenient tool for pressure on the undesirable.
A similar incident happened to me in Gorky colony No. 9. Soon after I had made my time once again in the de-seg, I was approached by the section warden. He said that that day I was on duty to clean the washbasin and take out the garbage. I did some asking around beforehand and found out that in this prison only 'petukhs' can clean the washbasin. Probably, the section warden thought I did not know that and would go to clean the washbasin. So, ceremoniously, he gathered half of the prison administration and local 'kozyols' as witnesses, he pointed to a broom and a rag offering me to perform the 'scheduled duty'.
Naturally, I refused, and then he said in a grave tone, that there will be a document drawn up about my refusal to perform the duty, and soon I again went to warm the desks in my beloved de-seg cell. Pedophiles almost always fall in the 'harem'. People say that in prison rapists are always raped, but they're not. Some prisoners can refuse to drink tea with some rapists, but nothing more. As for pedophiles, they have a more unenviable fate.
Until very recently, they were forced to be transferred to 'petukh' caste ever in custody, without even waiting for the verdict. However, the spirit of the times and the trend of 'everything under the law' take their toll. I myself have seen at least two pedophiles who were not 'separated' and lived almost the same as others. Of course, they were as quiet as lambs and not every convict allowed them to sit on his bunk or even to speak to them. But there is a tendency, especially in first-time offenders' prisons.
The 'harem' receives everyone who spent some time in a cell with 'petukhs'. The exact period of time varies. Sometimes it's an hour, sometimes it is a day. According to 'ponyatiya', if someone enters into such a cell, one should make the 'petukhs' themselves ask for changing their cell and 'muzhik' should stay. But it is clear that physically it's almost impossible.
Any man who had a physical (except sexual) contact with a 'petukh' or used his personal belongings is transferred to downcasts. In practice, it looks like this: picking up 'petukh's' dishes or eating from them by mistake, using 'petukh's' personal hygiene items, hugging or shaking hands, putting on his clothes (intentionally or unintentionally) and having a tea with a 'petukh' automatically qualifies you for this caste.
Giving something to a 'petukh'is possible. Taking something from him leads to becoming a 'petukh'.
However, these rules have some easings, especially in high-security colonies. For example, 'petukhs' can wash clothes of a 'muzhik', a 'petukh' is allowed to sit on 'muzhik's' bunk and so on.
Often people write or say that convicts can be transferred to downcasts for any misdeeds against prisoner's etiquette. Previously it happened, but not now. At least, I haven't seen anything like that.
The one who steals from other prisoners, can be called a 'rat' and snubbed, the one who turned state's evidence in court may be called a 'suka' (bitch) behind his back, and so on, but the transfer into downcasts due to such violation is a relic of the days when thieves' code was still strong in Belarusian prisons.
Thus, the concept of 'the contact' ('zashkvar') is something akin to ritual blot of the Jews, Muslims, and Parsis. The characteristic features of custom are irrationality and superstitious fear of the 'impure'. But if according to the Torah, a person who touches, for instance, carrion, will be 'unclean until the evening', according to the prison code, the man splashed with urine will be a 'petukh' for the rest of his life, even if he is released and goes back to prison after 30 years.
Part 2: Thieves code ('ponyatiya') in support of the state
Conditions of 'petukhs' in prisons
What is the life of a 'petukh'in prison? In a nutshell, it is an absolute sheer hell.
According to 'ponyatiya', a 'petukh' has no rights. He has no right to argue, to retort, to defend his dignity because it is believed that he has no dignity. Others can beat, humiliate and mock him.
When an ordinary prisoner and a 'petukh' walk along the hall in the barracks, the latter is obliged to lean against the wall, in order to avoid touching the other prisoner, otherwise, he may be beaten.
'Petukhs' do all the dirty work: washing the toilets (imagine what it means to clean 8-10 toilet seats in a section of a hundred people), taking out the trash and that sort of thing. Some 'petukhs' provide sexual services to other convicts in exchange for tea and cigarettes (although I must say that in colonies where I was, prison staff fight against this, and if they find a 'petukh' and his client having sex, both will be placed in solitary).
'Petukhs' get female names, prisoners refer to them with 'she' or 'baby'. Frankly speaking, it's pretty savage and sickening to watch how young guffawing prisoners call, for example, a 60-year-old toothless grandpa 'Alenka' or 'Marina' (Russian female names).
'Petukhs' are never, even for a moment, allowed to forget who they are. They enter the dining room last, they are the last to wash in the shower room. In a club (the room for watching TV) they have a separate bench in the most uncomfortable place. The phrase 'Get the fuck outta here!" towards them is something quite familiar and common. One convict persistently argued with me that 'Petukhs are not people'.
However, prison staff have even worse attitude to 'petukhs' than inmates. Inspectors and often officers in every possible way disparage, publicly abuse, threaten and also can beat them.
Being powerless people with broken will they even less than ordinary prisoners fight for their rights. As a result - more than half of suicides that have happened during my presence in prisons and jails, were committed by 'petukhs', despite the fact that this caste is not more than 3-5% of the prison's population.
Tellingly, the situation in pre-trial facilities is not better, where 'petukhs' stay in special cells. At 'Volodarka' (pre-trial facility in Minsk) 'petukhs' are held in cell 70. I heard from people, who have long lived in the neighborhood of this cell, that its inhabitants cut their veins almost daily.
Life 'at the bottom of the heap', constant hatred and humiliation from almost anyone can hardly yield a highly moral creature. According to my personal observations, most of 'petukhs' are totally unprincipled, low-down people, ready to do anything for their own benefit. Though, of course, these characters are not rare among prisoners in general, among 'petukhs' this is probably much more common.
The vast majority of 'petukhs' work for the administration: snitching, performing 'operative tasks', provoking, etc. The need to somehow survive in the over-aggressive and hostile prison atmosphere pushes them to ally with the strongest party — prison staff. Therefore, most of the functions that 'petukhs' perform anyway are imposed on them by an operating officer.
The official duties of 'petukhs' include cleaning toilets (no one except them will do this) and taking out the trash. Many of them earn their living by cleaning the rooms. 'Petukhs' are divided into 'working' and 'non-working'. The former are those, who for a fee (tea, cigarettes, sweets) provide sexual services to other inmates. The latter are those who don't, and this means they can not be forced. Many believe that a person becomes a 'petukh' through rape in prison or in jail. 15-20 years ago it was true. But today it basically does not occur in Belarusian prisons. At least, I do not know of any such a case, and none of those, who was inside with me, told me anything of this nature. Also, there were no cases of rape of 'petukhs' during my prison time.
Today's prison is much more under the control of the administration than before, and a raped 'petukh' can write a statement against the rapist and his sentence will be then increased.
What is the benefit for the administration?
Surely you have a question: why the state, and, in particular, prison administration allows the savage medieval caste system with its untouchables, servants, and prostitutes to exist in prisons? Indeed, it's inhumane, cruel and, finally, illegal, according to the penitentiary internal rules of conduct, all prisoners should toe the same line and any caste division is out of the question.
Can prison staff stop it and recover albeit strict and tough, but still discipline?
The answer is simple: they don't need it.
For quite a long time spent in penal institutions I was in many places and saw a lot of people. I was in four prisons and in three colonies, talked to simple 'muzhiks', and 'thieves', bandits, drug addicts, 'traders' and 'polozhenecs", swindlers and murderers, 'kozyols" and even 'petukhs' and, of course, had communicated quite a lot with prison staff.
Reflecting a lot on the establishment of Belarusian penal system, I came to a firm conclusion that thieves and police system of prison management are two pillars that support each other.
The informal system of 'ponyatiya' invented by thieves and official internal rules of conduct today are more likely mutually integrated, rather than in a state of war and conflict.
Yes, indeed, prison officials forcibly cleaned up the practice of 'ponyatiya' from those rules that prevent controllability and create inconvenience for them. Otherwise, the world of professional criminals and the Ministry of Internal Affairs world get on well with each other. They get from each other what they need: the prison staff — peace in a facility, no incidents, and control (why should they have to control hundreds of prisoners, if it is possible to control one 'blatnoy'/ 'kozyol', who keeps others at bay?). Thieves / 'kozyols' receive privileges and power. Everybody is happy. Except, of course, 'muzhiks'who, as usual, is a patsy in the middle, and is, de facto, in the situation of double subordination.
Many of the prisoners who have served time for more than ten years, and saw how all Belarusian prisons went from 'black' (under prisoners control) to 'red' (under administration) between about 2005 and 2010, told me openly, 'Now it's the same as before. The only difference is that instead of the thieves there are 'kozyols'. If earlier 'blatnoys' had vodka and mobile phones, now activists have it. If earlier for screw-ups a 'muzhik' was beaten by thieves, now it is done by 'kozyols'.
Tellingly, even faces of such informal leaders are often the same. During the active 'breaking' of prison and it's reshaping, where from do you think the operating officers took loyal and dedicated activists — 'zavkhoze' and room orderlies, ready to fulfill any order? They were recruited from yesterday's thieves, who quickly betrayed their criminal idea, because they were threatened with, for example, being sent to prison or loss of privileges, or just were put in a punishment cell a few times.
As a result, today Belarusian prisons are run by the ad- ministration together with prisoners who 'firmly mended their ways', but every inch of whose body is covered by criminal tattoos and whose fists are pumped with Vaseline.
Despite the formal contradiction in functions, the confluence of the criminal world and correctional staff is noticeable not only institutionally, but also on the linguistic level.
The officers use prison slang not less actively than convicts. As I'wrote, 'petukhs' are snubbed and humiliated by prison staff worse than by criminals. They even have their own 'separated' among prison workers, who are outcasts in a circle of colleagues.
When I was in Mogilev colony No. 15, there was a 'separated' inspector. Colleagues didn't drink tea with him, he was the only one who could frisk 'petukhs'. And such cases are not unique: in Novosady colony No. 14, according to my cellmate, there was even a separated officer, because his colleagues have found out that he has 'wrong' sex with his wife. As a result, they stopped drinking tea with him and began to defiantly despise him, moreover, even prisoners snubbed this officer with impunity. And there are a lot of such examples.
Interestingly, many prisoners on the wave of regime toughening and relative improvement of 'petukh's' conditions (about 20 years ago they were beaten more often, and could also be raped) have expressed to me the opinion that soon 'petukhs will not exist, because everyone will be forced to the clean toilets'. They often added, that authorities need to 'look decent in front of Europe' (yes, there were also these kinds of political analysts). However, it seems to me, that this will not happen in the near future. The reason is the same - the existence of 'petukh's' caste significantly facilitates prison controllability.
Without any doubt, the administration of Belarusian prisons could force all prisoners to clean toilets and mix people at tables in the canteen regardless of caste.
There will be no riots or rebellions against it. This innovation will be fraught maximum with the consequences of like a few dozens of diehard supporters of 'ponyatiya', who will be sent to prison. Most prisoners in Belarus form such a downtrodden and speechless mass, that they could be easily forced to do anything. And if they are offered prospects of a parole for cleaning toilets, they'll race each other at cleaning.
However, as we have seen, the administration doesn't move on with doing so.
Another important point: the existence of this caste gives the prison staff an invaluable assistance in pressing on prisoners who refuse to obey.
In every colony and prison, there are always individuals who refuse to play by the rules established by the police. Either these are antisocial persons that try to live strictly according to the 'ponyatiya'), or prisoners who try to defend their rights, for example, complaining to various authorities, or those who will be persecuted in prison only due to their status, such as political prisoners.
So, many people from these categories are no longer intimidated by the deprivation of parcels and visits, punishment cells or cell-type regime, or transfer to prison or the art. 411 article of the Criminal Code (deliberate disobedience to the lawful demands of the administration of correction facility). The question is what do you do with them? And here comes the last argument — 'petukh's' caste. And then even those who are not afraid of the isolation ward, or batons, of course, will think twice. This is because life in this caste is the worst thing that can happen to a prisoner. A man with dignity can't stay in a group with this status, it becomes almost impossible. And there is no way out of this caste.
I conversed with a former prisoner of Bobruisk colony No. 2, who got a response from the governor to his demand to comply with the law and non-infringement of his rights: 'Have you forgotten where the harem is?' And this is not an exception.
It's needless to say about the use of this tool against political prisoners. I myself know about at least three cases in which political prisoners were transferred into the 'petukh's' caste simply for the fact that they are political prisoners.
In all three cases, the operative combination was very similar. After arrival of political prisoner to a colony they find a respected convict ('blatnoy' or 'kozyol'), who raises against the political prisoner an accusation of a 'screwup': that he sat previously in the same cell with a 'downcast' or drank from the 'petukh's' mug, or he dealt with a 'petukh' outside. Naturally, this accusation has nothing to do with reality. But, with a wave of a wand, one or more witnesses appear and confirm: 'Yes, he drank, I saw it myself' or 'Yes, he dealt with a fagot on the outside, I saw it myself?', although the 'accused' doesn't know these people. And now the decision can be made, everything according to 'ponyatiya'! The result: the political prisoner is transferred into the 'petukh's' caste, the actor ('blatnoy' or *kozyol') gets a gratification like a visit or a parcel, and the cunning operating officer, who developed the whole plan, receives administrative carrot from higher-ups.
Fortunately, I avoided this fate, although attempts, as Iwrote above, were made. However, obviously, the administration had no specific ambition to transfer me into the 'harem', otherwise, they would certainly have done so.
Such unanimity of informal prison elites and administration against political prisoners, allows me once again to say that the hierarchical punitive system always operates in unity when they want to suppress and push out alien elements — potential rebels able to stand up for their rights.
And, of course, we can compare it with the analogy of 1930–1940s,when criminals have taken an active part in the elimination of 'Trotskyists', 'betrayers of the people' and other '58th' (an article "Counterrevolutionary activity" of USSR Criminal Code) (see. V. Shalamov "Zhulnicheskaya krov', E. Eppbaum 'Gulag', Solzhenitsyn 'The Gulag Archipelago', book 3).
Yes, these two heads of punitive hydra can sometimes squabble among themselves, but, nevertheless, they need each other, and at a time when they will need to destroy people like us — they will certainly go together.
Is there a way out?
Here, I think it would be appropriate to give some advice for what to do if you're in prison and you see that an attempt is being made to transfer you to the 'petukh'caste for disobedience or for 'political' status (which happens more often).
First and foremost, you should change your attitude to what is happening. All of us, men, have been taught that 'fagot' is insulting and disgusting, that it's a shame to be so. And now a group of adult and kind of sane men tells you that you are one. First of all, you need to understand that your current situation has no shame and you should not blame yourself. You are not a pedophile, not a rapist. You are not necessarily gay. It's just that feral caste norms prevailing in prison are being used against you in order to break your will and lower your status in the eyes of others.
If the process has not yet entered irreversible stage, for example, you are thrown into a 'petukh's' cell or convicts publicly provoke you by asking tricky questions, it makes sense to struggle till the end - fight, commit acts of self-harm, provoke any conflicts, but to get out of this situation, to show your unstoppable determination.
If the moment is gone, and you find yourself in this caste, you have to request the administration for your legitimate right to personal safety (Article 11 of the Criminal Executive Code of Belarus) - transfer to protective custody (usually in solitary confinement). According to this article, 'in case of threats to personal safety of the convicted person, they are entitled to apply for personal security protection to any official body of institution which carries out criminal sentences. In this case, the official body shall immediately take measures for personal protection of the convicted person'.
I don't know a single case when this convict's demand was denied. However, everything is possible, and it may hap-pen that for stronger effect the person who was declared 'sepa- rated' and demanded to be removed from common barracks, is intentionally left there. For a night, for example, so that he can experience all the beauties of 'petukh's' life. In this case, you need to be ready for humiliation, for a fight, for anything. Again, this is the situation when you should use extreme measures in the form of self-harm or self-protection in every possible way.
It is worth to remember that the more problems you create for the administration, the faster they will provide you with security because prison administration does not have a goal of the physical destruction of political prisoners, it is only about breaking them down morally. They don't need a corpse or a disabled person in the colony.
Of course, it should be understood, that a request to the administration to put you in solitary is a 'screwup' in terms of 'ponyatiya'. Such people are called 'charged in', 'locked down', etc. According to the same 'ponyatiya', if you think that you were 'separated' 'with no code' (i.e. unfair), you should find a superior in the criminal hierarchy ('enforcer' or thief-in-law) and ask him for appeal, and don't ask the administration to put you in protective custody.
You decide yourself what to do. However, my opinion is: an appeal to 'ponyatiya' that is itself a tool of dissenters breaking,
is at least short-sighted. And operating officers will always find an approach, the easy way or the hard way, to any criminal decision-maker. And between saving your destiny or his own well-being, he unequivocally will choose the latter.
The very first thing to do in such cases is to make public what happened to you, inform the lawyer and relatives, so the information gets into the media. They are still a kind of shield for political prisoners from outright tyranny, so it is necessary to speak frankly and openly about everything that happened to you; talk without shame about castes and 'ponyatiya' and provocations of prison staff. Indeed, administration will put pressure on prisoners in this way, just playing on their male feelings and sense of shame for the fact that 'now I'm like a fagot'.
Thereby the vast majority of similar stories that take place not only with political prisoners never come out. People are simply ashamed to talk about them, by that reproducing the vicious circle of silence and allowing prison staff to continue using informal prison rules for pressure on the undesirable.
We can stop it, only if we start to talk about the problem out loud, conquering this absolutely unreasonable shame and fear.
Like I said, I wasn't in such a situation, but I considered all the time the likelihood that I will be put in 'harem' due to KGB orders. And by long reflection, observation, and analysis of experiences of others I came to the conclusion that in that case, I will behave exactly as described above.
I would like to conclude this text with something optimistic and life-affirming. But reality dictates a slightly different tone. The number of people ending up in prison for their beliefs is gradually increasing and with it grows the pressure in prison.
An important part of this pressure is precisely the caste system and informal hierarchy, which I described above.
It is not an individual, but a mass system of 'practicing' on special categories of prisoners being tested on drug-addicted convicts. Aninnovation was introduced in correctional colonies: the preventive registering of 'extremists' — they are forced to wear a yellow label. It is logical to assume, that in the light of the radical deterioration of the socio-economic situation in the country after they have created separated colonies for the drug addicts, they will separate the politicals.
All in all, I think that all of us, those, who stand today for changes and the overthrow of the dictator, should cast off illusions and realize that it would not be better and will only be harder. Of course, the prison administration will continue to use pressure against political prisoners by 'ponyatiya'. This tool is easy to use and has repeatedly proved its effectiveness.
Only the demolition of the archaic caste system can change the situation for the better and as a first step, we should start with demolition of silence and taboo on discussion of the topic in society.
12—16 June 2016
This article is available in Russian language, and you can read it right here, which you'll have to translate from Russian using whatever translator suits you best ↩
Вы можете дополнить этот раздел сайта. Подробнее.


The star of my show is the ranunculus at centre stage, but to complement her I made this little posy of anemones and Jacob's ladder leaves.
Here are some of my most graphically designed pot plants. Ok... I have to admit I have forgotten the names of both of them... so I call them the striped plant and the spotted plant! I also have a couple of stems of pink ranunculus, and a beautiful round-leafed cyclamen.
Pretty Miss Ranunculus... doesn't she look a picture?
I hung my crocheted flower garland from the mantelpiece. This is one of my favourite things I've made and I always enjoy a chance to hang it somewhere! It's made from cotton/bamboo yarn and adorned with vintage buttons.
I'm really loving this display on my mantelpiece... I think I'll let it stay until it's time to change it up for Christmas!
Urban Jungle Bloggers is hosted by Judith at JOELIX.com and Igor at Happy Interior Blog. You can find out more and participate yourself at urbanjunglebloggers.com.


text:
The cold winter temps have returned, with highs in the low 20's and wind chills in the single digits above and below zero. I have to say without a doubt this has been one of the most brutal winters I can remember. That we have these kinds of temps into late March, with only a couple of warmer respites here and there, is something I do not recall happening during my lifetime.
It certainly explains the state of our firewood, with less than half a cord remaining out of the four we started out with. Usually by now we'd be heating almost exclusively with the furnace as the only time we'd need heat would be a bit in the evening and first thing in the morning. But for now we still have to run the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove 24/7. I just hope the cold temps will leave before we exhaust our supply of firewood.
When I heard this I realized the friggin' PC police have taken over the schools in Lexington, Massachusetts.
It appears the high school administration banned a planned "American Pride" dance because "it excluded other nationalities."
First, that the school officials in one of the two towns that saw the first battles of the American Revolution would ban something that should be celebrated as much as possible shows just how far the PC rot has progressed.
Second, they seem to have forgotten that Americans are made up of all kinds of nationalities that came here to be American. (My maternal grandparents were just two of them.) If people of other nationalities are attending the high school, could it be because eventually they will become Americans? If they're exchange students, does it really matter?
I have to wonder whether they're putting "other nationalities" ahead of Americans. Do they allow celebration of Cinco de Mayo in the school? (If they do, do they ban the wearing of American flags on that day because it might offend those of Mexican descent, just as has happened in Arizona?)
These people need to be fired because it is quite obvious that they have become deluded and, dare I say it, hostile to our immigrant American roots. These people should have no contact with children...even their own.
I missed this post by Skip the other day, where he skewers the "socialism works" meme and uses the self-made economic debacle in Seattle as an example of how far too often emotions override facts (and math) and the socialists in charge decide that ignoring the laws of economics are already learning about the Law of Unintended Consequences first hand.
I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who noticed this fantasy-based 'solution' to a problem that can't be solved by putting even more people out of work. (Scroll down.)
Then again, it never is about logic. It's always about "what can we do to 'help' the 'poor' that will make us feel better about ourselves even though it won't really help anyone and, will in fact, make things worse."
I think my family is going to have to rethink using these.
Wet Wipes Are Forming Sewer-Destroying 'Superknots'.
Wastewater officials are begging people to stop sending wipes down the toilet and preparing lawsuits against manufacturers who refer to their sanitary products as "flushable." That word you keep using... I do not think you know what it means.
I have never felt the need to use them except on one or two very special circumstances. I also don't like what they do to our septic system though that hasn't stopped other members of our household from using them.
Fun with Starbucks!
Bird Dog reposts his treatise on Maple Syrup and Sugaring Season.
The sugar houses have started collecting sap (when it's running) and once they have enough they'll start boiling it down to get rid of the water. At the moment the weather here in New Hampshire isn't conducive to the sap running. It's too cold and it's windy. Sap runs best when it's warm during the day and cold (generally near freezing) at night, with little or no wind. But it's in the upper teens and low twenties today with high, gusty winds, so the sap won't be running.
Now all we have to do is watch out for the maple syrup cartel trying to horn in on our action.
One thing neither the Department of Justice or the usual race-baiters (Sharpton and Holder) and Obamabots ever mention about the aftereffects of their efforts to stir up racial hatred for fun and profit after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson: The average property values have dropped 50 percent in the past seven months.
That will help those in Ferguson who would like to leave but are now stuck there because any equity they had in their homes has disappeared.
Call this yet another example of the Law of Unintended Consequences expressing itself in a way that hurts everyone.
(H/T Pirate's Cove)
Here's another example of the Gore Effect, in this case in New York City at the United Nations.
You'd think the warmists would have learned their lesson by now, but we know they are incapable of seeing anything that goes against their religious beliefs.
By way of Granite Grok comes this notable quote from Ace of Spades:
Yes, Establishment GOP, you can teach us that you will always lie to us, stab us in the back, humiliate us and crush us; but if you teach us that, be aware we are learning another lesson, too. Not just that "The Establishment Will Always Crush You," but the lesson that There is no hope in any kind of conventional politics for those of us who want better than this Pile of S&^% the two parties give us.
I've been saying this for years, as have many others.
Islam needs a Reformation. Much as Christianity's Reformation changed the many of the tenets of Christianity and rejected its previous militancy, so must Islam, otherwise the never ending Holy War being fought by its extremists will lead to yet another Holocaust, this time killing billions.
Writes Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
Not all of this violence is explicitly motivated by religion, but a great deal of it is. I believe that it is foolish to insist, as Western leaders habitually do, that the violent acts committed in the name of Islam can somehow be divorced from the religion itself. For more than a decade, my message has been simple: Islam is not a religion of peace.
When I assert this, I do not mean that Islamic belief makes all Muslims violent. This is manifestly not the case: There are many millions of peaceful Muslims in the world. What I do say is that the call to violence and the justification for it are explicitly stated in the sacred texts of Islam. Moreover, this theologically sanctioned violence is there to be activated by any number of offenses, including but not limited to apostasy, adultery, blasphemy and even something as vague as threats to family honor or to the honor of Islam itself.
She goes on to state that "we in the West need to challenge and debate the very substance of Islamic thought and practice."
As the saying goes, Read The Whole Thing.
Obama's anti-Israel rhetoric is cranking up, particularly since Israeli voters decided they liked the Prime Minster they already have, rejecting Obama's efforts to unseat him. The election results cause the Left here in the US to totally unmind itself, making them determined to throw Israel to the wolves.
The Left's hatred of Israel is no longer subtle or just under the surface. It is out there in the open and I have a feeling it will only end when Israel (and a good portion of the Middle East) is nothing but a radioactive wasteland. Even then, the Left will find some way of blaming Israel's destruction upon Israel itself, regardless of the fact they've pushed hard to make sure Iran acquired the means of making and using nuclear weapons. But then that's how the Left operates – create a crisis for a perceived enemy, assist in their destruction, and then rewrite history to absolve themselves of any blame.
With a friend like Obama and the Left, no one needs enemies.
And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where January temperatures are still here, the snow is slowly melting, and where thoughts of time out on the lake this summer are staring to make themselves known.
Is Magnetic Cooling In Our Future?
Another Obama Betrayal Of Israel
Poor Babies
Obama Is Not Israel's Friend
Socialism Doesn't Work And Never Has
Local Leftist Academic Wants All Opinion Letters V...
The PC Police Try Playing The Empty 'Race Card'
A Twofer
The True Destroyers Of Civilization
Follow The Money - Make 'Em Show Whose Paying Them...


text:
Adolf Šimperský (Břevnov, 5 d'agost de 1909 - 15 de febrer de 1964) fou un futbolista txecoslovac.

Va formar part de l'equip txecoslovac a la Copa del Món de 1934.

Referències

Futbolistes internacionals amb Txecoslovàquia de la dècada de 1930
Persones de la regió de Bohèmia Central
Futbolistes txecs
Esportistes austrohongaresos
Esportistes bohemis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Children are more important than chocolate
It sounds like a good news story, doesn't it? Nestle is really helping Ivory Coast by distributing saplings that will grow into disease-resistant cocoa trees. This will greatly boost productivity and improve the quality of the cocoa beans. But is this really a good news story? What about the quality of life for the 200,000 children who labour in the cocoa jungles of Ivory Coast? What about the child slaves trafficked from Burkino Faso and Mali included in that number? Why isn't Nestle doing something to help these children? They could've linked the distribution of these new cocoa trees to programs that are working to eliminate child slavery and end the worst forms of child labour.
The good news story is actually happening in Cameroon, the fourth largest cocoa-producing country. Companies like Mars and Cadbury have been impressed by research that shows that farmers in Cameroon cultivate cocoa trees in a more sustainable way that essentially preserves and renews the rainforest. This is in great contrast to the monoculture cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast where the rainforest is being razed and then with time the cocoa trees are becoming less productive. What impresses me even more is that Cameroon does not have the same high rate of child labour that keeps children from attending school nor is the country known for the same extensive practice of child trafficking and slavery. Martin Gilmour, UK-based cocoa research manager for Mars, says, "We would like to see farmers get higher prices for their cocoa. It would be better for both of us." And it would help to eliminate the so-called "need" for child labour. So Cargill, a big cocoa purchaser and bulk chocolate producer for companies like Cadbury and Mars, is rolling out its UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon which should dramatically boost their sustainable cocoa output. This UTZ certification means working with the ILO to eliminate the worst forms of child labour which includes slavery and denial of schooling. Thus, Cameroon is already in a better position than Ivory Coast when it comes to child labour and now the chocolate companies are seeing the benefit of investing in Cameroon's cocoa production in a way that will go further to eliminating the worst forms of child labour and improving sustainability. Excellent! Now why wasn't this good news story broadcast on TV?
Finally, summer time makes is a great time to tell Hershey's that we want more from our S'mores! That's right, we want fair trade chocolate in our S'mores. Hershey's Chocolate made S'mores to be the popular treat they are, but they don't produce any fair trade chocolate bars. As a chocolate company they continue to show a resistance to doing anything about the serious child labour and slavery problem in West Africa. I mentioned above that Mars and Cadbury are speaking up and Cargill is listening, but Hershey remains silent. Raise the Bar, Hershey is an excellent website giving many practical ways for us to get involved in the fight against child slavery and abusive child labour in West Africa.
P.S. It's hard to ever truly find a good news story when it comes to cocoa coming from West Africa. The sources I cited above may have not been entirely accurate in their assessment of child labour in Cameroon's cocoa industry. This episode of the BBC World TV series "Survivors Guide" looks at the ILO's project in Cameroon. Sobering, to say the least.
Technorati Tags: Nestle,Ivory Coast,Mars bar,Cadbury,Cargill,Cameroon,UTZ certification,cocoa slavery,cocoa industry,Hershey,S'mores,chocolate,Hershey's chocolate,child labour,IO,child slavery,smores
Why the world needs Superman
Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship! Fox News got all upset and Mike Huckabee was disturbed last month when Action Comics #900 was released. I just had to get my own copy of this comic — no small feat as the publicity caused it to sell out fast everywhere. In spite of the media frenzy, the comic book story wasn't really about Superman renouncing his U.S. citizenship. (Mike Huckabee who was so disturbed by this notion had not even bothered to read the comic before condemning it.) The story was more about the limitations of a superhero and how little Superman could actually do during the protests of the Arab Spring. Superman chose to stand with a large group of peaceful, non-resistant protesters demonstrating in Iran. He admitted this was a problem he couldn't solve with his superpowers, but he could show his support and he did by standing with them — an action which landed Superman in trouble with the U.S. government. (Since Fox News doesn't want him, we'll glady give Superman Canadian citizenship. After all his Fortress of Solitude has always been in the Canadian Arctic.)
June, as it turns out, was quite the month for the iconic superhero. It saw the 10-year series finale of Smallville, the show all about the coming of age of Superman (Clark Kent). After watching it, a good friend of mine said, "It was pretty good even though I never watched Smallville before. They built up the anticipation and made you want to see Superman fly." Humoured, I replied, "The anticipation you experienced in those two hours, I've been experiencing over the last 10 years! They definitely built up the anticipation. I've been watching and waiting for 10 years now to see the blue suit, the red cape, the first flight and the emergence of Superman."
Action Comics #900 (and other Superman comics too), the TV series Smallville and even the song "Superman (It's not easy)" by Five for Fighting are examples of the postmodern revision of Superman. In these last few years, we've learned that behind the legend and the cape, there is suffering — a vulnerable hero, sometimes unsure of himself, lonely and insecure, hurting but hoping. And we had thought he was almost a god, invincible and invulnerable, a superhuman alien, the last son of Krypton. Tom Welling in Smallville and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns have revealed this more human, more sympathetic, and more vulnerable side of Superman. In the 2006 movie Superman almost dies, sacrificing himself to save the earth. This whole new way of understanding Superman's limitations and his "humanness" may have begun in the remarkable 1992 comic "The Death of Superman."
This revision of Superman really does make sense. When I think back to my childhood dream of becoming Superman and being able to defeat every foe and solve every problem while never being hurt by anyone nor feeling any of this world's pain, I realize now that wasn't quite realistic. Seriously, how could a hero, a true hero, be untouched and uninvolved in this world's suffering? To be a hero these days, Superman must push himself through constant trials, experience pain, and be willing to sacrifice himself. Contrast the Brandon Routh Superman of Superman Returns (2006) who struggles intensely and must use every ounce of his ingenuity, strength and speed to save a passenger jet spinning out of control — contrast him with the Christopher Reeve Superman of the original Superman movie (1978) who effortlessly rescued Air Force One by subbing in for an engine. This new young hero raised in Smallville who goes through trials and struggles to become Superman is truly a superhero.
What 9/11 taught us about heroes is that they sacrifice themselves to save others, they put themselves in harm's way, they suffer and more often than we realized, they die in the line of duty. In Canada, the Highway of Heroes is the road travelled when fallen soldiers are returned from Afghanistan. People line the way, standing with firefighters and other emergency workers to pay tribute to our military heroes. Christians ought to pay close attention to this redefinition of "heroes" and revision of Superman. After all, we follow a Saviour who said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).
Yet the church is still caught up in the modern era triumphalism that produced the invincible and invulnerable Superman. Whey else would we think it odd when we as Christians are touched by and involved in this world's suffering? Why do we question the goodness of God when a young father is diagnosed with terminal cancer? Why do we as Christians believe that we should feel no pain and be healed from all diseases? Why are we so prone to insist that God should intervene at every turn and save us from harm? (Really listen to our group prayers! See what we really believe.) We don't expect a fellow believer to land a lousy job and be underpaid or to suffer from depression or to be unable to save their marriage. Why do we protest so loudly when the way is hard and the path uncertain? Isn't it true that the church today celebrates success, wealth and victory? Triumph to triumph!
Perhaps we've gotten our heroes of the faith all wrong by worshipping success. Maybe this isn't God's way of changing the world. Isn't it just possible that the heroes God calls us to be in this world will struggle and be unsure at times, be vulnerable and caught up in this misery of this world, perhaps find themselves alone, hurting yet hoping. I suspect these are exactly the kind of heroes God is using to change the world. Consider again the Beatitudes, that list of what God rewards. As Christians, aren't we called to follow the way of our real Superhero, Jesus?
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Superhero and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1b-3, NIV but improved)
Here's the reason I wrote this article on today's Superman: We need a better way to translate the Greek word αρχηγος (archagos) which is used to describe Jesus four times in the New Testament (The verse above, Hebrews 12:2, and 2:10; Acts 3:15, 5:31). Our typical translations like "author" and "pioneer" fall way short of the powerful meaning packed in the Greek word αρχηγος. Though they get at some aspect of the meaning, I don't think terms like this say enough. The mighty Hercules, really the ancient Greek version of Superman, the half-human and half-divine hero, was called both αρχηγος and saviour — superhero and saviour. These are exactly the Greek terms used of Jesus in Acts 5:31! Anyone familiar with the legend of Hercules wouldn't imagine calling him an "author" or a "pioneer," certainly not a "prince"—such words do not do him justice. Nor do I think that such weak translations of αρχηγος, though they convey some element of truth, are adequate translations of this title when applied to Jesus. It would be much better to capitalize on today's understanding of what makes a hero and proclaim Jesus to be our Superhero and Saviour (rather than "Prince and Saviour" as in the NIV of Acts 5:31). He is the one who can show us how to make a difference in this world.
When I read what Hebrews 2:10-18 says about Jesus, I see a hero who shared in our humanity, suffered in his flesh and sacrificed himself for us. Through the trials, temptations and suffering, he proved himself faithful. Because of what he experienced, Jesus is merciful toward us, ready to help us, able to make us like himself, faithful to the end. This Superhero saves us, inspires us and is transforming us to be like himself in this world. It may not be easy, but these are the heroes the world needs to see emerging from the church today, real heroes who will make a difference.
Technorati Tags: archagos,Superman,Action Comics #900,Smallville,Superman Returns,Superman The Movie,superhero,heroes,archegos,Jesus Christ,Hebrews 12:2,Hebrews 2:10,Acts 3:15,Acts 5:31,pioneer,author and finisher,saviour,hero,forerunner,Hercules,Clark Kent,Tom Welling,Brandon Routh,Christopher Reeve,Jesus,suffering,Action Comics 900,Fox News,Mike Huckabee,Highway of Heroes
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Canada's Ganong chocolate factory expands: bittersweet news
In late June, Ganong Bros. Ltd, Canada's oldest chocolate factory, announced a $10 million expansion that will increase the size of their factory by 10%, add 30-40 jobs and allow them to potentially increase their sales volume by 25%. This was made possible in part by $5 million in loans from the province and the federal government, but it seems to me this "good" news is actually "bittersweet" at best.
At the June 24 announcement, Premier David Alward said, "This is a very positive day for Charlotte County, for St. Stephen and more importantly for New Brunswick." It seems the premier was assuming the 30-40 news jobs would be going to people in St. Stephen and Charlotte County, but at this same event David Ganong, chair of the board, made clear they would outsource the jobs if they could not find qualified New Brunswickers. They've previously hired dozens of foreign workers. New Brunswick's unemployment is at 9.5% and with the province now putting $3 million toward this new expansion, you would think asking Ganong Bros. to guarantee that jobs would go to New Brunswickers, even if training was required, would've been smart. So the news is not as good as it could have been.
The federal government, through the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency, put $2 million toward the expansion at the St. Stephen factory which is happening in part because Ganong Bros. landed a long-term contract with a major international customer, with the details still being top secret. This introduces international trade issues which no one spoke about at the announcement.
Ganong Bros. makes a variety of chocolate and candy confections, but they do not source their own cocoa beans or even make their own chocolate. They purchase bulk chocolate which is melted and used to create the fine chocolate treats Canadians have enjoyed from Ganong for 138 years now, including Delecto assorted chocolates and Chicken Bones. It's common practice, nearly ever chocolatier in Canada uses bulk chocolate. No one wants to talk about the serious ethical issues involved in the purchase and resale of bulk chocolate, but the federal government ought to take a stand.
Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana supply about 67% of the world's chocolate, but it is increasingly coming to light that both countries have children labouring in the cocoa jungles. In many cases, children do not go to school, but instead work long hard days doing work far too dangerous for them. CBC Reporter Carol Off investigated the dark side of the cocoa industry in her book Bitter Chocolate and the BBC Panorama documentary Chocolate: The Bitter Truth backed up her findings and presented more evidence. What is this bitter truth? The children who labour so hard to produce the cocoa never taste the Ganong chocolates or any other chocolate for that matter. Not only are children forced to work, but the desperately poor cocoa farmers have also resorted to trafficking children from other West African countries and putting them to work as slaves. We know this is happening and, yet, to date, Canada has done nothing about it, continuing to import the West African cocoa beans and doing nothing to discourage the practice of child labour and child slavery.
We can't pretend this investment from our federal government at Ganong Bros. is not a failure to do something to help change the plight of the children of West Africa. Why couldn't the federal government, for example, have made their investment contingent on Ganong Bros. committing to making 25% of their chocolate products from Fair Trade chocolate (which improves the working conditions for children, gets them into school, and eliminates slavery). How long will Canadians be content to happily eat chocolate produced from cocoa harvested by child labourers and child slaves?
Jesus said, "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did not do for me" (Matt 23:45). Don't we have a moral obligation to work against slavery, especially to end child trafficking and slavery? Or should we just go one indulging in our Ganong chocolate truffles pretending that we're not contributing to the forced labour of children in West Africa? Can we treat our kids with Kit Kats and Snickers while ignoring the plight of the children who produce the cocoa but never taste the chocolate? I can't do it anymore. And I would like to see Canada do something about it. I'm writing to the New Brunswick premier, the federal minister responsible for ACOA and others; I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, I was going to post the fourth and final installment of the documentary Chocolate: The Bitter Truth, just in case you have not finished viewing it as I have previously posted the first three parts. Unfortunately, the high quality youtube video I had previously posted is no longer available. I'll post this video which is part 4 of 5. You can click on the youtube button to find the fifth part. Listen carefully, it's alarming.
Technorati Tags: chocolate,Ganong,New Brunswick,cocoa,child slavery,child labour,Ivory Coast,Ghana,west Africa,bulk chocolate,St. Stephen,Carol Off,Panorama,Chocolate: The Bitter Truth,Kit Kat,Snickers,Delecto,chicken bones,cocoa slavery,chocolate industry,Premier David Alward,ACOA
Posted by Ken Symes at 4:27 AM
Canada's Ganong chocolate factory expands: bitters...


To design a brand identity, packaging and marketing materials for the Bolt disposable charger. The brief was to look appealing, "cool" and trendy to engage with event and clubbing audiences for the product to be advertised and sold through vendors machines at events, pubs, shopping outlets and clubs.
The logo design brought together the message of both the "lightening" bolt and the power charger symbol. The colours refer to the charging levels (red being empty & green being fully charged) which are used alongside strong fonts. The eye-catching branding is used throughout all the packaging design, vending machine signage, posters, signage & marketing materials.