text:
Three reasonable men … one boring debate
By David Krayden. Published on Sep 18, 2015 11:00am
Leave it to Canadian politics. Three reasonably polite men spent an hour and a half gently grousing at each other in Calgary last night, trying to convince people that there's enough of a difference between their platforms to matter.
What they managed to do was run down their talking points with varying degrees of aggression without drawing a clear line in the sand. Tom Mulcair, Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper — three men who agree on the big things … including the fact that they don't like each other. They should have dressed in matching outfits.
This historic moment in national politics could only be viewed over the Internet or on CPAC, limiting its audience to the usual political junkies and shut-ins. The event was sponsored and moderated by the Globe and Mail; the bright idea of ensuring the national news networks couldn't broadcast the debate belongs to Conservative non-communications manager Kory Teneycke, who wanted to move the debates away from the 'liberal' news media and straight into the ratings sub-basement.
Harper, Mulcair and Trudeau clung to their stump speeches like drowning men to driftwood, making the whole 'debate' play out like a long, slow political ad. Sure, they raised their voices occasionally about how the other two guys just couldn't get their facts right — but watching this tepid exchange of "ideas" is enough to convince anyone that Canada's party system in 2015 is a Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-Dem political landscape, where the real differences between the options are razor-thin.
Honestly, it was like they were playing for a draw. Which explains why the latest Nanos poll, issued just before the great debate, showed that the three parties are not just neck-and-neck — they're standing on top of each other.
There was Tom Mulcair, preaching the gospel of balanced budgets and suggesting that his patron saint Tommy Douglas set the standard for black ink as Saskatchewan's premier. Mulcair spoke of debt so often, he sounded like a loan officer. I know now that he comes from a family of ten children because he told us about ten times. He also spoke of imaginary "social and environmental debts" — code words for the true believers who fear he plans to run the government like Harper with a beard.
Harper did appear more than competent last night — although it helped that Mulcair and Trudeau spent much of their time savaging each other. But Harper's problem isn't management. It's leadership.
The only person at a podium last night who seemed to be vaguely aware that he was experiencing a significant political moment was Trudeau. He mustered some of the rhetorical passion his father was famous for, speaking incessantly about "kickstarting" the economy and clearly stating (more than once) that his government would run "modest deficits" in its early years. Given the record of federal governments of all stripes over the past 60 years, this statement has probably lost its power to shock people.
Trudeau even had me when he spoke about the traffic gridlock strangling our cities; you rarely hear a federal politician admit in public that Ottawa's rush hour is a rolling disaster.
Trudeau had the most to prove last night. His economic statements have been less than precise and often appear cavalier. But he had his talking points down in Calgary and was able to keep up with Harper and Mulcair, belting out the high notes when necessary and actually appearing energized and aware of his audience. And he talked about the future.
Stephen Harper offered no vision for the future — and his recall of the past was selective at best. He had the most to lose in the debate but he seemed to find the right balance between script recall and flexibility. He did his best to appear earnest and concerned. He even got the first laugh of the night; asked by the moderator if Trudeau was "on to something" with his talk of infrastructure spending, Harper, the Infrastructure King, replied, "absolutely not."
Harper has made the Conservative campaign all about him; much of the cabinet appears to be in hiding. Despite his decision to shake up the campaign by bringing in Australian wedge artist Lynton Crosby, he obviously intends to continue making the ballot question all about his fitness to govern.
And Harper did appear more than competent last night — although it helped that Mulcair and Trudeau spent much of their time savaging each other. But Harper's problem isn't management. It's leadership. He does not inspire. He has nothing to say about the future. He sells conservatism like it's a high-efficiency heating system.
Only once in the debate — when he insisted that a carbon tax "is not intended to reduce carbon but to raise money for the government" — did the Conservative leader come close to articulating a vision for the country that is based on the primacy of the individual.
So the three-way split remains; the debate didn't move the dial for anyone. If Harper means to carry the ball all the way to the end zone by himself, he'd better start talking about where he wants to take this country next.
David Krayden was raised on Vancouver Island and has written extensively on Western political issues over the years. He was a columnist for the Calgary Herald and host of Calgary's Liberty Today radio program; more recently he worked as an editor for Sun News. Krayden was a public affairs officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force and spent almost a decade on Parliament Hill as a communications staffer. @DavidKrayden
David Krayden


text:
namespace logic
{
	class Board;
}

class logic::Board
{
	//Private:

	// The map is a grid of size GRID_W x GRID_H.
	std::vector<logic::Entity*> board[BOARD_W][BOARD_H];

	// Returns true if coordinates exist.
	bool isCoordValid(int x, int y) const;

public:

	Board();

	void removeEntityAt(logic::Entity* ent, int x, int y);

	// Returns true if the entity can move to position dst.
	// It also removes the entity from it previous position.
	bool moveEntityTo(Entity* ent, int dstX, int dstY);

	// Initializes player position.
	bool setPlayerAt(logic::Entity* player, int x, int y);

	// Returns a vector of entities, at the position (x, y) of the board.
	const std::vector<logic::Entity*>* getEntitiesAt(int x, int y) const;

	void reset();
};

#endif //_BOARD_H_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Ethics
September 16, 2019 | 12:15-1:30PM
Director, Center for Ethics, Emory University
Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D. is the Raymond F. Schinazi Distinguished Research Chair in Jewish Bioethics, a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Biological Behavior, and Sociology, and the Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University. Dr. Wolpe moved to Emory University in the summer of 2008 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was on the faculty for over 20 years in the Departments of Psychiatry, Sociology, and Medical Ethics, and faculty in its Center for Bioethics.
Dr.Wolpe spent 15 years as Senior Bioethicist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where he still serves as a bioethical consultant. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience, and sits on the editorial boards of over a dozen professional journals in medicine and ethics. He is a past President of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities; the current President of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors; a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the country's oldest medical society; a Fellow of the Hastings Center, the oldest bioethics institute in America; and served as the first National Bioethics Advisor to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Dr. Wolpe publishes in the fields of sociology, medicine, and bioethics, and has contributed to a variety of encyclopedias on bioethical issues. A futurist interested in social dynamics, Dr. Wolpe's work focuses on the social, religious, ethical, and ideological impact of medicine and technology on the human condition. Considered one of the founders of the field of neuroethics, which examines the ethical implications of neuroscience, he also writes about other emerging technologies. His teaching and publications range across multiple fields of bioethics and sociology, including death and dying, genetics and eugenics, sexuality and gender, mental health and illness, alternative medicine, and bioethics in extreme environments such as space. He also writes and talks about the Jewish contribution to thinking about the ethical aspects of medicine and technology. He is the co-author of the textbook Sexuality and Gender in Society, and editor and a key author of the end-of-life guide Behoref Hayamim: In the Winter of Life.
Dr. Wolpe sits on a number of national and international non-profit organizational boards and working groups, and is a consultant to academic institutions and the biomedical industry. He has testified twice to the President's Commission on the Study of Bioethical Issues in Washington, DC. A dynamic and popular speaker internationally, Dr. Wolpe has been chosen by The Teaching Company as a "Superstar Teacher of America" and his courses are distributed internationally on audio and videotape. He has won the World Technology Network Award in Ethics, has been featured in a TED talk, and was profiled in the November, 2011 Atlantic Magazine as a "Brave Thinker of 2011." Dr. Wolpe is a contributor to broadcast and print media, and has been featured on 60 Minutes and with a personal profile in the Science Times of the New York Times.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Owning your own automobile can give you a wonderful sense of freedom. There are no boundaries on your travels. But, your car can also stop running at any time, meaning you could be stranded somewhere. The advice included here will help you handle that situation if it arises.
Get yourself a good battery charger, making sure to keep it inside the car. People commonly experience dead batteries, making battery chargers good for helping stranded drivers. Be sure you know how to correctly connect the charger clamps to your battery and the battery you are charging.
You don't need to call someone to repair your car each time you're experiencing trouble. There are a few things that could be fixed very easily. Try troubleshooting the issue on the Internet or talk to your friends to see if they have an idea of what could be wrong with your vehicle. If the repair is not difficult, you can fix it yourself and save a lot of money.
Be aware of a mechanic who makes unneeded repairs to your car. A mechanic that is good will notify you of parts that show signs of deterioration and will soon need replacement, but they shouldn't replace it without having your approval. If a mechanic does unnecessary repairs, find someone else who is more trustworthy.
TIP! Make sure that you specifically request OEM parts. OEM parts are parts that are made by the manufacturer.
You should have basic tools in your car at all times. These tools should include a tire changing kit, which comes in most cars. You will need to get a lug wrench and a jack if you don't already have them. Basic tools such as screw drivers, wrenches, socket wrenches, torque wrench and other basic tools are also handy to have. Don't buy low-quality tools. Purchase solid tools that are resistant to breakage.
TIP! If your headlights are not shining as brightly, check to see if they are clean. Dirt from driving can build up on your headlights and block some light.
Not all auto repairs will cost large sums of money. Usually, the problems with your car can be fixed yourself. Simply use the tips mentioned below to get your car back on the road.


text:
Two Teams Join Forces to Make the Tricorder a Reality
Jon Sung
Even on Star Trek, there are truths you can't escape: Tribbles and Klingons don't mix. The polarity on nearly anything can be reversed. Never turn your back on a Breen. And a Tricorder is a doctor's best friend. After all, a doctor is only as good as the data with which he or she has to work.
Maybe a Genie could help? Genie is the brainchild of Dr. Roger Mason, who's joined forces with the Algonquin College team headed up by Professor John Omura to compete in the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition. Together, they're melding scanning technology, learning software, and user experience design to create a medical Tricorder device that comes with a built-in diagnostic assistant.
MDs, don't start panicking yet: the Genie doesn't replace the McCoys and Crushers of the world. In fact, it's designed to be the doc's BFF: something that augments their abilities by narrowing down possibility spaces, helping to make diagnoses and recommend tests and treatments. "We're elevating the average clinician to a master diagnostician," Dr. Mason explains. With the Genie, a junior medical practitioner can optimize his or her process, simplifying pre-screening and making it easy to take a patient's medical history — even flagging things a human might miss. In emerging nations with a scarcity of doctors, the Genie would be even more valuable, enabling community health workers to diagnose conditions and initiate treatments (Star Trek: Voyager's EMH would be proud!).
This Tricorder concept was Dr. Mason's idea, but after entering the competition, he and his engineering team lead, Cauri Jaye, soon identified a hole that needed filling. "It became clear to Cauri and I that we'd need to work with someone else to incorporate a hardware device that tested vitals and led to diagnoses." They began looking for a team that brought medical sensing and diagnostics to the table, and soon got in touch with the team from Algonquin College, one of the youngest teams competing in the competition. It was a perfect fit, with the Algonquin College team proving to be the peanut butter to Team Genie's chocolate. On the Genie side: software concepts and know-how, serious medical expertise, and vital project management. On the Algonquin side: strong technical game, an institutional focus on research, and peerless user experience design.
According to Algonquin's Professor John Omura, "It fits the natural model of applied research projects: seeking external partners to collaborate with, we form an R&D team working in collaboration with a client, in this case the Genie." Omura's a strong believer in combining professional experience with student innovation, as he's seen it make for very efficient collaboration. Plus, the XPRIZE competition itself is wildly exciting. "We do it for the students; it's a phenomenal opportunity to participate in a prestigious and exciting global competition, making a groundbreaking advance in healthcare."
Distilled down to its core, their mission is all about optimizing health through democratization — getting people to take control of their own health. "There's a tremendous need in this country, and indeed the world, for people to have a device that will assist them in reaching an accurate diagnosis," Dr. Mason says. This led to the question they asked at the outset, which Jaye sums up as, "How can we take the best possible experience that people have with good doctors and turn that into something they can do on themselves?"
But that's just the first part. As more patients and doctors everywhere use more units, the Genie system gathers data, collating, cross-referencing and learning. Learning things like, for instance, which tests are best for assessing certain conditions, and which ones don't provide accurate or cost-efficient information; did you know unnecessary tests and procedures account for a staggering $700 billion a year by some estimates? This technology will be poised to become a powerful agent in preventing costly testing, instead providing a kind of best-practice medicine that will not only recommend the most accurate test, but the most effective treatment for a given diagnosis. Dr. Mason envisions a world that makes the most of a doctor's time, rewarding the quality of care given, not just quantity. The Genie will be able "to broaden the ability of clinicians and lay people to make diagnoses and understand their health."
Of course, this may change the future as we know it, given the fact that in the 24th century, medical Tricorders weren't exactly standard issue for the crew. Just think: the emergence of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome on the Enterprise-D could've been avoided entirely if that hypochondriac lieutenant had been able to diagnose the fact that he was totally off his amateur medical rocker!
Jon Sung is a contributing writer for XPRIZE and copywriting gun-for-hire to startups and ventures all over the San Francisco Bay area. When not wrangling words for business or pleasure, he serves as the first officer of the USS Loma Prieta, the hardest-partying Star Trek fan club in San Francisco.
XPRIZE is an innovation engine. We design and operate prize competitions to address global crises and market failures, and incentivize teams around the world to solve them. Currently, we are operating numerous prizes including the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, challenging privately funded teams to successfully land a robot on the Moon's surface, and the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, challenging teams around the world to create a portable, wireless, Star Trek-inspired medical device that allows you to monitor your health and medical conditions anywhere, anytime. The result? Radical innovation that will help us all live long and prosper.
Sign up today to join our mission, be a part of our campaign and win collectibles at: tricorderfederation.org.
Klingons
Tribbles
XPRIZE
Tribble
Treknosis
tpol
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text:
module tasks {

    export class TasksController {

        static $inject = ['$scope', 'tasksRepository'];

        constructor($scope: IXScope, tasksRepository: TasksRepository) {
            var tasks = $scope.prop<Task[]>('tasks', []);
            var taskName = $scope.prop<string>('taskName', null);

            var priorities = $scope.prop<Priority[]>('priorities', Priority.values());
            var taskPriority = $scope.prop<Priority>('taskPriority', Priority.DEFAULT);

            function addTask(){
                var task = tasksRepository.newTask(taskName.get(), taskPriority.get());
                tasks.setFromPromise(tasksRepository.addTask(task));
            }

            function deleteTask(task: Task){
                tasks.setFromPromise(tasksRepository.deleteTask(task));
            }

            $scope['addTask'] = addTask;
            $scope['deleteTask'] = deleteTask;
            tasks.setFromPromise(tasksRepository.get());
        }
    }
}


text:
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Scene 5
It's now morning and a gaggle of ships are cruising along Hoth's surface.
We see some sweet first-person shots from the cockpit while a pilot desperately tries to make contact with our two heroes. Suddenly, his pleas are responded to with a cocky quip—it's Han.
Back at the base, Han, Leia, and C-3PO are standing in front of a large, cylindrical tank, where Luke is floating in a blue liquid. Seems like a medical device. Suddenly, Luke wakes up and is shot through the top of the tank like it was a pneumatic tube.
It seems like everything went fine because the next shot is a close-up on Luke's grinning face, which is a little scarred, but no worse for the wear.
Han engages in some playful ribbing of Luke before turning his attention to Leia. She tells him that he can't leave the system now until the General activates the "energy field," which Han takes as an invitation for shameless flirting.
What follows is a series of playful insults that includes the word "nerf-herder." It's not really an important plot point or anything, but it must be noted.
Han claims that he must be hitting the mark if she's getting upset, which Leia slyly responds to by kissing Luke. This, of course, is pretty hilarious in hindsight.
The whole crew (sans Skywalker) meets with the General at HQ. The Rebels have been picking up a strange code being transmitted from the surface, which C-3PO suggests might be Imperial in origin. Han and Chewie run off to check it out.
We cut to one of the robo-jellyfish (Nerd alert: Our robo-jellyfish are actually called Imperial probes) sitting within spitting distance of the Rebel base. Uh-oh.
Chewie and Han pull off some diversionary tactics and manage to shoot it down, which causes a huge explosion. This surprises Han—he suspects that it was programmed to self-destruct.
That's bad news—the Empire is now here. The General informs everyone that it's time to evacuate.
Fate vs. Free Will
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
Darth Vader (David Prowse)
Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)
Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch)
C-3PO (Anthony Daniels)
R2-D2 (Kenny Baker)
Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew)
Emperor (Clive Revill)
Lando (Billy Dee Williams)
Yoda (Frank Oz)
Luke's Hand
The Force
The Little Green Buddha
Darth Vader's Meditation Chamber


text:
https://www.ourmidland.com/news/police_and_courts/article/Trio-busted-in-B-Es-across-Isabella-Clare-6965932.php
Trio busted in B&Es across Isabella, Clare counties
Published 4:46 am EST, Wednesday, December 21, 2011
A trio of Isabella County men is behind bars, accused in numerous larcenies that occurred from October to Dec. 6 in Isabella and Clare counties.
The Isabella County Sheriff's Office reports the breaking and enterings and thefts have occurred on Coldwater, Deerfield, Gilmore and Sherman townships in Isabella County, and that property stolen from Clare County also was recovered. Those items have been turned over to Clare County officials to prosecution there, a media release states.
The items that were recovered include multiple farm tractors, trailers, chicken nests and incubators, a 200 gallon tank sprayer, two boats and more.
Arrested were Chad Steven Rodriguez, 33, of Weidman, on two counts each of breaking and entering a building and larceny in a building; Ronald Raymond Pingilley, 48, of Mount Pleasant, on one count each of breaking and entering a building and larceny in a building; and Robert Lyle Keller Jr., 19. of Mount Pleasant on two counts each of breaking and entering a building and larceny in a building. Bond for Rodriguez is set at $50,000. Pingilley is being held on a $25,000, 10 percent cash or surety bond, and Keller's bond is set at $8,000, 10 percent cash or surety.


countdown module for XOOPS 2.5.9 ?
Re: countdown module for XOOPS 2.5.9 ?
2018/6/11 8:18 Thanks again. I had rewrite 3 places at the first time but it is not work as above mention. Because I need to use in Chinese Language, so I also create a tchinese_utf8 language pack. I removed all files and uploaded again. It works properly. Many thanks again.
One more question. I cannot find any admin files in the module folder. So I cannot find countdown in admin panel.


text:
Fedde Le Grand's Something Real Tour At SET Nightclub March 17 | TURN UP THE BASS
After months of anticipation, and with excitement at fever pitch, Dutch superstar DJ Fedde Le Grand, today releases his fourteen-track studio album 'Something Real', out via Ultra Music/Darklight Records. Fedde will be celebrating the album's release with his annual Miami Music Week party. This year the event will be taking place at Set Nightclub on March 17.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Fedde Le Grand
Few dance albums have experienced the level of hype and buildup that 'Something Real' has had over the past year. From Billboard to MTV, Fedde has won praise and backing from some of the biggest tastemakers in the industry and in doing so, has cemented his reputation as one of the most respected and revered dance producers of the decade.
A culmination of over 3 years of production, and spanning an impressive fourteen tracks in total, 'Something Real' is a dynamic and multi-faceted piece of work – a rare find in electronic music's current climate. With 'Cinematic', 'The Noise', 'Feel Good', 'Keep On Believing', and 'Give Me Some' already creating buzz across the airwaves, fans can now get their hands on another nine sublime cuts from Fedde. Collaborations with Cobra Effect, Jared Lee, Jonathan Mendelsohn, Erene, Espa, and Grammy winner MoZella – whose co-writes include One Direction's 'Perfect' and Miley Cyrus' #1 hit 'Wrecking Ball' – exemplify Fedde's ability to deviate from the norm and create completely original material. A diverse collection of sounds and styles rarely found in most dance albums, 'Something Real' is a unique and inspriring body of work.
Ensuring that each track has its own distinct flavor, from gorgeous vocally compelling numbers like 'Beauty From The Ashes', to the Espa assisted, chord driven 'Pity Love', and weaving between 80's funk riffs in 'Give Me Some' and bouncy house melodies in 'Feel Good', Fedde manages to effortlessly touch on numerous genres whilst still maintaining his signature sound. A particular highlight of the LP comes with Fedde's cover of Corona's timeless classic 'Rhythm Of The Night'. The first time this iconic vocal has been cleared for use, the track bears all the necessary hallmarks of a summer smash hit. With talk of a club edit arriving soon, be sure to keep an ear out for what undoubtedly will be a main-stage monster in the making.
Tickets: here


text:
Home Encyclopedia Summa Fathers Bible Library
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > O > Carlo Odescalchi
Carlo Odescalchi
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Cardinal, prince, archbishop, and Jesuit, b. at Rome, 5 March, 1786; d. at Modena, 17 August, 1841. His father, Duke of Sirmien, Prince of the Roman Empire, was a man of culture and attended personally to Carlo's education. He early manifested a religious vocation. Ordained priest, he said his first Mass, 1 January, 1809. He won the confidence of many souls, among others, a young cleric afterwards Pius IX, and later he ordained priest Gioacchino Pecci, eventually Leo XIII. Odescalchi was in the suite of Pius VII during the perilous times that preceded the pope's captivity, and after his release, he was rapidly promoted, and sent twice on special missions to Vienna. In 1823 he was created cardinal and immediately afterwards Archbishop of Ferrara, but he remained with the pope who was then dying. He devoted himself to his see with apostolic energy, until he resigned (1826). Returning to Rome he was made Bishop of Sabina, prefect of several congregations, and became protector and promoter of many good works. He was in the conclaves for the election of Leo XII, Pius VIII, and Gregory XVI. Cardinal Wiseman testifies to the general confidence reposed in his virtue and high principle on these occasions. When the Society of Jesus was restored by Pius VII (1814), Odescalchi had resolved to join it, and a cell had been prepared for him at Sant' Andrea. But the pope would not then allow him to enter, nor would Gregory permit it (1837), a commission of four cardinals, appointed to consider the question, having reported in the negative. Finally permission to resign the cardinalitial dignity having been given in full consistory (1839), Odescalchi entered the novitiate at Verona, and after a short probation was devoting himself to various ministries when he died. As a youth he had published the not unimportant "Memorie istorico-critiche dell' Academia de'Lincei" (Rome, 1806) and as Bishop of Sabina his "Massime sacerdotali" (Rome, 1834).
Berlendis, Memorie edificanti del P. C. Odescalchi (Rome, 1842—), Eng. tr. ed. Faber (London, 1840); Angelini-Rota, Storia del R. P. C. Odescalchi (Rome, 1850).
APA citation. Pollen, J.H. (1911). Carlo Odescalchi. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11206b.htm
MLA citation. Pollen, John Hungerford. "Carlo Odescalchi." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11206b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by William D. Neville.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.
Copyright © 2017 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.


text:
Seton Thrift Center
Diaper Bank
HIV Services
Shelter Services
Bayard House
Casa San Francisco
Marydale Retirement Village:
Rental Housing for Low Income Seniors
Routine Outpatient Counseling
CORE II
Pregnancy Counseling
CADC Training
Child and Adult Food Program
Seton Center
Eastern Shore MD Services
Annual Tribute Dinner
The Bishop's 5K Run/Walk
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington traces its roots to 1830, some 39 years before Pope Pius IX established the diocese itself, and more than a century before the diocese created the organization that today we know as Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities is a nonprofit corporation serving as an operating department of the Diocese of Wilmington, governed by a Board of Trustees and a Board of Directors, and accountable to the Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington.
Over the years, the organization's name has changed. In 1931, Catholic Charities, Inc. organized itself as the Catholic Welfare Guild and incorporated in 1943. In 1966, the organization adopted the name Catholic Social Services, Inc., and assumed its current name of Catholic Charities, Inc. in May 1989. Throughout the years, our responsibilities continued to expand.
In 1830, after a number of explosions at the DuPont powder mills on the Brandywine had left numerous children as orphans, or with only one parent, the Daughters of Charity arrived in Wilmington and set up St. Peter's Orphanage for Girls at Third and West Streets in Wilmington's Quaker Hill neighborhood. Over time, its location and name would change – eventually moving in 1939 onto an old estate near the north Wilmington town of Bellefonte and becoming known as Seton Villa.
In 1874, when the new Diocese of Wilmington was just five years old, Bishop Thomas Becker arranged for the Dominican sisters to staff the St. Paul's Male Orphanage at 320 Jackson Street in Wilmington, where the nuns also operated the diocese's first parochial school. The orphanage would prove short-lived, lasting only two years. However, in 1879, the Franciscan Sisters of Glen Riddle, Pa., established the St. James Male Protectory at Lovering Avenue and DuPont Street in Wilmington. Within a few years, the orphanage would move to a 95-acre farm, called Reybold, near Delaware City, and would remain there until 1941. Two years later, the diocese would acquire the Bancroft Estate near the Delaware Art Museum, where it would operate Siena Hall, an orphanage and group home for boys for nearly 60 years.
Services to families began in 1868, when the first Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established at St. Peter's Church. This movement ultimately contributed to the establishment of the Catholic Welfare Guild in 1931 by Bishop Edmond J. FitzMaurice. The Guild formalized a series of ministries that would assist needy Catholics of all ages. Bishop FitzMaurice charged the Guild to work with families, especially those requesting placement of their children in institutions, to provide institutional care and services for children, and to promote the growth of the St. Vincent de Paul Societies to provide assistance for needy families.
In its first years, during the depths of the Great Depression, the Catholic Welfare Guild struggled to find its identity. The Guild's first efforts included organizing chapters of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the parishes and assisting pastors who did not have the resources to help all the families in their parishes who sought aid. The Guild also acquired fabric from the Red Cross, which parish volunteers would sew into clothing for needy families. During the first year of operation, the Catholic Welfare Guild succeeded in keeping a large number of children out of institutions by providing supportive services to their families. The Guild began providing a number of child-care services, arranging to have children watched in their own homes, or having them placed in a boarding home. It also took over responsibility for placing children in the two orphanages. By 1935, the needs of children were deemed so great that the Guild scaled back its other activities to concentrate on child placement.
In 1937, the Guild's mission again broadened, as it opened its first thrift store at Fifth and Orange streets in Wilmington. The profits from the salvage and resale business financed an active foster care program that further reduced the numbers of children entering institutional care. Although no longer financing foster care, the Thrift Store is still in operation today as Catholic Charities Thrift Center, located at 23rd and Bowers Streets in northeast Wilmington, and a small center at Seton Center in Princess Anne, Maryland.
Other early services included teaching Catechism at institutions like Ferris School, Delaware State Hospital and the Women's Prison, and providing for the burial of destitute Catholics who died in the care of the state or county governments.
From its earliest days, the Catholic Welfare Guild would focus on the family, and acted to keep families together. "The intimate family circle is the foundation on which our civilization rests, and the training ground of all social and moral virtues," Bishop Fitzmaurice wrote in the 1933 annual report. "The Guild has spent all its energies to keep the family intact."
That emphasis on stabilizing families would remain, even as changes in the larger society would affect the components of the diocese's social services mission.
As the issues of poverty and civil rights drew the nation's attention, Catholic Social Services, under the direction of Father (later Monsignor) Thomas J. Reese from 1957 to 1977, extended its reach to care for the victims of poverty and social injustice.
Two events occurred during the early part of this period that had significant impact on the organization's future and growth. Catholic Social Services became a founding member of the United Way of Delaware. The agency also began to enter into contracts with the State of Delaware to receive some funding of child-care costs. At the same time, a lay Board of Directors began an increased prominence in Church leadership with the founding of the agency's Advisory Board in 1959.
In the 1960's, Catholic Social Services began providing family, individual, marital and pregnancy counseling, large-scale emergency financial assistance, aid to refugees, group home care and adoption services. The agency's work became more sophisticated and specialized, as a team of professional counselors, psychologists and social workers was developed to respond to an ever-widening range of needs. As addictions to drugs and alcohol increased, the organization hired counselors trained to treat people with addictions.
For many years, the diocese's social services programs focused heavily on Wilmington and New Castle County. In the 1960s, Catholic Social Services opened an office in Dover; offices in Georgetown and Salisbury, Md., followed.
By the mid-70s, both nationally and locally, there was intense study and a clearer focus given to the Catholic Charities mission. That mission, still guiding us today, has been articulated as a three-fold commitment to: 1) effective, high-quality, direct services to clients; 2) advocacy to humanize and transform the social order; and, 3) the empowerment of people by "convening" them around issues of importance and participation in a process of discernment and understanding.
It also embarked on a strategic planning process that resulted in a major reorganization and merger with other diocesan programs, and the adoption of the new name of Catholic Charities, as well as the Catholic Charities USA logo. Brought together in this merger were the Catholic Social Services programs and diocesan offices, which dealt with family life education, rural and migrant health services, parish social ministry coordination, peace and justice initiatives, and public policy formulation.
Building on that foundation over the following years, the organization received accreditation from the North American-wide Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, expanded old programs, and added new ones.
This process of expansion, merger and reorganization led to a new headquarters site at 4th Street and Greenhill Avenue in Wilmington. Additions to Catholic Charities' diverse services soon followed: the HIV/AIDS ministry, established in 1985; a unified parish social ministry, and a domestic violence program followed, both in the mid-1990s. The organization's drug and alcohol treatment program, the Center for Pastoral Care, moved to the headquarters building from St. Joseph's on the Brandywine Church in November of 1993.
Responding to the needs of the rural poor, and especially migrant farm workers, Franciscan Sisters established Casa San Francisco in an unpretentious home in Milton, Del., in 1981, and the Sisters of Charity opened the Seton Center in Princess Anne, Md., two years later. Concurrent with the name change to Catholic Charities in 1989, the Diocesan Department of Social Concerns was merged with the Catholic Charities. At that time, Casa San Francisco, Seton Center, and the Office of Parish Social Ministry became a part of Catholic Charities. The Parish Social Ministry program became a diocesan function in 2011.
In 1995, Children's Home, Inc. in Claymont, DE came under the administration of Catholic Charities. This allowed Catholic Charities to broaden its continuum of services to children even further. However, group care for children gave way to home settings. Siena Hall was closed in 2003, and in 2010, Seton Villa, the last of the group homes, closed. Adoption services were closed in 2011.
Bayard House joined Catholic Charities on October 1, 2004. The transitional home for unwed mothers and their babies, formerly known as the Home of Divine Providence, was created in 1979 by community groups and individuals, with a common concern for the pregnancy problems of adolescent women. It received its State of Delaware license in 1982.
In 2009, Marydale Retirement Village, a rental community for extremely low-income seniors and persons with disabilities, joined the Catholic Charities family of services.
Catholic Charities became the statewide administrator of the Delaware Weatherization Assistance Service in July 2014. The program is a federally funded, free service that provides weatherization services designed to reduce energy costs for low-income families by improving the energy efficiency of their home.
For over 190 years, Catholic Charities has continued to grow, adding services and reaching further into the community. It is known throughout Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore for its professionalism, its dedication, and, most of all, its loving care. Catholic Charities faces the uncertainties of the future knowing that two things are certain: that new needs will continue to appear, and that it will be ready to meet them.
1830: Daughters of Charity establish St. Peter's Orphanage for Girls in Wilmington.
1874-1876: Franciscan Sisters operate St. Paul's Orphanage for Boys in Wilmington. 1879: Glen Riddle Franciscan Sisters establish St. James Male Protectory in Wilmington.
1886: Diocese acquires Reybold property, near Delaware City, as new site for St. James Male Protectory.
1931: Bishop Edmond J. FitzMaurice creates the diocese's first Charities Department (which evolved into the Catholic Welfare Guild, Catholic Social Services and Catholic Charities).
1937: First Catholic Welfare Guild Thrift Store opens in Wilmington.
1939: Diocese and Daughters of Charity acquire Coxe Estate on Bellevue Road and open orphanage for girls that becomes known as Seton Villa.
1941: St. James Male Protectory closes.
1943: Diocese acquires the Bancroft Estate on Kentmere Parkway and opens a residence for boys known as Siena Hall. A new facility is constructed in 1967.
1957-1977: Msgr. Thomas J. Reese serves as director of Catholic Charities.
1960s: Margaret Weller, first Catholic Charities employee in southern Delaware, began work from her home and car and later opened the agency's first office on Bradford Street in Dover.
1970-71: Diocesan staff replaces religious orders as operators of Seton Villa and Siena Hall.
1972: Family Life Bureau created.
1978: Richard V. Pryor becomes first lay director of Catholic Social Services.
1981: Casa San Francisco opens in Milton, Del., as a ministry to migrant workers.
1983: Daughters of Charity open Seton Center in Princess Anne, Md., as a ministry for rural and migrant workers.
1985: AIDS Ministry established.
1989: Catholic Social Services renamed Catholic Charities.
1989: Casa San Francisco in Milton DE and Seton Center in Princess Anne MD become part of Catholic Charities.
1989: Diocesan Office of Parish Social Concerns merges with Catholic Charities
1992: Parish Social Ministry Division created.
1993: The Center for Pastoral Care, for alcohol and drug treatment, moves to Catholic Charities main office.
1995: Domestic Violence Program for perpetrators is introduced.
1995: Children's Home joins Catholic Charities.
2003: Siena Hall closes.
2004: Catholic Charities acquires Bayard House, providing services to unmarried mothers and their babies.
2009: AIDS Ministry expands to entire State of Delaware.
2009: Catholic Charities assumes management of Marydale Retirement Village in Newark.
2010: Seton Villa closes.
2011: Parish Social Ministries becomes a diocesan function.
2011: Adoption services are closed.
2014: Catholic Charities becomes statewide administrator of the Delaware Weatherization Assistance Program.
Catholic Charities, Inc.
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People miss the strong political message in this first of Seagal's movies: the Amnesty movement sponsored by religious leaders in the US especially in the Catholic church that is hiding refugees from death squads in Central America has learned of a plot to assassinate a US Senator investigating CIA involvement in drug-running and torture and assassinations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. Seagall learns that the same people who were involved in drug-running and torture in Vietnam are behind plot to assassinate the Senator during a speech in Chicago sponsored by groups against US involvement in Central American civil wars. The open anti-war position and critique of US policy by an honest cop gets ignored as is the tie-in between mafia drug dealers and the CIA.


Google Duo is the highest quality video calling app*. It's simple, reliable, and works on smartphones and tablets. Features: Simple interface Pick a loved one and jump right in, with a simple interface that makes video calling as easy as one tap. The highest quality video calling app* Experience more reliable video calls with excellent video quality whether you're on Wi-Fi or on-the-go. For Android and iOS devices Duo works on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, so you can call all your close friends and family using just one app. Knock Knock See who's calling before you pick up with a live video preview. Video Messages Friend can't answer your call? No problem. Leave them a video message for them to call you right back. With a video message, you can still capture everything about that moment you wanted to share. Voice Calls Make voice-only calls to your friends when you can't chat over video. *Based on Signals Research Group technical study comparing video degradation time over 3G, LTE, and WiFi. **Data charges may apply. Check your carrier for details.


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Khalidi: No room for extremist hate in Waltham
Omar Khalidi/ Guest columnist
Aug 26, 2010 at 12:01 AM Aug 26, 2010 at 3:18 PM
Across the United States, people of Indian descent are contributing to the success and prosperity of our nation. Examples include Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, Fareed Zakaria and Sanjay Gupta of CNN, Deepak Chopra, 11 Nobel laureates, Kalpana Chawla, an astronaut who died on the space shuttle Columbia, and thousands of scientists and entrepreneurs.
Our landscape is also changing. Beautiful Hindu temples have sprung up all over the country, including Massachusetts, adding to the architectural mosaic. Indian restaurants are a rage in almost every metropolis, including Waltham.
However, there is trouble brewing in this pretty picture of Indian communities. To cater to Indian religious and spiritual needs, many groups invite religious teachers. One such "teacher" is Sadhvi Rithambra. Rithambra is scheduled to speak on behalf of the organization, Vishva Hindu Parishad at Waltham High School on August 27 and August 29. Rithambra has incited violence in India with bloody consequences.
Consider her resume: Rithambra gained notoriety for her leadership in the demolition of the historic Babri Mosque in India in 1992. She is known for her rabble rousing speeches to incite violence against minorities in India. Her infamous slogan "Ek Dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid Tor do", ("Give one more blow, and raze the mosque to the ground") provided the key impetus to bring down the 16th century mosque. Leading up to the demolition of the mosque, one of her battle cries was khoon kharaba ("massacre") of the Muslims. In 2003, she sealed her reputation as a Hindu supremacist by vowing at the site of the demolished mosque: "a Hindu temple would be built by the use of force if all hurdles in its way were not removed."
The Liberhan Commission, a judicial commission appointed by the Indian Government to investigate the demolition of the Mosque, found Rithambra to be one of the 68 people directly responsible for the demolition and the subsequent violence that killed approximately 3,000 people across India in 1992. There are criminal cases ongoing against her in India.
Rithambra used proceeds from her International fundraising visits to set up terrorist camps in Vatsalya Gram, a shrine, where young children are trained in the use of firearms and ammunitions.
Police arrested her in 1995 for inciting hatred against Christians in Dewas in 2006. Her hate speech led to cases of arson.
She founded Durga Vahini, a militant Hindu women's organization responsible for numerous acts of violence including the ransacking of the Orissa state legislative assembly in 2006 and the anti-minority pogroms in Gujarat in 2002 which killed over 2,000 people.
Rithambra's student Pragya Singh, also a member of Durga Vahini, was arrested for masterminding the bomb blast in Malegaon on September 8, 2006 in which 37 were killed.
The United States was founded on religious freedom. This principle has united Americans of all ideological persuasions, ethnic backgrounds, national origins, sexual orientations, and religious affiliations. Even in the post-9/11 era, this country's basic foundation has been unshakeable.
Rithambra's vision and actions do not comport with this value. She not only has a record of virulent speeches against India's minority Christians and Muslims, but has a chronology of inciting violence. Her conduct is best exemplified by the Babri Mosque demolition and subsequent bloody events throughout India. As a community, can we benefit from Rithambra's message? I do not think so.
Everyone has a right to free speech, including those who build their careers on hate. However, Waltham residents and others attending Rithambra 's speech at the High School ought to ask her and her sponsors whether she believes in religious freedom for everyone, anywhere, and at any time. What religion, including Hinduism, believes in the destruction of sacred places whether churches, synagogues, temples or mosques? If she and her sponsors do hold spiritual values, how do we reconcile them with her conduct during the Babri Mosque destruction and the subsequent ongoing bloody events in India? Indians are enriching America in many ways, but hate speeches disguised as religious discourses must never be one of them.
Omar Khalidi is a native of India. He has traveled in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia over the past decade at the invitation of U.S. Department of State to speak about religious freedom in America. He can be reached at okhalidi@mit.edu.


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Kent has won the Spirit of Partnership Award at TheMIGroup's Worldwide Partner Network. National Client Services Manager, Lisa Fink, also won the Individual Excellence in Partnership Award.
TheMIGroup awards recognise leadership within the relocation industry worldwide, using a rigorous evaluation criteria that measures all aspects of service excellence. According to TheMIGroup, all of the 2015 winners consistently demonstrated service excellence, committed to exceeding expectations in all facets of the industry.
Kent truly values awards such as this, which are validation of the commitment to customer service excellence demonstrated by our entire team. Kent continually strives to reinforce its commitment to delivering the best possible removals, storage, and relocation solutions, to TheMIGroup's clients, as well as Kent's own clients.


New Podcast! Scannain Podcast (2018) #44!
It's time for the latest Scannain podcast! Almost live from the Dublin Feminist Film Festival this week.
Recorded late on Wednesday evening, following the screening of the festival shorts and Parklands. Directed by Kathryn Millard, with cinematography by Mandy Walker, Parklands is notable as Cate Blanchett's first starring role. So Jay Coyle, Ronan Doyle and I talk a little bit about our reactions to both the shorts and the film itself.
As usual, we talk about the top ten and the new releases, as well as what we've watched this week outside of the festival. In this episode, Jay discusses both the massive list of great films he has to watch before the end of the year, and his decision to watch both The Meg and Skyscraper instead. Ronan has seen two of the films in the top ten, having very strong opinions about both A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody.


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void biotool_log(int verbose, const char *msg);

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Wyoming Legislation Would Add Tolls to Interstate 80
Opportunity Zones Under Investigation by Treasury Inspector General
Is San Francisco's Transit-First Policy Facing a Midlife Crisis?
Driving accounts for 62 percent of all trips in San Francisco - the same level as when the city's pioneering transit-first policy was adopted 40 years ago. Aaron Bialick looks at the reasons why the policy has led to "scant visible progress."
March 25, 2013, 10am PDT | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj
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"When the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a transit-first policy on March 19, 1973 — 40 years ago this week — a return to the early 1900s streetscape may not have been what they had in mind, but the city's intent to undo decades of urban planning and governance geared towards promoting driving at the expense of public transit was clear," notes Bialick. "A key provision of the policy reads, 'Decisions regarding the use of limited public street and sidewalk space shall encourage the use of public rights of way by pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit, and shall strive to reduce traffic and improve public health and safety.' (The policy was amended to include pedestrians and bicyclists in 1999.)"
"Yet today, the vast majority of San Francisco's street space remains devoted to moving and storing private automobiles, making the public right-of-way hostile to walking and bicycling," he adds. "Muni remains underfunded, with vehicle breakdowns and delays caused by car traffic a daily part of riding transit."
While the SFMTA, elected officials, and city residents are all blamed for the lack of progress, some like Supervisor Scott Wiener are working to put muscle behind a policy that many feel was ahead of its time.
"If San Francisco were to be graded on its implementation of transit-first, 'I would give us a C+,' said Wiener. 'In a lot of areas, the MTA is moving in the right direction, but it needs to move faster and more aggressively.'"
At 40 Years, San Francisco's Transit-First Policy Still Struggles for Traction
Published on Friday, March 22, 2013 in SF.Streetsblog
Transit-First
Supervisor Scott Wiener
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The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) today released a Final Evidence Report and Report-at-a-Glance on tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah, Novartis) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta, Kite Pharma/Gilead), two CAR-T therapies for treatment of B-cell cancers.
ICER's report was reviewed at a public meeting of the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), where a majority of the panel voted that evidence is sufficient to show that tisagenlecleucel provides a net health benefit for children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and that both tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel provide a net health benefit for adults with certain B-cell subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The two therapies were compared to commonly used chemotherapy regimens for each indication. Evidence was not sufficient to distinguish between the two CAR-T therapies for treatment of NHL.
A majority of the panel further voted that tisagenlecleucel provides intermediate long-term value for money when treating B-ALL. While ICER's assessment determined that the price of the therapy aligns with its clinical value, the panel noted that the significant uncertainty surrounding the long-term risks and benefits of the therapy precluded a high-value vote.
After deliberating on the value of axicabtagene ciloleucel to treat NHL, the panel's votes were split between low value and intermediate value, driven by similar concerns about long-term uncertainty.


A few years ago, millions of fanboy dreams came true when George Lucas officially forked over the reigns of his Star Wars franchise to a team at Disney. While Lucas was responsible for the creation of the Star Wars universe, this transfer of creative power opened the door not only to a new trilogy but also to the possibility that dozens more stories could be told that would have "official/canonical" status in the Star Wars universe.
Similarly, there are dozens (even hundreds!) more Middle-earth stories Tolkien might have told. While the recent announcement of a novel-sized Beren and Lúthien was big news for Tolkien fandom, it's not quite the same as getting an entirely new Middle-earth tale. Sadly, the best the devout Tolkien fan can really hope for is more expansion novels like Beren and Lúthien or unofficial fan fiction and speculation.
Still, one can fantasize, and so I thought it would be fun to put together a running list of the top Middle-earth stories that will never be told.
Long before he was the Lord of the Rings, Sauron was a Maia and a servant of Aulë. Sometime in the pre-history of Middle-earth, Melkor went to him and brought him over to his side. He quickly became Melkor's primary lieutenant, and he plays a major role in the story of Beren and Lúthien. As we know, Sauron became a REALLY bad dude. What was it that caused him to fall from grace and to become such an eager disciple of Melkor? I'd love to have had Tolkien tell this story so that we can truly understand the origin of his most well-known and important villain.
In Unfinished Tales, we learn that, in addition to Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, 2 other Istari (the "blue" wizards) were sent from the Blessed Realm to Middle-earth at the beginning of the Third Age, all with the mission of rallying the free peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron. We know a lot about Gandalf and Saruman, a little about Radagast, and virtually nothing about the blue wizards, except that they were named Alatar and Pallano and were sent by the Valar Oromë, Mandos, and Nienna. It is thought that they went far into the east, perhaps to the region of Rhûn or even beyond that. We never learn if they in fact played any part in the war against Sauron, or if instead they were defeated or simply became preoccupied with other things. I'd love to have learned more of this pair and their adventures, as well as their ultimate fate.
When Arda was first shaped, there was apparently a long, pre-historic war between Melkor and the Valar. While we know that it ended with the coming of Tulkas and resulted in a major setback for Melkor, one has to imagine that there was far more that could have been said here. Was this a war of great armies or more of a clash of the titans sort of affair? What sort of secrets might we have learned about the various powers in exploring the details of such a conflict? Even with the stories we do have of the Valar, they only seem like the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these incredible beings.
Tolkien actually began a sequel to The Lord of the Rings but never got beyond a few pages. It's called "The New Shadow" and you can read it in Volume 12 of the History of Middle-earth. Apparently, the story was inspired by mankind's strange tendency to become utterly bored with the good and entirely fascinated by evil. It would have taken place about 100 years after the fall of Barad-dûr and concerned a new evil arising after the death of Aragorn and during the reign of his son. Tolkien didn't think the story was particularly worth telling, but who knows what might have happened if he had worked to complete a full draft? It's hard to imagine anything topping The Lord of the Rings, but I have to say, I wouldn't have minded even a lesser story of Gondorian intrigue.
The biggest draw to Tolkien's works has always been hobbits, which is surprising considering Tolkien had so few stories about them. 59 years pass between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We have an idea that Bilbo was quite adventuresome during this period. Wouldn't it be great to have experienced some of Biblo's "interstitial" adventures? What was Bilbo like after his experiences in The Hobbit but before he became an old man? While we'll never know for sure, one can imagine that these would have been fun stories.
Who knows! Maybe one day some kind of official move will be made to pass the baton to a new writer (or even team of writers) that will gain responsibility for continuing the stories of Middle-earth. I'm not sure how I'd feel about that, so I'm not holding my breath. However, considering what a fascinating place Middle-earth is, it's tempting to consider the possibility.
What are the Middle-earth stories you wish had been told? Let me know in the comments below.