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Mysteries of Sovereign Grace Ministries' "Pastors [sic] College" Explained?
October 12, 2009 in Sovereign Grace Ministries
During this site's existence, the subject of Sovereign Grace Ministries' "Pastors College" has come up from time to time.
Because of how much authority SGM pastors are given – how they expect to be obeyed, for instance, and how they are frequently their people's primary source of counsel – readers have expressed their concern over how little professional training most SGM pastors receive. "Pastors College" is a relatively brief 9-month course. Moreover, as far as anyone can tell, admission into the PC is, for all practical purposes, available "by invitation only" – there are no standardized official admission procedures or policies published anywhere. Information about what these SGM pastoral candidates actually do study is extremely vague, compared to the course descriptions at actual seminaries, like Southern Baptist Theological Seminary or Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, for instance.
While some men do attend SGM's "Pastors College" after obtaining college and seminary degrees, many SGM pastors have received no other training besides what they got at the PC.
Therefore, it was with great interest that I checked out Jeff Purswell's post over at C.J. Mahaney's blog, where he has been invited to explain what the "Pastors College" is all about. Apparently, he will be writing a series of articles about the PC.
Since no discussion is permitted on C.J.'s blog, I thought it might be interesting to interact with Mr. Purswell's first article here. Below is his introductory post, in which he purports to give us an overview about what goes on at the PC. My thoughts will appear in blue.
CORE CONVICTIONS BEHIND THEOLOGICAL TRAINING
by Jeff Purswell
A couple of months ago C.J. invited me to begin contributing posts to the Sovereign Grace blog, of which this is the first. Those who don't know me will surely wonder why; [Kris says: I'm pretty sure that this is just one of those Sovereign Grace cultural things, but does anyone else join me in finding statements like these sort of strange? I mean, what's with the "humble" joking put-downs of oneself? Just about every SGM teaching I've ever listened to will start, rather predictably, with the pastor/speaker poking fun of himself and touting his supposed lack of qualifications. After awhile, because it's so formulaic, it starts to feel like one gigantic act. I don't really believe that Mr. Purswell thinks he's such an odd choice to blog about SGM's "Pastors College," or that he REALLY thinks the readers who don't know him will "surely" wonder why he's been invited to contribute to C.J.'s blog. I mean, if his readers don't know him, they won't think about him at all, right? Again, I realize this is cultural. But it's one of those little things that makes SGM seem…odd…to an outsider like me.] those who do know me will no doubt grasp the irony, given my blustering tirades against the general blog phenomenon (which I'll spare you, since including them here would be self-defeating). [Kris says: On the other hand, I have no trouble at all believing that Mr. Purswell doesn't approve of blogging – well, at least certain types of blogging. :wink:] In any event, let me stress the privilege it is to share this space with C.J. and, as of next week, Dave Harvey, and provide a bit of background for future posts.
My main responsibility in Sovereign Grace is overseeing the Pastors College, which is the primary mechanism by which we train pastors for ministry in our family of churches. Many components go into this training. We teach our students Greek so that they might have access to the original text of the New Testament. [Kris says: Really? The "Pastors College" teaches its students Greek? In how many weeks? While juggling how many other topics? What do they use, Rosetta Stone Greek For Pastors?] We ground our students in the text of Scripture in both its specifics and scope. We endeavor to provide our students a solid theological framework for grasping God's revelation in its various parts and proportions. [Kris says: Again, this is a HUGE undertaking. How can this be done in a mere 9 months?] We provide pastoral care and structures for personal growth to encourage and support our students' progress in godliness and the process of sanctification. [Kris says: This sounds perfectly good and acceptable. But I'd be very interested in hearing more specifics about just how this is done.
You see, awhile back, someone who once attended the PC wrote me an email in which he described just what this "encouragement and support for students' progress in godliness and the process of sanctification" is like.
According to my correspondent, PC students and their wives are each assigned SGM "disciplers" who meet extensively with them over the course of their study. They have weekly get-togethers in which the PC students (and wives) are probed relentlessly. Every sin – real or imagined – is laid out on the table. No infraction is too small. By the time the candidate and his wife are finished with the program, they will have, at least according to this particular individual, been completely torn down and then built back up in the SGM way.
So yes, the idea of this sort of "encouragement and support" sounds good and right. But the reality would appear to be something different, something quite harsh and grim, an experience the purpose of which seems to be the complete obliteration of the individual man (and his spouse) and the adoption of SGM group-think.] We teach ministry skills such as preaching and biblical counseling to help them bring God's Word to bear upon the lives of the people they will one day serve. [Kris says: Yet again – HOW can this be done in only 9 months, especially since these guys are also being so rigorously "discipled" while simultaneously mastering the Greek language? Professional Christian counselors – whom SGM pastors are subtly taught to disparage and look down upon as being "less biblical" – study their discipline for years, while SGM pastors maybe get a week here or there with Dr. David Powlison. As great as Dr. Powlison may be, I think it's pretty safe to say that these SGM pastors need more training before they are unleashed upon their churches to do "biblical" counseling.] And we do all of this in the context of a particular local church—Covenant Life Church—which provides the students both a church home and a functioning model for the material they are learning in the classroom. [Kris says: I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again – WHY, oh why, do SGMers use the phrase, "local church"? WHY?
First of all, "local" does not necessarily refer to geographical location. In our own SGM experience, we knew of several families who traveled from points far and wide to attend our particular SGM church, frequently driving a half hour or more, during which I know they passed dozens of decent Bible-believing, gospel-proclaiming churches that would have been far more "local" to them than our SGM church was. Apparently, commuting to church is not that uncommon in the rest of the SGM world, either. The families we knew were not rarities. This leads me to think that when SGMers use the phrase, "local church," what they REALLY mean is, "local SGM church."
And if "local" has nothing to do with geogrpahical location, then what DOES it mean?
After all, are there "correspondence" churches?
Or, are there really that many Christians out there who honestly would say that they are part of a "distant" church?
I don't think so.
So why do they say "local church" like that? What's the point?]
Underlying these facets are certain core convictions we have concerning theological training—convictions derived from Scripture's profile of a pastor and the local church which he's called to serve.
For example, with the exception of the gift of teaching, the biblical requirements for eldership (e.g., 1 Timothy 3 & Titus 1) all speak to a pastor's character; there's nothing about personality types, educational levels, or social standing. [Kris says: I think we're seeing a false dilemma here. The Bible never sets up "character" as being in some sort of zero-sum equation with a man's education. Sure, there weren't seminaries and professional training for ministry in Bible times, when the Christian faith was young. But there was also nothing in Scripture about church building programs, music ministries, or training for counseling. There is NOTHING about pastoral training – extensive seminary training – that means a pastoral candidate would then begin to neglect his godly character. Education and character are not in opposition to one another. They are not mutually exclusive.
It's almost as though SGM wants it both ways. They tout the "Pastors College" as doing all this educating – teaching these guys Greek, training them in counseling, "grounding" them in Scripture – and yet at the same time seem to be defending the brevity of the PC by emphasizing SGM's focus on pastoral character. (Which – they seem to think – makes SGM's training unusual compared to other seminaries?)] Transcending all other considerations, a pastor is to be an illustration of the transforming effects of the gospel he proclaims, and an example of sound Christian living to those he serves. We therefore give much attention to, and invest resources toward, encouraging and cultivating progress in our students' spiritual lives. [Kris says: Again, I am looking forward to Mr. Purswell's future installments in this series, in which I hope he does get around to explaining just how they go about "cultivating progress" in their students' spiritual lives.
Forgive me if I sound dumb or naïve, but I was always under the impression that this sort of "progress" was more the work of the Holy Spirit. It will be interesting to hear how SGM "cultivates" it in pastoral candidates.] In our training, we never want to neglect the very characteristics that qualify a man for ministry in the first place.
The local church [Kris says: Again with the "local church" thing! What is WITH this? Isn't it sort of a given that if you are able to participate regularly in a particular church, then it must be your "local" – local enough – church?] context also plays an important role in the Pastors College. Since we are training pastors called to "shepherd the flock of God," we want to expose them to an actual "shepherding" context—a model of ministry where God's people are being taught, cared for, and nourished. Therefore, we never want the training of our students to be disconnected from the context for which they are being trained—the local church. [Hmm. Did Mr. Purswell just go on the record as saying that SGM is a "shepherding" ministry? :D
Seriously, though – I do understand (I think) what Mr. Purswell is trying to get at, and I'm sure he'd deny that Sovereign Grace Ministries dabbled in the "Shepherding Movement" back in the day. But if that's the case – if he doesn't actually mean "shepherding" as it occurred in the "Shepherding Movement," then I find it interesting that he is acting like SGM's approach to pastoral training is somehow distinctive from that of other denominations when he says that the PC candidates are being exposed to "a model of ministry where God's people are being taught, cared for, and nourished."
After all, this statement pretty much summarizes what just about every normal Bible-believing Christian church seeks to do these days. The vast majority of churches desire to "teach, care for, and nourish" their members. The majority of our more conservative seminaries expect their students to be active participants in church. Why is this being touted like it's something unique to SGM and their "Pastors College"?]
In addition to character and context, there's the substance of our training. When asked to describe the nature of our training, I frequently use this description: we're training men to do theological ministry—ministry with a self-consciously theological rationale, where every methodology employed flows from and is informed by theological conviction and appropriate biblical warrant. Far from being innovative, this is simply a reflection of the radically Word-centered nature of the pastor's call that pervades the New Testament. [Kris says: I totally agree with Mr. Purswell, here, in that this is "far from being innovative." I think it's a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of seminary students who are training to be pastors would say that their methods flow from their theological convictions and biblical warrants. Which then begs the question, why does SGM then even NEED the PC, its own little abbreviated version of seminary? I can understand, perhaps, SGM's desire to have its own denominational family-of-churches training grounds, but perhaps instead of trying to reinvent the wheel from the ground up, maybe they could just offer their 9-month program to guys who have already graduated from college and completed real seminary elsewhere?] From the apostles' disciplined devotion "to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4) to Paul's insistent pleas that Timothy devote himself to the proclamation of Scripture and its teaching (1 Timothy 4:6, 13, 16; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2:2, 15; 4:1-2, et al), God's Word places a claim on both the content and methodology of pastoral ministry: Scripture and its teaching must be the standard and substance of the pastor's ministry.
Now, that's easier said than done, for at least two reasons.
First, perhaps more than ever before, pastors are vulnerable to competing visions for ministry, to measuring ministry "success" by business metrics rather than faithfulness to Scripture, to grasping for some heretofore undiscovered insight that will make the decisive difference in their church. Even for the most earnest pastor, the promise of immediate success is a powerful enticement to pragmatic measures.
[Kris says: I find this paragraph rather breathtakingly audacious, considering how much of SGM's own ministry model clearly parallels models used by the business (franchise) world. One of the books that has greatly influenced C.J. and Company is the business tome, From Good To Great. (Hardly a "biblical warrant" there, right?) SGM's approach to planting churches involves some very pragmatic considerations of demographics and income levels. SGM knows that its particular approach to ministry will work best when a community's average education and median income meet certain benchmarks. Yet the students at SGM's "Pastors College" are being led to believe that all the methods they will use flow out of their theology and a "biblical warrant"?]
Second, it's a challenge because Scripture doesn't speak specifically to every facet of church life and ministry. It requires an ever-deepening understanding of the Bible, a grasp of its details and overarching unity, a sensitivity to the "pattern" (2 Timothy 1:13) and proportionality of its truth. More than anything, it requires a firm grasp of the gospel and its entailments for the Christian life individually, and for the church's life corporately. [Kris says: I have been a Christian for almost my entire life. In other words, I have had, for a LONG time, a clear understanding of what Jesus did to save me. I know what "the gospel" is.
But there's something about SGM's use of the phrase "the gospel," especially when it gets tossed around with wordy statements like "…and its entailments for the Christian life individually," that makes little sense. What is Mr. Purswell actually saying here? Seriously? What does this gobbledygook mean?] Of course, faithful pastoral ministry will look different in different contexts, and no one will execute theological ministry perfectly. Our perception is never perfect, our motives unclouded, or our actions flawless. It is, however, something to which Scripture calls us to aspire.
Well, that's a glimpse of what we're endeavoring to instill into our students in the Pastors College, and that's what I'll be thinking out loud about in upcoming posts: theological and biblical reflection, particularly as it impinges upon the glorious work of pastoral ministry—proclaiming the gospel, expounding God's truth, and caring for those for whom our Savior died. The thought of that privilege is staggering. [Kris says: So's this post. It's staggering, and about as clear as mud. But I am looking forward to learning more from Mr. Purswell's future articles. How about you?]
Tags: Blogging, C.J. Mahaney, charismatic, Charismatic Reformed, child abuse, control, controlling, counseling, courtship, cult, healing, Josh Harris, Larry T, mental health, patriarchy, PDI, People of Destiny, recovery from spiritual abuse, Reformed, Reformed Charismatic, restoration, shepherding, shepherding movement, Sovereign Grace, Sovereign Grace Ministries, spiritual abuse, TAG, Take And Givecounseling
← Part II of What Sovereign Grace Ministries Teaches About Obeying And Submitting To Leaders
Good Job, Jeff Purswell… →


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Police: 4 suspects wanted after stealing $5K, cellphones during home invasion
Thursday, February 7, 2019 5:43 AM EST
TREMONT -
Police are still searching for four men wanted for invading and ransacking a home in Tremont, according to police.
Police say four victims were cornered in their own apartment, held at gunpoint and tied up while the suspects robbed them just after 12 p.m. last Saturday.
News 12 is told two of the suspects entered through the front door of the apartment building while another two bashed in a mounted air conditioner.
Surveillance video captures two of the suspects entering through the front door.
The victims are a 56-year-old female, a 28-year-old male, an 18-year-old female and an 18-year-old male. Police say the suspects pointed handguns at them, demanded money and hit one of the victims in the head with a handgun. The suspects got away with $5,000, three credit cards and three cellphones.
One neighbor says she has lived there her whole life and has never seen something like this. She says an entire team of law enforcement showed up at her door that night.
News 12 spoke with one other person in the apartment, and they say that thankfully no one was physically hurt there, but that the victims are still very much shaken up.
Police are still searching for the suspects.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


1 A vendor can force you to buy new licenses.
FALSE – The contract between you and IBM refers to a specific application and a clearly defined number of licenses. As a rule, you will need one license for each active user of the application or another (freely defined) measurement method. If, for example, a changing group of employees accesses an application, licenses are often shared, which is okay as long as the number of users working in parallel does not exceed the maximum number. For example, you do not need a separate license for each user. However, if you do not pass an IBM software audit, you are required to purchase the missing licenses. In addition, you will be charged the maintenance fees for these licenses retroactively for two years.
2 A vendor may force you to upgrade.
FALSE – As you approach the end of use of your software, the more pressure IBM will put on you to upgrade to a newer version. In fact, IBM's suspension of support can be a non-negotiable, unavoidable event that makes an upgrade the only option available. But the fact is, you have unlimited licenses. That means you can use the software as long as you want, even after the service has ended. The only problem is that IBM no longer offers support and maintenance for such older application versions. But … you have full control over the upgrade process and can therefore choose not to upgrade.
3 License management is simple.
FALSE – License management would really be as simple as some claim if the position of software asset manager didn't exist. But as organizations today continuously install, uninstall, mothball, reactivate and archive applications – not to mention changing usage locations and deployment modes – SAMs are urgently needed. Keeping track of all these changes is an extremely complex task. And that's one of the main reasons why IBM audits are not passed. But no matter how simple or complicated the management of software licenses may be for you, you should always keep your inventory lists up to date – or prepare yourself mentally to go through all further software audits. If you are not completely sure about this topic, the best thing to do is to inform yourself about the Origina IBM® License Audit Services.
4 License Audits can be avoided.
5 An external partner can protect you from IBM software audits.
FALSE – An external partner like Origina can help you prepare for an IBM audit, but they can't prevent you from visiting Big Blue. If any company tries to make you believe it can, it's a flat lie. We're not saying that an external partner can't help you. For example, Origina offers post-warranty support for older IBM applications and provides comprehensive advice on IBM licensing and compliance issues, etc. For most companies, these value-added services are so valuable that they can more than make up for the inconvenience of an IBM audit.
You would like to learn the real facts about IBM audits and how you can minimize the impact of an audit? Talk to Origina and get to the bottom of things with us.
Origina are partners at SAMS 2019!


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Intelligent systems integration
Open Simulation Platform
Taking digital twins to the next level
OSP Joint Industry Project
The project co-founders DNV GL, Kongsberg Maritime, NTNU, and SINTEF Ocean have been joined by 20 industry partners - and counting - to develop the Open Simulation Platform.
Increasingly advanced and integrated vessel systems offer potentially great benefits to shipowners and operators, but making sure all systems work reliably together can present significant challenges. Since 2018, a consortium of maritime industry stakeholders has joined forces to establish an ecosystem for collaborative digital twin simulations that will enable virtual exploration of solutions for designing, commissioning, operating and assuring complex, integrated systems.
To reach these ambitious goals, a Joint Industry Project (JIP) has been founded under the name Open Simulation Platform (OSP). Project co-founders DNV GL, Kongsberg Maritime, NTNU, and SINTEF Ocean have been joined by 20 industry partners in what promises to be a game-changing effort to maximise the benefits of digital twin technology. OSP is a step toward bringing the maritime industry up to the level of other industries such as automotive and aviation, with their long history of integrating complex systems.
The goal for OSP is to establish a standard for models and simulations in the maritime industry, enabling both re-use of models and collaborative system simulations to solve challenges in the design, building and operation of today's and tomorrow's ships. The JIP is scheduled to make its final work package deliveries by spring of 2020, laying the groundwork for the long-term ecosystem vision.
Innovation enabler
Software and systems integration issues can create challenges throughout the newbuilding and operational phases, leading to expensive delays, slowing innovation, and causing undesired incidents and downtime. According to Pierre Sames, DNV GL Group Technology and Research Director, there is a growing need to understand how different systems work together to help owners avoid costly consequences of unforeseen complications.
"As owners seek to equip vessels with more sophisticated digital solutions offered by different suppliers, they become more vulnerable to software and systems integration failures," he says. While he acknowledges that some suppliers already offer proprietary 'digital twin' services, the high cost of creating simulation models, limited re-use and interoperability of these models and lack of common simulation infrastructure has made true industry collaboration difficult.
"The Open Simulation Platform will create the foundation for an open ecosystem where the maritime industry can share simulation models to facilitate the creation of holistic digital twin systems and vessels," he says. "We believe the OSP will strengthen collaboration between owners, shipyards, equipment manufacturers and sub-suppliers to help manage growing challenges related to the design, integration, commissioning and operation of increasingly complex, integrated systems and software."
Virtual eco-system, real value
The four project initiators share a common goal, but have different interests. DNV GL will act as the host of the ecosystem, providing neutral space for industry collaboration, with an eye to future classification services for cyber-physical systems and components, and future model-based advisory services. "We believe that data-smart asset solutions are a key to improved business performance and risk management, and the digital twin approach is central to this next-generation offering," says Sames.
The Open Simulation Platform is an open-source software code which will be a game-changer for the industry...
Svein Kleven – Senior Vice President Kongsberg Maritime
As a technology provider, Kongsberg has identified the commercial benefits of the OSP for designing, constructing, verifying and operating new maritime concepts and technology. "The Open Simulation Platform is an open-source software code which will be a game-changer for the industry when it comes to utilisation of simulation tools and virtual prototyping as an integrated part of the value creation. Well-defined standards, protocols and programming interfaces are instrumental in order to increase the efficiency and reduce cost for modeling of advanced systems. The Open Simulation Platform approach allows for co-simulation of multiple models without the need for re-modeling or transferring models between their application software environments. Model libraries may be stored locally and secured according to premises and policies set by the individual companies and users. The opportunity of sharing the physical behavior of the product model without the risk of compromising company confidential information about the product itself is the key driver for the development of the OSP standards", says Svein Kleven – Senior Vice President Kongsberg Maritime. "The OSP standards will be instrumental when building digital twins of complex systems and are equally applicable throughout the lifecycle, from design through construction and into operations."
The research organisation SINTEF Ocean sees the platform as a tool to support the development of ocean space industries in a more efficient way. The OSP will be key in efficient distribution of knowledge and technology for industrial adaptation through simulation models and applications, both internally in SINTEF and in collaboration with external partners. The OSP will make SINTEF Ocean's research and commercial software available for a larger group of users by introducing a standardized methodology for co-simulation in the maritime domain. Standards developed in the OSP will be adapted by SINTEF Ocean, enabling future research projects to focus solely on domain simulation models and applications rather than using significant resources on simulation infrastructure and interfaces, as in the past.
Hans Petter Hildre (NTNU) says that by working together in a virtual environment, the industry can achieve a larger degree of interaction between different systems. "We can also help individual businesses and developers to avoid spending a lot of time on their own testing systems in isolation, without having the opportunity to test how it actually will interact in operation with other systems," he says.
Ambitious goals
The beauty of the OSP concept lies in the interoperability of models from all stakeholders
Øyvind Smogeli
DNV GL - Research Programme Director
DNV GL Research Program Director Øyvind Smogeli, who is managing the project on behalf of the partners, says that the work is challenging and ambitious, but collaboration is going smoothly and the project is progressing according to plan.
"We are building the Core Simulation Environment (CSE), a co-simulation engine based on decades of experience from all founding partners, and building these legacies together with new standards from the automotive industry. The CSE will be launched as open source to the industry by the end of the project in order to drive standardization and enable companies to work on the same basic platform."
In addition the JIP will deliver a model catalogue where stakeholders can share models and test their behaviour in interactive scenarios. "This requires that we define and categorise different components and systems within a fixed hierarchy and make sure all models comply with the OSP model standard, to achieve compatibility and interoperability between different models and platforms." Smogeli adds that the project will also be delivering a set of open reference models and digital twin system examples as a separate work package.
A new way of building digital twins
Smogeli explains that an OSP digital twin is comprised of a large set of interconnected models and digital twin components. "The beauty of the OSP concept lies in the interoperability of models from all stakeholders and modeling tools, and the collaboration opportunities this offers. "With the OSP approach the digital twin is built in steps, starting with simpler models in the design phase, then substituting these with more accurate models and actual control system software in the construction phase, and finally being able to fine-tune and adapt models based on data streams in the operational phase," he says.
"OEMs, system and component providers and other stakeholders can make their models and digital twin components visible in the catalogue, and offer them to other participants in the ecosystem at their own commercial and IPR terms. A digital twin component would include engineering models of the equipment physics and control system software, as well as emulated control system hardware, human-machine interfaces and control panels, making it possible to perform virtual commissioning, configuration and testing in a collaborative effort on the platform."
Assessing emergent properties – the next level digital twin
The OSP approach is more than data-driven digital twin, which does not contain any real physics, explains Smogeli. "Comparing data from the real asset with the digital twin in order to refine the twin is important, but it pertains mainly to monitoring equipment, such as in predictive or condition-based maintenance. But a data driven digital twin cannot monitor or detect system failures in complex systems that arise due to software errors and system integration failures, or predict the effect of changes to software or other system elements. Enabling a twin to assess emergent properties represents the next level digital twin."
Emergent properties exist in a system only because of the interaction of its parts. Studying the parts or components in isolation does not reveal which emergent properties might arise. "Emergent properties are a risk throughout a vessel's operation, not just in the design phase," Smogeli explains. "For example, an engineer might do a software update for a thruster, which might be fine in isolation, but if it's not tested in an OSP-like twin environment, it could have a mission-critical impact through other systems on the vessel." Such system issues are difficult to deal with, he points out, involving painstaking troubleshooting to find the critical emergent problems, and typically leading to expensive downtime for ships and rigs.
The aim of the OSP is to resolve these issues by incorporating engineering models and the actual control system software from all manufacturers into the digital twin. "Then it becomes possible to assess also the emergent system properties through systematic simulations. The next-level digital twin then becomes the most reliable as-built documentation of the vessel systems. This is useful throughout the vessel lifecycle.
24 active partners and growing
Since work began in 2018, the OSP project has also generated interest among other stakeholders from all over the world. "The OSP has been conceived as a transparent, open ecosystem, and because the growing complexity of today's vessels involves many different types of companies, we have actively sought the input from other industry players," says Smogeli. "Today, we have a total of 24 active partners, including suppliers, sub-suppliers, energy companies, shipyards and owners, and there is an open invitation for new partners to join the project."
Smogeli relates that one key challenge has been to ensure the integrity of intellectual property rights among partners. "Everyone agrees that managing software integration issues requires some measure of transparency between stakeholders," he says. "But we recognise that for the OSP to become a truly collaborative platform, all stakeholders must trust that their proprietary software and solutions remain safe and undisclosed."
In a statement released by Timothy Kendon, Principal Researcher, Equinor, the company "…joined the OSP JIP to promote the use of the Functional Mock Up Interface (FMI) standard within the maritime industry and to help harmonize model building, verification and integration within tomorrow's digital twins."
Erik-Jan Boonen, Principal Research Engineer, DAMEN shipyards says: "Time domain simulation is a powerful tool for model-based design. However, as shipyard, we don't have all the component details. Better cooperation should make expectations and responsibilities clear to yard and supplier."
Hinnerk Treyde, Project Manager for thyssenkrupp notes: "As a system integrator, we need to combine a large variety of system models to form a comprehensive multi domain ship model. Standardization and exchange of models are required for that."
"As a leading commercial maritime simulator supplier, we want to follow the project and help the OSP standard succeed," says Terje Heierstad, VP Business Development Maritime Simulation, Kongsberg Digital.
Open source collaboration on Veracity
At present, the JIP has developed a working prototype for the Core Simulation Environment and is working to build the model catalogue. "We are also developing three use cases to give users a sense of how the platform works," says Smogeli. "These include design of a hybrid ferry propulsion system, virtual commissioning of a coastal service vessel, and planning of a subsea crane operation."
The open source Core Simulation Environment and the new standards will be available for any company to download and use for their own purpose and with models they have access to. In addition, the full OSP ecosystem – incorporating the Core Simulation Environment, the model catalogue and all needed platform mechanisms – will be hosted on DNV GL's open industry data platform Veracity. This provides a secure and neutral collaborative space for all stakeholders, allowing any partner to use the models they have been granted access to for their own purpose, and enabling a group of partners to establish co-simulation without exposing inner workings of models or control systems software."
For all of this to happen, common standards and interoperability must be established," Smogeli says. "All parties are able to work individually within the system, but a shared and secure platform is required for collaboration."
If we get it right, OSP could have a profound impact on how the industry works together in the future
Remi Eriksen - Group President & CEO, DNV GL
For Remi Eriksen, Group President & CEO of DNV GL, the project represents a good example of how the industry can work together to solve common challenges. "At is core, OSP is a tool for the industry to innovate and co-create next generation vessels on a platform that has clear benefits for each stakeholder," he says. "But we also recognise that thanks to introduction of new digital technologies that enable everything from automation to zero emissions propulsion systems, the OSP may also play an important role in helping the industry to improve safety and environmental performance. If we get it right, OSP could have a profound impact on how the industry works together in the future."
Digital twin - definition
A digital twin is a digital copy of a real ship, including its systems, which synthesises the information available about the ship in a digital world. The use of digital twins enables optimization of a ship's design, maintenance, production and sustainability throughout its entire lifecycle.
Key benefits of the Open Simulation Platform
Cost-efficient delivery of "digital twin" vessels through re-use of models
An open platform that promotes transparency and cooperation
Open-source license drives adoption and standardization
Model and interface standardization while protecting intellectual property rights
Lifecycle software change management
Contact JIP project manager Kristine Bruun Ludvigsen and core team members
Kristine Bruun Ludvigsen
Henning Borgen
Sintef Ocean
Sverre Rye Torben
Kongsberg Maritime
Hans Petter Hildre
OSP: video
Functional Mock-up Interface
Model exchange and co-simulation hub
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Front Page » Archives » April 2009 »
" Ballots from 'Fixed' Arizona Election Finally to be Counted in Criminal Investigation by State AG	"
Ballots from 'Fixed' Arizona Election Finally to be Counted in Criminal Investigation by State AG
Next week's long-demanded hand-count in Phoenix may confirm long-standing allegations of the electronic manipulation, on Diebold tabulators, of the 2006 Pima County RTA special election
And, then again, it may not...
By Brad Friedman on 4/3/2009, 3:23pm PT
- Special Report by Brad Friedman, The BRAD BLOG
The 400 previously rejected absentee ballots in the Coleman/Franken U.S. Senate race in Minnesota won't be the only ballots being carefully counted next week. Neither will the more than 5,000 being counted in the NY-20 U.S. House special election where (fewer than) 25 votes, out of 150,000 cast, currently separate the winner from the loser.
A hand count of thousands of paper ballots that could trump all of the above, at least in regards to national importance, will quietly occur next week in a highly-secured Maricopa County, AZ, facility, as part of a years-long criminal investigation. Ironically, coming as late as it does, three years after the election, the results of the count, no matter what they may be, will not affect the actual outcome of that election --- even if it is found that the results were originally rigged by elections officials.
After almost three years; hundreds of legal documents; scores of hours in courtrooms; precedent-setting legal findings forcing the public release of Diebold computer databases supposedly recording how citizens voted in their own elections; allegations of potential hacking and fraud believed to have been possibly carried out by election official insiders; indications of tampering described as the result of "human error" by a report commissioned by the state AG, as part of a criminal investigation subsequently described by critics as a "whitewash"; arrests of local election integrity advocates; and lord knows how many articles documenting it at all here at The BRAD BLOG over those years, the paper ballots from the curious 2006 Regional Transit Authority (RTA) election in Pima County (Tucson), AZ, will finally be counted, beginning next Monday, as part of a criminal investigation being carried out by the state's Attorney General.
The hand-count of all 120,821 ballots from that special election will be carried out not in Pima, but under the supervision of "certified professionals who work for the Maricopa County (Phoenix) Elections Department," according to a 2-page letter [PDF] sent by the AG's office to the chairman of the Democratic Party of Pima County. The "strictly-monitored" count will either settle, once and for all, the matter of whether that election was conducted fraudulently by election insiders manipulating the vulnerable electronic Diebold tabulation system --- or it won't...
'This is a criminal investigation, not an elections process'...
As described in the AG office's March 23, 2009, letter to the Democratic chair, the hand-count count will be conducted "in a secured facility under the supervision of police officers employed by this office" along with one representative each from the Republican, Democratic, Green, and Libertarian parties under strict rules which disallow, for some reason, even the taking of notes by those party representatives.
"If you desire to send a representative to the ballot examination, please identify three candidates," the AG's letter instructs, "from whom we will select one person per party to be a witness to the ballot examination."
The letter from Donald E. Conrad, Chief Counsel for the Criminal Division in the office of AG Terry Goddard to Pima's Democratic Pary chair Jeff Rogers, explains that background checks will be conducted on the party's choice as a representative who "will be subject to...both a physical search and by a metal detector."
Any such observers will need to be available to go to Phoenix, 120 miles away from Tucson, for five days next week, on their own dime. Similar letters were sent to the other three local political party heads.
"I must emphasize that this is a criminal investigation, not an elections process controlled by applicable Arizona election laws," Conrad wrote. "Attendance and the procedures undertaken at this examination will be strictly monitored and overseen by the Office of the Attorney General."
"Their choice of our observer is nothing but an attempt to keep [local election integrity activist bulldogs] John Brakey or Jim March from observing," wrote the attorney for the plaintiff, Pima County Democrats, Bill Risner, in a recent email. "Why should they select our observer?"
Brakey, a Democrat, and March, a Libertarian, have become local heroes for their years-long dogged pursuit of transparency and accountability in Pima County's elections and, in particular, the '06 RTA election which allowed for the county to issue two billion dollars in transportation bonds over the next 10 years.
Brakey has long been a thorn in Pima election officials' sides, as seen in just one instance in the video at right --- which we've come to describe as "Election Official Gone Wild" --- featuring Pima's Republican Election Director Brad Nelson freaking out after a simple question asked by Brakey at a public meeting in 2006.
After we'd posted the video here originally, it caused enough of a local stir that Nelson would be forced to grudgingly apologize for the embarrassing outburst, when a local television news outlet covered the ensuing brouhaha.
But the hot-tempered Nelson managed to hold enough of a grudge about that, and the continuing allegations concerning his office's handling of the RTA election, that he managed to order Brakey arrested in 2008 during a post-election hand-count of ballots, when the election watchdog noticed that security seals were missing and/or broken on a number of ballot bags selected for counting.
For his part, the mild-mannered Libertarian March, a founding board member of BlackBoxVoting.org, went about helping to create a fraud-busting software tool to analyze Diebold databases for red flags that may suggest possible tampering, after the Democrats had won their case against the county, seeking the release of databases from the RTA election. Their victory in court led to the largest such collection of Diebold databases ever released to the public.
March now says, in his usual understated way, that he's "kinda pissed" after having been been cut out of the possibility of observing next week's hand-count on behalf of the Libertarian Party all together by the dubious restrictions set out by Goddard's man Conrad as to who is allowed to observe inside the examination room.
"This guy Conrad set up the requirements to try and exclude any critics of his department: parties were told to submit three names, and the AZ AG's office would pick one out of those three. The Pima LP [Libertarian Party] had only one person both qualified and able to spend a week in Maricopa 120 miles away: me. So when Pima LP wouldn't play their sick game, they found a different way to exclude me," March told us in email today.
A 2-page letter [PDF] sent yesterday (4/2/09) from Conrad to the Pima LP chair David Nolan, says March, the only candidate submitted by the Libertarians, "is not an acceptable nominee" due to his having been "previously arrested for disobeying restrictions on access to areas of a voting facility in California."
The arrest of March referenced by Conrad was during an election count in San Diego in the summer of 2005. March was arrested on one felony count, after county officials claimed he was violating observation rules. All charges against March, however, were dropped one week later.
Subsequent to the arrest, the CA Secretary of State mandated that election monitors be given the access that March, correctly, believed he'd already had the right to under the law.
"The county was violating the law as to observation of the counting," March says. Not only did he win "big time" in the case, "but the reforms that came from that, directly sprang from my actions," he told us today. "There's a reason San Diego dropped all charges --- they were at at fault."
Nonetheless, Conrad's letter yesterday to the Libertarian Party chair incorrectly characterized the incident, and used it to his assert a veto of March as an observer. "My decision is based on his demonstrated willingness to violate the laws that govern behavior at a voting facility," writes Conrad, despite the fact that March was never found to have violated any such laws.
The chair of the Pima Republican Party, Bob Westerman, was similarly dubious of the AG's requirement, complaining to the Tucson Weekly late last month after receiving Conrad's letter: "I find it a little odd that we have to submit three names, and that they pick the one out of three. I don't see how it would matter who it is? It is an extra step I don't understand. And for me as a chairman it makes it tough to find three people qualified, but can also spend five days in Phoenix. I have basically a week now to find these people and they in turn have less than two weeks to make plans to be there."
Now You See 'Em, Now Ya Don't...
In late February, while we happened to be in Phoenix for a local fundraising event, we'd received the surprise news that "the AG hauled the boxes [of RTA ballots] away" on February 24th. They had been securely stored for much of the duration of the contentious court case by the Pima County Treasurer in the local Iron Mountain secure storage facility. The Treasurer, Beth Ford, had recently been seeking court direction on whether the ballots should finally be destroyed all together.
At the time, there was no public explanation for Goddard's actions, which was taken without either notice to, or the supervision of, the Pima plaintiffs in the long-running court case. Though it was suspected the ballots were secretly transferred from Tucson up to Phoenix, nobody knew for certain. Phoenix activists picked up the ball a few days later, and demanded information from Goddard. They were able to learn that, indeed, the ballots had been transferred to Phoenix. There were still no details about the chain of custody during that transfer, and the ensuing storage in Maricopa.
(You can watch Brakey and March trying to chase down the whereabouts of the ballots in Phoenix, after they were seized by Goddard, in this video.)
Though the Attorney General is also a Democrat, he has long refused entreaties from members of almost all of the local parties, until now, to count the actual paper ballots as part of a criminal investigation. (A video of several local election integrity advocates confronting AG Goddard in 2006, asking him to count the ballots, can be seen at right.)
While the Democrats had originally supported the RTA initiative in 2006, which passed despite pre-election polls suggesting that it likely would not, they joined with a number of local Republicans, Libertarians and Greens during the process of the lawsuit, seeking to determine if the election may have been defrauded. While the Pima plaintiffs are generally happy to see that Goddard is finally moving the ball forward to count the RTA ballots, their concerns remain, as it's fair to say that the plaintiffs in Pima still don't much trust Goddard --- or his motives.
Since former Democratic Governor Janet Napalitano was tapped by President Obama to head the Dept. of Homeland Security, the state's former Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer has become the Governor. Goddard plans to run for the Democratic Party nomination to unseat her in the state's upcoming election.
March --- seen in the photo above, outside of Goddard's Phoenix office, holding a sign that says "DUDE, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT WHOLE 'GOVERNOR' THING" --- contends that there has been plenty of opportunity over the years to game the RTA election's paper ballots, when they were out of the secure chain of custody at various times, including during the more-than-month-long interim following Goddard's secret removal and transfer of the ballots from Tucson to Phoenix.
"The paper ballots were originally stored at the Pima elections office, then were transported to the Iron Mountain private document storage facility, back to Pima elections as part of litigation over access to other documents in the same boxes, then back to Iron Mountain, then were grabbed by the AZ AG's office and taken to points unknown with no oversight, and then under some circumstance we don't have details on, will go to the Maricopa elections office for counting," wrote March in a document he shared with The BRAD BLOG, adding "There are (or have been) opportunities for tampering at several points along the line."
The attorney Risner is similarly suspect of Goddard and company.
"The AG's office seized the ballot boxes in response to my letter on behalf of the Pima County Democratic Party that we would soon be obtaining copies of the poll tapes from the ballot boxes and we wanted them to participate to the extent that potential evidence was not contaminated," he recently said.
Risner had made a public records request for the poll tapes from the election, which would have been printed on election night, at the polling place, describing the results of optically-scanned ballots before those numbers were sent to the central Diebold tabulator. But before the records request could be performed, Goddard swept up the tapes which had been stored along with the ballots themselves.
"The AG's [office] accepted our suggestion and secretly seized the ballot boxes and has not communicated with me further," Risner said.
"The examination of the ballots is really no different than the examination of evidence in any case. Security is important," Risner explained, though he's highly critical of the way Goddard's handled the entire process. "Keeping the process secret is not important," he said.
He went on to note the "very important" history of the AG's prior investigation into the allegations, some years earlier. "It is a fact that the AG's office teamed up with the 'Suspects' [the Pima County election officials] in an early part of this investigation," he said, pointing out that he'd never seen similar collusion between a prosecutor and an alleged perpetrator before.
In addition to relying on instructions from the Pima County election officials --- the "suspects" --- themselves, as to how to evaluate the Diebold databases and audit logs during the earlier investigation, rather than relying on the Democratic Party plaintiff's suggestions, Risner says the AG's office has been less than cooperative for years. "The AG's office refused to provide public records...to the Pima County Democratic Party and ordered the county (the suspects) not to provide us with a copy...That conduct was outrageous and clearly in violation of the law," contends Risner.
What It All May Mean...
An editorial in the Tucson Citizen this week avers that next week's hand-count will "either put to rest allegations of ballot tampering - or it will breathe new life into those allegations, casting an irrefutable pall over operations of the Pima County Division of Elections."
While questions remain as to whether the long-overdue count will, indeed, "put to rest" such allegations, if fraud is, in fact, found, it could well rock the nation --- trumping both the MN Senate battle and the more recent NY-20 U.S. House battle, both facing hand-counts as well next week --- as to the way that the U.S. currently tabulates, in secret, the vast majority of its votes.
A finding that fraud was committed in the 2006 RTA election would be the first officially confirmed case of an election being electronically tampered with, at the tabulator level, in the modern e-voting age. In the face of the lack of hard confirmation of such tampering (due, in no small part, to the fact that the e-voting industry has spent millions keeping any such evidence out of the hands of independent investigators) the e-voting industry and their fellow-denialists have desperately contended that there is no hard evidence that any election has ever been electronically manipulated in such a way.
The Tucson Weekly editorial goes on to optimistically opine that while it's "unfortunate the hand count is being done in Phoenix...Pima County voters soon will have the satisfaction of knowing - without a doubt - whether their votes were accurately counted."
Whether such a "doubt" still remains after next week is anybody's guess. Given Goddard's more-than-month-long disappearance of ballots from the secure, transparent chain of custody, he'd better hope that his office finds the election was defrauded. Any other finding will likely continue speculation by critics of both Goddard and the Pima County Department of Elections.
AG Goddard's sudden, surprise interest, along with his strange behavior in the entire affair, was summed up in one simple, if perhaps understandably cynical, turn of phrase from the Democrats' attorney Bill Risner in an email today: "It's quite the interesting show from someone who is running for Governor in the Democratic Party primary."
There may be no observers permitted into the counting room at all from the Libertarian Party, and none of the observers will be allowed to video tape, or even take notes, as per the instructions from AG Goddard's office, but Conrad said in his initial letter to the party chairs that "Maricopa Elections also has arranged to have live streaming video of the examination available to the public on the internet."
Following complaints from the election integrity advocates that previous video feeds of ballot counting had disallowed the viewing of anything but the people doing the counting, rather than what they were counting, Conrad noted in his letter yesterday to the Libertarians that "Eight cameras will stream live video of the examination proceedings to the internet".
Beginning on Monday, that live video feed will be available here.
UPDATE 4/6/09: The counting is now underway, and the eight camera live feed, promised by the AG, is utterly useless. Only two of the eight cameras actually show any counting at all, and both of them are too far away to see anything useful. Details here...
The BRAD BLOG has covered your electoral system, tirelessly, fiercely and independently for years, like no other media outlet in the nation. Please support our work, which only you help to fund, with a donation to help us continue the work so few are willing to do. If you like, we'll send you some great, award-winning election integrity documentary films in return! Details on that right here...
Article Categories: Diebold/Premier, Election Irregularities, Arizona, Election 2006, Election Fraud, Accountability, Pima County
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(6 Responses so far...)
... karen from illinois	said on 4/3/2009 @ 6:58 pm PT...
congrats to march for getting the process this far,unfortunately with so many opportunities for tampering its hard to know if the results will match ur expectations BUT at least u r making them work at hiding their cheating results
really sounds like the prosecutor is in on it tho,since they moved the boxes rather than show the tapes
did anyone check how many ballots were printed? or any recent expenditures for new "printing"
or check for that solvent bev talked about in the nh recount? just a couple suggestions from a cynical karen in illinois
... Jim March said on 4/4/2009 @ 12:04 am PT...
Well one bit of good news is that we've come across EMails between Pima Elections (Brad Nelson) and the ballot printing shop circa July 2006, in which Brad gave the OK to the shop to destroy the unused RTA ballots.
That's good, because the controversy over the RTA election of May 2006 didn't REALLY get rolling until we had the audit logs circa early December '06. So in July, Nelson would have assumed he was home free if this was in fact ripped off.
Bad news: both Pima County and Maricopa County have access to rental "ballot on demand" systems that are newer than 2006 (first demoed in 2007 we think) by Runbeck Election Services. These ballot on demand stations use a high-end Okidata laser printer (1200dpi) worth about $6,000. It's able to print on ballot-grade paper and all the way to the edge. These could be used to create new fakes based on the original ballot PDF files (which they have).
Worse news: the moment Runbeck created and demoed this system, it told anybody paying attention that they could buy the same printer off of amazon.com or whatever and create an illicit source of ballots. Again: all it takes is one demo and then read the model number printer sitting right there.
But back to good news: it turns out that there are well defined differences under a microscope between an offset-printed ballots as the real RTA ballots would be, and a high-end laser printer. The laser's edges between black and white aren't as well defined, and there's a telltale "spatter" of stray toner not present on the offset process.
Yes, I'm bringing in a microscope, and we'll be asking to check a random sample of about 50 "yes on RTA" ballots.
... the zapkitty	said on 4/4/2009 @ 3:09 am PT...
This must be Brad's much-requested pilot project for hand-counting paper ballots
... Ancient	said on 4/4/2009 @ 7:01 am PT...
Big picture --- The abundance of smooth talking, easy lying, electable looking republicon candidates of the last 12 years at least of election cycles in lieu of actual intelligence and sincerity is totally evident at this point, and seems to indicate the originators of the electronic election fraud. Couple that with the political persuasion of the vendors themselves and no doubt is left as to who thought up this wonderful rigging system. But, as your article of the situation of the democrappic ag in AZ shows us, along with thundering silence from democrappic candidates after Gore who should have challenged, its becomes really evident they have been and are now complicit in it. It really makes understanding where our country is today a no brainer. With rigged elections, why not go for the in your face takeover. In my opinion, if Obama really is the savior he's suppose to be, he'd make banning eletronic voting and tabulating systems (like the Germans did) a top priority fast!
... Frank Henry	said on 4/4/2009 @ 11:32 pm PT...
Indeed, it is about time these ballots are being
hand counted.
This might be a first for an investigative count
under a cloud of possible criminal activity.
Lets hope the AG's office counts all the RTA
related questions on the May 06 ballots.
I hope the Arizona legilators will update our
Arizona election law by adding a post election
day VERIFICATION count by hand counting all
positions on every ballot for every election
conducted in Arizona (including fed, state,
local).
If the VERIFICATION count process was in place
in May 06 the folks of Pima county would not
have been put through this three years of dis-
Thanks and Good Luck,
Frank Henry
e-mail: fmhenry4@netzero.com
... J.E. Andreasen	said on 4/5/2009 @ 11:13 pm PT...
So, Terry grudgingly has placed the re-count in the hands of Karen Osborne's special team (Robert Mugabe was on holiday). Surely, Joe Arpaio's special team will be guarding the affair too. Wonderful! My faith in the system has been restored. Now, where is that mug of kool-aid I was drinking?


Outside the gym we spend a large amount of time sitting in front of screens, often in seated positions that do not require any core strength or stability. Combine that with wearing a heavy purse (usually on the same shoulder) or carrying too many grocery bags, moving or shifting furniture or boxes around our apartments, working out with improper form, etc., and we increase the occurrence of muscular imbalance, misalignment, and overuse.
The Journal's study recognizes that regular Pilates practice promotes a well-balanced, resilient core. Low back pain can be significantly reduced or completely relieved through a combination of deep abdominal strengthening, postural awareness, and release and stretching exercises. Pilates' effectiveness comes especially when you apply the techniques taught into your everyday life.
A Pilates specialist or health practitioner recognizes that patients with pain stemming from excessive movement and degeneration of the intervertebral discs and joints are particularly likely to benefit from a Pilates exercise program. Postural asymmetries produce uneven stresses on the spine's joints and discs. Proper and regular Pilates work results in decreasing wear and tear on the spine. More on this here.
In our normal lives we are constantly sitting, standing, lifting, twisting, bending over to put on shoes or pick something up, and turning around to see behind us. And, we often are participating in intense workouts or athletics. All of these activities rely on core muscles. You need all 360 degrees of your core to be strong and stable in order to feel and function optimally.
Your back is technically part of your core, which includes your abs, hips, glutes, and back muscles. In Pilates practice, we call this area your "powerhouse." A strong powerhouse makes exercise safer and more effective. While Pilates exercises are excellent at strengthening your core, they're also great at helping you identify the cause of pain and imbalances.
Once a person experiences lower back pain, there is further weakness in the core-stabilizing muscles because of abnormal movement patterns. Pilates retrains the core stabilizing muscles and corrects abnormal movement patterns.
A helpful metaphor is to view the spine as the mast of a ship. The ropes are attached to the mast to help unload the mast so that the mast doesn't fall over and crack. The mast can't support its own weight without the ropes. The same is true with the human spine. If you put axial pressure onto it, it can support about 35 lbs. of pressure. We all weigh way more than 35 pounds. So, we rely on certain muscles that attach onto the spine to help take the pressure off of the spine. When those muscles are weak, imbalanced, or not integrated properly, they start going through the static structures - the discs, the facet joints - leading to wear and tear within the spine. Pilates work develops utilization of the correct muscles to take the pressure off the spine and make the spine more durable.
In order for the core to function optimally, it requires a stable pelvis and spine. They are the body's central foundation – basically, its epicenter. While core strength is the ability to produce force, core stability is the ability to control the force we produce. With this control you can improve balance, stability, and proper posture, and experience less back pain and more functional strength for all movement.
The important principles of Pilates are consistent with an exercise program that promotes back health. I concur with the advice found in warnings from The London Pain Clinic (as cited above).
Basically, if you do suffer from low back pain (or any other physical ailment), before beginning any new exercise program always consult a health care provider – an osteopath, physical therapist, doctor, or verified specialist. With certain problems, some exercises may not be advised. Some movements in the Pilates system are difficult and challenging. Many of the exercises should be avoided for individuals with significant back pain or degenerative disc disease. If you are advised to take Pilates after physical therapy, the physical therapist should outline the exercise principles identified as particularly important for your rehabilitation.
A general rule for back patients is to avoid exercises that push the spine into extremes of flexion (rounding or C-shape) or extension (arching, or back-bending) or combine flexion with side bending or twisting the spine. These motions place excessive stress on the intervertebral discs.
ALWAYS - If an exercise causes pain - stop and tell the instructor. The exercise may be too difficult and you may need additional help to do it correctly.
Back sufferers should avoid fatigue - either mental or physical. Fatigue leads to loss of proper form and the occurrence of injury.
Use only soft and supportive surfaces, such as soft exercise mats.
Pilates' founder might be proud of the popularity and growth of Pilates. However, I doubt he would be pleased with the influx of "quickie trainings" available to those who believe they can be properly trained in a weekend or two. Joseph Pilates worked at length with his own teachers, allowing them to assist and then finally teach after sometimes as long as 2 or 3 years of training and apprenticeship. He used to express the familiar adages, "Rome was not built in a day," and, "Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor." Classical training was designed to ensure that Pilates teachers are competent and safe to teach Pilates to the public.
Research whether a Pilates instructor has received training in the Pilates exercise system. Check that he or she is fully cognizant of and understands any identified back problems you have. Exercises performed incorrectly or without competent guidance may lead to worsening the back problem. If you suffer from more serious back problems, you may benefit from several one-on-one Pilates sessions.
A primary lesson you will learn with proper Pilates instruction is the awareness of neutral alignment of the spine. The Neutral Spine position taught in Joseph Pilates' Philosophy is the most functionally ideal or "perfect" posture for our bodies. Strengthening the deep postural muscles that support this alignment are essential skills for the back pain patient.
The curves in our spine are used to create stability and mobility for taking on the weight and pressure of our bodies in our everyday life. By implementing these techniques into your everyday life, you begin to fix the problem at the cause, rather than only treat the symptoms.
I emphasize form, breath, and acute awareness to help create a strong mind-body connection. The deeper the connection, the better equipped you are to utilize these principles on your own in everything that you do.
Form equals function. When your form is accurate, you can best take advantage of every exercise to support your spine, and assist with lower back pain. Healthy sitting positions contribute to back health. Employ your "Pilates posture" and core awareness when sitting. Try using a rubber "ball" seat – or, a standing/sitting desk.
Once you go through an episode of lower back pain, you must address it. If you do nothing about it or just take care of the symptoms, then you are likely to develop a similar kind of episode in the future. Rather than make back pain a lifelong problem, make exercise a lifetime habit - specifically exercises that lead to low-back health.
Again, be mindful throughout the day on your form and posture while going about your everyday activities. This attention will go far to reduce the risk of low-back pain. Just as problems that create most back pain problems happen gradually over time, learning to use your muscles in a way that support - rather than stress - your spine takes time. The time and commitment are one of the most important investments you can make for a life of health and wellness – a life where you feel better, function better, and live better!
I will be releasing my online instructional videos in just a few weeks! These videos provide transformative tips on Low-Back Health, at-home Pilates mat exercises, and much more.
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive contents and updates!
Looking for more Pilates tips? Subscribe to my newsletter here.


text:
Why I won't be saying 'arrivederci' to London as Brexit approaches
Posted by sethadmin on 11/05/2018
The CEO and Founder of Setha speaks of his confidence in the London property market as the one-year countdown to Brexit begins.
Whilst forging my early career in the Italian property industry in 2001, I had little knowledge of the UK but for three things: 1) The weather can be terrible 2) The national football team isn't much better and 3) It is home to one of the hottest property markets in Europe.
Luckily, it was the last point that stuck with me. I knew that if I wanted to really get my teeth into the property industry, the UK was where I needed to be.
And so I got on a plane to London, where I continued to pursue a career in property and, as an unexpected consequence, fell head over heels in love with the city. After a few years, I knew I was in it for the long haul and decided to take a leap of faith by establishing my own property company, Setha in 2010.
The Group had humble beginnings; we started out in a small office in our garage in Hampstead, North London. We had a team of only three – including my wife, Annalisa – but we managed to acquire our first development site on Borough High Street in Southwark. Now, Setha has established a new HQ in Notting Hill; we employ around 30 consultants and we are in the process of delivering around 200 new homes and commercial space to the UK market, primarily across London and the South East. Our focus is on offering beautifully designed interiors inspired by our Italian heritage.
I won't deny that it was a shock when the UK voted to part ways with the EU in 2016. Not only for me, personally, as an Italian in London, but also as a business owner having to contend with a sharp drop in the value of the pound and gloomy forecasts for the years ahead.
In recent months, however, the UK economy has defied the odds – or, at least, the scaremongers. The pound has recently risen to its highest level since the referendum, housebuilders continue to forecast strong earnings and, according to JLL, demand for Central London office space has increased by 14% in the past twelve months.
This resilience has been shared by my company, Setha, which is actively looking for new sites to develop. We are also currently investing in eight sites across London and the South East, including Fulham, Ilford, Willesden Green and Dalston. We expect to see strong returns and have a pipeline to invest millions of pounds in acquiring new sites over the next few months.
House buyers are still keen to embrace all that the capital has to offer. Global giants like Apple are still eager to take a bite of the London market. At the same time, projects such as Crossrail mean transport links towards the peripheries of the city are vastly improving, bringing a whole host of new residents willing to put their Zones 1-2 travelcards aside in lieu of more reasonably priced properties and, with them, new cafes, shops and restaurants. In two words: economic growth.
Building more homes in these areas will also be incredibly important for solving the UK's housing crisis and it is companies like mine, with origins not only in this country, but in Europe and beyond, that will be tasked to deliver them.
It is essential that we do not shy away from these challenges – and indeed opportunities – simply because of the fear campaign around Brexit.
So, although I will never get used to the weather, London is exactly where I intend to stay.
Barrow Apartments: Italian style and quality design arrive on Fulham's North End Road
Build To Rent demand creating an interesting opportunity for investors


This is the badge I got a few weeks ago for my 25th blood donation. I couldn't think of anything else to picture today, so thought I'd go for another exhortation to give blood. Check where your next local session is at blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. Thanks!
This 1,684th post was filed under: Health, Photo-a-day 2012, Blood, Medicine.


To clear away the table, could denote that pleasure will soon assume the form of trouble and indifference.
To eat from a table without a cloth, foretells that you may be possessed of an independent disposition, and the prosperity or conduct of others will give you no concern.
To dream of a soiled cloth on a table, could denote disobedience from servants or children, and quarrelling will invariably follow pleasure.
To see or hear table-rapping or writing, could denote that you will undergo change of feelings towards your friends, and your fortune will be threatened. A loss from the depreciation of relatives or friends is indicated.
Dreams often mirror real life experiences but can also include fantasies and frightening elements from the imagination or movies, books or even computer games. To avoid sleeping trouble, sleep problems or sleeping disorders ensure your sleep comfort in the beds that you sleep in. Take natural sleep aids for a good night's sleep, sleep in when you can and remember sleep disorders will be diminished with comfortable beds. The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety and fear. Various systems were devised to develop a system of analysis and interpretation to reveal the meanings of dreams and skilful lists of the meanings of dreams formulated which included the subject of Table.
Your dream about Table may simply reflect events of the day providing an outlet and safe way of expressing pent up emotions. Refer to Sleep Help if you can't sleep or your dreaming leads to disturbed nights, sleeping disorders or insomnia.


text:
Genmab enters into agreement with Tempus
Genmab has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Tempus, a privately-owned technology company advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
The multi-year collaboration will combine Tempus' sequencing capabilities and platform of integrated clinical and molecular data with Genmab's translational, biomarker and target discovery expertise, they state. The companies will work together, based upon novel insights identified by Genmab, to advance new disease targets and biomarkers that may have the potential to generate new treatments in oncology.
"The world's largest library of clinical and molecular data"
This new strategic collaboration builds upon existing service agreements between the companies. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, the companies will jointly work on research projects that are identified by Genmab to explore novel product concepts and biomarkers. For any resulting products, Genmab will lead all development and commercial activities. Tempus will be eligible for undisclosed milestones and royalties from Genmab and will also have the option to fund part of product development programs in exchange for increased royalty payments due to Tempus under the agreement.
"Tempus has built the world's largest library of clinical and molecular data, is a leader in the field of personalized medicine and like Genmab, Tempus has a mission to improve the lives of cancer patients. We are looking forward to expanding our exciting partnership with them and to the possibility of discovering important new oncology targets and biomarkers," said Jan van de Winkel, CEO, Genmab.
Genmab
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Aurigene and Orion Corporation collaborate
Finnish pharmaceuticals company Orion Corporation and Indian biotech company Aurigene have entered into an option and research & collaboration agreement. The agreement regards rights to Aurigene's Pan BET and Selective BET Bromodomain inhibitors program. Under the terms of the option agreement, Aurigene will receive an upfront payment from Orion, followed by a licensing fee, milestones and royalties upon…
Alvotech enters biosimilar partnership in China
Alvotech and Alvotech & CCHT Biopharmaceutical, which is the China joint venture company of Alvotech hf. and Changchun High & New Technology Industries (Group) Inc., have partnered with Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group to form an exclusive strategic partnership for the commercialization of eight biosimilar medicines in China. The initial pipeline…
Bonesupport extends US distribution agreement
BONESUPPORT has extended the term of its U.S. distribution agreement with Zimmer Biomet, where Zimmer will continue to have exclusive rights for BONESUPPORT's cerament bone void filler product line for Orthopedics, Trauma and Foot and Ankle indications in the United States. "We are extremely pleased to extend our distribution agreement…
Orion signs agreement with Marinus Pharmaceuticals
Orion Corporation has signed a European wide marketing and distribution agreement with Marinus Pharmaceuticals for ganaxolone, a GABAA receptor modulator being investigated in multiple rare seizure disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, Orion will have the right to sell and market ganaxolone in Europe. Orion has made an upfront payment of EUR 25 million to Marinus as a…


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Gymnast Writes Open Letters To Michigan State Leaders Who Claim Sexual Abuse Couldn't Be Prevented
Filed to:Rachael Denhollander
Screenshot via MLive
In response to the outward finger-pointing taking place at Michigan State over its years of downplaying and ignoring concerns voiced about disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, one of the first gymnasts to come forward saying Nassar sexually abused her has penned a pair of open letters to university president Lou Anna Simon and Nassar's boss, dean William Strampel. Each letter from Rachael Denhollander outlines how Simon and Strampel, though not criminally charged, played a role in enabling and standing behind Nassar as women more women came forward saying he sexually abused them
Denhollander wrote the letters after reading quotes from Simon and Strampel in the Washington Post, which did a report last week based on emails and other records from the university showing both leaders at times downplaying their responsibility for what happened. At one point, Stampel even tells Nassar "I am on your side."
"It reminded me again why Larry Nassar was able to assault me," Denhollander writes in one letter, "and so many other women and children, for so long."
Since Denhollander sat down with the Indianapolis Star in September of last year, more than 80 other people have told law enforcement that they too were abused by Nassar—the former team physician for the USA Gymnastics women's program and Michigan State's women's rowing and women's gymnastics team—when he was supposed to be giving them medical treatment.
When Denhollander spoke with the Star, the reporter then reached out to Nassar for comment. The records obtained by the Post included this exchange.
On Sept. 6, Tim Evans, a reporter with the Indianapolis Star, emailed Nassar. Denhollander had talked to the Star, and Evans had some "important and delicate questions." Nassar forwarded the email to Strampel.
"Good luck," Strampel replied. "I am on your side."
When Denhollander's interview was published by the Star on Sept. 12, the Post found an email that showed Strampel forwarding the story to an executive vice president for academic affairs with the following message:
"I expect that this will be all over the paper tomorrow . . . Cherry on the Cake of my day!!!"
The article also includes Simon telling university trustees at a board of trustees meeting that there was nothing the school could have done to prevent Nassar's actions.
"I have been told it is virtually impossible to stop a determined sexual predator and pedophile, that they will go to incomprehensible lengths to keep what they do in the shadows," she told trustees.
The Post article added new details to the already growing account of ways in which Michigan State refused to take the reports about Nassar with the gravity they deserved. Prior to Denhollander's complaint and subsequent lawsuit, Michigan State University police looked into a complaint filed against Nassar by another athlete in 2014 who said Nassar became aroused after massaging her breasts and vagina during a visit to treat hip pain; they passed to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, which declined to press charges.
The same year, Michigan State's Title IX department conducted an internal investigation of the Nassar complaint. According to the Lansing State Journal, the school dismissed her claim after consulting with four medical experts that had ties to either Nassar or the university, telling them they did not understand the "nuanced difference" between sexual assault and Nassar's medical procedure. Michigan State defended its 2014 ruling in speaking with the State Journal.
This year, the university waited a full six months after Denhollander's allegations were first made public before, at the public urging by various athletes, reaching out to its former female athletes.
In an interview today with Deadspin, Denhollander said she wrote the letters "because this is so much bigger than Nassar." She added that the issue at hand isn't just that an accused sexual predator had the know-how to operate within two bureaucratic systems, but also that both Michigan State and USAG failed and are still failing to understand that their culture and lack of accountability allowed him to do so.
The full letters are below:
In One Interview, Larry Nassar Laid Out Exactly How He Gained Gymnasts' Trust
Gymnast Explains Why She Felt Nobody Would Believe She Was Sexually Assaulted
Six Months Later, Michigan State Notifies Female Athletes About Its Sexual Assault Scandal


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If you have actually been injured in an automobile accident in Balliang East 3340, and whether you were the driver, passenger, pedestrian, motorcyclist or cyclist in the accident you have a right to claim payment for your injuries, even if it was partially your own fault. Payment is paid by the Insurance if the irresponsible party was driving a Victorian registered automobile (or an unidentified cars and truck).
Your right to compensation is qualified by the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance Act. You might have been hurt whilst driving, as a passenger, or when a pedestrian. As long as your injury was triggered, in whole or part, by the neglect of another person in the control of a motor vehicle, you have a valid claim, even if your injury was partially your very own fault.
It is extremely important that you seek legal advice as quickly as possible after suffering an accident to ensure that your claim is secured. We are professionals in Roadway Accident Settlement claims and will make sure you get every dollar and entitlements you are entitled to.
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Nashiri's lawyers are expected to argue at the hearing that if he's shackled, he won't be able to communicate openly because of his past experiences in U.S. custody, including being waterboarded and threatened with a power drill and handgun by interrogators. The news organizations maintain that the specifics of his treatment already have been "the subject of widespread press reports," Schulz wrote.
An attorney for the Pentagon said Thursday that decisions to close hearings for national security reasons are made outside the Guantanamo court, and that military law in general demands that "the least restrictive means possible" of protecting information be used in order to protect the public's right to know. The Pentagon lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to be quoted.
The news organizations contend that less restrictive means are available to protect vital national security information that could be divulged at the hearing. Already, the press sees Guantanamo proceedings from behind soundproof glass, and has audio piped in with a 40-second delay to allow sensitive information to be censored.
Declassified investigations show that while Nashiri was shackled in 2002 and 2003 at secret prisons in Thailand, Afghanistan and Poland, CIA agents waterboarded him, racked a semiautomatic handgun near his head and used a power drill to frighten him. U.S. officials consider other details of the interrogations, however, to be national security secrets, such as the identities of the interrogators.
Military judge Col. James L. Pohl ruled in January that "due to the serious nature of the crimes alleged and the historic nature of military commissions, there is significant public interest in the commission proceedings."
Nashiri's case is the first for which a terror suspect could face the death penalty. Earlier this week Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused co-conspirators were officially charged with death penalty crimes in the September 11, 2001, attacks.


text: Q: Discriminant of a splitting field Let $f(x)\in\mathbf Q[x]$ and let $K$ be the splitting field of $f(x)$. How is the discriminant of $K$ (as a number field) related to the discriminant of $f(x)$? Are they divisible by the same primes? Does one divide the other?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Nick Ridgway acquired a property which he bought for cash and then set about gaining planning permission for a housing development project. After a 12 month period, he eventually got planning for the construction of 9 units and subsequently started finalising his plans for the project.
He initially went to see his own bank who he had known for a number of years and had successfully completed previous projects with, to say that he was looking for funding for the development. They initially indicated to him that this would not be a problem, so he started working on the site by using his own cash to start the development. After a period of some time, and having had no feedback from the bank he chased them again only to discover that the bank announced they were not prepared to advance the funds due to their internal restrictions on development finance. This left Nick in a very difficult situation in that he had committed himself to the project and used most of his cash resources.
He therefore took the opportunity to meet up with our ASC Essex Regional Director to discuss the situation. He reviewed the development plan and looked at his cash flow and requirements and was impressed with the information provided to him. He also delved into Nick's experience and was satisfied that this was a sound financial project and was confident that he would have lenders who would be keen to back the project. As a result, Nick instructed ASC to help him put the funding in place and Steve set about the task with a clear timetable from Nick that the matter had now become urgent.
We therefore approached a number of development finance lenders and eventually decided on one of his main contacts to look at the project. The lender was very impressed with what he saw and within a fairly short timetable confirmed that they were prepared to advance 100% of the development costs, together with an interest roll up for a 12 month facility for him to finish the site and arrange the necessary sales. The legals as always took a little time to complete but after pushing from both Nick and ASC, they were able to complete the transaction within 6 weeks of their original meeting.
Nick was mightily relieved when the funding was released and has been working on the site non-stop to get it completed during the summer period so he can start the sales process as soon as possible. He commented "I severely regret only speaking to my own bank when I initially needed the finance and as a result, their overall lending attitude gave me a lot of stress which if I had gone direct to ASC I would not have had. I would therefore recommend other clients in this situation to look at all the options first and speak to ASC Finance and use their experience of the sector to ensure they get the best deal available".
Paul & Tracey Aberdein have a long established successful business and were trading from rented premises. When the opportunity arose...


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Home Lifestyle NCPO: Rights Talk Cancelled Due To Potential 'Prejudiced' and 'False' Information
NCPO: Rights Talk Cancelled Due To Potential 'Prejudiced' and 'False' Information
Policemen arrived at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand to block a forum on human rights in post-coup Thailand from taking place, 2 Sept 2014.
BANGKOK — Thailand's military junta blocked a panel discussion on human rights in Thailand earlier this week because of concerns over the spread of "false information," a spokesperson said today.
"We had to be careful about the discussion topic, to make sure that it would not [defame] other individuals or organisations," explained Col. Winthai Suvaree. "The discussion could have lacked sufficient facts or contained unreliable information not supported by clear evidence."
He continued, "That information may have also only presented a one-sided perspective full of prejudice. It may have caused misunderstanding in society about certain individuals or organisations."
Col. Winthai was referring to a panel discussion titled "Access to Justice in Thailand: Currently Unavailable," that was slated to feature representatives from Amnesty International Thailand, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, and Cross Cultural Foundation on 2 September.
A few hours before the event, the junta's National Council For Peace and Order (NCPO) sent a letter to the organisers, "asking for their cooperation" to cancel the talk. Policemen also arrived at the venue of the talk – the Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand (FCCT) – to make certain the discussion did not take place.
Organisers said the panel was planning to discuss obstacles to justice in post-coup Thailand, such as the NCPO's decision to try dissidents in military court and arbitrarily detain hundreds of activists, politicians, and academics.
However, Col. Winthai said any complaint about perceived "injustice" under the NCPO should be submitted directly to the junta through regional government agencies.
"Those who are responsible in the relevant issues will urgently resolve the problems in an appropriate manner," Col. Winthai told reporters. "I believe this effort will adequately meet the need for information … in contrast to the aforementioned activity [the panel discussion]."
The NCPO spokesperson also claimed that the event's organisers only notified authorities a day before the talk was scheduled to take place, which did not give the NCPO enough time to consider the content and "intention" of the event.
"We were concerned that the activity may involve politics. Relevant officials had to carefully consider it," Col. Winthai said.
Tuesday marked the second time security officers have entered the FCCT, long known as a sanctuary for free debate in Thailand, in the last four months. On 27 May, soldiers stormed the FCCT and detained former Minister of Education Chaturon Chaisaeng as he was speaking to a crowd of foreign journalists about why he did not surrender himself to the NCPO.
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Devon Allman
Ruf Records, 2013
http://www.devonallmanband.com
When you release an album and your last name is Allman, people will pay attention. This brings us to Devon Allman and his solo debut album, Turquoise.
Devon is the son of Gregg Allman, one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers. Devon's parents divorced when he was an infant, and he had little contact with his famous father until he was a teenager. He was influenced by hard rock bands such as Kiss but now has settled into a rock/blues fusion sound that has been associated with his father and The Allmans.
He formed the band Honeytribe in 1999 that are now on hiatus, since most of his attention and energy has been directed toward his involvement with his new band, Royal Sothern Brotherhood. Other members of his current band include vocalist/percussionist Cyril Neville, guitarist Mike Zito, bassist Charlie Wooten, and drummer Yonrico Scott.
Allman has now stepped forward with his first solo release. He has formed a basic power trio with band mate Scott and bassist Myles Weeks with a few guests scattered among the 11 tracks.
Most of his solo music falls into a Southern rock and electric blues groove. He is an impeccable guitarist who is a credit to his last name. His lyrics may need some honing here and there, but the music is catchy and gritty. He is able to carry the sound with his guitar runs and vocals.
"When I Left Home" is his best lyrical creation on this disc. It contains wonderful imagery as well as some solid slide guitar play by Luther Dickinson, which fills in the sound and is the perfect foil for Devon. This autobiographical song leaves you wanting more of the same. "Yadira's Lullaby" moves in a different direction, featuring some smooth acoustic guitar play.
"Time Machine" explores a subtle jazz direction. The only non-original song is a cover of the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tune, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Samantha Fish joins him for a duet, making this track very different from the rest of the material on the disc.
At this point in his career, Devon Allman is still a work in progress. But overall, Turquoise is a good beginning for this second generation musician.
Rating: B
© 2013 David Bowling and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Ruf Records, and is used for informational purposes only.