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United Methodism's Long Division Problem
October 13, 2019 October 14, 2019 ~ philipamerson	~ 5 Comments
First United Methodist of San Diego — Habitat for Humanity Work Day
My daily morning dyspepsia is, I believe, related to long division problems. I am awake in the early morning, unable to find rest amid puzzles I can't seem to solve. At about age eight, a teacher taught me "to do long division." The moment was delicious — I could solve big numbers that before seemed too large. In my early teens, I discovered algebraic long division. Another revelation, a gift, a tool.
Today, my morning dyspepsia, is not so simple. This problem requires an institutional calculus. It is not division I seek: rather, it is the seeking ways to avoid so much dividing — it is greater unity I would like to cipher. Every theological and social instinct within me calls out for linkage, for connection, for common ground rather than a land of separation. Am I simply foolish, nostalgic, tied to some ancient vision of St. Francis bargaining with the wolf or his meeting with the enemies during the Crusades to discover ways of peace?
Why is our nation so tribal, so insistent on becoming a splintering galaxy of spinning ideological enclaves? In ways I suspect most of us don't fully see, the corollary exists in the divisions of the United Methodist Church. Both nation and church are pursuing long division problems. They are here now, in part because in both nation and church, we have been on a path too long-dividing. Many forces and fractions have brought us to this point: the rise of social media and loss of common language; new cultural and economic ecologies where unemployment and poor community resources persist; much focus on personal and social grievance; churches that avoid their prophetic voice as they fear the loss of market share and numerical decline — all these additives, and more, have brought us to this whirlpool of distrust.
Let's focus on United Methodism. Maybe if we untangle this a bit, or at least untie some of these knots, it will assist with other riddles. Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't ask for a division solution. It often happens like this – I am walking through fellowship hall at church and someone says, "What are we going to do?" I know what is meant but can't help myself, I reply, "About what?" The answers are: "About the church." "About the harm being done to LGBTQI persons." "About damage to the United Methodist brand. " "About the loss of our children who already think the church is out of touch with their worlds." Or, I am entering a store downtown, a friend greets me and says, "What do you think is going to happen?" I play out the scene again. "About what?" I respond and I hear the same list of concerns.
Or, I get phone calls from friends around the country. (And, yes, I sometimes call them.) "What's the latest you have heard?" "Which plan should we support?"
Add this to the daily news about presidential impeachments or government conspiracy and the result is dyspepsia along with a certain emotional and spiritual vertigo — right?
United Methodism's Long Division isn't this easy!
So, here are some thoughts about our long division problem in the church — these are a collection of hunches, perceptions, experiences, frequent early morning musings based on my faith journey and desire to be a follower of Jesus. Please note, these are not a plan, nor the son of a plan — no long division solution here. In fact, the PLANS I have seen are, to my mind, part of the problem. I almost chuckle at the plan of the week unveiled from some official or unofficial grouping of problem-solvers and I weep at the theological vacuity often evidenced.
I wonder if there aren't several million plans out there among United Methodists around the world — one plan for each of the members of the denomination. Individualism and self-centered privilege lead us to find our corner with the like minded. We can shape things along with our gang and the lines of our personal preference. I think of Thomas Jefferson who in a letter to Ezra Stiles Ely on June 25, 1819 wrote: "You say you are a Calvinist. I am not. I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know." My memory is that on another occasion Jefferson opined that he "carried his religious denomination under his hat."
Well-meaning people (and some not so well-meaning) offer up new plans weekly. Some would divide the church into two groups, some three, some four. I have even heard of a plan for seven new denominations. At the same time I hear little of how these plans correspond with the great ecumenical prayer of Jesus that "they would be one" (John 17) or the message from Paul about the church as a body with many members (I Corinthians 12).
Most of the proposals that are trumpeted seem unaware of the lessons of church history or from Christians of other denominational families who have struggled with divisions in recent years. What might we learn from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that still speaks, five decades later, of "Forming Together" after the splintering of Southern Baptists? What lessons might our Pan Methodist friends teach us as some large congregations have split off from their fellowships? Or, what of the Lutherans, the Seminex story from the Missouri Synod Church, or the merger resulting in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and the challenges they have faced? What lessons from the Assembly of God and splintering there? The Wesleyan Church? What might we learn from the United or Uniting Churches around the world (India, Canada, etc.) Or, what of lessons from our older sibling, the Episcopal Church.
Rather than a plan, I would offer some paradoxical thoughts, some ecclesiological assumptions, some prayerful hints for how we might proceed… with or without a plan. Paradoxical, yes, I propose them as cruciform. For they are. One clear assertion I will make is this: there will be no resurrection for us, no renewal apart from the cross. (In the gospels of Mark, Luke and Matthew there are the words like these "Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake… you will find it..) Here are seven paradoxes to explore.
I pray that any reshaping or re-imagining of the United Methodist Church will be: Centered in the Christ of scripture and Christ alive in our world today; shaped by prayer and a humble mystic spirit; a seeking of unity among all believers even as we resist efforts to harm; focused locally as essential to a global witness; open to the long-haul of history in order to be relevant today; ready for sacrifice in order to find abundance in unexpected places; and, opening our hearts to the story of others within and beyond our daily routines so as to sharpen our Wesleyan distinctives.
Bishop Grant Hagiya, 2019
When have I seen us at our best? Not when we are arguing or devising our long division plans but rather when we are in mission with others. I see it when the gospel is shared and persons and communities are changed. I see it when bishops pray and invite all, especially those who disagree to a common table. When those who join that table represent the extraordinary array of those from multiple cultures and classes modeling together an invitation to live in our time and place in terms of God's emerging kin-dom.
FUMC San Diego Acting as Witnesses
I see it in the thousands of places where our actions speak louder than our words. Where the "theology of the hammer" brings people together. I see it when the church works along the Mexican border and says in the name of Jesus, we will welcome these who are in need of sanctuary and we will not bear false witness against them. I see it when the church takes seriously its commitment to care for all creation.
A Blessing Indeed
I see it when I meet another United Methodist, from Africa, Zimbabwe. He tells me his name is "Blessing" and we laugh together when we talk about our mutual friends. Yes, he had taken some classes at Africa University. Yes, he was a student there when I visited that campus. We join in conversation about how we might heal a broken church, in order to set about healing a broken world. It is in surprises like this that my dyspepsia finds relief.
… A Little Like a Day Care Center
June 20, 2018 June 21, 2018 ~ philipamerson
New York Times reporter Julie Hirshfield Davis describes the detention centers for refugees in Texas border towns as being "a little like a prison and a little like a day care center." (The Daily podcast 6/19/18). A little like a day care center? Really?
Texas Border Youth Facility, AP 6/18/18
What nonsense. How can these holding tanks be benignly described as daycare facilities? Ms. Davis, however, should be cut some slack. She suffers from the same national cognitive dissonance disorder millions of us suffer. What we see, we think, can't be real. We are facing the sinister riddle of who we have become as a society. We ponder over how it happened. Who are these people, mirrored back to us on television? Pogo was right — We have met the enemy and it is us! How did we arrive at this place? Is this me, my nation?
Let me help Ms. Davis — these are NOT daycare facilities. These are prisons — for children. Children sleep on the floor, have little choice in how to spend their days and are kept in floor-to-ceiling fenced cages. No matter the rosy stories told by the "care givers" this is a prison… this is incarceration. Families are torn apart because they feared for their lives and they sought a safe place where they might begin again and scratch out a living. Babies, toddlers, wee little children are being used as pawns. Can our cruelty deter others? Might we trade better treatment of these families for a political win — something about this likes a wall.
We didn't arrive in this place overnight, or over an election cycle. We have come a long way from President Reagan's first inaugural address describing the United States as a shining city on a hill. He spoke these inspiring words: "And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."
Sadly, what we have believed deep in our bones, that the United States was a place of refuge, of new opportunity, is being lost, sacrificed to political expediency. There has always been an uglier side to our identity. This broken reality of our humanity is now on full display in our treatment of the refugee.
Reagan's soaring language was, sadly, tied to a "Southern Strategy" of thinly veiled racism and jokes about welfare queens. The uglier side of our nation's story was also at work when George Herbert Walker Bush who understood the U.S. to be a moral leader, nevertheless was elected in part, by his appeal focus to television spots about Willie Horton, an ex-con who was said to have been released on society early and then committed fresh acts of violence. Be afraid… This became a potent symbol of racism designed to elicit fear, especially among white working class folks. But now we have fallen further — we have forgotten those fundamental values to which we aspire and now live under the sadly misguided focus on new enemies who offer us new fears. From every podium of the White House we are told, in one way are another, that we should "be afraid, be very afraid."
How is this possible? What to do? I confess to being confused myself — almost confused enough to call a prison a daycare center — but not quite. What does it mean to be a citizen in these times? Prayers are essential, as are protests. This is not who we are as U.S. citizens. This is not who we are as people of faith. We cannot allow this to be the definitive word on how we treat "the stranger in our land." The nation is not quietly accepting that children should be separated from mothers and fathers in a journey from terror without dissent.
There is an upside-down, inside-out quality to what is occurring. Let's be clear — I have not been blind to the drift in our nation's identity in recent years. People in cities, small towns and countryside across the U.S. have been struggling. Tens of thousands of manufacturing and mining operations have been closed over the past twenty years. Small farms continue to disappear. Investments in education have dwindled. Our nation has become better at hiring people to run prisons than building much-needed infrastructure. No wonder, then, that our imaginations turn to incarceration rather than welcome centers.
We have allowed false dichotomies, false economies, to be used as political theory and practice. This is a complex issue and the demagogues want us to believe that there are only two choices and one simple answer. Just a little thought about the situation on the border causes a rational person to say — how do we bring imagination to this? What other alternatives are there? What might be done in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that can alleviate this? There must be dozens of ways to allow entry and do close monitoring of refugees that are less expensive than imprisoning mothers, fathers and children.
The stage was set for our foolish binary choices years ago. It did not begin in 2016. Many so-called "leaders" especially on the right, preached a narrative of "me first" and "fear the other" for years: us or them… either/or… my way or the highway. When one lives in a binary world regarding social interaction and possibilities, every choice is a false choice. Cable television and talk radio have laid out the predicate — a world was composed of distrust, soft prejudices, implicit and sometimes outright racism.
Meanwhile churches focused on entertainment and worried about numerical decline — they were too busy with this to speak on behalf of the immigrant or the poor among us. The tragic, sickening, self concern of Christian leaders, scurrying to "fix" our broken institutions, without stopping to consider the inevitable changes related to secularization and demographic shifts, meant that important voices on the behalf of the most vulnerable were silent or muted at best.
Years ago, Parker Palmer, anticipated our current state. It is almost as if he knew Attorney General Jeff Sessions was going to pull Romans 13 out of context last week and use it to justify the tragedy on our borders. Palmer wrote "traditional Christian language has been taken hostage by theological terrorists and has been tortured beyond recognition" (Parker Palmer, The Promise of Paradox, p. xxi).
A type of theological malpractice has found ascendancy in the rhetoric of our public life. When there are pictures of pastors endorsing and praying over the POTUS, who on the same day is implementing horrific policies, I want to shout out in protest: "there has been identity theft!" In this, Biblical Christianity has been traded in for a cheap imitation of the faith — something that may sell as comfort in the short-term but will bear little long-term fruit. Like the POTUS, these religious leaders are day-traders, seeking to ride the cultural swing of the moment. The life-giving, life-transforming language of restoration and reconciliation has been replaced with a distorted gospel giving license to exclusionary, selfish, violent and war-condoning ideologies.
Here is one way to recast what is occurring and offers some guidance as to how we proceed — every time some national official suggests that there are drug dealers, gang members, thieves or rapists coming across the border and this justifies the cruelty we see, we need to stop and shout "who do you think you are kidding? Where is your evidence?" Evidence is scant, almost nonexistent, you see. Good research shows that refugees contribute much more than they require of their new home. They are, like ALL PEOPLE, to be cherished more than feared. How we treat them and their children reflects how we ought to be treated… Yes, that is Biblical… and also the guidance of other faith traditions.
Is there no hope of redemption or restoration for those who might bring their own set of brokenness or troubles? We should and must screen those who would do us harm. The calculus, however, isn't even close. There is enormously more potential for good than evil arriving at our portals. Do we have such limited imaginations that we will simply define everyone arriving, even children, as our enemy? When I see the young ones standing, crying as their mother side, as she is being taken away, I believe I see in that little one a future medical doctor, a chemist, a university president, a journalist, a teacher or a pastor — and, if we are lucky, that little one may one day be a friend to one of my grand children. That is what I see — that is what our nation must see.
The Unexpected: Surprised by Joy
September 11, 2016 September 11, 2016 ~ philipamerson	~ 2 Comments
An unexpected gift came to my doorstep this week. Unexpected. And, actually, it wasn't delivered to the mail box or, like an Amazon package, to my doorstep. Rather it came when I was away from home; discovered while traveling in California. Elaine and I were in Sacramento.
The "Safe" — an empty pork and beans can
Early morning, out on my daily constitutional (the goal is to walk five miles a day), I was stepping along a stretch that looked promising. It was a grassy and green stretch. On one side was the I-5 interstate that runs the length of California. Sounds of rushing traffic — good folks no doubt on their way to work in the city — perhaps in state government. On the other side of the green way was a row of tall evergreen trees. Beyond them an empty field. The stretch, about four football fields long, ran between the Hilton and Marriott hotels. No paths, little appearance of use, just the promise of a good place to walk alone, I thought.
About half way between the Hilton and Marriott, tucked away under the trees, sunlight streamed like a silver web on the grass. It gyrated across my path. The light beckoned me come. I turned toward the trees and just a few steps away, hidden in underbrush, was a small encampment. Clearly someone's abode — plastic bags, a water jug and a couple of bedrolls — these were obvious. Only the trees for cover. I called, "hello," then thought it foolish. They likely wouldn't welcome a visitor. With no response, I looked more closely. There were a couple of books including an old Bible and what, at first, appeared to be trash — four opened and empty tin cans. Looking more closely, in a Pork and Beans empty "safe," was a rosary and 47 cents. Feeling guilty, embarrassed, about disturbing this hermitage, I quickly moved away.
Who lived here? For how long? Was this a "permanent" residence for a couple of homeless folks? The irony of this camp between two upscale hotels did not escape me. I walked on pondering questions about our society and wondering about these residents on the edge of survival tucked away between the comfortable respite of travelers like me. How had these homeless folks arrived at this situation? Bad luck? Addiction? Mental illness? How had our nation come to this point of ignoring the poor among us? Our bad luck? Our ideological addictions? Our mental illness?
A rosary and forty-seven cents – left in a pork and beans tin can. Returning along the path, I couldn't help it. I returned. Looking around carefully to make certain I would not intrude. Still with no one "home," I fished some cash from my wallet and added it to the modest stash in the pork and beans can.
I left quickly, and then that first strand of light fell again across the path way. I looked back to see an old broken mirror hinging from twine on a tree in the encampment that was reflecting the light. I stopped and prayed, praying as earnestly as I have in years. Yes, I prayed for these homeless folks. Yes, I prayed for our nation and world. More, I prayed for myself. My intrusion into this purgatory (or was it a haven?), this place of meager shelter, hidden away in our brutal and too often numbing world was illuminating. So many live on the edge. It was a heartbreaking reminder of the work yet to do. How many homeless in the U.S.? Eleven million? Or, as some say, thirty million?
I was also aware that my intervention might not be of value. Should I call a church or social workers? NO! Knowing all too well our systems of "helping," I didn't want to further endanger those who sought this place as sanctuary. Even though I had left a little money behind, I was not a hero. Nor were my motives heroic. There is too much in our society that encourages us to believe that we are the heroes and others are the victims. Our world is not as much of an either/or calculation as so many of our ideologies or theologies all too often communicate.
I wondered if this was a couple and if they had a child? Might that child be undocumented? Might that child be a refugee? A refugee like that child Jesus so long ago? Might it be a Joaquin, Jamal, Maria or Alice?
Returning to the hotel parking lot, there was another glimmer of light. Down, and there on the asphalt, was a lost key. My first thought was to carry it back to the camp. Leave it there with the rosary in the can. Then I realized the key might be for me. I was to remember — that because God loved me so, I was to live in responsible ways, always remembering those tucked away, out of sight, living on the margins. I was to live aware that because God loved those camped under the evergreen trees, I dare not stop speaking or working on the behalf of all. Now — here is the real surprise for me. In that moment there was JOY. The joy of remembering my faith, of knowing my calling. The JOY of having another key to my identity. Lost and found — Joy. Like an empty can, I had been provided so much by so many. I thought of those who had taught me so much — teachers, parents, friends, the homeless I had known over the years who "took me in." I checked with the hotel desk and no one reported losing a key, so I dropped it in my pocket as a reminder.
Yes, I was so privileged. I had work to do. In a world where our political candidates seem determined to forget the homeless, in a world where our refugees are a small fraction of the refugees all across the planet, there is work to do.
I recalled C. S. Lewis who wrote of these moments: " I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again… I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is."
― C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
I brought the key home with me.
The Great Identity Theft of 2015
December 9, 2015 January 22, 2016 ~ philipamerson
The Great Christmas Identity Theft of 2015
The devastating assaults in Paris have shattered our best hopes during this season. I was traveling the day following this tragic time and couldn't help but marvel at the way persons sitting in the airline terminal transfixed by the television images from Paris. The usual noises of travelers hurrying through the terminal were muted. We were all distracted. Fear and anxiety overwhelmed any sense of normalcy. Then, our worst fears about the future of terrorism seemed confirmed by the murders of innocents in San Bernardino. Terrorists assault. They kill and gravely wound unsuspecting civil servants at a holiday party.
How do we respond to such evil. What can we learn? How will we find a way forward when there are appropriate fears about the future. One healthy response is to seek to learn more, to understand more, to gain knowledge of the situation.
Who are these misguided murderers? What motivates? Why do they choose these suicidal theatrics. We want to know who is doing this and what are their motives. This is all healthy and appropriate. It is needed information. And what can we learn about Islam and this radical apocalyptic cult — this ISIS or ISIL? Important this is, all of it.
Still, isn't it intriguing that during these days of terror, we hear volumes from the experts about Muslims — who they are and how they behave — while at the same time there is little or no consideration about who is a Christian or how Christians might act at this time. The media are full of analysis about Islam. Good. knowledge is helpful; as one of my mentors would say "facts are our friends."
It may be as important, make that more important, to consider what it means to be a Christian in this time. In the seasons of Advent and Christmas 2015 we hear again the Jesus narratives. His life and words are captured in carols and story and sermon. What is there to be learned from this narrative about retaliation, revenge, exclusion, bigotry toward those who are different?
It is interesting that on the same day that Pope Francis announced the beginning of Year of Jubilee as a time of mercy and reconciliation, Donald Trump is loudly and adamantly speaking words designed to stir up fear and set up new systems of discrimination. Many people in this country seem to agree with him — in some places, places where there are strong "Christian" environments, there may even a majority who agree with The Donald.
What has happened? Most of those who seem to agree with Trump would be quick to say the United States is a Christian nation. Really? There is grave danger here. If we are to choose the way of discrimination toward persons of a different faith, this is a danger I would label identity theft. Someone is taking the basic elements of what it means to be a Christian and substituting a cheapened, debased form of shallow and self-serving religiosity.
It is not up to me to say whether Donald Trump is a Christian or not. He says he is, "I attend church on Christmas, Easter and special occasions." He says that if he is elected president he will be "the greatest Christian representative ever to be in the White House." His faithfulness and the ways he acts on his beliefs are between him and God. However, he doesn't get a pass on his easy claims. How do they match up with the story of Christmas?
No, it is not my call to determine whether Donald is a Christian… but we do know a great deal about who and what a Christian is expected to be from the scriptures and the great traditions of the church. Racism, bigotry and calls for revenge displayed by too many just don't square with the person and teachings of Jesus. Right now — as we gain knowledge about others, equal care needs to be given to thinking clearly about what it means to be a Christian. Certainly the calls to exclude persons from the United States based on a religious test is unconstitutional. That is easy. For me, however, it is more important to ask, is it Christlike?
We are warned at this time of year to guard our credit card information. We are told to be careful giving out information about social security numbers or family background. Someone might steal your identity and this would be disastrous. I want to warn of an even greater identity theft that is underway — it is a theft of what it means to be a Christian. Guard this closely. The loss of this identity might be even more damaging than having one's credit compromised. The loss of this identity may close down important options that will be needed in the future if we are to find a way past this current wave of terror.
Fear is a powerful thing; so is knowledge. It is critically important in these days to know more about Islam — what is true and what is false? Let me suggest that it is even more essential, for those of us who make the faith claim that we are "Christian" to consider carefully what this means — what is true and what is false?
Unwrapping an Early Christmas Gift
November 22, 2015 December 27, 2015 ~ philipamerson	~ 1 Comment
Christmas 2015: A Pageant of Imagination
How will church nativity pageants be different in 2015? Should we check the visas of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus before they process down the church aisle? Or, should they be detained before they sit beside the manger scene in the chancel? After all, these three family members were "outsiders" threatened by terror. They were vetted by the authorities and found to be dangerous. As a result, they became refugees.
You remember this part of the story, don't you? As a nation we in the United States seem to forget or perhaps simply say, "Well, that was then and this is now." Right? Well, no, not really.
Rembrandt's rendering of "The Flight into Egypt"
The fears generated by tragic events in Paris this past week have resulted in U.S. political leaders loosing their ability to think clearly. To call the response "knee-jerk" is disrespectful to knees everywhere! The ignorance and intolerance displayed by folks like Donald Trump are not worthy of a great nation like ours.
Suddenly, our greatest fear is the 10,000 Syrian refugees who are being forced by terror to seek new homes? While Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are accepting millions of displaced refugees, we proud Americans, who are an ocean away, can't welcome 10,000 who have been screened for nearly two years — and these are persons who are going to be placed with resettlement organizations most of which are religious groups with long histories of working with such refugees.
Members of the House of Representatives quickly pass a bill that is designed to target persons based on their religion. It is an astonishing nod to the bigotry and ignorance of the cheap seats in the American electorate. It has been said by many and it is true — "we are better than this."
However, rather than writing a screed on the small mindedness behind the statements and legislation that has been proposed, I choose to believe that these events just might be an early Christmas present, waiting to be unwrapped. An early Christmas gift to be shared at our Thanksgiving dinner tables. There is the opportunity here for imagination, for those who will be guided by thought, prayer, a clear-eyed view of our history to offer another version — not of who the Syrian refugees are, but who we are, especially if we are persons of faith.
I think of heroes like Colorado Governor Ralph Carr, who was faced with the demands of the Roosevelt administration to set up detention camps for Japanese Americans in his state. Carr, a conservative Republican was shaped more by his Christian faith than political expediency. He said, "No, not here, not on my watch" and he paid the price of losing an upcoming election to the U.S. Senate. Today if you visit Denver you will see that the state judicial building is named for Ralph Carr in recognition an ethical clarity, drawn from his faith, that allowed him to stand for justice against the popularity of bigotry on the march.
If you watch the news carefully, you will see politicians already coming to terms with their reactive bigotry. News speak is that they are "walking back statements made about Syrian refugees." The mayor of Roanoke, Virginia is an example of one who had to change his suggestion that we go back to camps like those used to detain Japanese Americans during WW II. Presidential candidate Ben Carson now says he regrets speaking of the refugees with a rabid dog analogy. Fear is a powerful emotion mixed with self-interest in which human beings sometimes get lost in the worst of our impulses.
These events, put together, provide the occasion to think more holistically and imaginatively about how to proceed. Should we accept Syrian refugees that are carefully screened. Absolutely, YES… and I think we should welcome even more.
HOWEVER, this is only a start — there are dozens of other things that might be done in the United States and in other parts of the world to humanely address this crises. How do we assist those in Jordan and Lebanon and Turkey who have borne the brunt of the tragedy in Syria? How do we assist those in Europe facing these challenges? Now is not the time to play the tortoise by hiding inside our shell.
The nations of the world no doubt will make increasing military responses to ISIS. There are arguments to be made as to what might be done and how. Again there will be dozens of ways to respond. As for me, there will need to be a witness against war and violence — as our continuing "go to" solution to every dangerous and hostile situation. Didn't we get here by trusting too much in overusing the military as a solution to everything?
James J. Tissot's "The Flight to Egypt"
This week, let's join one another in unwrapping an early Christmas present at the Thanksgiving table. Make this your early gift — encourage imagination. Help others remember that our Christmas pageants are more than little parades of children in bathrobes and silly hats. Laugh, play and retell the Christmas narrative in fullness, including the parts about a refugee family driven from their home.


Episode 43 Antonia shares what she is doing for self care, how she is facing her own mindset issues but pushing through, feeling the fear but doing it anyway. Listen to how they plan to grow and scale to the next level and join her community that is free!
Let's be unbusy Mas Candille, Golden Tulip build in time for you!
Get efficient with your time: Outsourcing, Timeboxing and take time off.
A new airy and sunny space for birthday parties, events, sports, leisure and of course play.
A Breakout area for gouters , workshops, English play etc.
A Creative Learning Zone ?
Our exisiting space where we currently run KidooLand activities is also having a makeover.
The focus here will be for the primary , college, lycee age children and adult workshops too.
Birthday parties will be back.
Ideas / contact if you have an idea for a course / class/ community event .
I can only do these things because I am surrounded and supported by an amazing community on and offline. Thanks to you all.
Our sponsor KidooLand La Petite Ecole Anglaise ?
This podcast was sponsored by KidooLand the Little English School who have just opened inscriptions for the next holidays for 4-16 year olds KidooLand nicknamed "the little English school" by our clients has a year round premises is set up for the little and big people. We run English activities all year round as well as holiday camps in Vallauris Sophia and Valbonne. With the Ados that we get to explore the Cote d'Azur in great depth .. Mougins, Cannes, Biot and more for cultural and really fun outings and this year we add in community awareness projects.


The year is 1930. The defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are about to establish themselves as a hockey dynasty. With the likes of Tiny Thompson in net, Eddie Shore on defense and the Dynamite Line - Cooney Weiland, Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor - up front, no one expected anyone to stop the powerhouse Bruins. The Bruins coasted through the regular season with a 38-5-1 record, the best winning percentage in NHL history at .875.
Yet they would collapse in the playoffs, shocked by Montreal in the opening game of the best of three Stanley Cup finals. The great goalie George Hainsworth posts a 3-0 shutout in Boston, sending the Bruins reeling.
The series went to Montreal for game 2, setting the early stage for the magic of Montreal Forum to haunt the Bruins. Howie Morenz attacked in waves of end-to-end rushes, leading Les Habitants to a 4-3 win and the Stanley Cup championship.
Hainsworth was the key player of the post season. He led all performers with a brilliant 0.75 average and three shutouts in six games.
The surprising two-game sweep of the Bruins paved the way for a best of 5 Stanley Cup final the following season.


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A: You could use the \fenced command.  For example:
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\starttext

\startformula
  \Ldoublebar \int \psi(r) dr \Rdoublebar = 1
\stopformula

\stoptext

The output is the same.

A: In addition to the existing answers, I would suggest to add these as new commands, with
\definemathfence[abs][left="007C,right="007C,command=yes]
\definemathfence[norm][left="2016,right="2016,command=yes]

Complete example below:
\definemathfence[abs][left="007C,right="007C,command=yes]
\definemathfence[norm][left="2016,right="2016,command=yes]
\starttext
\startTEXpage[offset=4mm]
Now we can type
\startformula
\abs{x}\geq\abs{\frac{y}{z}},\quad \norm{x}\geq\norm{\frac{y}{z}}
\stopformula
And if you think the sizes get wrong, you can adjust them like this:
\startformula
\abs{x}\geq\abs[size=2]{\frac{y}{z}},\quad \norm{x}\geq\norm[size=2]{\frac{y}{z}}
\stopformula
\stopTEXpage
\stoptext

A: \left| and \right| scale automatically:
\m{\left| x \right| \leq \left| y^2 \right|}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join Mr. Cupcake as he prepares to leave for Mr. Cookie's birthday party only to be perplexed by a sudden crunching under his feet. As Mr. Cupcake walks around trying to solve this mystery, children are exposed to fun tongue twisters and silly sounds. Full of wonderful illustrations, sound effects, and interactive images, this storybook app is one children of all ages will love.
The cartoon-like quality of the illustrations included in this storybook app are very well done with simple animations and lots of interactive details for children to discover. The sound effects and interactive images make an already silly and fun story even more engaging and entertaining which is great for young children. Add to that the ease with which children can move through the app by simply tapping the images and swiping through the pages and you have a high quality app that is very easy to use.
With narration options available in English & Spanish, Mr. Cupcake Has The Sprinkles offers children the opportunity to practice reading in two languages which is great. Unlike many storybook apps, this one does not include text highlighting which limits the ability for early readers to follow along with the narrator as they practice their reading skills. While there aren't any other specific educational components in the app, the English & Spanish options may make this app especially appealing for parents.
Mr. Cupcake Has The Sprinkles is a fun storybook app with super silly tongue twisters and lots of interactive images to keep children engaged as they read. Mr. Cupcake must figure out what the mysterious crunching sound is that he keeps hearing and he comes up with some mighty creative possible solutions like a "walrus walloping walnuts" or "a camel chomping corn chips" that little readers will love. The fun sound effects & simple animations add to the overall experience creating a storybook app that kids will come back to over and over again.
Priced at just under three dollars, this app is comparable to other eBooks that are available. While there aren't any additional activities in addition to the story itself, this app does include a narration option available in English and Spanish which is great. Overall, Mr. Cupcake Has The Sprinkles is a great value.
The developers have done a great job making this app easy to use and child friendly. With simple tap & swipe functioning to move through the app and the narration options available, Mr. Cupcake Has The Sprinkles is very intuitive even for young children. Parents can also rest assured knowing that there are no external links or in-app purchases to worry about and their children can enjoy this fun storybook on their own.


Did you know it was accepted practice in Babylon 4000 years ago for the bride's father to supply the son-in-law with all the mead (honey beer) he could drink for a month?
New to the Buffalo beer marketplace is Taptrails, a beer explorer's guide to craft beer here in Western New York, created to help locals and visitors discover great breweries. Here's how it works. You buy a beer map at Consumers Beverages, Kegworks or any of the participating craft beer locations (koozie included). The locations are listed and mapped out for you. Present the map at any of the participating locations and get a discount. For example, Resurgence and Hamburg offer 1/2 price flights to any tap trail map carrying patron and Old First Ward knocks $2 off your First Pint. As you can see, this is the kind of map you want in your back pocket.
The map will cost you $10 and discounts at Buffalo trail breweries total $50. Plus, there are additional "side trail" discounts adding up to $25 at places like EBC and Southern Tier. Click here to enter for a chance to win a pair of maps!
The map is loaded with beer trivia, great info to sharpen your beer knowledge and a tasting log to track your beer tasting experiences. If you complete the Taptrail and get a stamp at each location, you can email a photo of your map to be entered into the Taptrail monthly prize drawings.
Who's on tap in the map? Big Ditch Brewing Company, Buffalo Brew Pub, Community Beer Works, Ellicottville Brewing Company, Flying Bison Brewery, Hamburg Brewing Company, Pearl Street Grill, The Pan American Grill & Brewery, Rusty Nickel Brewing Company, Southern Tier Brewing Company and Gordon Biersch.
Buffalo is one of the two first Taptrails available along with the Loveland/Winsor area just north of Denver, CO. Take note world – we're pretty sure this means we have an awesome craft beer scene. Near future tap trails include Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix and Ft. Collins, CO.
It's true, the whole paper map thing gave us pause at first. But have no fear beer geeks – an app is on the way! In the meantime get on board with the whole tap treasure thing.
For more information check out their website at taptrails.com.
RELATED: Win a Buffalo Taptrails Map!


Introduction: WordPress is renowned for its ease of use and abundance of free resources found on the internet. If you are new to creating websites, 99% of time you would be recommended to set up a WordPress powered website. The very first thing to consider when setting up a website is to choose the hosting provider. This post discusses two options: free WordPress hosting and paid hosting.
For quick and dirty FREE WordPress websites, WordPress.com is the way to go.
Go there, create an account, choose a subdomain (your URL would be in the form of subdomain.wordpress.com) and your website is up and running. No installation. No server administration. Best of all, it is FREE.
limited ability to change WordPress configurations, e.g. cannot add plugins, limited use of PHP scripts, etc.
You can remove the above limitations by going Premium (US$99 per annual at the time of writing) which is quite expensive. You would definitely want to consider other WordPress hosting options as discussed below.
Be warned that you may end up paying more on these "free" WordPress providers than a trustworthy paid WordPress hosting provider. You might read this post on the factors to consider when choosing a free WordPress hosting.
Paid hosting is the definite choice if you would like to create a quality website with ultimate flexibility. With paid WordPress hosting, you can literally configure every single aspect of your website, down to the original code of WordPress (which is not recommended, of course). This is the only way you can build a professional looking and fully functional website.
When looking at different hosting plans, you may come across many different jargons like shared hosting, vpn hosting, dedicated hosting which would cost from several dollars per month to several thousands of dollars per month. How to choose?
For starters, the shared hosting option is more than enough. In fact, edward-designer.com is powered on a shared hosting.
Is it recommended by WordPress?
Register for a domain name (i.e. www.your-name.com). GoDaddy offers the cheapest service starting from US$2.95.
Use the 1-click WordPress installation wizard and get your website up and running!
You will enjoy the same level of easy-of-use as WordPress.com but you are in total control of your website. If you write great contents, your Adsense earning will soon take care of the hosting fee and you virtually have free WordPress hosting!
I began this blog about half an year before and now I can earn enough money for my hosting bill with earnings from advertisements and affiliate marketing in only 1 day, e.g. you can sign up FREE for the affiliate plan of a2-hosting to earn US$85 per referral.
Previous story Where is the WordPress Login Page for Admin?


text:
Theridion weberi is een spinnensoort in de taxonomische indeling van de kogelspinnen (Theridiidae).

Het dier behoort tot het geslacht Theridion. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1892 door Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell.

Kogelspinnen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


China and El Salvador established diplomatic relations on Tuesday after the Central American country severed "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Salvadoran Foreign Minister Carlos Castaneda signed the joint communique on the establishment of diplomatic ties in Beijing.
The establishment of diplomatic ties based on the one-China principle conforms to the universal consensus of the international community and the trend of the times, Vice-President Wang Qishan said at a meeting with the visiting Salvadoran delegation, including Castaneda.
Both sides should strengthen exchanges, deepen mutual trust and advance mutually beneficial cooperation, opening up a new chapter for bilateral ties, he said.
El Salvador become the fifth country to break "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan since Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became the leader of the island in May 2016. Only 17 countries still have "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Castaneda after signing the joint communique, Wang Yi hailed El Salvador as "a new friend in Latin America and the Caribbean region" and "a new partner in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community of shared future for mankind".
China will work with El Salvador to achieve common development, enhance partnerships between China and the whole of Latin America, and make contributions to the collective rejuvenation of developing countries, he said.
Castaneda said his country remains committed to the one-China principle and will no longer have official relations or official contacts with Taiwan.
Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren said in an address earlier on national television that "we are convinced that this is a step in the right direction, which corresponds to the principles of international law, international relations and the inevitable trends of our times".
El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Central America and also the location of the secretariat of the Central American Integration System.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular news conference on Tuesday that the establishment of diplomatic ties with China is a political decision made by El Salvador without any economic preconditions attached.
Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said on Tuesday that Taiwan authorities are urged to refrain from taking any action that undermines the well-being of Taiwan compatriots and to return to the "1992 Consensus" as soon as possible, as going against the trend of the times is futile.
Any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" will lead nowhere and will also be opposed by all Chinese people, Ma said.
Su Xiaohui, an international strategy researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, said in an interview with China Daily that it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the one-China principle is in accordance with the overwhelming consensus of the international community.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and El Salvador, which took place shortly after Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's trip to Paraguay and Belize, deals a heavy blow to pro-independence forces in Taiwan, she added.


When GE first designed the refrigerator defrost heater part # WR51X10053, it had 1 heating element… and it tended to burn out a little too fast. GE redesigned the heater with 2 elements running side by side for the WR51X10101 (the new version replacing the old WR51X10053).
The WR51X10101 replaces the following defrost heater part numbers: WR51X10053, WR51X10032 and WR51X10097.
Click here for price and availability on the WR51X10101 defrost heater.


text:
Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories (1971–1984), Climbers (1989), and the Kefahuchi Tract trilogy, which consists of Light (2002), Nova Swing (2006) and Empty Space (2012). He is widely considered one of the major stylists of modern fantasy and science fiction, and a "genre contrarian". The Times Literary Supplement described him as 'a singular stylist' and the Literary Review called him 'a witty and truly imaginative writer'. Robert Macfarlane has said: "Harrison is best known as one of the restless fathers of modern SF, but to my mind he is among the most brilliant novelists writing today, with regard to whom the question of genre is an irrelevance."
The best books of all time by M. John Harrison
2328 . Light by M. John Harrison
The stories of three people--modern-day Michael Kearney who plays a part in a discovery that will make interstellar travel possible; Seria Mau Genlicher, a spaceship pilot modified to interact dire...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Addressing the Northeast Students' Festival here to welcome new students from the region to Delhi, Singh said the NRC was necessary to identify Indian citizens and weed out illegal immigrants.
A Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday assured that no Indian national would be excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"I want to say that no genuine Indian will be excluded from the NRC," he said at the event organised by 'My Home India', an NGO founded by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sunil Deodhar.
"It is absolutely necessary to know who are Indians and who are foreigners," said Singh as he asserted that the update of the NRC, a list of Assam's citizens, was carried out under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court.
Deodhar was the BJP in-charge in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi during 2014 Lok Sabha elections and a key architect of BJP's victory in last assembly elections in Tripura.
The exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh was carried out in Assam following a decision in 2005 after a series of meetings between the central and state governments and the influential All Assam Students' Union (AASU).
As per 2011 census, Assam's total population is over 3.11 crore. The process of identification of illegal immigrants in Assam has been widely debated and become a contentious issue in the state's politics.


text:
BC's lacklustre cannabis legalization, charted
Despite its disproportionately weed-smoking populace, BC has done a terrible job at getting them to buy the legal stuff
By Snejana Vorona
Photo illustration by Tristan Pratt
Last month, Capital Daily published an extensive feature detailing the latticework of delays, bureaucratic odysseys and general red tape that has characterized the first months of legal cannabis in BC. The end result is that one of Canada's most cannabis-infused provinces now has one of its weakest cannabis sectors. Over the past few weeks we've asked our resident data analyst, Snejana Vorona, to dig up the numbers on how legal weed is selling in BC, and how it compares to both the rest of Canada and our own still-substantial black market. Her findings, as laid out below, point to a province that has disproportionately refused to find above-board weed dealers.
As shown above, BC is in a distant fourth place when it comes to retail sales of cannabis. This isn't tremendously surprising with Ontario, which has nearly three times the population of BC. But Alberta, despite 700,000 fewer people, has been utterly thrashing BC's total since Day One. Wild Rose Country has been generally more permissive in granting licenses to both retailers and producers, and Alberta cities got a major head start on store openings. In the first days of legalization, when BC only counted one brick-and-mortar weed store, there were 12 in the Edmonton area alone.
Thirteen out of every 100 Canadians lives in BC. But as the chart above shows, that ratio certainly doesn't hold true for the country's pot-buyers. In the first month of legalization, BC accounted for only 2% of Canadian pot sales. And it's only been in 2020 that BC's proportion of Canadian pot sales has risen enough to match its proportion of the Canadian population. Still, for a province widely known as the Napa Valley of Cannabis, it would be reasonable to assume that BC should be accounting for a slightly higher share of national sales.
268 retail store licenses isn't nothing, but for context, that's the same amount of licenses that Alberta had issued a year ago. The keen observer may also notice that the most lightly populated region of BC is also the most disproportionate holder of cannabis retail licenses. One million of BC's 5 million people live in the Interior and North, but hold 55% of the province's retail licenses.
It turns out Statistics Canada keeps tabs on black market (or "unlicensed") sales of recreational Canadian cannabis. And as the chart above shows, legal weed has definitely taken a bite out of the black market, but hasn't yet been able to overtake illegal weed in raw sales. As legal drugs go, this is a disparity that remains unique to cannabis. Black markets exist for Canadian alcohol and tobacco, but they aren't the primary supplier. It also shows that cannabis legalization has thus far failed at its primary stated purpose. In the months leading up to legalization, the federal minister responsible, Bill Blair, often talked up the primary purpose of the Cannabis Act as taking a scythe to the country's illicit market.
contact@capnews.ca
What happened when the BC government started selling cannabis


Do you want to introduce your doggy into the professional training and to let him take part in different competitions? Assure his proper education with this remarkable protection bite suit. The tool is manufactured to serve your canine's police and sports training. It helps to develop the pet's bite, retrieve, military and guard skills. Besides, you can wear it for the competitions. In this tool, you will be completely secure and able to move freely. Guarantee your safety and comfort with the outstanding supply from here!
First and foremost, this bite suit has excellent look. It consists of a jacket and pants that protect your body perfectly. The suit has adjustable bibs to fit your body perfectly. The jacket is supplied with an inside quick release and outer Velcro closure. Thanks to them, additional safety is assured. Owing to the absence of any outside metal parts, the gear will not become the reason of the canine's possible injuries. Though the suit looks quite huge, it will not restrict your movements. The item is incredibly lightweight and you can reproduce a real-life situation with the help of it. Furthermore, the design of this bite suit is improved thanks to the stand-up collar that protects you from the dog's bites. Be sure that neither part of your body may suffer!
The supply is manufactured from non-toxic French linen. It doesn't threaten either your or the canine's health and is quite durable. The material is resistant to the dog's bites and will not be spoiled immediately. It can serve your for a really long period of time and be used for the pet's training sessions.


Representing the best part of over 30 years of drawing and refining his style we are pleased to finally present Nicholas Birchall's 'Anthology of Images: The Organic Computer'.
The book features Nick's visionary cartoons and comic strips in his trademark melting and distorting style influenced by the psychedelic art of the 1960s that has been refined over the past 3 decades in a unique line and style of his own.
A large format black and white A3 book of 24 pages, this book was printed in house with the Press' Risograph machine onto 100 gsm off white paper and then painstakingly handbound by the artist into an edition of 90 copies. The book has a heavy weight 160 gsm card cover and sturdy backboard to make it a lasting edition.
current bargain price of £10.
This latest issue of Extricate features two true stories: 'Another Good One for an Acid Freak Out' a sprawling tour account of a run in with one of Glasgow's most extraordinary characters and 'The Oracle at Delphi' the tale of minds being blown by Lee Perry's dub while on a scrambled and epic hitchhike to catch a ferry over the Corinthian Gulf.
The 28 pages of comic are printed on the presses in house Risograph stencil machine in green, blue and orange on 100% 100 gsm recycled paper, it looks and smells great!
compilation book of drawn images and comics from across Europe and the wider world. Due to be published summer 2008.


text:
Category: Corruption
All invited to open forum at Allard School of Law at University of British Columbia.
William Binney, NSA whistleblower
In the late 1990s William Binney, a top US National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence official, led the development of ThinThread, a sophisticated signals intelligence system with built-in encryption technology allowing the NSA to collect and analyze communications data without violating privacy laws. Around the time of the September 11 attacks, ThinThread was shelved in favour of the Trailblazer Project, a wasteful, inefficient alternative with no privacy protections.
Binney left the NSA and blew the whistle in an effort to hold the agency accountable for waste and corruption, as well as for illegal and unconstitutional spying on the US population. For doing so, he was harassed and undermined, and further development of his technologies was suppressed.
Today, he advocates worldwide for the adoption of "smart selection," a disciplined, focused intelligence method that protects citizens' privacy rights.
Hear Bill Binney speak at free noon-hour forum
Don't miss this Thursday March 14, 2019 noon-hour event honouring legendary whistleblower William Binney – at Franklin Lew Forum, Allard Hall at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. (RSVP here)
An audience Q&A will follow Binney's telling of his fascinating and troubling story of the surveillance state, individuals' rights to privacy, and what it means to blow the whistle on a powerful government agency.
FBI Raid on William Binney's home
After retiring from the NSA, Binney founded, together with fellow NSA whistleblower J. Kirk Wiebe, Entity Mapping, LLC, a private intelligence agency to market their analysis program to government agencies
In September 2002, Binney, along with J. Kirk Wiebe and Edward Loomis, asked the U.S. Defense Department Inspector General (DoD IG) to investigate the NSA for allegedly wasting "millions and millions of dollars" on Trailblazer, a system intended to analyze mass collection of data carried on communications networks such as the Internet.
Binney was one of several people investigated as part of an inquiry into a 2005 The New York Times exposé on the agency's warrantless eavesdropping program. Binney was cleared of wrongdoing after three interviews with FBI agents beginning in March 2007, but in early July 2007, in an unannounced, armed, early morning raid, a dozen agents armed with rifles appeared at his house, one of whom entered the bathroom and pointed his gun at Binney, who was taking a shower.
The FBI confiscated a desktop computer, disks, and personal and business records. The NSA revoked his security clearance, forcing him to close a business he ran with former colleagues at a loss of a reported $300,000 in annual income. The FBI raided the homes of Wiebe and Loomis, as well as House Intelligence Committee staffer Diane Roark, the same morning.
The Edward Snowden Connection
Several months later the FBI raided the home of then still active NSA executive Thomas Andrews Drake who had also contacted DoD IG, but anonymously with confidentiality assured. The Assistant Inspector General, John Crane, in charge of the Whistleblower Program, suspecting his superiors provided confidential information to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), challenged them, was eventually forced from his position, and subsequently himself became a public whistleblower. The punitive treatment of Binney, Drake, and the other whistleblowers also led Edward Snowden to go public with his revelations rather than report through the internal whistleblower program. (Above sections starting with 'FBI Raid on William Binney's Home' copied from Wikipedia Binney Article)
Did Superior Court Judge interfere with St. Michael's College School sex assault investigation to protect his football coach son?
February 28, 2019 Donald Best One comment
St. Michael's College School teacher & football coach Kevin Shaughnessy with his father Ontario Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy in promotional video.
Legal experts say an Ontario Superior Court Justice should not have involved himself in the ongoing sex-assault investigation at St. Michael's College School.
Judge's son is a teacher & football coach of students charged with gang sexual assault & making / distributing child porn video of the attack.
Two sources say that in November 2018, Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy attended St. Michael's College School meetings during the sexual assault investigation where he called for the firing of principal Greg Reeves and school president Father Jefferson Thompson. The two school officials subsequently resigned on Thursday, November 22, 2018.
A source states that one of the meetings was 'open', but the other was a small private meeting that included various school board members, respected senior alumni and advisors who discussed with Justice Shaughnessy options in handling the scandal.
Justice Shaughnessy's son Kevin Shaughnessy is a ten-year teacher at the school and was one of the teachers / coaches of the now-dismantled football team whose students were videoed in the school locker room (allegedly) sexually assaulting a boy with a broom handle.
Justice Shaughnessy is a St. Michael's College School alumnus (1968) who has remained heavily involved in school affairs including law classes and mock trials. He founded and donated two longstanding student awards. His three sons also graduated from the school where one, Kevin, is employed as a teacher.
In May 2018 Justice Shaughnessy appeared in a promotional video for the school, associated with his receiving the 'Order of St. Michael'. The video makes revelations about his involvement with other organizations, some of which are also involved with the courts and law enforcement in Durham Region where the judge sits on the bench – raising further questions about potential and/or perceived conflicts of interest.
Did Justice Shaughnessy have any contact whatsoever with law enforcement personnel concerning the St. Michael's College School matter?
In an unrelated civil case, there are four known improper police involvements associated with Justice Shaughnessy. This raises strong suspicions of Shaughnessy's improper use of, and relationship with, law enforcement. In 2017 Durham Regional Police launched major investigation into Donald Best immediately after Best's lawyer filed legal documents about Justice Shaughnessy's misconduct in a civil case. In 2009, a Durham Regional Police officer assigned to Justice Shaughnessy's courthouse improperly conducted a secret investigation into Donald Best "in aid of the court".
Justice Shaughnessy is already embroiled in separate litigation concerning his corrupt behaviour in a matter outside the St. Michael's investigation. In the Donald Best civil case, Justice Shaughnessy – in a backroom after court closed – secretly and illegally doubled Best's prison time for Contempt of Court without informing Best or placing any record of the judge's secret order into the court record. Only the prison was notified of the increased sentence.
In the same Donald Best civil matter Justice Shaughnessy also backdated a court order by ten days to assist the opposing lawyers – and then convicted and imprisoned Donald Best for failing to deliver business records to opposing lawyers two days before Shaughnessy made and signed the backdated order that required Best to present the business records. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
Several senior lawyers and a retired Crown Attorney call Justice Shaughnessy's behaviour in the Donald Best civil case "despotic", "disgusting", "reprehensible", "malicious" and "worthy of his removal from the bench." His corrupt actions earned Bryan Shaughnessy the monikers 'Backroom Bryan' and 'Canada's Backroom Judge' with both the public and (quietly) in the legal community.
Ontario Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy in May 2018 promotional video for St. Michael's College School.
How Involved is Teacher & Football Coach Kevin Shaughnessy?
The scandal at St. Michael's College School exploded in November 2018 and is only partially about the horrific behaviour of some members of the school's football team who (allegedly) sexually assaulted a fellow student with a broomstick, videoed the attack and then distributed the child pornography.
Seven students now stand criminally charged involving multiple incidents on school property over a number of months.
In a breach of professional ethics and perhaps even the criminal code, for at least two days senior school administrators (and probably some teachers, board members and parents) failed to report the horrific sex attack and existence of the child-sex video to the police or Children's Aid. Some possessed copies of the child-sex video during this time and distributed it to others.
It was not until the police were notified by the news media and came to the school that principal Greg Reeves surrendered the video to the police and informed them of the sexual attack – some two days after he knew and first possessed the child-sex video.
Why did so many senior members of the St. Michael's College School community fail to report the existence of the child-sex video and horrific sex-attack to the police?
Were the school staff and board members honestly just overwhelmed and unprepared to deal with such events? Were they naïve about their duty to protect a child at risk?
Or… was it an attempted cover-up? Were the staff and board trying to find some way out to protect the international reputation of the school? Did the worldwide revelations about child sexual abuse and coverups by the Catholic Church and clergy influence the St. Michael's College School individual and corporate decisions?
Roster showing Kevin Shaughnessy as a football coach with St. Michael's College School. From the OFSAA Team Rosters – St. Michael's vs Cardinal Newman
What did Justice Shaughnessy know and when did he know it?
It would be only natural for Justice Bryan Shaughnessy and his son Kevin Shaughnessy to discuss the sexual assaults the moment either of them learned of the events.
As a ten-year St. Michael's teacher and football coach, Kevin Shaughnessy might have been worried about the school image and about his own career. He would naturally inform and ask advice of his father who is both a senior justice in the Ontario Superior Court and a respected member of the St. Michael's College School community.
"(There should be) a full accounting of coaches, clergy and staff members assigned to sports teams. Where were they when that kid was screaming for help?"
Toronto Sun journalist Joe Warmington November 23, 2018
Both Justice Shaughnessy and his son Kevin would have known that public questions were bound to be asked about the school's athletic and football team culture, why the assault was not prevented and when each staff member became aware of the assaults and videos. The public and parents would also want to know if anyone had knowledge of this type of behaviour happening in the past and what the response of the school was at the time. (Note: At least one former student has gone public claiming that hazing and assaults at the school have been part of the school culture for decades.)
Justice Shaughnessy should have recused himself from any involvement whatsoever.
In this situation, it would be a natural instinct for senior school officials, staff, board members and parents to contact Justice Shaughnessy for advice – perhaps not even considering that contacting a senior judge during a criminal investigation was improper.
Bryan Shaughnessy, however, is no ordinary person, no ordinary alumnus or parent – 'Bryan' is Ontario Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy whose public and private statements on anything carry real influence and the heavy credibility of a senior judge.
Further, Justice Shaughnessy's son Kevin is a teacher and football coach and therefore directly involved at the very least as a witness – and potentially as the subject of investigations into the school's staff and football culture.
"It was up to Justice Shaughnessy to recuse himself from the picture, but instead he deliberately chose to become involved.
Upon learning of the sexual assault at the school, as a sitting Ontario Superior Court Justice who is the father of an involved teacher and football coach, Bryan Shaughnessy should have immediately recused himself from any discussion, communication or any role at all in the school.
Further, he had a duty imposed by law to report any incidents himself unless he was absolutely sure they had already been properly reported." (Senior Law Society of Ontario lawyer to Donald Best.)
There are recognized limitations on what a judge may or may not do both officially and in private life. According to several senior lawyers and a law professor I consulted with during the writing of this article, Justice Shaughnessy crossed the line when he made recommendations to the school in the middle of a criminal investigation – whether he made those recommendations in public at the general meeting or in private with school officials.
As a senior Ontario Superior Court Justice, Bryan Shaughnessy should not have involved himself in any way in a criminal matter likely to go before the courts.
According to the senior lawyers, Justice Shaughnessy's actions during the criminal investigation crossed the line even before considering the obvious conflict of interest created by his son's employment as a teacher and involved football coach at the school.
Parents, staff and members of the public would naturally wonder if Justice Shaughnessy's recommendation that St. Michael's College School fire principal Greg Reeves and president Father Jefferson Thompson was intended to take the heat away from Shaughnessy's son and his son's fellow teachers and football coaches.
Too many unanswered questions.
Did Justice Shaughnessy's teacher-son have a copy of the video or know of it and not report it to the police? Did anything that Kevin Shaughnessy do or failed to do influence his father to call for the firing of the school principal and director?
Exactly when and how did Justice Shaughnessy learn of the sexual assaults and of the existence of the video? Did he immediately call the police to report the crime himself? Did Justice Shaughnessy see or possess a copy of the child-sex video?
When sitting judges insert themselves or allow themselves to be inserted into criminal investigations – at the very least this causes public doubt about the judiciary and the rule of law. At worst, such actions bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Add to that the fact that Justice Shaughnessy's own son is at the very best a potential witness and at the worst an involved teacher and football coach.
Justice Shaughnessy made a deliberate choice to insert himself into an ongoing criminal investigation despite his obvious conflicts of interest.
He knew or should have known that his involvement had the potential to cause doubt about the integrity of both the internal and police investigation and to bring both his personal judgment and the administration of justice into disrepute.
Yet, Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy chose to become involved in the St. Michael's College School scandal.
Coming in Part II…
Update on the St. Michael's College School criminal charges, including known timeline.
Analysis of the Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy promotional video for St. Michael's College School.
Discussion of what public activities are permissible for sitting judges. Is fundraising for organizations permitted? What if the organizations have an acknowledged role with the police or the courts in the judge's jurisdiction?
Details of all police involvement associated with Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy in the Donald Best civil case.
CBC Toronto, Nov 22/18 St. Michael's College School principal and president resign amid student sex assault scandal
Toronto Star, Dec 19/18 What we know and don't know about the scandal at St. Michael's College School — and what we can't report
Dec 2/15 Ontario Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy secretly increased prisoner's jail sentence – in a backroom, off the court record, without informing the prisoner.
Jan 1/18 News media censorship of Julian Fantino's Canadian Judicial Council Intervention Crumbles as Toronto Star Publishes bombshell article.
Photos have been included to put context to the article. Their use is the same as with other Canadian news outlets. With the exception of Kevin Shaughnessy who is a legitimate subject of this news article, all other members of Justice Shaughnessy's family have been edited out of the photos.
Cassels Brock website celebrates corrupt lawyer Lorne Silver who lied to jail a self-represented litigant
Bay Street law firm dares not sue Donald Best for publishing the truth.
Even though Canadian lawyer Lorne Silver's corrupt acts (fabrication of evidence, obstruction of justice and lies to the court) in the Donald Best legal cases are thoroughly proven and widely recognized by credible, independent observers – the Cassels Brock website still celebrates that Silver won the case and imprisoned a self-represented person for contempt of court.
Normalizing corruption
On November 17, 2009, Cassels Brock senior lawyer (and Deputy Managing Partner) Lorne Silver and two other Bay Street lawyers deliberately fabricated false evidence against me, Donald Best, to be used in a costs hearing in the Nelson Barbados Group Ltd. v. Cox civil case.
Cassels Brock brags about victory achieved by fabrication of evidence and lying to the court.
After a conference call with me, Lorne Silver and co-counsels Gerald Ranking and Sebastien Kwidzinski created a false 'Statement for the Record' wherein they officially informed the Ontario Superior Court that during the phone call I had 'confessed' to receiving a certain court order the day before. In fact, as my secret recording of the telephone conversation proves, under Silver's questioning I denied numerous times receiving the court order and asked that the order be sent to me.
During subsequent 'secret' court hearings that I was not informed of and had no knowledge of, the corrupt lawyers doubled down on their lies orally on the record – assuring the court that their Statement for the Record was true and that I and not they, were lying to the court. (This was prior to them knowing that I had secretly recorded our phone conversation.)
Further evidence shows that Fasken lawyer Gerald Ranking and his assistant Jeannine Ouellette also lied to the court about sending me the court order in the first place. They never sent the order that the lawyers told the court I had confessed to receiving in the phone call.
Corrupt lawyers Sebastien Kwidzinski, Gerald Ranking & Lorne Silver lied to the courts.
The lawyers deliberately lied to the court to convict me of Contempt of Court in a civil case costs hearing that I was not informed of. They also illegally paid a corrupt Ontario Provincial Police officer (Det. Sgt. Jim Van Allen) to illegally act as their unlicensed private investigator and to illegally provide confidential police records about my police employment and my family including the names of my children and ex-wife.
The veracity of the above facts is not now, and has never been, at issue.
Who says so?
Senior Law Society of Ontario (LSO) lawyers such as Brian Greenspan, Milton Davis, Paul Slansky, LSO Bencher Rocco Galati and many others, including law professors and a Crown Attorney – all of whom determined that Lorne Silver, Gerald Ranking and Sebastien Kwidzinski lied to the court to convict me of contempt in absentia (when I was not present).
The Ontario Civil Liberties Association, that openly published a statement in my support when that organization honoured me as the sole recipient of the 2018 Ontario Civil Liberties Award.
Former Federal Cabinet Minister and Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, Julian Fantino in his sworn affidavit.
Dr. Stevan Pausak, forensic scientist at Ontario's Centre of Forensic Sciences (1975-1998) in his sworn affidavit.
Edward J. Primeau, noted forensic audio examiner, in his sworn affidavit.
Broadcast journalist Jimmy Dore during a live interview on The Jimmy Dore Show – and other Canadian and American journalists who examined the evidence and interviewed me.
Two Canadian judges who privately told me that they are "ashamed" at what was done to me.
Hundreds of citizens who wrote to me, saying that they have listened to the voice recordings, compared them to the lawyers' written and oral testimony in official court records – and are disgusted not only with the corrupt lawyers, but also with the legal profession and courts that worked together to save senior members of the Bay Street club even when that meant knowingly sending an innocent person to prison.
Yet, in the face of this truth and growing public realization of how Cassels Brock and its legal team imprisoned an innocent Canadian through the fabrication of false evidence and the commission of criminal offenses – the law firm's website proudly proclaims the corrupt victory.
Good. I hope Cassels Brock leaves the webpage up as a testament to how far one of Canada's premier law firms has fallen – and how it conducts itself with entitlement, impunity and contempt for Canadians and the Rule of Law.
Donald Best cases won by Cassels Brock lawyer Lorne Silver on the basis of fabricated false evidence and other crimes:
Best v. Cox, 2014 ONCA 167
Best v. Cox, 2013 ONSC 8025
Nelson Barbados Group Ltd. v. Cox, [2008] O.J. No. 2410
Nelson Barbados Group Ltd. v. Cox, 2008 CarswellOnt 2142
Nelson Barbados Group Ltd. v. Cox, [2008] O.J. No. 454
Donald Best receives 2018 Ontario Civil Liberties Award
December 4, 2018 Donald Best 9 comments
Scandal, Cover-up by Federal Court of Canada Exposed.
I'm surprised and deeply honoured to receive the 2018 Ontario Civil Liberties Award – announced this morning.
Today (and in my recorded acceptance speech – transcript here) I am calling upon the Law Society of Ontario and the law societies in every province to cease investigating complaints against their own members. This most serious conflict of interest undermines the profession's credibility and the public's trust in our legal system.
Self-investigation by the lawyers' unions is a real conflict of interest that is unacceptable by any modern standard and cannot be resolved – except by the establishment of independent organizations in each province to receive complaints against lawyers, to perform professional unbiased investigations and to lay charges where appropriate. The retention of investigative functions by the law societies is indefensible.
Today, I also reveal details of an ongoing major scandal and active cover-up by the Courts Administration Service and the Federal Court of Canada that impacts every Canadian who has appeared before that court for any reason in the last few years.
This documented misconduct by Federal Court of Canada personnel throws into question every recent decision of the Federal Court of Canada. Dozens of lawyers and litigants have already contacted me about this revelation and I am aware of several lawsuits / legal motions that are imminent. At least one will be filed within days.
Regarding my personal legal battles, both the Ontario Civil Liberties Association (in their news media release) and University of Windsor law professor Julie Macfarlane in her introduction speech for my award – openly declare that I was unjustly convicted of contempt of court and imprisoned based upon false evidence fabricated by senior lawyers from some of Canada's largest law firms. (Former OPP Commissioner of Police Julian Fantino said the same thing last year in a sworn affidavit and said that if he knew then what he knows now, he would have launched a criminal investigation against named Ontario Provincial Police officers and lawyers.)
To my friends and family who believed in me during the darkest times and gave me strength – thank you. This is your Ontario Civil Liberties Award as much as it is mine. To the legal profession and the courts… We want our justice system back.
Ontario Civil Liberties Association announcement…
http://ocla.ca/ocla-civil-liberties-award/
My acceptance speech…
https://youtu.be/AWUcVtnec9A
Professor Julie Macfarlane's introduction…
https://youtu.be/trPU2uwUzOM
Donald Best Receives the 2018 OCLA Civil Liberties Award
(Ottawa, December 4, 2018) – The Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) presents its 2018 Civil Liberties Award to whistleblower and anti-corruption activist Donald Best.
Donald Best is a former Sergeant (Detective) with the Toronto Police responsible for investigating Canadian police, lawyers, and politicians involved in organized crime, and a leading Canadian anti-corruption whistleblower and activist.
In his ongoing legal cases and public advocacy, Mr. Best has exposed corruption in the Canadian legal profession including secret orders and investigations by judges, the submission of false evidence in court by lawyers, and the failure of disciplinary bodies such as the Law Society of Ontario and the Canadian Judicial Council to investigate complaints against judges and lawyers.
Mr. Best's tireless efforts to create integrity and accountability in the Canadian legal system make him an exemplary leader in the fight for equality before and under the law of all Canadians, including self-represented litigants.
Embedded at the OCLA's award website (link HERE) is a video of Donald Best's acceptance speech for the 2018 OCLA Civil Liberties Award, following a video introduction of Mr. Best by law professor Julie Macfarlane, Director of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, University of Windsor.
Background Articles available online
https://donaldbest.ca/faqs-about-best-v-ranking/
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ex-federal-cabinet-minister-julian-fantino-takes-aim-at-judge-cops-lawyers
https://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/internet-research-by-jurors-and-judges-during-cases-challenged-julius-melnitzer
https://donaldbest.ca/broadcaster-jimmy-dore-interviews-donald-best-the-lawyers-lied-to-the-court-and-as-a-result-you-were-convicted/
Cassels Brock law firm removes offensive logo
November 13, 2018 Donald Best Leave a comment
'A Law Until Ourselves' Bird of Prey logo revealed contempt for lawyers' Duty to the Public Trust.
Almost two years ago, DonaldBest.CA exposed the elitism and arrogance of the Cassels Brock law firm in their web-publishing of a bird of prey logo declaring 'A Law Unto Ourselves'.
You can read our original article here: Cassels Brock law firm motto 'A Law Unto Ourselves' under a bird of prey
We can now report that Cassels Brock has removed the offensive logo at their Cassels Brock law students' webpage.
Yes, the logo is gone… but what about the 'A law unto ourselves' attitude?
Cassels Brock website celebrates corrupt lawyer who lied to jail a self-represented litigant
As always, if anyone disagrees with anything published at DonaldBest.CA or wishes to provide a public response or comment, please contact me at info@donaldbest.ca and I will publish your writing with equal prominence. Comments on articles are moderated about once a day. Or, of course, you can sue me and serve my lawyer Paul Slansky. You can find Mr. Slansky's information here.
Ethical Lawyers


Simulate with mass action, Gillespie Next-Reaction and lattice-based particle diffusion and reaction algorithms simultaneously.
Three-dimensional diffusion and reaction in a cubic volume.
Two-dimensional diffusion and clustering reaction on a planar surface.
One-dimensional random walk on a filament.
Particle tracking with fluorescent tags.
Individual particle tracking across different states with fluorescent tagging.
Create beautifully rendered simulation movies with Blender.
Modeling, simulation and logging are Python scriptable, but simulation speed is uncompromised thanks to Spatiocyte's C++ core algorithm modules.
Spatiocyte software and documentation are publicly hosted on GitHub.
Contact us if you have any issues with Spatiocyte.
Molecules can diffuse and react in filament (1D), membrane (2D) and cytosolic (3D) compartments.
The effects of intracellular molecular crowding can be studied since each diffusing molecule has spatial dimensions.
Run multi-algorithm simulation with Gillespie next-reaction, mass-action and lattice-based particle reaction-diffusion methods simultaneously.
Build and run models, log and plot data in Python. Simulation speed, however, is uncompromised thanks to C++ core algorithm modules.
Enter your password when requested since some packages require the administrator privilege to install. If you have any issues during install, post the error messages to the Spatiocyte Users forum. On Mac, the installation script will take a longer time to finish executing because more packages need to be downloaded. We can use Blender to render simulation snapshots and VLC to view movies of the snapshots. Since the installation script does not install them on Mac, you can download and install them yourself from http://www.blender.org/ and http://www.videolan.org/ .
Install the latest release of Docker toolbox for Windows and UltraVNC.
If you are using Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit, then you can install Docker for Windows and Kitematic instead of Docker toolbox for Windows. Kitematic can be downloaded from Dashboard menu after installing Docker for Windows.
Run Kitematic from your desktop or start menu.
Search Spatiocyte and create container for ecell/spatiocyte.
Clic EXEC button and go into the Spatiocyte container.
Issue the following command in the Spatiocyte container.
Connect Docker container ACCESS URL written in Kitematic IP & PORTS panel with UltraVNC. The password for this VNC login is password.
The above command will open the E-Cell Session Monitor, as shown below. You have now sucessfully installed Spatiocyte! If for some reason, the Session Monitor does not come up, please post the error message to the Spatiocyte Users forum.
More models can be found under the examples directory . To run them, follow the instructions in the README file in the directory.
If you have any issues or questions about Spatiocyte, message us. Spatiocyte documentation can be found here .
To build a simple 3D model, open a text editor and add the Python scripts as provided in the code boxes below. Each Spatiocyte model requires the SpatiocyteStepper. It advances the simulation in an event-driven manner. The radius of the hexagonal close-packed lattice voxels can be set in the SpatiocyteStepper using the VoxelRadius property. In the code below, we have set the radius to 4.4 nm.
The memory usage increases linearly with the number of voxels. In a 64-bit system, each voxel typically takes up 108 bytes of memory. The number of voxels with radius, r in a volume, V is given by V/(4r 3 2 0.5 ). In each compartment, the StepperID must be set to the SpatiocyteStepper ID. Here we only have the root compartment, rootSystem and we set its StepperID to 'SS' which is the SpatiocyteStepper ID given in the first line.
We will use a cuboid compartment geometry for this model. The GEOMETRY variable of a volume compartment specifies one of the six supported geometric primitives: cuboid ('0'), ellipsoid ('1'), cylinder ('2'), rod ('3'), pyramid ('4') and erythrocyte ('5'). More complex forms can be constructed using a combination of these primitives. Compartments without the GEOMETRY definition is set to the cuboid form since the default value is '0'.
The three variables LENGTH[X, Y, Z] can specify the compartment lengths in the directions of [x, y, z]-axes, respectively. In the example above, the lengths are set to 250 nm. More information about the LENGTH variable definition can be found in the documentation .
We must populate the molecules of A and B species in the compartment before the simulation is started because they initially have non-zero numbers. We populate them using the MoleculePopulateProcess.
Next, we specify the reaction A + B -> C + C using the DiffusionInfluencedReaction process. We set the reaction probability, p to unity, which means a C molecule will be created whenever an A and a B molecule collide.
We can use the VisualizationLogProcess to log the coordinates of the diffusing species at specified intervals or at the shortest stepper intervals (default). The coordinates will be saved in the file VisualLog.dat in binary format. The Spatiocyte Visualizer can load the log file to display the molecules in 3D while the simulation is running or after it has ended.
Finally, we need to tell the simulator how long the model should be run. Here, we will run it for 0.08 s.
The above instruction will start the Spatiocyte visualizer, which will load the VisualLog.dat file and display the molecule positions in 3D. The short cut keys to manipulate the visualizer are provided here. The complete model file can be downloaded here.
Chew, W.-X., Kaizu, K., Watabe, M., Muniandy, S. V., Takahashi, K. & Arjunan, S. N. V. (2019). Surface reaction-diffusion kinetics on lattice at the microscopic scale. Physical Review E, In press.
Chew, W.-X., Kaizu, K., Watabe, M., Muniandy, S. V., Takahashi, K. & Arjunan, S. N. V. (2018). Reaction-diffusion kinetics on lattice at the microscopic scale. Physical Review E, 98: 032418.
Shimo, H., Arjunan, S.N.V., Machiyama, H., Nishino, T., Suematsu, M., Fujita, H., Tomita, M. & Takahashi, K. (2015). Particle Simulation of Oxidation Induced Band 3 Clustering in Human Erythrocytes. PLoS Computational Biology, 11(6): e1004210.


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Conveniently located in downtown Fort Wayne, St. Joseph Hospital is bounded by Broadway, Main, Van Buren and Berry streets.
Driving directions to St. Joseph Hospital
U.S. 30 east to Fort Wayne. U.S. 30 east becomes Goshen Rd. after it intersects with U.S. 930 east. Continue heading straight on Goshen Rd. until it intersects with Sherman Blvd. (just past St. Mary's Ave.). Turn south (right) on Sherman Blvd. which becomes Van Buren St. as you cross the St. Mary's River. Turn left on Main St. At the next light, turn south (right) onto Broadway to the St. Joseph Hospital parking garage (just past the hospital).
From the South:
Indiana State Road 1 north to Fort Wayne. State Road 1 becomes Bluffton Road inside Fort Wayne city limits. Bluffton Road ends as it intersects with Broadway (just after crossing the St. Mary's River). Turn north (left) on Broadway, heading into downtown Fort Wayne (about 2.0 miles) to the St. Joseph Hospital parking garage at the corner of Broadway and Wayne St. Enter the garage off of Broadway.
From the East:
U.S. 24 west to Fort Wayne. U.S. 24 west becomes Rose Ave. as it passes under I-469. Continue heading straight on Rose Ave. as it approaches New Haven. Turn south (left) at Green St. (just past St. John's Cemetery). Turn west (right) on Lincoln Hwy. (just past Hartzell St.) Lincoln Hwy. (930 west) becomes Washington Blvd. as it passes under Coliseum Blvd. Continue heading straight (west) on Washington Blvd. into downtown Fort Wayne. Turn north (right) on Broadway. Take Broadway to the St. Joseph Hospital parking garage at the corner of Broadway and Wayne. Enter the garage off of Broadway.
From the North:
I-69 south to Fort Wayne. Coldwater Rd. south (exit 312A). Coldwater Rd. becomes Clinton St. as you approach downtown Fort Wayne (stay with natural flow of traffic, including left turn as you approach Clinton St.). Clinton St. south to Main St. West (right) on Main St. to Broadway. Broadway south (left) to the St. Joseph Hospital parking garage (just past the hospital). Enter the garage off of Broadway.


Malindo Air, which is supposed to start flying May next year, has brought forward the launch date to mid-March and will begin with domestic flights and a month later it will expand to offer international flights with its first stop being India, said PT Lion Grup chief Rusdi Kirana.
In a telephone interview, he said that he had decided to delay the launch of Indonesia's Batik Air from March to year-end in 2013 because he wanted to focus on building Malindo to become regional player sooner.
"We will delay Batik Air launch because we can now use Malindo to fly international routes. You must remember that Indonesians like to fly the world via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok and Lion Air, being the biggest domestic carrier can be a feeder for Malindo for the international connectivity," he said.
"It is possible for us to bring forward the launch date because the aircraft meant for Batik Air will now be allocated to Malindo. Batik Air was only going to offer point to point services but we are more keen to have a hub in KL to move traffic beyond Kuala Lumpur.
PT Lion has a 49 per cent stake in Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd which will operate Malindo Air. PT Lion owns the whole of Lion Air and Batik Air, a new start up for international routes. The remaining stake in Malindo is held by Ahmad Johan via Nadi Sdn Bhd. Ahmad Johan also owns Mofas Air.
Lion Air has 600 take-offs daily and it has ordered more than 300 new aircraft from Boeing whose deliveries stretch through to 2026.
It currently has 75 aircraft.
Malindo will take delivery of the first two B737-900ER in March, followed by and two each in April and May.
Rusdi said the first two aircraft will be used to ply the Kuala Lumpur-Sabah and Sarawak routes.
The next two will be used for flights to India, and its first stop will be Trichy but New Dehli will be added to its network.
"In May we will fly to China and are looking at cities such as Canton and Shenzhen, and will also add Hong Kong," he said.
"We fly to 69 points such as Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Pekan Baru, Medan, Semairiang, Solo, Pontianak and all this traffic (needs to go somewhere). That is why we think we can be successful with Malindo," he said.
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