text:
Home News Content Blog Blog Items Intelligence Report: Syria test fires series of long-range missiles
Report: Syria test fires series of long-range missiles
Written by JPost, Haaretz, AFP
SS-1D SCUD
Meanwhile: UPDATE: Syrian President To Visit Russia Wednesday - Kremlin
Channel 2: IDF detects Syrian rocket test
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Syria test-launched a series of ground to ground missiles in recent months, Channel 2 reported Monday.
According to data released by the military censor, Damascus has been testing rockets over a period of time, and the tests have been detected by Israeli radar systems, including the systems linked to Israel's missile defense systems.
Most of Syria's long-range missiles are based on the Scud design, Channel 2 reported.
While Syria's arsenal of missiles is based mainly on antiquated soviet ware upgraded and improved in Syria, the missiles - with a range of 300-700 km. - can still reach any target in Israel.
Syria is believed to hold chemical warheads in its arsenal and is also suspected of having experimented with biological warheads.
However, the inaccurate and heavy Scud missiles - of which Syria has about 1,000 - only supplement dozens of batteries of smaller rockets with a shorter range but also greater accuracy.
According to the Channel 2 report, Israel is more concerned with Syria's arsenal of smaller medium range rockets.
The Syrian doctrine has changed following the Second Lebanon War, which Damascus has been watching and analyzing closely, and the Syrian army has been emulating tactics used by Hizbullah in recent drills and exercises.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710398117&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
R-11 `Scud A'
R-17 `Scud B'
`Scud C'
`Scud D'
Launch weight
Single warhead;
Nuclear 50 kT, or HE
HE, Chemical or Nuclear 5-70 kT
HE, chemical or nuclear
Inertial
Inertial with digital scene matching
Single stage liquid
3,000 m CEP
450 m CEP
50 m CEP
The SS-1 Scud family was designed by the Korolyev Design Bureau (OKB-1).
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Syria has recently test-launched a series of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets, Channel 2 news reported yesterday.
The test launch was detected by Israel's radar systems, including the Oren Yarok (Green Pine) and Oren Adir (Magnificent Pine) radars, which activate Israel's Arrow defense missiles, Channel 2 reported. Advertisement
Syria has some 1,000 models of Scud missiles with a range of 300 to 700 kilometers.
The Syrian missiles are capable of striking targets anywhere in Israel. The Syrian military can fit the missiles with chemical warheads, and may have conducted experiments with biological warheads as well.
In addition to its Scud missile arsenal, Syria also possesses SS-21 missiles with a range of 80 kilometers but with a much higher precision than the Scuds.
The biggest threat facing Israel, however, is Syria's arsenal of thousands of rockets with a range of nearly 100 kilometers, some of which can reach as far as Haifa bay. These rockets are far more accurate than the Scud missiles.
In response to Syria's drill, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Air Force anti-aircraft unit conducted an exercise simulating a possible Syrian missile attack.
Channel 2 reported that Israel's defense establishment was more concerned with the threat posed by Syria's long-range rockets than the Scuds it possesses.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1012839.html
SS-21 SCARAB 9K79 Tochka FROG-7 Luna
Designation Alternate Name Class Payload Range (km) Status
M-11 variant DF-11/CSS-7 SRBM Single warhead, 800 kg 280 Operational
M-9 variant DF-15/CSS-6 SRBM Single warhead, 320 kg 800 Operational
Scud B/C/D variants SRBM Single warhead Operational
UPDATE: Syrian President To Visit Russia Wednesday - Kremlin
MOSCOW (AFP)--Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will visit Russia Wednesday at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
"On Aug. 20-21, 2008, the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashar al- Assad, will make a working visit to Russia at the invitation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin provided no further details on the agenda for the visit.
It was announced however as Russia faced mounting international pressure to pull its forces out of Georgia and as Moscow signaled it was in no rush to do so.
Assad visited Moscow in December 2006, when he said that, as an influential power in the Middle East, Syria was open to dialogue with the U.S. but would not take "instructions" from Washington.
Russia's conflict with Georgia has also turned into a standoff between Moscow and Washington. The U.S. has strongly supported Georgia and also backs Syrian adversary Israel in the Middle East.
In remarks to soldiers near the conflict zone Monday, Medvedev warned that no one should have any "illusion" about Russia's determination to ensure security in the Caucasus region and to protect its own citizens anywhere.
Last year, Russian media reported that Moscow had delivered MiG-31 fighter planes and modern air defense systems to Syria, angering Israel.
Damascus is a Soviet-era ally of Moscow, which maintained a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus starting in the 1970s. The Russian media has speculated in recent years that Moscow is hoping to revive the base.
Scud B/C/D variants
Associated Country: Russia, Iran, North Korea
Class: SRBM
Basing: Road mobile
Payload: Single warhead
Warhead: HE, chemical, submunitions
Propulsion: Single-stage solid
Status: Operational
While the names of most ballistic missiles are obscure, the Scud has become almost a household name. The SS-1A 'Scud' was designed a short time after the end of World War II by captured German scientists and is based upon the Nazi V-2 rocket which attacked London in the second world war. In essence, the 'Scud' is the AK-47 of the missile world: reliable, simple and ubiquitous. The missile was produced in huge quantities and not even the Russians know exactly how many they built, let alone the number copied by foreign companies.
While most 'Scuds' carry conventional explosives, the 'Scud' was originally developed to carry a 50 kT nuclear warhead. The SS-1B 'Scud A' (Russian designation R-11) entered into service in 1955 as a short range nuclear weapon to attack western Europe and was intended to carry a nuclear 50 kT yield warhead. The high explosive (HE) warhead was developed for export to other communist countries in the Cold War whom the Soviet Union was leery of giving nuclear strike capabilities.
The missile is 10.3 m long, 0.88 m in diameter, has a launch weight of 5,400 kg with a range of 190 km (118.061 miles), and an accuracy of 3,000 m CEP. Many of the missiles remaining in service today have substantially increased accuracy, but they are still not counter-force grade by any means.
The 'Scud A' was soon replaced with the SS-1C 'Scud B'. The new missile had the advantage of being compatible with a Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) and could thus be deployed quickly and covertly. It has built-in test equipment and is able to aim and fire the missile autonomously, though a separate command and control vehicle typically controls the targeting and firing.
By 1965, the new 'Scud B' missile was operational in many European and Middle Eastern counties. In 1973, Egypt fired a small number of the 'Scud B' missiles against Israel. Over 600 'Scud B' and North Korean 'Scud B' variants were fired by Iran and Iraq between 1980 and 1988. Over 2,000 'Scud B,' and possibly a small number of 'Scud C' missiles, are thought to have been used in Afghanistan. The 'Scud' missiles used by Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991 were largely the Iraqis' own improved variant of the 'Scud B', the Al Hussein. There was also a small number of 'Scud' missiles used in the 1994 civil war in Yemen and by Russia in Chechnya in 1996. A Russian report suggests that there were four 'Scud B' TEL and approximately 100 missiles in Afghanistan, some with the Taliban and some with Massoud's forces, and could have been possibly passed to other various terrorist organizations. In 1998, Ukraine was reported to have three brigades with 'Scud B' missiles and a total of 55 missiles in service. Libya paraded in 1999 with some 20 refurbished 'Scud B' TEL vehicles with missiles. It is thought that this was done with the assistance from North Korea.
'Scud B' missiles have been exported to: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Libya, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Syria, UAE, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Yemen. Unconfirmed reports between 1996 and 2000 have suggested that 'Scud B' missiles have been purchased by Armenia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Pakistan, Peru, and the Sudan. These missiles may have been built in the former Soviet Union. It has been reported that as many as 7,000 'Scud' missiles may have been built in Russia and that 'Scud B' missiles and improved variants have been built in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Syria. Consequently, it is difficult to identify the source and quantity of missile supplies.
In addition to the very high production level of the Scud missiles, a myriad of variations and additions exist for the 'Scud' platform. Several different warheads were developed for the 'Scud B' missiles including nuclear yields between 5 and 70 kT, chemical agents, and conventional high explosive. The 'Scud B' is 11.25 m long, 0.88 m in diameter and has a launch weight of 5,900 kg, with a range of 300 km (186 miles) with accuracy of 450 m CEP. A typical 'Scud B' takes approximately one hour to finish a single launch sequence.
It is suggested that there is a SS-1C missile is the same size as the 'Scud B' but with a range increase of 550 km (342 miles) and an accuracy of 700 m CEP. The 'Scud C' is thought only to launch HE warheads. It is also suggested that there is a 'Scud D' design with the same range and weight as the 'Scud C,' but with an improved accuracy of 50 m CEP. This missile presumably launches HE, chemical and nuclear warheads.
The Syrian involvement with Scud missiles is significant. Reports state that approximately 550 North Korean designed 'Scud B', 'Scud C', and 'Scud D' variants have been manufactured by Syria with ranges of 300, 550 and 700 km (186, 342 and 435 miles)respectively. The first 'Scud' test firings are believed to have occurred in July 1992 with production starting in 1993. A 1996 Israeli reported stated that Syria had 200 'Scud B' and 60 'Scud C' missiles. There is evidence that Syria is developing both chemical and biological warheads for its 'Scuds', with chemical warhead test flights for 'Scud B' variant missiles in 1998 and 2001. The 'Scud B' was tested in May 2005. Syria may be producing 10 'Scud C's per year; they may increase production. In 2001 Syria started building 'Scud D's. The 'Scud D' has an improved terminal guidance system and separating warheads. It is reported that between 15 and 30 new 'Scud D' missiles are built each year with the assistance of North Korea and Iran.(1)
Duncan Lennox, Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2007), 100-101.
Rubin: Iran "Major Missile Power" in Region
November 30, 2006 :: UPI :: Analysis
Uzi Rubin, former head of Israel's missile defense program, argues in a new study published by the Institute for National Security Studies that Iran is now "the major missile power" in the Middle East. "No other country in the world … comes close to Iran in the number and variety of ballistic missiles in development or already deployed," Rubin writes. He lists Iran's assets: Shahab-3 medium-range missiles, an "an indispensable complement to [Iran's] nuclear ambitions"; Scud B and Scud C short-range missiles, manufactured "in considerable quantities"; Zelzal short-range missiles, which can target troop concentrations; the Raad, an advanced version of the Chinese Silkworm anti-ship cruise missile; and an assortment of smaller anti-tank missiles. "Every major city and military installation between the western shores of Turkey and the eastern border of Pakistan and between the Black Sea in the north and the southern narrows of the Red Sea are within range," he writes. Moreover, Iran can now hit any point in the Middle East from well-protected, fixed silos "survivable against preemption." He warns: "There should be no doubt that in case of conflict, Iran will launch Shahab-3 missiles regardless of their flight test record, and that some of them will reach their destinations." Rubin adds that Iran is also developing satellites, and that any suitably modified space launch vehicle can serve as an intercontinental ballistic missile. At the rate they are going, "Iranian missiles will dominate the entire continent of Europe by the end of this decade," he concludes. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Israel, Iran, Analysis
» Missile details: Shahab-6, Scud variant, Scud B/C/D variants, Zelzal-1/2/3
Gaffney: Missiles Abroad Should Concentrate the American Mind
July 25, 2006 :: Washington Times :: Analysis
The development, deployment, and proliferation of ballistic missile technology abroad requires a "concentration" of American minds and a concerted effort to develop robust missile defenses, writes Frank J. Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy, in The Washington Times. Gaffney catalogues the missile threats that have grown in recent years: North Korea's readiness to sell missile technology to willing buyers; Pakistan's intention to build as many as 40 to 50 nuclear warheads per year; Iran's continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology; China's ever increasing missile arsenal; and Russia's development of newer intercontinental ballistic missiles possibly with maneuverable re-entry vehicles.
Gaffney makes particular note of the fact that Iran has test launched a short-range Scud missile off of a ship, which would allow it to attack the U.S. without developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. He also points out that Iran has tested its medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile in a manner that appears designed to detonate a nuclear weapon in space. Such a detonation above the U.S. would result in an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capable of wiping out electrical systems and crippling the U.S. infrastructure and economy.
Gaffney suggests that the Bush administration carefully examine the newly released report by the Independent Working Group, entitled Missile Defense, the Space Relationship and the Twenty-First Century, which lays out a roadmap for the development and deployment of a robust, layered, and effective U.S. missile defense shield. The report calls for the deployment of space-based defenses and the expansion of sea-based defenses, and describes ways in which the necessary technical, public, and political support can be obtained and sustained. (Article, Link)
» Read the 2007 report: The Independent Working Group on Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century (8 MB)
» More stories on: Analysis, Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Weapons, Iran, Ship-Launched Threat
» Missile details: Scud B/C/D variants, Shahab-6
Capabilities Overview
Long-range Artillery Rockets (FROG-7s)
Scud-B (SS-1C, R-17 Elbrus)
Scud-C (Hwasŏng-6)
Scud-D (No-dong 1)
SS-21 (Scarab)
WMD in the Middle East
China's Missile Exports and Assistance to Syria
Treaties and Organizations
GlobalSecurity: Nuclear Weapons Programs
Syria's Secret Nuclear Program and Long Term Threat
Syria and WMD: incentives and capabilities. (2004)
The Nuclear Capabilities and Ambitions of Iran's Neighbors (2005)
Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions (2003)
Syria's Chemical Weapons (1997)
Syria's Chemical and Biological Weapons: Assessing Capabilities and Motivations (1997)
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 19 August 2008 )


text:
The kelp forest-urchin barrens mosaic: how sea urchin patch dynamics underpin ecosystem stability
From decades of stability to uncertainty
A large-scale ecological shift is occurring along the central coast of California. Seemingly uncontrolled populations of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) grazers have shifted a once continuous kelp forest landscape to a patchwork mosaic of urchin barrens and kelp forests. Until now, mosaic patchiness in the distribution of barren areas within a kelp forest that is attributed to sea urchin grazing has not been recorded along the central coast of California.
My dissertation research capitalizes on the current ecological state to test several hypotheses regarding how sea urchin barren patch formation, persistence, or demise may contribute to the underlying stability of kelp forest ecosystems, including how these patch dynamics might serve as indicators of an impending phase shift.
Images on the right: (top) a photo of a kelp forest at Lovers Point, Pacific Grove, CA haphazardly taken in June, 2012. (bottom) That same location in June 2015.
Where has all the kelp gone? Why are sea otters not controlling sea urchin barrens? What will ultimately lead to the demise of sea urchins and enhance the recovery of kelp forests? These are a few overarching questions motivating my research. I'm specifically addressing the following:
What is the scale of patchiness in the distribution of sea urchin barrens and kelp forests around the Monterey Peninsula?
How are kelp forest and urchin barren patches changing through time?
Will predators (e.g., sea otters, sea stars, crabs) be able to reduce the abundance of sea urchins and promote the recovery of forests?
What other control mechanisms (e.g., disease, disturbance) regulate patch dynamics?
How do patch-level processes scale-up to influence the stability and resiliency of kelp forest ecosystems?
In 2017 and 2018 I conducted over 250 subtidal surveys at random points around the Monterey Peninsula designed to evaluate the extent of kelp forest and sea urchin barrens patches. The figure above illustrates the remarkable patchiness in both kelp and sea urchin distributions. The green circles highlight key areas where a distinct inverse relationship exists between kelp density, urchin density, and gonad index (as a measure of urchin condition, or health). For example, in areas where kelp density is high, sea urchin density is low. As a result of plenty of food availability and low urchin density, sea urchin gonad index is very high. However, there are other areas void of kelp where sea urchin density is high, and as a result gonad index is low. How might predators such as sea otters respond to this variation in prey density and quality?
Given that sea urchins in kelp forests are 'healthy' (as measured by their gonad index), and those in barrens are starved, perhaps sea otters might preferentially target sea urchins in kelp forests, and ignore those in barrens. If so, this would suggest that otters are contributing to the resistance of remaining forested patches, but not directly controlling urchin populations in barrens.
To answer the above question, I partnered with an otter-tracking team to observe patterns of sea otter foraging behavior. At each location where otters where observed eating urchins, I conducted extensive underwater surveys to determine (1) sea urchin focal patches (i.e., locations where otters made repetitive dives for urchins), (2) the density of urchins at each patch, and (3) the quality (or condition) of urchins at each focal patch. These sea otter-urchin focal patches were compared against the 250 random survey sites described above to determine whether or not sea otters preferentially target healthy urchins in kelp forests over starved sea urchins in barrens.
Sea urchin 'focal patches' were determined at areas where sea otters made three or more repetitive dives for sea urchins.
I then conducted underwater surveys at each of those focal patches to determine both landscape features and prey attributes facilitating sea otter foraging preferences.
© 2019 by Josh Smith. All photos and content are my own.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Pakistan's Political Conundrum: Who Conspired To Oust The Imran Khan Government And Why?
Osman Softić || 7 April 2022
Pakistan has become embroiled in a deep political crisis which culminated late last week, prompting Pakistani president Arifur Rahman Alvi to dissolve parliament, thus circumventing the vote of no confidence motion in the government of prime minister Imran Khan. It is now widely believed that had the vote been permitted to take place the Khan government could have fallen. The decision by the speaker of the ruling Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) to adjourn the parliamentary session before a no-confidence motion against the government, is viewed by critics as a desperate attempt by the prime minister to cling to power at all costs. There has been a widely spread disaffection across Pakistan over the government's poor performance in managing the economy and foreign affairs. Some observers assess the latest Pakistani political turmoil as an unprecedented constitutional crisis that may trigger far-reaching consequences. Overt military dictatorship, democratic parliamentarism often underwritten by disproportionate influence of the army behind the scenes, as Pakistan's ultimate arbiter and arguably the most powerful political force in the country, have intermingled throughout modern history of Pakistan from its formation in 1947 until present day.
The Prime Minister claims that the attempt at a no confidence vote against him was unconstitutional and that it violated article 5 of the Pakistani constitution. Khan's supporters are adamant that the Pakistani opposition has been used as a convenient tool of Washington whose "puppet masters" decided to no longer tolerate an independent foreign policy course of Pakistan. Once a fiercely loyal ally of the United States, Islamabad has been steadily pivoting to Beijing and most recently even to Moscow, a cold war adversary of Pakistan. It is worth recalling that China pledged to invest $70 billion in Pakistan's largest infrastructure project, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This infrastructure megaproject symbolizes the backbone of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a complex network of highways, railways, gas and oil pipelines stretching along Pakistan from north to south. Gwadar port on the Arabian sea represents the most strategic core of the entire project and has become a cause for controversies prompting local opposition by Balochi people who feel marginalized due to privileged contracts apparently being given to Chinese corporations and labor. Baluchistan harbors a protracted insurgency separatist movement whose destabilizing attacks undermine CPEC and slow down China's New Silk Road initiative, which some observers attribute to a secret meddling of India's RAW intelligence operatives. CPEC stretches from China's western border in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region (XUAR) and as such signifies a lifeline as an alternative corridor between China and Africa, Middle East and Europe. This corridor shortens the time and reduces the cost of the sea route that needs to pass through the Malacca Straits, a narrow passage between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which in the event of any future serious US-China conflict could be blocked and China made isolated from its trading partners in the world. Such a scenario would bring Chinese industry to its knees. Pakistan is therefore China's most valuable strategic partner. In addition to the CPEC, in Pakistan, a similar project, albeit of smaller scale and importance, is being built by China to reach the Bay of Bengal via Myanmar (Burma). This is known as the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) project. Large gas reserves are located in the coastal area of Myanmar's Rakhine province (Arakan), where for more than a decade we have witnessed a genocide against the Muslim minority Rohingya, who had lived in the area for centuries and from which they were expelled. CMEC, a secondary energy-trade corridor through which China seeks to ensure its long-term strategic independence from a possible US blockade, stretches from Kunming in the Chinese province of Yunnan, through Myanmar all the way down to the port of Kyaukphyu. Interestingly, just a hundred kilometers to the south, the deep-sea Port of Sittwe is built by India with its investments as part of its strategic energy solutions in the Bay of Bengal region so that it can draw on the rich resources of Myanmar, designed to also prevent Beijing's monopolization of the region. These two ports in Myanmar, China and India are counting on as the two major competing powers in the region are practically a mirror of the ports of Gwadar in Pakistan and Chabahar in Iran, which are also strategic energy veins on which China and India rely, trying to advance their respective their geo economic and geostrategic interests in South Asia, a pivotal region where more than half of the world's population lives. As tectonic shifts are taking place and economic and strategic interests rapidly pivot from west to east this part of the world is increasingly becoming of paramount importance for the future of global relations between major word powers. Hence the increased interest of Washington and its allies for this part of the world. Washington has been on a diplomatic offensive in South Asia for some time now. Former US president Barack Obama visited Myanmar (Burma) as well as his Secretary of State Hilary Clinton trying to lure this resource rich Asian dictatorship into American camp by propping up the hybrid semi democratic regime of Aung San Suu Kyi in the past to encircle China with a US friendly regime in order to block China's intrusion into the Bay of Bengal. Turbulent developments in Myanmar which brought back military dictatorship last year confirms the failure of American policy to achieve its goals.
Altering foreign policy trajectory of Pakistan, especially if it could destabilize Pakistan-China relations and slow the progress of BRI would certainly serve the interest of global American hegemony. Due to India's irreplaceable role in this process as India is tremendously important for a successful US policy in the Indo-Pacific, Washington seems eager to spare India from its criticism despite of India's draconian human rights violations of Muslims in Kashmir and looking the other way before explicit BJP's fascist policies towards its Muslims, Christians and other minorities. Washington appears to be even content with Indie's continuation of a close strategic partnership with Russia, despite Russian aggression on Ukraine. India is of great strategic importance to Washington in implementing the latest Indo-Pacific strategy and New Delhi is fully aware of this. India therefore feels free to unscrupulously pursue its internal policy of exclusivity based on racist Hindu ideology, in order to create a Hindu state of Hindu Rashtra. The Biden administration, which boasts a policy of protecting human rights, including the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, a policy it has placed at the core of its foreign policy strategy, is quite agile when it comes to condemning human rights violations in China (Uighurs in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia , Taiwan, Hong Kong), but when it comes to India, its strategic partner in the QUAD regional association, American diplomacy acts in contravention of its proclaimed principles is seen as completely duplicitous. This, in fact, proves how much human rights policy in international relations is conditioned by far more pressing concerns dictated by both realpolitik underpinned by geopolitical reasoning and economic interests which are ultimately aimed at preserving the global hegemonic position of the United States.
The political crisis in Pakistan, in addition to rising prices and economic difficulties facing Pakistanis stems from frustrations over poor economic governance also reflects concerns about the direction Pakistan's foreign policy course has taken under the Imran Khan leadership. Prime Minister Khan and his allies accuse Washington of trying to overthrow his government while labeling his political opponents as Washington's vassals who are "carrying out Washington's order" in an attempt to overthrow his Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government. This is apparently evidenced by the frequent visits of political opposition leaders to the US Embassy in Islamabad in recent days before preparations for a vote of no confidence motion in the Khan government. Imran Khan cites a dispatch from the Pakistani embassy in Washington broadcasting a conversation with a senior State Department official who criticized the prime minister's recent political moves. Of course, in a diplomatic manner, US officials rejected any insinuations that they were trying to overthrow his government.
Imran Khan's visit to Moscow, just days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been criticized by the West, especially the United States. Americans, of course, have a huge indirect influence on Pakistan, through their role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Negotiations have been under way for some time between the Khan government and International Monetary Fund on a $6 billion aid package that Pakistan desperately needs to rehabilitate the country's dire social situation as inflation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and other repercussions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine on rising food and fuel prices, which have inevitably caused dissatisfaction among citizens facing difficult living conditions. Some analysts believe that Prime Minister Khan's problems began after the public began to perceive that the Pakistani armed forces, in a way, signaled that they no longer supported the prime minister. Pakistani generals are reportedly dissatisfied with his government's poor economic governance and disapprove of his foreign policy moves. The Pakistani leader openly supported the Taliban's return to power in Kabul last year. Khan commented on their capture, saying the Afghans had "broken the shackles of slavery". It is worth bearing in mind that Imran Khan is an ethnic Pashtun, and the Taliban are mostly recruited from the ranks of Pashtuns. There is a possibility that the prime minister is no longer wanted at the helm of the state, among other things, because he is not trusted an ethnic Pashtun.
Pakistan Tehreeki Insaf (PTI) movement arose on a platform to fight Pakistani political dynasties that represent the Pakistani establishment. The armed forces did not respond to the policy of perpetual friction between two major Pakistani feudal corrupt cliques, and in 2018 supported the arrival of the Khan movement to head the government in Islamabad. Pakistan's two largest opposition parties are traditional feudal organizations or political dynasties. Pakistan's Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) led by Shahbaz Sharif, a brother of a former discredited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose stronghold is in the majority province of Punjab. On the other hand, Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of a former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former President Asif Zardari, has the largest stronghold in Sindh province. These two parties took turns at the political helm of Pakistan for decades, when the army allowed them to do so, and when the army did not have direct power.
Imran Khan accused these two traditional Pakistani political dynasties of plundering Pakistan's national wealth and for stashing corruptly acquired wealth into secret accounts abroad in London, Dubai and elsewhere. However, the mentioned two political dynasties, no matter how corrupt, have their supporters and are able to take a large number of their supporters to the streets in show of support. The military dealt with them in its own way, either by wrestling power from them by force or more often by sponsoring counterprotests, usually from influential Islamist groups, which, although politically marginal, are still able to take a large number of supporters to the streets. In recent times, probably with the aim of weakening the Taliban terrorist movement in Pakistan, Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) the military favored some Islamic groups over the others. Two broader Islamic popular trends dominated the Pakistani Islamic stage. The first is based on the tradition of the Deoband Sunni School of Islam and originates from Deoband in India at the time when Pakistan did not exist as a state. This movement is the most widespread among the Pashtuns. The other, rival Islamic movement, originates from a tradition of the Barelvi strain of Islam. The Deobandi trend has adopted some features of Saudi Wahhabism while the Barelvis are more oriented towards the traditionalist Islamic interpretation which also inherits Sufism. It is rooted in the teachings of local Sufi sheikhs and venerates spiritual centers and the cult of Islamic Sufi shrines.
In order to discipline the political elite, the Pakistani military often reaches out, overtly or covertly, to form some kind of tactical alliance with these movements, depending on what seems opportune to it at the time. It is difficult to know for certain whether the military's signaling that it would not interfere if Pakistani institutions, may have prompted the opposition to confront the government of Prime Minister Khan with full confidence that it will not be curtailed by the generals. Now former Prime minister Khan insists he is fighting for Islam, preserving democracy, and ensuring transparency and justice while arguing that Washington has been trying to overthrow him by interference, meddling and manipulation of the Pakistani opposition.
Pakistani academic Ejaz Akram claims that the American establishment, after being humiliated in Afghanistan and after failing to rally the Islamic world last month to support its leadership in condemning more explicitly Russian invasion of Ukraine and failing to impose sanctions on Russia, after dominating the world, are now entering its terminal hegemonic phase. Washington therefore showed tendencies of an elephant in the porcelain shop, lashing on all sides, rear, front and center. Akram claims that the latest manifestation of such American behavior reflects an attempt to overthrow Imran Khan. This academic calls it an attempt to engineer a regime change in Islamabad, the fact that this was stated by the Prime Minister himself is no small matter. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also condemned Washington's interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan, China's strategic partner. Yi said that Beijing would not allow America to drag smaller nations into conflict, while condemning America's "Cold War mentality." China has decided not to allow Washington to hijack from its orbit and a significant Asian partnership in making, comprising Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and some other countries in Central Asia.
Attempts by Pakistani opposition at ousting the Imran Khan government would mean the end of the experiment of a rule in Pakistan by a relatively new political organization that came to power on a platform to fight the establishment steeped in crime, corruption and nepotism. What the Khan government is now asking is for the Pakistani judiciary to investigate whether there has been foreign interference in internal political processes through blackmail and bribery. Imran Khan is still popular with the masses as an embodiment of their aspirations for a better life. On March 27, Imran Khan gave a two-hour speech at a rally of about 200,000 supporters. The prime minister then said publicly that foreign powers were demanding his removal and that the opposition was cooperating with them. At the heart of the crisis is a letter allegedly handed to Pakistan's ambassador to Washington by a senior State Department official threatening Khan's government, signaling retaliation if he does not withdraw or change policy, and a vote of no confidence. Khan went a step further and said the next phase of the fight against Pakistan and its independent policies could be an attempt to assassinate him. The government also called on the American ambassador, to whom it sent a demarche, which also speaks of the seriousness of the situation. The very fact that the eminent Pakistani judge Athar Minallah expressed the legal opinion that Prime Minister Khan should not publicly disclose the content of the mentioned document because he took the oath to keep state secrets. All this points to a deep crisis of global proportions, which in some elements is reminiscent of the Ukrainian Maidan 2014. In this case, it is clearly a kind of emergence of a new Cold War between the US and China, over Pakistan's soil whose territory is becoming a proxy battleground in a new big game taking place between the great powers for supremacy in South Asia.
Akram also states that a session of the state national security council was held, but opposition representatives boycotted the meeting. The meeting decided to address official criticism and condemnation of Washington. It is speculated that the US letter was sent on behalf of the Undersecretary of State through Assad Majeed Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to America. The letter states that there will be distrust in Khan's government, that the Prime Minister should be informed that this will happen and that he must not oppose it, but obey it, and in case of any resistance he will face serious consequences. The day after, a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan was launched. Prime Minister Khan reportedly received information from the intelligence community about the modalities used to bribe certain parliamentarians in order to lure them to switch sides. Quite peculiarly, the military leadership declared itself neutral in this political turmoil. The Prime Minister criticized the armed forces, which, as he said, should not remain neutral when it comes to direct interference of foreign powers in Pakistan's internal political affairs. Akram goes on to say that Foreign Minister Shah Qureshi paid a visit to Beijing on that occasion. After his return from Beijing, allegedly, the army showed understanding for the position of prime minister. Should foreign interference (US intervention) be proven, it could further worsen relations with Washington and Pakistan could face lawsuits that could result in penalties for treason and collaboration with foreign powers to overthrow democratic rule. Opposition leaders could find themselves behind bars. Whether Imran Khan will be able to deal with his opponents in this biggest crisis of his rule to date, whether the armed forces will side with him or against him, will be shown in the coming weeks.
Pakistan has been pursuing an independent foreign policy in recent times and under Khan leadership appeared reluctant to obey American dictates. Pakistani citizens are also aware of the tectonic changes that signal the decline of American global power. Ajaz Akram also claims that Pakistanis no longer care about sanctions as before. It is increasingly certain that Pakistan, in cooperation with China, wants to relegate American power and influence outside the region, and that it has the support of Iran, Afghanistan and Russia.The latest constitutional crisis to shake Pakistan increasingly appears to be the battleground between two camps whose protagonists are reportedly the Indo-American Alliance, which uses corrupt political cliques and the media machinery it controls and a group of Westernized liberal intellectuals on the one hand and the democratically elected and legitimate government with a charismatic and popular prime minister supported by the majority of the Pakistani population. What steps will be taken by the Pakistani armed forces will certainly be a decisive factor in the current constellation. Reinstatement or reelection of the PTI to power will largely depend on whether Pakistani generals are able or willing to resist the pressure from its powerful allies in Washington.
Osman Softić is a Research Fellow at the Islamic Renaissance Front. He holds a BA degree in Islamic Studies from the Faculty of Islamic Studies of the University of Sarajevo and has a Master degree in International Relations from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He contributed commentaries on Middle Eastern and Islamic Affairs for the web portal Al Jazeera Balkans, Online Opinion, Engage and Open Democracy. Osman holds dual Bosnian and Australian citizenship.


"And thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."-Isaiah 41:14.
AND WHY DOES it say, "and thy Redeemer?" What was the use of appending the Redeemers name to this precious exhortation? ByGod's help it shall be the business of this evening to show why there is a peculiar blessedness in the fact that God hathnot only said, "I will help thee, saith the Lord," but has added, "and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
You will please to notice that it looks as if this were a repetition by three different persons. Israel was cast down, andJehovah, for that is the first word-(you will notice that the word "Lord" is in capitals, and should be translated "Jehovah")-saysto his poor, tried, desponding servant, "I will help thee." No sooner is that uttered than we think we shall not be strainingthe text if we surmise that God the Holy Spirit, the Holy One of Israel, adds his solemnaffidavit also; and declares by oath and covenant, "I will help thee." Does not this, we say, look somewhat like repetition?Was it not sufficient that Jehovah the Father should declare that he would help his people! Why did the other persons of thedivine Trinity unite in this solemn declaration? We think we shall be able, if God shall help us, to show great usefulnesstherein, especially dwelling to-night upon that word, "thy Redeemer," and marking how the repetition of the word by our LordJesus Christ, our Redeemer, adds a peculiar blessedness to the exhortation-"Fear not, thou worm Jacob."
First, methinks this was added for amplification; secondly for sweetness; thirdly, for confirmation.
I. First, when it says, "and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel," it was added FOR AMPLIFICATION. There are some preachersfrom whom you will never learn anything; not be cause they do not say much which is instructive, but because they just mentionthe instructive thought once, and immediately pass on to another thought, never expanding upon the second thought, but immediatelypassing on, almost without connection, to a third-just casting forth, as it were, barethoughts, without opening them up, and explaining them to the people. Such preachers are generally complained of as beingvery unprofitable to the hearers. "Why," said the hearer, "it made no impression upon me; it was good, but there was so muchof it that I could not recollect it. I had nothing to bring away." Other preachers, on the other hand, follow a better method.Having given one idea, they endeavor to amplify it, so that their hearers, if they are not able to receive the idea in theabstract, at least are able to lay hold upon some of its points, when they come to the amplification of it. Now, God,the great Author of the great book, God, the preacher of the truth by his prophets, when he would preach it, and when he wouldwrite it, so amplifies a fact, so extends a truth, and enlarges upon a doctrine, says, "I will help thee, saith Jehovah."That means Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. "Ah! but," said God, "my people will forget that, unless I amplify the thought; soI willeven break it up; I will remind them of my Trinity. They understand my Unity; I will bid them recollect that there areThree in One, though these Three be One;" and he adds, "thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Jehovah-Redeemer-Holy One ofIsrael-three persons, all included, indeed, in the word Jehovah, but very likely to be forgotten unless they had been distinctlyenumerated.
Now, brethren, suffer your thoughts for a moment to enlarge upon the fact, that the promise contained in this verse, "Fearnot, I will help thee" (I will help thee), is a promise from Three Divine Persons. Hear Jehovah, the everlasting Father, saying, "I will help them.""Mine are the ages: before the ages began, when there were no worlds, when nought had been created, from everlasting I amthy God. I am the God of election, the God of the decree, the God of thecovenant; by my strength I did set fast the mountains, by my skill I laid the pillars of the earth; and the beams of thefirmament of heaven; I spread out the skies as a curtain, and as a tent for man to dwell in; I the Lord made all these things.'I will help thee.'" Then comes Jehovah the Son. "And I, also, am thy Redeemer, I am eternal; my name is wisdom. I was withGod, when there were no depths, before he had digged the rivers, I was there as one brought up with him. I am Jesus, theGod of ages; I am Jesus, the man of sorrows; ' I am he that liveth and was dead, I am alive for evermore.' I am the HighPriest of your profession, the Intercessor before the throne, the Representative of my people. I have power with God. 'I will help thee.'" Poor worm, thy Redeemer vows to help thee; by his bleeding hands he covenants to give thee aid. And thenin comes the Holy Spirit. "And I," saith the Spirit, "am also God-not an influence, but a person -I, eternal and everlasting,co-existent with the Father and the Son-I, who did brood over chaos, when as yet the world was not brought into form andfashion, and did sow the earth with the seeds of life when I did brood over it,-I, that brought again from the dead your LordJesus Christ, the Shepherd of the sheep, who am the Eternal Spirit, by whose power the Lord Jesus did arise from the thraldomof his tomb -I, by whom souls are quickened, by whom the elect are called out of darkness into light-I, who have the powertomaintain my children and preserve them to the end-'I will help thee.'" Now, soul, gather up these three, and dost thou want more help than they can afford? What! dost thou needmore strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more lovethan displays itself in the Son, and more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine emptypitcher! Sure this well will fill it. Haste! gather up thy wants, andbring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply. What canst thouwant beside? Stand up, Christian, in this thy might Jehovah Father, Jehovah Jesus, Jehovah Spirit,-these are with thee tohelp thee. This is the first thing. It is an amplification.
II. And now, secondly, concerning that word, "thy Redeemer," it is a SWEETENING OF THE PROMISE. Did you never notice thata promise always seems all the sweeter for having Jesus in it? All the promises are yea and amen in him; but when a promisementions the name of the Redeemer, it imparts a peculiar blessedness to it. Brethren, it is something like, if I may representit by such a figure, the beautiful effect of certain decorations of stained glass. There are somepersons whose eyes are so weak that the light seems to be injurious to them, especially the red rays of the sun, and aglass has been invented, which rejects the rays that are injurious, and allows only those to pass which are softened and modifiedto the weakness of the eye. It seems as if the Lord Jesus were some such a glass as this. The grace of God the Trinity, shiningthrough the man Christ Jesus, becomes a mellow, soft light, so that mortal eye can bear it. My God, I could not drink fromthy well, if thou hadst not put there the earthen pitcher of my Saviour; but with him living waters from thy sacred wellI draw. Heaven! thou art too bright; I could not bear thine insufferable light, if I had not this shade with which I coverthee; but through it, as through a mist, I do behold the halo of thy glory, undiminished in its effulgence, but somewhat diminishedin their potency which would be my destruction. The Saviour seems to calm his glory, to tone it down to our poor feebleframe. His name put into this wine of heaven, does not diminish in the least degree its sparkling and its exhiliratingpower; but it takes out of it that deep strength which might upset an angel's brain, if he could drink to his full. It takesaway the profundity of mystery, which would make the deep old wine of the kingdom intoxicating rather than cheering. ChristJesus cast into the river of God, makes all the streams more sweet; and when the believer sees God in the person of the Saviour,hethen sees the God whom he can love, and to whom with boldness he can approach. Surely I love this promise all the better,because I think I see my Saviour, with his hand all bleeding, stamping his hand upon it, and saying, "And thy Redeemer," andthere is the blood mark left upon the promise. It does seem to me as if when God uttered that promise to the poor worm Jacob,Jesus Christ could not be still. He heard his Father say, "Fear not, worm Jacob;" and he saw the poor worm, with his headonone side, with his eyes all flowing with tears, with his heart palpitating with terror, and his arms folded in dismay;and when his Father had said, "Fear not," he stepped from behind, and whispered in a voice more soft than the voice of hisFather, "Fear not, worm Jacob, it is God that speaks;" and then the soft voice says, "And it is thy Redeemer that speaks too."He says, "Fear not." He who loves thee, who knows thee, who has felt what thou feelest, who has passed through the woeswhich thou art now enduring-he who is thy Kinsman and thy Brother, he also says "Fear not, worm Jacob." Oh, it is sweet,it is precious to look upon that word, as spoken by our Redeemer.
III. And now we come to the other point. I think this is put in by way of CONFIRMATION. "In the mouth of two or three witnessessurely the whole shall be established."
"Blind unbelief is sure to err."
It needs many witnesses to make such unbelieving souls as we are, believe the promises. "Now," says God, "I will help thee.Unbelief! wilt thou doubt Jehovah? Can the "I Am that I Am" lie? Can the God of faithfulness and truth deceive thee? O unbelief!infamous traitor! wilt thou dare to doubt him? Yes, and Christ knew it would; and so he comes in and he says, "and thy Redeemer,"as a second witness; whilst the Spirit is the third. "Thy Redeemer," volunteers to be thesecond guarantee, the other security to the faithfulness of this promise. The Father will lose his honor if he breakshis word; and I too do give as the security for the fulfillment of this promise, my troth and honor also. "Thy Redeemer" engagesthat he will help thee, O thou worm!
And now, I want you to read the promise, recollecting that it says, "Thy Redeemer ;" and then, as you read it through, youwill see how the word "Redeemer" seems to confirm it all. Now begin. "I will help thee;" lay a stress on that word. If you read it so, there is one blow at your unbelief. "I will help thee," saith the Redeemer. "Others may not, but I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and by the bands ofmy lovingkindness have I drawn thee.'I will help thee, though the earth forsake thee; though thy father and thy mother forsake thee, I will take thee up. Wilt thou doubt me? I have proved my love to thee. Behold this gash, this spear thrust in my side. Lookhither at my hands: wilt thou but believe me? ' 'Tis I.' I said that on the waters, and I said to my people, 'Be not afraid;it is I.' I say to thee, now thou art on the waters, ' Be not afraid; I will help thee.' Sure thou needst not fear that I shallever forget thee. 'Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea,they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.' 'I have graven thee on my hands; thy walls are ever before me.' 'I will help thee.'" Now, you must just suppose the Saviour standing here-that Man whose garments are red with blood; you mustsuppose him standing where I stand to-night, and saying to you, personally, "Fear not, I will help you." O my Lord, I haveungratefully doubted thy promise many a time; but methinks, if I could see thee in all thy woe and sorrow for me, if Icould hear thee say, "I will help thee," I should cast myself at thy feet, and say, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." But though he isnot here to speak it, though the lips that utter it are but the lips of man, remember that he speaks through me to-night,and through his word, as truly as if he spoke himself. If some great man should by a servant, or by aletter send to you this message, "I will keep you," though you had not heard his own lips declare it, yet if you saw hisown hand writing, you would say, "It is enough, I believe it; there is the master's hand writing; it is his own autograph,it is written by himself; behold the bloody signature! It is stamped with his cross, and I his messenger am sent to-nightto myself and to you, and I say to my own heart and to you, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted withinme?Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him; for the Redeemer says, I will help thee," and if he saith "I will help thee," who can doubt him? who dare distrust him?
And now let us read the promise again, and lay the stress on the "will." Oh, the "wills" and the "shalls:" they are the sweetestwords in the Bible. "I will help thee." W hen God says "I will," there is something in it, brethren. The will of God started worlds into existence; thewill of God made nature leap from chaos; the will of God sustains all worlds, "bears the earth's huge pillars up," and establishescreation. It is God's "I will." He lets the world live;they live on the "will" of God; and if he willed that they should die, they must sink as the bubble into the breaker,when its moment has arrived. And if the "will" of God is so strong as that, may we not lay a great stress upon it here-"Iwill help thee?" There is no doubt about it. I do not say I may help thee peradventure. No; I will. I do not say, that possibly I may be persuaded to help thee. No; I voluntarily will to help thee. "I will help thee." I do not saythat, in an probability, ninety-nine chances out of a hundred, it is likely I may help thee. No; but without allowingany peradventure, or so much as a jot or tittle of hap or hazard, I will. Now, is there not strength in that? Indeed, my brethren, this is enough to cheer any man's spirit, however much he may becast down, if God the Holy Spirit does but breathe upon the text, and let its spices flow abroad into our poor souls, "Fearnot, I will help thee."
And now we lay stress on another word: "I will help thee." That is very little for me to do, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I havedied for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee, my beloved! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee. I have done more, and I will do more. Before the day-starfirst began to shine I chosethee. "I will help thee." I made the covenant for thee, and exercised all the wisdom of my eternal mind in the scheming of the plan of salvation."I will help thee." I became a man for thee; I doffed my diadem, and laid aside my robe; I laid the purple of the universe aside to becomea man for thee. If I did this, I will help thee. I gave my life, my soul, for thee; I slumbered in the grave, I descended into Hades, all for thee; I will help thee. It will cost menothing. Redeeming thee cost me much, but I have all and abound. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have boughtfor thee already. It is no new thing. I can do it easily. "Help thee?" Thou needst never fear that. If thou needest a thousandtimes as much help as thou dost need, I would give it thee; but it is little that thou dost require compared with what I haveto give. 'Tis great for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. "Help thee?" Fear not. If there were an ant atthe door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothingbut a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. All that thou couldst ever eat, all that thou couldst ever take, if thouwert to take on to all eternity, would no more diminish my all-sufficiency, than the drinking of the fish would diminish thesea. No; "I will help thee." If I have died for thee, I will not leave thee.
And now, just take the last word-"I will help thee." Lay the stress there. "Fear not, thou worm Jacob; I will help thee." If I let the stars fall, I will help thee; if I let all nature run to rack and ruin, I will help thee. If I permit the teeth of time to devour the solid pillars upon which the earth doth stand, yet I will help thee. I have made a covenant with the earth, "that seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, shall nevercease;" but that covenant, though true, is not so great as the covenant that I have made concerning thee. And if I keepmy covenant with the earth, I will certainly keep my covenant with my Son. "Fear not; I will help thee." Yes, thee! Thou sayest, "I am too little for help;" but I will help thee, to magnify my power; thou sayest, "I am too vileto be helped," but I will help thee to manifest my grace. Thou sayest, "I have been ungrateful for former help;" but I willhelp thee tomanifest my faithfulness. Thou sayest, "But I shall still rebel, I shall still turn aside." "I will help thee," to show forth my long suffering: let it be known, "I will help thee."
And now just conceive my Master on his gross bleeding there, looking down on you and on me. Picture him, whilst his voicefalters with love and misery conjoined; and hear him. He has just now spoken to the thief, and he has said to him, "To-day,shalt thou be with me in Paradise." And after he has said that, he catches a sight of you and of me, poor and depressed, andhe says, "Fear not, worm Jacob; I will help thee; I helped the thief-I will help thee. Ipromised him that he should be with me in paradise; I may well promise thee that thou shalt be helped. I will help thee.O Master! may thy love that prompts thee thus to speak, prompt us to believe thee.
And now hear Him again. He is exalted on high; he hath "led captivity captive and received gifts for men;"-now hear him, asin the midst of the solemn pomp of heaven he is not unmindful of his poor relations. He looks down, and he sees us in thisworld still struggling with sin and care and woe; he hears us claiming kingship with himself; and he says, "Worm Jacob! thoughI now do reign exalted high, my love is still as great. I will help thee." I pray theLord apply the sweetness of that pronoun to your hearts, my brethren, and to mine. "I will help thee." O surely when the husband speaks to the wife in the hour of darkness and sorrow, and comforts her, you can easily understandwhat arguments he uses, when he says, "Wife of my youth! my joy, my delight, I will help thee!" You can easily conceive how he enumerates times of love, seasons when he stood by her in the hour of trouble; you can easilythink how he reminds her of the daysof their espousals, and tells her of their struggles, and of their joys; and he says, "Wife, canst thou doubt me? No;as I am a husband I will help thee! And now you hear the Saviour speaking of his church. "Betrothed to me ere time began, I have taken thee into union with myadorable person; and O my bride, though my palace stand in ruins, and heaven itself should shake, I will help thee. Forget thee? Forget my bride? Be false to my troth? Forsake my covenant? No; never. Iwill help thee." Hear the mother speaking to her little child in great danger; "Child," she says, "I will help thee;" and then she reminds that child that she is its mother, that from her breast the child drew its needed nourishment in thedays of weakness; she reminds it how she has nursed it, and dandled it upon her knee, and how in every way she has been itssolace and support. "Child !" says she, and her heart runs over-"I will help thee!" Why, the child neverdoubts it, it says, "Yes, mother, I know you will; I am sure of that, I do not need to be told it, I was certain you would,for I have had such proofs of your love." And now ought not we who love the Saviour just to let our eyes run with tears, andsay, "O thou blest Redeemer! thou needst not tell us thou wilt help us, for we know thou wilt. Oh do not suppose that we doubtthee so much as to want to be told of it again; we know thou will help us; we are sure of it; thy former love, thineancient love, the love of thine espousals, thy deeds of kindness, thine everlasting drawings, all these declare that thounever canst forsake us." No, no; "I will help thee."
And now, brethren, we are coming down stairs to eat the body of Christ and drink his blood in a spiritual manner; and I hopewhilst we are partaking of that bread and wine, the emblems of the Saviour, we shall think we hear every mouthful of breadand every sip of wine saying out in the Master's behalf, "I will help thee, I will help thee." And then let us just frighten Satan, by cheering up our spirits through the power of the Holy Ghost, andbuckling on our armor, let us go forth into the world to-morrow, to show what the Redeemer can do, when his promise isapplied by the Spirit. "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee." Come, bring your fears out to-night,and serve them in the worst way you can. Hang them here upon the scaffold this night. Come now, and blow them away at thegreat guns of the promises, let them be destroyed forever. They are renegade mutineers; let them be cut off, let them be utterlydestroyed, and let us go and sing, "Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountainsbe carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with theswelling thereof." "I will help thee," saith the Redeemer.
O sinners, I pity you, that this is not your promise. If this were all that you did lose by being out of Christ, it were enoughto lose indeed. May God call you, and help you to trust in the Redeemer's blood. Amen.


text:
RJPN to support govt
Kathmandu, Mar. 10: Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) has decided to support the KP Sharma Oli-led government. The party presidium member Raj Kishor Yadav shared that they will cast votes supporting the incumbent government on Sunday as PM is seeking a vote of confidence in the parliament on the same day.
Following today's parliament meeting, leader Yadav shared with the media persons that they were holding talks regarding the constitution amendment and addressing the demands of Resham Lal Chaudhary with PM, which was positive.
He added that they will move ahead realizing the situation that there were six provincial governments led by left alliance and one by the RJPN and Socialist Democratic Forum. He further opined for leading the nation on the way to prosperity as all levels of elections were completed in the country. RSS


The application for the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is now open.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Begun in 2014, the Fellowship supports young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.
Fellows are placed at U.S. colleges and universities across the country and in both urban and rural areas. Institutes will focus on skills development in one of three areas: Business and Entrepreneurship, Civic Leadership, or Public Management. The intensive six-week Institute model includes linkages between academic sessions, leadership development, site visits, community service, networking, and organized cultural and civic activities.
At the conclusion of the Academic and Leadership Institutes, all Fellows will participate in a high-level, three-day Summit in Washington, DC.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is conducted as a merit-based open competition.
A proven record of leadership and accomplishment in public service, business, and entrepreneurship, or civic engagement.


Bachelor's and master's degree programs in public health, health services administration, and environmental health science are just a few programs preparing individuals for work in health inspection.
Health inspectors are responsible for ensuring safety standards. There are multiple education pathways to prepare for a career in health inspection, including bachelor's degrees in environmental science, public health, or health services administration. The curriculum highlights areas including food sanitation, epidemiology, healthcare law, and environmental health. Students learn how to ensure safety standards are met in commercial, industrial, and public places. They also complete internships. For undergraduate degrees, applicants must have a 2.0-3.0 high school GPA and foundational coursework in languages, math, science, and humanities. For master's programs, acceptable scores on admissions tests are required. In addition to internships, thesis and graduation project are necessary for master's programs.
A bachelor's degree program in environmental health science prepares students for employment in many roles, including health inspectors, that require a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the environment and human health. In addition a high school diploma, some programs require that applicants have completed several years of advanced math coursework, including algebra and geometry. Students learn about science and policy issues affecting air, water, waste, shelter, and food quality. They choose a specialization in the latter part of the program and augment their coursework with experience provided by field trips and internships.
Bachelor's degree programs in health services administration focus on the organization and management of healthcare systems. Students learn the processes involved in healthcare delivery, including basic medical knowledge and financial aspects of healthcare facility management. Graduates are prepared for employment in roles, including public health inspectors.
Public health graduate degree programs also cover a broad range of disciplines affecting the human condition. A Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program prepares graduates for opportunities in employment settings, including health inspectors, health advocates, analysts, epidemiologists, researchers, administrators. and educators. Applicants may need to complete college-level courses in biology, algebra and statistics prior to admission.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expected a 4% increase in employment for occupational health and safety specialists from 2014 through 2024. These workers earned $70,210 as a median annual wage in 2015, according to the BLS.
Work experience is a critical component of most environmental health science degree programs. Most programs offer paid or unpaid internships with local, international or federal agencies. Participation in an internship may be voluntary and provides course credits or it may be a prerequisite for graduation.
There are also several job-specific certifications and licenses available for health inspectors, depending on where they work and why types of inspections they conduct. The National Environmental Health Association, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene all offer certification programs relevant to health inspectors. Individuals planning to complete inspections relating to lead, asbestos or septic systems may need to complete a state licensure program.
Health inspector degree programs prepare students by providing coursework in topics ranging from sanitation to health services. Advanced degrees provide more training on management and will open up additional career opportunities.


text:
Q: How to print objects in a Jinja2 template starting from a certain point on the page? I need to print the list of elements of a data frame column on the template starting at a certain point on the page (let's say 200px, 100px).
My current code prints the elements in the data frame (t1) column superimposed on each other.
{% for _, row in t1.iterrows() %}

{{row["col1"]}}

{% endfor %}

I have tried other options like position:relative and position:sticky but it doesn't work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home Experiences Experience Oktoberfest FAQs
Experience Oktoberfest
Munich, Germany . Sep. 17 - Oct. 3, 2021
I had an awesome time. Thank you all for such a great experience. And for my first trip overseas, I felt I picked the right group of people to guide me.
Christopher A. Gieser
Beer Tents
Everything you ever wanted to know about Oktoberfest in Munich
Lingering questions are a given when it comes to gigantic international events like Oktoberfest. Our guides have been visiting and organizing Oktoberfest tours for years, and have amassed lots of knowledge to help travelers make the most of their trip. Here is everything you need to know.
FAQS Quick Navigation
Oktoberfest Today
Where is Oktoberfest?
When is Oktoberfest?
But it starts in September…
How many people attend Oktoberfest?
Beer, Beer Tents, and Beer-related topics
Beer Tent Reservations
Cost of Oktoberfest beer
Is there a best Beer Tent?
Anything else to drink?
How strong is Oktoberfest beer?
Drinking age in Germany
The beers of Oktoberfest
How much should I drink?
What can I do besides drink?
How long are the tents open?
Other Oktoberfest Questions
What is die Wiesn?
Are children allowed?
Do you have to dress up?
Where to get costumes?
Pro Tips & Dos & Don'ts
Oktoberfest foods
Festival Programming
How to get to the Festival?
Travel Concerns
Age of BLE Clients?
What if I don't speak German?
Tipping in Germany
What are the bathrooms like?
Is Oktoberfest Safe?
What is Munich like?
Guests pondering the history of Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest began as the marriage ceremony between Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese on October 12, 1810. All of the townspeople were invited to attend the festival, which took place in the fields outside of the city gates. Following the wedding the fields were named Theresienwiese after the Princess, and the party was such a hit that the townspeople asked King Ludwig to continue the celebration the following year.
Oktoberfest in 2017 will mark the 210th anniversary of the festivities.
Oktoberfest patrons enjoying jovial times.
Why stop a good thing!?
Today the remnants of the gates still stand and the fields, known by locals as the Wies'n, now host the largest beer festival in the world: Oktoberfest! What was a simple wedding celebration has transformed into a 17 or 18-day festival in which 7 million people from around the world participate in, consuming more than 6 million liters of Bavarian beer. That's 1 million gallons of beer! Oktoberfest officially begins on the second to last Saturday in September at noon when the mayor of Munich taps the first barrel at the Schottenhamel Tent, crying "O'zapft is" (It's open). The festival concludes the first Sunday of October following German reunification day on October 5.
There are 14 main beer tents at the Theresienwiese grounds serving brews by the Maß (1-liter stein). Of the 14 tents there are 6 large tents, which rotate up to 12,000 people per day! That is a whole lot of beer! Only six breweries are represented at the Oktoberfest grounds - Späten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Poschorr, Hofbräu and Löwenbräu. Everyone has their preferred brew by the end, which one will be yours?
View complete beer tent info on our Oktoberfest beer tents guide.
Also, for those of you who fancy a break from the frothy brews there is a special wine tent called Weinzelt.
The original Oktoberfest takes place in Munich, Germany, on the ground known as "Theresienwiese", which is also called "Festwiese" by the locals.
Half of the year, the grounds are simply a public park. Around June, the tents and fun fair foundations begin their staggered process of construction with a completion date of late September, just in time for the beginning of the festival. This area hosts a space of 420,000 sq ft and is easy to get to from central Munich.
Oktoberfest begins in September and ends in October on the first Sunday in October, or on October 3, whatever is later. It lasts for at least 16 days.
The next Oktoberfest Munich dates are:
• Oktoberfest 2020: September 19 - October 4
Oktoberfest starts in September…why is it called Oktoberfest?
The first Oktoberfest was celebrated in Munich in 1810 in honor of Prince Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities began October 12, 1810, and lasted for almost a week, until October 17. The public celebrations ended with an exciting horse race. After such a spectacular party, the happy couple decided that the same type of festival should be continued annually. In the following years, the galas were repeated every October, prolonged and, eventually moved forward into September primarily because of the weather.
In 2019, over seven million people attended over three weeks.
You could say a lot of people like Oktoberfest
How do I get Beer Tent Reservations?
Every year, it's a long process for us to book beer tent reservations, and you don't always get exactly what you want. Every tent has its own system for booking reservations, not to mention they each start the process at different times of the year. You always have to make reservations in groups of 8-10 people, and most of the reservations go to locals who have held tables at the Wies'n for several generations.
The big tents (holding 7,000-10,000 people at a time) are the most difficult to get into and often close their doors by noon on Saturdays simply because they're already full. It's nearly impossible to get into a big tent without a reservation on a busy day; however, you can sometimes squeeze in with someone at a table outside and order a beer to establish your spot.
If you're already in a tent when the reservation time has expired, you can stay in that tent - you just have to find an opening at a table in a non-reserved section.
Weekdays are much less crowded compared to Saturdays and weekend nights. Two people can usually find their way into a tent and find a seat to get a beer.
At night it's often too crowded to order food (unless you have vouchers with your reservation) but don't worry; there are plenty of vendors serving hearty Bavarian food on the Oktoberfest Fair Grounds.
The Bucket List Events packages includes at least 1 beer tent reservation per person. Depending on which weekend you're in Munich, you may end up at a big tent (5,000+ capacity) or a medium tent (under 1,000-5,000 capacity).
Most reservations include 2 beers (1 liter each) and 1 food voucher (usually a chicken plate). It is sometimes possible for us to include a second beer tent reservation in your package for an additional charge - just ask!
How much does a liter of beer (the "Maß" Oktoberfest Beer) cost at one of the tents?
The price for a liter of beer ranges between €8 and €10 per liter (about $10-13). A liter of table water costs about €6. Soft drinks also cost about €6-7 (you'll usually find Coke and Spezi, a Coke/Fanta mix).
Is there a best tent?
Truthfully there is no best tent. There are a handful of travel blogs that have a ranked list, and if you showed that list to a local, they would laugh in your face. The most requested tents we receive are all the tourist tents.
All of the tents have a unique aspect about them but none of them are any better than the others. Locals prefer the less known tents while college kids like the Hofbräu. No matter what tent you are in your going to have the time of your life. Just don't drink too much and take some pictures so you remember it!
Bucket List Events at the Hofbrau Tent, 2016
Is beer the only thing available to drink?
While beer will be occupying just about every inch of the 420,000 square foot Oktoberfest grounds, there are some wine and champagne options at just about every tent - just ask.
How strong (alcohol percent) is the beer?
All beer served at Oktoberfest is 13.5% Stammwürze, which equates to around 6% alcohol content. The average American beer is about 3-5%. The beer is often stronger than at home, too, so pace yourself and eat plenty.
What is the drinking age?
The drinking age for beer and wine in Germany is 16 years old. Distilled alcohols, like spirits, can be purchased at age 18.
Making friends at the Schützen-Festzelt, 2015
What beer is served at Oktoberfest?
Only beer conforming to the Reinheitsgebot, at a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (approximately 6% alcohol by volume) may be served at Oktoberfest. The beer must also be brewed within the city limits of Munich. Beers meeting these criteria may be designated Oktoberfest Beer.
The breweries that can produce Oktoberfest Beer under the criteria are:
Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu
Spatenbräu
Staatliches Hofbräu-München
Learn more about Munich's breweries and Oktoberfest beer on our blog!
How much beer should I drink at Oktoberfest?
You don't want to come all the way to Munich just to get so drunk you don't remember anything. But you also didn't come all this way not to partake in the fun. How much Oktoberfest beer is optimal for a great experience?
We say that up to two Mass beers (two liters) is a good measure. This can typically be handled by normal folks without any memory loss, beligerance, or upset stomachs. With three Mass (three liters) you will quickly approach the borderline. The beers are large and pack a punch.
What else is there to do at Oktoberfest besides drinking?
As expected, the focus at Oktoberfest is the drinking, eating, cavorting, and singing. It is this tradition, atmosphere and spectacle that makes it so special.
But that doesn't mean that drinking is all there is to do at the Oktoberfest grounds.
If you need a break from beer, you can amble (or ramble) through the fairground that surrounds the beer tents, where there are seemingly endless rides and carnival games in which to partake. However, if you are visiting at the right time, you may be coinciding with some of the special events that take place.
On the opening weekend, the Costume and Riflemen's Parade sees some 7,000 costumed performers and musicians, thoroughbred horses, oxen and associated farmyard animals walk through the centre of Munich to celebrate the Oktoberfest's opening weekend. If the weather holds, an open-air concert featuring 400 musicians also takes place.
What time do tents close the doors?
Beer Serving Hours are typically 10 AM to 10:30 PM on weekdays, and 9 am to 10:30 PM on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. At 10:30 PM the band will stop playing, the lights will go on, and the waitresses will start to clean the tables around you. Typically you need to leave the tent by 10:50 PM.
What is die Wies'n?
Wies'n means "field" or "meadow" in the Bavarian dialect (the high German word is die Wiese). The locals in Munich will often refer to Oktoberfest as "die Wies'n" as a short hand for the festival's location, the Theresienwiese. Theresienwiese was named after Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, the bride whose wedding inspired the Oktoberfest tradition.
What's the average age of Bucket List Events clients?
Hard question to answer, but most of our clients are between the ages of 28-45. But it varies with each group. We've had guests that are 60+ years of age as well as kids with their families and college students. We don't have any age restrictions; you just have to be ready to have a good time!
Are children allowed at Oktoberfest?
Children are allowed on the festival grounds. Children are allowed in the beer tents as well, but children under six-years-old must leave the tents by 8 p.m., even if they are with their parents. The tents tend to get crowded by the evening and it wouldn't be fun for either the children or the parents to be in the tents at that time, anyway. Activities like carnival rides in the fair grounds would be more suitable for children.
Ochsenbraterei, 2016
Do we have to dress up in Bavarian attire?
You don't have to dress up, but we definitely recommend it. You will probably feel pretty left out if you don't wear a Dirndl or Lederhosen, as the vast majority of festival goers will be in costume. It's part of the cultural experience! Many locals and visitors of all ages, from all over the world, will don the traditional Tracht. Read more about how to dress for Oktoberfest on our blog.
Taking on the Lowenbrau Tent, 2013
Where can we purchase Lederhosen or Dirndl?
Considering the amount of stores in the vicinity of your hotel, where can't you purchase an outfit? Whether it's in the train station or a pop-up vendor just outside the tents, the pricing is pretty consistently in the €100-125 euros. If you prefer shopping a wider variety of options, we recommend the popular department store C&A, located in the Neuhauser- and Kaufinger Straße. This is an easy walk from your hotel.
What are the Do's and Don'ts of Oktoberfest?
This ain't our first Oktoberfest. After years and years of taking groups to Munich for the celebrations, we've put together a pretty epic infographic detailing out all the do's and don'ts of how to have an awesome time at Oktoberfest:
View the full Oktoberfest infographic here.
Some of the most important tips:
Bring cash, as the tents don't accept credit cards
It's ok to dance on the benches, but not on the tables
Steins are ok to buy, not to steal
I do not speak any German. Will this be a problem?
You won't have much problem in Munich if you can't speak German. Most Germans started learning English in school as early as age 10, if not before. A large majority of Germans under the age of 50 know enough English to hold a conversation or give you directions.
You will also notice that a lot of the major tourist spots will be outfitted with English-language signage. You may hear English announcments in train stations, and most busy food stands, beer tents, and restaurants offer menus in English as well as German.
But it doesn't hurt to learn some basics! Please (Bitte), thank you (Danke schön), Excuse me (Entschuldigung), and Cheers (Prost!) will get you far. We've compiled 16 German phrases and Oktoberfest sayings that you should learn on our blog.
How much tip is common?
Within Oktoberfest grounds, it varies. If you've got reservations and vouchers, the tip is sometimes included. In this case you do not need to give extra tip, or just if you think the service was extraordinary. If tip is not included, the waitress will tell you what the tip is. In fact, it's not really a tip - it's more like a "service fee". It should be not more than 10 to 15% of the beer or food price. And yes, giving a bit of extra tip will ensure that the waitress will always serve you in time and in quality.
Our server at the Hofbrau Tent, 2016
What do you eat at Oktoberfest?
Oktoberfest has a ton of delicious foods to try. A must-order is the classic "Wiesn-Hendl" (grilled chicken), best enjoyed with french fries. The slow-roasted, butterbasted chicken is irresistible after a few beverages. Freshly-baked and doughy, salt-strewn pretzels are delicious and extremely popular. Also expect to sample traditional sausages and the seemingly endless dessert options available at Oktoberfest. Read more about must-try Oktoberfest foods on our blog.
All the tents have English menus, so feel free to ask your waitress for it.
How is the bathroom situation in the beer tents?
There are enough facilities in the tents. But in a tent with thousands of people drinking thousands of liters of beer there also is a clear need for these! For men, this usually means a wait between 5 and 10 minutes in the line. For women, this usually means a wait between 10 and 20 minutes in the line.
Is there a program of events that we can see?
The highlight event of the Wies'n is the Oktoberfest Costume and Riflemen's Parade. The parade occurs on the first Wies'n Sunday of Oktoberfest. It starts at 10am and lasts about 3 hours. More than 7,000 performers will participate along the 7 kilometer (5 mile) parade route.
Other important events include the Parade of Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries, the Official Tapping of the Keg on Opening Day (at the Schottenhamel tent), the Oktoberfest Mass, the Böllerschießen (handheld canon salute) in front of the Bavaria statue, and the Open-Air Oktoberfest Music Concert Fest.
How do I get to the festival?
The hotels where Bucket List Events guests stay are just a couple of blocks away from the Oktoberfest grounds. Whenever there is a dinner or beer tent reservation, our staff will guide you to your destination. If you want to venture out on your own, your hotel is just a few blocks from a train stop that can give you access to the rest of the city.
Yes, Munich and Oktoberfest are very safe. But just like any travel/festival experience, be aware of your surroundings. Keep money is a safe place (not in your back pocket). Everyone is really friendly but of course with so much beer, you're bound to see some altercations. Security is very present in the tents and Polizei outside the tents. Security has also been upped over the past few years in light of terror attacks across the globe; the edges of the festival are now fortified cement baricades to keep vehicles off the Wies'n.
Munich is the bustling metropolitan center of Bavaria. Truly European in every sense of the word, Munich is a mix of culture, art and history. You'll find more museums here than in any other German city. There are endless things to do in Munich from joining an informative walking or bicycle tour, strolling through the beautiful English Gardens, discovering its amazing museums and art, wandering through the pedestrian streets around Marienplatz, or enjoying one of Bavaria's favorite pastimes-relaxing in a beer hall or garden.
Munich and the surrounding region of Bavaria is what most tourists have in mind when picturing Germany. This is the land of oom-pah-pah bands, breathtaking Alpine views, lederhosen and 1-liter-beer steins. But Munich isn't only the home of great beer and the Bavarian Alps, it was once the center of Nazi Germany, and many buildings today still show scars of WWII and the scourge of Hitler's Third Reich.
A day trip outside the city to the former Dachau concentration camp will provide a chilling reminder of the story behind Nazi Germany. Although it isn't the best match with the jolly good times of Oktoberfest, Bucket List Events definitely recommends this site.
On a lighter note, Munich has an ideal geographic position for fascinating day trips. You can take a short train ride and be in the heart of the Alps where you'll see King Ludwig's indescribable Neuschwanstein Castle (which Disney used to modeled their famous fairy tale castle) or to the Andechs Kloster (monastery) in the countryside just outside Munich. If you need more, head a bit farther north and visit medieval villages along the "Romantic Road" such as picturesque Rothenburg.
What are some must-see sites in Munich?
Munich is a large city with a plethora of things to do as a tourist. Your package with Bucket List Events comes with a bike tour of many of Munich's famous attractions, including the English Gardens, as well as a trip to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.
Here are some common destinations that our guests venture out to see:
Olympic stadium and Olympic park
BMW World & BMW Headquarters
Isar River
Schloss Nymphenburg (Palace)
Hofgarten and Residenz
Allianz Arena (Home of FC Bayern Munich)
Do I need a Visa to travel to Germany?
There are different policies with each nation. Read about your HERE.
All of the best tips, tricks, and details are right here in our Oktoberfest brochure and ultimate guide. It includes our top 10 tips and more to make your Oktoberfest the best ever!


This is a transcipt of Jane McConnell, the Chief Executive of IPSEA (Independent Panel for Special Educational Needs Advice), speaking at our 5th Anniversary Reception on 5th May 2010. Click here if you would prefer to see the video of what Jane had to say.
"Everybody who knows me know that I never usually use notes at all and I usually move around a lot but now I am contained by a microphone and by a script because I am worried about going over time and not covering the issues I need to Douglas. Thank you!
So obviously thank you for the introduction Erica, it was very generous. As Erica said my name is Jane McConnell and I am the current Chief Executive at IPSEA. Perhaps most importantly, for me at least, I am a parent of a child who happens to have special educational needs as well, so as I stand here I am talking obviously with my professional hat on as IPSEA but also as a parent who would be a potential client of Douglas if I had to do my own case, which sometimes you don't feel you are able to as a parent in that situation, so I've got my two hats on.
Really for those of you who don't know IPSEA (it's quite weird not seeing you behind these people) we are a national charity that provides free legal support and advice for parents who have a child who happens to have special educational needs and/or a disability. (Can you see me?) We do this by providing this free service in three different ways and I'm going to have a small advert for IPSEA while we are here, if that's ok Douglas.
We provide it through a freephone advice line where a parent can call if they have a child with special educational needs and they have an issue to do with education, so we don't actually deal with anything else although often people will ring us about many many things, but it does have to be around education.
We also provide a tribunal helpline so when parents are either appealing an SEN decision that their local authority has made or they are considering making a DDA claim to the SEND Tribunal as it's now called, they can call us and get next step advice.
And then we also provide tribunal support through individual volunteer caseworkers for parents who are actually going through the process and they need someone to guide them and help them through the way and possibly provide advocacy in the Tribunal.
Now we have been doing that now almost for about 28 years, so you can see we have been actively supporting and, as an organisation, we have therefore built quite a powerful knowledge base about the issues that parents face when they come into a situation and they are starting the educational route with their child, and they happen to find a child has special educational needs or a disability.
And what I really wanted to say is, where over that 28 years things have changed and have changed for the good, the situation we still face at the moment is parents have almost insurmountable problems negotiating their way through the system. You know, we still have an issue about parents accessing not the deluxe, to quote a phrase 'Rolls Royce' model of education; we still have an issue getting the basic education like the basic appropriate education for a child. You know this is really a basic entitlement, a human rights issue but we still have that problem facing us.
So where does Douglas fit in (because in the letter it says that I do need to talk about Douglas, not just about IPSEA!) So, I think the first thing I must say when I'm talking about Douglas, I'm not just talking about Douglas the man who is sitting here, I am actually talking about the wider Douglas Silas, and any of you who have dealt with Douglas will know that when you talk to Douglas you get the team. You know you get Erica, Natasha, Laxmi, and Helene, whoever is there.
So actually Douglas Silas is miles more than just the man, he is a much wider picture and he would be the first person to say that because he always says that this is a team game, we are doing this together. So if you go to Douglas you don't get Douglas, you get the team Douglas Silas.
At IPSEA we have a very small paid staff and our real strength comes from our volunteers; we have currently over 161 volunteers nationally throughout the country supporting parents. Now they're not conventional volunteers, if anybody has ever dealt with IPSEA they know there is actually no conventionality at IPSEA, they usually say they are traditional volunteers but certainly none of them are conventional.
But we also have a number of special volunteers who I think make a real difference and I would like to count Douglas as one of those volunteers for us. You know he has been with us actively for at least the last ten years supporting us in many, many different ways. Really more actively, or more officially I should say, since we asked him to be our honorary legal advisor along with David Wolfe (I think it was in 2009, the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009) and really what we go to Douglas for is when we have something that's really too large, too complicated, too great or something we just need somebody else to throw ideas around and get some view on it, and how we are going to deal with that; because often we have to make sure that the child that's in the middle of that case is just not lost and they are not lost by the legal process and what's is going and what's central we need to do to help that parent.
You know those of you that know Douglas will actually know that it was actually quite a shrewd move for us to ask him to be our honorary legal advisor because, well why, we got a lot more than we bargained for. So yes we get our legal advice and we get our legal support and, in fact, we get a whole lot more than that, and remember that's the whole team not just Douglas. You know if we go to him and we ask for his advice and his thoughts on a case, he will never fail to come up with something that's unique or additional to what we were thinking about.
I think the one thing I want to say, more than anything, is that Douglas will look at a child holistically, which is a vision that a lot of us, especially people involved in decision making and have, you know, financial restraints hanging over them, fail to do or forget to do sometimes, but he will look at them, he will look at the situation facing them and their parents and his advice will always contain elements which, although obviously are legally based, actually look at the wider picture and make you see things from an angle that maybe you had forgotten to think about or are pretending to not think about.
So, really, you know this is something we didn't ask for but it's a huge asset to us at IPSEA and it's very valued, and we are very pleased that we asked Douglas and we are very proud of our association with him.
So to wrap up, because I know I'm getting near my five minutes Douglas, and I did promise I wouldn't say more than that. Thank you Douglas for all you do and that's not just for us at IPSEA and all the families we support, but also thank you for seeing the child in everything that you do, rather than seeing the law or the situation that's facing you. and I look forward to the next party in five years time really, lets move on to that! OK, done 5 minutes. Thank you."


text:
Now reading: Pattern Play: Pepperbush
Pattern Play: Pepperbush
When summer comes to mind what do you think of? For some it may be the sound of the ocean at the beach, for others it could be the feeling of the sun shining on your skin, but for many, it's the sweet smell of the pepperbush plant. Found blooming during the peak of summer, the pepperbush is an ornamental shrub with fragrant flowers. Also known as the summersweet plant, it is most often found in wetlands as borders or hedges and is favoured due to its low maintenence, attraction of pollinators, and beautiful variation in colour. With its blooming season fast approaching, we aim to depict this summer floral favourite through a distinctive pattern on our infamous Swim Trunk.
Scientifically recognized as the Clethra, the pepperbush has had enriched gardens throughout the world for decades. With a wide range of species, each pepperbush features an abundance of blossoms that can vary from white, pink, yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The most popular variety called Clethra alnifolia–featured in our pepperbush pattern–is native to Nova Scotia, Maine, Florida, and even Texas. The plant continues to not only be used for consumption, but also for decorative purposes.
In recent times, the pepperbush has played a significant role as a staple hedge and shrub in gardens and parks. Flowering from July to September and fruiting from September to October
While a sight to see during the hot days of summer, the colourful and flowering pepperbush has actually been labelled an endangered species in Canada since 2014. With its existence confined to a mere 6 lakes in Nova Scotia, the pepperbush's habitat has been unfortunately overrun by the construction of cottages, thereby preventing it from growing to its fullest potential or even growing at all. Not only that, but the endangerment of the pepperbush has also impacted the functions of bees and other pollinators that depend on it to get nectar. Bees play a vital role in maintaining the diversity of entire ecosystems through their unique relationship with flowering plants. As a result, if the pepperbush were to go extinct, it would definitely be disastrous for the ecosystems around Nova Scotia.
Our Pattern
Flowering from July to September and fruiting from September to October, the pepperbush continues to be used as decorative accents in gardens and parks. With peppers being some of our favourite fruits here at the Bather office, and though they have absolutely nothing to do with swimwear, we knew it was a great opportunity to commemorate this rich and vibrant food with our new Pepperbush pattern, coming in Chili, Habanero and Purple Beauty.
SS22 EDITORIAL
Pattern Play: Cloud


Case Findings: A 19-year-old young man presents with myalgias, fever, fatigue, and the rash shown here. He was recently camping in New York State. He was given a cephalosporin to treat presumed cellulitis, but his rash continues to worsen.
Lyme disease is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease resulting from infection with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The infection is transmitted by infected ticks of the genus lxodes. Mice and deer are the major animal reservoirs for these ticks. Contraction of Lyme disease typically requires the tick to attach and feed for 24-48 hours. Less than 24 hours should not be sufficient to contract Lyme disease. Three phases of Lyme disease include early localized disease, disseminated disease, and chronic disease. Find details of what to look for in each phase below.
To see more than 25 images of lyme disease with variations of disease, the differential diagnosis, management pearls and therapy options, sign into your VisualDx account.