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Contact us for any query
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History of Bhutan
Religion of Bhutan
Geography of Bhutan
Getting to Bhutan
Bhutan Visa and Tariff
When to Visit Bhutan
Hiking and Bike Riding
Kayaking and Rafting
Bhutan Cultural Tours
Bhutan Mystic Taste 7 days
Shangri-la Taste Tour 9 days
The Living Bhutan 15 days
The Perfect Tour 13 days
Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek
Druk path Trek
Dur Hot Spring Trek
Lunana Snowman Trek
Living Sky Astrology Retreat 2019
Artistic Retreat
Bhutan Village Tours
Bird Watching Tours
Home Stay Tours
Honeymoon Vacations
Wedding Tours
The Taste of Shangri-la tour package is an enjoyable way to experience Bhutan. The package covers western and central Bhutan. A visitor will have the chance to enjoy the beauty of Bhutan and its cultural and natural wealth.
Day 01: Kathmandu – Paro – Thimphu (Drive – 1 hr)
The flight into Bhutan takes you close to the great Himalayas, offering dazzling scenic views of some world's highest glacial peaks. As you enter Paro valley, you will sweep past forested hills with the silvery Pa Chu (Paro river) meandering down the valley below. Paro Dzong (fortress) and Ta Dzong (watchtower) on the hills above the town will be a fine sight. Our representative will meet you at Paro airport, and you will be transferred to Bhutan's capital, Thimphu, an exciting blend of tradition and modernity.
Overnight at the hotel in Thimphu.
Day 02: Thimphu Sightseeing
Today's full day sightseeing in Thimphu valley. Visit the National Library, which holds a vast collection of ancient Buddhist texts and manuscripts, some dating back several hundred years, as well as modern academic books mainly on Himalayan culture and religion;
Institute for Zorig Chusum (commonly known as Painting School) where students undertake a six-year course on the 13 traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan;
Textile and Folk Heritage Museum: These museums, both of which opened in 2001, provide fascinating insights into Bhutanese material culture and way of life.
National Memorial Chorten: The building of this landmark was envisaged by the third king, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, as a monument to world peace and prosperity. Completed in 1974 after his untimely death, it is both a memorial to the Late King ("the Father of modern Bhutan") and a monument to world peace. The paintings and statues inside the monument provide a deep insight into Buddhist philosophy.
Trashichhodzong: This impressive fortress/monastery houses Secretariat building, the throne room of His Majesty, the King and various government offices. It is also the summer residence of Chief Abbot and central monk body.
Handicrafts Emporium: This government-run enterprise displays a wide range of beautifully hand-woven textiles and craft products. It also carries a small collection of books on Bhutan, Buddhism and Himalayan culture.
Before sun set drive to Sangay gang view point (2685 meters) to have view of whole Thimphu valley and walk through hundreds of colorful prayer flags that dot the hill overlooking the Thimphu valley.
Day 03: Thimphu – Trongsa Drive (Drive – 6 hr)
After early breakfast, drive up to Dochu-la pass (3,088m/ 10,130 ft) stopping briefly here to take in the view and admire the chorten, mani wall, and prayer flags which decorate the highest point on the road. On a clear sky day the following peaks can be seen from this pass (left to right): Masagang (7,158m), Tsendagang (6,960m), Terigang (7,060m ), Jejegangphugang (7,158 m ), Kangphugang (7,170 m ), Zongphugang (7, 060 m ), a table mountain that dominates the isolated region of Lunana – finally Gangkar puensum, the highest peak in Bhutan at 7,497m.
Then continue onwards, reaching Wangduephodrang town in time for lunch. From Dochu-la pass, it is a long, winding descent into the Wangduephodrang valley, which is about 1,700m below the pass. Take lunch at Wangduephodrang town, then continue on to Trongsa across Pele-la pass (3,300m/10,830 ft), the traditional boundary between east and west. The pass is marked by a large white chorten prayer flags. There is an abrupt change in vegetation at this point, with mountain forest replaced by high altitude dwarf bamboo.
Stop en route at Chendbji Chorten, patterned on Kathmandu's Swayambhunath Stupa, with eyes panted at four cardinal points. It was built in the 18th century by Lama Shida from Tibet, to cover the remains of an evil spirit that was subdued at this spot.
Arrive at Trongsa late afternoon and check into the lodge for the night.
Day 04: Trongsa – Bumthang (Drive – 3 hrs)
After breakfast, visit Trongsa Dzong. Built in 1648 it was the seat of power over central and eastern Bhutan. Both the first and second Kings of Bhutan ruled the country from this ancient seat. All four Kings were invested as Trongsa Penlop ('governer') prior to ascending the throne, and the present Crown Prince now holds the post. The Dzong is a massive structure with many levels, sloping down the contours of the ridge on which it is built.
Then drive to Bumthang, 68 km from Trongsa, a journey of about 3 hours, over the Yutong-la pass (3,400m/ 11,155 ft). The road winds steeply up to the pass, 28 km from Trongsa, then runs down through coniferous forest into a wide, open cultivated valley known as the Chumey valley.
Check into hotel. Overnight at the lodge in Bumthang.
Day 05: Bumthang Sightseeing / Day Excursion to Ura valley
Bumthang is the general name given to combination of four valleys – Chumey, Choekhor, Tang and Ura with altitude varying from 2,600m to 4,000m. It is home to many of prominent Buddhist temples and monasteries.
Visit to Kurje Lhakhang, where the saint Padmasambhava subdued a local demon and left his body imprint on a rock., the Jambey Lhakhang (7th century temple), Tamshing Lhakhang (housing some of the oldest wall paintings in Bhutan) and Jakar Dzong (administrative center of the region). Stroll in the village, visit the little handicrafts shop at the entrance to the town, and perhaps take refreshments at a local restaurant.
OR drive to Mebartsho 'the flaming lake' in the Tang valley. This is where Pema Lingpa found the treasures hidden by Guru Rinpoche and thus became a terton, 'a discoverer or religious treasurer'. The Mebartsho is in fact, not a lake but a gorge through which the river rushes. It is great pilgrimage site, visitors launch small lighted lamps on the water. Images of Pema Lingpa and his two sons have been carved on the rock. It is worthwhile to visit the Ura village where there are about 40 closed built houses along cobblestone streets, giving the town a medieval feel. It is believed to have one of the earliest inhabitants of Bhutan.
Overnight at the lodge in Bumthang.
Day 06: Bumthang – Punakha (Drive – 7 hrs)
After breakfast, explore further the fascinating valley of Bumthang. Then proceed to Punakha. Lunch at Trongsa or take packed lunch.
Visit Wangduephodrang Dzong and town en route to Punakha, which we will reach late afternoon.
Overnight at the hotel in Punakha.
Day 07: Punakha – Paro (Drive – 4 hrs)
Morning visit Punakha Dzong, a massive structure built at the junction of two rivers. Punakha was Bhutan's capital until 1955, and Punakha Dzong still serves as the winter residence of the central monk body. Bhutan's first King, Ugyen Wangchuck, was crowned here in 1907. The fortress has withstood several damages from fire, earthquake and flood over the centuries. The latest flood, in October, 1994, caused great damages to the fortress but miraculously spared its most holy statue. Also visit Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, the newly built stupa.
After lunch, drive to Paro en route visit Simtokha Dzong. This dzong, built in 1627 is the oldest in Bhutan. It now houses the Institute for Language and CultureStudies.
Overnight at the hotel in Paro.
Day 08: Paro Sightseeing
Today's full day of sightseeing in Paro valley includes, visit to Ta Dzong, which in the past served as watchtower for Paro Dzong (Rinpung Dzong) and now houses the National Museum, and Paro Dzong (rinpung Dzong), built in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
hike up to the Taktsang monastery (Tiger's nest). The climb up to the view
point will take around three hours. Enjoy the stunning view of the monastery, where Guru Padmasambava landed on the back of a tiger in the 8th century, and mediated for three months. The monastery was later built in this holy place in 1684. After lunch in the café walk back to the road point.
Visit the Drukgyel Dzong, built in 1647 by the Shabdrung to commemorate the Bhutanese victory over the Tibetans in war of 1644. En route, we also visit Kyichu Lhakhang, built in the 7th century by the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo.
Day 09: Paro – Kathmandu
After an early breakfast in the hotel, drive to the airport for flight to onward destination.
Bhutan Schedule
Bhutan Festival Tentative Dates 2019
Flight Schedule – DrukAir
Flight Schedule – Bhutan Airlines
4 Easy Steps to Bhutan
Latest News of Bhutan
Incessant rainfall damages crops & infrastructures July 13, 2019
PGDE course extended to 18 months July 13, 2019
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Trial of Iranian terrorists should restrict Tehran's terror machine
News / Threats / Afghanistan ; Bahrain ; Belgium ; China ; Germany ; Iraq ; Saudi Arabia ; Syria ; United States ;
IRGC – Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Bonyad e-Mostazafan Foundation
Four terrorists of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be going on trial in Belgium on November 27. They are accused of plotting to set off explosives at a gathering of Iranian expatriates that was organized in June 2018 by a coalition of Iranian democratic opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
There is no serious doubt about the defendants' guilt, especially given that the plot's mastermind, Assadollah Assadi, threatened further terrorism in the event that he was not acquitted or otherwise released from custody.
Friday's trial must result in substantial prison time for all those who were directly involved in the plot. But these cannot be the only consequences, and the four defendants cannot be the only ones who are held accountable.
The 2018 terror plot is only one symptom of a much larger sickness that can only be cured by the removal of Iran's theocratic dictatorship. That cure is something that the Iranian people are working on, as evidenced by the circumstances underlying Tehran's decision to target the "Free Iran" rally.
But in the meantime, the international community can alleviate the symptoms by isolating their cause to the greatest extent possible, through economic and diplomatic pressures.
The June 2018 rally, which took place just outside Paris, was part of an annual tradition dating back to the early 2000s. But as far as is known, that year's gathering was the only one to be directly targeted by Iranian terrorists.
To some extent, this may have been a reaction to the event's ongoing growth. In recent years, attendance has been estimated at around 100,000, including hundreds of dignitaries representing foreign policy, scholarship, and intelligence circles in the United States, Europe, and much of the world.
But what specifically set the 2018 rally apart from its predecessors was the fact that it took place while the Islamic Republic was still reeling from a virtually unprecedented nationwide protest.
That movement emerged in the final days of 2017 and continued through much of January 2018 while its initial economic focus transformed into chants of "death to the dictator" and explicit calls for regime change.
The dictator himself, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, blamed that message on the organizing efforts of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI), thereby breaking with decades of propaganda that portrayed the group as too small and cult-like to pose a real challenge to the ayatollahs' hold on power.
That propaganda was further undermined in subsequent months as the pro-democracy activist community promoted a loosely-connected series of follow-up protests in response to the NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi's call of a "year full of uprisings."
The recurring unrest compounded the regime's anxiety by demonstrating that the thousands of arrests and dozens of killings it had carried out since last November were insufficient to silence the public's demands.
This anxiety quickly prompted the regime's highest authorities to approve of plans for an attack on the MEK's foreign base of support, including Mrs. Rajavi herself. In her capacity as the NCRI President-elect, Mrs. Rajavi delivered the keynote speech at the June 2018 rally, and she sat throughout the event in the company of foreign dignitaries and other NCRI officials.
Investigations leading up to Friday's trial confirm that Mrs. Rajavi was the primary target of the Paris terror plot. Belgian and French authorities also separately confirmed that the efforts to implement that plot had gone forward with the full knowledge and approval of the regime's highest authorities.
Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani apparently signed off on its in hopes that Assadi's role would not be exposed, but also on the understanding that if it was, it would pose a unique threat to Tehran's relationships in the Western world.
However, Iranian officials may also have determined that that risk was worth taking, firstly because success could mean disrupting the Resistance movement for years to come, and secondly because Western powers have rarely been assertive in their dealings with the Islamic Republic.
If this latter point was part of the Iranians' decision-making, it has only been further justified by international reactions up to this point. Yes, Assadi and his co-conspirators are likely to face punishment, but the trial should be addressed the larger issue of the plot having originated at the top of the regime.
This is a particularly egregious oversight in view of the fact that relevant recommendations have been offered by a number of individuals and groups that were at risk of being affected by the 2018 plot, and may yet be affected by the larger phenomenon of Iranian terrorism. Some of these recommendations have been offered alongside evidence to be used in Friday's trial.
Various Western nationals who were present at the Free Iran rally have provided affidavits to the Belgian court. In one of these, Robert Joseph, a former official in the U.S. State Department, offered a word of warning to anyone who may have a role in determining the penalties for the attempted bombing. "If the leaders of free societies fail to hold the perpetrators responsible, we will only encourage more attacks and be complicit in them," he said.
He, like many fellow supporters of the NCRI, understands "the perpetrators" to be an entire body of Iranian lawmakers and officials, whose interests and malign objectives are represented to the world by terrorist agents operating in the guise of diplomats and other professionals.
While planning the bombing of the Free Iran rally, Assadollah Assadi was also serving as the third counselor in the Iranian embassy in Vienna. Following his arrest in Germany, Tehran made every effort to block his extradition, even suggesting that his Austrian diplomatic immunity meant he could not be subject to arrest anywhere in the European Union.
Fortunately, such arguments fell on deaf ears, and there doesn't seem to be much chance of Assadi himself escaping justice. But the value of his punishment is limited if it does not lead to broader changes that might prevent other terrorist operatives from taking his place and continuing to facilitate terrorism either directly or through any of the regime's numerous proxies.
The simplest way of preventing these activities is by closing Iranian embassies in their entirety. While some Western policymakers are sure to regard that as an extreme measure, it is well and truly justified by the fact that the regime has plainly revealed its willingness to use those embassies at the staging ground for mass murder, and specifically for the assassination of democratic activists and Western lawmakers.
We now have a clear sense of the 2018 terror plot's potential impact. The 500 grams of TATP explosive that Assadi provided to his operatives were capable of killing hundreds of people with its initial shockwave, to say nothing of those who might have been killed by the ensuing panic.
It is right to punish terrorists on the basis of a potential death toll, and it is also right to recognize that that potential still exists in other places, under other circumstances. If the international community addresses the potential attack in Paris, it cannot turn a blind eye to the potential attacks that loom in every place where Tehran has extended its reach.
Source » iranfocus
Trial of an Iranian diplomat in Belgium for State-Sponsored terrorism
World powers must address the nexus of Iran's terrorism and diplomacy
Twelve dead after attack on camp by Iran-backed terror groups
November 21, 2019 ifmat ifmat 0
Iran builds new 'intel ship' dubbed Shiraz
December 13, 2021 ifmat ifmat 0
The West needs to change its policy toward Iran's murderous regime
July 16, 2021 ifmat ifmat 0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home Art of writing Color or colour: What's your style?
I've been thinking about style this week because I'm working on copy for a European audience, written in U.K. English. Sometimes I feel I should be munching on fish and chips as I write such words as analyse and organise.
I consider myself fortunate when it comes to switching from one English style to another because I grew up in New York City and have lived in the Toronto area for the last 20-odd years. I can easily don my Canadian persona and write honour and colour. When U.S. clients hire me, it's honor and color all the way.
Still, style comprises more than spelling. That's why professional writers often rely on style guides to help them choose the proper spelling and usage. For instance, which is correct: worldwide, world-wide, or world wide? Well, they are all "right," depending on whether you're following the style of Associated Press (AP), CP (Canadian Press), the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, or some other authority.
In my writing workshops, participants take one look at my stack of style guides and groan, "But which one should we use?" I answer that it depends on their audience. Let's face it: U.S. readers often look askance at British or Canadian spelling. If your readers are all Canadian or Scottish or Australian, you can safely use local style.
In addition to a purchased style guide, you may need to develop a "house style" for those situations not covered in a guide, or where your organization differs from the guide's rules and regs. For example, do you capitalize job titles or names of departments within the company? Do you use employees' formal names (Margaret A. Jones), or can you use nicknames (Maggie)? Do you italicize product names? Do you always include trademark information?


Gosho Park is easy to navigate and has a number of signs at various locations. Many visitors prefer to park their vehicles at the Bush Camp or Hikers Hut and follow one of the clearly marked footpaths. This map of the park will help you find your way around.


I recently returned from the IECA tour of Arizona colleges and universities and had a chance to dig into the academics and environment of several choices popular with Seattle students. Touring colleges with a group of experienced counselors means that in addition to hearing from the admissions office, knowledge is compounded with anecdotes from counselors whose students have matriculated. This insight is what makes touring colleges with professionals so great. Following the tours, the conference kicked off in Scottsdale, and I have highlighted information from a key session in another post.
As a leader for the tours on the first day, I had the fun job of working directly with the admissions representatives to help make the day run smoothly for the counselors and our hospitable hosts. Our first stop was the University of Northern Arizona, located in Flagstaff, an outdoorsy town high in the mountains and pine trees at about elevation 7,000. The town has fun restaurants and activities, and residents welcome students with open arms. Flagstaff is a "Dark Sky", with several observatories located nearby and light pollution minimal, allowing for beautiful night skies. Flagstaff is a place with both sun and snow, nearby mountains, the Grand Canyon and unlimited outdoor activities all within reach.
With just 18,599 undergraduates, and few graduate students, academic life is focused on the undergraduate. At NAU, living/learning communities are available for those taking similar courses and sharing interests. With seven separate colleges, students can select from a variety of majors. A top program lives at the College of Education, with students starting freshman year in classrooms. One student shared her story of initially being interested in teaching, and then discovering early freshmen year that this wasn't a good fit for her, then switching to another area of interest. This is another example of why internships and early exploration in the field can help students find what they don't like as much as what they do, both valuable lessons early in a student's career.
NAU is part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and all students applying within the deadline and accepted will be offered this scholarship, which is 1.5 times in-state tuition. Families can explore this scholarship and others here. In addition, housing and food costs are relatively low in Flagstaff and the cost of attendance with scholarships can be very reasonable.
Then it was off to Embry Riddle, a university focused on all things aeronautical, with additional majors in the areas of global security, space physics and intelligence. Last November, we toured Embry-Riddle's campus in Daytona, Florida, providing a good comparison of programs. While the student body is not as large in Arizona, different programs are offered here, and each campus has students from all 50 states and abroad.
Our program began with lunch and a presentation by the chancellor, who lives on campus and engages with students at a high level. Faculty engagement is key here, with a large parent organization helping connect families and ensuring student success. Learning at Embry-Riddle is very hands-on, students are collaborative, and teamwork is key. The goal is to continue to expand the student body, with the number of graduates increasing 25% already from 2006 to 2265 undergraduates.
Forty-two percent of students study engineering, and one third of students attend flight school on campus, and graduates may teach their fifth year and gain their hours for a commercial rating. The faculty at Embry-Riddle has spent an average of twenty years in the field before teaching, with over 80% coming from outside academia. Students benefit from their direct industry, agency and field experience.
Our last stop of the day was Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona. At this small, liberal arts college, interdisciplinary learning is both self-directed and experiential. During the first twenty days, student back pack in the Grand Canyon and bond with faculty and students. Prescott was founded during the 1960's environmental movement, and students are encouraged to make connections and find their passion. Freshmen are required to live on campus in their living-learning communities and the residence halls are designed to encourage a sense of community. Small classes are the norm at Prescott, with ten to twelve students. Students don't receive grades unless they request them.
The next day started with a visit to the University of Arizona in Tucson. The University of Arizona admissions staff prides itself in connecting with applicants through their call center, guaranteeing that a student will answer at admissions to help answer questions. The main campus is surprisingly contained in just one square mile, with a distinctive campus feel and all activities centered on campus. The campus is bicycle-friendly and students were heading to class on foot as well, enjoying the sunny weather and playing Frisbee on the lawns.
The University of Arizona is a land-grant university, with a veterinary school opening next year. Top programs in anthropology, fashion merchandising and astronomy are just of few of the majors offered at this university of 33,000 undergraduates. While the student body is large, all freshmen math classes are capped at 35, encouraging engagement and success.
The University of Arizona is test-optional, with the exception of admissions to the Honors College or engineering, and if students want to be eligible for scholarships. Students applying to the University of Arizona are not required to write an essay, but the admissions office explained that this can help them understand more about a student through the process. The Honors College students are fully integrated into campus, with average class sizes of 25 and a focus on critical thinking.
The University of Arizona is the only university in the country to offer an undergraduate law major with direct transition to law school. The dance program is one of the top five in the country, and is the most competitive major to get into with auditions required. Architecture is a five-year program, resulting in a license to practice. Engineering majors abound with 13 majors including aerospace. Research can begin in any major freshmen year if students choose to take advantage of this. An interesting offering on their website is a matching of a student's personality type with degree, an innovative approach to helping students connect at a deeper level with programs at which they will thrive.
The SALT Program at the University of Arizona is known nationwide as one of the best programs in the country for students with learning disabilities. Dr. Rudy Molina, the Director of the SALT Program, spoke to us about his personal experience with his own learning disability and his passion for the program at the University of Arizona. The program is staffed with thirty professionals and 600 students a year participate. Students admitted to the program make a two-semester commitment. Twelve learning specialists meet with fifty students each, and make it their goal to understand each student's needs, track them, develop learning strategies for success, and support self-advocacy. Students learn how to talk about their needs and develop strategies for time management while in the program.
Students apply first to the University of Arizona and then to the SALT program separately, providing documentation of their learning disability. Students are encouraged to apply early in the process in the fall, and I always recommend visiting the SALT Program during a tour of campus. While students pay an additional fee per semester for the program, there is a growing endowment for scholarships and it can make the difference in a student's success in college. We heard from a student in the program who initially was undecided in his major and felt incapable of learning math, who is now an electrical engineering major succeeding in an area that previously would have been unimaginable to him. The SALT Program is expanding their current building.
If students are experiencing social issues, psychology interns provide support in addition to campus counseling. One on one and small group tutoring can help students succeed as tutors have knowledge of specific courses, encouraging skill development for the process of learning, not just the answer. No scores are required for scholarships to SALT, but a commitment to success and the program are evaluated. Submitting the optional essay is very helpful for students with learning disabilities and students are encouraged to explain their issues. The program has an 81.2 % retention rate.
Study abroad is popular and students can participate in the National Student Exchange and study one semester at University of Arizona rates.
ASU is the largest public university in the United States, with 300 degree programs and 40% of students from out of state. We participated in an interesting demonstration of their unique E-advisor system which tracks student progress and helps identify students who are struggling. Students are audited three times per semester and must meet with an advisor if they are off track. If students remain off track for two semesters with their major courses and graduation requirements, they are asked to move on and transition to another major.
ASU has four campuses, and specific majors are housed a different majors, so students are encouraged to research these options before applying. The WUE program includes majors at the nearby Polytechnic Campus. Students interested in WUE must participate in programs at the downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic and West Campuses, and are not available at the main Tempe campus. All campuses include housing and encourage a sense of community. All freshmen must live on a campus based on their major or college, and even if a student is undecided, they need to specify a general interest for housing purposes. The only portfolio admit is art, and all other majors are open.
An interesting search tool with occupational salaries, and careers in different majors is available online. The Me3 app is a unique tool developed by ASU to help students drill down to majors that might be a good fit for a particular student's skills and interests. Tutoring is free to all freshmen. Applications for admission open in July and take thirty minutes or less to complete. Merit aid is available out of state for specific GPA and test scores, and can be re-evaluated with additional higher test scores received after admissions. For more competitive programs, ASU has higher admissions requirements and students can perform a degree search to learn more.
The Barrett Honors College program is offered on all campuses and reaches 6000 students. The website offers more detail but the average scores for admissions are a 1300 SAT (critical reading and math only), a 29 ACT and an unweighted 3.8 GPA. The application review is holistic and students must submit two recommendations, an essay and a list of activities. Admission is on a more traditional deadline, not the general ASU rolling process. ASU Barrett offers lots of different ways to get honors courses, and students must complete 36 credits, a thesis or project, an internship, research and study abroad. Honors students can choose housing at the Barrett Apartments and the students we heard from enjoy both engagement in overall campus activities and connections with their fellow Barrett students in their housing and/or courses. Students can also apply to Barrett after their first or second year at ASU.


Help Heal Veterans (HEAL VETS) provides therapeutic arts and crafts kits to veterans. A variety of products and services are given, free of charge, to hospitalized, homebound, nursing home and ambulatory veterans. Over 29 million craft kits have been delivered to date. HEAL VETS is strictly donor supported and neither seeks nor receives government funding.
Is our facility eligible to receive crafts?
Are donations to HEAL VETS tax deductible?
Why does HEAL VETS seem to have more than one address?
Can I assist the Help Heal Veterans mission, even if I'm unable to make a donation?
How much of my donation goes towards the program's services, i.e. the veterans?
I'm a veteran; may I receive craft kits from Help Heal Veterans directly?
How many facilities has Help Heal Veterans shipped to?
If your facility provides services to veterans, you may qualify to receive HEAL VETS arts and crafts kits. To apply online, click here. Once your application is received and reviewed, a HEAL VETS staff member will contact you.
HEAL VETS is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes as allowed by law.
The HEAL VETS headquarters is in Winchester, California. All craft kits are distributed from this location, with many kits produced here as well. Donations are directed to post office boxes in Washington D.C. (P.O. Box 98088), Hagerstown Maryland (P.O. Box 5025), and Topeka Kansas (P.O. Box 758505) for more expedited processing.
Absolutely! There are several ways to help our veterans. Check out our Giving page for some outlets that HEAL VETS offers.
The answer to this question can be found within the HEAL VETS financials. You may view the latest by clicking here.
Yes! Eligible veterans may register through The HEAL VETS Patient Home Rehabilitation program to receive kits at home. Click here to find out if you or someone you know qualifies.


Who can qualify in Utah for a sales tax exemption on utilities?
A Utah manufacturer or an industrial processor can qualify for a sales tax exemption on utilities. If the predominate usage requirements are met, purchases of electric, natural gas, and/or water will be tax exempt. Upon exemption approval, the sales tax will be removed from the respective utility bill. The predominate usage study is described in more detail below.
How can one obtain the sales tax exemption on utilities in Utah?
A Utah company must file the special utility sales tax exemption form TC 721 with the utility company. When the certificate and study are approved, the utility company will mark the meter exempt and no sales tax will be charged.
No. Utah doesn't require that a professional perform the utility study; however typically the utility study is completed and certified by a professional. Since the exemption relies on the utility study to determine exemption qualification, a proper study is required.
In Utah a predominate usage study is required and must accompany the utility sales tax exemption certificate for it to be valid and approved. Predominate usage requires that more than 50% of the consumption of any electric, gas, or water meter is used for direct production of tangible personal property.
The predominate usage study must list every piece of equipment and appliance that uses the utility in production, and the individual annual consumption must be listed for each one. In addition, every appliance or device that uses the utility but is classified as non-production must be listed also, along with the individual annual consumption. It is from this study the determination is made whether or not the requirement is met, and therefore deemed taxable or exempt.
What is the scope of work of a professional providing the Utility sales tax exemption work in Utah?
Predominate Usage Study: The study is completed by On Your Mark. Qualified engineers are on staff. On Your Mark charges no fees for the study and evaluation. When the savings is approved, then On Your Mark bills for its share of agreed savings.
Claim for refund for sales tax paid on exempt meter. If a refund is available in prior years for sales tax paid on a meter later deemed exempt, On Your Mark will file the refund claim. The period may be as great as 236 months.
Minimize time and frustration: Completing the study is time consuming and laborious. Most companies choose to avoid the wasted time and frustration to contract with a professional. The accuracy of study is important to get approval, and to avoid liability by the person certifying the study..
Risk-free Method to Obtain the Utility Sales Tax Exemption – in the shortest amount of time: On Your Mark does not charge for the predominate usage evaluation or its evaluation.When savings are approved, then On Your Mark charges a fee for the agreed upon share of the savings. On Your Mark typically has the Texas Sales Tax Exemption Certificate on Utilities filed within 30 days.


Matte Velvet Kind. It will looks a little darker if you use lip brush than your hands. so Lip brush is strongly recommended. 's better to use the lip balm or based lip items before putting it on your lip. Oil food would make it fade a little,so you might need to avoid french fries when wearing this lip gloss.
It's Waterproof, and would Not stick on Cup. 's better to use the lip balm or based lip items before putting it on your lip. it's better to use the lip balm or based lip items before putting it on your lip It will have good effect if you apply a very thin layer..


Licensed College Jewelry!! Lead & Nickel Free Sterling Silver Plated Lobster Clasp Necklace Suspends A Heart With The Appalachian State University "Mountaineers" Mascot.
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text:
Steve Stone (kääntäjä)
Inkeri Kilpinen (kirjailija)
As a particularly clear-headed and independent woman, forty-year-old Nora has remained single throughout her life. So far, her love affair with her career has kept her from being interested in establishing a family, and her attachment to her just recently deceased mother has also kept many suitors at bay. But now, during one of her business trips, Nora suddenly meets a man who awakens this forgotten longing and releases the teenager within her who never before had the chance to properly fall in love, head over heels. There is just one major problem, namely that the man is already married. And his wife is not only a total opposite of Nora, but also turns out to be Nora's former school friend from twenty years ago. She is now a devoted housewife, whose life revolves around decorating the home and looking after their children -- so much so that she has driven even her husband to total boredom with her daily chores. After meeting the sharp, business oriented Nora, and still oblivious to the the affair with her husband, the wife herself realises the repetitive dullness of her life and begins to open up to Nora about her needs, hopes and desires, as well as her wish to save her marriage. Once the initial romantic feelings between Nora and the husband begin to quiet down, Nora is faced with a serious problem. On the one hand, she is taken over by her newly found need for love, affection, a family and a child. On the other hand, there is her honour to consider -- how could she take away from her school friend the only safeguard that she has in this world? Meanwhile, the man battles with similar questions. How could he leave his uneducated wife alone with their two young sons? Yet, it would at this point be equally difficult to leave Nora. The result is a stalemate in which everyone wants what the others have. In the end, it is the man who resolves the situation, realising that he has been living in a fantasy, and that he needs to leave in order to find out who he really is. The ending cleverly mirrors and updates that of Ibsen's A Doll's House, whose protagonist also shares her name with Kilpinen's Nora.


The 'Cunningsburgh Show' event is one of many events listed. View all events.
The Cunningsburgh Show is organised by the Cunningsburgh & Districts Agricultural Society and is the largest agricultural show held on Shetland. The show takes place every year on the second Wednesday of August.
We are very fortunate to be supported by a team of dedicated volunteers, local businesses, visiting businesses and members of the public, without whom, none of this would be possible.


On August 4, I posted my translation of Cuban intellectual Esteban Morales' response to the explosive intervention by the 37-year-old Granma deputy editor, Karina Marron, at a meeting of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC) on June 28. I then translated Marron's leaked intervention itself, followed by a blog post by Granma's young international editor, Sergio Alejandro Gomez, on 'The troubled relationship between journalism and politics in Cuba'. This served to introduce another rising star of Cuban journalism and to contextualise Marron's remarks.
Much has transpired since then. In this long-overdue post and its sequel I'll try to summarise this whole episode to date and comment on its significance for Cuba's socialist renewal. The course of events since the June 28 UPEC plenum has generated a wealth of translation-worthy material, a selection of which I hope to share with readers over the coming weeks. This post and that which will follow are an extended preface to the next raft of translations.
On June 28, 37-year-old Karina Marron, the deputy editor of Granma, the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) daily, made some candid remarks at a closed-door meeting of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC). The Cuban media reported on the event, but airbrushed out of their coverage Marron's more incendiary and newsworthy comments. That selectivity was a case of either actual censorship or self-censorship on the part of Cuban journalists and editors.
The story might have ended there had a Cuban journalist from Radio Holguin, Jose Ramirez Pantoja, withdrawn his index finger as he hesitated before clicking 'Enter' to upload his transcript of Marron's comments onto his personal blog. That hovering finger was like the proverbial butterfly in the Amazon: it triggered a storm in Cuban cyberspace with real-world repercussions.
What did Marron say that set the cat among the pigeons? She spoke about the dire state of Cuban journalism: the difficulty of retaining young journalists repelled by Cuba's propagandistic mass media and by pitiful salaries (a wider problem), bureaucratic controls (e.g. the recent prohibition on journalists freelancing for 'independent' Cuban or foreign media organisations to make ends meet) and UPEC's own powerlessness. Congress after UPEC congress we've been saying the same things, yet nothing changes; we cannot repeat this cycle of impotence and inertia, she warned.
The PCC and the press itself had been turning a blind eye to the real problems and viewing things in isolation, she added. There may indeed be a concerted effort to bring about a rift between the PCC and the press. But "as long as we, the Party and the press, continue to look elsewhere rather than where our real problems lie, while we continue viewing things in isolation rather than as a whole, we'll never resolve the problems we've been discussing for years."
That devastating critique alone would have aroused well-honed instincts of self-censorship, and thus self-preservation, among Cuban journalists—to say nothing of the ire and alarm it must have aroused among the actual censors, i.e. the PCC Central Committee Ideological Department functionaries who set the limits on what can be written and said in the Cuban mass media.
Yet Marron went further, suggesting the existence of a concerted effort by young Granma journalists to change things at the paper, to keep piloting "the yacht"—a figurative allusion, it seems, to the yacht Granma in which Fidel Castro and his comrades sailed from Mexico to Cuba to launch the revolutionary war against Batista, the yacht after which the paper is named. Marron's comments were thus charged with youthful revolutionary defiance, the spirit that Esteban Morales applauded.
But Marron's most explosive comments were not these. Elsewhere in her remarks, she violated a taboo not only of Cuban journalism but of the Cuban Communist Party itself: public criticism of Raul Castro (and before him, Fidel). Referring to Cuba's difficult economic conjuncture, with Venezuela sending less oil, she warned: "A perfect storm is brewing". But unlike in 1994, when Fidel's powers of persuasion and personal intervention defused protests that broke out in Havana, "so far there hasn't been a figure in this country that faces the people to explain things to them as they're happening".
Whether or not she intended it, this could easily be interpreted as a criticism of Raul Castro's rather different leadership style. Unlike Fidel, Raul prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. Raul did address the economic situation in his mid-year report to the National Assembly in June (dismissing any comparisons to the early 1990s, the harshest years of Cuba's post-Soviet 'Special Period').
But Fidel's withdrawal from public life has left an informational void. Gone is that ubiquitous presence; those frequent, hours-long televised speeches Cubans were accustomed to in which Fidel informed, criticised, explained, persuaded. While many Cubans might appreciate Raul's brevity and bluntness—and his disinterest in dominating the airwaves—that void has not been filled. The role of Cuba's pro-Revolution media assumes particular importance in this context.
Marron's comments were explosive not only because of what she said, but because of who she is. As the deputy editor of Granma, Marron is next in line to take over the paper's editorship. That's a position of great responsibility and influence; and it will become even more important if her side of the struggle over the role and character of the Cuban press prevails. If the heavy hand of the PCC's Ideological Department is lifted, then Granma's editorial team will have more discretion to decide what is and isn't fit to print, and thus to shape public opinion.
Such a devolution of powers over the press (and by extension, Cuban TV and radio) from the PCC's Ideological Department towards the editors and the journalists themselves, would be a significant power shift in Cuban society. Some fear it. Others are clamouring for it. Both the defenders of the status quo and those who challenge it understand that the stakes are high. This is no mere difference of opinion among comrades, but a protracted and largely subterranean arm-wrestle that burst into the open when Marron's remarks went viral.
The prevailing Cuban press model is ever-more crisis-ridden. That's due to several converging factors, among them Fidel's withdrawal from public life; online connectivity and the rise of the Cuban blogosphere; low salaries and the inducement of the 'independent' media; the social differentiation and class polarisation taking place as the state promotes self-employment, small and mid-sized private businesses, cooperatives and foreign investment as complements to the dominant state sector, while the press remains that of a relatively homogeneous society; and a wider crisis of the prevailing Cuban socialist model as a whole, which embodies—among other things—decades of misguided revolutionary utopianism and the malign influence of Soviet Stalinism.
The crisis of the press in Cuba is bound up, then, with the crisis of the prevailing Cuban socialist model; and the revitalisation of Cuba's pro-socialist mass media is bound up with the wider struggle for Cuba's socialist renewal. In this light, the present struggle over the Cuban press is an advanced front in that wider struggle. As Javier Gomez Sanchez, a contributor to the pro-Revolution Cuban youth website La Joven Cuba (see below) put it: "This is the Gramscian moment that we Cubans have arrived at, in which there are things that are dying but not yet dead, and there are others that are being born but their birth is incomplete.
... The issue of the media has been perhaps the first of national scope that has reached the most critical stage of this process. All or nearly all of us are convinced that the media cannot continue to be run in revolutionary Cuba in the way it has been up to now. The journalists know it, the public knows it, we socialists know it, the counter-revolution knows it and the PCC knows it.
The struggle over the role and character of the Cuban press pits against each other two different conceptions of the relationship between the press and Cuba's highly concentrated political power. To Granma international editor Sergio Alejandro Gomez (see my previous post), according to the prevailing, 'dogmatic' conception, that relationship should be one of rigid subordination of journalism to political power. In the 'anti-dogmatic' conception, by contrast, that relationship would be subject to negotiation and a striving for consensus. This is the alternative vision that "needs to be empowered", he argues.
In January, veteran Cuban journalist and columnist Luis Sexto—a recipient of Cuba's most prestigious journalism award in 2009 for his lifetime contribution to the profession—lamented Cuba's "propagandistic journalism, incapable of creating and resolving conflicts" and the "dull and uncritical character of the Cuban press." If journalists "only write to defend the stance of the paper, or those behind it, [then] journalism has no purpose", Sexto added. He concluded: "the press cannot be a window through which enemy influences penetrate society, but neither can it serve our own self-deception".
If both the dogmatic and anti-dogmatic conceptions of the press contrasted by Granma's international editor are widely held in Cuban society as a whole, and tend to align with wider 'conservative' and renovationist currents of socialist thought and action, does this conceptual polarisation extend all the way to the top leadership of the PCC? Probably. But the PCC leadership's practice of thrashing out its differences behind closed doors then presenting a united front to society—which does make it harder for the Revolution's enemies to exploit differences of opinion at the top—makes it difficult to say without insider knowledge.
Perhaps there's a consensus at the highest levels on the need to empower the anti-dogmatic conception and the barriers exist at other levels of the PCC; perhaps not. What's clear is Raul Castro's orientations to the press, and thus the majority, if not the consensus, view of the PCC leadership. In his report to the 6th PCC Congress in 2011, Raul chastised the press for being, not infrequently, "boring, improvised and superficial" and called on the media to "leave behind, once and for all, the habit of triumphalism, stridency and formalism". This was withering criticism. But whether the PCC leadership agree on a devolution of powers towards the editors and journalists, and a relationship between the press and the party apparatus based on negotiation rather than subordination, is another question. Time will tell.
Within days of its publication (and hasty withdrawal) on Pantoja's personal blog, Marron's incendiary intervention went viral across Cuba's emerging cybersphere (and internationally). That virality had immediate repercussions. Within days Pantoja, 39, was sacked by his radio station. We'll come back to this dismissal later. In the Cuban cybersphere, public opinion quickly polarised, initially in response to the leaked transcript and then in response to the sacking of Pantoja.
A fierce debate erupted online. Key protagonists quickly emerged on both sides, each drawing in their wake legions of below-the-post commentators who created lengthy discussion threads. On the blog of Silvio Rodriguez (see below) one such thread has clocked up more than 250 comments. It's hard to gauge the full extent of this online controversy, but its nodes seem to be a handful of Cuban websites and blogs—spanning the pro-Revolution ideological spectrum—that each have relatively large readerships. Some of these nodes are the personal blogs of key protagonists. Others are online publications, such as the pro-government Cubadebate website.
One node is the blog of prolific Cuban blogger Iroel Sanchez. A former president of the Cuban Book Institute, Sanchez is a vociferous defender of the status quo, i.e. of Cuban socialist orthodoxy. His political line adheres closely to that of the government. Rather than seeking to push the boundaries of change in some desired direction (as does Esteban Morales for example), Sanchez tends to advocate only those changes in Cuban society that have become PCC policy. He is thus in the rearguard at best, rather than the vanguard, of 'changing everything that must be changed', as Fidel defined revolution in his May Day 2000 speech.
Another node of the online debate is the blog of Uruguayan-born former BBC journalist Fernando Ravsberg. Unlike most foreign journalists posted to Cuba, Ravsberg is intimately familiar with Cuban society. Married to a Cuban, he has lived in Cuba since the early 1990s and considers it home. His bilingual Cartas desde Cuba (Letters from Cuba), a mix of commentaries and interviews, occupy a niche for uncompromising journalism that the Cuban press has all but vacated. Consequently, his Cartas have a sizeable and avid Cuban readership.
Ravsberg left the BBC in 2014 because, according to him, the broadcaster edited out his observation that the US had just criticised Cuba for human rights violations yet didn't mention that the largest concentration of political prisoners on the Cuban archipelago is in the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Ravsberg is no Marxist revolutionary, but neither is he a counter-revolutionary (as some of his detractors label him). Rather, he is a liberal leftist who harbours no prejudice, it seems, towards non-dogmatic Marxism—judging by his occasional appeals to the Marxist authority of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Che Guevara and Vladimir Lenin to make his point. The real problem with Ravsberg seems to be that his brand of journalism is anathema to those schooled in the propagandistic style; and that he's not Cuban, and therefore suspect. (An admirer of Ravsberg has pointed out that Che Guevara wasn't Cuban either, but Argentinean).
Another debate node is the blog of legendary Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, who makes no secret of his desire for a more transparent, pluralistic and participatory socialist model. Rodriguez is politically outspoken, but his prestige both within and outside Cuba make him almost untouchable. Were he to be demonised for his unorthodox views, when those views resonate with millions of Cubans, the demonisers would merely discredit themselves. That's prestige in the same league as that of the Cuban Five, or the late Alfredo Guevara, another outspoken critic from within the Revolution. Rodriguez's blog has hosted some of the richest veins of the online controversy, and Rodriguez himself has made numerous pithy interventions, some of which I'll share with readers.
Yet another key debate platform is the website La Joven Cuba (Young Cuba), an initiative of two Communist Youth activists from the University of Matanzas in central Cuba, Haroldo Cardenas and Roberto Peralo. LJC is pro-Revolution but critical, irreverent and unorthodox. It went offline for a few months in 2013 after the University of Matanzas closed the site's internet account, citing 'ideological problems'. It resurfaced thanks to the personal intervention, it seems, of none other than Raul Castro's designated successor, first vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel. The photo of a smiling Diaz-Canel flanked by LJC activists, beneath portraits of Fidel Castro and Raul Castro, is telling.
The online debate has spilled over into the Cuban press itself, but cryptically and tangentially. For example, the Communist Youth daily Juventud Rebelde reported on September 3 that Diaz-Canel had met with the paper's staff, who spoke of the need to "eliminate certain institutional hindrances", but the report did not elaborate. The Cuban mass media has been studiously silent on the three things that precipitated the online debate: the leaking of Marron's UPEC intervention; the content of her most newsworthy remarks; and Pantoja's dismissal.
Cuban journalists couldn't or wouldn't report on the dismissal of an experienced, decorated fellow journalist for publishing on his own blog what the deputy editor of Granma said at a meeting of his own professional association—and theirs—at which the Cuban media were officially present, and at which Pantoja represented his work collective. It was Ravsberg who broke the news of Pantoja's dismissal by allowing Pantoja to tell his side of the story in an interview that first appeared on Ravsberg's blog, followed by an English translation.
 See my master's thesis, Statist Utopianism and the Cuban Socialist Transition. There's a brief discussion of the Cuban press on page 78.


With its borrowed shape and an outrageously high price tag, the new Citizen Signature Grand Touring Automatic leaves, um, a very strange taste in your mouth. Although the Japanese brand's desire to make some money on an easily recognizable design of a watch that many lust for, but only a few can actually afford is somewhat understandable, it is really a shame to see this sort of trick played by such a respectable manufacturer.
To be frank, I am experiencing a very unpleasant feat of cognitive dissonance right now. Although I respect the Japanese brand for the millions of inexpensive, yet high-quality watches that it makes opening the world of horology to literally millions of people who would otherwise have to make do with a lot less impressive plastic garbage from you-know-who, I can't help but giggle hysterically just looking at this object. Probably made to support their push into the segment of entry-premium watches, the new Citizen Signature Grand Touring self-winding timekeeper looks more like a bastardized version of a Panerai, rather than a halo model that an enthusiast would pay around $1000 to lay his hands upon it.
I agree that it is really difficult to make an original-looking watch in a niche where just about any cushion-shaped timekeeper is constantly referenced to one of Panerai models. However, in this particular case the Japanese watchmaking brand looks like they didn't even try to make something original.
On the contrary, the Signature Grand Touring looks like the main idea behind it was creating gadget that would look as close to a Panerai without inflicting any copyright charges from the Italian brand.
I am not just talking about main proportions. Look, for example, at the crown guards: although Citizen's lawyers can always argue that the guards serve a certain function of protecting the setting crown from all sorts of shocks, it is clear that their main function is to look like the patented crown lock system that was designed by Panerai and used for years in their Luminor series.
The same goes to the deliberately vintage-looking, even crude leather strap, as well as to the black PVD-treated surface of its massive body 44 millimeters in diameter.
The only thing that clearly tells you that this watch is light years behind the Italian watchmaking giant is, of course, the dial that looks as tasteless as a gold-plated iPhone in a priest's hand.
I may sound like a true hater here, but in all honesty I just can't imagine a grown person shelling out from $995 to $1195 US dollars for this thing. I really do think that this watch needs to be refreshed for the next year with something that would make it look a bit more unique.
On a good side, the watch is equipped with a new Citizen/Miyota Caliber 9010. Made in Japan and featuring a hacking second hand (a very useful function for those who like their watches to keep good time), the mechanism seems to be reliable and precise. It is also finished quite nicely with the Japanese version of vertical Geneva stripes and a skeletonized oscillating weight, although here I, too, see poorly finished parts that sort of spoil the impression of a well-built movement.


Examples include treatment in prison followed by community-based treatment after release; drug courts that blend judicial monitoring and sanctions with treatment by imposing treatment as a condition of probation; and treatment under parole or probation supervision.
After years of pursuing this strategy, its effects are apparent. The family environment is also important: Addiction to drugs and alcohol is increasingly becoming a worldwide trend in lifestyle that is prevalent in rich and poor countries alike. The prefrontal cortex red circleswhich governs judgment and self-control, is the last part of the brain to mature.
Drug abuse is implicated in at least three types of drug-related offenses: Oxford University Press; This creates an especially strong drive to repeat the experience. When substance use disorders are identified and treated in adolescence—especially if they are mild or moderate—they frequently give way to abstinence from drugs with no further problems.
Chronic marijuana use in adolescence, for example, has been shown to lead to a loss of IQ that is not recovered even if the individual quits using in adulthood. When an adolescent requires substance abuse treatment, follow-up care and recovery support e.
Global analysis of protein expression in yeast. Licit drug use means that a drug is used legally. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Work in this area continues. For example, many more people aged 12—17 received treatment for marijuana use than for alcohol use in Drugs affect different people in different ways. The NBRF was originally designed as a program to seize aircraft and drug shipments landing in northern Mexico, but as trafficker patterns shifted, the program became focused on interdictions throughout the country.
Synaptic proteome changes in the superior frontal gyrus and occipital cortex of the alcoholic brain. The mechanism s associated with the cycle of addiction include neuronal adaptation with tolerance or sensitization involved in the action of addictive substances.
By far, the largest proportion of adolescents who receive treatment are referred by the juvenile justice system see figure. Instead the government has to regulate the amount and methods of distribution of the drug.
Facilities currently operating in accordance with state and local laws may continue to do so until such time as their state license applications are approved or denied. Medicine can effectively treat the body and the mind, but medicine alone does not treat the spirit.
Ecstasy is popular with the rave set. Thus, because of the ubiquitous distribution and role of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of a variety of normal human physiology, drugs that are targeted to different aspects of this system are already benefiting cancer subjects and those with AIDs and metabolic syndromes [ 8 ].
Brain shrinkage, reduced white-matter volume, and dendritic pruning may be reversible with abstinence; irreversible effects are more focal: The development of addiction is like a vicious cycle: Adolescents also may be less likely than adults to feel they need help or to seek treatment on their own.
Relapse is common Are there going to be setbacks? This relative freedom from U. Legalisation of a drug implies no mandatory governmental control or management of the drug. A number of addictive substances are illegal in most countries and this fuel the illegal drug trafficking and business that are often associated with criminal activities.
The pattern of ecstasy use also appears to have changed quite considerably in more recent years. Beck J, Rosenbaum M. Golub and Bennett present an analysis of original data collected from a street-based sample of veterans using respondent-driven sampling RDS.
Drug addiction is also influenced by the interaction of genes, epigenetics and the environment. Averting and detecting relapse involves monitoring by the adolescent, parents, and teachers, as well as follow-up by treatment providers.
During the US Civil War —morphine, especially delivered via the newly developed hypodermic syringe, was used widely to numb pain and assist in medical procedures for wounded soldiers Courtwright, This is why, despite popular belief, willpower alone is often insufficient to overcome an addiction.
The research presented in the special issue represents current dogged scholarly effort aimed at advancing the knowledge pool and crafting useful interventions regarding an exceedingly large and complex problem. A number of factors have also been associated with addiction, including the availability, cost, method of administration, environmental factors such as behaviors acceptable in a community, peer influences and genetic and epigenetic factors.
Furthermore some of these substances like alcohol and nicotine are legal while some others that are legally available by prescription have addictive potential in vulnerable individuals.
Are Drug Addiction and Abuse the Same? As we mentioned before, these all have their characteristics.Debate. professional.
and even high school Expertise. double blind peer reviewed.
an introduction to the issue of drugs Title Length Color Rating: Performance Enhancing Drugs - Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) In all areas a literary analysis of a rose for emily of sports. which differ with the type of. Abadinsky explores all aspects of the drug and alcohol abuse issue, including the impact of drugs on our society; history; pharmacological impact of drugs on the body; policy implications of drugs; the criminal justice system response; the effects, treatment and prevention of abuse; theories of use; drug business; and drug law enforcement.
Mass media accounts of drugs and drug use are a daily occurrence and the focus of much inquiry and debate. In this special issue, nine articles consider the role and impact of a specific type of. National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits This publication presents national estimates an introduction to the issue of drug abuse of drug-related visits number 6 economic and social consequences of drug abuse and illicit trafficking Effects of Spice Abuse Parents hope to never see the effects of drug abuse in their children.
Click here for an Introduction of Drug Addiction and Cocaine Cocaine. Opiates: Heroin and cocaine lead the list here. Click here for an Introduction of Drug Addiction and Heroin Heroin. Inhalants: Glue sniffing or the improper use of other common, store-bought chemicals for the purpose of getting high is an everyday occurrence.
This special issue was intended to bring research on operant treatments for drug addiction to the attention of behavior analysts. As Madden noted in his review, extensive research applying operant conditioning principles to the treatment of drug addiction has now filled two edited books and has been published in a range of high-visibility medical, clinical psychology, and addiction journals.


Summary: Figuring out what's lost and found.
It wasn't just the loss of the Warehouse or Steve's death, or the realization of exactly what the Regents were actually capable of.
She was already an expert in denial, a skill that served her well. There was one fact she couldn't ignore. Things had changed between her and Myka. She'd really believed they had a special kind of chemistry until she saw how Myka and HG looked at each other. You could feel the electricity.
If she hadn't been so worried about Steve she might have seen it sooner.
Or maybe she didn't want to know.


On this Halloween, law enforcement hit the streets and the air to make sure trick-or-treaters were safe.
"We're looking for pedestrian traffic. The safety for those people," said KPD Officer Shawn Shreve, as he patrolled the streets of East Knoxville Wednesday. He said KPD was treating Wednesday like a holiday, with patrols focusing on two things: pedestrians and an increase in cars on the road.
"Most of the time you have kids running away from their parents. They start following some friends who thought are in their party," Officer Shreve added.
A dry spell has arrived for the downtown Knoxville toddler population!
According to the City of Knoxville the play fountains in Market Square and in the Krutch Park extension are officially closed for the season. They will reopen in the spring.
State prosecutors are sending a strong message about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. The state's district attorneys introduced a new anti-drug campaign on Wednesday morning in Downtown Knoxville.
The campaign is called Deceptive Danger. It's designed to educate the public, particularly teenagers, about the dangers of prescription medication and synthetic drugs like bath salts.
The district attorneys say the campaign is an effort to fight rising drug abuse rates across the state.


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Based upon the Resource-Based View and social capital perspective, this research explored how ethnic media, primarily ethnic newspapers, in the United States effectively use and manage their social network resources to gain competitive advantages in local advertising markets. A comparative case study was conducted to examine ethnic media's informal, formal social networks and ties with advertisers, and their values in approaching and maintaining ethnic and non-ethnic mainstream advertisers. The study found that formal social networks were more effective than informal networks in helping ethnic media to develop diverse advertising base of ethnic and non-ethnic advertisers, and ethnic media focused on building strong business ties with advertisers. The stage of company development, the complexity of market and ethnic group's integration with the mainstream society influenced the types of social networks used by ethnic media to attract and maintain advertisers.


Russia 1. Division Home Win Tips, Russia 1. Division Draw Tips, Russia 1. Division Away Win Tips, Russia 1. Division Matches Under/Over 2.5 goals tips and Russia 1. Division Both Teams to Score Tips. You can view all of the Russia Predictions that we have in the system. We have compiled the best Russia 1. Division Hot Tips take a look at them and see what you think. Take a lok at our new Blind Picks section.
We do not have any future match predictions for the Russia 1. Division yet but we will have soon thankyou for your patience.


text:
Auditors called in to review mismanagement at Public Health Agency of Canada
By Ezra Levant
FIRE DR. THERESA TAM
Goal: 60,000 Signatures
Get your COVID-1984 stickers!
Get your copy of China Virus today!
Read about how Justin Trudeau's Pro-Communist ideology is putting Canadians in danger!
A new Liberal scandal is about to unfold at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The scandal was hinted at earlier this week when we saw a major resignation from the government agency.
From the CBC:
The president of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is stepping down only 18 months into the job, leaving the federal agency tasked with coordinating the country's COVID-19 response without a seasoned leader.
...in a letter to staff, Namiesniowski, a long-serving bureaucrat, said she needs to "take a break" and "step aside so someone else can step up" to lead the agency as caseloads spike and testing times creep up in some parts of the country.
Leaving for personal reasons? Maybe, or maybe it's something else.
The news of the next impending Liberal scandal broke last night, while the media was fawning at Trudeau rehashing the Speech from the Throne.
According to Blacklock's Reporter,
Internal auditors have been called to review mismanagement at Dr. Theresa Tam's Public Health Agency, officials said yesterday. It follows disclosures the position of Chief Health Surveillance Officer specifically assigned to watch for pandemic outbreaks was "eliminated" three years ago.
"The scope of this audit predates the Public Health Agency's Covid-19 response," staff wrote in an Audit Of Surveillance Activities. "The Agency's response to Covid-19 will be reviewed in other internal and external audits." No deadline for reporting of findings was detailed.
This should have happened months ago, the moment the agency threw out two million N-95 masks and 440,000 medical gloves when it shut down an emergency stockpile warehouse in Regina, in the spring of 2019.
We won't know the full extent of the mismanagement at the Public Health Agency of Canada until the Liberals are out of power and outside auditors are called in.
Coronavirus Liberal Party of Canada Big Government
BREAKING: Julie Payette steps down as Governor General: Report shows toxic work environment
Church is essential: Vernon, B.C. councillor pushes for places of worship
By Drea Humphrey


Can you have yourself a "merry little Christmas" while watching ones who eat mounds of fudge, drink down egg nog, and sit down at a family Christmas dinner and load a platter up so high that it actually looks like they are feeding ALL of Santa's reindeer parked on top of the roof? Many will cry just thinking about it. They are rare, but those people who eat everything and never gain an ounce always seem to have the ability to show up at a holiday party or event right in front of us…the ones who eat a Hershey's kiss and somehow gain far more than the 22 calories it supposedly has in it.
Now, it is important to note that, yes, there is a 'Dessert Lover's Diet' where you could lose up to five pounds in a month. There are others that claim even more. But what's really the case is that when we are trying to watch our weight, our cranium automatically tells us that sweets and treats are forbidden. In fact, you can almost see a line of CAUTION tape stretched over the platters when you walk close to them. In truth (and, yes, this is true), doctors say that forbidding everything that is good, every little dessert that offers a happy smile, is actually a bad thing for the human body as well as for losing weight. Why? Because the brain feels deprived. The point is not having a dessert; the point is not consuming four of them.
If your diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and the "good side of the Force" when it comes to fats, then choosing to have a dessert each and every day is just fine. Big enough to satisfy the craving and small enough where the calorie intake doesn't skyrocket.
Desserts can be rich in "bad" fats, like the ever-present butter. Which means that having meals that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids – like fish – can offset the issue. Denying the body sweets is not the best plan when wanting to stay on track with a diet. And there are a variety of okay treats to choose from that actually allow less than 100 calories.
"Tis the Season" season brings on that ultimate fear of doing things wrong. Not fair, considering it is a time to be with family and enjoy oneself, not glare across the table at the one with the platter overflowing with food. One of the biggest things to avoid are actually drinks. The holiday-themed coffees run extremely high in fat and cholesterol, not to mention calories. But just by sticking to your own coffee and simply adding a drizzle of vanilla or peppermint extract to it, you save hundreds of calories. If your mind needs to believe that Starbucks is at work, buy one of those mugs and pour the less-calorie coffee into it.
really like it Just remember, testing too much of that cookie dough will have you spending way more dough on the gym once you make (or re-make for the hundredth time) that New Year's resolution.
You can cut the fat and calories without sacrificing taste during the holidays. If you use half the sugar amount the recipe calls for in, say, a fruit pie, you will save almost 750 calories for every cup of sugar you do not apply.
the difference.) In your cheesecake that everyone is coming to the party for, substitute part-skim ricotta cheese for cream cheese and cut the fat by close to 60 grams for each cup you use. Brownies? Of course you can have them, just use pureed pumpkin instead of oil and for every half-cup of oil you eliminate, you'll save more than 900 calories and 100 grams of fat.
See? There are ways to make sure that this holiday season is enjoyable, while also making sure the scale stays the same – or even lowers. Again, it is the New Year where you need to speak your resolution, but if you've already learned the ins-and-outs of cutting calories and still enjoying treats, then this January 1st won't be so difficult.


Metaco training center, initially started as an after sales training center and gradually became an independent unit for meeting the educational needs of the information technology society. Before long, numerous students and learners in the form of individual groups, students, company staff, businesses and government agencies joined our large family. Thereafter, Metaco was selected as the educational Contractor for some large organizations to provide comprehensive IT training.
One of the other activities of our educational complex is holding Educational tours inside and outside of the country and it has been greatly welcome since a great number of managers are busy and the courses are quickly administered on the tours. The tours have often crash courses in general management information technology management.
The main purpose of providing educational services is transferring expertise and knowledge to our dear students and trainees. We always cherish our motto, "Education is an all-time companion capital" in various fields and emphasize the practicality of education and training as the most important factor involved in educational affairs. That is why we emphasize that our teachers commit themselves to making their trainings practical to a great degree.
All training units and sites are equipped with great facilities and our Training Workshops are namely; networking, graphics, Electronics, automation, robotics and microcontroller.
Metaco has committed itself to studying, conducting research and implementation of educational standards approved by international standard organizations to improve the quality of its educational activities.
Our educational department is actively working on the following areas: Computer science, information technology, electricity and civil engineering.


text:
package org.openecard.crypto.tls.auth;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import org.openecard.bouncycastle.crypto.tls.CertificateRequest;
import org.openecard.bouncycastle.crypto.tls.TlsCredentials;
import org.openecard.crypto.common.sal.GenericCryptoSigner;

/**
 * This factory simply returns the one credential it was given in the constructor.
 *
 * @author Dirk Petrautzki <dirk.petrautzki@hs-coburg.de>
 */
public class SimpleSmartCardCredentialFactory implements CredentialFactory {

    private final List<TlsCredentials> credentials;

    /**
     * Create a new factory for the given generic crypto signer.
     *
     * @param signer Generic crypto signer that will be wrapped in the credential.
     */
    public SimpleSmartCardCredentialFactory(GenericCryptoSigner signer) {
	ArrayList<TlsCredentials> c = new ArrayList<TlsCredentials>(1);
    	c.add(new SmartCardSignerCredential(signer));
	credentials = Collections.unmodifiableList(c);
    }

    @Override
    @Nonnull
    public List<TlsCredentials> getClientCredentials(CertificateRequest cr) {
	return credentials;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


S21 was former Phnum Pénh high school and the Khmer Rouge's version of a concentration camp. The number of survivors can be measured with single digits. To measure the number killed requires 7 digits.
I didn't take many photos here as they would have been too gruesome for consumption.
Pol Pot's minister of Agriculture (and his brother in law) was a prisoner here too. No one was sacred.


text:
Q: Measure Symfony's httpClient and Doctrine queries execution time and create Prometheus metrics there are actually two separate questions under this title

*

*I am trying to figure out how to measure the requests duration made to external services in Symfony application via the httpClient and same for Doctrine queries.
For Doctrine queries I am considering option to create Lifecycle Event Listener and measure pre post timestamps of request but I think they are only for create/update/delete operations but not for get. Also performance is concern with this approach.

*Also I am still getting familiar with Prometheus but I would like to post those values as metrics to Prometheus (I would figure out this eventually after I get the data).
I have promphp/prometheus_client_php installed and basic metrics are running fine.
Would be grateful if someone faced similar case to share some opinion.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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We're so pleased to announce that Benenden are sponsoring this year's CHSF Christmas Party.
Benenden provides a wide range of discretionary healthcare services to a membership of almost 850,000 people across the UK.
The York-based healthcare providers' financial help will give the party a real boost, with a range of activities planned to keep the children thoroughly entertained.
These include a balloon artist, glitter tattooing and face painting, plus numerous stands from crafts to cakes and merchandise.
Toddlers will have a designated safe play area, and there will be bouncy castles for older kids.
We'll have an assortment of well-known walk-around characters from popular fiction to engage with young and old, and an entertainer who will take to the stage for two separate performances.
Other attractions will include a disco, speeches, elves galore, a buffet and of course… Santa himself!
Benenden have been extremely generous in helping us fund this year's Christmas party which will allow us to make it that bit more special for all attendees.
Our Xmas event is hugely important as it allows us to host a special annual day for the Unit's many CHD patients, whilst celebrating the fundraising efforts of their families – our valued supporters.
We can't thank Benenden enough.
Although our Christmas Party is now full, you can put your name down as a reserve by following the instructions here.
The party will take place on Sunday 11th December at the Royal Armouries, Leeds.
This entry was posted in Corporate, Events, News & Blog. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Aizen vs Madara Uchiha: Who would win and why?
December 13, 2022 by Eswar Keshav
Two of the most impactful and powerful villains in their respective universes, feared by allies and foes alike, Sosuke Aizen and Madara Uchiha. Both of these villains have created history with intricate showcases of their abilities and their strength.
Coming to a battle of Aizen vs. Madara Uchiha, Aizen would end up emerging as the winner, even if Madara will put up an interesting fight with all his abilities and how closely similar Madara is in terms of power level to Aizen.
Aizen is constantly evolving with his Hogyoku, his raw abilities and his techniques, which was stated when Shinsui said Aizen was even stronger after being defeated by Ichigo, even after being restrained. Later in this post, we will take a detailed look at Aizen and Madara's powers and abilities.
Aizen: Power Level and Abilities
Madara Uchiha's Power Level and Abilities
Aizen vs. Madara Uchiha: Who would win & Comparison
1) Based on Strength
2) Based on Speed
3) Based on Abilities
4) Based on Durability
Aizen is undoubtedly the strongest character in Bleach, possessing broken abilities and Shikai and still defeating many of his opponents with mind games. He showed off his powers many times, even after being held as a prisoner of the Seiretei.
Aizen Sosuke
Gin himself stated that it wasn't because of his Shikai; Aizen was powerful, but rather his usage of all his abilities and his intellect and confidence in fights.
Faster than lightning, his terrifying speed looks like he teleported to a different location. Possessing monstrous physical strength and a perfectly skilled swordsman, no one could Aizen in a swordfight.
His immense Reiatsu is even stronger than Yhwach. He reaches the whole of Soul Society in a few seconds, alerting everyone of his presence while checking the gates of Hell, a different dimension entirely.
Monstrous physical strength, stopping some Captain's Bankai's with his bare hands and fighting with his hands for most of the time.
Reiatsu is on par with that Yhwach or more than him, as it was stated that Kyoka Suigetsu only worked on opponents with an equal or lesser amount of Reiatsu than him.
Unbeatable Shunpo master, there is no one in the series faster than Aizen, as Aizen is shown to teleport without anyone noticing him. And also Fast enough to dodge attacks at point-blank range.
Master Tactician and a high IQ, he had prepared for events and experimentations years and centuries ago, calculating every possibility, on top of unraveling the abilities and figuring out how to counter the powers of others and coming out on top.
Unparalleled Hakuda and Kido skills, the damage he deals with his blows is fatal, and the most powerful spells he unleashes without the incantation further amplify the raw power of the skills with his Reiatsu.
Immortality after fusing with the Hogyoku, which also greatly increased all his raw stats.
Second to none in his swordsmanship skills, the rare occasions he managed to unsheathe his sword were all fatal blows, and Captains fell with a single strike.
His Shikai, Kyoka Suigetsu, is unparalleled in terms of anyone else's Shikai and has even been shown to affect the Visored centuries after Aizen used his Shikai on them.
It traps the opponent forever in an illusion that can never be broken after witnessing Aizen unleash his Shikai.
After his Zanpakuto was destroyed, he was still able to use Kyoka Suigetsu's power, meaning he became one with his Zanpakuto, which is the strongest level of a Shinigami.
Madara was the strongest Shinobi, only second to the first Hokage Hashirama and further grew stronger than his friend after being resurrected. He is the strongest of the Uchiha clan, proficient in all elemental Jutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Dojutsu, and a master with his set of weapons.
He has an enormous amount of Chakra, a master hand-to-hand combatant, awakening Mangekyo Sharingan at a very young age, as well as possessing a unique set of abilities for his eyes only, awakening Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and a powerful enough Susanoo. He further grew more powerful after taking the Ten-tails beast under his control.
A very powerful chakra, which sent chills down his opponent's spine.
Regeneration, after he had absorbed some of Hashirama's cells before he died, also lets him absorb Chakra and funnel it into his Sage mode.
Unmatched speed and reflexes, once he reached his Six Paths form, where he fought with his eyes closed.
Further, being proficient with Fire Jutsu, he was even able to use all the different types of other elemental Jutsu.
His Sharingan, mastered at a very young age, can inflict some of the worst Genjitsu on opponents.
After gaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he was unstoppable in battle after gaining this ability and developed a powerful Susanoo to provide both offense and defense.
He was even able to unlock Rinnegan and unleash its true potential on the foot soldiers during the Shinobi War. With this, he was able to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi powerful enough to affect everyone.
After possessing the ten-tails power, he was on a different level,, and very few Shinobi could even come up with a decent fight. All of his other abilities and techniques increased exponentially, also making him nearly invincible in this form.
It is a tough fight to compare some of the best illusion masters in their respective universes, but it might look like the scales tip more in favor of Aizen than Madara.
Aizen Sosuke vs. Madara Uchiha
Even if both of them are effectively immortal beings, there is still a surefire way to kill Madara, which Aizen can exploit, but there is no such way for Aizen to die or get killed in battle.
Aizen cannot fall prey to Madara's genjutsu, as he is already under the illusion of his Kyoka Suigetsu. Aizen did this as he wanted his opponents to feel despair and will also be unable to exploit any shortcomings of Aizen.
The only flaw Aizen showed in the whole series was arrogance once he fused with the Hogyoku and became immortal, and these were the only times Aizen was defeated. Madara does have a good fighting chance with Izanagi and Susanoo, but his genjutsu and Tsukuyomi are for naught in this battle.
Aizen wins this round by a close call, as he was able to catch a blade from a Susanno kind of Bankai by Captain Komamura with his bare hands.
He was also able to withstand Ichigo's strikes which broke mountains from just the shockwave alone. Aizen's Reaitsu pressure was harmful enough and injured people fatally.
Aizen's fusion with the Hogyoku further elevated his power up some levels and strengthened his other abilities.
Madara, on the other hand, displayed his feats in his battle with Guy might after unlocking his eight gates, but the former fought bare-handed for most of the series and still withheld from showing his real strength and mastery of other abilities.
Another close call for Aizen; he wins this round with his speed on the range of teleportation, which lets him dodge attacks from point-blank range and re-appear in front of the enemy.
Madara, on the other hand, gained a tremendous boost in speed and reflexes in his Six Paths form, while Aizen's speed and reflexes were his innate abilities, which also received a boost with Hogyoku.
Aizen was able to dodge the lightning strikes from Candice, while having his power restrained. It was also stated that Aizen is more powerful and faster than Hikone, who was portrayed to be the fastest character and the next Soul King candidate.
His spiritual pressure spread throughout the whole Soul society and destroyed all of the black creatures spread over the Seiretei in an instant, which was not even his full power.
Madara has a vast number of abilities up his belt for any kind of situation and has the power to fight in many ways, devising a battle favored to his situation. Aizen, on the other hand, has a limited number of abilities, which is next to none, and he further elevates the usage of these techniques with his Reiatsu.
His Shikai alone was so powerful that even after Yhwach fused with the Soul King and unlocked the Almighty power to see the future, still fell prone to the effects of Kyoka Suigetsu, and predicting that Aizen's Shikai would not work on him.
Now, his Zanpakuto has been broken, there is no way left for his foes to break free from his illusions. As actions speak louder than words, Aizen's actions prove why he is the superior of the two.
Gin also mentioned during the fake Karakura town arc that it was because of Aizen utilizing his abilities and his intelligence he stands on top, not because of his broken abilities, and no amount of preparation will be of use while facing off against Aizen.
This is a rather tough battle, as both of the characters are essentially immortal in battle due to their regenerative abilities. Aizen was able to tank one of Ichigo's strongest attacks, Final Getsuga Tensho, and was able to instantly regenerate.
Even after getting impaled and his left arm cut off by Yhwach, he could instantly restore himself, even with his power being restricted, and was still alive.
Madara is nothing short, as he also has Hashirama's cells imbued in his body for a faster regeneration, which helped in many of the major battles.
But he met his end when he became a vessel for Kaguya Otsutsuki, and the tailed beasts were freed from him. This means that there was still a way to counter Madara's immortality.
Aizen, on the other hand, even survived a point-blank blast of Kurohitsugi spell, one of the strongest spells on himself, to free himself from the chair and came out unscathed.
This shows his increased durability and regenerative powers, and it was justified that even Shunsui's Bankai would be unable to finish off Aizen. As of now, there is no way to kill Aizen, which was accepted by many of the captains.
This should make it clear enough of a proof that Aizen is the more durable of the two, as there is no surefire way to kill him.
Concluding a match between Aizen and Madara, it looks like the former would be the winner by a small margin, and both of the characters have many tricks up their sleeves and tactics when push comes to shove.
Aizen was so confident throughout the series that he never once revealed his Bankai nor teased us about his abilities, dealing with everyone on his way with his Shikai and skills alone. Aizen shines more with his durability, abilities, speed, and raw strength. Here, we conclude this article.
Ichigo vs. Saitama: Is Ichigo Stronger than Saitama?
Gojo vs. Madara: Who Would Win & Why?
Eswar Keshav


text:
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October 1, 2019 Advisor News No comments Views: 60
Investors Ignore Political, Economic And Climate Concerns In Favor Of Investing
Index range: -31 to -51, Bearish; -11 to -30, Mildly Bearish; 10 to -10, Neutral; 11 to 30,Investors remained focused on continued strong market momentum in September rather than pulling back in response to rising political and economic uncertainty around the world, according to the October edition of Spectrem's High Net Worth Insights Journal.
The monthly Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index (SMICI®), which tracks changes in investment sentiment among households with $1 MM or more in investable assets, climbed out of negative territory and rose 6 points from -2 to 4 in September. The Spectrem Affluent Investor Confidence Index (SAICI®), which measures investment sentiment among the 17 MM households in America with more than $500,000 in investable assets, rose from -7 to -2 in September but remained in negative range for the third consecutive month.
The September survey was fielded Sept. 17-23, 2019, during a period when the S&P 500 Index tested record highs, impeachment of President Donald Trump became a greater possibility, China and the U.S. failed to make progress on trade negotiations, and the likelihood grew that Britain would crash out of the E.U. without a negotiated deal on Brexit.
Despite these uncertainties, investors chose to focus on the numbers, and the numbers were all good. During the month, the S&P 500 continually brushed up against record highs reached in late July. Similar trends were seen in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ. When asked about their investment intentions, investors indicated continued faith in the current market momentum.
Interest among all investors in individual stocks rose slightly in September, as did interest in stock mutual fund investing. Among non-Millionaires, investing in individual stocks rose from 17.7 percent to 20.7 percent, and investing in stock mutual funds climbed from 23.9 percent to 27.3 percent.
Investing in safer products like cash and bonds dropped among all investors in September, and cash investing dropped considerably, from 28.80 percent to 22.0 percent among all investors. That decrease was consistent between both Millionaires and non-Millionaires, who don't always agree on investing intentions, according to the Spectrem Confidence Indices.
However, the Spectrem Confidence Indices also asked investors whether they intend to increase their allocations in the coming month, and among Millionaires and non-Millionaires, those not investing rose. Among Millionaires, the percentage rose to 34.9 percent, the highest percentage of the year.
Spectrem's Household Outlook, which measures investor sentiment based on four key household financial components, also improved following a steep decline in August. After losing almost 17 points in August, the Outlook rose in September from 8.0 to 14.50, which is still one of the lowest Outlook ratings in the calendar year 2019.
The outlook for the economy remained in negative territory among all investors, although it improved from -25.20 to -12.40. Investors who identify as Republicans were the only segment of investors with a positive outlook on the economy, rating their outlook at 20.62. Overall, the outlook for the economy has been in negative territory in four of the nine months of 2019.
"Despite concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy, investors clearly believe that, for the time being, favorable market fundamentals remain a reason to continue to put their capital to work and not to sit on the sidelines over concerns about rising political tensions and other uncertainties," said Spectrem President George H. Walper Jr.
Charts, including a deeper analysis of the index and its methodology, are available upon request. Additional insights include:
• Investors Believe the Stock Market
• High Income Millennial DC Participants
About Spectrem Group: Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) strategically analyzes its ongoing primary research with investors to assist financial providers and advisors in understanding the Voice of the Investor.
Health calendar — Oct. 1
Sen. Brown Demands Answers From CFPB On Why Funds Were Not Returned To Harmed Consumers
Panama City Adopts Flood Insurance Reporting Tool
Financially Troubled Florida Insurers Agree To Takeovers
New York Sending More Help To Earthquake-Ravaged Puerto Rico
Crime Warp: The Nine Most-Brazen Insurance Scams Of 2018
Senators Say $15M Wil Go To Study Flood Prevention Around NC Waters
More Property and Casualty News


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