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David Cameron's Christmas Victims List
Making incremental genocide socially acceptable. When it reaches you, who will hear your screams?
"Let the record speak for itself. Don't leave it to history, otherwise your complicity becomes part of that history by your own apathy and indifference!".
In 2010 David Cameron commissioned a £2,0000pa survey to monitor the national happiness levels. It was his long-stated ambition to measure our general health and wellbeing to steer government policy. Up until then, we had already witnessed him demonstrate the characteristics of Sociopathic Personality Disorder, such as plans to end lifetime council tenancies, the reintroduction of slavery, a return to Victorian food banks and soup kitchens, `pathways to death' for burdensome sick hospital patients, a ban on feeding the homeless, a ban on charitable fundraising, plans to tax charitable donations, forcing the sick, disabled and terminally ill not only to work, but for very little salary. The list is endless as well as frightening. A staggering 296 MP's shamefully refused to vote against an investigation into the increasing use of Food Banks and hunger in the UK. See if your local representative is among them. Since then, a mass demographic displacement program has been implemented, forcing thousands of vulnerable people and families out of their homes, causing a national crisis, with homeless charities such as Shelter being overwhelmed and struggling to cope, as 85,000 children spend Christmas without a home. Imagine that today, this number is more than the attendance at the finale of a major sporting event. Now, due to new laws on free speech, Charities are prevented from making appeals due to its impact on Mr Cameron. A recent campaign has been launched to make the public aware of the Gagging Law, which is a Government Bill to silence appeals for compassion. In his relentless campaign to fiddle the figures, Cameron also redefined "Fuel Poverty" in another blatantly overt attempt to fool the public. As predictable, this new definition for human suffering and misery was timed to coincide with Christmas.
However, sadly we live in a society where we actually believe that the powerful and elite among us are respectable and pure human beings, immune from diabolic depravity. Such belief is a typically British cultural attribute, exported throughout the British Empire as a Utopian social order. Back in 1888, they were convinced that Jack the Ripper could not be an Englishman, a view still dominant today.
Middle East: If you are among those who believe that this article does not affect you, due to being non-British, then you are gravely mistaken. As soon as David Cameron was imposed as British Prime Minister by the arms industry, he set about implementing the media dubbed "Arab Spring" to raid all the major oil producing regions of their natural resources. Until then, Gold rich, Libya provided a life line to continental Africa at little cost, since "usury" (interest) is a fundamental sin in Islamic Law. With their currency devalued due to imposed sanctions, the people of the region, including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and now spreading throughout Africa are starved, due to their leaders being forced to sell off their natural resources at low cost to global bankers, such as Goldman Sachs. We already know what happens to those leaders who do not comply. These natural resources are then traded at competitive prices on the stock market for Mr Cameron's friends to gamble with. Meanwhile, as the people become increasingly more desperate, demanding food, water and energy, the civil instability inevitably leads to civil war. Both sides in the ensuing conflict need arms. David Cameron openly embarked on arms sales tours of the region, flaunting the delegation of arms industry representatives who accompanied him. During the joint UK/France bombing of Sirte in Cameron's determination to kill Gaddafi, Cameron rebuked his Generals for expressing their concerns over bombing civilians, telling them, "You do the killing and leave the talking to me". French President, Nicholas Sarkozy had just received over £60,0000 from Gaddafi to finance his election campaign. So, he had everything to gain from his silence, while Cameron being an opportunist saw it as a chance to plunder the Gaddafi national wealth.
Pakistan: Again, conveniently timed upon him becoming leader, David Cameron sought an opportunity to inflict suffering on the despairing people of Pakistan during devastating floods that displaced 20,0000 people. He flew to India and went on a tour, blasting neighboring Pakistan as a "Terrorist nation". Being from a background in Public Relations as a former Spin Doctor, the media gave the event full coverage. The result was that very little international charitable aid was donated to Pakistan as the cataclysmic floods increasingly claimed more victims. Their despair received another cruel blow back in the UK, as the mainstream media chose to focus on the high spirited wellbeing of a group of trapped Chilean miners. To add insult to injury, the only reference to Pakistan was alleged corruption among their cricket team.
Greece: From 2007, long before even being placed in power, David Cameron campaigned for the implementation of austerity upon all nations. During international summit meetings, David Cameron persistently insisted that the U.S. and Europe enforce radical austerity measures upon their own people. Those who appeared reluctant were mocked and threatened by Cameron. Greece was one of his victims, as he demanded that either they enforce harsh austerity measures or leave the EU and face abandonment and ostracization. He lobbied for the same measures to be enforced on Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. He famously antagonised former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, then went on to taunt François Hollande over taxes. He has repeatedly threatened to veto a seven-year deal unless Brussels agrees on strict spending cuts.
If you live in a country with cruel and heartless austerity enforcement, remember who first proposed it, lobbying and campaigning rigorously for its deployment. Despite allegations that Gaddafi may have committed some terrible crimes, he was really despised because he supplied oil to Africa at low cost, as this was considered a waste on a people who contributed very little to the global economy due to extreme poverty. As a committed eugenicist, such philosophy epitomizes David Cameron, a belief he recently confirmed during a Conservative Party Conference, when he announced his commitment to the privileged class.
David Cameron has consistently shown an overt and distinct pattern of convenient timing for his sadistic pleasures that make him predictable. Included among his previous Christmas whims were:
Visiting troops in Afghanistan only to return home for Christmas to announce in Parliament that he wanted to cut the salaries of serving soldiers.
To thwart competition against his wealthy friends in the Energy sector, who shared the profits of fuel hikes with him, David Cameron implemented procedures to prevent Solar Spirit and other cheap energy providers from supplying low cost energy. He demanded that new employees of Solar Spirit be sacked 2 weeks prior to Christmas 2011.
In the following 2012 New Years Honours list, he rewarded Sir Roger Carr, Chairman of Centrica (British Gas) for first introducing the spiraling fuel price hikes throughout the energy sector, from which Mr Cameron receives a share of the profits. At the same time, other honours went to his friends in the city.
In the 2014 New Years Honours list, I predict that Conservative Party doner and founder of loan sharks, Wonga.com, Adrian Beecroft will receive a knighthood for sharing the profits of misery with Mr Cameron. Gary Barlow is also likely to receive an honour for making Cameron appealing to the young, hence his timely exit from the X-Factor. Earlier, Barlow also received exemption from Tax Fraud due to their relationship.
As previously noted, this Christmas Mr Cameron has just announced at a luxury banquet dinner that he wanted austerity to be permanent.
Unfortunately, due to the onset of the Apathy Virus, many believe that they will be unaffected if they have enough savings to safeguard their future. However, please heed this warning: those savings will remain stagnant and will not rise with rapid inflation, since Mr Cameron's objective is to devalue British currency to a state that our life savings will be worth very little in the future. In other words, if you are looking forward to retiring on all your life investments and savings, their value will decrease significantly over the years, so imagine savings of £100,000 today being worth £5 tomorrow. In the past our paper currency was redeemable against our most valuable asset, Gold. This was once engraved onto our bank notes. The national gold reserves no longer belong to the people, despite it being plundered from any remaining regions who oppose World Government. Our paper currency is valued against our national assets, i.e. exports and national manufacturing industry. Those assets are valued against gold. Since we no longer have any assets, as they are being sold off to international bankers, the only remaining assets are `human resources', hence David Cameron's urgency to incrementally implement slavery to include all. The term `human resources', is one that we barely pause to think about, since it has been applied incrementally so that we would be oblivious to it. Other terms include, "Career `Minded' Professional" appearing in job advertisements, to eliminate the "human" aspect of our existence. Few of us are aware that the reason why we are referred to as `resources' is because from the moment we are born, we are submitted to the stock market, via our Birth Certificates. The red number imprinted on the certificate indicates our value, which we can obtain if we present it to our local bank, who can inform us how much we are individually worth on the stock exchange.
Earlier, I mentioned venture capitalist, Adrian Beecroft, founder of Wonga.com. As well as David Cameron's promises to the arms industry, he also assured Beecroft that he could guarantee more profits for him by getting as many people as possible into debt, forcing them to borrow from the pre-planned Wonga.com, hence the abolition of the welfare state and the NHS. The more people borrow, the more generated profits through interest.
Finally, it is worth noting that David Cameron was mentored during his time at Oxford by Nathan Rothschild. Both were members of the Bullingdon Club, the UK equivalent of the U.S. Yale University, occult Skull & Bones (a.k.a. The Order of Death, Knights of Eulogia).
For those of you who would dismiss this article due religious connotations or otherwise, you are among those who insist that they are not controlled, yet are oblivious to your contradictions. Dismissing the existence of Evil does not make it go away. Giving it another name or socially acceptable identifier only welcomes it. An acceptable level of malevolence grows incrementally.
Did David Cameron order the murder of UK doctor Abbas Khan and should we be surprised?
David Cameron revives 'big society' idea in his Christmas message
Bulgaria issues fierce rebuke to David Cameron over migrants
David Cameron handed bankers £98m tax cut while George Osborne spent thousands fighting bank bonuses cap
David Cameron acting shortsightedly over immigration, says Lech Walesa
David Cameron's letter 'too late' for family of Dr Abbas Khan
By Glenn at Monday, December 23, 2013
Labels: A Sadistic Embodiment Of Evil, Apathy, Baby Killer, Bedroom tax, British Gas, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, David Cameron, Divide and Conquer, Eugenics, George Osborn, Iain Duncan Smith, NWO 10 Commandments
Abbas Khan
We should not be surprised to learn later on that David Cameron had Dr Abbas Khan murdered by UK special forces known to have been operating in Syria and throughout the middle east region since 2010, when the so-called Arab Spring began. Their presence is among the accumulation of established coincidences when Mr Cameron's friends in the arms industry imposed him as UK Prime Minister and whom we witnessed accompanying him on arms sales tours throughout the region. It is important that we must not forget how the Liam Fox scandal exposed Cameron's `selection' for power. We already know how furious he was when he was opposed and defeated in the House of Commons for UK military intervention in Syria after the alleged chemical weapons atrocities, which incidentally Cameron has sold abroad. He has a renowned record in arms sales. It is already known that he ordered British forces to slaughter civilians including children in Sirte, Libya so that he could blame Gaddafi. He rebuked his generals for expressing their concern and reluctance, telling them, "You do your job. Leave the talking to me". The list of atrocities David Cameron has committed is endless. Unfortunately, the full extent may not be publicly revealed until long after he has gone and his record for suppressing the truth and fabricating deception is overtly known. The only reason we don't hear about it is due to bullying and threats to the media, The Guardian and Telegraph being just some examples of his ruthless witch-hunt. Therefore, given the depths of depravity that David Cameron is prepared to stoop to, it should come as no surprise that he will exploit the murder of Dr Khan to justify military intervention in Syria, since vindictiveness is among his characteristics. Again, we have previously witnessed that he has established a record for sadistic exploitation. Remember, these people make no secret of their utter repulsion and disdain for Human Rights and their determination to create opportunities and secure the abolition Human Rights Act.
Killers in Government
However, any direct role of the British Government in the death the of Dr Khan should be treated as speculation, we also must not overlook their record of appalling abandonment of its own citizens abroad. There are too many coincidences that need to be addressed. What can be ascertained is that Dr Khan was a compassionate and committed humanitarian arrested and jailed by Syrian authorities over a year ago and apparently held under extreme conditions with thoughts of suicide, according to his letters to his family. However, he had every reason to more upbeat as plans for his release were underway until his unexpected and uncharacteristic suicide. Despite relentless efforts by the Khan family to get the Foreign Office to listen to it's desperate pleas, it is only now that they take an interest after his death. Why wasn't their campaign public knowledge throughout the past 13 months? We must also question why it has become such a high profile case, receiving full media attention, especially considering that previous cases of Britons in despair abroad received much less attention. Again, it demonstrates the power of former PR man/Spin Doctor, David Cameron and his henchmen, Director of Communications, Craig Oliver and strategist, Lynton Crosby.
By Glenn at Thursday, December 19, 2013
Labels: A Sadistic Embodiment Of Evil, Arab Spring, arms dealer, Asad, Baby Killer, David Cameron, Egypt, Gaddafi, Hegelian Dialectic, Human Rights, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE, libya, Sirte, Spin, Syria
Scientists prove God's existence through Science
The existence of God is so beyond human comprehension that we adopt and adapt to the more simple concept of Darwinism and an illogical notion that Man Created God. Such a notion fits perfectly within a more acceptable pattern for our imagination. Yet, those who refute the existence of God are much more readily prepared to accept that mankind is arrogant if we believe that we are the only life form in the universe. Surely, the one thing we can all agree on is that there are things far beyond human imagination and human contemplation. Perhaps when we are dead such things are perfectly natural to us and not so difficult to perceive, since we return to our natural home and far from what has corrupted our system of beliefs upon the earth. Only then will we understand why our deceased loved ones do not wish to visit us upon the earth, since we have forgotten who we were before we were born, hence our adoration and love for the newborn child. How easily we abandon such adoration when the baby becomes an adult. What has changed it to cause such abandonment and neglect? When we see a dead soldier or freedom fighter laying on the battlefield, we forget that what we see is the beautiful infant we once adored. It is the corrupted imperfect earth that has stolen its natural existence and subdued it, buried within our sub- conscience. Our thoughts are only a small vibration measured in cycles. The frequency of a thought is formed through our relationship with time. Time is formed by our relationship with the Sun. Yet, few of us can even imagine an existence without time. Our dreams may last only a few seconds, yet seem to last all night long. Can we imagine if such a pattern were reversed? Our brains only adapt and reconfigure once we open our eyes. It is our relationship with the Sun that governs this, since it oversees our time on earth, which is only for one second in relation to what is beyond it. We cannot perceive the journey of the soul, since what may take millions of light years in travel from one star to another may take only a few seconds for the human soul. Yet, I find myself using terminology to define `time' while its concept is only in relation to our Sun. The life of an 90 year old man/woman is less than a milifraction.
By Glenn at Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Labels: Darwinism, God, Poems and Thoughts, Religion, Religion and Atheism
David Cameron: The Devil's P.R. Man
"Let the record speak for itself. Don't leave it to history!"
By Glenn at Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Labels: A Sadistic Embodiment Of Evil, David Cameron, Evidence of Deliberate Sadism
Did David Cameron order the murder of UK doctor Ab...


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Explosion hits election rally in Kabul, kills 24
An explosion near an election rally attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani killed 24 people and injured 31 others, a health official said, but Ghani was unhurt according to an aide.
Ghani had been due to address the rally in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, north of Kabul, when the suspected militant attack occurred.
"Women and children are among them and most of the victims seem to be the civilians. Ambulances are still operating, and the number of casualties may rise," said Abdul Qasim Sangin, head of the provincial hospital.
A local government official said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
"The president is unharmed," Ghani's aide told Reuters.
There was no claim of responsibility from any militant group after the blast.
In a separate incident, an explosion killed at least three people in the center of Kabul, police officials said. Ambulances and Afghan forces rushed to the blast site.
Taliban commanders have vowed to intensify clashes with the Afghan and foreign forces to dissuade people from voting in the Sept. 28 presidential election, when Ghani will bid for a second five-year term.
Security at rallies across the country has been tight following threats by the Taliban to attack meetings and polling stations.
Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban collapsed last week. The two sides had been seeking to reach an accord on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgents.
The talks, which did not include the Afghan government, were intended as a prelude to wider peace negotiations to end more than more 40 years of war in Afghanistan.
In a separate incident, a blast in the center of Afghanistan's capital Kabul killed at least six people on Tuesday, police officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We are investigating whether it was a suicide attack or whether a magnetic bomb was attached to a motor-bike," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Militant Islam Monitor > Satire > Mosque member on terrorist who killed Jewish woman and wounded 5 -whose father helped found Islamic Center "good parents -good people"
Mosque member on terrorist who killed Jewish woman and wounded 5 -whose father helped found Islamic Center "good parents -good people"
Jihadi peacenik Naveed Haq.
Islamic community of Seattle tells media that Muslims are the real victims of Muslim terrorist rampage that killed and wounded Jews.
MIM: The sociopathic mindset of Muslims in nowhere more evident then in the statements issued by a member of the mosque which the shooter attended and his father helped found, who lamented that the killing of a Jewish woman and shooting of 5 others "Was a sad day for our (the Muslim) community."
Not to be outdone the Arab American Community Coalition announced they are cancelling their anti Israel march "out of concern for safety of members of the "Arab -American community".
The AACC also urged law enforcement agents to take all necessary actions to prevent such crimes from happening "against ...Arabs and Muslims in the future". Which begs the question as to when there ever was an attack on Muslims or community institutions in Seattle.
The Arab American Community Coalition reacted "with shock and sorrow" to the shootings. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said the coalition's Rita Zawaideh in a statement faxed to the media this morning. "We urge our law enforcement agencies to take all necessary actions to prevent such crims from happening against Jews, Arabs and Muslims in the future." The group cancelled a march that had been scheduled today to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East "in light of yesterday's violent actions, and out of concern for the safety of members of the Arab-American community and the general public." "Violence against anyone because of ethincity or religion does not advance the cause of peace, justice and liberation in Lebanon, Palestine or Israel." And speaking of Seattle and its diverse religious and ethic community, the statement continued: "This crime is not a reflection of what our community is about"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/279419_shootingfolo29ww.html
Suspect in shooting described as quiet loner
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Seattle_Shooting_Suspect.html
By SHANNON DININNY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WEST RICHLAND, Wash. -- The suspect in a deadly shooting at a Jewish charity was the quiet loner in a well-known family in the local Muslim community, members of his family's mosque said Saturday.
Authorities say Naveen Haq, 30, may have planned his attack on a Seattle Jewish center from the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington.
One woman was killed and five wounded in the Friday attack. Haq told police dispatchers he was angered by the war in Iraq and the United States' military cooperation with Israel.
"We feel bad for his parents - good parents, good people," said Muhammad Ullah, a close friend of the suspect's family and a senior member of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities. "Today, this is a totally sad day for our community."
Haq's father, Mian Haq, was a founding member of the Islamic Center in this south-central Washington town in 1979 and has been active in the community for decades, Ullah said.
Haq's parents, who moved to the United States from Pakistan in the 1970s, are devastated and struggling to understand how their son strayed from the teachings of Islam, Ullah said.


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Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Swainsona
Species: formosa
Swainsona, after Isaac Swainson (1746–1812), an English botanist famous for his botanical garden
formosa is from Latin: formosus, shapely, beautiful, handsome. The flowers
The Sturt's Desert Pea is one of the more famous of Australian wildflowers, and it is the floral emblem of South Australia. Its natural environment is the arid central regions of Australia, and its range covers all the mainland States with the exception of Victoria.
While the plant was first collected by English explorer William Dampier in 1699, its common name comes from the later explorer Charles Sturt, who recorded seeing vast numbers of the flowers during his exploration of the Australian interior in 1844.
The Desert Pea is a prostrate legume that can spread out to about 2m (6.5 feet). The flowers appear from spring to summer, and especially after rain. The coloured spot in the middle of the flower is called the 'boss'. While the blood-red flower colour with a black boss is the most well-known, there are naturally occurring red types with red or pink bosses, and a naturally occurring pure white form with a white boss as well. Six 8cm flowers are borne on each flower stalk, which turn into hairy pods, each containing about 50 flat, kidney shaped seeds.
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - 5″ × 7″ Flat Print, No Mat
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - 5″ × 7″ Print Ready to Frame With 8″ × 10″ Mat and Backing
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - 8″ × 10″ Flat Print, No Mat
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - 8″ × 10″ Print Ready to Frame With 12″ × 14″ Mat and Backing
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - A4 Flat Print, No Mat
160 Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) - A4 Print Ready to Frame With 12″ × 16″ Mat and Backing


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Harold Hale Izard (July 4, 1939 – February 2, 2020) was an American politician who served in the New York State Assembly from the 140th district from 1975 to 1976.

He died on February 2, 2020, in Buffalo, New York at age 80.

References

1939 births
2020 deaths
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Bursitis, Arthritis, & Tendonitis all have one thing in common. They end in "itis" which means inflammation. While the common treatment for these issues is an anti-inflammatory medication, the question to ask is WHY is there inflammation there? We find that many times, the alignment of the joint, whether it's a shoulder, a toe, a spine, etc. is the problem. When you get it adjusted, the "itis" goes away on its own. Don't just treat the symptom, treat the cause!


Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Ribbon. Large 6 foot Patriotic Inflatable with the words God Bless America. Great way to show your Patriotic Spirit this summer. Great for Memorial Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and President's Day.
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Q: How do you use maxInstructionCount in HLSL I have an HLSL shader I'm using in an XNA application and would like to change the maxInstructionCount but am unsure how to implement do it.  I'm using ps_2_0.  Does anyone know how to do this?

A: Above the shader function you want to apply the attribute to, you would do:
[maxInstructionCount(100)]
float4 YourFunction()
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The power to change. We all have it – that deeply rooted internal force within us that cries out, "Stand up and do better. Be better." Making a change that positively impacts your life is like searching for a rare and precious diamond in a mine. You know that somewhere within the ashy, dark rocks is something sacred and beautiful. Finding it will change your life forever. There's only one caveat. You're going to have to roll up your sleeves and jump into a dark and scary place that offers no promises or guarantees.
It's really, really messy in there. Taking the risk to do something that improves the quality of your life takes guts.
When an addict takes a leap of faith to get sober, there is often a realization that previous uncomfortable and painful experiences will have to be dealt with. Facing one's past can be extremely difficult, but with the help of supportive professionals, family, and friends, they learn how to overcome those barriers that keep them stuck, miserable and addicted. As days turn into weeks of sobriety, the addict begins to discover who is really is, and what he's capable of doing.
We can better understand why it's so hard for addicts to stop using when we have insight into addiction from their perspective. You may know someone who has lost everything to drugs and alcohol. Maybe you've watched them lose fulfilling careers and destroy the relationships that mattered the most. Why would anyone choose to live this way? Why would someone keep on abusing substances, knowing that doing so will lead to isolation, physical and emotional pain, and an untimely death?
From the perspective of an addict, he knows that if he shoots up again or downs another bottle of vodka, there will be a few minutes or hours of solace, and a relief from the internal demons that continuously haunt him. Digging around in the mine of early sobriety will mean that things are going to become even harder. If the addict does decide to take a leap of faith, there really isn't any guarantee that he'll be able to maintain sobriety, mend damaged relationships or find any sort of true happiness.
There's a push-pull cycle with addicts. They feel a push to make a positive change, but then pull away out of fear, self-doubt and lack of social support.
Many of us have wondered how we can motivate someone to stop using drugs or abusing alcohol. I'll tell you the answer. Stop thinking you can. There's nothing you can say or do to make your loved one miraculously come to terms with the path of self-destruction they are headed down. You can't make threats, take away material possessions, or lay down ground rules thinking that an addict will see the error of his ways.
Motivation and change don't work that way. We need to start thinking, "What incentive does Johnny have for quitting, and what can I do to help him find it?" You might ask, "What did Johnny want to do or aspire to be before he started using?" Gently and compassionately, remind him of those things.
Don't take away your love or threaten to abandon him. Instead, with mindful boundaries in place, make yourself available to provide support and encouragement when he asks for it, and when he doesn't.
Remember, you are not supporting his habit but you are supporting him. While you may refuse to let Johnny come into your home at 2:00 AM, you have not closed your doors entirely. As soon as possible, you should have a talk with him about rehab. It's a good idea to keep these conversations brief and non-confrontational. Talk about how it feels to watch him self-destruct and explain your concerns without being judgmental.
Remind him of the things that used to make him happy, and how much raw and untapped potential lies before him if he gets sober.
Being fully present is enough. Sometimes the best way to reach someone is to stop talking and start listening. Try to understand from your loved one's perspective why giving up the substance is so immensely challenging. Put yourself in his shoes, and you will be in a better place to understand his fears, support him through the darkest moments, and inspire him to take a step in the right direction.
If you need a consultation, please feel free to reach out to Landmark Recovery. Our Admissions Consultants will walk you through the steps to help you through the recovery process and begin with a drug and alcohol recovery center.


Good Friday processions were in several localities across Malta this evening, to commemorate the Passion of Christ who, according to Catholic faith, was crucified to death to atone for the sins of the world.
As is tradition, crowds of people gathered to watch the processions in localities such as Zejtun, Naxxar and Birgu. People are walking around the city, dressed up as biblical figures and carrying large statues. Others are walking barefoot in the streets, with chains tied to their ankles or dragging large wooden crosses, believing that they are fulfilling personal vows with God.


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The BMW Car Club will once again host the largest gathering of BMW's in Europe on Sunday 17th August 2014. The event promises to be even bigger than last year, with the re naming of the event 'Club BMW '14 Festival' we are hoping to encourage all BMW owners not just members of the club and make it an event for the whole family.
Up to 3,000 BMW's will gather to celebrate all things BMW including the Mini. The focal point of the event will be the arena, where there will be a master of ceremonies, Steve Deeks. There will be speeches by the regional chairs, presentations of the concours winners and competition winners and live music entertainment throughout the day. Some other activities going on during the day will be radio controlled cars, a tombola, wheel changing challenge and special 'show only' promotions.
The event can guarantee a great family day out with activities to entertain the children while you wonder around the trade stalls and the exhibition of vehicles in front of the arena. There will be bouncy castles and slides as well as face painting and a simulator to keep the children occupied.
Throughout the day the Motor Centre and Museum will be open - you will have full use of the restaurant and facilities.
The event is sponsored by Rybrook BMW, Michelin and Thorney Motorsport being main sponsors for the National Concours.
Where is it? The Heritage Motor Centre of course. Click here for directions or just google map them!
Rally Plaques also available at the Club Office for £2.50 including National Festival window sticker.
Photography: BMW Car Club (GB) Ltd.


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Art AIDS America at Tacoma Art Museum
In December I made the trek down to Tacoma with two friends to see the Art AIDS America exhibit. I expected it to be intense, but beyond that, I had no idea what it would be like. The week before I went down, a group protested in front of the museum to express their anger and sadness at the small number of artists in the show who were people of color, since 40% of people living with HIV/AIDS today are PoC.
The exhibit felt overwhelmingly white and focused on gay men. I have a few theories as to why, related to who had access to support, whose voices were and are being listened to, and how the early AIDS activism was fueled and driven by white gay men.
Altogether, there were over 100 pieces in the exhibit. Apparently I took pictures of about a quarter of them. There was a lot of staring death in the face, like Tino Rodriguez's Eternal Lovers, which also took advantage of lack of gendered markers. Many of you know I love calaveras, and I loved the interpretation of this one.
The Tale of 1000 Condoms/Geisha and Skeleton flirted with the macabre, again, staring death defiantly in the face.
Many of the pieces I saw engaged with death and dying, bodies wasting away, the corporeal husks that so many people turned their eyes from, but the gaze was unflinching and loving.
Some pieces invited us to interact:
In the sand
write the names
of those you
loved and lost
to Aids
So I wrote "Jerry" the sweet doorman from the Timberline, and Mark, another doorman at the Timberline with his Tom Selleck mustache and gentle spirit, and Jim, my dad's college roommate. After each name I swept my fingers through the sand and thought of Keats' gravestone: Here lies one whose name was writ in water.
Glenn Ligon's "I am not an invisible man" was particularly chilling after the protest:
I'm only going to talk about one more piece: Silence = Death:
I had this on a button when I was in college. I wore it pinned on my backpack. During the summer of '92 I traveled around Europe. I remember being at a hostel, I think in Switzerland, and someone saw the button and said to me, "Sometimes silence equals life." I kept silent, but I wish I hadn't, because now I understand in a way I never could have then, that the price of silence is the death of the soul.
I really encourage you to look at the entire album. I included a lot of the plaques that give a lot more explanation. Or you can read this write up from The Stranger that gives a lot more context and information. It was what made me want to see the exhibit.
This entry was posted in LGBT, Photos and tagged art, hiv, lgbt on January 19, 2016 by slowbloom.
Hermes and the Tyger
In the spring of 2001, my girlfriend took a trip to France. At the end of her visit, she called me from Paris and asked if there was anything I wanted. I told her I didn't want anything, but she kept bugging me, so I told her to get me an Hermes scarf.
One thing you should probably know at this point. In French, Hermes is pronounced differently than in English. English speakers are more apt to say something like "her mees"; but in French, it is pronounced like "air mez" or "air may." I explained to my girlfriend this difference, so if she asked someone, they would understand her. In my experience, not using the French accent on a word means that no one will understand you, even if the word is essentially the same, like "vegetarian" (true story). On the flip side, I couldn't understand a French speaker saying Richard Chamberlin's name to me, so I have complete sympathy for pronunciation.
Back to the scarf. I really didn't want anything, and I told her to get an Hermes scarf because a) I knew they were super expensive and when she saw the price she would balk; and b) I find their scarves aren't really to my taste.
It was J's last day in Paris, and it was a hot day. She wore a tank top and shorts and carried a backpack. Nothing terribly glam. She and our friend went to Le Bon Marche, a department store. J searched the store, trying to find an Hermes scarf, but had no luck. She is fiercely independent and doesn't like asking for help, but finally reached the point where she had to.
She found a saleswoman and asked her if she spoke English. The woman said she did a little. J stumbled through her request, her self-consciousness over the pronunciation adding more stress. J murmured to the saleswoman, "I'm looking for a scarf. We say 'Her-meez' but I think you say 'Air-mez'."
The saleswoman didn't understand what she said, so she asked her to write it down. J did, and when the saleswoman turned the paper around to read it, her demeanor changed entirely. Where she had been brusque before, now she was solicitous and friendly. She said, "Oh no, we don't carry those here. But let me go ask someone else and I'll find out where you can get them." It turned out that the Hermes store was closed by the time J got there. I was spared her spending any money on a scarf I probably wouldn't like, and even better, we got this fantastic story!
Which brings me to March 2015. Last year my mom gave me money for my birthday to buy an Hermes scarf, in part motivated by this story. In the pit of my stomach I was sure I wasn't going to find any scarves I actually liked. I looked at their website, but it was so awful and I couldn't figure out what they might look like. I kept putting off going to a store. I really wanted to go with my mom, so we could share the experience, but our only chance to do that was last summer, and there ended up not being any time.
Last week I made plans to meet up with my friend Lauren, who lives on the Eastside, because I had something I wanted to give her. I decided to combine meeting her with a shopping trip, since there's an Hermes store over there. Saturday was a cold and dreary day. I headed out in the rain and dodged the raindrops. Since I don't have a car, I took the bus over.
Bellevue is very different from Seattle, even though it's separated by a small body of water. The Hermes store is in a high-end/designer shopping center. Everything there is so foreign from my daily life. It's hard for me not to be super judgmental about all of it. I arrived at the store around 3:30, expecting that it wouldn't have many customers. How wrong I was. The small space at the entrance was filled with women who surrounded the scarf case. They were throwing scarves in the air, one after the other, gesturing and talking loudly. In retrospect there were probably about five women, but it felt like twenty! I stood in front of the case amidst the melee for a good five minutes, hoping that a salesperson would appear out of the fray, but none did. I finally went over to a young man standing to the side who wore a suit. He seemed to be a cross between a security person and concierge, and I asked him if he could help me find a salesperson. He welcome me to the store and then apologized profusely for me having to wait.
A salesperson was procured and began helping me. She started by asking me if I wanted a classic scarf, etc. etc. I asked her about the size, because I don't understand centimeters. Then she took me back to the case and asked me about colors and what I was looking for, what colors I liked, etc. I told her pinks and reds, even though before I got to the store I was thinking I wanted something with blues and greens. I don't know why I didn't just say that. I was so overwhelmed by the frenzy! She pulled out one scarf and tied it around my neck. I looked in the mirror and didn't feel anything. I pointed out another scarf that had a cheetah on it, with bright pink splashes. The saleswoman said, "Let me get that before it gets snatched out from under us," but that also produced a meh reaction when I looked in the mirror. You can torture yourself by trying to figure it out on their site. I can't even find the scarf I ended up buying.
While I was feeling meh and overwhelmed and starting to get a little fed up with the whole thing, the saleswoman came back with something totally different. No pink or red at all. It had a giant tiger with a green background and these bright, lush orange lilies.
Some people know I'm not a fan of green. I don't really wear it that much. I don't gravitate toward it. I will pass it over for pretty much any other color. But I have a thing for lilies, and so I decided why the hell not? She tied it on, and I looked at the mirror, and something in me sang out. I told her, "This is the one." She showed me five different ways to wear it and was super willing to show me other scarves, but I just knew. This was it. No matter what else I saw, it wouldn't please me.
She rang me up and I left the store, feeling completely triumphant. When I got home, I posted a few pictures of the details on the scarf, including the one above. And when I was taking the pictures, I saw that it has the line from William Blake's poem: "Tyger tyger burning bright in the forest of the night" … which you can just make out here:
That line also has a special resonance for me (and possibly for many people), and was such a delightful surprise. On top of that, a friend posted this lovely piece about the symbolism of the tiger:
The confidence of the tiger is contentment. Contentment comes from discernment, the virtue of touching our feet to the earth of every moment. As we slow down and consider our thoughts, words, and actions with the question, "Will this bring happiness or pain?", we become like tigers who carefully observe the landscape before pouncing. In looking at what to cultivate and what to discard, we are remembering our precious human life and deciding to use it well.
And that perfectly sums up the theme of the work I did with my therapist, so now this scarf has become a talisman for me, too!
This entry was posted in Slowbloom, Travel and tagged gifts, slowbloom, therapy on January 17, 2016 by slowbloom.
A Personal History With The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
I invited my friend Danielle to write a blog post about her experience surrounding the Malheur NWR, based on a longish comment she left on Facebook. What she sent to me gave me chills. I really hope you will take the time to read the full piece. It is worth your time. And thank you, Danielle, for trusting me to share your story.
Wearing the stereotypical pith helmet as a joke for a photoshoot at Fort Vancouver. Photo Credit: Bean and Sprout Photography.
I have struggled with a lot of deep pain and anguish since I first saw the Bundy militia show up in Burns, Oregon to protest the prison sentence of Steven and Dwight Hammond for arson on BLM lands in 2001 and 2005.
Part of it is because I spent part of my childhood in Ontario, Oregon. My grandparents were farmers in Vale, and my father loved hunting, fishing, and being outdoors. I spent a great deal of time following him through the beautiful rivers, streams, lakes, canyons and mountains of the High Desert. We didn't live in Burns, but we spent time around there, too.
My fifth grade class at Alameda Elementary in Ontario spent the year studying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Our art projects involved constructing a color guidebook of the different bird species there and habitat collages of the different species. Our spelling words were the names of birds, plants, and natural features. Our history lessons were about the rich prehistory of the area, learning about how millions of indigenous people who thrived in the lakes, and the ways early farmers used the lands. We did science experiments about caves. It culminated in a five day field trip to the Station, where we followed the amazing rangers and scientists recording and watching the birds, preserving their habitats, and the rich cultural history of the area. I discovered that the HQ building was built on a significant prehistoric village built by the Wadatika, ancestors of the Burns Paiute.
I will never forget the moment when our ranger guide pointed out the two snowy owlets in a nest above us, blinking at the gaggle of noisy kids.
Malheur trip 1988: My friends Sally and Shawna. This is the only photo I have of that trip to the Refuge in 1988, taken the same day as that fateful moment with the owlets because all of my photos were destroyed in a flood in 2005. Photo Credit, Danielle D.M. Gembala
I stumbled over a projectile point on the ground that had been scuffed up by the feet that had walked before me.
That had been put there by feet that had walked this same ground so very long ago.
But that isn't the only reason the Bundy militia in the Malheur Refuge bothers me.
I realized, growing up among ranchers and farmers, loggers and hunters, miners and lawyers, that we don't know what is under our feet, that surrounds us. The beauty of. Not until it is gone. I realized that our ignorance, our blind focus on our own use and ideas of the land often leads to tragic consequences for everyone.
I decided I could change that. That I would use my own experience and knowledge as a voice.
1996: Me at Two Dragon Camp, a Chinese mining site in the the Wallowa Whitman National Forest. Photo Credit, Gary Keenan.
I worked first for the Forest Service as a volunteer while doing my undergraduate honor's thesis and my master's research on the archaeology and vernacular architecture of 19th century Chinese mining site in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest and Italian railroad camps over Santiam Pass in the Willamette National Forest.
I went on to study archaeology in graduate school at the University of Washington in 1998.
After my first year in school, I went to Russia to excavate at Pavlinovo, an Iron Age fortress in Western Siberia. While driving through the countryside, our driver pulled a sharp U-turn and I heard gunfire. I knew only three phrases in Russian, but the French archaeologists sitting next to me told me that the driver had to evade crooked police stopping vehicles at a roadblock, because they'd gotten word "Western foreigners" were in the area. These same police later searched our camp, so the few "Westerners" hid in tents occupied by the students from Belarus while the police searched the rest of the camp. I suspect someone bought them off.
Archaeological excavations at Pavlinovo, and Iron Age archaeological site, Kaluga Oblast, Western Siberia. 1999. Photo Credit, Danielle D.M. Gembala
I was bitten by giant mosquitoes, had to eat, drink, and bathe in dangerously polluted water, and witnessed a lot of shady mafia-esque activities. It was uncomfortable, but an adventure. When I learned my colleagues face similar dangers here, I realized that I didn't need to go far for danger if I wanted it.
Soon after, a colleague invited me to work with her in Bosnia to help identify human remains in mass graves. I declined. I was in grad school, and I had just returned from Russia. I wasn't ready to be shot at again, and I wasn't sure I had the strength to face that level of horror.
Instead, I interned at the Burke Museum, where I worked in a room down the hall from The Ancient One, a.k.a. Kennewick Man, while Army Corps of Engineers archaeologists cataloged and studied the bones during the drawn-out lawsuit. It turned out to be a horror in my own backyard.
I listened to native peoples' stories, and wept at the tragedies I have been part of. That I've benefitted from. I have held hands with people who have had all they know taken from them systematically, then erased because they are not descended from white Europeans.
I learned that it isn't enough to put artifacts in collections and preserve them. They need to be touched, to be accessible, to be known to remain important.
So, I joined several museologists and local tribal members in a project to take their hidden cultural heritage and make it accessible, touchable, available to children in tribal schools, and to the public in the Archaeology of West Point Burke Box education kits.
Station Camp Photo: Analyzing Fire Cracked Rock (FCR) in a frigid lab at Middle Village/Station Camp in 2005. Photo Credit, Melissa Darby.
After I received my masters in 2001, I moved back to Oregon, and worked for many years as an archaeologist for Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington. Our team worked at sites and with collections from around the Pacific Northwest, including Fort Clatsop and Middle Village/Station Camp at the mouth of the Columbia River, and Cathlapotle at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. I gave countless tours of the park's amazing collection, and instructed new students and volunteers in active excavations and laboratory work to preserve the past, on public display for visitors every single day of my job.
Analyzing metal artifacts in the archaeological lab at Fort Vancouver NHS in 2006. Photo Credit, National Park Service, Fort Vancouver NHS.
I spent over a decade protecting our nation's heritage and natural resources from people like the Hammonds and these so-called patriots. I attended conferences with antiquities law enforcement officers, and conducted numerous interventions with people attempting to destroy archaeological heritage on our lands. I spent countless unpaid hours developing outreach programs for children and adults to educate people about our natural and cultural heritage, to attempt to change how we approach conservation and historical preservation by making it more accessible and more important to everyone.
I learned how to engage in the difficult, daily dialectic with people who think that their want to use the land in a particular way constitutes a right, not the misplaced privilege that it has been.
I fought to educate people who support and have engaged in riding ATVs through protected habitats and cultural landscapes, intervened with friends who argued for setting back-burn fires, letting them know how they endanger historic structures and landscapes let alone lives and habitats, talked with poachers who chafe at being restricted from "their" forests by "environmentalist hippies" like me.
I've sat with developers who want to build roads through prehistoric villages. Given tours to congressional staff members who want to please someone higher up the food chain by making a highly visible project happen regardless of the laws right now, dammit. Congressional staff who work for politicians who get paid by lobbyists who will benefit from their plans to privatize the entire parks system.
I've intervened when hot-shot Forest Service crews wanted to trample over extant historic log structures in order to practice fire suppression. I've called the police and helped guide them to meth-heads who want to collect metal artifacts to sell for scrap at a historic site. I've stopped construction workers who just want to dig that damn hole right through a privy once used by Ulysses S. Grant, on the edge of a cemetery with Native American remains in it. I've argued with ranchers who want to graze cattle on public lands so that they profit on directly on the destruction of delicate riparian zones and wildflower habitats, had beer with loggers who want to destroy watersheds for steelhead and salmon. I've taught pothunters and "collectors" who loot artifacts and sell off antiquities to form that funnel to an international black market, aka "recreational metal detecting."
These last ones are the most dangerous. I've had multiple law enforcement officers report that illicit antiquities are used to funnel money into most drug, weapons, and human trafficking organizations all the way up to international warlords and cartels. The site Conflict Antiquities has a trove of examples, if you have the heart to read the heartbreaking stories there.
That trail starts with the arrowhead and potsherd enthusiasts.
I lived this for a decade, committed to the mission of preservation, education, and conservation. I've been personally threatened. I know people who have been shot at while surveying for pipelines, people who have been threatened. I had to quit when the backbreaking pace of this work threatened to kill me after I was diagnosed with a progressive congenital neurological disorder.
We don't get paid much. I was paid less than the entry-level construction workers I supervised. We don't do it for the Indiana Jones-style hats, or the glory of being covered in the dirt, or living out of suitcases, waking up arthritic and bruised after another day in the hot sun, or even the non-existent sweet, sweet gold nuggets that everyone asks us if we've found yet.
We do this because we all believe in the importance of knowing where we come from so that we know where we are going. Because we believe this is important for all of us, not just us history nerds.
My colleagues have died — and are dying — to protect the past in multiple parts of the world, including the United States.
My heart is in my throat for the rangers and scientists who work for the Forest Service and BLM right now. This is not because I think they will be shot at. Well, partially that.
It is because I fear that all we have done has not been enough to make people aware why this is so wrong, and the desperate pain that arises when you've given your life to this greater cause only to have everyone turn their back and say, "Who cares. It's just a wildlife refuge in the middle of nowhere Oregon. Let them burn the place down."
The Bundy mob stated they want to open the Malheur Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding lands to ranchers, that the "best possible outcome" will be that the government will "relinquish control" over "their" land and that what they are doing is not "rebellious" but in accordance with the "Constitution."
These are the same people who have organized ATV trail rides through cultural heritage sites in Utah that are off limits because the mere touch by human hands can destroy what has survived for millennia. They support the "American Lands Council" who argue that all public lands have been "taken from them" by the government. While I agree in some cases with eminent domain cases here and there, by-and-large, the same politicians behind these movements are paid by lobbyists for international corporations who would benefit from the wholesale opening of public lands for stockholder gain for mining, water, agriculture, etc.
You and I, the common citizen, would not benefit in any way. We would probably lose a great deal of our treasures if the American Lands Council got their way.
They use the imagery of Wounded Knee and the history of Native American genocide as symbols of their anti-government movement, while benefitting from the privilege of being on the "winning side" of that war of conquest.
My experience is that these people have no respect for heritage other than their radically skewed version of the past. They have have absolutely no respect for science, for culture, for heritage. They have no understanding of what lies beneath their feet, what is or isn't a common good, other than how it reflects their shortsighted, narcissistic, vision of the world: a vision that reflects a white man carrying a gun and doing whatever he wants whenever he wants, no matter what anyone else wants or needs.
The Constitution says they can believe that. It is a free country.
Until they use their power, their force, their ignorance, and their hypocritical symbols of "justice" and "Constitutional Rights" to force the government to bend to their personal vision of a world in which "public lands" are theirs to use as they wish, whenever they wish.
The FBI considers domestic terrorism as:
Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination. or kidnapping; and
Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.
And that:
18 U.S.C. § 2332b defines the term "federal crime of terrorism" as an offense that:
Is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct; and
Is a violation of one of several listed statutes, including § 930(c) (relating to killing or attempted killing during an attack on a federal facility with a dangerous weapon); and § 1114 (relating to killing or attempted killing of officers and employees of the U.S.).
They are carrying guns. They have told media that they will resort to violence if law enforcement attempts to remove them from federal property. They want to take lands we stole from the people who came before us, a place Teddy Roosevelt set aside for all of us in 1908, and make it into a cattle ranch for their fun and profit. They want to subvert our justice system in order to support two arsonists who poached, burned, and consistently opposed efforts to conserve habitats in areas that are environmentally very sensitive to fire and grazing.
Nevermind that this is the same justice system that a few days ago failed to indict a police officer for shooting of Tamir Rice, a black twelve-year-old child for carrying a toy gun in a park because he was a reasonably suspicious threat.
They are no different than ISIS, who use the same weapons to dismantle the archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria than they do to kill their own people. Who are selling artifacts on the international black market to fund their terrible war to make the world into their radical vision. They are no different than the Taliban, who did the same in Afghanistan. Or the junta who took over Myanmar and destroyed much of the Buddhist heritage there, or the Nazis, who looted and pillaged their way across Europe and North Africa. Or the British in India, or the Americans in North America. The list is really endless.
This is a tactic of terror, conquest, and control.
If you feel any of this is wrong as I do, I've learned something else working in public service.
You have a voice as a citizen, while the government employees are tied by bureaucracy and the silence of ethics.
You can call your elected officials, local and national. The Oregon governor, Kate Brown.
Talk to your neighbors, your kids, people you meet online and around town. Educate yourself. Educate others. Be vocal. Be an advocate. For it is all of our future that is at stake, here.
But most of all, please, do not mistake the fact that they haven't "shot at anyone yet" for peaceful intent. They are not peaceful. They are not patriots. They are not protesters.
They want what is all of ours for their own. And they will kill to get it.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged guestpost, history on January 3, 2016 by slowbloom.
A couple of years ago I started selecting a word as my theme for the year, rather than doing resolutions (which are fraught for many reasons that most of you know). I like to choose verbs, because they remind me to take action. I like to treat the word like a mantra or meditation focus. It's something I can return to, again and again, without labeling myself as a failure. Our attention wanders. It's natural.
For 2014 the word was return. For 2015, it was try.
I was thinking last week what I wanted it to be for 2016. I was listening to The Moth podcast, and Dan Kennedy shared some resolutions that listeners felt were particularly potent. One was, "fail more." Given how much time I've spend pondering failure on this blog, I thought I would focus on that.
So for 2016, the word is submit. I particularly like Merriam-Webster's definition.
: to give (a document, proposal, piece of writing, etc.) to someone so that it can be considered or approved
: to stop trying to fight or resist something : to agree to do or accept something that you have been resisting or opposing
I like that there are multiple meanings. Amongst my writer friends, the first meaning will probably the one that comes to mind. And I like the second meaning: to stop resisting and give in. In this case, even though I know I want to write and be published, I resist it. In addition, I can bring the words from the last two years along. Return. Try. Submit.
2016 is going to be about giving in even further to what I want. What do you want for 2016?
This entry was posted in Slowbloom, Writing and tagged failure, fear, oneword, writing on January 3, 2016 by slowbloom.


In Years 7 and 8 students will all study the core National Curriculum, learn their own musical instrument and become part of one of Varndean's unique Specialist Schools.
Options are chosen in Year 8 to allow students to select the areas of study which best meet their interests and learning styles. See the separate options page for full information about these. They continue these options for 3 years and take the majority of their exams in Year 11 for GCSEs or BTECs. If students are ready, they might have an opportunity to take exams early (usually in science, maths and languages) and perhaps pick up additional options in Year 11 or enrich their learning further by taking on a Level 3 Extended Project.
The breadth and range of the curriculum is a strength at Varndean. A great deal of thought has been put into balancing the curriculum to the needs of students in Key stage 4. The options and choices process for Key Stage 4 was well regarded in general by the students in Year 8 and 9.
The range and diversity of options available at Key Stage 4 were highlighted as very positive by Key Stage 3 students choosing their options in a recent review of the curriculum from an external advisor.
When students join us in Year 7 they will choose to be part of one of 4 exciting new Specialist Schools. Whether they are part of the School of Discovery; the School of Creativity; the School of Expression or the School of Leadership, every student will have an opportunity to excel and build upon the gifts and talents they arrive with. Sessions take place every Wednesday afternoon and each adhere to delivering on each of the following.
Students arrive at Varndean School with talents. We want to identify and build upon them, celebrating their giftedness from the moment they arrive.
Students will be given the opportunity to take risks and enhance their learning in one specialist area of study.
Students will learn transferable skills that impact positively across the curriculum and prepare them for adult life.
Students will develop independence, resilience and pride through a range of challenging opportunities.
Students will have the scope to be creative with the curriculum, allowing them the freedom to explore and be excited through their learning.
Each School will work through a programme of learning that is led by the students under the guidance of a specialist member of staff. They will take part in at least one showcase opportunity throughout the year and record their progress in a reflective journal.
Below is a great example of one of the Specialist Schools, the School of Leadership.
When arriving in Year 7, every student will begin learning a new musical instrument from either of the following options, cello, violin, ukulele, p-bone or p-trumpet.
We believe this to be a unique opportunity for all students to develop progressive musical skills.
We run 3 days throughout the year where the usual timetable is collapsed and students experience a different kind of learning.
In Years 7 and 8 students experience a variety of workshops and specialist sessions to support their citizenship and Learning for Life (L4L) programme through longer periods of specialist input and discussions, as well as the ever popular day of Languages in Year 7 where students experience a wide variety of language including Russian, Italian and Mandarin to name just a few.
In Years 9-11, these days are also used to support the L4L and citizenship programme but are increasingly used to offer intense learning experiences in their chosen courses of study or their core GCSEs.
High impact days [now called Learning Enhancement Days] for curriculum subjects were well received by older students. They enjoyed working at greater depth for a whole day.
In November 2015 our holistic approach to education was recognised nationally by educational improvement charity Challenge Partners, naming us as a centre of excellence for character education. Read the full article for more details.
All students study Learning for Life (L4L) and citizenship education. This is delivered by form tutors during an extended period of learning on a Monday morning and through three Learning Enhancement Days each school year. Many other areas of the curriculum also contribute to this area of our students' education including Philosophy and Ethics and History.
L4L and citizenship education enables our students to become healthy, independent and responsible members of the school community, modern Britain and the wider society. We teach our students about rights and responsibilities and we ensure that students experience and appreciate the process of democracy through the 4 school councils (Student Voice).
There is a rounded programme of assemblies that promote SMSC to students. The extensive enrichment curriculum also has a significant impact.
When students join us in Year 7, most lessons are taught in mixed ability tutor groups which we believe works well particularly for the initial transition period. As the year progresses and as they move through the school, students may be placed into target groups as a response to their learning needs in the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science.
Every student learns the fundamentals of computing from Year 7 and we have an increasingly large uptake at GCSE. We also offer IT GCSE and the European Computing Driving License to ensure when students leave us they are computer literate and can operate across a number of platforms including PC, Mac, Chromebook and tablet devices.
Our students never fail to impress us with their talents and enthusiasm for learning. Each year we consider the curriculum and how we can adapt it to meet the needs of the most able. We currently have a number of opportunities open to students that offer them additional stretch and challenge on top of that usually provided in lessons.
They have an opportunity to study two languages with additional sessions after school including Latin GCSE. A fastrack GCSE PE class that takes place before school; Additional Maths qualification that has seen a significant increase in uptake in recent years; triple science course that the majority of our students take up. From September 2015 we will also be embarking on the Edexcel Level 3 Extended Project with a group of Year 11 students who took their maths GCSE early in Year 10 and gained A/A* grades.
Please see the Able and Talented page for further information.
Many students can already speak another language before they start at Varndean School and these are referred to as Heritage Languages.
Heritage Languages can take the place of French, German or Spanish studied in school however this must first be discussed with the Languages department and these students must take an actual GCSE in the Heritage Language in place of GCSE French, German or Spanish. There might also be the opportunity to take this exam much sooner than the end of Year 11 if a student is ready.
In Summer 2017 21 of our students got A* in their Heritage Subjects, ranging from Arabic to Greek and many other languages besides.
Below is a list of Heritage Languages that students have sat exams for in the past.
We appreciate and celebrate the fact that not every student learns in the same way. Some individuals might prefer an alternative curriculum for part of the week to enable us to get the best out of them and ensure they leave us with enough qualifications, experiences and self-confidence for their next step in life.
Course such as kickboxing in Year 8; ASDAN in Years 9-11; College Courses in such things as Hair and Beauty, Construction or Motor Vehicle and Academy 21 all provide valuable learning opportunities for some individuals in their Varndean School journey.
The new A2A centre, a more inclusive curriculum and good links with the colleges is helping the more vulnerable engage better with education to ensure they do not become NEET*.
P GAYLE CURRICULUM REVIEW, JUNE 2015.
The alternative provision provided through Aspire to Achieve (A2A) and ASDAN** seems to be working very well in engaging those students who struggle with the mainstream curriculum.
It is no longer a requirement for schools to report on National Curriculum Levels and GCSE grades leading up until they get their final GCSE results at the end of Year 11. In support of this we have developed our own system where we will report on the progress that your son/daughter is making towards their Year 11 target. We believe that this system is better for students and parents because it does not label the individual, but describes their progress towards personally challenging targets.
Each half term pupils will be expected to complete a series of assignments for each of their subjects, which constitute the skills of knowledge, exploration and communication. Students will be given a progress measure which will allow you to clearly see if they are on the correct trajectory towards their Year 11 target.
If their progress is Excelling then your son/daughter is on a trajectory to exceed their target in Year 11.
If their progress is Good then your son/daughter is on a trajectory to meet their target in Year 11.
If their progress is Developing then your son/daughter needs extra support to meet their target in Year 11.
If their progress is Insufficient then your son/daughter will need additional support including attending catch up clinics outside of normal curriculum time (these could be at lunchtime or before school, not just after school) in order to meet their target in Year 11.
It is important to note that if a student is on target to achieve their Year 11 target of a Grade 6, then in Year 7, for example, they will not currently be producing GCSE Grade 6 work, but will be producing work to the standard we would expect of a Grade 6 student in this year group.
Reporting on your child's progress occurs regularly throughout their time at Varndean School. Please refer to the FAQs on reports for further information.
The past four years have seen a significant number of new initiatives in education. One fundamental change which will happen over the next few years is the introduction of new KS4 syllabi for every subject and the move from traditional GCSE Grades (A*-G) to a new GCSE grading structure (1-9).
What are the main changes to GCSEs?
All external examinations will be in the form of terminal exams.
Internal assessment (controlled assessment) will either be removed completely or significantly reduced, depending on the subject.
The content of each subject's syllabus will be reviewed and modifications made after a consultation period.
When are the new changes happening to the GCSE syllabi?
The new English and Mathematics syllabi have been approved and will be delivered to Year 10 from September 2015, with examinations taking place in May/June 2017. All other subjects' syllabi are in the process of being reviewed and will be first delivered to Year 10 from September 2016, with examinations taking place in May/June 2018.
What are the changes to the GCSE grading structure?
The current A*-G grading system will be replaced with a new nine-point scale (1-9), which will be implemented in a phased approach over the next few years.
'9' will be the top grade and '1' the lowest.
The new grades will not match directly onto the old ones.
The reason for the change is to provide greater differentiation of student outcomes, especially among high achievers, and for those students who "bunch" in the middle grades. Expectations will be higher as the new grade '5' will be set at about half to two thirds of a GCSE grade higher than the current requirement for a grade C.
It is intended that the bottom of the new grade '4' will correspond to the bottom of a current grade C. So, broadly the same proportion of candidates will achieve a grade four or above as currently achieve a grade C or above.
The new grade '7' boundary will be equivalent to the current grade A. This leaves the possibility for grade '9' to become exceptional performance (Super A*) achievable by only the top half of those students who currently achieve the highest grade of A*.
For some students it is proposed that the proportion of students who achieve a grade '1' in the new GCSEs will be about the same as those who currently achieve either a grade F or G.
How will the old GCSE grades correspond to the new 1-9 grades?
The diagram above shows approximately how the current grades will relate to the new grading structure.
Are new GCSE courses being introduced alongside the grading changes?
Yes. New GCSEs in English Language, English Literature and Mathematics will be introduced for first teaching from September 2015 (current Year 10). These will be awarded marks under the new GCSE grading system (1-9), with students receiving their GCSEs in August 2017.
New GCSEs for most of the remaining subjects will be introduced for first teaching from September 2016 (current Year 8). These will be awarded marks under the new GCSE grading system (1-9), with pupils receiving their GCSEs in August 2018.
What grades will my son/daughter receive?
All other subjects will be graded on the existing A*-G GCSE grading structure or BTEC Distinction - Pass.
A few remaining subjects will be graded on the existing A*-G GCSE grading structure or BTEC Dinstinction - Pass.
Students currently in Years 7, 8 and 9 will receive their GCSE grades from August 2019 onwards based on the new 1-9 GCSE grading structure, or BTEC Distinction - Pass grading.
How will these changes impact whole school measures?
For a number of years the whole school measures have been based around the number of pupils achieving A*-C in 5 or more subjects. In recent years the English Baccalaureate (EBACC) was also used as a measure. The EBAC measured the number of pupils achieving A*-C in English, Mathematics, Science, Geography/History and French/Spanish.
1 English English Language or English Literature Double weighting (if both Language and literature are taken). The higher of the two grades is used.
RT @teacherhead: Teaching Fundamentals: Checking for Recall and Understanding. https://t.co/9A0Yu3ts17 .


Help us Make the Awesome Assessment Tool We All Need!
Our semester is now half over and the use of our spreadsheet and mastery learning has been amazing. I didn't think that the spreadsheet system Kyle and I created back in January, based on Alice Keeler's Google Sheet's and Gamifying the classroom, would have had this much of an impact on student learning. But it did!
We want to take our Assessment spreadsheet for growth learning to the next level!
We love this tool….we want to make it better and so much easier to use. That's where we need help!
We are just regular' ol' math teachers.
We imagine this on the web.
We need the help of web programmers.
Students, parents, can log in access and view their achievement. Share it even! A place to capture their learning!
Teachers can log in, track marks, provide feedback, award mastery badges, give next steps, reveal new questions for mastery, point to extra help resources all in one place. They could capture and store student work. Teachers could share learning goals (even whole courses) and the activities/resources they have with other teacher users.
So many tools are out there for assessment. None of them are a complete system. This one is!
We have so many ideas on where this could go….but we are stuck. We need it to be more user friendly.
Please share this out! If you know of anyone who wants to partner up, share our passion and help make this happen as much as we do….show this post to them!
Kyle over on Tap Into Teen Minds has also written a post. Go on over there are read his too!
If you yourself are interested in partnering up with us fill out the form below Let's make that assessment tool we ALL Need!


text:
Planners OK site for school downtown
STOCKTON - After listening to an overflow crowd's overwhelming support for a plan to move a charter school downtown in September, the city's Planning Commission unanimously rejected former Mayor Jimmie Rishwain's objection to the school Thursday night.
Though Rishwain's attorney, Michael Matteucci, argued that anyone putting a school at Main and American streets would be "out of their mind" because of neighborhood safety concerns, the Planning Commission was not swayed.
Rishwain, an 82-year-old bar owner, has 10 days to decide whether he will appeal the Planning Commission's decision to the City Council. To prevail in an appeal, Rishwain would need to win five of seven votes from the City Council. As he left City Hall on Thursday night, Rishwain was asked if he will appeal.
"You'll know when I tell you," he said.
Dan Cort, owner of the building being leased to TEAM, sounded unconcerned about the possibility of a Rishwain appeal.
"Right is right," Cort said. "This is right. My feeling is the City Council will respond much the same as the Planning Commission, with sanity and good judgment."
Rishwain owns the vacant building next to where the K-4 school is to be established. He filed his complaint earlier this month, voicing concerns about child safety in a neighborhood he says is rife with criminals, including numerous sex offenders.
He also said he would drop his complaint if given access to the rear of his building - access he has not had for at least six years because of a wrought-iron fence. Thursday, Cort said he will provide a fenced pathway providing emergency access for police and fire personnel to the back of Rishwain's building.
Perhaps 150 supporters of the school turned out for the two-hour meeting. Rishwain gained support from only two others: his attorney and one audience member.
Advocates for the school said its presence will benefit the 300 children who attend the school and breathe life into downtown.
TEAM opened its doors a year ago north of downtown to a population of students from low-income and minority backgrounds. The school's executive director, Debbie Eison, said, "We opened the school as a response to what we consider a crisis in our community. Education is the only weapon we can use to fight poverty and crime. ... We want to give our children a voice, and we want them to expect the very best life has to offer, no matter who they are."
But citing statistics he said were provided by the Stockton Police Department, Matteucci argued that in the past 19 months, close to 2,000 crimes have been reported in the neighborhood, ranging from "murder to rape to drug dealing to prostitution to abuse of children to pedophilia to shooting into buildings."
Matteucci also suggested TEAM's new building might contain asbestos, prompting Cort to remind the audience that the building's previous tenant was San Joaquin County Environmental Health.
Of the safety of the neighborhood, Cort said, "You can make facts do anything you want for you. You can make them do ballet for you. Everyone here tonight wants their children to go to school down there. We should not be held hostage by one individual."
Planning Commissioner Ed Surritt said, "I've been around downtown for 61 years. Today, I got out of my car and walked by the property. Definitely the town has evolved, probably not in a positive way. I think it's time to turn it around. I think this is a great idea."


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When washing dishes in the dishwasher, make sure the water temperature is at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit to properly disinfect.
Instead of putting the sponge in the dishwasher to sanitize it,put the sponge in the microwave for at least two minutes. It kills more bacteria than a dishwasher. Or just use paper toweling and throw it away when done.
Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and other food items, as the cracks and crevices on cutting boards provide space for bacteria to grow. Make sure to thoroughly clean the cutting board in between uses.
Bacteria can grow and divide every 20 minutes, allowing one single cell of bacteria to multiply more than 10 million times in 24 hours. The key is to locate the germ hot spots and tackle the germs as easily and quickly as possible.
The toilet should be a priority when cleaning each week. Start by throwing away the ordinary and germ-ridden toilet brush. A better alternative is the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush. Its curved handle and interchangeable disposable cleaning pads work for both tough stains and easy touch-ups, making cleaning easier, quicker and less disgusting.
Close the lid on the toilet seat every time you flush. The spray from the toilet flushing can spread germs. Unseen by the naked eye, this fine spray contains a range of viruses and bacteria, some of which can survive for hours or days on surfaces including exposed toothbrushes.
Shake the shower curtain after each use and spread it open so moisture can evaporate. Clean shower curtains with a suitable disinfectant or launder them according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Rinse baths, sinks and showers after each use and clean them regularly to remove the lime scale and soap scum that can harbor germs.
It is great that you vacuum. However, you need to remember to clean the vacuum. After each round of vacuuming, spray the entire vacuum with a disinfectant spray. This includes the inside of the canister, filters, bottom of the vacuum and handles.
Germs love hard surfaces. If your vacuum is bagless, wash the canister between rounds of cleaning. Otherwise you're spreading germs back into your home that are living on the hard, plastic surface of the canister.
Too often faucets are allowed to collect grime. The warm and moist bathroom air harbor germs. Faucets should be thoroughly cleaned weekly. Frequently spray faucets with a disinfectant spray.
Do you realize how many germs spray from a toilet that is flushed? If your sink and toilet are close to each other, you're spraying germs on those toothbrushes that are in the holder. Put bathroom items that are near toilets under the sink.


Gulfstream engineers have developed a way to enhance the quality of the design process. The integration of the new 3-D projection technology will ensure customers get exactly what they envision. This removes the need for a 2-D phase, which required engineers to first create a design on a flat surface. That process did not always deliver the same design intended to, as 2-D designs do not take into account the curved surfaces aircrafts have. That is what makes the addition of the new 3-D technology a revolutionary. The execution of the paint schemes is even better than the already state-of-the-art paining process. In addition, any changes in the design can take place in real time. This provides both technicians and customers with the knowledge of the design throughout the entire painting process, ensuring 100% satisfaction with the completed aircraft.
Accuracy is a key component of the 3-D projection technology. It gives engineers an edge during the execution process. The 3-D mapping software lets engineers know how to correctly shape each image to reflect it accurately on the surface. This software is based on another commercial 3-D software used in aircraft manufacturing- the Delta Sigma Co.'s Projection Works. This program is used to map out where fasteners and other connectors should be located in an aircraft.
The implementation of the new 3-D technology gives everyone exactly what is envisioned every step of the way and cuts the amount of anticipation in waiting for the final product. The execution of the paint schemes through the 3-D projection technology pioneered by Gulfstream is sure to lead other manufacturers to change the way they handle their printing process.