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Administrator Campaign Adaptations, Gran March January 23, 2023 January 23, 2023
Chapter Four of Under the Goblin Trees
Campaign adaptation by Thomas Kelly
The morning light dawned on a scene of horror. Blood splattered the walls and washed the floors of many cottages. The afflicted resumed their human forms with no memory of the terrors of the night. More than a dozen villagers were dead, some slain by the wolves, some slain as wolves. Others came wandering into the town, naked and confused, unable to say why they awoke to find themselves alone and unclothed out in the woods.
Myron is never above sarcasm or gloating, "So what is your diagnosis master priest? What do you think? Is it merely the winter fever?"
I spent most of the day dressing wounds and invoking the gods for healing. Both Bruin and Mercifcul nursed ugly bleeding wounds. Cirilli and I treated their torn flesh. We exchanged knowing glances. At the next full moon, both men might be howling to one another.
Myron scolded Bruin, "Use your head instead of your brawn next time. What are we going to do with a werewolf your size? How are we supposed to deal with you this time?"
Bruin smiled sheepishly and explained, "I didn't think I would get bitten."
The afflicted were again restrained before sunset lest the affliction remain upon them under the waning moon. At sunset we burned the dead according to the custom of the villagers, and I entrusted their souls to hands of the gods.
As Luna rose, we stocked the bonfires and prepared to face the beasts again, but all remained quiet in the village. I fell into bed at midnight, utterly exhausted. I slept until late into the following morning, my sleep beset by nightmares the entire time.
The Investigation and the Mission
When I awoke, the others were already up and finished with breakfast. Cirilli sat with the daughter of Micksallicks, speaking to her about herbs and cures and how to dress her wounds. The girl showed absolutely no symptoms. If not for the torn flesh and rope burns on her wrists and ankles, I would not have believed it possible that this fair girl might be the same as that snarling, twisting creature from the previous night.
Myron took me aside, out of the girl's earshot, and said to me, "Today, priest, we will get to the bottom of this insanity." He proposed visiting every cottage in the village and taking inventory. I saw sense in this plan and agreed to accompany him. He put on his best face, so to speak, and we made the rounds. At each cottage we asked a series of questions, cross-examining and double-checking as best we could, and we took careful note of the answers. Was anyone here afflicted? Did anyone shift into wolfen shape? When did symptoms first manifest? Was anyone bitten? Does the afflicted possess any memory of the incident? Does the afflicted remember being bitten by a wolf or dog in the past? The investigation put me in remembrance of the diligent work we did in Orlane to solve the riddle of the naga witch's enchantment.
None of those afflicted had any memory of the previous night, nor did any of them report a previous encounter with wolf or lycanthrope. Some described nightmares of a phantom that descended on the village like a shadow at night. A few suspected their friends had fallen under the affliction months ago and may have undergone transformations during previous moons.
By the end of the day we had a list of everyone under the affliction known to have transformed by the full moon, and we compiled another list of names that included everyone who had suffered a bite which might render one vulnerable to lycanthropy. We put the name of Myron's own adopted brother brother, mighty Bruin, on this latter list, along with the name of Sir Mericiful, for both men now stood in danger of the infection. Then we assembled the people of the village together in the square and reported our findings.
Some of the more excitable among the folk, speaking out of trauma and fear, frantically called upon us to put the afflicted to death at once and burn their remains. I argued, "Tut, tut! Surely not, good people, for these pour souls are your own brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters, your husbands and wives. But let a cure be sought."
The village smith announced that he was prepared to fashion weapons edged with silver alloy if only the people of the village would collect their silver belongings and turn them over to him. I said, "Silver weapons are not a cure for this affliction. But there is a certain herb which has been known to help."
Cirilli spoke to the assembly about the medicinal benefits of wolfsbane, a certain flower which yields a deadly poison, but might also be pressed to a tincture to cure the afflicted. She spoke of where it can be found, how it must be prepared, and how it can be administered. She called upon the villagers to bring out any supplies of the precious herb that they might have in their possession, and one good wife did have some, dried and powdered among the elements she used for mixing potions. But it was plain to all that we had not nearly enough for the host of those under the affliction.
Old Micksaliscks told them, "Father Tabor has an errand in these woods that leads him and his companions to travel to the hall of Lord Baron Wulurich. My son Ivan will accompany them there and gather what they can of the herb from the stores of the Lord Baron and bring it back to us. But let another party make all haste to the herbalist in Carern and purchase for us all that he will sell us of the same herb."
To this counsel, I added my own word of advice, "Let a third make all haste for Hookhill to fetch a bishop of Pholtus or the high priest of Heironeous, or if none of these can be spared or persuaded, let a priest of Pelor suffice. Prevail upon that holy man to return with all haste and remove this curse before the next moon."
Later that night, Ivan confided with me, "My good priest, surely you alone hold the key to heal this affliction. Remember how the Lady Ehlenestra appeared to me in a dream and told me to seek you out? Do you believe another priest will accomplish for us what you cannot do or that ingesting a mere herb will accomplish the cure?"
I did not answer the woodsman. The same questions had been vexing me, and I had put them to Myron earlier in the day. He had replied sharply, "Of course not priest! Don't be a fool. A strong dose of your herbal quackery might possibly save Bruin or Sir Merciful from the travails of lycanthropy by neutralizing what poison now doubtlessly flows through their veins, but the people of this village do not suffer from the venom of a werewolf's bite. They have fallen under some sinister and unnatural curse of lycanthropy. Evil magic is at work here, and only a stronger magic will reverse it."
No Laughing Matter
At first light on the fourteenth day of Fireseek, Ivan sent a troop of his men to make the journey to Carern, and a messenger left for Hookhill. For our part, we began to prepare for the journey to the hall of Baron Wulurich, but we did not set out that same day, for it was a day of ill omen. Instead, we spent the day preparing gear, packing provisions, readying the horses. We had one more night in the home of Micksalicks, his sons, and his ill-fated daughter. While at table, Myron asked her to hold up her hand, and he showed her brothers how the child's index finger had grown longer than the other fingers. "A certain sign of the curse," he warned. He further embarrassed the girl by pointing out thick hair of her eyebrows and how they had begun to grow as one above her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and would not look up at us for the rest of the night, but Myron scarcely noticed the distress he caused the poor girl.
He turned his unwanted attention to Bruin and observed, "The problem with this big oaf is that his eyebrows have always been a thick bushy mass like this. It indicates nothing at all, does it? But if his index finger grows out, well, then a fearsome big wolf he will make."
"Don't get your fingers near my mouth when I am eating," Bruin laughed as he shoveled chicken porridge into his mouth.
Old Micksalicks scowled, "Hardly a laughing matter."
Into the Dim
We set out before midmorning on a cold day with frost in the air and the breath of the horses steaming. Ivan rode on a fine Backluni charger, the type which a lord of Ull might ride into battle. Sir Belvenore and Sir Merciful eyed the steed jealously. One did not expect to find a lumberjack mounted upon a horse of such breeding.
The forest closed in around us. Sir Belvenore spoke his mind as we passed from the edge of the clearing and into the night-like darkness of the Dim Forest, "I should be glad to leave behind that cursed village if it did not mean passing through this cursed wood."
Neither did I relish a journey of six days into the heart of the Dim, but Ivan assured us that the lord baron's men patrolled the road. He said, "We will not likely encounter any dangers between here and there."
The road was not a road but merely a narrow path cut through the forest, just wide enough for a single ox cart. The branches and heavy leafy foliage above our heads created an impenetrable ceiling which daylight could not pierce. Only pale light makes the difference between day and night beneath the heavy crowns of the Dim Forest, especially in the winter months when a blanket of snow covers the leafy crowns still clinging to their branches and vines in the canopy above. We used torches, lanterns, and even Myron's magical light to make our way in the middle of the afternoon. The silence of the forest weighs as oppressively as the darkness. At times one hears wind scraping in the boughs above, but scarcely does a breeze move below.
In some places, the trees grew closely together along both sides of the road, creating such a narrow passage that no wagon or team could easily pass between the trunks. We felt as if we travelled through a darkening tunnel, and when this happened, we rode single file. At other times the walls of that tunnel seemed to fall away into vast yawning expanses of darkness between widely spaced trunks of trees, some of enormous girth. The dark open spaces seemed the more foreboding. One imagined all sorts of wicked things lurking in the darkness, watching us make our way with our torches and lanterns. We felt as if we made easy targets for ambush from goblins, orcs, or ogres.
No ambush beset us, but Ivan warned us that beyond baron's hall, beyond the Realstream, the goblins have grown bold. "Some new lord has arisen whom they fear more than us, a goblin king, but whether he be orc lord, sorcerer, or devil, we have not heard. We hunt the goblins when their raids cross the Realstream and stray too close to our homes. Then we drive them back to their holes under the Goblin Trees."
"What are the Goblin Trees?" Cirilli asked for the benefit of us all.
Ivan gestured in the direction of which he spoke, "Far to the west, at the center of the forest, grows a copse of towering deklo. Beneath the roots of those massive giants the clans have dug their dens and made their lairs. But we are far from that place and safe from their reach so long as we stay within the barony."
I pondered those words about a goblin king for some miles. When we stopped at a stream to rest the horses and nibble a bit on some bread and dried goods, I opened the pack of documents I had been carrying to present to the baron. With Myron's help, I reread the correspondence between the naga witch and the unnamed master in the Dim Forest. Surely, I thought, this must be the same despot with whom the witch conspired and with whom she traded in the children of Orlane.
From time to time, we passed by intersections where paths and roads snaked off this way and that through the trees. Ivan would say, "This path leads to such and such a village, and if one follows that road to the south, he comes to the cottage of so and so. In that direction is a hermitage, and that path leads to Gnome Hill."
Near the end our travel, we came under a treehouse, built in the branches extending over the road. From that perch the baron's men kept a watch on everyone coming and going. They called down to us as we approached, and we hallooed them in return. Sir Belvenore and Ivan rode ahead to state our business, and after exchanging a few words with us, the baron's men waved us on.
"I thought no one lived this far into the forest except elves and fairy folk," I said. "Why does the lord baron maintain a hall so far away from any civilization or real roads?"
Sir Belvenore explained, "The laws of the March require the baron to occupy his barony not less than half the year or forfeit it to another."
"So the lord baron is a homesteader, staking his claim in the woods," Myron observed.
Ivan affirmed it was so. He added, "We are not yet so deep in the wood as you imagine. The villages of men cluster near the edge."
The Baron's Hall
We rode most of a day before we came upon the clearing of the baron's hall. The winter sun was already setting beyond the trees, but I felt relieved to see the early stars above our heads instead of forest canopy. We breathed the cold open air of the clearing gratefully.
The baron's hall looked to be as homely as that of any lord of Geoff. The main house was a three-story affair with snow-covered pitched roofs of cedar shingles and many gables. A tall wooden tower rose on one side. Smoke rose from several chimneys. Light streamed through glass windows, and bright lanterns hung above the doors. A small village of servant's cottages, stables, smithy, general store, and small barns surrounded the great house. A few servants moved about the yard. A stockade fence of sharpened posts eight foot high surrounded the whole of it.
The first to meet us was a stable-boy, or so I thought, until I caught a closer look at him. Though he wore a stableboy's trousers, shirt, cap, coat, and boots, this was not a stable-boy, but rather a goblin in a boy's clothing. I once saw a performing monkey, dressed in a little outfit, at the Gorna Town fair. The spectacle before me reminded me of that absurdity.
"Don't be alarmed," Ivan said as he handed the reins of his steed over to the goblin servant. "The baron has domesticated the locals."
"Or perhaps the baron himself is the goblin lord you mentioned earlier?" Myron sniffed suspiciously. Ivan ignored the baseless speculation.
The stableboy bowed apologetically, smiled up at me and gestured, inviting me to dismount and hand over the reins of my pony. Bruin shook his head, "It's an unlucky business to deal with goblin kind."
Ivan explained, "They are not allowed in the house. They only serve in the yard. He employs only the ones that have been raised by men from the cradle. They are completely tame."
The baron received us warmly, flinging open the doors of hospitality. He apologized profusely for our reception. He explained, "Men are scarce here in the dark woods, and servants are hard to come by."
He welcomed us kindly and as befits a lord of Gran March—a man of military discipline and courtly refinement. He had perhaps aged past his prime years, but he seemed no less hale and healthy than Sir Belvenore. Indeed, he had once ridden with the Watch and attained the title of Valiant Sphinx. He had a handsome face, grey hair and grey beard, and keen, eager eyes that flashed with enthusiasm. He wore the fine, fashionable styles of court which I had seen among the nobility in Hookhill. All that finery might have seemed out of place in such a remote and rustic place if not for the opulence of the baron's hall.
The interior of the baron's banqueting hall was awash with light from two great chandeliers and at least a dozen lamps. Furnishings of the most expensive variety and all the décor and artwork spoke in unison of wealth and sophistication. Here were fine things, furnishings, and works of art from the hands of elves, dwarves, and gnomes. The eye delighted in the rugs that covered the floors, the tapestries that hung upon the walls, the couches and finely crafted chairs, the paintings and vases—but the most beautiful treasure in that hall was surely the baroness. Wrapped in a finely sewn delicate dress of autumn leaf, she moved through the room with unearthly grace. Auburn hair tumbled into unruly locks that curled about the sides of her elfin-fairy face like leafy boughs rustling in the breeze. I thought to myself, A remarkable trophy for his collection! Here was no noblewoman of the March—not a human woman at all.
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Dim Forest
Father Tabor
Gran March
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Brad Pitt's Oscars Acceptance Speech Got Political Right Off The Bat
By Karen Fratti
Brad Pitt has been killing his acceptance speeches all awards season, and his 2020 Oscar acceptance speech was no different. This time, there were no jokes about his dating life, but Pitt's Oscars speech for Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood opened with a jab at Senate Republicans.
Pitt took the stage to accept his fist-ever Oscar for an acting role, hugging presenter Regina King. "They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week," he began. The actor was of course referring to the former White House national security advisor who was not allowed to testify at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial the week before the Academy Awards.
He then joked that one day Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino should make a movie of the Trump presidency and impeachment trial, which garnered more applause from the crowd. Pitt then moved on, taking way more than just 45 seconds, into standard acceptance speech territory. He thanked his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for letting him "ride on his coat tails," applauded behind-the-scenes people in the industry, such as stunt crews, for the important work they do, recalled all of the people he's worked with along the way, and then got misty eyed thanking his kids ("I adore you!") before being hustled off of the stage.
Pitt has been in full-on charm mode during this awards season thanks to whoever has a hand in writing his spot-on speeches (a common Hollywood practice). He also took home the award for best supporting actor for his role as Cliff Booth at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and the SAG Awards, in addition to Most Swoon-worthy Ex Boyfriend for his interaction with Jennifer Anniston backstage at the SAGs.

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Google expands its conversational Duplex AI to the UK, Australia and Canada
Google is using Duplex to confirm businesses' operating hours in the countries.
Mariella Moon|@mariella_moon|April 9, 2020 2:56 AM
Google's high-tech Duplex AI calling service has quietly made its way to the UK, Australia and Canada. The tech giant originally launched the feature in the US back in 2018 before it started a pilot testing for it in New Zealand a year later. With Duplex, you can ask Google Assistant to call, say, restaurants or car rentals for you, so you can make a table reservation or book a vehicle.
VentureBeat has spotted a change on a Help Center page that shows the phone numbers Google will use to call business owners per country. The updated list now includes the UK, Australia and Canada in addition to the US and New Zealand.
According to the publication, though, those countries aren't getting the full Duplex experience yet. Google told VentureBeat that this rollout is part of the company's efforts to confirm businesses' operating hours using the Duplex AI. The tech giant is taking steps to include businesses' status and hours in search results, so that people don't go out unnecessarily while the world is still trying to flatten the coronavirus curve.


Patiala House is the next release of Akshay Kumar after the Mega Flop – Tees Maar Khan. Patiala House pairs Akshay opposite Anushka Sharma On screen for the very first time. Rishi Kapoor and Dimple mark their return as an On Screen Couple once again after Pyaar Mein Twist and they play Akshay's parents. Patiala House also stars Prem Chopra, Tinu Anand and the singer Hard Kaur in important roles.
Patiala House is directed by Nikhil Advani of Kal Ho Naa Ho Fame.
Patiala House Releases Worldwide on 11 February 2011.
At Patiala House lives the Kahlon family ruled by Bauji (Rishi Kapoor).They follow his diktats as he tries to hold onto his 'Indian values' in the land of the 'goras'.
The younger generations at the Patiala House wants to assert themselves and follow their dreams but are held back by their respect and love for Bauji and the shining example of Bauji's eldest son, Parghat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu (Akshay Kumar). Gattu gave up his dream at the altar of Bauji's biases.
His reward: For the last 17 years he has been working in a corner store.
Will Bauji loosen his hold and let the youngsters find their own dreams instead of following his?
Will Gattu get a second chance to live his life?
What's more important: family or dreams?
And why must we choose one or the other?


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The other day I was wandering through the CB2 website, looking for outdoor furniture, when I stumbled upon their new furniture line, coined "Forever Pieces". Not thinking much of it, I clicked through to the collection of newly offered furniture and decor items, still on a mission to find something cool for my deck. But as I started scrolling down the page I was honestly caught off guard! These designs were very different from their usual offerings. It was refreshing to see this.
I've always associated CB2 as the modern, more affordable sibling to the higher end Crate and Barrel, overflowing with bold, very modern and almost jovial styled design. But these designs show a new level of strength and maturity. They are elegant, clean and classic. I know we've seen our fair share of vintage-modern to transitional these days. Yet, somehow CB2 has reinvented this style with pieces that will last a lifetime in your home and they've managed to do it at a rather affordable price. High five to them!
Check out the full Statement Makers catalog here. Be prepared to want every single item! I'm already rethinking my apartment and begging my husband to let me do a little redecorating. Call me crazy, but I find good design to be exhilarating and it's hard not to want to surround myself with it! Am I right?
I love that store! Every time I'm in Minnesota, I have to stop there! CB2, why must you make so many nice things!!!!
Thank you so much Julissa!


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You are here: Home → Ancient Places → Nineveh/Ninos
Nineveh/Ninos
Creators: M. Roaf, T. Sinclair, S.E. Kroll, St J. Simpson
Contributors: Jeffrey Becker, DARMC, Francis Deblauwe, Tom Elliott, Sean Gillies, Brady Kiesling, Jamie Novotny, R. Talbert, Johan Åhlfeldt
Copyright © The Contributors. Sharing and remixing permitted under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (cc-by).
Last modified Jun 08, 2018 07:38 AM — History
tags: ANE, extant remains
This important Mesopotamian city flanks the eastern edge of the Tigris flood plain, opposite modern Mosul, of which it is now a suburb. From the third millennium B.C. onwards, Nineveh was the most important religious center of the goddess Ištar in the area that would become the Assyrian heartland. Starting in the Middle Assyrian period, the city came under the authority of the kings of Assyria, who often sponsored large-scale building activities there. However, it was not until 704 B.C. that Nineveh became the administrative capital of Assyria, when the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib moved the royal family and court there and transformed the city into a thriving imperial metropolis. Nineveh remained Assyria's capital until 612 B.C., when it was captured and destroyed by a Babylonian-Median collation led by Nabopolassar and Cyaxares. The visible remains of the (7th-century) Assyrian city include the citadel mound Kuyunjik, the smaller mound of Nebi Yunus, and the twelve-kilometer-long city wall.
DARE Location (750 BC - AD 640)
Kuyunjik (Turkish, AD 1300 - Present)
Nebi Yunus (Arabic, AD 1300 - Present)
نينوى (Nineveh: Arabic, modern)
Nineveh (copy) (Akkadian, 750 BC - AD 640)
Ninive (Akkadian, modern)
Ninuwā (Akkadian, 2335 BC - 540 BC)
Ninâ (Akkadian, 1000 BC - 540 BC)
Νῖνος (Nȋnos: Ancient Greek, 750 BC - AD 640)
Nineveh/Ninos makes connections with:
Nineveh/Ninos part of (administrative) (As)Syria (720 BC - 540 BC)
Nineveh/Ninos connection Tigris/Diglitus (river) (unspecified date range)
Nineveh/Ninos receives connections from:
Emašmaš at Nineveh/Ninos (3000 BC - 540 BC)
Handuru Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Review Palace at Nineveh/Ninos (1000 BC - 540 BC)
Aššur Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Badnigalbilukurašušu bounds Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Mullissu Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Palace of Naqi'a at Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Halahhu Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Ešahulezenzagmukam near Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Sennacherib Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Step Gate of the Gardens part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Šamaš Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Quay Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Step Gate of the Armory part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Sîn Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Kidmuri Temple at Nineveh/Ninos (1000 BC - 540 BC)
Badnigerimhuluha bounds Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Step Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Barhalzi Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Šibaniba Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Adad Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Royal Road of Nineveh part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Citadel Wall of Nineveh part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (2335 BC - 540 BC)
Citadel Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (2335 BC - 540 BC)
Sîn-Šamaš Temple at Nineveh/Ninos (1000 BC - 540 BC)
Mašqû Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Ezida at Nineveh/Ninos (1000 BC - 540 BC)
Akītu-Temple of Ištar at Nineveh/Ninos (1600 BC - 540 BC)
Nergal Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Step Gate of the Palace part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Tarbiṣu near Nineveh/Ninos (1000 BC - 540 BC)
Ekituškuga at Nineveh/Ninos (2335 BC - 540 BC)
Khosr River intersects Nineveh/Ninos (3000 BC - Present)
Desert Gate part of (physical/topographic) Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh/Ninos (720 BC - 540 BC)
BAtlas 89 F4 Nineveh/Ninos
Bagg, RGTC 7/2-2 456-466
Iraq Significant Sites 044. Kouyounjik / Nebi Yunis (ancient: Nineveh)
Nashef 1982 206-208
Nashef 1991 89
New Pauly, Ninus [2] The city of Nineveh
Oates 1968 30
RE Nineveh
RINAP 3/1 16-22
RLAss 9 388-433
SAAo KNPP Nineveh
ToposText Nineveh (Mesopotamia)
Wikidata Q5680
Wikipedia (English) Nineveh
Wikipedia (German) Ninive
DARMC 20529
GeoNames 11106385
GeoNames 92878
Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 89 F4 Nineveh/Ninos
The Barrington Atlas Directory notes: Kuyunjik IRQ
According to the Old Testament book of Jonah, Nineveh was home to 120,000 people and took three days to cross. Islamic Tradition has it that the mound of Nebi Yunus ("Prophet Jonah"), the spot where an Assyrian armory was built, contains the grave of the prophet Jonah, who is believed to have died in Nineveh; it is the site of an important mosque.
M. Roaf, T. Sinclair, S.E. Kroll, St J. Simpson, Jeffrey Becker, DARMC, Francis Deblauwe, Tom Elliott, Sean Gillies, Brady Kiesling, Jamie Novotny, R. Talbert, and Johan Åhlfeldt, 'Nineveh/Ninos: a Pleiades place resource', Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places, 2018 <https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/874621> [accessed: 16 July 2019]
{{cite web |url=https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/874621 |title=Places: 874621 (Nineveh/Ninos) |author=Roaf, M., T. Sinclair, S. Kroll, St J. Simpson |accessdate=July 16, 2019 12:18 pm |publisher=Pleiades}}


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Khanal likes to call himself as Technopreneur (Tech Entrepreneur). He is 28 and has worked more than a decade in the field of robotics and electronics automation. He is the co-founder & CEO at Innovake Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Khanal loves to work with his team to find ways for technical intervention in solving local and global problems. Mr. Khanal is the former President of Robotics Association of Nepal. He completed Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Kathmandu Engineering College (Tribhuvan University) and MBA Entrepreneurship from King's.
Kings Congratulates Dipesh for the award and praises the hard work.


Net tax receipts in the first four months of 2018/19 fiscal year that ends in March 2019 were Rs 2.93 lakh crore, government data showed.
India reported on Friday a fiscal deficit of Rs 5.40 lakh crore for April-July, or 86.5 percent of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year compared with 92.4 percent a year earlier.
The Centre expects to trim the deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP this fiscal year, after meeting an upwardly revised fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP in 2017/18. The fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 is Rs 6.24 lakh crore.
As per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the tax collection (net) at end-July was Rs 2.92 lakh crore or 19.8 per cent of BE (budget estimates). The total receipts of the government during April-July 2018 were Rs 3.49 lakh crore or 19.2 per cent of BE. In the similar period of 2017-18, the collection was 19 per cent of BE.
The CGA data showed that total expenditure during April-July 2018 was Rs 8.89 lakh crore or 36.4 per cent of BE. The expenditure was higher as a percentage of BE in the year-ago period.
The capital expenditure was Rs 1.11 lakh crore or 37.1 per cent of BE, CGA said.
Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service said there are risks of India breaching that target for the current financial year as higher oil prices will add to short-term fiscal pressures. According to the US-based agency, the current account deficit (CAD), which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign currency, will widen but will not jeopardise India's external position; and the gap will remain significantly narrower than five years ago.
"Higher oil prices add to short-term fiscal pressures, following cuts in the goods and services tax on some items and relatively high increases in minimum support prices for some crops. We see risks that the deficit will be wider than budgeted," Moody's said.
Brent crude futures is currently hovering around USD 76.51 a barrel.


DoubleClick Inc. yesterday announced financial results for the first quarter of 2003, and said that it expects to achieve its first full year of profitability in 2003.
Kevin Ryan, CEO of DoubleClick, said the results highlight the company's "unwavering focus on right-sizing our business," adding that in 2003 DoubleClick is focused on meeting customers' needs by "developing products and integrating those into our suite of solutions, while driving growth and profits."
The company reported revenues for the first quarter of $60.1 million, slightly above company guidance. Revenue declined 28.2% year-over-year largely due to the divestitures of the company's Media, DoubleClick Japan and Research businesses in 2002. Total GAAP operating expenses were $38.6 million, a decline of 32.6% versus $57.3 million in the first quarter of 2002, primarily resulting from divestitures and successful cost cutting initiatives. Pro forma operating expenses were $36.6 million, a decline of 30.7% versus the year ago period.
The company employed a total of 1,088 people at the end of first quarter 2003, down 2% from 1,111 at the end of fourth quarter 2002.
DoubleClick is expecting second quarter revenues to be between $60 million and $63 million. DoubleClick is also raising it full year 2003 earnings guidance, promising to achieve its first full year of profitability in 2003.
According to Bruce Dalziel, CFO of DoubleClick, several years of "unrelenting focus on cost-cutting and transition behind us, DoubleClick is well positioned to take advantage of more favorable economic conditions in the future in order to drive revenue growth, cash flow and profits."


There are two teams that are 4-0 in the NFL and bettors are making cash on them. One club many thought had the chance to be undefeated, while the other very few saw as being in the place they find themselves. The team most thought had a chance of being 4-0 are the Green Bay Packers. The club many never saw as being for real is Detroit. However, they did raise eyebrows in the preseason when they hammered the New England Patriots. At this point it is clear that both of these NFL teams are solid, talented and tough.
The Packers are being ably led by Aaron Rodgers. Most pundits thought that Rodgers would show continued improvement this season, and he has certainly done so. The strength of this team is in its passing game, which is ranked fifth in the league. The running game gives them just enough balance to keep teams honest.
On defense, Green Bay cannot stop the pass. How bad are they against the pass? They are next to last in defending against it. On the other end of the spectrum, they are next to first at stopping the run.
The team's strength lies in its ability to score points and not in their skill at stopping opponents from scoring. Their 148 total points is best in the league and their 97 point against is average.
Once again, the Detroit Lions, like the Packers, have found success as their primary signal caller has grown into maturity. QB Matt Stafford is a top leader on the field who manages to adjust well to adversity and has been able to lead the team in amazing come from behind victories. Their second half comeback against the Dallas Cowboys this week left fans speechless. Plus, they notched an OT win against the Vikings the week before.
The club is 7th in passing and 12th on the run. That's a solid balance. That makes this club difficult to defend against, while their defense, though not stellar, has been able to adjust throughout a game. Thus, they may give up a lot of points at the start but by the second half they've usually been able to slow down their opponents and stop them from scoring.
They are second in the league in scoring and are one of the better teams in points against. Thus, although they have a tendency to give up yards, teams often have difficulty scoring on them in the Red Zone.
Green Bay plays Atlanta this Sunday night and Detroit will go up against Chicago on Monday night. The Pack and Lions are both favored. The Falcons defense will have a hard time limiting Green Bay. But Detroit may find it tough going against the Bears. Chicago's defense can score points. Still, they are a little less than average. There could be two teams in the NFL at the end of next week that are 5-0.


Keep yourself enjoy at home and on the road with the Android Tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0). Weighing just 12 ounces and sporting a vibrant 7-inch touchscreen display, the Android Tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 runs the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and is powered by a 1.0 GHz Dual Core processor to assist you to achieve maximum usage across numerous demanding applications.
Access the web and stream media over your home network through ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi. And with the Smart Remote application and built-in IR Blaster, you can watch and control your TV content, all from the palm of your hand.
Designed to fit in one hand, typing messages or notes is easy and simple with the Android Tablet Galaxy Tab's virtual QWERTY keyboard.
It is outfitted with a 3 MP rear-facing camera for image capture and sharing as well as a VGA front-facing camera for video chat.
Alternative features include 8 GB of internal memory, microSD memory enlargement (for up to 32 GB of expansion through optional cards), Bluetooth 3.0 wireless connectivity for hands-free devices and stereo music streaming, and GPS for navigation and placement services.
With the Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), you'll entertain the most ramped up, up to the minute features and multitudes of applications supported by new the ICS technology.
You will get an evolved, intuitively designed UI that transitions seamlessly across all of your apps, and enhanced internet browsing, faster overall response, and easier accessibility to preloaded Google Mobile applications as well as YouTube, Google Search, Maps, and more.
With integrated Google technology, the Android Tablet Galaxy Tab 2 brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services millions use daily, as well as Google Search, Gtalk, Google+, and contacts/calendar synchronization.
And through Google Play, you will get access to thousands of useful apps and fun games to download and install on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, with much more applications being added every day.


A special formulation of DHEA, Pregnenolone, Androstenedione and Progesterone. This all natural product offers a broad spectrum of benefits to men in andropause.
The more you buy, the more you save on all our transdermal creams. Discounts apply per product (not when combined with others.) Check out these great prices on our D-35 Complex for Men!
All men who experience a variety of physical discomforts believe in finding a personal sense of balance. Improving your over-all health, diet and exercise daily will help you remember to listen to your body.
Suggested Use: Men apply ¼ tsp gel into hairless areas such as abdomen, shoulders, or the underside of the arms. Women apply 1/8 tsp. gel into hairless areas such as abdomen, shoulders, or the underside of the arms. Rotate areas to avoid saturation. Apply at least 3 hours prior to desired activity. Do not exceed more than one application in any 24 hour period. Do not use continuously for more than 14 days.


Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The values and history of the Jewish people are a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions such as Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith.
Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice (although it has been, and continues to be, monotheistic in theology), and differs from many religions in that its central authority is not vested in any person or group but rather in its writings and traditions (known as the Torah). Despite this, Judaism in all its variations has remained tightly bound to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to be involved in its governance. According to traditional Jewish thought, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. The practice of Judaism is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as written in the Torah.
Judaism does not fit easily into conventional Western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture, in part because most of its 5,000-year history predates the rise of Western culture, or occurred outside of the West. During this time, Jews have experienced slavery, anarchic and theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile; they have been in contact with, and have been influenced by ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment (see Haskalah) and the rise of nationalism (which would bear fruit in the form of a Jewish state in the Levant. They also saw an elite convert to Judaism (the Khazars), only to disappear as the centers of power in the lands once occupied by that elite fell to the people of Rus and then the Mongols. Thus, Talmud professor Daniel Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension."
This page was last edited on 6 December 2016, at 20:57.


text:
Der Kreis Sárbogárd (ungarisch Sárbogárdi járás) ist ein Kreis im Süden des mittelungarischen Komitats Fejér. Er grenzt im Süden an das Komitat Tolna. Im Westen bildet der Kreis Enying die Grenze, im Norden der Kreis Székesfehérvár und im Osten der Kreis Dunaújváros.

Geschichte
Der Kreis entstand im Zuge der ungarischen Verwaltungsreform Anfang 2013 als Nachfolger des Kleingebiets Sárbogárd (ungarisch Sárbogárdi kistérség) mit allen 10 Gemeinden, ergänzt durch 2 Gemeinden aus dem Ende 2012 aufgelösten Kleingebiet Aba. Das Territorium vergrößerte sich hierdurch um 3.883 Einwohner (16 %).

Gemeindeübersicht
Der Kreis Mór hat eine durchschnittliche Gemeindegröße von 2.298 Einwohnern auf einer Fläche von 54,46 Quadratkilometern. Die Bevölkerungsdichte des drittkleinsten Kreises liegt unter der des gesamten Komitats. Verwaltungssitz ist die einzige Stadt Sárbogárd, im Zentrum des Kreises gelegen.

Quellen
PDF- und XLS-Dateien:
Volkszählung 2011:
2013: ;
2016:

Einzelnachweise

Sarbogard
Komitat Fejér

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Sunsets Fiesta Flora Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51FF has a goldtone metal s-hook closure at back, arched center panel, mesh-lined sides and back, and removable padding. Sunsets' Fiesta Flora Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon, polyester and spandex.
The Sunsets Stained Glass Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51SG has a goldtone metal s-hook closure at back. Sunsets' Stained Glass Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon and spandex.
Love it.. Fits great and looks awesome. Best bikini top I've had in years. I bought the bottoms to go with the top and they are equally fantastic.
The Sunsets Tahitian Dream Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51TD comes with light removable padding. Sunsets' Tahitian Dream Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon and spandex.
The Sunsets Paisley Peacock Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51PP has optional padding, halter straps, and an S-hook closure at back with 3 fit positions. Sunsets' Paisley Peacock Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon/spandex.
The Sunsets Flower Bed Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51FB has a bust flattering neckline which enhances cleavage, while powermesh cups offer maximum support. Comes with lightly padded removable padding. Sunsets' Flower Bed Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon and spandex.
The Sunsets Zanzibar Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top 51ZA has optional removable padding and adjusts at back with an S-hook. Sunsets' Zanzibar Muse Underwire Halter Swim Top is made of nylon/spandex.
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The Sunsets Muse Halter Underwire Swim Top 51 is seductive with a plunge center front. Sunsets' Muse Halter Underwire Swim Top is made of nylon/spandex.
I have always been a fan of Sunset swimwear and needed some tops for an upcoming vacation. I purchased the Muse black halter. It runs very true to size, has beautiful lines, is very well made and the best part is it gives me the little lift I need without being over padded. Worth the price!


Jacqueline B. individuals, one of many leaders in cognitive–behavior treatment this present day, joins with colleagues to take readers on a radical, specialist travel of the basic elements of cognitive–behavior treatment for melancholy. all through, Dr. people emphasizes the speculation and practices of Aaron T. Beck to create a booklet that's grounded within the better of CBT's traditions yet that refines and fleshes out the sensible features of its software. the tactic defined is versatile sufficient for use in issues except melancholy, together with consuming problems and anxiety.
Intended for either trainees and practitioners within the psychological well-being professions, the publication information the 5 uncomplicated elements of the remedy in perform: constructing an individualized case formula, consultation structuring, task scheduling, the idea checklist, and the schema swap technique. an intensive case examine is integrated to demonstrate how the therapist makes use of the case formula to devise and perform remedy. Examples of every significant intervention also are supplied in addition to an indication of ways the overview and intervention options are woven jointly over the process therapy. this is often the correct instructing instrument for these operating in scientific, counseling, and health and wellbeing psychology in addition to social paintings, psychiatry, psychiatric nurses, marriage and family members counseling, and pastoral counseling.
Michael corridor has revised and extended his vintage e-book, "The secrets and techniques Of Magic". This completely up to date and restructured paintings explores the Meta-model, which lies on the middle of communique excellence in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Dr corridor demonstrates how your existence might be dramatically enriched by way of having whole regulate over the way you relate and interpret what you're speaking to others.
Arson and different forms of planned firesetting have significant human and monetary expenditures around the globe. individuals with psychological affliction are disproportionately concerned and psychological wellbeing and fitness practitioners are usually required to evaluate, deal with and deal with this troubling staff. 1/2 all planned fire-related harm is attributable to adults and this can be the 1st ebook to take a complete examine the difficulty from a psychological healthiness standpoint.
Versions for psychological sickness, first released in 1987, expected the flow in the direction of integration of psychiatric providers into multidisciplinary groups (doctor, psychologist, nurse, social employee, and so on) and the necessity to collect the several philosophies of psychological affliction. Peter Tyrer has pointed out 4 diverse versions of psychological sickness which are proper to scientific perform: the illness, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and social types.


text:
Report: Hamas Built At Least 15 Terror Tunnels Inside Israel
by TheTower.org Staff | 02.27.17 3:25 pm
The terror group Hamas has built at least 15 tunnels that extend into Israel, the country's Channel 2 reported Sunday, citing members of the government's security cabinet.
Although the Israel Defense Forces discovered and destroyed at least 34 tunnels during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Hamas has been pouring resources into rebuilding its terror infrastructure, and is believed to spend some $40 million of its $100 million military budget on tunnel construction and dig around six miles of tunnels every month. A senior IDF official recently told Channel 2 that Hamas had rebuilt its tunnel infrastructure and rocket arsenal to pre-war levels.
Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh pointed out last year that Hamas has prioritized building up its terror infrastructure over rebuilding Gazan homes, writing that "the last thing Hamas cares about is the welfare of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."
Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly the head of the research division of Israeli military intelligence and later the director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told reporters last May that the tunnels were a sign that Hamas is preparing for another war against Israel. "They definitely invest a lot in making the necessary preparations so that in the next round, when they decide to start it, they will be able to inflict the heaviest damage on Israel, including through those tunnels," he said.
Hamas killed several Israeli soldiers in 2014 through its use of cross-border tunnels. The IDF explained at the time that Hamas intended to use the tunnels "to carry out attacks such as abductions of Israeli civilians and soldiers alike; infiltrations into Israeli communities, mass murders and hostage-taking scenarios."
Israel began constructing a $530 million underground barrier along its border with Gaza in September to prevent more Hamas tunnels from breaching Israeli territory. IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Gadi Eisenkot described the barrier as "the largest project" ever undertaken in Israel's military history.
Earlier this month, Hamas elected Yahya Sinwar — an influential hardliner convicted by Israel of multiple murders — to be its new Gaza-based chief.
[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr ]


Former USF OT Kenyatta "Bear" Jones, the first Bull ever selected in the NFL draft, has passed away in Colorado, his mother confirmed Saturday.
Jessica Hadley-Brown, heading out the door of her Marion County home to catch a plane for Colorado, said her son died of cardiac arrest. Mr. Jones was 39.
"Just a fun-loving guy, man, like a gentle giant," said former Bulls FB Keith Williams, a teammate of Mr. Jones on USF's inaugural 1997 team. "But on that field, he took care of business."
A Gainesville native who starred at Eastside High, Mr. Jones — listed at 6-foot-4, 308 pounds as a Bulls senior — played four seasons for USF. He earned second-team Division I-AA All-Independent team honors in 1998 and played in the 2000 Blue-Gray Football Classic.
"Extremely competitive," former Bulls C Joey Sipp said of Mr. Jones, a former suite mate at USF's Fontana Hall.
"You tell athletes all the time you can't turn it off and turn it on when you wanted to. Kenyatta Jones was one of those guys who could turn it on and turn it off. … When he turned it on, he was unstoppable."
His athleticism was further illustrated with his one-year stint on USF's basketball team in Seth Greenberg's third season as coach (1998-99), when injuries besieged the Bulls roster and Greenberg sought out football players to provide additional bodies in practice.
"(Defensive back) Anthony Henry was ultra-athletic," former Bulls G Anddrikk Frazier recalled. "That's who we were expecting to show up over the holiday break. When KJ walked in the (Sun) Dome, we were rolling."
But not for long. Mr. Jones stuck with it and appeared in three games, collecting two rebounds.
"KJ brought a toughness and preparation that you would expect from someone who was competing for a starting job," Frazier said.
"He became one of the guys immediately. His intensity in practice coupled with his encouragement during games, jokes on bus trips and team meals made him a team favorite and a basketball brother."
He ran a sub-five-second 40-yard dash at the 2001 NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, and was selected in the fourth round by the Patriots in the NFL draft that April. As the 96th overall pick, Mr. Jones was selected immediately before teammates Anthony Henry (No. 97) and Bill Gramatica (98th).
Primarily a guard in the pros, Mr. Jones earned a Super Bowl ring as a Patriots rookie despite limited action. He spent parts of four seasons in the NFL and later played one season (2008) for the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League.
Characterized as the "life of the party" by Sipp, Mr. Jones' career was tainted by a sequence of arrests, including one on a felony charge of carrying a concealed firearm just prior to his senior season at USF. Mr. Jones underwent pretrial-diversion, according to court records.
In October 2003, he was arrested for allegedly dousing his house guest and administrative assistant with scalding water, and was released by the Patriots five days later.
In July 2008, he was arrested in a Tampa narcotics sweep for allegedly trying to purchase less than a gram each of cocaine and marijuana, but those charges either were dropped or he wasn't prosecuted, court records indicate.
On Saturday, however, former teammates preferred to remember a burly peer described as a fun-loving soul and consummate teammate.
"I mean, just the ultimate teammate, ultimate competitor," former Bulls TB Otis Dixon said.
"On a long, hot day, he was gonna help us get through practice. … Life will never be the same. He hasn't been in my life, but he's in my life."
What led him to Colorado wasn't immediately clear Saturday. Mr. Jones was among a handful of players who couldn't be reached last summer for a Tampa Bay Times 20-year anniversary package on the '97 USF team, but former teammate Cory Porter said then Mr. Jones was involved in the rap-music business in Jacksonville.
"We took care of business when we had to," Williams said. "But off the field man, he was just a good guy. Just a fun-loving guy man, like a gentle giant."
The Knights quarterback tells ESPN about the play that ended his season, and the ordeal that followed.
Did USF just land another Johnny Ford?
With spring practice complete, we offer our projected two-deep chart.
It's not just that these teams lost, it's the excruciating way they lent hope and snatched it away.
Columbia High's Jordan Smith passed for more than 3,000 yards last fall.


text:
import {inject, Lazy} from 'aurelia-framework';
import {HttpClient} from 'aurelia-fetch-client';
import {RestService} from '../rest-service';

const serviceUri = require('../host').inventory + '/docs/efr-kb-fng';
const serviceSearch = require('../host').inventory + '/docs/efr-hp-fng';

export class Service extends RestService {

  constructor(http, aggregator) {
    super(http, aggregator);
  }

  search(keyword) {
    return super.get(serviceUri);
  }

  getById(id) {
    var endpoint = `${serviceUri}/${id}`;
    return super.get(endpoint);
  }
  getDataByIdVariant(id) {
    var endpoint = `${serviceUriInventories}/${id}`;
    return super.get(endpoint);
  }

  create(data) {
    var endpoint = `${serviceUri}`;
    return super.post(endpoint, data);
  }

  getEFRHPFNGByCode(code) {
    var endpoint = `${serviceSearch}?keyword=${code}`;
    return super.get(endpoint);
  }

  getModuleConfig() {
    var endpoint = require('../host').core + '/modules?keyword=EFR-KB/FNG';
    return super.get(endpoint)
      .then(results => {
        if (results && results.length == 1)
          return Promise.resolve(results[0].config);
        else
          return Promise.resolve(null);
      });
  }

  getStorageById(id) {
    var endpoint = `${require('../host').inventory + '/storages'}/${id}`;
    return super.get(endpoint);
  }

  getDataInventory(storageId,articleVariantId)
  {
    var endpoint = `${require('../host').inventory + '/storages/' + storageId + '/inventories/'+articleVariantId}`;
    return super.get(endpoint);
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Chlorella's cleansing action on the bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its protection of the liver, helps keep the blood clean. Clean blood assures that metabolic wastes are efficiently carried away from the tissues.
Scroll down to see all the ' Chlorella ' items on this page.
Lewtress Chlorella - Super Food….Naturally!
Pure premium split cell Chlorella, 500mg tablets – free from fillers, additives or preservatives of any kind.
How Does Lewtress Chlorella Help Your Body?
Chlorella is a unique single-celled fresh water green algae. Chlorella's single-cell structure is the key to its uniquely varied and concentrated supply of vitamins, minerals, protein and other nutrients. Because chlorella is a pure, whole food, these nutrients are in the form and balance that nature intended.
Chlorella was the first form of life with a true nucleus and has been on the earth for over 2.5 billion years.
Chlorella is comprised of a fibrous outer shell (20%) and the inner nutrients (80%). It is the fibrous material that has been proven to actually bind with, and eliminate, heavy metals and toxic chemicals that can accumulate in our bodies. A clean bloodstream, with an abundance of red blood cells to carry oxygen, is necessary for a strong natural defence system.
A complete food such as Chlorella provides the body with a stunning amount of naturally balanced nutrients that are far superior to any man-made nutritional formula.
INGREDIENTS: 100% Pure Chlorella (split cell). 500mg tablets.
No synthetic binders, fillers or additives of any kind.
SUGGESTED INTAKE: Weeks 1 & 2: 2 tablets daily, increasing intake every two weeks by a further tablet daily up to 9 to 12 per day over a 6 month period, the tablets are quite small & can all be swallowed together, or split between am & pm, (use between meals for greater detoxification).
During the early stages of a cleansing program, you may experience some of the following: Changes in bowel motions, headaches, spots or tiredness (as toxins are removed from the body) drink 4 – 8 glasses of pure water per day whilst using Chlorella to help flush out toxins.
Numerous research projects in the USA and Europe indicate that chlorella can also aid the body in the breakdown of persistent hydrocarbon and metallic toxins such as DDT, PCB, mercury, cadmium and lead, while strengthening the immune system response. In Japan, interest in chlorella has focused largely on its detoxifying properties -- its ability to neutralize or remove poisonous substances from the body.
The detoxification of heavy metals and other chemical toxins from the blood will take 3-6 months to build up enough to begin this process depending on the dosage of chlorella a person is taking. Chlorella is fibrous material that greatly augments healthy digestion and overall digestive track health.
Chlorella plays a particularly crucial role in systemic mercury elimination because the majority of mercury is eliminated through the stools. Once the mercury burden is lowered from the intestines, mercury from other body tissues will more readily migrate into the intestines -- where chlorella will effectively remove it.
Chlorella is a complete vegetable source of all amino acids. 60% of Chlorella is protein, which is in the form of amino acids. Chlorella contains 18 of 22 known amino acids and is considered a complete protein, meaning that it has the essential 8 amino acids.
It is a far superior protein source to others such as meat, fish and eggs because these are secondary protein, meaning that the amino acids have already been formed into protein to become the flesh of an egg or another animal. When we eat a food such as meat, our bodies must first break down the protein into amino acids then reform them into the proteins that our body needs. This is inefficient and not nearly as effective as simply taking pure amino acids.
The human body wants to form long complex chains of amino acids into the tens of thousands of different protein structures the body needs to perform functions all over the body. However, if one amino acid is missing, then an incomplete protein will be formed which will not function as effectively as a complete protein.
There is no other natural source of protein available that provides such a complete and balanced array of amino acids than green algae like chlorella.
Chlorella is a whole-food, very much unlike most commercial vitamins. While it contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals and enzymes, chlorella is superior to vitamin supplements in many ways.
Chlorella is natural and the vitamins and minerals in it are bio-chelated, which means they are naturally wrapped in amino acids so the body will more readily take them in. Vitamins are nothing more than an amalgam of concentrates and extracts that have been artificially stitched together because on paper they look like they should provide balanced nutrition.


A few weekends back we decided to get out of town for a few days and visit the lovely towns of Port Gamble, Sequim, and Port Angeles.
-Correctly pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw and Issaquah.
Not from around these parts? Here is some help.
Anyway, the towns at the northern tip of the Peninsula bill themselves as the sunshine-y part of the state, thanks to the olympic rain shadow but our trip was punctuated by fog, drizzle, and generally grey days. Given that it was the same in Seattle, we weren't too bent out of shape about it. Welcome to the Northwest, Peeps.
On Saturday morning we caught the ferry in Edmonds to Kingston and then wound our way northwest, including a brief jaunt to Port Gamble, before eventually landing in Port Angeles.
This was a quick trip for us: previously we'd really enjoyed hiking and picnicking at Hurricane Ridge, touring the lavender farms, cutting Christmas Trees, and hiking to the tip of Dungeness Spit. But there was no time for those activities on this trip - besides, several of those are best enjoyed when temps are a bit warmer.
We spent the night at the Olympic Lodge which was great pit-stop. We'd picked it originally because their outdoor pool is open year-round; we figured the bambino would love a little dip. And although it was packed with kids, it was a tad bit chilly for our little guy. He would have been just fine if he was motoring around under his own steam but it was too cool for tykes going for a casual dip. So much for great ideas.
We elected to take naps instead (one lucky two year old scored his own queen bed). After dinner we ventured down to the waterfront and toured old Port Angeles, which is really quite lovely. And probably much more lively during the summer months.
The next morning we were up bright and early for a trip through the Olympic Game Park.
I'm going to pause here and fess up that I need to swallow a big 'ole dose of humble pie here as I was not super thrilled by this place when we toured in 2012.
But the kiddo (and his parents) had an absolute hoot driving through the elk, lama, bison, and zebra ranges. It was SO MUCH FUN. Ben danced around the car handing out bread to inquiring beasts or retreated to the big picture windows in back when said beasts got a little pushy.
Prepare yourself for some animal photo madness.
And then on to the yaks (which are in an area with llamas and zebras). This turned out to be our favorite part of the game park.
The yaks are big but they're less aggressive than the llamas, and slow moving.
They poke their head in the car and inquire: Might we please have some bread?
We spent a lot of time with the zebras.
Then it was on to the bears. Each animal stakes out a spot and waits for passing cars to throw out treats.
Known as the 'waving bears', they'll give you a wave in return for a hunk of bread. Of course, they manage to look supremely bored while begging for bread (and also grossly obese, although I'm no ursine expert).
Ever wonder how long a bear tongue is? Answer: extremely long.
After the bears, take a drive through the carnivore area (tigers, lions, wolves, and mountain lions) although I don't have any photos because they, unlike the herbivores, are behind chain link fences. Then it's on to the big pastures with elk, bison, deer, and horses.
The elk are pretty pushy so Ben was content to watch from the back, with the windows rolled all the way up.
This guy was persistent: he galloped alongside the car for a bit before going back to his pile of hay.
We were warned before entering that the bison are in the middle of rutting season and thus are pretty aggressive. The parting words of the gate attendant: "don't let them box you in"!
Right. Bison. As in: HUGE BISON.
They had quite effective tactics, really. An animal would walk in front of the vehicle, causing the driver to stop, and then they'd nip around to the open windows and place their entire head into the vehicle, which essentially prohibited you from driving on. Giant mouths agape, and tongues extended, it was quite a sight.
Pictures simply don't do justice to the size of these animals. I got to the point where I'd feed the 'small' ones (below) and do a quick window roll-up when the giants arrived on the scene.
We arrived right at 9am and were the second car through the gates. The animals were very happy to see us as we came bearing the first bread of the day. Also, they must feed the carnivores around the same time as there were lots of active cats and roars/howls reverberating throughout the park.
You can bring in bread to feed the animals but it must be wheat bread. No white, sourdough, or potato bread. It can be purchased at the front gate or you can pick up a few loaves at the store before arrival.
There is an area with goats/chickens/fowl/etc which is where the kids can get out of the car but it's closed during the winter months. All other areas (with the exception of one observation tower) are by car only.
1) Height. Being up at animal eye level is pretty cool. We did the park once before in an RV and that was also perfect. Also, if in the prius, we might have felt that the bison were completely invading the vehicle, instead of just partially. So go the SUV/minivan/truck route, if at all possible.
2) Old. The caravan has 190,000 miles on it. Its glory days are long gone. By the end of our tour there was bison goo smeared liberally across the side of the van and poo was glommed onto the wheels. Chris also knew someone at work whose hood was nicely dented by an irate bison at the park. So in other words, don't take your new mercedes though these gates. 'Cause it won't look pretty upon exiting.
Also, I'd fold your side mirrors in so they don't get caught by a misplaced horn/antler/head. And be quick with the window roll-ups!


As the Sustainability Engagement Officer, you will deliver a range of sustainability engagement projects, working with stakeholders across the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) community to encourage environmental behaviours. In particular, you will manage the 'Green Impact' campaign, which encourages staff and students to embed sustainable practices within their own offices. You will also boost the overall capacity of the LSE Sustainability Team, supporting and contributing to a range of projects.
LSE are looking for an enthusiastic team player with a passion for sustainability. An innovative and creative thinker, you have the ability to problem-solve and successfully implement your own ideas.
Using your strong organisational and communication skills you can engage and inspire a large and diverse group of people to get involved in sustainability initiatives, whilst effectively prioritising your work in a busy and dynamic environment.
LSE is a specialist social sciences university with an international intake and a global reach. Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, the School has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. 16 Nobel Prize winners have been LSE staff or alumni, and 34 past and present world leaders have studied or taught at the LSE.
The LSE estate consists of 100,000m2 of central London office and teaching space, 13 catering outlets, a nursery, a world renowned library, a public house, eight halls of residence and an 11 acre sports ground.
LSE is a sector-leader in embedding environmental sustainability in its campus and operations, and the LSE Sustainability Team coordinates an extensive programme of work to enhance the School's environmental impacts from energy and carbon, waste, water, construction, procurement and other areas.
What is the Sustainability Team like?
The LSE Sustainability Team is a group of five avid tea-drinkers, working together to make LSE a greener, more pleasant place to be. You will join colleagues focusing on waste and procurement, halls of residence, and their ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, who all report to the Head of Sustainability.
They each have their own projects and areas of specialism, but work closely together to discuss joint approaches to shared challenges and bounce ideas around. They're based in the Estates Division, which develops and maintains the LSE campus. That's an ideal base from which to ensure their buildings are as sustainable as possible, but it also makes the Engagement Officer's role crucial, as you'll act as a bridge between the Estates Division and other 'Service Divisions' (e.g. IT), academic departments, and students.
This is a great opportunity to start your career in Sustainability, working for an organisation that leads on embedding environmental sustainability within its campus and operations.
You will have opportunities to learn about being a team player, developing communication skills in different mediums, and stakeholder management experience. You will gain project management skills including event planning and management, project implementation and evaluation. You will also gain insight into a range of environmental management issues.
The skills, experience and knowledge gained from this post will open up many opportunities for a wide-range of sustainability work.
You will be given full support and training by Change Agents UK for the duration of the 12 month position and also benefit from 1:1 professional coaching.
There may also be opportunities to extend the role within the team, beyond the initial contract period – however, this will depend on funding availability, timing, and the success of the post-holder in the role.
Lead 'Green Impact' - a nationwide initiative led by the National Union of Students (NUS), for staff to undertake activities in their own offices to enhance their environmental impact. Please click here for further information on Green Impact.
Recruit, coordinate and motivate a network of staff and student volunteers to participate in Green Impact, collaborating closely with them to support them to identify and deliver their own self-led sustainability projects.
Plan and implement the annual 'Celebration of Sustainability' to recognise teams' Green Impact achievements at the end of the academic year, and evaluate the performance of the programme.
Deliver a range of initiatives to engage with students, staff and other stakeholders on sustainability. This includes running events (including a 'Green Week' held in collaboration with the Students' Union); producing the LSE Annual Environmental Sustainability Report; producing newsletters, press releases and posters; managing our website and social media presence.
Monitor and report on progress against objectives, using quantitative and qualitative data.
Act as an ambassador for sustainability at LSE among internal and external stakeholders.
Actively network with Sustainability Projects Assistants and other colleagues in external institutions, as well as identifying and undertaking suitable training opportunities, to ensure sharing of best practice across the sector.
Develop and drive forward other environmentally-related projects across the School, and support other administrative work to contribute to overall Sustainability Team objectives as required.
Suggest new initiatives and approaches to further enhance LSE's environmental performance and sustainability engagement programmes.
An outstanding communicator with excellent interpersonal skills, able to comfortably express themselves and environmental issues verbally, in written text to a variety of different audiences as well as in one-to-one situations.
Knowledge of, and commitment to, 'green' issues and their importance within a university environment.
Demonstrable commitment and motivation to complete the project and deliver the projects aims.
Creative and innovative thinker and problem-solver that can formulate ideas and appropriately execute them.
Conscientious organiser, able to plan and organise their work appropriately.
Demonstrable ability to motivate others into action.
ICT literacy in all Office applications but especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Experience of project management and administration.
Previous experience of event organising in either a voluntary or paid position.
Experience of communications, marketing or similar.
Experience of coordinating and motivating a team of volunteers.
Experience of any web content management programmes, graphic design or video editing software, social media particularly Twitter and Facebook.
Work outside normal hours: Possibility of very occasional work outside normal hours to coordinate events.


text:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Killer Spirit
No Naked Ads -> Here! $urlZ Killer spirit, p.1
Killer Spirit, p.1
CHAPTER 1 Code Word: Body Glitter
CHAPTER 2 Code Word: Interesting
CHAPTER 3 Code Word: Rumor Mill
CHAPTER 4 Code Word: Detention
CHAPTER 5 Code Word: Pep Rally
CHAPTER 6 Code Word: Hottie
CHAPTER 7 Code Word: Smile
CHAPTER 8 Code Word: Come Hither
CHAPTER 9 Code Word: Naked
CHAPTER 10 Code Word: Prezzies
CHAPTER 11 Code Word: The Fam
CHAPTER 12 Code Word: Hair Products
CHAPTER 13 Code Word: Practice
CHAPTER 14 Code Word: Luscious
CHAPTER 15 Code Word: Boyfriend
CHAPTER 16 Code Word: Flirt
CHAPTER 17 Code Word: Blend
CHAPTER 18 Code Word: Girl Talk
CHAPTER 19 Code Word: Fun, Fun, Fun
CHAPTER 20 Code Word: Flat
CHAPTER 21 Code Word: Envy
CHAPTER 22 Code Word: Crazy!
CHAPTER 23 Code Word: Cookies
CHAPTER 24 Code Word: Mommy Dearest
CHAPTER 25 Code Word: Kisses
CHAPTER 26 Code Word: Rebel
CHAPTER 27 Code Word: Girly
CHAPTER 28 Code Word: Liberty
CHAPTER 29 Code Word: Itchy
CHAPTER 30 Code Word: Issues
CHAPTER 31 Code Word: Betrayal
CHAPTER 33 Code Word: Answers
CHAPTER 34 Code Word: Teamwork
CHAPTER 35 Code Word: Catfight
CHAPTER 36 Code Word: Homecoming
ALSO BY JENNIFER LYNN BARNES
For my biggest cheerleader, who's been there through every step of everything I've ever done, and who would have loved me just as much if I'd never done any of it at all. A girl couldn't ask for a better friend or a better mom, and I hope I grow up to have a daughter half as lucky as I've been to be yours.
Code Word: Body Glitter
Once upon a time, I thought that the cheerleaders at my high school were no more capable of intelligent thought or true athleticism than the average dachshund. Suffice to say that unless the wiener dogs of the world have been holding out on me—big-time—I was very, very wrong.
"Amelia Juarez. Jacob Kann. Anthony Connors-Wright. Hector Hassan." Brooke set the files down one by one, careful to avoid any undue wear and tear on her French manicure. "That's four TCIs arriving in Bayport in the past two days. The question is why."
Personally, I could think of a few other questions, starting with "What's a TCI and why are cheerleading spies so fond of acronyms?" and running straight through to "Do you have any idea how incredibly uncomfortable this godforsaken polyester uniform is?"
To my credit, though, I somehow managed to remain remarkably quiet. Experience had taught me that if I waited long enough, someone would answer at least one of my unasked questions. Experience had also taught me that the fashionistas among us got, for lack of a better word, cranky when you criticized their fabric choices.
"What level threat are we talking about here?" Tara asked from my right. It wasn't exactly one of my questions, but close enough.
"Nothing higher than third or fourth tier," Brooke said. She arched an eyebrow at Zee in silent command, and our resident profiler obligingly picked up where Brooke had left off.
"According to our data, their connections to known terrorists and/or terrorist organizations are weak, but the links are there, and in each case, there have been enough person-to-person interactions with suspected terrorists to warrant full profiling and a place on the watch list." Zee tucked a strand of jet-black hair behind her ear, a gesture I associated more with her ability to dispense gossip than her skills as a profiler. "All four are ambitious, and they all feel that they have something to prove. Amelia Juarez and Jacob Kann are terrorist-connected through their parents—lots of money, lots of power, long, drawn-out history of high-level crimes in both families. Hector Hassan is a businessman—again, young, smooth, very ambitious. And Anthony's father is an independent operative working primarily for the U.S. and U.K. governments."
Tara rolled her eyes. "Teenage rebellion?" she inferred, as if the children of operatives often rebelled by going over to the dark side and becoming wannabe evil masterminds.
"Try midtwenties rebellion," Zee said, "but, yeah, more or less. Anthony's driven by his father's career choices as much as Amelia and Jacob are by theirs, but in a different direction."
So far, we had a crime prince, a crime princess, an intelligence brat, and a young businessman, all with some kind of vague-ish connections to terrorist groups. The part of my brain that's tuned in to patterns and codes played back everything that had been said in the debriefing so far, and zeroed in on the combination of words most likely to fit the acronym.
"Terrorist-Connected Individuals," I guessed out loud. "TCIs."
At the head of the table, Brooke rolled her eyes. "Very good, Toby," she said, her voice syrupy sweet. "Do you want a cookie?"
As a matter of fact, I would have loved one, but somehow, I didn't think Brooke's offer was anywhere near the ballpark of sincere. She was our Squad captain. In operative terms, that meant she was technically my commanding officer. In cheerleading terms, it meant she was a bitch.
Either way, I wasn't getting a cookie.
"No offense, Brooke, but it doesn't seem that complicated to me." I was completely unwilling to back down from the challenge in Brooke's eyes or the condescension in her voice. "An influx of TCIs to Bayport can't be a good thing, even if they're only fourth tier. We need to know why they're here."
Before Brooke could roll her eyes again, I plowed on.
"It sounds like we're looking at some pretty basic surveillance maneuvers—minimal interaction, bugs in their hotel rooms…"
"Trackers on their rental cars," Tara volunteered.
Brooke didn't acknowledge the fact that I'd actually come up with a decent (albeit obvious) plan. Instead, she turned to Chloe, the original "gadget girl in Gucci." "Can you get the necessaries by this afternoon?"
Chloe nodded. "I'll have the bugs and tracking chips in the guidepost by the time the pep rally's over this afternoon."
Tracking chips and pep rallies—par for the course.
Without a word, Brooke picked the folders up off the table, and began handing them out. "Chloe, you and April take Amelia Juarez, Zee and I will tail Connors-Wright, Lucy and Bubbles, you've got Hassan."
There was only one folder left and two teams. In the split second before Brooke made her decision, I swore to myself that if she put the twins on active duty and left Tara and me at the school to clean up after the pep rally, someone was going to die. Painfully, and without so much as a single "Go Lions!"
"Jacob Kann is all yours, Tare." Brooke handed the last folder to Tara, and by the transitive property, she handed it to me.
"We'll tag the TCIs tonight and report back here afterward to debrief," Brooke said. "No matter what, with the bugs up and running, we should have some major intel by this time tomorrow afternoon." She smiled then, a tight, broad smile that took up most of her face, and with that relatively small change, el capitan went from Squad mode to squad mode, from agent to cheerleader. "Next order of business: What color body glitter should we wear today? Blue or gold? Thoughts?"
From TCIs to body glitter in less than three seconds. Confused? Join the club.
I'd been a member
of the Squad for less than a month, and I still woke up most mornings thinking it was all just some crazy Twinkie-induced dream. Then I looked in the mirror, noted my perfectly sculpted eyebrows and artificially tanned face, and the truth sank in.
This wasn't a dream. I, Toby "Antisocial" Klein, had really been recruited to the varsity cheerleading squad, only to discover that said squad was actually a cover for an elite team of government operatives. The most popular girls at my high school were actually secret agents affiliated with a top-secret branch of the government somehow related to the CIA.
Yeah. Try to wrap your mind around that one.
I'd joined the Squad as a computer hacker with a third-degree black belt, and they'd turned me into a cheerleader. After a series of more-than-intense makeovers, fashion interventions, and instructions on the finer points of the toe touch, I looked like a cheerleader, cheered like a cheerleader, sat at the popular table for lunch, and spent my afternoons training for and going on missions that would blow most people's minds. That last part, I loved. The rest of it was pretty much Toby torture.
I checked my watch. It was only seven-thirty in the morning, and between the Great Body Glitter Debate of 2008 and Brooke's refusal to give me any actual cookies, I was already up to two woe-is-me moments today. Considering there was a pep rally in my near future, I could only conclude that things were going to get much, much worse.
"Blue's got better contrast."
"But gold accents our tans!"
Apparently, the debate was getting pretty intense. How messed up was it that we could unanimously agree on how to handle potential terrorists, but nearly came to blows over body glitter? After a few more minutes, Brooke decided to put the "issue" to a vote, and as the others weighed in, I looked at each girl in turn. I had to actively remind myself that, sparkly cosmetics aside, these girls were a force to be reckoned with, and pretty much no one knew it but me.
Zee Kim, in addition to being a first-class gossipmonger/ party queen, was a former child prodigy. She'd gotten her PhD in forensic psychology at the age of fifteen, and soon thereafter transferred to Bayport High for the sole purpose of joining the Squad. The fact that she got a second chance at living the high school high life was just an added bonus—one that Zee took full advantage of, one A-list affair at a time.
Brooke I-Am-Captain-Hear-Me-Roar Camden was the very definition of A-list. She decided who or what was in, and behind closed doors, she was the one who ran our decisions by the Big Guys Upstairs, our vague and anonymous contacts in Washington. Brooke was a legacy, raised by a mother who'd been part of the Squad pilot program back in the day. As a result, Brooke had been taught from the cradle to do two things: to cheer and to lead our team like the little diva/dictator she was. Of all the girls, Brooke was the only one who could match me in hand-to-hand, which meant that when it came to combat, she was (as much as I hated to admit it) darn near amazing.
To Brooke's left, the twins were adamantly voting for their body glitter of choice—gold. Brittany and Tiffany were absolutely identical and shared matching aptitudes for fashion and the manipulation of the so-called stronger sex. All things male melted into a pile of XY chromosomal goo in the twins' presence. When they weren't playing the seduction card, the twins designed our outfits for missions. They'd also appointed themselves the masters of my personal wardrobe, which was why I now owned more pairs of shoes than most of Young Hollywood combined.
Tara Leery—the most down-to-earth and therefore least Hollywoodesque of the girls—was a British exchange student whose parents were operatives overseas. She'd moved to Bayport to become part of the Squad, and as far as I'd been able to tell, she lived with an "aunt" who may or may not have been CIA. Tara spoke somewhere in the neighborhood of eight zillion languages, and could read and write more than that. She was my Squad partner, and from the beginning, she was the one I counted on to have my back.
Since I'd joined the Squad, my back had needed a lot of covering, due in part to the great deal of enmity that Brooke's second in command, Chloe Larson, seemed to have for computer geeks in general and me in specific. A former child inventor, Chloe was now one hundred percent high school power player, and despite the amount of brain cells she reserved for playing the popularity game, Chloe's grasp of microtechnology put mine to shame. Needless to say, she could also without question outsnob, outsnark, and outcheer me any day of the week.
That just left our peppy-to-a-fault weapons expert, Lucy Wheeler; our contortionist and resident space cadet (figuratively speaking), Bubbles (yes, Bubbles) Lane; and April Manning—the only other new recruit this season besides yours truly.
Looking at the girls, split 5–4 on the body glitter issue, I thought about everything that I knew they were capable of doing. They were smart. They were athletic. They were beautiful, and they were continually and severely underestimated.
They were, in other words, perfect spies.
"Toby? Earth to Toby?"
I registered Brooke's tone and sent her a look that some people might have described as surly. "What?"
"Blue or gold?"
Apparently, they were still waiting for my vote. Let's see, I thought, what color body glitter do I want to wear?
"Neither."
Brooke smiled. "Blue it is."
Code Word: Interesting
By the time we hit the locker room, there was exactly half an hour until first period, and my only goal was to delay being glittered for as long as was humanly possible. It was bad enough that I'd actually agreed (under duress) to wear a cheerleading uniform to school. The last thing I wanted was to draw any more attention to my uncomfortably short skirt, the bright blue ribbon tied around my superhigh ponytail, and the fact that my current look was about as far from my trademarked antifashion combat boots as you could possibly imagine.
Somehow, I didn't think blue body glitter would do anything to de-emphasize my predicament.
"You don't stand a chance," Zee whispered, patting me consolingly on the shoulder. The good thing about having a profiler on the Squad was that she was a little more sympathetic to my obvious torment than most of the others. The bad part was that she was so perceptive that she may as well have been psychic, and the very idea of psychic cheerleaders scared the crap out of me.
"I could make a run for it," I said under my breath.
Zee shrugged. "You could try," she said, "but the twins might take it personally, and then you'd wake up tomorrow with rhinestones glued to your eyelashes."
I stared at Zee in complete horror, knowing that there was at least a ninety-nine percent chance that she'd accurately predicted the twins' most likely course of action. While I considered the inhumanity of having my eyelashes defiled in my sleep, one of the twins snuck up on me, and before I could dive-roll out of the way, she had a hold on my arm.
"Hold still and close your eyes!" Brittany ordered.
I wondered briefly if keeping my eyes open would delay the inevitable glittering, but soon found out that nothing could stand between one of the twins and adorning my face, breastbone, and arms with a substance more or less defined as powdered girliness.
"So," Brittany said, the edges of her lips pulling up into a devilish smile as she finished the job. "How's your brother doing these days?"
First glitter and now this. She was really pushing her luck. "You do realize that I could kill you, right?" I asked. "With my bare hands and very little effort."
"No killing members of the Squad." Brooke issued a drive-by order in a tone so serious that it might have been amusing were it not for the fact that one of the "hottest" girls in school was asking me about my impossible, obnoxious, and supposedly endearing younger brother. Noah considered himself a ladies' man, which basically meant that he was forever trying to charm older, unavailable girls who almost invariably had large, angry boyfr
iends who didn't find Noah's overtures adorkable in the least.
I'd spent years trying to convince Noah that he wasn't irresistible, and for some reason, the twins—heck, the entire Squad—seemed to enjoy undoing all of my hard work. As far as I'd been able to tell, none of them (with the possible exception of Lucy, and I so wasn't ready to mentally go there) were actually interested in Noah, but they got a kick out of flirting with him, just because they knew it irritated me. As for Noah, he'd spent more time moonwalking and victory dancing in the past two weeks than he had in his entire life, which was really saying something.
"You know, he is kind of cute, Toby." Tiffany appeared beside her twin and gave me an impish look.
This went beyond friendly teasing, and there was no way I could let it stand. Even if we were, by some stretch of the word, friends, I had a moral obligation to discourage their feigned interest in my brother, for the good of the world as well as my own sanity. After a moment's consideration, I decided to go with the truth. "Yeah, well, he kind of wants you guys to have a naked pillow fight in our living room."
For some reason, the twins thought this was an absolute riot, which just goes to show that their mother probably dropped both of them on their heads repeatedly as small children.
"Ha-ha," I said dryly. "My brother likes naked girls. Yes, very funny."
They continued laughing and I decided it was time for a change of subject. Luckily enough, I knew exactly which direction I wanted to push this conversation. A few weeks earlier, I'd discovered something about one of our contacts in Washington that had rocked me to the core, and since then, I'd been trying to figure out which, if any, of the others knew about it. The twins were among the last on my list, and now seemed as good a time to broach the subject as any.
"Speaking of things that don't involve my little brother"—I gave them each a look that, had it been any more pointed, would have been capable of drawing blood—"we haven't heard anything from the Big Guys in a while."
Killer Spirit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes / Young Adult / Mystery & Detective / Romance & Love have rating 4 out of 5 / Based on32 votes
Jennifer Lynn Barnes Anthology
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Background and purpose: Although high leptin concentration has been shown to be correlated with established vascular risk factors, epidemiologic studies have reported inconclusive results on the association between leptin and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate this issue.
Methods: We searched Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from their inception to Jan 2016 for both case-control and cohort studies that assessed leptin concentration and CVD risk. Reports with odds ratio (OR), risk ratio (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were considered. The data were extracted by two investigators independently.
Results:A total of 13 epidemiologic studies totaling 4257 CVD patients and 26710 controls were included. A significant inverse association was shown between leptin and coronary heart disease (CHD), with an overall OR of 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02–1.32), but not for stroke (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 0.98–1.48) under sociodemographic adjustment. Further adjustment for additional cardiovascular risk factors resulted in ORs of 1.16 (95% CI 0.97–1.40) for CHD and 1.10 (95% CI 0.89–1.35) for stroke. The findings remained when analyses were restricted to high-quality studies and indicated OR estimates of 1.07 (95% CI 0.96–1.19) for CHD and 0.98 (95% CI 0.76–1.25) for stroke. In a subgroup meta-analysis, a high leptin level was not independently associated with CHD in both females (OR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.86–1.23) and males (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.95–1.26) or with stroke in both females (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.87–1.47) and males (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.59–1.09). There was no significant publication bias as suggested by Egger test outcomes.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that high leptin levels may not be associated with risks of CHD and stroke. Further large, well-designed prospective cohort studies are needed to fully evaluate the role of leptin on the risk of CVD.
This entry was posted in Cardiovascular, Cardiovascular Featured 2 and tagged coronary heart disease, leptin, stroke.