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Reflections on 20 Years of Work at Philanthropic Foundations Canada
Hilary Pearson July 8, 2019
Strategies Philanthropy and Funding Issue Areas Community Development
I have worked in the field of organized philanthropy in Canada for close to 20 years. Over two decades we have built Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC) as a platform which now serves more than 130 members.
Our goal is to challenge funders to do their best work, including making social change. PFC serves the broader community of organized philanthropy, not only its members. The consistent thread in PFC's evolution since 2008 has been the need to serve the whole field of organized grantmakers. Most of its events, learning materials, and web content are publicly available.
In 2017, we adopted a new message: Connecting. Inspiring. Creating Change. With this message, we wanted to move with the times and adopt a more assertive identity: "We seek to support our members and organized philanthropy by encouraging public policies that sustain the sector, by increasing awareness of philanthropy's contribution to the well-being of Canadians, and by providing opportunities for funders to learn from each other." [1]
Even with our revised message, there is remarkable consistency between the approach of PFC 20 years ago and today. What has changed is our language and, more fundamentally, our realization that PFC is not only a member service organization but also, with the credibility and the continuity of its relationships, a leadership organization for organized philanthropy.
Building a community: the impact of PFC
PFC's impact on the world of organized philanthropy in Canada over a period of 20 years can be summed up best as community-building. Before 1999, many private foundations knew and interacted with each other informally and locally, particularly in anglophone Canada. But there was little formal collaboration and no capacity for a collective expression. There was also no formal vehicle that enabled other organizations in the charitable sector to interact with private foundations on a broader policy level.
PFC created many of these linkages, including, importantly, the linkage of Quebec-based philanthropy to the strategies and actions of organized philanthropy in the rest of Canada. PFC's physical presence in Montreal and its commitment to bilingualism have connected francophone foundations to each other and to anglophone foundations beyond Quebec. This has been an important factor in building and sustaining a pan-Canadian community of philanthropy.
The existence of PFC has meant multiple opportunities for engagement for many foundations. Since 1999, more than 60 different foundations have had representatives serving on the Board or committees of PFC. At annual conferences and leadership retreats, the board and staff of foundations have come to know each other and to learn more about the broader field in which they work.
Instances of collaborative activity are multiplying because of this exposure. Among these are: the development of Foundation House in Toronto by three PFC members who connected through their shared membership; the creation of The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, which emerged from a table conversation at the 2009 PFC Conference in Calgary; the emergence of other funder affinity groups such as the mental health and wellness funders group; and the Collective Impact Project in Montreal, bringing together seven private foundations. The role of PFC in these collaborations has been indirect but essential. PFC events and introductions created the trust that allowed many of these activities to be initiated by the members.
The professionalization of the field can be linked to the guides, workshops, survey reports, and learning events sponsored by PFC and produced either by members or by advisors and experts engaged by PFC. Canadian examples, cases, and legal frameworks are all highlighted in this content.
PFC has been highly instrumental in providing structured learning. In 2012, we began to organize a biannual series of one-day practice-focused gatherings. As an overarching theme, PFC has examined what it takes to "make change" that is wide-ranging, deeper, and more effective in addressing some of the complex challenges that face Canadians: poverty, homelessness, climate change, substance abuse, mental illness, social exclusion, etc. PFC has approached these symposia as an opportunity to examine a practice more thoughtfully, from various sides, and to feature examples of Canadian practice in action.
At the first symposium in 2012, we looked at the why, how, and what of funder collaboration to "make change." Among the key insights from participants was this: "it's not the pooling of funds but the pooling of perspectives, ideas, insights – collaboration can be as much about framing a problem as it is about bringing money to the table – it's paying attention to what matters." Taking this idea forward, in 2013 we examined the practice of thinking systemically about how to bring about change. How can a funder bring creativity, fresh eyes, and broader or horizontal thinking to the table with community partners? Moving to an examination of funders working with policymakers, the third symposium in 2015 looked at making public policy change. How do private funders work more effectively with public policymakers and systems to solve challenges together and bring about deeper and more sustained social changes? At a fourth symposium, in 2017, participants explored the practice of listening. How do funders listen better, hold better conversations, reach out to hear those voices that need to be heard? And in 2019 we are going to examine cross-sectoral collaboration as a practice that is increasingly being used to tackle deep problems such as mental illness and addiction, social exclusion, and poverty.
PFC has also achieved considerable public policy success. In 2006, PFC, with our allies, succeeded in getting the government to equalize the treatment of capital gains tax on gifts of public securities to private foundations. PFC played a role on the CRA's Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector and its Technical Issues Working Group. It lobbied successfully to modify the excess business holdings rules and encouraged CRA to create more flexible guidance on program-related investments.
While PFC has accomplished much in 20 years, there remain important challenges for the association and its members. Funders are faced with questions about their own policies and practices. Do they pay enough attention to diversity and inclusion in a country whose population is changing very quickly? The question of reconciliation between settler and Indigenous communities is also a major one for Canadian philanthropy, so practices related to participation, inclusion, power-sharing, and respect for lived experience are ones that Canadian philanthropy must explore urgently.
Another major question links to the public accountability of private charitable funders. Private foundations remain mostly invisible, although in 2018 they controlled more than $40 billion in assets and made more than $2 billion in grants annually, as well as running significant charitable programs. Foundations are privileged institutions, exercising the power of their resources to shape their communities and sometimes the policies of governments. Increasingly, the question will be posed by media, policymakers and other influencers: what is the legitimacy of the private foundation in a democracy? Should private foundations receive more scrutiny, or be more publicly accountable?
Another challenge to PFC is how best to connect and not compete with other geographic and interest-based funder networks. There have been significant developments in the past five years in the creation and expansion of funder networks or affinity groups based on geography or shared areas of interest. Funders find shared interests in their communities if they are place-based funders, or shared interests in specific issues if they are working on a broader front. Funder affinity groups in the areas of mental health and wellness, food and food security, youth and work, and in roles such as grants manager/program officer, are joining existing affinity groups. These include the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers' Network and the Circle on Philanthropy and Indigenous Peoples in Canada. PFC's challenge is to facilitate, complement, and partner with these groups in a way that is most effective for the funders themselves.
No philanthropy support organization in the world can be secure in its position and role. Most are battling for credibility, funding, and attention in a world that is becoming more individualized and disaggregated by the forces of the digital age. These organizations have always had difficulty persuading funders to invest in their own support. As noted in an article in The Philanthropist, whether one is a geographic network or a role-based network, the challenges are the same.[2] Funding is limited and value proposition is hard to articulate. Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS),[3] the global support organization for funder associations, is attempting to highlight the value that a solid support system brings to funders:
Space for reflection and discussion;
Collective action on rules and standards;
Thought leadership on key issues;
Tools for capacity-building; and
an advocacy voice for the system as a whole.
In 2018, WINGS surveyed the ways in which the field of institutional or organized philanthropy is changing, and how organizations serving philanthropy must change as well. Arguing that there is increasing recognition among philanthropies that they cannot address deep-seated issues or tackle societal change on their own, WINGS suggests that support organizations need to frame their objectives and work programs based on the needs of the system, rather than narrow organizational goals. In this view, the types of organizations that deliver services – whether they are membership bodies, professional agencies, networks, university centres, or hybrid entities – matter less than their functions.
WINGS neatly summarizes the organizational implications of taking an ecosystem approach to the main functions involved in supporting philanthropy: "While the main driver of infrastructure growth in the 20th century lay in the principles of organizational development to deliver strong and competent organizations to deliver services, the 21st century model is based on field development that transfers strength and power to the edges of the field based on a networked approach. Organizations at the centre of networks should be nimble harnessing the power of technology to connect people together to find joint solutions rather than focusing simply on service delivery."[4]
This suggests that the future for philanthropic support organizations, such as PFC, lies in a more fluid concept of organization – one that remains nimble but also porous, able to work in alliance and partnership on various projects designed to support varying needs of philanthropic players. As WINGS puts it: "a successful ecosystem relies less on precise organizational forms and more on relationships – with interstitial action between organizations with porous boundaries through a culture of sharing, experimentation and joint learning."[5] If one takes the perspective of what grantmaking organizations (foundations or other) will need from a support organization, WINGS ticks them off succinctly. A well-supported grantmaker:
Has access to the information, intelligence, and research it needs to plan and conduct its core work;
Can access one-to-one technical assistance on planning, grantmaking, law, evaluation, technology, finance, and other operational matters;
Has access to peers at national level for learning and sharing;
Can take part in thematic or affinity groups relevant to its work; and
Can contribute to a joint program of advocacy on issues that affect the sector.[6]
The future success of organizations like PFC will lie in how they answer these needs, increasingly in partnerships and networks with other colleagues in this field.
[1] https://pfc.ca/about/
[2] Caryl Arundel, A Sense of Place and the Potential for Connection: How Geographic Networks Address Local Challenges and Build Stronger Communities, The Philanthropist August 2018
[3] Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support, https://wingsweb.site-ym.com/
[4] Ibid p. 19
Hilary Pearson is the former president of Philanthropic Foundations Canada, a pan-Canadian network for organized philanthropy, based in Montreal.
Reconcilable Differences?: Philanthropy, Decolonization, and Existing While Indigenous
Justin Wiebe, 2018
S'intégrer au tissu social du Québec : les apprentissages tirés de la trajectoire de la Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon (2000-2018)
Jean-Marc Chouinard, 2019
Becoming a Part of Quebec's Social Fabric: Lessons from the Chagnon Foundation's Growth Trajectory from 2000-2018
La philanthropie rurale au Canada : Les stratégies du 21e siècle foisonnent dans le Canada rural
John Lorinc, 2019


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Give and Go
Give and Go:
Learning from Losing to the Harlem Globetrotters
By Isa Goldberg
As dramatic genre, the one-person show has been rising like a phoenix. The sheer number of them – many of them quite powerful – is at a zenith.
Watching "Give and Go: Learning from Losing to the Harlem Globetrotters," Brandt Johnson's one-man show about his career as a basketball player, provokes me to wonder what makes these shows such audience pleasers. There's "Circumcize Me," for instance, in which Catholic-born Yisrael (ne Christopher) Campbell reveals his "spiritual journey" from a recovering addict to an orthodox Jew. Campbell's alcoholism, he claims, began at the age of nine and continued until he was seventeen years old. His conversion to Judaism, on the other hand, is a life long commitment which allows him to be supported by the state of Israel for as long as he is a citizen (of course, he doesn't address that issue in his stand up routine).
For Carrie Fisher whose one-woman show, "Wishful Drinking," drew cheers from audiences and critics alike this past fall, alcohol seems to have been less of a problem than pills. In any event, it's her celebrity status (along with her gift of gab and comedic sensibility) that makes her so interesting to us and keeps her "in business." Add addiction to that and you have great fodder for a spiritual journey.
But hardly any of us ever "recover" by just going to the gym…or working out on the basketball court the way Brandt Johnson or his alter ego, Billy Tyler, does. And if you're a white guy doing it, the challenge it offers to "spiritual quest" must be right up there – on the level of losing a lot of weight, giving up your morning cup of coffee, or suddenly living without any crutches at all. To make matters worse, so to speak, Billy never was an addict. As he describes himself – from toddler through adulthood, he never had a bad habit in his life – except, of course, his attachment to a basketball.
In fact, he took to clutching onto that hard rubber sphere the way Snoopy did with his blanket. Not his comparison, but an apt one for a high school freshman who, having never scored a point on the team, drags his basketball with him to every class, cafeteria and rest room he goes to. Finally, Billy's high school guidance counselor (one of several other characters Johnson portrays) exhorts the freshman to give up his dream; a decision he finally feels forced to make after graduating from Williams College without a single NBA offer.
I'm still wondering how many NBA offers have been made to Williams College grads, but that's even more grist for Billy's adage, "It wasn't going to be easy. But I just thought if I worked hard enough…" Finally, after a stint as an investment banker at "Goldman Stanley," Billy gives it all up to train, practicing his game on every court in Manhattan.
Why I didn't fall in love with Billy's tale the way I did with Yisrael's or Carrie's (born to Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds) has to do with his lack of moral turpitude, his straight laced, honest life style and the message it offers us about pursuing our own dreams.
When Billy joins the losing team that goes on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters, the one they play against in every single game, his coach Winnie (a Southern man portrayed by Johnson) confides in him, "you ain't dancing." Without giving it all away, Billy learns to get through all the hoops he needs to score success.
Metropolitan Playhouse
Through Feb 27,2010
Author Eric MarchPosted on March 17, 2010 January 13, 2017 Categories Reviews, x-Drupal Import
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My Girlfriend Plays \"The Wolf Among Us\"
\"Gateway Episode\": Blacklist
Bob's Burgers, Your Next Netflix Binge
By Lauren Clymer
If you haven't gotten a chance to watch at least one episode of Bob's Burgers, you need to reevaluate your time on Netflix. With three seasons available for streaming, Bob's Burgers can easily be your next binge watch this winter season.
Coasting along with animated sitcom favorites like Family Guy, South Park, and The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers struggled, at first, to establish its spot as one of the best comedies on television. Many critics, fans, and even the writers of Family Guy and The Simpsons have made comments insinuating the show wouldn't be able to rise to the top. (In a recent cross-over episode of The Simpsons and Family Guy, Homer notices Bob Belcher as a passenger on an airplane and Peter says, "We gotta carry him because he can't fly on his own,"). However, now in its fifth season, Bob's Burgers has, without a doubt, become the best animated show on Fox.
The show is centered around the Belchers, parents Bob and Linda, and their three children, Tina, Louise, and Gene, as they run their family burger joint. Constantly struggling to keep their heads above the water, the Belchers find themselves in some interesting situations to fight for their livelihood that is their restaurant, including committing minor insurance fraud or killing a mechanical shark.
The beauty of the show, among many things, is its ability to create a stable foundation for its comedy. The Belchers worry about everything; raising the emotional stakes without ever pushing over into serious drama territory. With this as the foundation, Bob's Burgers is able to produce countless hilarious episodes. One of the best, and a good gateway episode for the series, would have to be "Tina-rannosaurus Wrecks" of season three- a great first look into the obsession with Tina Belcher.
Bob must go through his insurance provider after Tina hits a competitor's parked car while driving for the first time in the grocery store lot in the episode, "Tina-rannosaurus Wrecks". It starts off on a strong note as Tina gets behind the wheel for the first time and "makes the kitty purr" slowly into the only car in the parking lot, groaning her signature groan the entire time. After leaving a note and getting in touch with the owner of the car, Tina and Bob discover they have to lie to the insurance provider to avoid any legal consequences. However, Tina is not very comfortable with the idea and, as the episode progresses, is forced to suppress her discomfort and deal with the fallout.
While the show may center around some unrealistic scenarios (a mechanical shark takes over the street in the season three episode, "The Deepening"), the core plot of the series is relatable and strong. The Belchers are a simple family trying to get by with their small business. Bob struggles to have things go smoothly for his business and his family while Linda is the glue that holds them together. Tina represents the socially awkward phases every teenager has experienced while her siblings, Louise and Gene, provide for out-there comments and advice that can't not be laughed at.
It's hard to give insight on the episode without revealing the majority of the comedy in it, but trust when I say this episode will not disappoint. Not only does it provide for some of the best Tina Belcher moments, but it shows the very heart of Bob's Burgers.
"Tina-rannosaurus Wrecks" shows how, despite all of the hilarious mistakes and circumstances the Belchers find themselves in, they are still a simple family living the American dream. Bob's Burgers doesn't need to rely on mocking celebrities or using crude, risque humor like Family Guy or South Park to prove they're the best animated comedy on Fox, which only makes it an even better show.


I was only in middle school when I first learned the benefit of challenging my teacher.
I was in seventh grade pre-Algebra. My math teacher, Mrs. K, had just handed back our quizzes to the class. I had gotten only 1 wrong, but 4 out of 5 is an 80%, and I was not happy that I had gotten a C.
Math was supposed to be my strong suite. I was pretty good at it, and numbers just made sense to me. So if this was supposed to be the class I was good at, I would not settle for any grade besides an A for the class. And getting a C on a quiz was not going to work for me.
I waited till after class to talk to my math teacher. She sat down with me to work this problem out together. The only problem was, she was wrong.
She showed me how to solve this problem, and I showed her how to CORRECTLY solve the problem. We went back and forth in disagreement for a long while. (We could not agree which step in PEMDAS was the correct starting point).
We argued for SO LONG that she finally got so frustrated she shouted "Rachael, what do you want?!"
"I want an A on my quiz."
"Done!" She crossed out my grade in red ink and marked a big 100% across the top.
Now, to this day I still don't know whether she was wrong or I was wrong, but in my 13 year old head, I "knew" she had the wrong answer.
And that was the first time I learned that I need to question everything in order to help my grade. I used that lesson to learn how to approach teachers, and how to speak respectfully in order to get the best grade possible.
This doesn't just work for tests and quizzes! This method works on any graded assignment! For example, I have benefited with big projects too!
I was in a High School Spanish class, and had spent over 20 hours on a Spanish project, including staying up till 3 am the night before it was due. I had to translate a child's book into Spanish, and earned a B- on the major project.
I felt horrible! After spending SO many hours and late nights working on it, I was hoping for an A. Immediately after class, I spoke to the Spanish teacher. She told me the reason I got a lower grade was because I had so many written errors and grammatical errors in sentence structure.
Which she was totally right! This was a beginners Spanish class. We learned vocabulary but did not know sentence structure.
I challenged her thinking on the grade by reminding her that I went above and beyond her minimum requirements for the assignment, and because I had met the requirements, she agreed that I deserved a better grade. She reviewed my assignment again, adjusted the grade, and gave me an A-.
You can teach your teen how to respectfully question and challenge their teachers to get a better grade!
Please note! This is a guide only for when your child gets a graded assignment back. This is for questioning why the grade is low and challenging the teacher for a better grade.
First, let's discuss what NOT to do.
Do not have attitude. See above.
Do not question or challenge DURING class time. Only approach the teacher after class.
Do not explain how the teacher is wrong. Instead, explain how your answer is right.
Only approach your teacher after class or after school. This is when they will have time for a lengthy discussion.
Take your graded assignment in hand. Whether it is a homework grade, essay, project, test, or quiz, bring it! Even if it is just 1 question, take the time to go ask your teacher.
Ask them, in a respectful way, HOW you got the question wrong, or why your answer was not correct, and what the correct answer/response was.
Once they answer, explain WHY you thought the answer was what you put. Explain in full detail your reasoning of support for your answer. Sometimes teachers will hear your reasoning and decide that your answer was a logical answer based on the question. They may give you credit, or partial credit, for the answer you provided based off of the belief that their question may have been worded incorrectly or misunderstood.
IF the teacher still says the answer is incorrect, this is when the student/your child explain, " based on what you said about X, and what you said about Y, that is why I understood the answer to be Z". This is when your child uses the teachers own words as reasoning for the incorrect answer.
This method of questioning and challenging the teacher on my grades has worked for me MANY, MANY, MANY times!
If I have put in the hours and hours of hard work on studying for a test, or hours on a big project, then I might as well take a few extra minutes to potentially get a better grade!
Even if the teacher does not give them a better grade, your child has shown that they worked hard for the grade, and, most importantly, that they CARE what grade they get! This is huge because it is really important to let the teacher know just how much your child cares about their grade.
Even if your child isn't sure whether they should ask the teacher or not, encourage them to go for it! What have they got to lose! The teacher will not give them a worse grade for asking, but might give them a better grade.


I hope this new year started off well for you all. What have you been up to? Are you sticking to your goals, resolutions, visions - whatever your might personally call it? Or maybe you're just going with the flow? Actually, nothing wrong with that, either.
Currently writing this at 5 am in the morning, my son is making funny noises in his sleep, and my head is hanging over a big mug of coffee. Frantically trying to get this post done before little milk monster wakes up.
Maybe you have wondered why it's been so awfully quiet over here. Let me tell you - there's a good reason for it. We are currently living in the newborn bubble and our tiny human, the newest family addition….
The past few days, my friends from Germany, Eva and Jane, who I met back in 2013 when we all started our master's program in London, England, had been in town. They are currently on their 18-day west coast trip.
I was looking through our church wedding photos this morning and that brightened my mood tremendously. When Rickey proposed back in February of 2017, my life literally changed. We have been doing everything so ... differently, I would like to say.
I am hoping you've all be doing great and staying cool wherever you are. Although I love living in San Diego, the current heat is draining. I have a couple projects that keep me busy, which I am grateful for, but when it's this hot outside, it's sometimes hard to focus.
I flew out a week earlier than Rickey, May 31st, to spend some quality time with my family in the German countryside. The last time we saw them was back in November. I was excited to go back, especially during the summer, and just enjoy some quiet time at home. Surrounded by blooming flowers, twittering birds, and mom and granny's food.
Today I wanted to talk about something a little different. I have been working from home for a few months now and it certainly has its perks. However, I need to be organized to actually be productive, because with the dogs, my husband (who works evenings, but I am a morning person), and other little things around that can be pretty distracting, I quickly figured that I needed to organize my workspace so I could maximize my productivity.
Sometimes, doing the right thing is hard. And just because you just thought you figured out what the right thing is, doesn't mean this will ultimately be the best thing to do - and vice versa.
I am literally so excited to be writing to you from this very new cozy corner of mine. Did you have a chance to check it out yet? Do you like it? I dearly hope so, as I am so, so happy with the results and all the financial and emotional investment in creating not just this website but the actual brand The Redhead Story.
Hello friends! We are slowly approaching the end of the "My Story" website & brand pre-launch series with post number seven today (one more to go). A few things need to be tweaked on the website and my blog will be imported tomorrow (yay for having to go through 350+ posts and label them all; part of the fun). The tentative date for the launch, at this point, will be mid-March. It's happening.
Ever since I started writing I was dreaming of this: having my own small storytelling business. It really just sounded like a dream too good to ever come true.
Welcome back to my current website pre-launch series "MY STORY".
Let's jump right into today's topic: Being an expat.
Not only have my approach and meaning of traveling changed ever since I set foot on California soil more than two years ago. I went from "traveling solo or with friends" to "traveling with my like minded husband".
I arrived in San Diego on December 2, 2015. It should be a new chapter; a blank piece of paper. A chapter that still needed to be written.One suitcase, a carry on - and I was an expat again. This time for 18 months - so the plan. I squeezed all that I needed (and that was not really much) into my luggage and found myself in a new city.
Did you learn a thing or two about me in the previous (and first) pre-launch post of my series "My Story"? I sure hope so, as my goal is for you to understand who the redhead behind the soon-to-be-released new website, blog, and ultimately the brand The Redhead Story is. It's always my goal to be true, honest, and have my personality shine through. I want you to be able to connect with me as the voice behind all the (written) content and things coming from this - soon the new - space.


If, like us, you are a self-proclaimed numbers nerd, then you will love GOOD and IBM's new site, Figures of Progress.
Celebrating the use of data to innovate businesses, organizations and communities worldwide, Figures of Progress helps businesses of all sizes better understand and appreciate how to use data to improve their business or organization. It's not always easy, and it's definitely not always pretty, but knowing how to leverage data is quite possibly the most effective way to run your business. Sure, data can be manipulated but you can't change a hard number.
From startups like Cause.It to Fortune 5oo brands like Starbucks, data-driven businesses know how to take those oftentimes headache-inducing numbers and make them work for their businesses. Major urban cities like New York recognize the importance of using data to drive change and improve practices.
Figures of Progress features an informative Q&A with a business leader like Airbnb's Nathan Blecharcyzk or Starbucks' Adam Brotman weekly. There's also a nifty Response Box on the site where you can share your thoughts on the featured interviews.
The video showcasing how basketball is using data to change the game is a must-watch.
So go get your numbers groove on and check out Figures of Progress, also on Facebook and Twitter.


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Tag: Court of Justice of the European Union
EDPB Turns Down German DPA; Asks DPC To Investigate Facebook and WhatsApp's Data Processing
Subscribe to my newsletter, The Wavelength, if you want the content on my blog delivered to your inbox four times a week before it's posted here. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) denied a request by The Hamburg Commissioner for Data protection and freedom of information (the Hamburg DPA or the DE-HH SA) to force … Continue reading EDPB Turns Down German DPA; Asks DPC To Investigate Facebook and WhatsApp's Data Processing →
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Michael Kans EU, Technology, Telecommunications Leave a comment March 15, 2021 March 15, 2021 6 Minutes
Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 February 2021)
Further Reading "A Hacker Tried to Poison a Florida City's Water Supply, Officials Say" By Andy Greenberg — WIRED. Given the fact that most water and sewage systems are linked to the internet, even their operational systems, it is surprising these sorts of incidents do not occur more frequently."UK regulator to write to WhatsApp over Facebook … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 February 2021) →
Michael Kans Big Data, CCPA, Coming Events, COVID-19, Cybersecurity, Data Flows, Data Protection, data security, DOD, EU, FCC, FTC, Further Reading, GDPR, Misinformation, Other Developments, privacy, Privacy Shield, Russia, Section 230, Social Media, Technology, Telecommunications Leave a comment February 12, 2021 17 Minutes


The presenter will share exciting activities for increasing English Language Learners¹ (Level 2 proficiency) understanding and use of content areavocabulary in the elementary grades. She will also present student artifacts from her own teaching experiences. The participants will have an opportunity to discuss examples of student work and make instructional manipulatives they can use in their own classrooms.


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Title: Walt Whitman to Joseph M. Stoddart, 13 January 1891
Contributors to digital file: Cristin Noonan, Amanda J. Axley, Alex Ashland, and Stephanie Blalock
Cite this page: "Walt Whitman to Joseph M. Stoddart, 13 January 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, and Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 21 January 2022. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
328 Mickle St. Camden
11 am Tuesday
My friend J. M. S.
(for so I would have it)
Yours just rec'd.1 Come around right away2 & let me mix you a good generous sour mash to remove such baseless & unworthy constructions from your thought—
Affectionate respects to Mrs. S.3
Joseph Marshall Stoddart (1845–1921) published Stoddart's Encyclopaedia America, established Stoddart's Review in 1880, which was merged with The American in 1882, and became the editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1886. On January 11, 1882, Whitman received an invitation from Stoddart through J. E. Wainer, one of his associates, to dine with Oscar Wilde on January 14 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 235n).
1. See Stoddart's letter to Whitman of January 13, 1891. [back]
2. The actor Francis Wilson accompanied Stoddart on the visit to Whitman. Wilson who wrote a letter to Whitman on January 16, 1891, after the visit, expressing his thanks. The letter arrived along with a bottle of Old Crow Whiskey. [back]
3. Joseph Marshall Stoddart married Isabella Herkness (1850–1900). [back]


Small-town tranquility needs to be bottled and sold as a mood. Back to my busy days now, it feels surreal to look back on these mountain villages where no one's ever in a hurry. I had no idea that after Switzerland, Spain is Europe's most mountainous country. Spanish for "mountain range covered in snow", the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia is home to Spain's highest peaks – the Mulhacén at 3479 metres and the Veleta a little lower. On the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada overlooking the Mediterranean Sea lives a clutch of mountain villages together known as Las Alpujarras. The kind that make you want to sell everything and move. Spend the rest of your days surrounded by rarified air, tangles of mountain trails, stray cats sunning themselves all day, a laidback sense of time and the freshest spring water that keeps you coming back for refills. A way of life where the days are savoured rather than rushed into a blur. Thanks to Granada Tourism (@granadaturismo) I had a great local guide, José from Nevadensis (one of the oldest travel companies in the region) driving me around some of the villages in Las Alpujarras over a weekend in my 6-week Spain trip this July-August.
The constant snowmelt from the mountain peaks keeps the lower slopes well-nourished in the hottest summers and reaches the villages through their ancient Arab systems of irrigation channels. River Poqueira, the main river here, owes its existence to the snowmelt of the Veleta and the Mulhacén. On the left bank of this river are perched the Moorish whitewashed villages of Capileira, Bubion and Pampaneira.
Barely known outside of Spain two decades ago, today Las Alpujarras is growing in popularity as a destination for those in search of an older, quieter and more rustic Andalusia.
Towards the end of the 15th century, the Moors settled here after having been chased away by the Christians who had invaded Granada. The fifty odd villages here are known to be the last stronghold of the Moors, and the name derives from al-basharāt meaning "sierra of pastures". The Mulhacen, incidentally, was named after Abu l-Hasan Ali or Muley Hacén in Spanish. One of the last Muslim kings of Granada in the 15th century. Legend says he was buried at the top of this mountain.
Some of these villages have entire populations as low as 10 or 20 people and two cats who have perfected the sun-and-siesta lifestyle. A uniform style of architecture marked these villages, adapted to the climate and the unique topography of each village.
Our first destination was Pampaneira after a drive full of switchbacks and scenery. One of the larger villages in Las Alpujarras, Pampaneira has a population of 350, a chocolate factory, a thriving artisan community and a Park Information Point that is hugely useful for any traveller trying to get her bearings high up in the Sierra Nevada.
Bars and cafes line the main square of this town and streams flow between whitewashed houses. I had a beautiful and unlikely-in-these-parts vegetarian lunch waiting for me at Ruta del Mulhacén, on a balcony overlooking the valley.
The road to a more well-known village was blocked so a detour brought us to Fondalez. I was told the current population here is all of 20 humans and 2 cats. Fondalez is one of 3 settlements that make up Mecina Fondalez, which in turn is one of 3 villages that make up the municipality La Taha. Named after a polymath who was the first to settle in the area.
On the road that connects Mecina Fondales and Ferreirola keep an eye out for this beautiful café piano bar La Cueva de Mora Luna. This is in the village of Mecina in the Taha valley. I loved the vibe of this place and it was the perfect spot for a lunch break on a hot day exploring these hillside villages. The food was delicious and the people working here were so friendly and fun to talk to.
Marked by flat roofs, chimney pots and perched higher up from Pampaneira, Bubion derives its name from the Latin bovium meaning 'a place of oxes'.
and a star on the road.
The second highest town in Andalusia, its name derives from the Latin capillaris meaning 'the highest place'. On the southeastern edge of the village is the viewpoint (mirador) which opens out to the Poqueira valley. There are a good number of basic accommodations and bars in the centre of the town. In the summers, a bus from Capileira takes you to the Mirador de Trevelez.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed reading!
Your post is making me want to go back to Spain again! I went a few years ago but went to the large cities, Madrid and Barcelona. Yet, there are plenty of other areas to see. Exploring the Las Alpujarras villages sounds intriguing since it looks like a great place to spend time outdoors. Out of the five that you mentioned, I would love to go to Trevelez. I'm a huge fan of hiking and the midnight hike up Mount Mulhacen would be an unique experience.
I've always wanted to travel to Andalusia! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Glad to stoke that wanderlust!
I have been to Andalusia and it's a truly enchanting region of Spain. Love the nice villages you passed through your journeys.
Any place that can be described as: "A way of life where the days are savoured rather than rushed into a blur," is my kind of place. We are heading to northern Spain in 2020 and will have some time to explore other regions. Looks like Andalusia will need to be added to our list of places to go. Thanks for sharing!
Oh yes Andalusia better be on your list and especially rural Andalusia. Glad the post resonated with your travel spirit!
I have been to the Andalusia region, but only to Granada. Your post really makes me want to go to the smaller villages. I would really enjoy going to a bunch of different small villages like you did. Were you able to talk to any of the locals in Fondalez? I wonder what it is like to live in a village of 20 people! I thought my hometown of 2,000 was small!
Oh yes and they seemed so unassuming and content. I love how they seem to have no concept of rushing or grasping for anything. It's a great way to live, if you ask me 🙂 Let me know if you happen to go there too!
I so agree that small town tranquility is the best thing for recharging your inner battery. I didn't realize there were such high mountains in Spain. These little villages all look like perfect places to visit and maybe never leave. I love the smallness of them. 20 people and 2 cats is a funny description.
Haha I wish! If I do pull that off, you'll be the first to know!
Oh yes I enjoyed visiting the chocolate factory too 🙂 Was such a fun weekend of road tripping in this part of Andalusia, hope you get around to it someday!
I have been to Spain many many times, but never to this area. I love the sounds of Las Alpujarras, especially that is quieter and a little more rustic than other places. I love finding small towns in Spain and learning about what makes the town special. It sounds like you found many that would interest me.
Yes indeed! Fully recommend visiting the less visited corners of Spain, so much to discover !
Oh wow! This looks amazing. What a great experience. I love little rural towns away from the hustle and bustle sometimes!


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3 front vents and 2 rear triangles.
To replace damaged cheek pads on Arai helmets.
Complete set to be installed on SNELL 2010/FIA 8858-2010 helmets. Complies with all FIA regulations.
Ergonomically-shaped lever designed to open a closed visor by a fraction to create additional airflow into the helmet. The swivel is large enough to be operated with gloves on.
Pack of 10 tear offs. Bell tear offs for HP3/RS3/GP3 and HP5/GT5.
For all models except HP7 and RS7 range.
Contains an antibacterial and refreshing agent which eliminates the bacteria and the smell from the inside of the helmet. Bottle of 99 ml.
Removes dirt and dust quickly from the shell of your helmet. Bottle of 99 ml.
Removes dirt and dust quickly from the visor of your helmet. Bottle of 99 ml.
Apply to the outside of your visor or windshield for improved vision.
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Dimensions : L = 73 cm, l = 29 cm, H = 25 cm.


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Antidoting, Tautopathy, RCT
Interview of Professor Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh
Posted by Manfred Mueller, MA, DHM, RSHom(NA), CCH
Categories Antidoting, Tautopathy, RCT, Cancer, Treatment, Homeopathic Research, Interviews, Manfred Mueller's Articles
Professor Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh
By Manfred Mueller, MA, DHM, RSHom(NA), CCH
A few years ago, I was asked to be a consultant on the Research Review Committee and the Editorial Committee for an NIH educational grant on teaching complementary and alternative medicine at the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC. While working with this group, consisting mostly of medical faculty and staff, I noticed that academic texts on complementary and alternative medicine are written almost exclusively by academicians within conventional medicine — by authors lacking practical or personal experience with the field they write about. Furthermore, in the research articles I reviewed for the project, I repeatedly came across profound misrepresentations of the basic homeopathic tenets by established scientists who are writing about homeopathy.
I was pleasantly surprised to read, in 2003, an article on homeopathy by Prof. Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh in the Journal of Molecular Chemistry entitled, "Towards understanding molecular mechanisms of homeopathy." I was impressed that he actually explained the laboratory technique of potentization in this article, unlike some of his western colleagues who seemed to work hard to obscure the difference between simple dilutions and potentization. Here was a scientist who had thoroughly understood the theoretical principles of homeopathy. He was not only clear about the key questions, but also had the ability to communicate his understanding with clarity and the necessary detail.
After reviewing a 2005 article on homeopathic cancer research, again, I was impressed with his reasoning and his ingenious study design that showed efficacy of homeopathic cancer treatment in artificially induced cancer in mice. I read several more articles by his team, and in June 2006, I decided to contact him to let him know how much I appreciated his contributions and to discuss with him an idea for a study that would clarify some theoretical questions on homeopathic treatment.
Prof. Khuda-Bukhsh had published several studies showing that classical homeopathic remedies have shown protective effects in mice with such induced tumors. I wanted him to investigate the effect of the potentized dye on these tumors to learn more about the tautopathic hypothesis, and also if this dye could be an effective treatment for cancer. We have in our materia medica two effective cancer remedies made from similar textile dyes — Methylene blue and Congo red. Wouldn't it be interesting to show with modern investigative techniques if the clinical observations of homeopaths prove correct!
He responded immediately and once we discussed the study design, he revealed to me that he was having difficulty obtaining good homeopathic remedies for his research. I contacted Michael Quinn of Hahnemann Laboratories and asked if he could make p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (p-DAB) in several potencies. p-DAB is a yellow dye that is still widely used in the textile industry in developing countries. It is highly carcinogenic and, together with Phenobarbital as a promoter, induces liver tumors in mice in about 6 weeks. It took months to have the medicines ready, after which I donated them to Khuda-Bukhsh's project.
Khuda-Bukhsh is somewhat of a phenomenon. He has published nearly thirty scientific articles in peer-reviewed medical journals related to, or directly investigating homeopathic treatment, including cancer treatment, and yet many homeopathic practitioners have never heard of him. His investigations have shown strong evidence that homeopathic treatment has a biological effect, a fact that is still not widely accepted among scientists. He has shown for example that potentized medicines can cause demonstrable protective and restorative reactions in laboratory animals that have been poisoned with arsenic and cadmium, and even in animals that had artificially induced liver cancers.
I asked the Professor if I could conduct an interview with him for the The American Homeopath, to which he enthusiastically agreed. I conducted the interview over the phone on June 14th, 2007. I found him to be an extremely humble and gracious man who is quick to give others credit for their accomplishments and downplay his own.
I have included a bibliography of his research at the end of the interview.
MM: I appreciate being able to talk to you today. I have reviewed your research and I'm absolutely in awe of your work.
KB: It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity of talking to you, sir.
MM: How did you become interested in homeopathy, and how did you get started in this kind of research? It's widely neglected and a highly specialized area.
KB: An accident brought me into this field. In 1980, I took a team of my students on an educational excursion. We were about to set out for a collection trip when suddenly one of my students fell from a staircase and broke one of her teeth. One of my students asked me, "Sir, we have a vial of homeopathic medicine called Arnica montana. Should I give her the medicine?" So I thought, why don't we try, because we do not have any medical practitioner nearby. Then what happened is something I still remember. She gave some globules at an interval of ten minutes' time, and the patient dramatically recovered from the trauma and was ready to go with us. I was surprised and wondered how I could test the efficacy of such tiny globules. I thought I should conduct some kind of experiment on a mammalian model so I could extrapolate the results in humans.
I started reading some homeopathic books and discussed the matter with a local practitioner, a friend of mine. I learned that Arnica montana is a tested remedy against shock and injuries. Then I had a lot of sleepless nights designing my first set of experiments.
The initial problem was how to inflict shock and injury without killing the tiny creatures. I zeroed in on the idea of giving it internal shock and injury by exposing mice to x-ray radiation at a moderate dose that would not kill them but be strong enough to have visible, quantifiable effects on their genome. This experimental design had several advantages. The dose of x-ray could be controlled and monitored, and we could see the effect on the mouse genome periodically after x-ray radiation had certain fixed intervals, keeping suitable controls. Thus we could see the modulations by Arnica montana, if any.
We adopted different scientifically accepted cytogenetical protocols, because that was my discipline. For example, we could study the type and quantities of various chromosome damages, number of broken chromosome parts, changes in division rate on bone marrow cells, etc. We also studied the morphological changes inflicted by x-rays on sperm head morphology in both control and drafted mice. We got encouraging positive results in the very first set of experiments. Replicating the experiments, we again got similar kinds of positive results.
Subsequently, we designed experiments in which mice would take Arnica montana prior to, after, and both prior to and after x-ray radiation to find out which kind of drug administration was more efficacious. This was the beginning, and since the area was new, I sensed a biologist could play an important role in developing multidisciplinary fields. The more I worked, the more I fell in love with it, and I'm still on a long journey.
MM: That's fascinating. As you state in one of your excellent papers, "Homeopathic research requires an interdisciplinary approach: biology, physics and medicine." Could you briefly explain why this is so, and how you are qualified to work in these broad areas of research?
KB: I have said this because an important part of research is to help understand the mechanism of action of ultra-diluted homeopathic drugs, one of the most debated subjects, and a reason why homeopathy is not considered as scientific by many. The homeopathic remedies at or above 12C potency do not contain even a single molecule of the original raw substance. So how can this be effective medicine? If you successfully show that you have been able to remove the disease symptom by homeopathic medicine, a non-believer will simply tell you that the disease symptom would have perished anyway without the help of the remedy at all. Even if someone concedes that the remedy works, one will be asked to explain how it works, how the medicinal property of the original mother tincture can be transferred to and retained by the aqueous alcohol vehicle.
The research necessary to understand this aspect falls within the domain of the physicist, as does the form in which the signal or information or molecular imprint is stored. How the signal can evoke similar response and be transformed into active signals for various metabolic activities by interacting with receptor molecules of the cell can best be studied by a biologist. The various psychological changes that modulate the disease symptom back to recovery process, the various psychosomatic factors and physiological processes involved, the mind-body interactions can best be explained by the medical researcher. I do not think I am qualified to study the physical and medical aspects with the same degree of authenticity and accuracy, but being a faculty member of a university I have colleagues in physics and medicine. My co-researchers have biochemistry and biophysics backgrounds. Time will tell whether we have been able to make a mark in research.
MM: Homeopathy is a very popular form of medicine almost around the world, and many homeopaths go about their business never wondering about the scientific aspects. They see clinical effect and that's good enough for them. Why do you think homeopathic research is important, and what do you risk as a scientist by embarking on homeopathic research as opposed to some more conventional subject matters?
KB: That is a good question. It's important to explain the mechanism of action of the ultra-high diluted remedies within the boundary of existing scientific knowledge, and to do research on all aspects to get the whole picture. If we can establish homeopathy as a branch of science, then man will get a unique system of medicine, holistic in approach, with inexpensive, non- toxic and easy-to-administer remedies which are used in micro-doses, and without any known side effects. Most orthodox remedies, as in allopathy, are very toxic and produce ill effects, although they can possibly do good by killing some organisms, pathogens. If we establish homeopathy as a science so people trust it as one, then mankind will benefit.
This requires a tremendous effort from many scientists, and there are bottlenecks. Funding for research is inadequate and for most researchers is inaccessible. Publishing well thought-out and well designed works in mainstream peer-reviewed reputed journals is also difficult. However, there is some visible improvement in attitude in this regard and a few mainstream journals of good standing are not averse to the idea of publishing good research findings. Sometimes motivating a researcher to pursue an unknown, unproven path without any gallantry of getting positive results makes the thing very difficult. I should not fail to mention the doubtful glances I receive from some of my mainstream researcher friends. They express their doubts about the truthfulness when positive results are obtained, but not really when negative results are reported.
MM: You and I have been in touch prior to this interview. I helped you obtain some potencies of p-DAB here in the United States, because I understand this is difficult for you to get. Also, you have had difficulty obtaining a published article in the journal Research in Complementary Medicine on research done by your own team. It is surprising for me that you wouldn't have direct access to these journals, as a scientist running a laboratory. Can you tell us about this situation you're working under and some of the day-to-day difficulties and challenges you've encountered in your work?
KB: Yes, it's true to a great extent you know, in this part of the world and perhaps in many other countries. Homeopathic research is not considered as real research, maybe. But you can take our case. We started our research in 1980 and could not procure any funds until 2001. We somehow managed to carry out our work during this long period by utilizing some chemicals and glassware purchased for other projects on mammalian or mainstream research. Sir Richard Thompson of Rayne Institute, England was very kind to provide us with a small fund to work on arsenic toxicity in mice and on homeopathic remedies. In 2004, Dr. Philippe Belon, director for Boiron Laboratories, Lyon, France visited our laboratory and recommended a collaborative project on arsenic toxicity, which was generously granted by Dr. Christian Boiron. Soon thereafter, we also got a fund from our own Indian government, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, an organization named AYUSH, to test the efficacy of homeopathic drugs in artificially induced mice cancer model. We are very glad to tell you that Boiron Laboratory has extended the project, and now we are in a much better position and hope to carry out more sophisticated research in future years.
MM: You've conducted a series of studies in the use of homeopathic drugs in treating malignant tumors in animals. What is the significance of your findings for human cancer treatment with homeopathic drugs?
KB: Mouse is a very good mammalian model. It has about 98% genetic similarity with humans, and can be easily cultured, reared and maintained in the laboratory with minimal cost. In the scientific world, controlled experiments are done in mice and data extrapolated for understanding in human application. This is a common practice and perfectly acceptable. Therefore, if a homeopathic drug demonstrates anti-cancer potential in mice, it can be presumed it will in human as well. Replication of study by independent researchers on other mammalian models for verification and confirmation are necessary before actual human application.
MM: I have seen undeniable positive clinical effects from homeopathic treatment of cancer patients who are opting out of conventional care. Can these observations be corroborated by science?
KB: It can be, but there are certain complications in carrying out research with human materials or subjects. Skeptics would demand control subjects who don't receive any medicine, just to show that the positive effects of the homeopathic drug was because of the drug administration only. In cases like cancer or serious terminal diseases, is it possible to maintain controls? Can we deprive the patient of real medicine and give them placebos just to satisfy our purpose of seeing that homeopathic medicines work? I think this kind of scientific demand is unethical. Controlled human studies can be done with lesser diseases like rhinitis or migraine. It is possible to show scientifically that homeopathic medicines work in humans, and we have done some research on human beings, on thalassemia. You yourself have also treated many patients with various types of cancer, so your pathological, physiological test data could also reveal that they have been cured to a large extent or they are having a better quality of life. That is also scientific.
MM: In homeopathic cancer treatment, we have observed clinical benefits from constitutional treatment, which is a kind of systemic treatment, and we often find increased effects from alternating with a more specific medicine that addresses the approach?
KB: We have not worked with such a perspective ourselves. But in our human trial on arsenic-exposed people, we have noticed that a few subjects provided with the constitutional remedy along with Arsenicum 30 responded better. We believe the constitution or miasm actually speaks of the genetical makeup of the person, a particular genetic constitution. Because homeopathy also considers the state of mind and other psychosomatic factors along with the disease symptoms in drug selection, I think constitutional remedies can have greater influence on the genetic system while the specific drug that you select as the similar could give some added advantage.
MM: Many homeopaths have seen tumors respond very well to low potencies in clinical practice, and homeopaths such as R. T. Cooper have advanced a technique using so-called arborivital mother tinctures of fresh plants, finding them very effective directly on tumors, meaning tumors would often recede during or as a result of treatment. Others have found effects from very high potencies. From a scientific point of view, are there any data or findings suggesting different levels of efficacy from various levels of potentization in cancer treatment?
KB: Now you raise questions in which homeopaths differ. Some say mother tinctures act better and some say potentized remedies are better. In the various studies we have conducted, particularly on the cancer mice model, we have seen that the mother tincture as well as the potentized remedies act quite efficiently against the cancer, while the mother tincture showed better efficacy in case of some symptoms or parameters of study. The potentized medicines, the 30th potency particularly, give a wide coverage of parameters and are found to be suitably modified or positively modulated with the 30th potency as well as the 200th potency. In certain cases, we were surprised to see the 200th potency working better at longer fixation intervals. We cannot generalize this, because sometimes we found that at longer intervals of fixation the mother tincture gave better results in reducing tumors, particularly in mice.
We have not totally studied the mother tinctures Chelidonium, Hydrastis, Carduus, and others, nor have we published many data as yet, but extensive studies have been done on both mother tinctures and 30th or 200th potencies. Our general belief is that both mother tinctures and potentized forms can act at specific circumstances, and we have some kind of differential functions of modulations in respect of some specific parameters of study. Suppose that you are studying tumor incidence. Maybe the mother tincture is giving better results. When you are studying the, say, liver function test, maybe the 30th potency is giving better response than the mother tincture. Then you are studying for the longer intervals, at four months or three months, maybe you find the 200th potency giving better results. So, you'll find the potentized drugs are very efficacious. So is the mother tincture. The arborivital mother tinctures have a lot of elements, which we are now studying, a lot of alkaloids. We find with HPLC separation of successive potencies some very interesting results indeed. We have to check and recheck and we maybe will be able to publish some good data in the near future.
MM: In West Bengal, where you live, there has been a problem with arsenic contamination in the drinking water, a problem which you and your team have studied. How are your findings relevant to homeopaths, especially here in the United States?
KB: If I'm not mistaken there are also a few pockets in the US where people are at risk of arsenic exposure. We have shown the efficacy of several drugs antidoting the ill effects of heavy metal poisoning — Arsenicum sulph against arsenic poisoning, Cadm sulph against cadmium poisoning, Merc sulph against mercury poisoning. It's possible that individual toxicity can be dealt with by potentized forms of the remedy originating from the same chemical. Further, our research work on thalassemia is very encouraging in that there was additional benefit derived by patients who had been on the chelator hydroxy urea. I think these are some of the studies which have relevance to people around the globe, including the US.
MM: A potency made from a substance that produces an illness can remove that illness, even induced cancer. You've worked a lot with induced cancer in mice. As you have pointed out in one of your articles, Roberfroid, et al., tested this in the laboratory and found that the 9C potency of Phenobarbital could remove tumors induced by that drug. Would you suggest that this effect is so universal that it could be utilized systematically as a homeopathic treatment when it is clear that the effects of drugs or toxins have induced an illness?
KB: More research is necessary to come to a conclusive idea about this, but it is one area which is very promising. I feel yes, it is quite possible.
MM: And that's true with all homeopathic research, to make any final conclusions may be premature, from a scientific point of view. Much homeopathic research and certainly most scientists appear to be hung up on the issue of the ultra-diluted drugs, for example Edzart Ernst, who is a prolific writer on alternative medicine, has repeatedly emphasized the implausibility of homeopathy because we sometimes use drugs that are diluted beyond Avogadro's number. Homeopaths have always this distinction to a skeptic or someone who doubts homeopathy or the high dilutions?
KB: This is again another issue in which homeopaths themselves differ to some extent. To Dr. Ernst only mother tinctures may be efficacious, and when you dilute the medicine or remedy beyond Avogadro's limit, there is the implausibility of homeopathy. But I don't believe in that. It's an over-simplification of homeopathy altogether. Yes, a potentized drug is something very distinct from a drug that is merely diluted. It is not a question of belief. We are examining this question in the light of science, and we hope to give some data for the non-believers to ponder over in the near future.
MM: There's some recent research by Rostum Roy which examines the physical properties of these potencies. Are you familiar with that?
KB: Yes, he and Dr. Anagin Staples are doing some research, and there are quite a few researchers, like Louis Ray, Wiegand, Wissig, who are doing good work on the physical aspects. Although I feel we are venturing afield, we are trying to make a little contribution as well.
MM: That also has to do with the whole question of whether research in homeopathy should only focus on this issue, since homeopathy, as you say in one of your papers, is really more than just potentized medicine. It also applies to the Law of Similars. And the term "homeopathic" is often applied for simply potentized drugs — people refer to homeopathic drugs as potentized drugs, or potentized drugs as homeopathic drugs. When we see this in scientific articles, we have to ask if there is confusion among the scientists, because the real issue that they're studying is not the homeopathic hypothesis, but the ultra- dilution hypothesis. Would you say in the animal research with rodents that when you give a homeopathic remedy Chelidonium or Carcinosinum, you're testing homeopathic treatment or just the ultra-dilution or potentization hypothesis?
KB: In a way, both. In animal experiments, you cannot take into consideration the psychological factors or other symptomatic factors which is possible in human research. We are testing the ultra-dilution or potentization hypothesis in a true sense in the animals but we are also testing homeopathy in a sense that in the cancer case, we are feeding the animals carcinogens which have direct effects on liver so that the liver is in a disorderly state. Some remedies like Chelidonium, and other remedies like Carduus marianus and Hydrastis have great effect on the liver. Since we are giving a remedy directed towards protecting the liver, we are testing the homeopathic principle. We also want to test the ultra-dilution effect, because the nonbelievers say it is the psychosomatic or placebo effect that is the curative force in human beings. Humans' faith in the system of medicine gets them cured. The animals don't have any type of faith in the medicine, but if they are cured, that is a system of testing that the medicine is working. This is one way of contradicting skeptics who suggest homeopathic medicines are nothing but placebos. The animal experiments are very important in proving both, I think.
MM: That brings us to the action of homeopathic medicines. How do they act in the biological system? How do these potencies actually trigger a response on the molecular and cellular level? You published an excellent article on this subject matter in 2003 and you also have engaged in a point-counterpoint debate in the December 2006 issue of the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies. What is the current state of the art with regard to the biological effect of homeopathic potencies?
KB: The first problem is to understand the molecular architecture of water. Many physicists around the world are trying to ascertain the physical chemical properties of potentized homeopathic drugs by deploying various modern techniques — UV spectrophotometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, HPLC analysis, radiospectroanalysis, etc. The technologies are there to help these very qualified scientists. Skilled biologists have proved the efficacy of both crude and potentized forms of remedies in well designed clinical and laboratory research. Currently, research is at the molecular and ultra-structural levels, so that the medicine's effects after it is administered on the tongue can be tracked inside the body. Biological researchers are now using state-of-the-art techniques like immunoblots to study different subcellular ultra-structural changes. Scanning and transmission electromicroscopy, gelatin zymography, microarray — these are all important techniques that can give the scientist a breakthrough in understanding the molecular mechanism of action of the homeopathic drug.
Unless we understand the molecular mechanism of the drug, skeptics or nonbelievers will not accept homeopathy as a science at all, and that area of research is booming with activity. We are trying humbly to add some contribution in this field and to deploy the technological advances, now that we are having some fund flow, taking up some challenging research at the molecular and ultra-structural levels, so that more critical detail of the mechanism of the pathways of action of the drug can be followed. We are now doing some research on various prokaryotes, protozoans and other organisms to understand more broadly at the molecular level how the drugs act when primitive organisms demonstrate distinctive responsive mechanisms to the homeopathic remedies.
MM: There has been a surge of activity in homeopathic cancer studies in the US, notably a team of researchers associated with the Samueli Institute and in collaboration with the Bethesda, Maryland and Houston, Texas medical centers. Some of this research was published in Integrative Cancer Therapies. What can you say about those studies? Some of them have found only marginal efficacy from homeopathic drugs in the treatment of tumors. What is different about their approach and findings?
KB: Dr. Wayne Jonas is a respected personality in homeopathic research, and I admire his research and approach. He is trying to give some credibility to homeopathic research by being cautious in his approach so he can make an impact on the mainstream researchers. The results they are getting should be convincing enough for the mainstream researchers. They must publish their results, but we are also publishing what we are getting, and we are honest and sincere about our results. There may be some difference in experimental protocols, conditions, or biological materials which could lead to differences in results. We long to see our work replicated by others. If we are biased in our research protocols or observations, correction can only be possible when other researchers with expertise in these techniques repeat our experiments. That is when our work can be evaluated and confirmed or refuted. All research should be directed to revealing the truth, and we are for revealing the truth and the truth only. We respect others' research, and we respect our own. If we are getting something, then we are getting it, then that's it.
MM: In a recent editorial in the current — June 2007 — issue of the German peer-reviewed journal Research in Complementary Medicine (Forschende Komplementärmedizin), John Ives of the Samueli Institute for Information Biology, in Alexandria, VA, and James Giordano, with the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, launch considerable criticism against the methodology of one of your studies (Pathak, et al.) also published in that same issue. The authors of the editorial invoke the notion of trust as extended in scientific work and name the lack of double-blinding on the part of your staff who administered the remedies in your research. They address the fact that you have found almost across the board positive efficacy. What do you say to this criticism?
KB: I thank them for printing an editorial on that article, which they must have considered important. John is a good friend, and is entitled to his views. He visited our laboratories, not in context of this research. Someone has to feed the mice the carcinogen. How can they be blind if they are feeding those mice carcinogens? It cannot be double-blind. My two coauthors feed the mice. They were not allowed to observe the parameters of study, not informed about which slide they were dealing with. Is it a slide from placebo-fed or from the drug-fed? They had no information in that regard. For all practical purposes, this was a blinded experiment, but one has to criticize some points and I take it sportingly. Not all they have stated are against our findings. They have also pointed out that this could open up other avenues and start dialogue among researchers, and lead to replication. In my paper, I requested many researchers to carry out these studies and see if they get these results. We can repeat the experiments. But if we repeat and find the same results, questions still prevail. That is why we left it to other people to test, verify, and either confirm or refute. For any good discovery, there should be a storm of criticism, followed by either acceptance or followed by the act of truth. We feel enthused, excited and encouraged to carry on with our research and to prove again and again that there is truth in whatever we have written in that paper.
MM: The Samueli Institute group published a study that was funded by DARPA, an agency of the US Department of Defense, that — reviving the so-called "Benveniste affair" — employed a novel approach to eliminate research bias. I cite a social component that included psycho-social and conflict resolution experts. What do you think of such an approach, and does homeopathic research require special assistance from experts such as professional skeptics, psychiatrists, or even magicians, as in the case of the Benveniste controversy?
KB: Well, everybody is entitled to one's views. Why don't you raise such questions when you are performing experiments with other systems of medicine? Do you believe others when they're doing such experiments that they're 100 percent sure of their findings? Why treat homeopathic research as a distinctly different branch of research? Research has no boundaries. You cannot single out homeopathic research to be full of unfounded ideas. Consider what Galileo said. The entire world disbelieved him and he was proved correct after hundreds of years. People thought Faraday was just dancing the muscles of a frog, but people really danced to the tune of electricity afterwards. We should view things in their proper perspective. I do not have any objections to including some psychiatrists, magicians, skeptics, but may I know what scientific role they are going to play? It may be a good idea for some people, but I don't know how practicable this could be to all homeopathic researchers around the world. How many magicians will there be to help me? How many psychiatrists who have a firsthand knowledge of HPLC, of Southern blotting, Western blotting techniques? They don't have any knowledge in this regard. All they can do is challenge any and every bit of research. This is something of a novel idea, I would say. Let some people try this method and see whether it gives credibility to this controversial research.
MM: I am immensely grateful for the work you do, and I wonder, how can the world homeopathic community support you in your work?
KB: There are seldom established homeopaths like yourself who like to learn from the researchers of homeopathy. First, there should be a conscious effort on the part of homeopaths who earn their living through homeopathy to raise and provide funds for researchers with proven abilities. They should be given opportunities to exchange views with the homeopathic fraternity in international seminars, not to speak about their own research only but also to learn about homeopathy. In time there could be an interface between the homeopathic practitioners and scientists. Homeopathic practitioners should keep scientific data of their clinical researches and publish in peer-reviewed journals for the benefit of scientists.
MM: Thank you very much for this conversation.
A.R. Khuda-Bukhsh, PhD., is a professor at the Cytogenetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235, India. He has conducted groundbreaking investigations on homeopathic medicine since
1980 and has published dozens of scientific articles on homeopathic topics and other areas of research. For a comprehensive bibliography of his articles see below. His contact information is
Professor Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh, Department of Zoology
University of Kalyani
Kalyani-741235, India
Tel: þ91-33-25828750 ext. 315
E–mail: prof_arkb@yahoo.co.in or khudabukhsh_48@rediffmail.com
ARTICLES BY PROFESSOR A.R. KHUDA–BUKHSH
1. Banerjee P, Biswas SJ, Belon P, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. A potentized homeopathic drug, arsenicum album 200, can ameliorate genotoxicity induced by repeated injections of arsenic trioxide in mice. J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med. 2007 Sep; 54(7): 370-376.
2. Belon P, Banerjee A, Karmakar SR, Biswas SJ, Choudhury SC, Banerjee P, Das JK, Pathak S, Guha B, Paul S, Bhattacharjee N, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Homeopathic remedy for arsenic toxicity?: Evidence-based findings from a randomized placebo-controlled double blind human trial. Sci Total Environ. 2007 Oct 1; 384(1-3): 141-150. Epub 2007 Jul 12.
3. Banerjee P, Biswas J, Belon P, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. A potentized homeopathic drug, Arsenicum Album 200, can ameliorate genotoxicity induced by repeated injections of Arsenic Trioxide in Mice. J Vet Med 2007 A 54, 370-376
4. Belon P, Banerjee P, Choudhury SC, Banerjee A, Biswas SJ, Karmakar SR, Pathak S, Guha B, Chatterjee S, Bhattacharjee N, Das JK, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Can administration of potentized homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum album, alter antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer in people living in high-risk arsenic contaminated areas? I. A correlation with certain hematological parameters. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2006 Mar; 3(1): 99-107. Epub 2006 Jan 23.
5. Bhattacharjee N, Pathak S, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Amelioration of carcinogen-induced toxicity in mice by administration of a potentized homeopathic drug, Natrum Sulphuricum 200. eCAM 2007; page 1 of 1.
6. Biswas SJ, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Effect of a homeopathic drug, Chelidonium, in amelioration of p-Dab induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. BMC Complement Alternat Med 2002;2:1 16.
7. Biswas SJ, Pathak S, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Assessment of the genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of an anti-epileptic drug, phenobarbital, in mice: a time course study. Mutat Res. 2004 Sep 12;563(1):1-11.
8. Biswas SJ, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Evaluation of protective potentials of a potentized homeopathic drug, Chelidonium majus, during azo dye induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. Indian J Exp Biol 2004;42:698–714
9. Biswas SJ, Pathak S, Bhattacharjee N, Das JK, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug, Carcinosin-200, fed alone and in combination with another drug, Chelidonium-200, in amelioration of p-Dab induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. J Altern Complement Med 2005;11:839–854.
10. Datta S, Mallick P, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenic Album-30) in reducing genotoxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: Comparative studies of pre-, post- and combined pre-and post-oral administration and comparative efficacy of two microdoses Comp Ther Med 1999; 7: 62-75.
11. Datta S, Mallick P, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenic Album-30) in reducing genotoxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: II. Comparative efficacy of an antibiotic, actinomycin D alone and in combination with either of two microdoses Comp Ther Med 1999; 7: 156-116.
12. Khuda-Bukhsh AR and Banik S. Assessment of cytogenetical damages in X-irradiated mice and their alterations by oral administrations of a potentized homeopathic drug, Ginseng-200 Berlin J Res Hom 1991; 1: 254-263
13. Khuda-Bukhsh AR and Maity S. Alteration of cytogenetical effects by oral administration of a homeopathic drug, Ruta graveolens in mice exposed to sub lethal X-irradiation Berlin J Res Hom 1990; 1: 264-274.
14. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Potentized homeopathic drugs act through regulation of gene expression: a hypothesis to explain their mechanism and pathways of action in vivo Comp Ther Med 1997; 5: 43-46.
15. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Towards understanding molecular mechanisms of action of homeopathic drugs: An overview Mol Cell Biochem 2003; 253: 339-345.
16. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Laboratory research in homeopathy: pro. Integr Cancer Ther 2006; 5:320–332.
17. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. The efficacy of potentized homeopathic drug in combating arsenic poisoning a suggestive scientific probe In Manna GK and Roy SC. (Eds.) Perspectives of Cytology and Genetics 2001; 10: AICCG Publishers 231-239.
18. Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Towards understanding molecular mechanisms of action of homeopathic drugs: An overview. Mol Cell Biochem 2003;253:339–345. 32.
19. Khuda-Bukhsh AR, Pathak S, Guha B, Karmakar SR, Das JK, Banerjee P, Biswas SJ, Mukherjee P, Bhattacharjee N, Choudhury SC, Banerjee A, Bhadra S, Mallick P, Chakrabarti J, Mandal B. Can homeopathic arsenic remedy combat arsenic poisoning in humans exposed to groundwater arsenic contamination?: a preliminary report on first human trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2005 Dec;2(4):537-548. Epub 2005 Oct 19.
20. Kundu SN, Mitra K, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenicum-Album-30) in reducing cytotoxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: IV. Pathological changes, protein profiles, and content of DNA and RNA Comp Ther Med 2000; 8: 157-165.
21. Kundu SN, Mitra K, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenicum Album-30) in reducing genotoxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: III Enzymatic changes and recovery of tissue damage in liver Comp Ther Med 2000; 8: 76-81.
22. Mallick P, Chakrabarti J, Guha B, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Ameliorating effect of microdoses of a potentized homeopathic drug, Arsenicum Album, on arsenic-induced toxicity in mice BMC Complemen Altern Med 2003; 3: 7-16.
23. Mitra K, Kundu SN, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenicum album-30) in reducing toxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: I. On rate of accumulation of arsenic in certain organs Comp Ther Med 1998; 6: 178-184.
24. Mitra K, Kundu SN, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Efficacy of a potentized homeopathic drug (Arsenicum album-30) in reducing toxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: II. On alteration of body weight, tissue weight and total protein Comp Ther Med 1999; 7: 24-34.
25. Pathak S, Bhattacharjee N, Das JK, Chaki Chowdhury S, Roy Karmakar S, Banerjee P et al. Supportive evidences for anticancerous potential of an alternative medicine in hepatocarcinogenesis of mice. Res Com Med. June issue, 2007; 14:132
26. Pathak S, Das JK, Biswas SJ, Khuda-Bukhsh AR. Protective potentials of a potentized homeopathic drug, Lycopodium-30, in ameliorating azo dye induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. Mol Cell Biochem 2006;258:121–131.
Manfred Mueller, MA, DHM, RSHom (NA), CCH, is a homeopathic consultant in private practice since 1986. Since 1995, Manfred has conducted integrative medicine consults at the UNC Memorial Hospital and has been on the Consultant Teaching Faculty of the Program on Integrative Medicine. His practice has been an official clinical rotation site for medical students from across the United States. He is president of the North American Society of Homeopaths. Manfred may be reached at Manfred@thehomeopathiccollege.org.
Reprinted with Permission from The American Homeopath, vol 13, 2007.
Tag:Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh, Antidoting, arsenic contamination, cancer research, homeopathic research, RCT, research protocols, Tautopathy
Mueller developed a new method of homeopathic treatment called "The Mueller Method™," a term coined by one of his students. It is a comprehensive system of treatment, refined over the past 30 plus years, for restoring health and reversing chronic psychological and physical disorders. The method is designed to remove adverse effects of drugs, vaccinations, emotional traumas, toxins and occupational & environmental exposures that are at the root of many of today's complex disorders.
Prover Susceptibility and the Ascending Dose
The Evidence: Scientific Studies on Homeopathic Cancer Treatment
Clinical management of idiopathic epilepsy in dogs with homeopathic Belladonna 200C: a case series
Clinical research protocol to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of individualized homeopathic medicine in the treatment and prevention of the COVID-19 epidemic
Homeopathy in an American Hospital using the Mueller Method TM : A Case of Coma, Paralysis, and Other Sequels of Surgery-Induced Subarachnoid and Intraventricular Brain Hemorrhage
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First three minutes of The View – wisecrack about postpartum depression, total mischaracterization of Attachment Parenting, and calling President Obama "the first gay president"…let there be no question why I don't normally watch these harpies. Hopefully Dr. Sears sets them straight!
It is definitely official – Pumpkin watches too many British kid's shows. She just saw a cardboard box of something Captain got in the mail today, and she exclaimed, "Post!" when she saw it.
I finally saw the Cat in the Hat episode where they go into the water droplet and meet a diatom, and a paramecium, and an amoeba. I love that there is so much science in this show. Even better, they're talking about mostly overlooked and misunderstood micro-critters! I can't wait to teach the girls about… Read More Aquatic ecology for kiddos.


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Instagram Tests New Option to View Expanded Profile Image Display
This could be a handy update for all of you creepers out there trying to find people's Insta profiles.
As per a new discovery by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, you may soon be able to view an expanded version of people's IG profile image, by tapping and holding on it.
#Instagram keeps working on the ability to expand users' profile photos ????
Here's how it works ???? pic.twitter.com/NQ40TNBm2Q
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) June 1, 2022
That could be handy for those times when the users' profile image is so small that you can't quite make out if it's the person you're looking for or not, while it could also put more emphasis on profile images in the app, as people will be able to easily view more detail if they choose.
It could also be part of Instagram's integration of NFTs, with the expanded view being a good compliment to NFT display.
NFT profile pictures have lost some of their luster of late, largely due to the proliferation of scams, and the rising flood of rubbish 'art' that these scammers are pushing as a means to make a few bucks on the back of the trend.
These days, you have to do so much research on the background of an NFT project before you choose to 'invest' or not that it's probably easier to just right-click and save if you like the visual style anyway – but for those that have already bought in, and are now too far gone to see logic, Instagram's working on new options to display your precious JPEGs in its app in a new profile tab.
That could also be extended to profile images, and if you can expand them, maybe that's a good way to maximize interest in your unique art.
If NFTs are a consideration here, then Instagram should probably move soon, because interest in NFTs, in general, is declining further every day, and soon, it'll likely become so niche that displaying profile images in this way won't be of much value.
Outside of this, of course, there is still value in providing larger previews for Instagram profile images, and it could be a handy option to have, and another creative tool to consider i.e. what can you add to your profile image that can only be seen when expanded?
It's in early testing, and Instagram hasn't yet provided any info on a plan for a larger roll out.


The 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will pay homage to the Ingmar Bergman, the renowned master storyteller in his centennial year. The eight-day long IFFI—starting November 20 and organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Directorate of Film Festivals and the Government of Goa—will showcase seven best films of his career, including Wild Strawberries, the most representative of his works spanning over 60 films made in 59 years of filmmaking.
As the global film community celebrates his 100th birth anniversary, prestigious home video company The Criterion Collection will release the most exhaustive compilation of his films titled Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. It contains the most up-to-date restored versions of 39 classics, including The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Fanny and Alexander, in addition to his less popular works like Dreams, The Rite, and Brink of Life. It also contains a book of essays and over 30 hours of supplemental features. Priced close to Rs 18,000, this ultimate Bergman collection comes at a hefty price. But if you missed any of the recollective viewings of his films this year, here's another slice of 'Bergmania'.


Flirty and floral go hand in hand with this darling Adrianna Papell® number.
Sleeveless dress flaunts a fit-and-flare silhouette.
Bold floral print on a poly fabrication.
Princess seams accentuate a slimming fit.
Bateau neckline and subtle V-back.


Discussions to express your inner nerd.
Ah, missed your post. I am weak and this is the result...can't resist the fascination of having 25 watch faces to swap out.
Cr@p..a 600Kb pic is too large? What am I doing wrong - I wanted to share a pic of the HW2 on my wrist.
Last edited by Ipse on Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
After a Samsung Galaxy Neo, a Pebble Time and a Samsung Fit2 now I have a Huawei Watch 2 THAT IS STILL IN THE BOX sealed...can't bring myself to even look at it.
Good thing I got it for free with the phone, as I came to realize that smart watches are not as smart and not as fun to wear as they are touted.
Hmm. Should be fine. Try using the Imgur uploader. It's the "i" with a green dot icon on the menu bar (if you are on desktop).
That worked, thanks. BTW : what is the limit on regular attachments? Usually it's 2MB for jpegs on most forum platforms.
That's what it is here as well.
My smart watch is actually what got me into mechanical watches. Didn't wear a watch from college until I was in my early 30s. Then got an original Pebble and wore it for a year or two. After it came out they were not going to support it post Fitbit sale, I looked into getting a real watch -- initially interested in Daniel Wellington, ugh -- and the rest is history.
Wish I saw this thread earlier, but I used to be obsessed with smartwatches. And like others, they are in fact what brought me into "real" watches. I have used dozens of different ones, and actually helped samsung with a beta program for their very first smartwatch in 2013-2014 - the Galaxy Gear. I still have that watch, its a work of art how they fit everything into it, even a camera on the strap!
I have too many watches, yet here I am buying more.
I was after a watch I could wear to bed which had a silent alarm. I used a Alpina HSW, but it was just too big for me so I sold it. I was after something else, but I didn't need all the smart crap. At the same time, I didn't want something that look like a home-detention bracelet (e.g. fitbit HR).
Unfortunately, I found a lot of the smart watches were 45mm, which are just too big for me. However, I then came across the Huawei Honor Magic Watch. It's not quite a smart watch, but more like a Garmin (has silent alarm, timer, GPS, step counter, ABC, work-out tracking, heart-rate monitoring, notifications via BT) - but you can't download applications. For me, I didn't need the apps - to be honest, I just use the silent alarm, timer and flash-light (!). For me (because I've turned GPS, notifications and heart-rate monitoring off) it lasts 7 days on a full charge. Also, it's 42mm and is less than 10mm thick, so the profile is right-on. And it has the looks a Tag Heuer Modular. Oh and it's not expensive. Just one to consider if you have a similar use case to me.