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Norse Mythology – Ragnarok
Ragnarok, (meaning "Twilight of the Gods" in Old Norse) in Norse mythology, was the predestined death of the gods. A three-year winter (Fimbulvetr meaning "Extreme Winter") led to a final battle, where the gods and the frost giants fought the epic final battle. Ragnarok marks the end of the old world, and the beginning of the new, current world.
Odin, who had previously attempted to prevent Ragnarok from occurring, led the gods. They were assisted by the heroic dead, those who had died in glorious battle and had been taken to live in Valhalla and await the final battle. The frost giants were led by the fire god Loki and assisted by the unworthy dead who came from Hel, and by other monsters.
The wolves Guilt and Hate catch the Sun and the Moon and swallow them. The stars disappear and the earth is dissolved in total darkness. The World Serpent who had been gnawing at the roots of the World Tree emerged from the waves, spewing poison all over the world, leading to a gigantic flood on earth. As the sea came to engulf the land, on it came a ship with Loki leading a group of giants. The ship was supposed to have been built out of uncut nails of dead men.
Odin knew that the end was near. During the massive battle, he gets swallowed by a giant wolf, which gets later gets killed by Odin's son, as an act of revenge. Thor goes out to battle and manages to kill all, including the, but was overwhelmed by its deadly poison, which killed him ultimately. One by one all the gods and goddesses fell like nine pins and soon all gods and humans had perished after a pitched battle between the gods, giants, mortals and forces of nature.
Ragnarok is a scene of chaotic violence in which the fate of all races, all beings, is decided. The halls of the dead are emptied, as is the plain of Hel. All who have died, whether honorably or not, are brought back for a violent war. All creatures and races alive during that time are drawn to the field of battle and will fight, and die. All the gods and giants appear, and fight and the far majority of them die. Every human being except for two (which also means every single human in the culture who listened to this tale) die. Even those who were raised from Valhalla die again.
The picture of intense cold as a background for mounting fire and smoke rising to the stars, in conjunction with a tidal wave which engulfed the inhabited land, may have drawn much of its vigour and terror from such remembered catastrophe.
But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Amid the destruction, two humans were saved as they had taken refuge in the World Tree, who go on to start the world all over again.
The myth of destruction could have its influence from many Eastern myths, where a myth of destruction has been a common feature. This could have been used to depict the end of the Viking era, though one can't deny the influence of the pre-Christian myths of destruction too.
Ragnarok is based on a famous poem Voluspa. Voluspa itself may have been inspired partly by the experience , either first hand or from vivid accounts from those who had witnessed it, of a major volcanic eruption in Iceland, such as we know took place at frequent intervals in historic times.
Posted by This is Utkarsh speaking at 11:13 AM 2 comments:
Labels: Norse, Odin, Ragnarok, Serpent, Thor
Uncle Pai
Everybody's favourite Uncle Pai is no more. He has got a call from the gods, after telling us their stories for more than 5 decades. May his soul rest in peace.
Anant Pai, Uncle Pai to millions, was the creator of the famous Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) and Tinkle comics. Way back in the late 60s, he started the ACK series when he saw a quiz programme, in which Indian children could answer questions from Greek Mythology, but could not give the name of Rama's mother.
Thanks to him millions, like me, could lend faces to the numerous gods and demons from our mythology. A fair-complexioned Ram, bluish Krishna, doe-eyed goddesses and dark coloured demons, he etched the characters in every impressionable mind with such ease. My initial familiarity with Indian Mythology was thanks to Uncle Pai. The numerous myths associated with our mythology, sans all the intricacies was so beautifully told, that a child's mind would crave for more. It is this craving that made some of us go in for further reading and exploring more of our mythology.
With time, ACK added to its repertoire freedom fighters, philosophers and even events like the Jalianwala Bag tragedy, etc. The content was just right for a young mind which gave one both the knowledge and awareness along with the appreciation of one's heritage and history. In a world of Walt Disney comics, Phantom and Mandrake series along with Tintin and Asterix, ACK stood its ground and I dare say, stood way above all of them.
On his passing away, I on behalf of millions of Indians would like to salute him. Once again, May his soul rest in Peace.
Posted by This is Utkarsh speaking at 11:02 AM No comments:
Labels: Anant Pai
Norse Mythology – Construction of the Wall of Asgard
The story goes that once a man by the name of Hrimthurs claimed to the gods that he could build the walls within a single winter, but for a price. If he completed, then the gods would have to give him the Sun and the Moon for compensation as well as Freyja for a wife.
Loki was convinced that he could never finish them on time and got the gods to accept the wager. What the gods did not know was that Hrimthurs could do so, since he wasn't a human. He was actually a giant and had a magical horse called Svadilfari. This horse could move huge blocks with magical ease.
When the winter was just about coming to an end, Hrimthurs had nearly completed the task on hand. The gods realised they were in trouble and that they would have to part with the prised possession of the Sun and Moon and above all, the goddess Freyja. All the gods approached Loki to bail them out, since it was anyway he who had convinced them into this.
Loki, true to his self, changed himself into a beautiful mare and went on to distract Hrimthurs horse, Svadilfari. Svadilfari began to chase Loki who was in the form of a mare, leaving Hrimthurs to fend for himself! Without the horse, he could not complete his task and lost the wager. When Hrimthurs come to know of the truth, he threatened to destroy his work, and in his rage, he lost his disguise, revealing to all that he was no human but a giant.
Odin Riding the eight-legged Sleipner
 Thor was very angry at this and struck him with his mighty hammer, killing him instantly. Few months' back Loki brought to Asgard an eight-legged colt named Sleipner, which was the offspring of Svadilfari and Loki as the mare. Sleipnir became the magical steed of Odin when it grew up and was a constant companion of Odin.
This Nordic myth has similarities to the Indian myth of amrut-manthan, where the demons disguise as gods to drink the nectar (as compared to the giant disguising as human here) to achieve immortality (here to gain the Sun, Moon as well as goddess Freyja). In the amrut-manthan, Vishnu disguises as Mohini to distract the demons, and here we have Loki disguised as a mare to distract the giant's stallion. Just as the union of the horse and Loki as the mare gives birth to an eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, which becomes dear to Odin, in amrut-manthan we have seen, how the union of Shiva and Vishnu as Mohini gives birth to Lord Ayappa!
Labels: Asgard, Norse
Norse Mythology – Yggdrasill, the World Tree
Yggdrasill or the World Tree is a tree which supports the universe, with its roots connecting the nine Nordic worlds. Notable amongst all the worlds are Asgard, Valhalla, Midgard and Hel. Besides the worlds, there are three wells too. Before we move ahead, let us understand the worlds as per the tree.
Asgard was the home of the Gods. The only entrance to the Asgard was thru the "Rainbow Bridge". The red arc in the rainbow stood for burning fire – to make it impassable for the Giants, since they were made of Frost and also known as the Frost Giants. Asgard was home to all gods and goddesses and each one had his or her own palace. Amongst all the halls in Asgard, the most important of all was Valhalla.
Valhalla is Odin's hall in Asgard and is considered to be the best one in. Valhalla literally means the "Hall of Heroes". The brave warriors who died in battle were brought here by the Valkyries (women warriors who served Odin) after death, which is considered to be an honour. In Valhalla, Odin dined with the warriors. The warriors were kept here for the final war called the Ragnarok, where only the brave would participate. (Ragnarok is a separate chapter altogether and will be discussed separately). The description of Valhalla is also very beautiful.
Valhalla had overlapping shields for a roof, held up by the spear-shafts as rafters. There were 540 doors. And from each of the door, eight hundred warriors could enter or leave the hall. Instead of torch-fires, the light in the great hall were lit by the glowing blades of swords. Mail shirts were strewn on the benches. In front of the western doors, there hanged a wolf. Hovering above Valhalla was a single eagle. There was also a tree standing in front of the doors of Valhalla; the tree had red-gold foliage.
Midgard was the dwelling of the Mankind. According to the Nordic Mythology, man was made from tree trunks and the Askr and Embla were the first man and woman, respectively. Odin had bestowed them with the gift of breath, Hoenir (another god) gave them understanding and the god Lodur gave them senses and outer appearance.
Hel or Niflhel was considered to be the land of the dead.
Besides the worlds, there were three wells. The significance of water is explained through different wells. One of them was considered to be a holy well water from which was used to water the Tree to avoid from the rotting of its roots. The other was the Well of Knowledge and as we have seen earlier, Odin had to pay with his eye to have a drink from this well. The third well was known as the Roaring Kettle, where a giant serpent which was continuously chewing at the root of the Tree, leading to its ultimate collapse during Ragnarok. This serpent was at constant war with the eagle at top of the tree. This eagle was extremely wise and fuelling the constant war was a squirrel that would keep going up and down the Tree delivering messages between the two to keep them at a constant war!
The concept of a tree at the centre of universe and the deep roots holding on to the worlds and every iota of existence is a beautiful thought. This is quite similar to the other cultures which consider a tree to be nourishing and life-giving. The details of Yggdrasill is covered in the poems is in great details, and the above is a gist of just a few of the important aspects of the same.
Tomorrow we will discuss the myth of the Construction of Wall of Asgard where we will read about the role of Loki, the trickster.
Labels: Asgard, Valhalla, World Tree
Norse Mythology – Chief Deities
Odin – was the chief god of the Nordic pantheon and was considered to be the father of all gods. He was the god of war and death, and also of wisdom. He was supposed to have hung on the Tree of Life for nine days pierced by his own spear. He was supposed to have even given one of his eyes for a drink from the well of knowledge and thus he is depicted as the one-eyed god. He is also depicted as wearing a cloak, being old, having a long grey beard, and wearing a wide brimmed hat down low over his face to conceal his one-eyed visage. Odin could make the dead speak to question the wisest amongst them.
Odin had a spear which never missed its mark and a bow which unleashed ten arrows with every pull. He also owned a magic ring which created nine of itself every night. Another one of Odin's prized possessions was his wonderful horse which had eight legs. It could travel to the underworld and through the air. Odin also had two wolves, and two ravens who were known as, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory). He sent his ravens out every day to gather knowledge for him.
Thor – was the god of thunder and son of Odin and was one of the most powerful of all the gods. He was usually depicted as a powerful man with red beard and eyes, which represented lightning. He was a popular god as he was considered to be the protector of both gods and mankind against all evil. His popularity could also be because of his worship did not require human sacrifices, as in the case of Odin.
During a thunderstorm Thor is believed to be riding through the heavens on his chariot which is pulled by two goats. Lightning flashes each time he throws his mighty hammer Mjollnir. He wears a belt which doubles his already amazing strength and wears a pair of iron gloves which are needed to hold his hammer. The fourth day of the week, Thursday is derived from his name.
Freyja – was the goddess of love and fertility. She was a paragon of beauty and sensuality and stood for all things associated with love. She loved music and poetry. It is said that when she mourned for her dead husband, her tears turned into gold! She is always shown wearing a precious necklace, which is also one of her key attributes. She could take the form of a falcon, which helped her to travel long distances. Her name is the origin of the fifth day of the week, Friday.
Loki – was a trickster, who though a god, was responsible for creating lot of trouble. He was both cunning and wicked and had the ability to change his appearance into anything that he wanted to.
Balder – was the god of purity, light and above all, reconciliation. He was loved by both the gods and mankind; He did not have too many powers, but his death plays an important role in the Nordic mythology.
Balder was troubled by dreams of his impending death which bothered his mother. She extracted an oath from all the living creatures that they would not harm him ever, thus making him sort of invincible. This left Balder in some peace. Loki was jealous of Balder's popularity and through trickery learnt that his mother had not bothered to extract such an oath from mistletoe, a herb, thinking it was too small to be bothered. Once when everyone was playing dart, with Balder as the target (!), Loki tricked Balder's twin brother, to try a dart made of mistletoe. As intended it pierced Balder's heart and killed him instantly.
Later it was decided that Balder would be resurrected, only if everything in the world, living or dead would cry for him. All did, except Loki who wanted to see the end of Balder, and thus Balder remained in the underworld. This episode is considered to be an important act in the entire mythology of the Norse.
Labels: Balder, Loki, Norse, Odin, Thor
Norse Mythology – An Introduction
Norse Mythology refers to the mythology of the Scandinavians, i.e. the modern day Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and parts of Germany.
The Norse people lived from about A.D. 200 to 500 in northern Europe & Scandinavia. After A.D. 700, the Norse migrated in search of new lands, settling in parts of the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland and East into Russia. From this period on, the Norse are known as Vikings. Needless to say that one of the most famous Vikings known and loved the world over was the famous comic character, Hagar the Horrible!
Their mythology reflects the Nordic men's love of battle and conflict. Death and violence are rarely far away, for that was the only life that he early warriors knew.
There isn't too much of original writing now available except for some short runic inscriptions on wood, bone, stone or metal. However, majority of the stories and myths are based on the Christian writers. Majority of the myths are based on the poems and prose written by such writers. Amongst the prominent sources are:
1. Saxo Grammaticus who wrote in heavy Latin style
2. Snorri Sturluson wrote in native Icelandic, especially his Prose Edda
3. Some precious manuscripts called the Codex Regius found in an Icelandic farmhouse, and better known as Elder or Poetic Edda.
Besides the above, there are references in Archaeology, architecture and art, which gives glimpses of the times and their heroes.
We also get an occasional glimpse of the life of Vikings and their religious customs thru the eyes of Latin or Arab travellers who visited their settlements and trading centres.
The Principal gods of the Norse were Odin, Thor, Freya, Balder, Freyr and Loki to name a few. In the centre of the world in the Tree of Life, Yggdrasill, around which everything in the universe revolves. The gods lived in Asgard and mankind lived in Midgard. Another interesting place in the Valhalla, which was the Hall of the Heroes who were all preparing for the final war, known as the Ragnarok.
Over the next few days, we will go through each one of them in more details.
Labels: Norse, Odin, Thor
Helen of Troy – A Greek Romance
For all those who are suffering from yesterday's hangover of love and romance, here is another romance of mythical times.
All of us have read, or heard or even seen on celluloid the Greek romance of Helen and Paris of Troy. So what is it that has made the romance so well known that generations later, people recount it again and again?
Many of us know about the romance leading to war, but not many might know as what led to the romance in the first place. So let us start at the very beginning i.e. with the root cause of the romance which led to the massive war in which gods sided with mortals, something quite unheard of.
Apple of Discord
It all started in the heavens, with the episode better known as the Judgement of Paris. Eris was an evil goddess of Discord (conflict) and due to her nature; she was not invited to the heavenly gatherings. During one such gathering, she was the lone goddess who was not invited. She decided to avenge the insult by creating trouble, and trouble she did! She threw in the banquet hall a golden apple, on which was written 'For the Fairest'. Quite predictably all the goddesses laid claim on it, but eventually it narrowed down to three of them, viz. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They asked Zeus, the King of Gods, to arbitrate, but better sense prevailed and he suggested that they go to Mount Ida and meet Prince Paris, who was supposed to be a good judge of beauty and let him decide.
Before we move further, Paris, though a son of the King, was guarding the sheep as his father was told that he would be responsible for the destruction of his country. The King had thus sent him away to the mountains, to keep him away from the country, lest the prophecy became true. The three goddesses reached Mount Ida and asked Paris to arbitrate on the celestial problem. Paris was amazed at the job, and could not believe his luck. However, his judgement did not rest on the actual beauty of the goddesses, but on the bribes that each offered to him. Hera promised to make him the Lord of Europe and Asia. Athena offered him victory of the Trojans against the Greeks, leading to the ruin of Greece. Aphrodite offered him the love of the fairest of all mortals (which was none other than Helen). Paris offered the golden apple to Aphrodite, much to the disappointment of the others. It is this judgement, due to which the great Trojan was fought.
Helen's beauty was a subject of heavens and was the mortal daughter of Zeus from Leda. Every prince in Greece wanted to marry her and when all had assembled to ask for her hand, it was a gathering of who's who amongst the rich and powerful. Helen's father, or rather the husband of her mother, was scared to choose one, lest he offended the rest and invite the collective wrath of the mighty. He then extracted an oath from all, that all of them would stand by Helen's husband, whoever he be, and if he faced any problem, then all would unite with the husband and fight the enemy. Each agreed as each wanted to be the husband. Helen's father then selected, Menelaus and also made him the King of Sparta.
Aphrodite having won her title of the fairest took Paris straight to Sparta where he was received by Menelaus and Helen. To cut short the story, before anybody realised, love had blossomed and Helen had eloped with Paris. When Menelaus came to know about it, he called on all the chiefs of Greece, and sought their help to get Helen back. They all responded as they were bound by the oath.
The war between the Greeks and the Trojans was war of the epics. Heroes were made and killed. Gods sided with the central characters during the war. Gods like Zeus, Achilles, Athena, Hera, Apollo, etc. all took sides. Heroes like Odysseus, Menelaus, Hector were made and some died heroic deaths. The Trojans were destroyed (episode of the Trojan Horse, is etched in our memories) and the Greeks were victorious. I will spare the details of heroism of the bloody war, as our subject is still love and what's a better love story than the one which has a happy ending?
Helen goes back to Menelaus, and the initial prophecy was proven that Paris would bring destruction to his country.
Needless to say, that the gods were behind the mortal destruction, all for vanity of three goddesses, which I thought, was a human emotion!
Labels: Aphrodite, Apple of Discord, Helen of Troy, Paris
Radha Krishna – A Divine Romance
On a day when love is in the air (besides being at the florists, the jewellers and all sorts of gift shops), it would be sacrilegious to talk of anything, but love. A romantic love story of mythical times, may be? Amongst all the love stories, it is that of Radha-Krishna which comes to my mind and why not? Radha-Krishna and their love has been a subject of much reverence as well as ridicule. The modern times sees the escapades of the two through the coloured glasses and with a wink of the eye.
So what is it about them, which though scandalous at times, grandparents do not shy away from sharing it with children? In a closed society like ours, why has such romance between the two been allowed and venerated? Even though the typical pictorial representation of Radha and Krishna has never showed the difference of age, it is well known that Radha was both older than Krishna as well as married.
To begin with who exactly was Radha? Some say she was Krishna's maternal uncles wife (his maternal aunt to be precise), whereas some say she was just another, but a favourite gopi (milkmaid). Radha was considered to be the daughter of one Vrishbhanu and that she grew up in Barsana. Nothing much seems to be mentioned about her childhood. The most important thing to note is that there has been no mention of Radha as a character in any of the ancient literatures, be it Bhagavata, or the Vishnu Purana or Harivamsa or even the Mahabharata. There is no trace of Radha in any of the main texts even though Krishna is a prominent personality in all of them. Radha first appears in the Brahmavaivarta Purana but is not available for any significant reference.
Radha was brought into prominence by Jayadeva, the author of Geet-Govinda, around 12th century CE. Jayadeva was from a village in Orissa and was the court poet of the-then King of Bengal, and wrote this poem during his alleged relationship with a devdasi, Padmavati. He is later supposed to have married her. His inspiration was both his personal love affair as well as his spiritual quest. The poem explores the relationship of Radha and Krishna in all the elements of a relationship, which is both a divine and an erotic exploration, with all the aspects of love. The poem brought in a momentum in the Vaishnav sect of the times and soon Bengal saw a series of spiritual writers like Vidyapati and Chandidas writing on the relationship of Radha and Krishna. Radha was on her way to deification.
The relationship raised eyebrows and the eroticism was more than evident. What did all this imply, especially when all know that Krishna's stay at Vrindavan was part of his childhood? This divine relationship is to be seen through metaphysical glasses and it is then that the beauty of it all is so evident.
The root of the word Radha is 'Radh' * implies worship, adoration. To take this further, anyone who worships or adores Krishna is Radha. It seems that Radha was more of a concept than a person. The aspect of her love defines the love for god. Selfless devotion, not craving for a name to the relationship and forgetting herself in him, was the main aspect of this kind of devotion. Radha's love did not arise out of a compulsion of being god-fearing, she loved Krishna in an absolute terms. It was not a love of subjugation, but a love of equality.
Another aspect of her love is the age factor, especially the difference. To see this in a different angle, god is ageless, so Krishna being a child was of no major significance. Needless to mention that even at that age, some of the acts performed by him were beyond his age. Radha being older is to be seen as her being an adult who knew what she was doing. This took the relationship beyond the realm of infatuation. One could not submit to someone without knowing what one was doing, and her being an adult made it more acceptable, than if she was portrayed as a child.
Finally, Radha being married was to be seen as someone who was married to the societal norms and responsibilities laid by the society at large. Her seeking Krishna was someone seeking redemption by being within the society and without shirking her immediate responsibilities. Nowhere do we get a sense of her marital life being unfulfilled.
This relationship defined a spiritual quest of a different kind. This was a love of equals and here god is treated at par. Krishna was not a god and Radha was not a goddess. I would end with a beautiful myth which epitomises the relationship. Once, the gopis, who were jealous of Radha, took boiling milk to her asking her to drink it as requested by Krishna. Radha gulped down the milk and got back to her work, which surprised all of them, but left without saying anything. Later when they met Krishna, they saw that he had burnt his mouth and throat! This could be stuff of poetic fantasy, but it epitomises the divine relationship.
This love story is not for all to tarnish, but to see the deeper meaning in the romance. At the cost of repetition, I must add – in myth lies the message.
* 'Krishna Charitra' – By Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Labels: Bankim, Krishna, Purana, Radha
The moment someone speaks of Egypt, immediately two monuments come to our mind – the Pyramids and the Sphinx. With Egypt in the news for all the wrong reasons, I thought of discussing about the famous Sphinx, even though, it is found in places beyond Egypt.
The Sphinx is a mythical creature which is half human and half animal. In Egypt, it has a body of a lion and the head of a human. It was a prominent figure which was known to guard the temples, palaces and the pyramids along with the secrets of the temples. The Sphinx was supposed to be a later day manifestation of the ancient Hathor, the goddess of birth and death. It was also supposed to be the guardian of the distant horizons, and faced the East, i.e. the rising Sun. It was a prominent figure of solar worship that existed during the ancient culture.
There are no major myths associated with the Sphinx, and today it exists more of a structural marvel. However, in some depictions it is shown as crushing some objects under its feet, used to depict the crushing of Egypt's enemies. It is worth mentioning, that there has been intense speculation over the broken nose of the Sphinx. Some say, that it was broken by cannon ball struck at the nose by Napoleon's soldiers, when they had attacked Egypt in 1798 (uncertain date). Some Egyptian historians attribute the loss of nose to acts of vandalism by Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr, a Sufi fanatic, who was outraged when he saw some Egyptian farmers making an offering to the Sphinx for want of a good harvest.
Greek Sphinx
The Sphinx existed in the Greek mythology too, except that it did not hold a place of veneration, like it did for the Egyptians. The Greek Sphinx had the head of a woman, the body of a lioness and the tail of a serpent. She was evil and guarded the gates of Thebes and asked a riddle to all who wanted to enter the gates of Thebes, failing which they would be devoured. This Sphinx features in the tale of Oedipus and she repeats the riddle to Oedipus too. The famous riddle was – Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be? To this Oedipus was supposed to have answered – Man - who crawled on all fours as a baby, walked on two feet as an adult, and then used a stick in old age. On hearing the answer, the sphinx is supposed to have killed itself, thus freeing Thebes of the menace of the Sphinx. However, the Greek Sphinx was a greedy and an evil creature, and does not find any mention elsewhere.
Purushamriga
In India, there exists a sphinx like creature known as Purushamriga, meaning man-beast. It is found in many South-Indian temples and is engraved at the entrances of the temples, whose main duty is to take away the sins of the people who entered the temples. Sometimes such figures are also found near the entrance to the sanctum-sanctorum of the temples. The Greek Sphinx is also quite similar to the Sharabha form of Lord Shiva (please refer to the article dated 29/12/2010 from the Archives). It is important to mention that one should not confuse the Sphinx with the Narasimha (avatar of Vishnu), which is an exact opposite. The Narasimha has the body of a male and the face of a lion as against all the Sphinxes that we have been speaking about.
Sphinxes are also found in many of the Buddhist art forms in some of the South-Asian countries like Philippines, Thailand, Burma and even Sri Lanka. The Sphinxes are also found in the Freemasonry architecture. But it is definitely the Egyptian Sphinx that remains as such overbearing sculptures or landmarks which has captured the mind-space of each one of us.
Labels: Egypt, Greek, Sharabha, Sphinx
Maat – Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Justice
Maat, in Egyptian language literally means 'truth'. Maat is the Egyptian goddess of Truth and Justice. Besides truth and justice, she also represented law, order and a sense of balance. She was also credited by bringing a sense of stability to the universe, post creation. She was considered to be the opposite of Isfet who was credited to represent chaos, deceit and violence, all things that destroy the balance or equilibrium.
She has been depicted as a young woman with an ostrich feather as her headgear. She was considered to be the daughter of Sun-god, Ra and was the female counterpart of Thoth, who was the god of wisdom and learning. Together with Thoth, both represented divine wisdom and all aspects associated with it.
According to the Egyptian mythology, after death, Maat acts as the judge of morality. She would weigh the soul of the dead against her ostrich feather in a scale, and if the soul balances against the feather, then the soul reaches paradise. If it weighed heavier than the feather, a sign that it was a soul which harboured evil deeds, then it would be given to the crocodile headed goddess Ammut (some say she was lioness-headed), who would devour it and would be relegated to the underworld. This way the Egyptians believed that there would be balance, and just as the good would get rewarded, the evil would get punished. The concept of punishment after life is akin to many other cultures, including Hinduism. She was also said to regulate the movement of stars and the seasons, again leading to a sense of continuous change with balance at the core of all her activities.
The Pharaoh's of the later day were often shown with the symbols of Maat, as they were seen as the upholders of the principles of Maat. Judges were also referred as 'priests of Maat'. Many feel that Maat was less of a goddess and more of a concept. The concept of balance leading to equilibrium was passed on to the Greeks during the reign of the Greeks over Egypt. Many also feel that the present day image of the blind-folded Lady of Justice, holding the balance as the image of justice is a modern derivative of the Egyptian Maat.
Unfortunately, Egypt today is fighting for the same, balance and justice. The priest of Maat, who is sitting in judgement, has been sitting for too long now, and the children of Egypt feel that balance is tilted. The lack of equilibrium in today's Egypt shows that the much needed concept of truth and justice is being thrown to the winds. Maat is much in need, and the sense of balance and justice and the resultant equilibrium needs to be restored soon.
Labels: Egypt, Greek, Justice, Sun, Thoth, Truth
Vasant Panchami literally means the fifth day of the spring season (vasant ritu). This day is also considered as the day of Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning and wisdom. In earlier days, pre-school children were inducted to schools on this day, or were made to write from this day. In a country where education is a religion, this day has its own importance. In the Eastern parts of India, every household which has children in schools or colleges perform Saraswati Puja, besides the community ones held on this day.
Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe and the originator of all knowledge in the form of Vedas. In the eastern parts of India, Saraswati is considered to be the daughter of Shiva and Parvati. She is clad in white, symbolising purity. The vahana or the carrier of Saraswati is a white swan and this too has its own significance. The swan is supposed to have the ability to separate water from milk, signifying that learning and wisdom enables man to distinguish good from bad.
Mythologically, Saraswati is the sister of Goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), but both are considered to be poles apart. Saraswati is permanent, where is Lakshmi is temporary (chanchala – fidgety, and thus does not stay anywhere forever). Worshipper of Saraswati is blessed for life, but the worshipper of Lakshmi is wealthy till the whims of the goddess.
Saraswati has her counterparts in other mythologies too.
According to Greek Mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and learning. She is the daughter of Zeus and is credited with inventing the flute, which symbolises her association with music and other fields of arts and craft.
Besides the goddesses, the Egyptians had Thoth as the god of learning. Thoth was also associated with wisdom, writing, speech, etc. He was the chief counsellor to Ra, the King of all gods.
Odin was the god of wisdom in the Nordic mythology. He is supposed to have hung on the tree of knowledge pierced by his own spear to gain knowledge and wisdom. He is always depicted as one-eyed, as he is supposed to have traded his other eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, which enabled him to gain immense knowledge.
 Though there are many other mythologies which have gods and goddesses of wisdom, learning, poetry, arts, music, etc., the above are deities who are primarily associated with aspects of knowledge and wisdom.
We surely do live in times of dichotomy. Lakshmi or Saraswati? Wealth or Wisdom? To acquire wisdom, we need wealth, and the moment we acquire wisdom or learning, our objective turns to earn wealth. Somewhere, or the other, the pursuit of Saraswati seems to be to acquire Lakshmi. Serious worshippers of Saraswati have humble dwellings, and worshippers of Lakshmi live in palaces. Teachers travel in public transport while students come in chauffeur-driven cars. In the land of gurukuls and unflinching devotion to teachers, one needs to be a strong worshipper of Lakshmi to attain the blessings of Saraswati! Once the blessings of Saraswati are acquired, it's time to appease Lakshmi again!
If this is not a serious dichotomy, then what is?
Labels: Greek, Lakshmi, Norse, Odin, Saraswati, Thoth
Why was Narada Muni a Bachelor?
According to a myth, once Narada Muni's meditation could not be disturbed even by Kamdev, the god of love. Narada Muni overheard someone say that this made him bigger than even Lord Shiva, since Kamdev had managed to disturb Shiva and his meditation was disturbed by him. This comment went to Narada's head and he started believing that he was superior to Lord Shiva.
Since Lord Vishnu was concerned of his favourite disciple's pride and arrogance, he decided to teach Narada a lesson in humility. Vishnu requested his consort, Goddess Lakshmi to take the human form of Srimati, the beautiful daughter, of King Ambarish. During one such visit to the King Ambarish's palace, Narada saw Srimati and instantly fell in love with her and expressed his desire to marry Srimati. King Ambarish though did not prefer the match, could not say anything to Narada. So he agreed to host a swayamwara and let Srimati choose her husband.
Narada immediately went to Lord Shiva and asked him as to what should he do, so that Srimati selected him. Shiva said that if he could look as handsome as Vishnu, then, Srimati might notice him and for this he should meet Vishnu himself. Narada went to Vishnu and requested that he look as good as Vishnu to enable Srimati select him. Vishnu smiled and decided to play a trick on Narada.
On the day of the swayamvara, Narada got a monkey-face, without his realising this. When Srimati came with a garland in her hand, she saw no Narada Muni but a monkey-faced man. However, next to him was a handsome man calling her out. Srimati immediately garlanded him and before anybody could realise, both Srimati and the handsome man (who was none other than Lord Vishnu) had vanished in thin air.
When Narada saw his reflection in water, he was angry and felt cheated. He then cursed Vishnu that a time would come, when he too would have to be separated from his love, and at that time, it would be a monkey, whose help he would have to take to get his love back! I will spare you all the story of Ramayana!
However, Narada had also learnt his lesson and since then he shed all his pride and arrogance and decided to remain unmarried. Because of this episode, Narada Muni is also referred to as Kapi-Vaktra or monkey-faced.
Labels: Kapi-Vaktra, Narada
Narada Muni – Valmiki
As the story goes, Ratnakar was a robber who had taken to robbing and would loot people passing from one village to another. During one such incident he came across Narada Muni and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not part with all he had. Narada got him chatting and asked him the reason of this profession, to which Ratnakara said that he was doing this for his family. Did he know that the means were wrong, to which Ratnakara said that he did, but he had no option as he had to take care of his family too.
Then Narada asked him, if his family would be party to his sin, to which Ratnakara felt, that they obviously would. On Narada's insistence, Ratnakara went home to check with his family. To his horror and surprise, both his wife and children felt that it was his responsibility to take care of them, but they could not be hold responsible for the sin he was committing. Heart-broken, Ratnakara came back to the waiting Narada and broke down. It was then that Narada taught Ratnakara how to meditate and chant 'Rama'.
Ratnakar got so engrossed in his meditation that he did not even realise that ant-hills had formed all over him. Later Narada, came and removed the ant-hills from his body and named him Valmiki, (Valmika meaning 'from the ant-hill') and gave him the title of Brahmarishi and in due course of time, motivated him to pen down the entire Ramayana, after narrating the story to him.
Here too, we find that Narada was instrumental in seeing the potential of Ratnakara and through the correct means transforms him into Brahmarishi Valmiki. This is thanks to his being aware of the fact that Ratnakar was the long lost son of Rishi Prachetasa, who was lost at childhood and brought up by a hunter, and in due course took to looting. This internal information was put to good use and channelized into making him a rishi and a great author. Narada's being aware of critical information, making good use of it and influencing in the most positive manner enabled Valmiki to write the epic, Ramayana.
Labels: Narada, Valmiki
Narada Muni – Lord Dattatreya
According to a myth, earth was chanting the greatness of Sati Anusuya and her chastity was a topic of discussion on heavens. The three prime goddesses, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati, decided to put to test Sati Anusuya's chastity and made their husbands, the Holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to do what they wanted. They insisted that they go to Anusuya and seek 'Nirvana Bhiksha', i.e., giving alms in a naked condition.
Much against their wishes, the gods did what their wives had demanded of them. On hearing the request from the three Sanyasis (the form taken by the Trinity), Sati Anusuya, was aghast, to say the least, but turning down such a request would be nothing short of sacrilege. So she sprinkled some water which she had used to wash her husband's feet, on the three gods, which changed them into three kids. At that moment, she found milk accumulating in her breasts and she fed the three children her milk. While feeding the milk, in a nude form, she thought of them as her children, and thus, her chastity was intact.
It was at this stage that Narada Muni went to the three goddesses and related the whole incident and also informed them that their husbands had been changed into children, and the only way to get them was to beg for them from Anusuya's husband, Rishi Atri. On begging, the Holy trinity were restored to their original form, and the three children were merged into one god – Dattatreya, a single bodied lord with three faces, in the likeness of the holy Trinity. The three gods then blessed the child and said that the Dattatreya would become a well-known sage and will equal the status of the three gods.
It was Narada Muni who used his influence to get the goddesses to bring out their concerns and get to test Anusuya's chastity and also to get them to understand that they were not unique and that the earthlings could at times pose a threat to their heavenly status, which had been taken for granted. The envy of the goddesses was instigated by none other than Narada Muni himself, as he was also secretly aware of the fact that Sati Anusuya had a desire to beget children like the holy Trinity. Thus Narada, ensured that Sati Anusuya's wish be granted while the goddesses pride be grounded. In this example, Narada is instrumental in many of the results that were achieved.
Labels: Anusuya, Dattatreya, Narada
Narada Muni – the Celestial Lobbyist
The technical definition of Lobbyist is – a person or organisation that practices influencing legislatures toward passing bills that favours or helps their interests. The term has gained larger meaning to include contracts, positions, personal interests, big-bucks, etc.! Lobbying is now the latest buzz word in terms of profession and seems quite a great job, if you don't get embroiled into controversies, that is! So what does it take to become one?
Here are some qualifications of a Lobbyist –
1. Great contacts
2. Influential enough to get things done.
3. Domain knowledge
4. Accessibility to all doors
5. Be well informed
If we remove the label of a 'Lobbyist' and deglamourise it a bit, then we can see that such people have been in existence from the times of yore, except that they were not labelled as Lobbyists. Narada Muni from Hindu mythology was but a Lobbyist, if we remove some of the existing labels attached to his persona.
Great Contacts – Narada was the son (mansaputra) of none other than Lord Brahma himself. He was considered to be the greatest worshipper and follower of Lord Vishnu and could present himself at his abode without prior permission.
Influential enough to get things done – Narada Muni's unique position of being Brahma's manasputra and Vishnu's biggest follower and his 'non-curse able' personality made him extremely influential in Heavens, which was the main arena of action and the place to get things done.
Domain Knowledge – Nara means man, and da means giver, thus the very name Narada, stands for someone who gives, knowledge (useful) to mankind in general. He was well versed with Vedas and Upanishads. He had an extraordinary proficiency in Samaveda which is dedicated to music. He knew the art of articulating each syllable and was also well versed in semantics. He also knew the precise use of each word.
Accessibility to all doors – Narada Muni had access to all the three lokas, and as mentioned earlier, there was no place on both heavens and earth, that he didn't have access to. There was no place on either, which he could not visit, and no matter what, he had the ability to be just everywhere at all times! I guess that's probably why, he was not just a rishi, but a Maharishi.
Be well informed – Narada Muni was known as Trikal Vedi, one who was aware of the past, present and the future at any given point of time. He was well informed of the happenings of all the lokas and knew exactly when to be where and get something to happen. He was a perfect catalyst for many a great things that happened, as would see.
It was thanks to Narada Muni's influence, or insistence and his being aware of the happenings of all places that we have read about the timely saving of Bhakt Prahalada from the hands of his father Hiranyakashipu and the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. Or the avatar of Lord Rama and Sita vanquishing Ravana with the help of Hanuman too is thanks to a 'curse' by Narada to Lord Vishnu, who was accused of fooling Narada during one his bouts of arrogance. Similarly Narada Muni was instrumental in Ved Vyasa writing the Mahabharata, just as he helped Thyagaraja achieve his epitome as a musician, and Valmiki writing the Ramayana. Narada Muni was also responsible for ensuring that Dhruv got his place in the sky and on the lap of Lord Vishnu, just as his timely intervention ensured the creation of God Dattatreya.
All the myths might have the basic ingredient as Narada the mischief maker, but if we dilute the element of his being Kalaha-Priya or the lover of quarrels, we can see that, at the end of it all, Narada Muni was an individual who was instrumental in many an action. He lobbied with the powers-that-be (gods in heavens in this case), all through the intrinsic knowledge of all that he had, to set a few actions (be it recognition to some or awards to some), needless to say that all for the positive good at the end.
Did he not play the role of a Lobbyist well? Is he not a good benchmark of an ideal Lobbyist?
[During the next few days, we will discuss some of the myths of Narada Muni in greater details.]
Labels: Lobbyist, Narada


text:
Moon Addresses Audience at Mass Games in N.Korea
By Lee Min-seok
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday watched a performance of the North's notorious mass games together.
Entitled "Glorious Country," it brought together thousands of performers at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang who threw shapes in queasy unison and formed giant pictures with pieces of colored cardboard.
As the two leaders entered the stadium together, the 150,000 spectators erupted in equally choreographed applause.
President Moon Jae-in (center) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un react to North Koreans at a stadium in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
The two leaders then addressed the huddled masses. After being introduced by Kim, Moon told them, "We are creating a new era together. We solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that there will no longer be war on the Korean Peninsula. We confirmed the principle of the self-reliance of our people in determining our own fate."
Moon added, "I witnessed the surprising development of Pyongyang during my trip. We lived together for 5,000 years but have been separated for 70 years. I use this opportunity to propose taking a big step toward peace and to end 70 years of hostility."
President Moon Jae-in (left) addresses an audience of thousands of North Koreans at a stadium in Pyongyang on Wednesday. /Yonhap
The performance started at 9 p.m. and lasted only an hour. "Glorious Country" is a new version of the mass calisthenics formerly entitled "Arirang" after the Korean folk song, and was first staged at the North's founding day celebrations earlier this month.
It represents glorious achievements like North Korea's nuclear weapons development and extols the regime of the Kim dynasty, though Wednesday's performance cut about 30 minutes of the most blatant propaganda.
Former president Roh Moo-hyun also watched the mass games when he went to Pyongyang in 2007. The 2007 performance involved 100,900 performers and set the Guinness record for the biggest cast ever.
North Korea markets the tickets mainly to Chinese tourists at an eye-watering price to bring in much-needed valuta.
N.Korea Only Kept 1 Promise to S.Korea
S.Korea Celebrates Cross-Border Summit Anniversary Alone
2 Koreas Fulfilled Only 1 Pledge Made in Pyongyang
Seoul Mayor Gives Glowing Report of Pyongyang Trip
Kim Jong-un 'Sincere' About Denuclearization, Says Moon
Moon to Brief Trump on Meeting with Kim Jong-un
Cheong Wa Dae Says Summit Produced More Than Hot Air
U.S. Ecstatic After Inter-Korean Summit
Moon, Kim Announce Little of Substance After Summit
Moon, Kim Talk in Private Amid Search for Nuke Breakthrough
Moon Under Pressure to Find Breakthrough in Denuclearization Talks
Moon Arrives in Pyongyang

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hadoop data lakes offer an enticing location for large data sets. But consultant Andy Hayler says more examples of successful big data projects are needed to help boost their adoption.
The high level of interest in Hadoop data lakes and other big data platforms is understandable. Everyone working in data management faces the challenge of how to tackle spiraling data volumes that increasingly stretch current database technologies to, and in some cases beyond, their limits.
Much of that growth comes from machine-generated data, such as the streams of information spawned by sensors in devices or logs of Internet traffic. Just storing such data is challenging enough, but then can you make sense of it in a useful way? Or is this explosion in data volumes more about generating revenue for data processing and storage vendors than it is about supporting big data use cases with tangible business benefits?
Analyzing large volumes of data can create genuine opportunities for insight. In 2009, a paper published in the scientific journal Nature showed that it was possible to track influenza outbreaks by analyzing Google search data. This seemingly bizarre idea worked by taking the previous five years of search data and correlating common search terms with data that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had gathered manually about influenza-related patient visits to clinics and hospitals.
It turned out that certain combinations of search terms like headache and sneezing were often typed in by people with flu symptoms. The correlation was enough to produce a geographic model that could predict, in close to real time, where flu outbreaks were occurring. This knowledge is useful because doctors can better plan for outbreaks and more quickly target preventive measures.
Of course, that is only one example of big data analytics in action -- and just because it had an application in this case doesn't mean it does in every nook and cranny of the business world. However, as technologies like Hadoop and Apache Spark make it economically practical to process, store and analyze very large volumes of raw data, it's likely that more and more big data analytics applications will crop up.
In fact, plenty of leading-edge organizations are already taking advantage of big data. In the U.K., supermarket giant Tesco analyzes data coming from its refrigeration units to try to predict which ones are likely to fail, allowing preventive maintenance and reducing operational downtime. In Texas, electric utility TXU uses data from smart meters to predict power consumption highs and lows. Its system "reads" the meters every 15 minutes rather than every few months, allowing electricity pricing to be adjusted to encourage businesses to reduce their usage in peak periods.
Consumer analytics offers further big data use cases. It's now common for companies to do sentiment analysis on social media posts to see how consumers perceive their brands. If you can link social media to internal customer and billing systems effectively (no trivial task), a number of new marketing and customer service possibilities open up. Telecom company T Mobile claimed to have halved customer churn in this way.
In another case, a large hotel chain linked its customer loyalty program to a file of Twitter data and used a proprietary algorithm to try to identify customers who had tweeted about its hotels. The company then targeted location-based offers at those customers. Another hotel chain, Marriott, uses big data analytics to help personalize offers made via its website to customers who are members of its loyalty program.
But to make sense of large amounts of data, you need to able to put it into context. In many cases, though, big data file structures lack metadata that describes their content; in addition, many companies make no attempt to address data quality and struggle to tie together their various data sets, such as lists of customers and products, via a master data management program to boost accuracy and consistency. One organization that does so sensibly is the travel-booking company Amadeus. It maintains a vast Hadoop file of all its airline bookings for analysis but pre-processes entries by checking them against its master data system to ensure that the correct airline codes are being used.
In practice, most corporations today still focus their analytics efforts on structured transaction data held in traditional data warehouses. From my discussions with big data software vendors, I've found that many big data projects remain at the experimental stage. Many key trends in the IT industry start with a few pioneers and a lot of over-inflated expectations generated by the media and excited vendor marketing departments, so it should be no surprise that big data management and analytics would follow the same pattern.
Survey data supports the notion that it is. For example, a Capgemini study estimated that $31 billion was spent in 2013 on big data projects, yet only 35% of the projects were described as "successful" or better by the people spending the money. A December 2013 survey by my company, The Information Difference, found that just 13% of respondents had identified new business opportunities as part of their big data initiatives.
Yet hope springs eternal, and with all the money currently being poured into big data systems and applications, at least some of them are likely to yield useful results and further examples of viable big data use cases. If not, the data lakes being created in many enterprises will start to look more like data swamps.
Has your organization found viable big data use cases that are producing tangible business benefits?
Otherwise it's just a collection of vague silos.


For at least two weeks before surgical procedures, children should refrain from taking NSAIDs such as Motrin or Advil. These may cause post-operative bleeding. If your child or family has had any problems with anesthesia, the surgeon should be informed. If your child is taking any other medications, has sickle cell anemia, has a bleeding disorder, is pregnant, has concerns about the transfusion of blood, or has used steroids in the past year, the surgeon should be informed. Generally, after midnight prior to the operation, no food or liquids may be taken by mouth, including chewing gum, mouthwashes, throat lozenges, toothpaste, water. Anything in the stomach may be vomited when anesthesia is induced, and this is dangerous. A nurse from the hospital will call the night before surgery to go over these guidelines.
When your child arrives, the anesthesiologist or nursing staff will meet with your family to review the patient's history. Your child will then be taken to the operating room, and your child will be given an anesthetic. Intravenous fluids are usually given during and after surgery. After the operation, your child will be taken to the recovery area and you will join your child shortly thereafter. Recovery room staff will observe your child until discharged. Every patient is special, and recovery times vary for each individual. Many patients are released after 2–6 hours. Others are kept overnight. Intensive care may be needed for select cases.
1. Stay reasonably quiet for 5 days.
2. Avoid vigorous coughing or clearing of the throat.
ear pain. Patient may also experience jaw soreness, tongue soreness and neck soreness.
Expect more pain the 4th, 5th, and 6th days after surgery.
apple sauce, mashed potatoes, etc.) for 10 days.
C Then gradually return to a full diet adding meats and solid foods slowly.
D Avoid hot or highly seasoned foods and citrus fruit juices for 10 days.
pain medication, wait 1/2 hour, then try liquids again.
6. The following conditions are expected: swallowing problems, vomiting, low-grade, fever, throat pain, and ear pain.
b. Moderate to high fever; 101 degrees or above.
8. Your child may return to school or day care whenever he/she is able to drink fluid and feels up to it- usually in 5-10 days.
9. Your child is recommended to stay away from gym for 3 weeks.
10. Your child must stay away from NSAIDS, Aspirin, Motrin, or Advil for 14 days after surgery.
11. Check up following surgery is usually in 2 weeks. Please make an appointment the day of discharge from the hospital.


text:
"Shiseidô's 'Empire of Beauty': Marketing Japanese Modernity in Northeast Asia, 1932-1945"
Shashi: the Journal of Japanese Business and Company History
Title "Shiseidô's 'Empire of Beauty': Marketing Japanese Modernity in Northeast Asia, 1932-1945"
Creator Culver, Annika A.
Subject East Asian cultural history; economic history; art history
Japan, China, Manchuria, empire, Shiseido, modernism, national identity, Japanese military expansion
Description According to a 2011 news release by the company, "Shiseido is focusing on expanding sales in emerging markets with the aim of becoming 'a global player representing Asia with its origins in Japan'."[1] The cosmopolitan image of the company overlaying its Japanese identity lends itself to intriguing prewar parallels and debates over cultures representing both East and West. As noted by Frank Dikötter in his study of early Republican Era (1912-1949) Chinese material culture: "The endless circulation, domestication and recycling of objects with the advent of the global economy has frequently offended the guardians of cultural barriers: the notion of 'hybridity' has been used to perpetuate the illusion of 'authenticity'."[2] This hybrid "Empire of Beauty" rather than purely Japanese idea of beauty unveiled in Russia, along with Shiseidô's new Asian focus, are in fact much older business concepts dating back to the early 20th century. Not surprisingly, like other Japanese companies in the 1930s, Shiseidô also began its advent into emerging markets in the prewar period, where the progress of cosmetic penetration into northeast Asia paralleled imperial Japan's military intrusions.In addition, Shiseidô's unique modernist visual culture sold images of an empire of beauty, where women consumers on the continent helped support an emerging politics of national identity in their product choices. The company's intersection of modernist advertising and national propaganda reveals the multifaceted interests of organizations like Shiseidô involved in marketing the Japanese empire and its appealing modernity. [1] Shiseido News Release, "Shiseido to Introduce Corporate Culture and Promote Sales at Event in Russia,", 1. [2] Dikötter, Exotic Commodities: Modern Objects and Everyday Life in China, 5.
Publisher University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Contributor Association for Asian Studies, Triangle Center for Japanese Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, US Dept. of Education, Waseda University Library, Shiseido Corporate Culture Department
Identifier http://shashi.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/shashi/article/view/16
10.5195/shashi.2013.16
Source Shashi: the Journal of Japanese Business and Company History; Vol 2, No 2 (2013): Shiseido Special Edition; 6-22
社史:日本経営史学雑誌; Vol 2, No 2 (2013): Shiseido Special Edition; 6-22
Relation http://shashi.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/shashi/article/view/16/71


text:
Push to abolish ICE takes national spotlight
By Adam KlasfeldJuly 2, 2018
July 2, 2018 By Missoula Current
Protesters brave the cold on Dec. 7, 2017, to rally against a surge of immigration arrests being carried out in New York City courthouses. (Amanda Ottaway/Courthouse News Service)
MANHATTAN (CN) – Special agents in charge of most field offices run by Homeland Security Investigations now support eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
HSI is one of two subagencies within the department known as ICE, created 15 years ago under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security.
Reacting to the recent executive order on immigration by President Donald Trump, federal agents representing 19 of the country's 26 HSI field offices have written a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristen Nielsen that recommends dissolving ICE altogether and spinning off HSI and another subagency, Enforcement Removal Operations.
Though the letter is undated, it was first published Thursday by the Texas Tribune as a movement dubbed #AbolishICE becomes increasingly embraced by the mainstream.
The hashtag first began circulating months ago among a handful of reporters and activists who gather weekly, organized by The Nation's contributor Sean McElwee, at an East Village dive bar in New York City.
Describing himself as an "Overton Window Mover" on Twitter, McElwee's handle now reads: "We're going to abolish ICE."
With breathtaking speed, the movement McElwee helped conceptualize enjoys the support of U.S. Senator Kirstin Gillibrand, four Democratic members of Congress, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and a new generation of candidates who have adopted the message on their platforms.
"I don't think ICE today is working as intended," Gillibrand said in a statement. "I believe that it has become a deportation force. And I think that you should separate the criminal justice from the immigration issues and I think you should reimagine ICE under a new agency with a very different mission."
Such ideas might have been politically impossible for a sitting senator to articulate before the extraordinary victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's Democratic primary. This past Tuesday, the Bronx-born 28-year-old defeated 10-term incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley, who was widely anticipated to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
"We absolutely do need to make sure our borders are secure and have to make sure that people are safe in passage, but what we have to remember is that ICE was established in 2003, right at the same time as the Patriot Act, the AUMF, the Iraq War," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN on Wednesday, using an abbreviation for the Authorization to Use Military Force. "And we look back at a lot of that time and legislation as a mistake now."
While ICE started with a $3.3 billion budget, that figure ballooned to $6.1 billion in 2016.
The HSI special agents recommend spinning off their office to continue investigating national-security threats, child pornography and transnational crime, with deportations taking the focus at its sister agency, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
"HSI's investigations have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate cross border crimes impacting our communities and national security," the letter states. "Furthermore, the perception of HSI's investigative independence is unnecessarily impacted by the political nature of ERO's civil immigration enforcement. Many jurisdictions continue to refuse to work with HSI because of a perceived linkage to the politics of civil immigration."
Immigration advocates want more than a rebranding, aiming to radically scale back a deportation force that has separated more than 2,300 parents and children under Trump's family-separation regime.
"Extremist Democrat politicians have called for the complete elimination of ICE," the president tweeted, the day before the idea was embraced by most of the agency's leaders.
International backlash at the human rights abuses wrought by Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy also has animated the movement. Two U.S. federal judges on separate coasts this week slammed immigration authorities for their treatment of families. Another pending lawsuit accuses immigration officials of forcibly injecting immigrant children with psychotropic drugs.
"Its extrajudicial nature is baked into the structure of the agency, and that is why they are able to get away with black sites on our border," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN, invoking the history of CIA torture.
When pressed on the analogy, Ocasio-Cortez noted that even U.S. Congress members have been turned away from the sites.
Applauding Ocasio-Cortez's victory, Mayor de Blasio echoed the young Democratic Socialist's sentiments Friday morning on National Public Radio's "The Brian Lehrer Show."
"ICE's time has come and gone," de Blasio said. "It is broken. ICE has been sent on a very negative, divisive mission, and it cannot function the way that it is."


text:
March 12, 2018 by sd
What's in a number — such as the address, "666 Fifth Avenue"?
An interesting if only entertaining cogitation.
We all know what those three numerals stand for, a symbol of the nefarious, an anti-christ (in Revelation perhaps the Hebrew code name for Nero Caesar) or simple bad luck. It comes to mind recently because the U.S. president's son-in-law seems to have been dragged down by bad fortune tied to his company's ownership of the building, which is two billion dollars in debt (and a subject of a special prosecutor's investigation). "After proudly rising amid the 20th-century Manhattan skyline, and changing hands three times, 666 Fifth Ave. has become a devil's bargain for (him)," is the way The New York Post phrased it.
Going back to the Seventies, when it was fashionable to dine at a restaurant on the top floor ("Top of the Sixes"), the "sixes" were in huge illuminated numerals at the very top. One should have known better: this was also the decade of The Exorcist!
To make matters more conspiratorial yet, one of the tenants was an investment-banking firm owned by the fabled globalist mega-wealthy Rothschilds.
Later, the restaurant was turned into a cigar emporium where movers and shakers — the "wolves of Wall Street," as one writer put it — collogued as they lit each other's stogies. It has been "a tower that has served as a symbol of corporate power and elegance since it opened in 1957," said The New York Times. When the Kushners bought it, it was the most ever paid for a Manhattan skyscraper (and promptly lost them money).
"The Curse of 666 Fifth Avenue, the Skyscraper That Could Sink the Kushners," moted The Daily Beast (as a liberal publication, with a bit too much detectable glee).
Okay, a little worldly diversion in the deepening phase of Lent. Someone we know well once was set to sign a contract for a book about U.S. seers with Doubleday Publishers, a major publisher housed at the time there at 666 Fifth (between 52nd and 53rd, very close to St. Pat's) when, during the concluding call, the phones went out and stayed out for half an hour.
That led to a bit of extra prayer, during which the author felt very strongly that he should cancel the book, which he then announced, to the shock of the editor, once the phones (which were out only in that building) returned to functionality (never was the decision regretted).
Out west, across parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, is old Route 666 — not just a superstitious number, in this case, but a stretch of road notorious, at least in New Mexico, for a high accident fatality rate, along with strange accounts of phantasmagoric creatures at roadside, ethereal hitchhikers, or a ghostly, threatening truck (it goes by Indian burial mounds).
Due to the connotations, it has been renamed "491."
And so it might be for the Kushner edifice. If his family can hold onto it, they plan to change the address to a safer "660"!
[resources: The Spirits Around Us and (very recommended:) Deliverance Prayers For the Laity]
Filed Under: News, Spiritual warfare Tagged With: 666, devil number, Kushners, revelation


text:
Cordis is a company that develops and manufactures medical devices for diagnostics and interventional procedures to treat patients with coronary and peripheral vascular diseases.

Cordis was founded in 1959 in Miami, Florida, and currently operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America markets. The Cordis global headquarters are jointly located in Baar, Switzerland, and Santa Clara, California. The headquarters also acts as a hub for Cordis' operations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The North American operations are based out of the San Francisco Bay area. The Asia-Pacific hub is located in Singapore, and the Latin American hub is in Puerto Rico.[1]

History
The Medical Development Corporation was founded in 1957 in Miami, Florida, by Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. and focused on interventional vascular medicine and neuroscience. In 1959, the company's name changed to Cordis.

In 1970, Cordis introduced the first sheath introducers with hemostasis valves, designed to minimize blood loss during an angioplasty procedure.

In 1996, Cordis joined the Johnson & Johnson Intervention Systems (JJIS) and a year later, Cordis Corporation expanded into electrophysiology after Johnson & Johnson acquired Biosense Inc. and merged it with Cordis. In 1998, Biosense Inc. merged with Webster Laboratories to form Biosense Webster, Inc.

In 2015, Cardinal Health acquired the Cordis business from Johnson & Johnson for $1.944 billion.

On March 31, 2017, Cardinal Health announced two new strategic agreements that enabled Cordis, Cardinal Health's interventional vascular business, to expand its cardiology product offering in China.

In March 2021, Cardinal announced plans to sell Cordis to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $1 billion.

References

Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries
Medical technology companies of the United States
Companies based in Fremont, California

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In an obvious effort to prevent my future kids from going to college, the Charleston Beer Exchange team is adding Rare Bomber Thursday to their weekly calendar of rare beer events.
Rare Beer Tuesday has been going on for quite some time, and it's something we often cover. If you've never been (or read), it's when the boys put a rare beer on the growler station at 5 p.m each week. Well, that's obviously not enough rare draft beer for a 7-day period, hence the beginning of Rare Bomber Thursdays this week, also at 5 p.m.
Unlike a 64 oz., screw-top, refillable growler, a bomber is a 22 oz, pop-top, normally single-use bottle. Because of this, the operation will differ somewhat from a normal growler fill. Everything will be sanitized first, just as it would be at the growler station (nothing actually harmful to you can grow in beer, but random bugs can produce off-flavors). Then they'll be using a counter-pressure filler, a contraption that equalizes the pressure in the bottle with the keg so that all the carbon dioxide doesn't escape during the fill. This keeps the beer fresher and fizzier for longer, further guaranteeing your enjoyment.
For all intents and purposes, Rouge no longer exists….so come get it while you can!
It weighs in, as most sours do, at a deceptively tame 5.5% ABV, and earns a well-deserved A- from BeerAdvocate and a perfect 100 from Ratebeer. It's likely the only time you've encountered Rouge, if at all, was at Brewvival. That beer went down for me as by far the best sour that day, second only to New Belgium Love if anything. If you were there, you know that's saying a lot. Pucker up, people.
Charleston Beer Exchange blows minds at 14 Exchange Street downtown.


text:
Q: How to plot map and data with respect to zipcodes/neighbourhoods for amsterdam As there is a library dedicated to US zipcodes called as library(choroplethrZip) is there any other library for plotting zipcodes in Amsterdam?
I also tried using hcmaps to plot the neighbourhoods but I was not able to find deep.
mapdata <- get_data_from_map(download_map_data("countries/nl/nl-nh-all"))

I can only go till north holland but not deep into Amsterdam.
Can anyone help me with this?
Thanks in advance.

A: You can find the whole Highcharts map collection here: https://code.highcharts.com/mapdata/
Probably there is no such deep map displaying zipcodes in Amsterdam, so you should create a custom one which is not easy (especially integrating it in R, I have never seen this before). I hope this answer clarifies you a little.
https://www.highcharts.com/docs/maps/create-custom-maps-for-highmaps
https://www.highcharts.com/docs/maps/custom-geojson-maps

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This 5' x 9.5' Polyester American Flag is designed for severe service conditions such as ships at sea, constant high wind regions, and atop high towers and buildings where access is difficult. These flags will outlast nylon, but are not recommended for most applications, since they are of much heavier material and do not fly well unless there is a significant wind. Each flag is made from double-weave polyester fabric, which is very heavy duty, and sewn with double lock stitch seams and has individually embroidered stars. 100% Made in USA.


EA Originals was just announced at the EA Play E3 press conference.
According to EA the idea is to bring compelling new independent titles to market and to give support to devs that may not have access to exposure that some of the bigger developers. EA also noted that all profits go back to helping the developers grow.
The first game to release from this new venture is a game titled FE. In FE you play as a young cub who awakens in an unfamiliar world with no knowledge of how you got there. There is no written dialogue in the game but instead you communicate and progress by learning the language of song from the various creatures you meet.
There was mention of which platforms FE will release on or an official release date but we will update you more information as we receive it so stay tuned.


The WSJ had a short article the other day regarding Apple manufacturing parts for their products in the US. Truth is Apple makes quite a bit for their products in the states, including the processors and the glass that covers the front of all of their iOS devices. (and the back of the iPhone) They point out that one of the biggest problems with manufacturing their products in the US is that their just aren't enough manufacturing engineers.
I don't totally buy this as a reason, and I don't necessarily think Apple believes it either. They don't need an army of engineers to help them manufacture their products here, just a handful. They're Apple, they could find the best engineers in the country, and many of them would come out of the woodworks to be a part of that.
The bigger issue is that the assembly of their products is just incredibly labor intensive. Their finally assembly for the iPhone has somewhere in the range of 100+ screws. Those don't get inserted by machine. And believe me, you cannot pay American wages for that kind of manual assembly, for 30-40 million devices a quarter.


text:
The Web At 25: Hugely Popular, And Viewed As A Positive Force
By Elise Hu
Fabrice Coffrini
A 1992 copy of the world's first Web page. British physicist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989.
For something that's become so ubiquitous in our lives, the World Wide Web is just a youngster. It was only 25 years ago that Tim Berners-Lee first created a rudimentary information retrieval system that relied on the Internet. It's since exploded into a primary means by which we learn, work and connect. (To put things in perspective, the film Die Hard is older than the World Wide Web.)
How far have we come and how much impact has Internet connectivity made in our lives? The Pew Research Center conducted a sweeping survey to coincide with the Web's 25th anniversary, which you can read in full. But we've summed up a few key takeaways:
Internet adoption skyrocketed.
In 1995, only 14 percent of American adults used the Internet. Today, it's 87 percent. The figure represents "the highest percentage captured in a Pew Research Center poll since we began measuring it in 1995," the report says. A similar trend line exists for broadband adoption, which went from only a fraction of adopters in 1995 to almost universal adoption in America today. "The adoption story itself is amazing and hardly ever duplicated in world history. Technology has not deployed this fast, ever," said Lee Rainie, the director of the Pew Research Center's Internet Project.
We're more reliant on the Internet than ever, and it's our hardest tech tool to give up.
We get antsy when the Internet goes out. Fifty-three percent of Internet users say it would be "very hard" to give up, compared with 38 percent in 2006. In fact, more people said they would have a hard time getting rid of the Internet than they would giving up TV. (These days, so much great television streams across the Internet that it makes sense.)
We generally like the Internet.
Nine out of 10 respondents think the Internet's been good for them personally, but only 76 percent say it's good for society. Fifteen percent of respondents said they felt the Internet was bad for society.
The overwhelmingly positive view applies pretty evenly across all demographic groups. Rainie says the results have been consistent with Pew's previous surveys: "They love access to more information; they don't generally feel overwhelmed. People who were telling us that in the early 2000s are saying very much the same thing as newer users are saying now," he says.
The more money you make, the more likely you're online.
Ninety-nine percent of households that make at least $75,000 a year are online. Among households that make $30,000 a year or less, the number is 77 percent. That's a 21-point swing in Internet adoption numbers between households on the lower end of the earning scale and those at the higher end.
"Those differences persist," said Rainie, whose group has been surveying on these questions since 1995. "As [the Internet] has been embraced by lots more people and the overall picture in the adoption population is much more diverse and democratic, still there are gaps."
Despite the vitriol that shows up in some online forums, you still think people are kind in online communities.
Is the online environment friendly? Or menacing? It turns out 70 percent of the Internet users surveyed say they'd been treated kindly or generously online. That's compared with a quarter of respondents who said they have been treated unkindly.
More than half — 56 percent — of users said they've seen an online community come together to help someone solve a problem. Twenty-five percent said they've left an online group because members were too unpleasant.
Most of you think online networks strengthen your relationships.
When Pew asked questions about whether being online has enriched people's relationships — or not — the results were considerably positive.
By a more than 3-to-1 margin, Americans surveyed say online communication has generally made them socially richer: Sixty-seven percent of Internet users say their online communication with family and friends has generally strengthened those relationships, while 18 percent say it generally weakens those relationships.
"There's a pretty persistent narrative that the Web isolates people, it makes us depressed, but when you ask users if it's been good or not, they resoundingly say it makes things better for them," said Rainie. "People know it's not a uniformly positive story, there are bad things that happen online. But the big balance sheet is a positive one."
This is a rich area for research and debate, however, because there is no shortage of studies that show social networks make us more blue — because we might compare our lives with the "highlight reels" of our friends' lives — or that our always-connected culture is linked to greater levels of anxiety.
Pew's survey was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adult Americans during the second week of January. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
Elise Hu
Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.
See stories by Elise Hu


text:
by Hawthorn Mineart, under Recently Read, Writing
Home — Second Story
Second Story is a non-profit writing project serving kids, schools and community organizations in Indianapolis, Ind. Programs include in-class writing instruction at local schools, as well as after-school tutoring, creative-writing workshops and other events.
(tags: writing creative children eucation fun)
The Secret Headquarters
Dr. Fredric Rinehart has been credited with developing the first Secret Headquarters in 1932, in the city of Los Angeles. His breakthrough in concealment technology met with suspicion from the local authorities, because of which the project, then known as "SHQ", was shelved. It was suspected that SHQ technology could be used to generateunrest in the city. The original purpose of these hidden facilities is unclear to this day. Some believe, as the government-backed authorities did, that the Secret Headquarters were used as housing facilities for the growing espionage network in Southern California.
(tags: inspiration art bookstore geek comic losangeles)
826 National
826 National is a family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing.
(tags: literature writing children creativity culture nonprofit eggers)
Writers' Center of Indiana
Founded in 1979, The Writers' Center is Indiana's only comprehensive community-based literary service organization. The Center's outstanding roster of classes offers writers at any level new approaches and ideas to further their journey in writing.
(tags: indiana writing local)


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Popular uses for HR Steel Sheet include: automotive panels, tool boxes, hoppers, drip pans, fuel tanks, trailer siding & roofing, etc. Magnetic, Brinell = 95, Tensile = 52,000, Yield = 38,000 (+/-) C1008/1010 CRS Steel Sheet - (ASTM A366) Cold Rolled Steel Sheets are rolled to a close thickness tolerance and possess a fine, smooth surface providing a excellent base for painting .
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Open floor plans in homes and offices are becoming very popular. Here is an example of using extra tall corten steel planters as a way to divide and define the open office space.
Platts Steel Prices. Platts researches over 270 steel price series which are updated every month and made available to Platts Subscribers. To view the prices, please log in or register for a free trial.
Hi Sury; hi Avadhoot. Some people call cold rolled steel "cold finished steel", and I think that sort of implies the answer to your questions, i.e., that the steel has a finish (a given smoothness and accuracy) whereas hot rolled steel is "raw" and insufficiently finished for small and intricate shapes.
We supply best quality of Corten A weather-resistant steel plates are utilized in heavy machinery, wagon tippers, industrial boilers, crushers, loaders, feeders, stackers, cranes, shipping industries and other-related heavy industries.
corten steel plate price per square foot,US $ 700 ... corten steel price per square foot . ... Cr. Ni. Cu. Sb. P max. S max.
HR Steel Sheets are easy to weld, form and drill, and has a slight grainy surface. Popular uses for HR Steel Sheet include: automotive panels, tool boxes, hoppers, drip pans, fuel tanks, trailer siding & roofing, etc. Magnetic, Brinell = 95, Tensile = 52,000, Yield = 38,000 (+/-).
The plates and coils are of premium quality in terms of dimensional adherence and internal soundness owing to its clean raw material, sound steel refining facilities and an efficient rolling mill.
MidWest Materials supplies hot rolled pickled and oiled (HRPO) steel products in coil, sheet and plate in a wide range of thicknesses and widths.
CRU has been publishing steel prices since 1980. A lot has changed over the last three decades but one thing that hasn't is our philosophy: To produce unbiased, objective and impartial price assessments that accurately reflect the underlying market.
Custeel Steel Price Index. Custeel Steel Cost Index - Pig Iron. Custeel Steel Cost Index - Billet. Carbon Steel : Flat Products. HR/CR.
Varsteel Ltd. is a leading provider of steel, rebar, pipe and piling, and structural steel in Western Canada and United States.


text:
Rick K. Carterrelicreative
Rick K. Carter
In 1981, Rick K. Carter, a Colorado native, graduated from UCLA, subsequently earning his Juris Doctorate in 1984 after attending both Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and San Diego's California Western School of Law.
Rick began his professional career in 1984 as a trial lawyer in downtown Los Angeles representing clients in matters ranging from large commercial disputes to individual damage claims. In 1989, Rick, whose family has deep roots in Arizona and played a significant role in the State's cultural history dating from the early 1930s, obtained his Arizona license and immediately began representing clients from Yuma to Phoenix to Tucson as well as in many of the State's rural venues. In 1992, Rick relocated to Yuma in order to focus his practice on Arizona litigation, serving as lead trial counsel in jury trials representing a variety of significant corporate clientele, including a global pharmaceutical giant. In 2004, Rick relocated to Phoenix where he practiced with a number of well known law firms serving as trial counsel in some of Arizona's largest then pending civil actions. Since relocating to Phoenix, Rick has also represented commercial entities of various types and sizes, as well as individuals, in matters involving commercial disputes, complex commercial litigation, class action litigation, the defense of professionals, construction defect litigation, the defense of unfair employment practice and wrongful discharge claims, insurance disputes and other practice areas. Rick remains a highly respected senior litigator with a resume that includes extensive jury trial experience in the state courts throughout Arizona and California as well as litigation in the state and/or federal courts of Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.
Rick also served for ten years as an arbitrator with the State Bar of Arizona and has provided services as a private negotiator, mediator and arbitrator for more than twenty years.
In 2001, while continuing in private practice, Rick also served as Vice President of a multi-million dollar behavioral health and medical service provider and administrator with over five hundred employees and numerous administrative and service locations throughout Arizona. In this capacity, Rick managed and was responsible for the administration of multiple departments, including compliance, grievance and appeals, legal, insurance, contracting, corporate investigations, court and law enforcement liaison, policy and procedure oversight, medical/corporate records as well as serving in a support role for human resources and as an executive liaison with the medical staff. Rick also played a key role in corporate governance through the fulfillment of independent reporting obligations and counsel directly to the Board of Directors. Rick was also responsible for oversight of all corporate litigation, selecting and managing all outside contract counsel and negotiating settlements and compromises. In 2004, Rick began serving as the Chief Legal Officer for another large behavioral health service provider. As such, Rick provided counsel directly to the Chief Executive Officer, as well as many other key members of the executive team, concerning a wide variety of legal, compliance, insurance, contracting, personnel, investigation and many other matters.
Community service has also been important. Rick has more than a thirty year history of volunteer work with youth sports organizations and, in 2002, served as the head coach of the state champion Yuma Regional High School Ice Hockey Team that received a Proclamation of Outstanding Achievement from the Arizona House of Representatives. Further, Rick has also served as a Director with a number of community service organizations, including the Yuma WORC Center, which provides employment opportunities for the disabled, and the Yuma County Humane Society.
Rick is also a proud Eagle Scout and a former member of the UCLA NCAA Men's Soccer Program.
General Civil Litigation/Trials
Complex Commercial Litigation/Trials
Construction Defect Litigation/Trials
Personal Injury/Property Damage
Employment/Wrongful Discharge
Administrative Law/Professional Boards
Representation of Professionals
Mediation/ArbitrationMediation/Arbitration
Corporate Management Areas
Medical/Behavioral Health Office Management and Administration
Medical/Behavioral Health Professional and Support Staff Recruitment
General Corporate Governance
Policy & Procedure Formulation, Revision and Oversight
Grievances/Appeals
Legal/Litigation Management
Court/Law Enforcement Liaison
Contracting/Contract Negotiation
Medical Staff Support/Liaison
Medical/Corporate Record Oversight
Human Resource Support
State Bar Posts
Arbitrator (1994 to 2004)
State Bar of Arizona Committee on Arbitration Fee Disputes
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; California Western School of Law, San Diego, J.D., 1984
University of California, B.A.: Political Science, 1981
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States District Court, District of Arizona
United States District Court, Northern District of California
United States District Court, Eastern District of California
United States District Court, Southern District of California
United States District Court, Central District of California
Extracurricular Achievements
Eagle Scout, 1973
UCLA NCAA Soccer Team, 1981 to 1983
Head Coach, Yuma Regional High School Ice Hockey Team, 2001 State Champions
Recipient of Arizona House of Representatives Proclamation of Outstanding Achievement


Our client pride themselves on offering high quality vet care at prices affordable to all. They take pleasure in being able to offer a full range of first opinion veterinary services at constantly low prices.
As a result of internal growth we are now looking for a senior veterinary surgeon for their branch in Kettering. Busy practice, well staffed with dedicated vet and nursing team.
Salary of £52.5k p.a.; combination of early/late shifts; one in three weekends; £1.5k cpd allowance and 5 days paid cpd leave; 33 days annual leave; RCVS and VDS fees paid.
Opening hours for their surgeries are: Monday to Friday 8am - 8.30pm; Saturday 9.00am to 4.00 pm; Sunday 10am - 4pm.
If his job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us.


text:
Popular Norwood Bar Shut Down Over Rent Dispute
A popular bar in Norwood has had its doors shuttered following a dispute over rent between the bar's owner and the venue's landlord.
Stone's Throw on The Parade has permanently closed its doors, having last opened before the pandemic hit South Australia.
The Advertiser reports that the bar's operators had been negotiating with landlords over a rent reduction, but talks fell through.
One of the bar's shareholders said that the owners' requests for reduced rent was not honoured.
"We asked for a rent reduction three months prior to COVID and he (landlord) was non-negotiable," Brett Viney told The Advertiser.
Liquidators have since been appointed to a business group led by Mr Viney and his business partner Matthew Mitchell.
The Bloody Mary Group also has a stake in city pub the Saracens Head, but say that the group's liquidation would have no impact on that venue.
Stone's Throw was opened in 2016, having previously operated with different owners under the name Grace the Establishment.
Catch up on the top 5 things you must know to start your day:
Bars Norwood Small Bars


text:
I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
by Izzeldin Abuelaish
Title: I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
Author: Izzeldin Abuelaish
Publisher: Walker Books, 2020
By turns inspiring and heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is Izzeldin Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life — as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East. And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."
Book Genres: Autobiography, Memoir, Biography, Non Fiction, History, War, Biography Memoir, Medical, Inspirational, Social Movements, Social Justice
i-shall-not-hate-a-gaza-doctors-journey-on-the-road-to-peace-and-human-dignity.pdf (PDF, 4.2 MB)
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Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line
by Abby Johnson, Cindy Lambert
Retailers Choice Award winner, 2012Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act…
An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington
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The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life
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How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
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I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
[url=http://www.pdfripper.com/autobiography/i-shall-not-hate-a-gaza-doctors-journey-on-the-road-to-peace-and-human-dignity/]I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity[/url]
http://www.pdfripper.com/autobiography/i-shall-not-hate-a-gaza-doctors-journey-on-the-road-to-peace-and-human-dignity/


The 1997 Asia Cup (also known as the Pepsi Asia Cup 1997), was the sixth Asia Cup tournament, and the second to be held in Sri Lanka. The tournament took place between July 14–26, 1997. Four teams took part in the tournament: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The 1997 Asia Cup was a round-robin tournament where each team played the other once, and the top two teams qualifying for a place in the final. India and Sri Lanka qualified for the final where Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets to win its second Asia Cup and ending India's three consecutive championship run.
Sheikh Salahuddin (Ban) made his ODI debut.
Rain and bad light after 5 overs stopped the game, and Umpires reduced the overs per side to 33.
When the game resumed, it had to be called off again due to bad light.
Mafizur Rahman (Ban) made his ODI debut.
Zakir Hasan (Ban) made his ODI debut.
Nilesh Kulkarni (Ind) made his ODI debut.