[Note: The presentations, a detailed meeting report and other relevant links are at the end of this article].
The presentations and discussion ranged wider than just Edinburgh City Centre cycling, into issues including pedestrianisation of city centres, disabled access, the work of international architect and occasional Council adviser Jan Gehl, and the role of buses and trams.
Perhaps the most significant moment of the night for Spokes was Cllr Hinds's affirmation, almost in passing, that the Council intends to continue its policy, during this term of office, of raising the cycling budget as a % of transport capital and revenue spending from 5% by 1% each year, reaching 10% in the final year before the next elections. This is the first time we remember seeing the 10% figure in writing and publicly stated. Admittedly, decisions are renewed each year at budget time, so nothing is guaranteed, but, provided councillors continue to believe that the policy is welcomed and is succeeding, then it seems likely to continue.
Of course – cycle cash does impact heavily on the city centre, since the Council will not be able to win the hefty Sustrans/government cash it needs for projects like the east-west segregated cycleroute unless it makes its own substantial contribution.
Cycling in Ghent: confidence grows!
Cllr Hinds won over the audience right away by recalling her promise of getting herself cycling in Edinburgh, and outlining her 3-step plan to acheive this. After not using a bike for many years, she had at last ventured on one during a 2014 investigation of Ghent's transport system. Step 2 comes soon on a visit to Copenhagen. Step 3 was decided by fate, thanks to a recent raffle ticket which has won her a Bike Station cycle training course!!
Since 2013, when the BID re-launched, footfall and trading are up substantially, and user surveys have shown wide support for extended pedestrianisation.
Although there is demand for more car parking from some businesses, and the BID seeks to enhance this, Richard said it was noticeable that there were often spare spaces in nearby streets and even in George Street itself.
Many more people now access the city centre by public transport and active travel, and Essential Edinburgh is fully behind improved bike access and parking, as well as maximising public transport use.
Essential Edinburgh welcome views and suggestions – Richard can be contacted via the Essential Edinburgh website.
Edinburgh Council's draft Street Design Guidance is excellent – but it will only be widely and successfully implemented through political and managerial leadership, training, resources and a feeling of ownership.


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Selected Messages of the Universal House of Justice
Riḍván 2010 – To the Bahá'ís of the World
Riḍván Message 2010
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Riḍván 2010
To the Bahá'ís of the World
Dearly loved Friends,
With hearts filled with admiration for the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, we are pleased to announce that, as this most joyous Riḍván season opens, there is in every continent of the globe a fresh complement of intensive programmes of growth under way, raising the total number worldwide over the 1,500 mark and securing the goal of the Five Year Plan, one year in advance of its conclusion. We bow our heads in gratitude to God for this astounding achievement, this signal victory. All who have laboured in the field will appreciate the bounty He has bestowed on His community in granting it a full year to strengthen the pattern of expansion and consolidation now everywhere established, in preparation for the tasks it will be called upon to undertake in its next global enterprise—a plan of five years' duration, the fifth in a series with the explicit aim of advancing the process of entry by troops.
We feel moved, as we take pause on this festive occasion, to make clear that what evokes such a deep sense of pride and gratitude in our hearts is not so much the numerical feat you have achieved, remarkable as it is, but a combination of developments at the more profound level of culture, to which this accomplishment attests. Chief among them is the rise we have observed in the capacity of the friends to converse with others on spiritual matters and to speak with ease about the Person of Bahá'u'lláh and His Revelation. They have understood well that teaching is a basic requirement of a life of generous giving.
In recent messages we have expressed joy at witnessing the steady increase in the tempo of teaching across the globe. The discharge of this fundamental spiritual obligation by the individual believer has always been, and continues to be, an indispensable feature of Bahá'í life. What the establishment of 1,500 intensive programmes of growth has made evident is how courageous and deliberate the rank and file of the believers have become in stepping outside their immediate circle of family members and friends, ready to be led by the guiding Hand of the All-Merciful to receptive souls in whatever quarter they may reside. Even the most modest estimates suggest that there are now tens of thousands who participate in periodic campaigns to establish ties of friendship, on the basis of shared understanding, with those previously regarded as strangers.
In their efforts to present the essentials of the Faith plainly and unequivocally, the believers have benefited greatly from the illustrative example in Book 6 of the Ruhi Institute. Where the logic underlying that presentation is appreciated, and the urge to convert it into a formula overcome, it gives rise to a conversation between two souls—a conversation distinguished by the depth of understanding achieved and the nature of the relationship established. To the extent that the conversation continues beyond the initial encounter and veritable friendships are formed, a direct teaching effort of this kind can become a catalyst for an enduring process of spiritual transformation. Whether the first contact with such newly found friends elicits an invitation for them to enrol in the Bahá'í community or to participate in one of its activities is not an overwhelming concern. More important is that every soul feel welcome to join the community in contributing to the betterment of society, commencing a path of service to humanity on which, at the outset or further along, formal enrolment can occur.
The significance of this development should not be underestimated. In every cluster, once a consistent pattern of action is in place, attention needs to be given to extending it more broadly through a network of co-workers and acquaintances, while energies are, at the same time, focused on smaller pockets of the population, each of which should become a centre of intense activity. In an urban cluster, such a centre of activity might best be defined by the boundaries of a neighbourhood; in a cluster that is primarily rural in character, a small village would offer a suitable social space for this purpose. Those who serve in these settings, both local inhabitants and visiting teachers, would rightly view their work in terms of community building. To assign to their teaching efforts such labels as "door-to-door", even though the first contact may involve calling upon the residents of a home without prior notice, would not do justice to a process that seeks to raise capacity within a population to take charge of its own spiritual, social and intellectual development. The activities that drive this process, and in which newly found friends are invited to engage—meetings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes that nurture the tender hearts and minds of children; groups that channel the surging energies of junior youth; circles of study, open to all, that enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of the teachings to their individual and collective lives—may well need to be maintained with assistance from outside the local population for a time. It is to be expected, however, that the multiplication of these core activities would soon be sustained by human resources indigenous to the neighbourhood or village itself—by men and women eager to improve material and spiritual conditions in their surroundings. A rhythm of community life should gradually emerge, then, commensurate with the capacity of an expanding nucleus of individuals committed to Bahá'u'lláh's vision of a new World Order.
Within this context, receptivity manifests itself in a willingness to participate in the process of community building set in motion by the core activities. In cluster after cluster where an intensive programme of growth is now in operation, the task before the friends this coming year is to teach within one or more receptive populations, employing a direct method in their exposition of the fundamentals of their Faith, and find those souls longing to shed the lethargy imposed on them by society and work alongside one another in their neighbourhoods and villages to begin a process of collective transformation. If the friends persist in their efforts to learn the ways and methods of community building in small settings in this way, the long-cherished goal of universal participation in the affairs of the Faith will, we are certain, move by several orders of magnitude within grasp.
To meet this challenge, the believers and the institutions that serve them will have to strengthen the institute process in the cluster, increasing significantly within its borders the number of those capable of acting as tutors of study circles; for it should be recognized that the opportunity now open to the friends to foster a vibrant community life in neighbourhoods and villages, characterized by such a keen sense of purpose, was only made possible by crucial developments that occurred over the past decade in that aspect of Bahá'í culture which pertains to deepening.
When in December 1995 we called for the establishment of training institutes worldwide, the pattern most prevalent in the Bahá'í community for helping individual believers to deepen their knowledge of the Faith consisted principally of occasional courses and classes, of varying durations, addressing a variety of subjects. That pattern had satisfied well the needs of an emerging worldwide Bahá'í community, still relatively few in number and concerned chiefly with its geographic spread across the globe. We made clear at the time, however, that another approach to the study of the writings would have to take shape, one that would spur large numbers into the field of action, if the process of entry by troops was to accelerate appreciably. In this connection, we asked that training institutes assist ever-growing contingents of believers in serving the Cause through the provision of courses that would impart the knowledge, insights and skills required to carry out the many tasks associated with accelerated expansion and consolidation.
To read the writings of the Faith and to strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá'u'lláh's stupendous Revelation are obligations laid on every one of His followers. All are enjoined to delve into the ocean of His Revelation and to partake, in keeping with their capacities and inclinations, of the pearls of wisdom that lie therein. In this light, local deepening classes, winter and summer schools, and specially arranged gatherings in which individual believers knowledgeable in the writings were able to share with others insights into specific subjects emerged naturally as prominent features of Bahá'í life. Just as the habit of daily reading will remain an integral part of Bahá'í identity, so will these forms of study continue to hold a place in the collective life of the community. But understanding the implications of the Revelation, both in terms of individual growth and social progress, increases manifold when study and service are joined and carried out concurrently. There, in the field of service, knowledge is tested, questions arise out of practice, and new levels of understanding are achieved. In the system of distance education that has now been established in country after country—the principal elements of which include the study circle, the tutor and the curriculum of the Ruhi Institute—the worldwide Bahá'í community has acquired the capacity to enable thousands, nay millions, to study the writings in small groups with the explicit purpose of translating the Bahá'í teachings into reality, carrying the work of the Faith forward into its next stage: sustained large-scale expansion and consolidation.
Let no one fail to appreciate the possibilities thus created. Passivity is bred by the forces of society today. A desire to be entertained is nurtured from childhood, with increasing efficiency, cultivating generations willing to be led by whoever proves skilful at appealing to superficial emotions. Even in many educational systems students are treated as though they were receptacles designed to receive information. That the Bahá'í world has succeeded in developing a culture which promotes a way of thinking, studying, and acting, in which all consider themselves as treading a common path of service—supporting one another and advancing together, respectful of the knowledge that each one possesses at any given moment and avoiding the tendency to divide the believers into categories such as deepened and uninformed—is an accomplishment of enormous proportions. And therein lie the dynamics of an irrepressible movement.
What is imperative is that the quality of the educational process fostered at the level of the study circle rise markedly over the next year so that the potential of local populations to create such dynamics is realized. Much will fall on those who serve as tutors in this respect. Theirs will be the challenge to provide the environment that is envisioned in the institute courses, an environment conducive to the spiritual empowerment of individuals, who will come to see themselves as active agents of their own learning, as protagonists of a constant effort to apply knowledge to effect individual and collective transformation. Failing this, no matter how many study circles are formed in a cluster, the force necessary to propel change will not be generated.
If the work of the tutor is to reach higher and higher degrees of excellence, it must be remembered that primary responsibility for the development of human resources in a region or country rests with the training institute. While striving to increase the number of its participants, the institute as a structure—from the board, to the coordinators at different levels, to the tutors at the grassroots—must lay equal stress on the effectiveness of the system in its entirety, for, in the final analysis, sustained quantitative gains will be contingent on qualitative progress. At the level of the cluster, the coordinator must bring both practical experience and dynamism to his or her efforts to accompany those who serve as tutors. He or she should arrange periodic gatherings for them to reflect on their endeavours. Events organized to repeat the study of segments selected from the institute material may occasionally prove helpful, provided they do not inculcate a need for perpetual training. The capabilities of a tutor develop progressively as an individual enters the field of action and assists others in contributing to the aim of the present series of global Plans, through study of the sequence of courses and implementation of their practical component. And as men and women of various ages move along the sequence and complete their study of each course with the help of tutors, others must stand ready to accompany them in acts of service undertaken according to their strengths and interests—particularly the coordinators responsible for children's classes, for junior youth groups and for study circles, acts of service crucial to the perpetuation of the system itself. To ensure that the proper measure of vitality is pulsating through this system should continue to be the object of intense learning in every country over the course of the next twelve months.
Concern for the spiritual education of children has long been an element of the culture of the Bahá'í community, a concern that resulted in two, coexisting realities. One, emulating the achievements of the Bahá'ís of Iran, was characterized by the capacity to offer systematic classes, from grade to grade, to children from Bahá'í families, generally with the aim of imparting basic knowledge of the history and teachings of the Faith to rising generations. In most parts of the world, the number who benefited from such classes has been relatively small. The other reality emerged in areas where large-scale enrolments took place, both rural and urban. A more inclusive attitude dominated that experience. Yet while children from households of all kinds were at once eager and welcome to attend Bahá'í classes, various factors prevented lessons from being conducted with the required degree of regularity, year after year. How pleased we are to see this duality, a consequence of historical circumstances, begin to fall away as friends trained by institutes everywhere strive to offer classes, open to all, on a systematic basis.
Such promising beginnings have now to be vigorously pursued. In every cluster with an intensive programme of growth in operation, efforts need to be made to systematize further the provision of spiritual education to increasing numbers of children, from families of many backgrounds—a requisite of the community-building process gathering momentum in neighbourhoods and villages. This will be a demanding task, one that calls for patience and cooperation on the part of parents and institutions alike. The Ruhi Institute has already been requested to expedite plans to complete its courses for training children's class teachers at different levels including the corresponding lessons, starting with youngsters aged 5 or 6 and proceeding to those aged 10 or 11, in order to close the present gap between existing lessons and its textbooks for junior youth, such as Spirit of Faith and the forthcoming Power of the Holy Spirit, which provide a distinctly Bahá'í component to the programme for that age group. As these additional courses and lessons become available, institutes in every country will be able to prepare the teachers and the coordinators required to put in place, grade by grade, the core of a programme for the spiritual education of children, around which secondary elements can be organized. Meanwhile, institutes should do their best to provide teachers with suitable materials, from among others currently in existence, for use in their classes with children of various ages, as necessary.
The International Teaching Centre has earned our abiding gratitude for the vital impetus it lent to the efforts to secure the early attainment of the goal of the Five Year Plan. To see the degree of energy it brought to this worldwide enterprise, following so tenaciously the progress in every continent and collaborating so closely with the Continental Counsellors, was to catch a glimpse of the tremendous power inherent in the Administrative Order. As the Teaching Centre now turns its attention with equal vigour to questions related to the efficacy of activities at the cluster level, it will no doubt give special consideration to the implementation of Bahá'í children's classes. We are confident that its analysis of the experience gained in a few selected clusters this coming year, representative of diverse social realities, will shed light on practical issues which will make possible the establishment of regular classes, for children of every age, in neighbourhoods and villages.
The rapid spread of the programme for the spiritual empowerment of junior youth is yet another expression of cultural advance in the Bahá'í community. While global trends project an image of this age group as problematic, lost in the throes of tumultuous physical and emotional change, unresponsive and self-consumed, the Bahá'í community—in the language it employs and the approaches it adopts—is moving decidedly in the opposite direction, seeing in junior youth instead altruism, an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a better world. Account after account, in which junior youth in countries all over the planet give voice to their thoughts as participants in the programme, testifies to the validity of this vision. There is every indication that the programme engages their expanding consciousness in an exploration of reality that helps them to analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and to recognize the influence these forces exert on their thoughts and actions, sharpening their spiritual perception, enhancing their powers of expression and reinforcing moral structures that will serve them throughout their lives. At an age when burgeoning intellectual, spiritual and physical powers become accessible to them, they are being given the tools needed to combat the forces that would rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the common good.
That the major component of the programme explores themes from a Bahá'í perspective, but not in the mode of religious instruction, has opened the way for its extension to junior youth in a variety of settings and circumstances. In many such instances, then, those who implement the programme enter confidently into the area of social action, encountering a range of questions and possibilities, which are being followed and organized in a global process of learning by the Office of Social and Economic Development in the Holy Land. Already the accumulating body of knowledge and experience has given rise to the capacity in several clusters scattered across the globe to each sustain over one thousand junior youth in the programme. To help others advance swiftly in this direction, the Office is establishing a network of sites in all continents, with the assistance of a corps of believers, that can be used to provide training to coordinators from scores upon scores of clusters. These resource persons continue to support coordinators upon their return to their respective clusters, enabling them to create a spiritually charged environment in which the junior youth programme can take root.
Further knowledge is sure to accrue in this area of endeavour, although a pattern of action is already clear. Only the capacity of the Bahá'í community limits the extent of its response to the demand for the programme by schools and civic groups. Within the clusters that today are the focus of an intensive programme of growth, there is a wide array of circumstances, from those with a few sporadic junior youth groups to those maintaining a number sufficient to require the services of a dedicated coordinator, who could receive ongoing support from a site for the dissemination of learning. To ensure that this capacity increases across the entire spectrum of these clusters, we are calling for 32 learning sites, each serving some twenty clusters with full-time coordinators, to be in operation by the end of the current Plan. In all other such clusters, priority should be given to creating the capacity over the coming year to offer the programme, multiplying the number of groups systematically.
The developments we have mentioned thus far—the rise in capacity to teach the Faith directly and to enter into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import with people from every walk of life, the efflorescence of an approach to study of the writings that is wedded to action, the renewal of commitment to provide spiritual education to the young in neighbourhoods and villages on a regular basis, and the spread in influence of a programme that instils in junior youth the sense of a twofold moral purpose, to develop their inherent potentialities and to contribute to the transformation of society—are all reinforced, in no small measure, by yet another advance at the level of culture, the implications of which are far-reaching indeed. This evolution in collective consciousness is discernable in the growing frequency with which the word "accompany" appears in conversations among the friends, a word that is being endowed with new meaning as it is integrated into the common vocabulary of the Bahá'í community. It signals the significant strengthening of a culture in which learning is the mode of operation, a mode that fosters the informed participation of more and more people in a united effort to apply Bahá'u'lláh's teachings to the construction of a divine civilization, which the Guardian states is the primary mission of the Faith. Such an approach offers a striking contrast to the spiritually bankrupt and moribund ways of an old social order that so often seeks to harness human energy through domination, through greed, through guilt or through manipulation.
In relationships among the friends, then, this development in culture finds expression in the quality of their interactions. Learning as a mode of operation requires that all assume a posture of humility, a condition in which one becomes forgetful of self, placing complete trust in God, reliant on His all-sustaining power and confident in His unfailing assistance, knowing that He, and He alone, can change the gnat into an eagle, the drop into a boundless sea. And in such a state souls labour together ceaselessly, delighting not so much in their own accomplishments but in the progress and services of others. So it is that their thoughts are centred at all times on helping one another scale the heights of service to His Cause and soar in the heaven of His knowledge. This is what we see in the present pattern of activity unfolding across the globe, propagated by young and old, by veteran and newly enrolled, working side by side.
Not only does this advance in culture influence relations among individuals, but its effects can also be felt in the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith. As learning has come to distinguish the community's mode of operation, certain aspects of decision making related to expansion and consolidation have been assigned to the body of the believers, enabling planning and implementation to become more responsive to circumstances on the ground. Specifically, a space has been created, in the agency of the reflection meeting, for those engaged in activities at the cluster level to assemble from time to time in order to reach consensus on the current status of their situation, in light of experience and guidance from the institutions, and to determine their immediate steps forward. A similar space is opened by the institute, which makes provision for those serving as tutors, children's class teachers, and animators of junior youth groups in a cluster to meet severally and consult on their experience. Intimately connected to this grassroots consultative process are the agencies of the training institute and the Area Teaching Committee, together with the Auxiliary Board members, whose joint interactions provide another space in which decisions pertaining to growth are taken, in this case with a higher degree of formality. The workings of this cluster-level system, born of exigencies, point to an important characteristic of Bahá'í administration: Even as a living organism, it has coded within it the capacity to accommodate higher and higher degrees of complexity, in terms of structures and processes, relationships and activities, as it evolves under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice.
That the institutions of the Faith at all levels—from the local and the regional, to the national and the continental—are able to manage such growing complexity with greater and greater dexterity is both a sign and a necessity of their steady maturation. Evolving relationships among administrative structures have brought the Local Spiritual Assembly to the threshold of a new stage in the exercise of its responsibilities to diffuse the Word of God, to mobilize the energies of the believers, and to forge an environment that is spiritually edifying. On previous occasions we have explained that the maturity of a Spiritual Assembly cannot be assessed by the regularity of its meetings and the efficiency of its functioning alone. Rather its strength must be measured, to a large extent, by the vitality of the spiritual and social life of the community it serves—a growing community that welcomes the constructive contributions of both those who are formally enrolled and those who are not. It is gratifying to see that current approaches, methods and instruments are providing the means for Local Spiritual Assemblies, even those newly formed, to fulfil these responsibilities as they set about to ensure that the requirements of the Five Year Plan are adequately met in their localities. Indeed, the Assembly's proper involvement with the Plan becomes crucial to every attempt to embrace large numbers—itself a requisite for the manifestation of the full range of its powers and capacities.
The development that we are sure to witness in Local Spiritual Assemblies over the next several years is made possible by the growing strength of National Spiritual Assemblies, whose ability to think and act strategically has risen perceptibly, especially as they have learned to analyse the community-building process at the grassroots with increasing acuity and effectiveness and to inject into it, as needed, assistance, resources, encouragement, and loving guidance. In countries where conditions demand it, they have devolved a number of their responsibilities in this respect to Regional Councils, decentralizing certain administrative functions, enhancing institutional capacity in areas under their jurisdiction, and fostering more sophisticated sets of interactions. It is no exaggeration to say that the full engagement of National Assemblies was instrumental in creating the final thrust required to attain the goal of the current Plan, and we expect to see further developments in this direction as, in concert with the Counsellors, they exert in the course of the critical, fleeting months ahead a supreme effort to ready their communities to embark on the next five-year enterprise.
Without question, the evolution of the institution of the Counsellors constitutes one of the most significant advances in the Bahá'í Administrative Order during the past decade. That institution had already made extraordinary leaps in its development when, in January 2001, the Counsellors and the Auxiliary Board members gathered in the Holy Land for the conference marking the occupation by the International Teaching Centre of its permanent seat on Mount Carmel. There is no doubt that the energies released by that event have propelled the institution rapidly forward. The degree of influence the Counsellors and their auxiliaries have exerted on the progress of the Plan demonstrates that they have assumed their natural place in the forefront of the teaching field. We are confident that the coming year will bind the institutions of the Administrative Order further together in collaboration, as all strive to reinforce, each in accordance with its evolving functions and responsibilities, the mode of learning that has become a prominent feature of the community's functioning—this, most urgently in those clusters experiencing intensive programmes of growth.
Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation is vast. It calls for profound change not only at the level of the individual but also in the structure of society. "Is not the object of every Revelation", He Himself proclaims, "to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions?" The work advancing in every corner of the globe today represents the latest stage of the ongoing Bahá'í endeavour to create the nucleus of the glorious civilization enshrined in His teachings, the building of which is an enterprise of infinite complexity and scale, one that will demand centuries of exertion by humanity to bring to fruition. There are no shortcuts, no formulas. Only as effort is made to draw on insights from His Revelation, to tap into the accumulating knowledge of the human race, to apply His teachings intelligently to the life of humanity, and to consult on the questions that arise will the necessary learning occur and capacity be developed.
In this long-term process of capacity building, the Bahá'í community has devoted nearly a decade and a half to systematizing its experience in the teaching field, learning to open certain activities to more and more people and to sustain its expansion and consolidation. All are welcome to enter the community's warm embrace and receive sustenance from Bahá'u'lláh's life-giving message. No greater joy is there, to be sure, than for a soul, yearning for the Truth, to find shelter in the stronghold of the Cause and draw strength from the unifying power of the Covenant. Yet every human being and every group of individuals, irrespective of whether they are counted among His followers, can take inspiration from His teachings, benefiting from whatever gems of wisdom and knowledge will aid them in addressing the challenges they face. Indeed, the civilization that beckons humanity will not be attained through the efforts of the Bahá'í community alone. Numerous groups and organizations, animated by the spirit of world solidarity that is an indirect manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh's conception of the principle of the oneness of humankind, will contribute to the civilization destined to emerge out of the welter and chaos of present-day society. It should be clear to everyone that the capacity created in the Bahá'í community over successive global Plans renders it increasingly able to lend assistance in the manifold and diverse dimensions of civilization building, opening to it new frontiers of learning.
In our Riḍván 2008 message we indicated that, as the friends continued to labour at the level of the cluster, they would find themselves drawn further and further into the life of society and would be challenged to extend the process of systematic learning in which they are engaged to encompass a widening range of human endeavours. A rich tapestry of community life begins to emerge in every cluster as acts of communal worship, interspersed with discussions undertaken in the intimate setting of the home, are woven together with activities that provide spiritual education to all members of the population—adults, youth and children. Social consciousness is heightened naturally as, for example, lively conversations proliferate among parents regarding the aspirations of their children and service projects spring up at the initiative of junior youth. Once human resources in a cluster are in sufficient abundance, and the pattern of growth firmly established, the community's engagement with society can, and indeed must, increase. At this crucial point in the unfoldment of the Plan, when so many clusters are nearing such a stage, it seems appropriate that the friends everywhere would reflect on the nature of the contributions which their growing, vibrant communities will make to the material and spiritual progress of society. In this respect, it will prove fruitful to think in terms of two interconnected, mutually reinforcing areas of activity: involvement in social action and participation in the prevalent discourses of society.
Over the decades, the Bahá'í community has gained much experience in these two areas of endeavour. There are, of course, a great many Bahá'ís who are engaged as individuals in social action and public discourse through their occupations. A number of non-governmental organizations, inspired by the teachings of the Faith and operating at the regional and national levels, are working in the field of social and economic development for the betterment of their people. Agencies of National Spiritual Assemblies are contributing through various avenues to the promotion of ideas conducive to public welfare. At the international level, agencies such as the United Nations Office of the Bahá'í International Community are performing a similar function. To the extent necessary and desirable, the friends working at the grassroots of the community will draw on this experience and capacity as they strive to address the concerns of the society around them.
Most appropriately conceived in terms of a spectrum, social action can range from fairly informal efforts of limited duration undertaken by individuals or small groups of friends to programmes of social and economic development with a high level of complexity and sophistication implemented by Bahá'í-inspired organizations. Irrespective of its scope and scale, all social action seeks to apply the teachings and principles of the Faith to improve some aspect of the social or economic life of a population, however modestly. Such endeavours are distinguished, then, by their stated purpose to promote the material well-being of the population, in addition to its spiritual welfare. That the world civilization now on humanity's horizon must achieve a dynamic coherence between the material and spiritual requirements of life is central to the Bahá'í teachings. Clearly this ideal has profound implications for the nature of any social action pursued by Bahá'ís, whatever its scope and range of influence. Though conditions will vary from country to country, and perhaps from cluster to cluster, eliciting from the friends a variety of endeavours, there are certain fundamental concepts that all should bear in mind. One is the centrality of knowledge to social existence. The perpetuation of ignorance is a most grievous form of oppression; it reinforces the many walls of prejudice that stand as barriers to the realization of the oneness of humankind, at once the goal and operating principle of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation. Access to knowledge is the right of every human being, and participation in its generation, application and diffusion a responsibility that all must shoulder in the great enterprise of building a prosperous world civilization—each individual according to his or her talents and abilities. Justice demands universal participation. Thus, while social action may involve the provision of goods and services in some form, its primary concern must be to build capacity within a given population to participate in creating a better world. Social change is not a project that one group of people carries out for the benefit of another. The scope and complexity of social action must be commensurate with the human resources available in a village or neighbourhood to carry it forward. Efforts best begin, then, on a modest scale and grow organically as capacity within the population develops. Capacity rises to new levels, of course, as the protagonists of social change learn to apply with increasing effectiveness elements of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, together with the contents and methods of science, to their social reality. This reality they must strive to read in a manner consistent with His teachings—seeing in their fellow human beings gems of inestimable value and recognizing the effects of the dual process of integration and disintegration on both hearts and minds, as well as on social structures.
Effective social action serves to enrich participation in the discourses of society, just as the insights gained from engaging in certain discourses can help to clarify the concepts that shape social action. At the level of the cluster, involvement in public discourse can range from an act as simple as introducing Bahá'í ideas into everyday conversation to more formal activities such as the preparation of articles and attendance at gatherings, dedicated to themes of social concern—climate change and the environment, governance and human rights, to mention a few. It entails, as well, meaningful interactions with civic groups and local organizations in villages and neighbourhoods.
In this connection, we feel compelled to raise a warning: It will be important for all to recognize that the value of engaging in social action and public discourse is not to be judged by the ability to bring enrolments. Though endeavours in these two areas of activity may well effect an increase in the size of the Bahá'í community, they are not undertaken for this purpose. Sincerity in this respect is an imperative. Moreover, care should be exercised to avoid overstating the Bahá'í experience or drawing undue attention to fledgling efforts, such as the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme, which are best left to mature at their own pace. The watchword in all cases is humility. While conveying enthusiasm about their beliefs, the friends should guard against projecting an air of triumphalism, hardly appropriate among themselves, much less in other circumstances.
In describing for you these new opportunities now opening at the level of the cluster, we are not asking you to alter in any way your current course. Nor should it be imagined that such opportunities represent an alternative arena of service, competing with the expansion and consolidation work for the community's limited resources and energies. Over the coming year, the institute process and the pattern of activity that it engenders should continue to be strengthened, and teaching should remain uppermost in the mind of every believer. Further involvement in the life of society should not be sought prematurely. It will proceed naturally as the friends in every cluster persevere in applying the provisions of the Plan through a process of action, reflection, consultation and study, and learn as a result. Involvement in the life of society will flourish as the capacity of the community to promote its own growth and to maintain its vitality is gradually raised. It will achieve coherence with efforts to expand and consolidate the community to the extent that it draws on elements of the conceptual framework which governs the current series of global Plans. And it will contribute to the movement of populations towards Bahá'u'lláh's vision of a prosperous and peaceful world civilization to the degree that it employs these elements creatively in new areas of learning.
Dear Friends: How often did the Beloved Master express the hope that the hearts of the believers would overflow with love for one another, that they would abide no lines of separation but would regard all of humanity even as one family. "See ye no strangers," is His exhortation; "rather see all men as friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness." All of the developments examined in the preceding pages are, at the most profound level, but an expression of universal love achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit. For is it not love for God that burns away all veils of estrangement and division and binds hearts together in perfect unity? Is it not His love that spurs you on in the field of service and enables you to see in every soul the capacity to know Him and to worship Him? Are you not galvanized by the knowledge that His Manifestation gladly endured a life of suffering out of His love for humanity? Look within your own ranks, at your dear Bahá'í brothers and sisters in Iran. Do they not exemplify fortitude born of the love of God and the desire to serve Him? Does not their capacity to transcend the cruelest and most bitter persecution bespeak the capacity of millions upon millions of oppressed people of the world to arise and take a decisive part in building the Kingdom of God on earth? Undeterred by divisive social constructs, press on and bring Bahá'u'lláh's message to waiting souls in every urban neighbourhood, in every rural hamlet, in every corner of the globe, drawing them to His community, the community of the Greatest Name. Never do you leave our thoughts and prayers, and we will continue to implore the Almighty to reinforce you with His wondrous grace.
[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The monastery Stanjevici is located above the municipality of Budva. This monastery was a spiritual and political center of bishop Vasilije Petrovic. The beginnings of this monastery are bound to despot Stefan Lazarevic.
Duke despot Djuradj Crnojevic has raised in the place of the present monastery a castle on the hill Djurdjevac,, a military fortification with the church of Sveti Georgije (St. George). After the invasion on Cetinje in 1714 bishop Danilo went to Stanjevici (at that time Venetian territory). After his comeback from Russia from the means he got there he decided to build a church of Sveta Trojica, and the former castle of Crnojevici he renewed and turned into the monastery sleeping quarters.
The monastery was built at the end of XVII century. Bishop Petar I Petroic founded as school in it for education of monks and priests. Some repairs and additional building were done by metropolitan Sava Petrovic who opened there a priest school which Sveti Petar Cetinjski attended.
The first written Canon about Montenegro and the Hills (after the famous Dusan's Canon) was written and out in effect right here.


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Kinnara flavipes är en insektsart som först beskrevs av Bierman 1907.  Kinnara flavipes ingår i släktet Kinnara och familjen Kinnaridae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Halvvingar
flavipes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fair Havens Independent Baptist Church would like to invite you to our Food Truck Festival! Come and enjoy five of the most recommended food trucks in town! There will be plenty of space in the church gym to relax as you enjoy some great food.
The church is providing inflatables for the children to enjoy at no cost.
Please register for the iPad giveaway in addition to other prizes.
Admission to the festival is free. The only thing you need to bring is as much money as you want to spend at each truck and bring your friends.
Parking is limited, so feel free to carpool. We will open at 11 AM and it will be first come first serve for parking spots. We look forward to having you for some fun and great food!
Look for the registration table when you arrive!
Note: Winners will be drawn at random after the event and will be contacted via email.


I'm planning to buy a Millennium desktop in the next month or two, and am currently wondering about the cryogenic cooling options. Is stage I cryo enough to keep the i9900k cpu cool? I've heard it gets really hot, and want to make I keep things under control. I'd be upgrading to a Genesis with stage II or III, if needed.


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Primary voting privacy issue on Simon's radar
Minnesota's absentee voting period began Friday, and it's the first time the state has been in a binding primary since 1956. Secretary of State Steve Simon's Press Secretary, Risikat Adesaogun, says it'll be different experience for voters this year. In previous caucuses, the political parties would get information on who participated, and in this primary,…
Sanford Bemidji Lab receives accreditation
Sanford Bemidji's main clinic lab and pathology department recently received national recognition from the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists. According to a release, the CAP inspection process is considered the "gold standard" for clinical laboratories. The Bemidji Lab's staff were recognized for excellence and commitment to safeguarding patient care and achieving the…
Park Rapids American Legion fishing derby cancelled
Minnesota News, Outdoors
The American Legion Fishing Derby, scheduled for next weekend in Park Rapids, has been cancelled. According to a release, early snow and a lot of it created poor ice conditions on Fish Hook Lake. With the warmup in the forecast, organizers say they were concerned about safety. Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes reportedly commended the…
Frazee man seriously injured, two dogs lost in fire
A 24-year-old man is being treated for severe burns and two dogs were lost after a house fire in Frazee. According to a release, the fire was reported last night after 8 p.m., and the house is considered a total loss. The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the blaze. The 24-year-old…
Village of Hope fundraiser a success
The Village of Hope, after losing a grant, was facing the closure of the only family-based homeless shelter in Bemidji, but with help from the United Way of the Bemidji Area, was able to raise enough money to stay in operation. "I decided to reach out to the United Way to share what had happened…
Beltrami County Board to meet today
The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners will hold their regular meeting at 5 this evening, and while nothing too controversial is on the regular agenda, citizens may address the board on any item not on the agenda. A federal judge blocked the Executive Order from the Trump Administration that gave local governments and states the…
Bemidji Blotter 1/17-1/20
The following is a summary of incidents the Bemidji Police Department and Beltrami County Sheriff's Office responded to from Friday, Jan. 17 to Monday, Jan. 20. BEMIDJI POLICE DEPARTMENT MONDAY, JAN. 20 (MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY) Fire, 11:36 p.m. Caller reported a commercial fire alarm on the 1000 block of Paul Bunyan Dr. S….


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'Pathetic little bedwetter' Boris Johnson – what the industry was tweeting about second lockdown
By Nikkie Thatcher
02-Nov-2020 - Last updated on 02-Nov-2020 at 13:58 GMT
Social post: industry leaders have taken to Twitter to show their thoughts on the national lockdown
Related tags: Government, lockdown, Boris johnson
Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement of a second national lockdown, set to take place this week, operators have taken to social media to voice their frustration.
The new restrictions are coming into force from 00.01 Thursday 5 November, meaning pubs will have to shut their doors once again yet, education settings can remain open.
Oakman Inns executive chairman Peter Borg-Neal tweeted: "Do you know what Boris Johnson, you are a pathetic little bedwetter.
"Please never compare yourself to Churchill again. You are not fit to clean his shoes. Resign before we force you out."
Inception Group boss Charlie Gilkes urged people to comply with current restrictions while continuing to support the trade.
Hugely damaging
He tweeted: "Follow the rules, stay socially distanced but please put some money behind the bar in your local pub these next five days. They'll need it."
UKHospitality boss Kate Nicholls outlined how the enforced closures will impact the trade overall and firms individually.
She tweeted: "This is going to be hugely damaging for business and jobs and we need more than just a sincere sorry from the Prime Minister I'm afraid."
Meanwhile, Night-Time Industries Association responded to the announcement with concerns about the impact on the late-night sector.
CEO Michael Kill said: "The announcement from the Prime Minister will leave night-time economy businesses facing a 'financial Armageddon'. It is the most horrific of Halloweens."
"It's frightening to think that given the gravity of the situation, we are still being given limited communication, consultation or time to respond, or plan around these decisions.
"The entire night-time economy consisting of thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of workers are suffering.
"Their plight is being made even worse by the huge void in financial support for the sector.
"Many of our businesses have experienced extreme financial hardship, been presented with unmanageable operational measures and have in some cases been forced into complete closure since March."
Slow torture
He added: "We are extremely concerned for business owners, operators, freelancers, creatives and people working within this sector.
"The level of despair and financial pressure this Government has placed them under can only be described as slow torture.
"As a result we are seeing a substantial rise in people suffering from deteriorating mental health, with many simply unable to support themselves or their families."
"Without immediate and significant Government financial support and an exit strategy, it is not an exaggeration to say that this will be the final nail in the coffin for many night-time economy businesses.
"And even with support, many viable businesses will be lost. This moment will go down in history as the moment that the Government destroyed a globally significant sector through poor communication and mis-management."
Oakman Group launches £4.5m share issue to bankroll expansion
Prime Minister pledges cash for wet pubs
Lockdown 2.0 – what it means for pubs
Lockdown 2.0 'nightmare before Christmas'


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L.A. County Coroner's Van Caught on Camera Nearly Getting Into Wreck
posted by R.J. Johnson - @rickerthewriter - Jun 19, 2019
Shocking cell phone video of a Los Angeles County coroner's office supervisor driving a coroner's office van, showed the vehicle weaving in and out of traffic and nearly hitting oncoming vehicles, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday.
The cell phone video taken by another driver on the road, showed the van switching into oncoming lanes of traffic in an attempt to pass a tractor trailer. The move by the county coroner driver forced a truck to swerve onto the shoulder. The driver, identified as Julie Kellerman, was later arrested for driving under the influence, officials said. Video of Kellerman's arrest showed the driver struggling with the officer arresting her, who eventually needs to bring her to the ground before arresting her. A police report said Kellerman blew a 0.26 and a 0.25 - three times the legal limit. She was later charged with a DUI and obstructing a police officer.
The incident occurred on June 1, 2016 on the 14 Freeway in Kern County, but the video was only recently released as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the county after a body was accidentally cremated. The attorney suing the county alleges that Kellerman's arrest left the county short-handed, leading to the mistaken cremation.
"The snowball started when Julie Kellerman was arrested," said attorney Luis Carrillo, who is representing the family of Jorge Hernandez. "Because she wasn't around, they were short on staff. This is what happens when you're short on staff. Then the staff that remains doesn't have a good eye and is negligent and permits these mistakes to go forward."
Hernandez's body was suppose to go to the mortuary for a viewing, but instead, the family said his body was cremated before they could hold a viewing. The family is suing the county for negligence.


Tee off in the crazy world of Mini Golf Mayhem! Now you and up to 8 of your friends can play the kookiest, most fun-filled mini golf game created! Grab your club and putt your way through more than 50 unique holes spread over 5 zany courses! You'll enjoy gorgeous 3D graphics and an ultra-realistic physics engine that guarantees this to be the most original mini golf game around!


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VNPA
Virginia News Photographers Association
Downloadable Documents & Forms
Our Member Publications
The VNPA 2015 Contest Winning Singles
Posted on March 6, 2016 by vnpaphotogs
1st Place Environment/Nature: Hyunsoo Leo Kim, Virginian-Pilot–Bonneville Salt Flats. in front of the mountain on the horizon is where UtahÕs famed measured mile-site of world land-speed record runs where Gary Gabelich set the new record of 622.407 miles per hour with a rocket engine. Occasionally when the flat gets flooded with rain, the heaven meets the earth on this 30,000-acre land.
2nd Place Environment/Nature: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press– Horses in a field along in Newport News bear temperatures Wednesday morning cold enough to make their breath visible. Temps are expected to drop through out the week.
3rd Place Environment/Nature: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press–A large group of deer graze as a steady snow comes down on a field near Endview Plantation in Newport News. Deer populations near Newport News Park and the plantation have exploded because no hunting is allowed and a lack of natural predators.
HM Environment/Nature: Erica Yoon, Roanoke Times–The claws of a turkey stick out from Steve DavenportÕs sack after he shot it during a hunt on April 5, 2015. The 10th annual Gunnin' for Gobblers event, sponsored by the Bedford Outdoor Sportsman Association, sent 44 hunters into the fields across Bedford County. GunninÕ for Gobblers is held each year during spring turkey season to give physically disabled hunters the opportunity to spend a morning looking through a scope with the assistance of BOSA members. Davenport served as a guide.
HM Environment/Nature: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press–Lightning flashes over the James River as severe thunderstorms move through Hampton Roads Tuesday evening.
1st PLACE FEATURE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post–Paul and Sapphire at the home of the young father's best friend. "I'm gonna be the best daddy for this girl," he wrote on his Facebook page shortly after she was born. Only in the next months did he begin to understand what that would require.
2nd PLACE FEATURE: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press–Dolton McCurry in his Leonardo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hoodie plays in the snow in front of his home on in Newport News. This is the second unusually large snowstorm to hit the area this winter.
3rd PLACE FEATURE: Matt McClain, Washington Post–A young boy does a flip into a pit that was being used for garbage at a tent encampment for people displaced by the earthquake on Tuesday May 05, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
HM FEATURE: The' Pham, Virginian Pilot–Todd Rosenlieb reacts as his dancers Emma Raker, back, Courtney Coirin, center, and Janelle Spruill, right, going through the routines during the rehearsal of To Be Frank segment for the 10th Anniversary at Todd Rosenlieb Dance in Norfolk, Va., on Nov. 4, 2015. The dancers are preparing for the upcoming Nov. 13 and 14 show that celebrates the 10th anniversary of Todd Rosenlieb's professional dance company, the only professional dance company in the areas in Norfolk, Va. "Humor in Dance is the signature in my work," says Rosenlieb.
HM FEATURE: Bill Tiernan, Virginian Pilot–Norwood Thomas ,93, of Virginia Beach as he Skypes with Joyce Morris at her home in Australia Friday evening, November 6, 2015. During WWII she lived in England and was Joyce Durrant, the girlfriend of Thomas, a D-Day paratrooper with the Army's 101st Airborne Division. They lost contact after the war but reconnected in 2015. Thomas flew to Australia in February 2016 to visit Joyce, seeing her for the first time in 70 years.
HM FEATURE: Autumn Parry, News & Advance–Erin Alburger, 11, participates in a staring exercise as the students learn how to become clowns during Randolph's WildCat Theatre Conservatory at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va.
1st PLACE PORTRAIT: P. Kevin Morley, Times-Dispatch—A month after having a 2.5-lb. tumor removed, 6-year-old Jack Morley goes through chemotherapy at the Massey Cancer Center at VCU. His mid-December operation happened five days after the diagnosis of a Wilms tumor. The tumor is a kidney cancer that occurs more frequently in children. Jack lost one of his kidneys. Jack said that the chemotherapy is the worst part about cancer treatment. "I don't like chemo. It's just pretty much every time I go get this medicine that makes me feel nauseated and constipated," Jack said.
2nd PLACE PORTRAIT: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Gordon Corley, 57, sits outside his wife's biker apparel shop in Maplesville, AL. Corley explained the meaning to him of each of the three flags that flew behind him. "The American flag, that's our country, that's our heritage. It doesn't matter what color our skin is. We all come from America…Don't tread on me, that's the Marine Corps…Far as the rebel flag, that's just the south. That's just the heritage of the south."
3rd PLACE PORTRAIT: Daniel Min, Times-Dispatch—Muslims pray as they celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
HM PORTRAIT: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Cain Mariscal is a former gang-banger who now works as a homeless outreach worker, on October 5, 2015, in San Diego, CA.
HM PORTRAIT: Jay Diem, Delmarva Now—Irving Jarvis, a World War II U.S. Army veteran, will turn 90 on Saturday, July 4, 2015. Jarvis plans to celebrate with family and friends at his home in Eastville, Va.
1st PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—James Madison University r-senior Deane Cheatham (37) looses his helmet as he gets taken down by the Lehigh defense during their game at JMU's Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, September 12, 2015.
2nd PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Doug Graham, Loudon Now—Racing action at the Luray Caverns CX race held on the grounds of Luray Caverns in Virginia on September 12, 2015.
3rd PLACE SPORTS ACTION: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Youngsters hoop on a portable basketball goal brought through their West Baltimore neighborhood by the city's parks and recreation division on November 17, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland. The goals are regularly rotated around the city in an effort to divert kids from the negatives of the streets.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Alexa Welch Edlund, Times-Dispatch—Kickers' William Yomby and N.Y. Red Bulls II's Shawn McLaws head the ball during their game Saturday, May 30, 2015.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Dean Hoffmeyer Times-Dispatch—Keitaro Sawada of Japan rides west on Broad St. during the UCI Men's Junior Individual Time Trials on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015 in downtown Richmond, VaRichmond, Va.
HM SPORTS ACTION: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Norfolk's DeAndre Sangster manages to hold onto this first quarter pass for a first down as he is hit by Hampton's Chaka Diarrassouba Saturday September 26, 2015 in Norfolk.
1st PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Hampton University coach Connell Maynor argues a call during the third quarter against Norfolk State September 26, 2015 in Norfolk.
2nd PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Doug Graham, Loudon Now—Artist paints bicycle racers as they zoom past at the Air Force Association Cycling ClassicÕs Clarendon Cup. The pro race is part of USA Cycling's National Criterium Calendar, and has been the Washington DC region's premier Pro/Am race since 1998. The Clarendon Cup is known as one of the most difficult criterium races in the USA, due to technical demands of the course and the quality of the participants.
3rd PLACE SPORTS FEATURE: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—From left, Warhill's Jewel Walters, Nicole Mulligan, Alexis Pollard and Chloe Wilmoth celebrate after defeating Hidden Valley during Saturday's 3A state championship volleyball game at VCU's Siegel Center on November 21, 2015.
HN SPORTS FEATURE: The' Pham Virginian-Pilot—At the 10:33 mark in the second period, Norfolk Admirals' Gabriel Verpaelst (27) and Reading Royals' Derek Mathers started the fight during their game at the Scope in Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. From that moment on, more players get involved.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—Hofstra junior Caryn Bailey gets welcomed to home base by the rest of her team after she hit a home run during their CAA Championship game against James Madison University on Thursday, May 7.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Matt McClain, Washington Post—Adriano DeSorrento makes some practice pitches in between Potomac Wiffleball League games at Gravelly Point Park on Sunday June 07, 2015 in Arlington, VA.
HM SPORTS FEATURE: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—Chris Wharton stretches before participating in the Drag Race on Queens Way during Saturday's Hampton Block Party. Four teams representing different charities ran down Queens Way in heats.
1st PLACE PICTORIAL: Heather Rousseau, Roanoke Times—A flag is burned along with other retired flags during the William Byrd High School annual flag retirement ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The ceremony took place on the stadium field and people were welcome to bring flags for the JROTC to properly retire.
2nd PLACE PICTORIAL: Nikki Fox, Daily News Record—A bee flies in a field of sunflowers in Dayton, Va., Sept. 9, 2015.
3rd PLACE PICTORIAL: Bill Tiernan, Virginian-Pilot—A crow flies thru the fog shrouded Forest Lawn Cemetery Sunday morning, February 22, 2015. Last week's snow began to melt as temperatures rose to the low 50's Sunday afternoon.
HM PICTORIAL: Austin Bachand, Daily News Record—Demetri Masincup, 8, son of Shawnn Masincup, sits on the top of their car while visiting the Christmas light show at 6994 Tiltyard Drive in Dayton on Wednesday, December 16. The 35-minute long show had lights choreographed with music that played on the radio.
HM PICTORIAL: Todd Spencer, Virginian-PilotBlack and white image of a clear sky as the sun sets, lighting the moon and a jet making its way over Norfolk, Virginia.
HM PICTORIAL: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Dancers practice their moves during a Bachata Sensual dance workshop at The Salsa Room on January 10, 2015, in Arlington, VA.
HM PICTORIAL: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—Ledell Tenner, 59, on ladder, and Frank Murry, 54, both electricians with the city of Selma, change lights and their fixtures at the foot of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday civil rights march, on March 3, 2015, in Selma, AL.
1st PLACE SPOT NEWS: Heather Rousseau, Roanoke Times—Ashley Hill, 24, of Roanoke and John Joplin, 74, of Rocky Mount, make calls from their cars while waiting to be rescued from a Roanoke Fire-EMS swift water rescue team on Tuesday Sept. 29 on Bennington Street SE. Police and rescue personnel set up traffic barriers on hundreds of flooded or dangerous roads in Southwest Virginia on Tuesday, but that did not stop many people from going around them. "It was my own stupid fault,Ó said Joplin who thought he could make it to the convenience store, so he weaved around the orange traffic barricades.
2nd PLACE SPOT NEWS: Bob Martin, Freelance—The Fredericksburg (Va.) Police Department's Special Equipment Tactical Team (SETT) approach a room at the Relax Inn in Fredericksburg, Va. to end a five-hour standoff. A 53-year-old man was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital for a mental evaluation. (April 2, 2015)
3rd PLACE SPOT NEWS: Jonathon Gruenke, Daily Press—Ryan West, center, paddles a boat with other children through rising flood water in Poquoson Saturday afternoon October 3, 2015.
HM SPOT NEWS: Matt McClain, Washington Post—Earthquake survivor, Pemba Tamang, 15, is carried away after Fairfax County emergency personnel working with USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team assisted in the effort to save Tamang from the rubble on Thursday April 30, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A deadly earthquake in Nepal has killed thousands. Tamang was buried in the rubble for several days.
1st PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press—Newport News inmate Gregory Washington talks on the phone at the jail annex as he prepares for a GED graduation ceremony. Three inmates participated in the ceremony inside the jail.
2nd PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Hyunsoo Leo Kim, Virginian Pilot—"It's great to have her home." Even before the giant white ship with a big red cross on each side pulled into view, Lt. Col. Greg Hoffman stood out front on the rainy pier under an umbrella, wearing an elegant suit and holding a bouquet of pink flowers. He's a Marine with 26 years of service. His wife, Lt. Cmdr. Beth Hoffman, is a Navy nurse at Portsmouth Navy Medical Center and was selected for commander on this deployment. In the decade since they got married, they've both deployed so many times – including several combat tours – that they've been apart as much as they've been together, Hoffman said. "This one was tough," he said. Communications were difficult. Compared to the Navy's warships and aircraft carriers, the Comfort's communications are less sophisticated. There are no phones or video chatting. It doesn't get easier, said the seasoned combat officer, his eyes welling with tears.
3rd PLACE GENERAL NEWS: Daniel Min, Times-Dispatch—Shaqwanna Boisseau, facing, comforts her cousin, Kalesha Jones, 11, best friend of Amiya Moses, during a vigil. Amiya, the 12-year-old, was killed at her friend's apartment.
HM GENERAL NEWS: Todd Spencer, Pilot—LTJG William K. Reade exits the The Los Angeles-class attack submarine Boise after it returned to the Naval Station Norfolk from a seven-month deployment.
HN GENERAL NEWS: Daniel Lin, Daily News-Record—Bryan Kiracofe, of Briery Branch, casts his vote on election day with some help from his daughter Chloe, 6, at the Ottobine Elementary School voting location.
HM GENERAL NEWS: Bill Tiernan, Virginian-Pilot—Friends and family gathered at Camelot Park, a small neighborhood park in Chesapeake to remember their friend Stratton Mitchell,20, who was shot and killed early Saturday morning in the 2500 block of Atlantic Ave. at the oceanfront.
1st PLACE LIFESTYLE: Matt McClain, Washington Post—A man gathers up his belongings next to a photograph promoting a new luxury restaurant along 15th St. NW on Monday February 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.
2nd PLACE LIFESTYLE: Todd Spencer, Virginian-Pilot—Eleven-year-old Michaeyla Nadeau, who has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, reaches up from her wheelchair as simulated snow falls from the roof of the Children's Museum of Virginia during the Snow Wonders event outside the museum in Portsmouth, Virginia.
3rd PLACE LIFESTYLE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—John Johnson, 73, prepares to rest in his rented home of the Minnie B. Anderson Homes neighborhood, a dilapidated housing complex adjacent to the former Craig Air Force Base in Selma, AL. These units, mostly vacant and ransacked, were residences for Craig AFB personnel but were converted to low-income housing after the base closed in 1977. President Barack landed at the base next to the complex and drove past en route to deliver remarks in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
HM LIFESTYLE: Jahi Chikwendiu, Washington Post—As temperatures plunged to feel like almost zero degrees, a homeless man who wishes not to be named prepares his bed for the night outside a busy Union Station, on January 8, 2015, in Washington, DC. As the first serious cold for 2015 hit the district, the city activated its Cold Emergency Plan to protect homeless and at-risk residents who wished to accept the offer of warm shelter.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized by vnpaphotogs. Bookmark the permalink.


Are you fascinated about the way things work and love solving problems?
Do you want an amazing experience, a salary, and get to go to university as well?
This is an exciting opportunity to get into the world of work, earn money, and gain a degree in Broadcast Engineering. The degree is fully funded, including your accommodation whilst at the university.
You'll get to work at the heart of technology at the BBC and with their industry partners, all while studying for a degree in Broadcast Engineering.
You'll have a main BBC base, but you will spend periods away on study. Through a series of university taught modules and industrial experience we will prepare you as the new generation of Broadcast Engineers to help build and support the future business. You'll develop an excellent theoretical and practical understanding of operational and technical systems, as well as equipment and their use in the fast-moving broadcasting industry.
You will rotate through engineering teams responsible for installing, fixing and maintaining the studios and equipment, and will also do placements with other departments working on engineering projects.
They're not looking for work experience but throughout the application process, they'll be asking for evidence that shows your passion for technology. The minimum academic criteria is at least 112 UCAS points (300 if before 2017), including a Maths A level or equivalent qualification or closely related subject.
To be eligible for this scheme, you will also need to have the right to work in the UK.
25 days' annual leave and a range of flexible benefits.
For more detailed information, please visit the official website.


Much digital ink has been spilled over Apple's seeming foray into politics here and there. To that, I say rubbish. Every technology company has a voice; subdued perhaps, or loud and clear.
As an example, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was the company's voice, and he managed to keep his political views to himself. Current CEO Tim Cook is Apple's new voice; one that can be heard at times. Whatever the perspective, political discourse has taken a wrong turn and needs to get back on track. I like Apple and the Mac. So does Rush Limbaugh. But I don't see Cook's politics or a liberal attitude in my Apple products. But someone does.
Jim Lynch's blog is one that I read. I suspect he does not read my blog. But how we feel about the world and Apple permeates what we write. That's our voice.
It used to be that there were three things that you avoided talking about in social situations: money, religion, and politics.
That's what people said. I understand the sentiment but I do not remember such a time. Turn on cable TV, browse the web, pick up a newspaper or magazine, listen to talk radio, and what do you get?
Money, religion, politics. Not always in that order and definitely not in balance.
But now politics is everywhere, you can't get away from it… even in Apple Music.
OK, I'll buy that politics is outsized these days; partly because cable TV networks have 24 hours a day to fill and its much less expensive to buy talking heads. The country is divided possibly more by what it hears than what it believes.
I recently signed up for the free Apple Music trial offer, and at first I was having fun with the service. I was even seriously considering becoming a subscriber.
That's happened a few million times in the past year.
Suddenly, feminism became political, and Apple must be the deviant to blame. It couldn't be a nameless algorithm. It's another example of Apple executives or engineers or California pushing their worldview onto the world, amirite?
I've written about Apple pushing its politics on its customers before on the Eye On Apple blog, and here is yet another egregious example of it. There is absolutely no need for Apple to do this, but the company just can't help themselves. They simply must shove their politics in customer's faces whenever possible.
There are times when I'm grazing through cable TV and come across a television show that does not suit my tastes or match my worldview, but instead of cursing the cable TV company, or writing a nastygram to the show's producers, or writing about the nefarious deed on my blog, I do what every red, white, and true blue American know it all should do.
I change the channel. Move along. Nothing to see here.
I've terminated my free trial of Apple Music. I have zero interest in seeing any kind of political messages when I want to listen to music, and I'm certainly not going to pay a monthly subscription for that kind of service. If I wanted politics, I'd go to a political news site or something.
Therein lies one of the major problems regarding 21st century politics.
Here's a recent example. National Public Radio (NPR) took 20 minutes this week– Tuesday was Independence Day– and tweeted out the Declaration of Independence. Line by line.
The twittersphere went positively crazy with thousands of responses against NPR and against the words from the Declaration of Independence.
Not much has changed in 241 years.
Politics, religion, and money are everywhere, and, like power, have always been around. That's not the problem. How we deal with them and each other. That's the problem. Should Apple be cursed because one of its earlier logos was a rainbow design? Should religionists curse Apple because there is a bite in the logo and that defames Christian religion (it wasn't an Apple that Eve bit and gave to Adam)?
Not much has changed with American humanity in 241 years because not much has changed with humanity.
Regardless of the political stances that Apple, Inc. takes I plan to buy a new iPhone this year and I will enjoy the crap out of it, and just not buy or use those apps that might offend me and my worldview.
Do Faster Macs Really Matter?
Yeah, Jim Lynch, probably doesn't like it when iTunes Store pushes LGBTQ movies/TV shows in June, Women's movies/TV shows in March or Black movies/music/ TV shows in February. And it's so much easier, it seems to bemoan any and everything than to move on and find something one likes. Everything ain't for everybody–no way I'm eating lima beans, but what is gained by me disparaging the beans or those who like them? Someone can have "my share", I'll have something else.
Politics has always been around but it's more intense these days because it emanates from so many sources that some people get irritated at anything that smacks political, even if it's not– the two cases Ms. MacKenzie points out are good examples.
Rather than getting all hot and bothered at a perceived political slant (and not aimed at orientals; it's just a word), just move along and let your actions speak for themselves. Eventually people will figure out what you're worth.


Copyright Shapla Neer All Rights Reserved.
"Shapla Neer=Citizen's Committee in Japan for Overseas Support" is a Japanese non-governmental organization established in 1972. With the aim of realizing a society that enables each person to develop to that person's greatest potential, it has been engaged in addressing various issues facing society today, including disparities between developed and developing countries. In particular, it has been working in Japan and overseas to address challenges experienced by people living in poverty in South Asia.
Shapla Neer was established 45 years ago, and over the years it has accumulated a wealth of experience and lessons learned that would be valuable to share worldwide. Here, we introduce the organization to JFS readers, with text we have adapted with Shapla Neer's permission from the history page on their website.
In the spring of 1972, about 50 Japanese youths went to Bangladesh, a country that had just gained independence the year before. The group was named as "Bangladesh Agriculture Reconstruction Volunteers."
These volunteers witnessed first-hand many contradictions of development aid. They found that those really benefiting from "aid" were already rich, while the bulk of the population, most of whom were poor, received nothing. At the same time, many of the Japanese youth became strongly attracted to the beautiful nature and humanity of the people of Bangladesh.
Returning to Japan after the four months of valuable experience, some of them asked themselves a serious question: "What is the best way to support the people in Bangladesh?"
As a result, an organization was founded to continue the work in Bangladesh. Some of the youth formed "the Help Bangladesh Committee" (HBC), a predecessor to what is now Shapla Neer. Funds for HBC came from donations collected on the streets of Shinjuku.
The first thing HBC did was to go into the villages of Bangladesh and distribute notebooks and pencils to the children. As a result of the war of independence and natural disasters such as drought and cyclones, Bangladesh was in a desperate condition, and relief supplies were coming in from all over the world.
However, the supplies disappeared before arriving in the villages where people were in need. So when HBC members arrived, villagers were delighted, saying "This is the first time for the village to receive relief supplies."
However, when we visited the village market, many of the notebooks and pencils that had been distributed the previous day were sold the next day. This was our first failure. We had assumed that if we gave children notebooks and pencils, they would be able to go to school the next day.
In Bangladesh, soon after the independence, some people died from hunger. We later came to realize that the children probably sold the notebooks and pencils so that they could pay for food, and stave off hunger. We made the same mistake as governments, although we had criticized government aid as useless.
After much reflection, we sent our staff members from Japan and they lived in a local village in Bangladesh. We thought that if we had eaten what the poor ate, had spoken in the same language, and had lived with them, we would have been able to find out what they truly needed.
However, in 1977, the local office was attacked by a group of robbers, gravely injuring our Japanese staff there, and we had to once again seriously consider what we had done. Had our aid been self-centered? Did we fail to fully understand local culture and customs? Did our actions cause new friction?
In 1980s, we started supporting the rural communities and youths to initiate their own activities to boost the development of their own villages by themselves.
In 1987, we changed to a direct approach by having the village groups work under Shapla Neer. While this change brought us smooth management of the organization and local activities, our local staff gradually adopted the "employee" attitude, which meant less of an attitude of "serving" the community. We experienced an outbreak of workers' strikes in 1997 and many other complications.
As a Japanese NGO, what can we do in South Asia?
From 1999 to 2005, we split our original village office into three independent local NGOs so that local staff and resident Japanese staff could be more actively involved in regional issues.
After asking ourselves what we should do as a Japanese NGO, the answer was clear; we should focus on those neglected people in Bangladesh's society as a result of urbanization and economic development. This perspective led us to start supporting street children in Dhaka in 2000.
At present, we support activities for those left behind by development, such as child workers, youths living in disaster areas or slums, the elderly, and the disabled. We have just two staff members in Bangladesh and one in Nepal, so it is the local people who play the biggest role in improving their own lives by working with NGOs based in Bangladesh or Nepal. Our basic style is to support people to "improve their own lives for themselves." We are careful in our activities to ensure that the local people would not rely on us too much.
We think it is important not only to directly support those left behind, but also to support communities so that they can help the people.
At the local level, we also started offering cooperation to enhance the capacity of our partner organizations to engage in advocacy in society through the media and to collaborate with the governments. We have been witnessing the effects. In Bangladesh, most of the food for school lunches in drop-in centers for street children is provided by shop owners in the communities, and local people have become instructors in cooking schools at support centers for young women employed as domestic workers.
Our original mission was to improve the lives of those living in rural areas of Bangladesh. As we locally conducted projects, however, we came to feel that these problems were not just someone else's problems, but ours too.
Now we can see Japan through Bangladesh. How are the rural communities and issues of street children related with issues in Japan? We would like to think deeply from this perspective. We are finding that "offering cooperation" may not be enough. As a basis for our activities, we would rather choose "coexistence" than merely offering assistance. For these activities we have been recognized with the following awards: Yoshikawa Eiji Cultural Award, Tokyo Bar Association Human Rights Award, Foreign Minister's Special Commendation, Mainichi International Award, Asahi Social Welfare Award, and Okinawa Peace Prize. Furthermore, our activities were introduced in some textbooks for junior high and senior high school students.
Shapla Neer operates on five main principles: Do not simply provide aid. Encourage people to find solutions by themselves. Think things out together. Learn from the real frontlines. And leave no one behind.
In its activities, the organization defines poverty as a condition in which people are hindered from exercising their full capabilities. Shapla Neer aims to realize a society that has no poverty, by creating the space for transformation and relationship. In their mid-term vision for 2016 to 2020, they have established three priorities: (1) protect children's rights, (2) develop disaster-resilient areas, and (3) create a society in which all can coexist through fair trade.
We at JFS look forward to seeing the further development of Shapla Neer as it continues to evolve and make good use of its extensive experience.