UNIBEN GIST: Entertainment quiz tagged "YOU KNOW I KNOW"
Entertainment quiz tagged "YOU KNOW I KNOW"
Do you know Entertainment? Are you current? Come and show how much you know Nigerian Entertainment in the an Entertainment quiz tagged "YOU KNOW I KNOW"
2nd position-N25,000 +Smart phone 3rd position-N10,000 +Smart phone 4th position-N5,000 +Smart phone and other consolation prizes.


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Journal: The United States' Classic Car Community Urgently Needs Your Help
The United States' Classic Car Community Urgently Needs Your Help
By Petrolicious Productions
Though we've shared a few pieces of modern motorsport and the odd new car review on Petrolicious, we're not about to expand our scope so far away from the classics that we enter the political sphere. We are here today to talk about some specific pieces of proposed legislature though, only because it seems like it will have direct impacts on our community of car lovers, and those in the United States specifically. As you're likely aware, there has been much talk about tariffs as of late between the US and others, but we're here to point out the proposed 25% tax on imported cars, trucks, and all the assorted parts required to restore, maintain, or collect.
The US Department of Commerce is asking for the peoples' opinion on the matter no later than June 22nd (a few days from now), and you can find out how to voice your opinion on the government site linked here.
This could have disastrous effects on the classic car community (nothing says that this is exclusively related to new cars, so if you've been importing pricey stuff from Germany to fix your old Benz for instance, then it might get a 25% increase on top of the costs you've been seeing), and it's already quite expensive to import cars and parts from outside our borders. Please, if you have a stake in this game, get in touch with the people who might be able to make a difference. We're not asking if you're red or blue or neither one, we just want to see our classic community continue to flourish. Again, to get in contact with the right people, please visit this site.
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Jayrdee
So … who wants to go in with me and become the Pablo Escobar(s) of used parts?
Don t be weak. Trust in trump. The Germans will give in. And it's not even tariffs because the European s don't buy any American cars, while we buy cars from all over the world.
726PAV
Could the impact be a reduction in the price of Classics that require foreign parts on the US market?
Bit of a win for the non-US collectors?
A Dias
The US is simply responding to high existing tariffs on imported US products by other countries. Why should US products be penalized and imports to the US not?
Enginerrrrrrrrr
Reply to A Dias
We already have a 2.5% tariff on foreign cars and a 25% tariff on vans and trucks. The EU has a 10% tariff on our vehicles. Seems pretty even to me, why would we add a 25% tariff on everything coming in? That's substantially higher than everything else and at this point it's not retaliatory, it's nationalistic B.S.
Although I'm a car enthusiast, I'm sorry I can't sympathize. The US has currently bigger problems to solve than a potential rise in the cost of maintaining an old car. I'm talking about human rights here. There are more important fights to fight at the moment.
Blah blah blah, outrage, outrage, outrage, overused trope, oversimplification, hyperbolic statement, wash, wax on, wax off…
Franky Kafka, thanks for verbosely expressed in a few words. "I don't like the POTUS". lots of people don't, and lots of people don't care.
In an age where sports, movies, and most other things are politicized, it's WONDERFUL that the classic car community is still largely clean from that partisan nonsense. Sure this article is about trade policy, but lets avoid the bias B.S..
If we wanted to get pelted with narcissistic "I'm right, you're dumb" political or social commentary we'd turn on ESPN.
Now it's time to move on to more important car-related matters.
What model car is being unloaded from that ingenious freight train?!?
Reply to carlo rossi
Mate I'm not even from the US but how is this partisan? It's not at all. But hey, I'm actually supportive of this policy because if you Yanks are crowded out of the classic car market, it means I can import stuff to my own free country for much less 😀
Jack B
Carlo,
Those are Chevrolet Vegas from around 1971.
Jon442
Chevy Vega.
@Andrew Chen, the above was in response to this user post:
@Franz Obermeier Kafka
"Yet one more step in the long line of trying to make America xenophobic and stupid , ignoring the consequences to the masses while appealing to an ignorant insular base by the most xenophobic hateful POTUS in US history . Welcome to the epitome of Kafkaesque And yet ; For me another moment of schadenfreude ."
Jack B and Jon442, thanks for the car confirmation, that was my first thought, but the little vent below the window had me wondering if there was some mid/rear engined old coupe I didn't know about. Never actually have seen a Vega in the Northeast, salt killed em all off decades ago.
Dennis White
Could it be that I may actually agree with a part of something espoused by the Guitar Kafka? God forbid, but as a California Euro car collector, already being hammered by his own party's "tax reform", I have to say this tariff/tax is over the top. I've commented.
Sam N
Reply to Dennis White
Agree with GS?! Help! 😂
You just couldn't resist projecting your disdain for those who might disagree with your point of view, could you? You could have made a solid, rational case against the tariff, but you had to personalize it.
It's really sad that Petrolicious has allowed partisan politics to infect its domain.
DAVID VANLUE
I submitted a comment.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
module OkComputer
  VERSION = "1.4.0"
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Rediff.com » News » MHA asks Rahul to prove he is Indian in 15 days
MHA asks Rahul to prove he is Indian in 15 days
Last updated on: April 30, 2019 18:11 IST
In a move that comes in the middle of the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre issued a notice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi seeking the "factual position" of his citizenship within a fortnight following a complaint by a Bharatiya Janata Party MP, setting off a political row.
The notice by the Union home ministry on Monday on the complaint from Subramanian Swamy alleging that Rahul Gandhi was a British national was dismissed as "rubbish" by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while her party said the entire world knows the Congress chief is an Indian citizen by birth.
Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party of manufacturing "one malicious and fallacious agenda" everyday.
The BJP on its part posed a question asking which is real -- "Rahul Gandhi London wale or Lutyens wale".
A home ministry official said Swamy had first sent a complaint on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship issue in September 2017 and wrote a reminder recently.
As a row erupted, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the notice is a normal process and "not a big development" and that the timing of the communication is not relevant.
Describing Rahul Gandhi as a "man of mysteries", BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked which is real --"Rahul Gandhi London wale or Lutyens wale".
WATCH: BJP's Sambit Patra's presser over MHA notice to Congress president
Attacking the Congress chief, Patra told reporters in Delhi that the entire Rahul Gandhi's citizenship saga is a story of three Cs -- citizenship, confusion and clarification.
Asked by newsmen in Amethi for her comments on the ministry notice, Priyanka Gandhi said, "I have never heard such rubbish. All know Rahul Gandhi was born, raised here."
"The entire Hindustan knows that Rahul Gandhi is a Hindustani... he was born before them... he was brought up before them... he grew up before them... What rubbish is this," she said.
When asked about the intention behind the notice, she remarked, "I have not heard anything like this, it seems it is out of fear that they(BJP) might be losing."
Citing Swamy's letter, the home ministry said it has been brought out that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 with Rahul Gandhi as one of its directors.
The home ministry communication said Swamy's letter also mentioned that in the British company's annual returns filed on October 10, 2005, and October 31, 2006, Rahul Gandhi's date of birth has been given as June 19, 1970, and he had declared his nationality as British.
"Further, in the dissolution application dated February 17, 2009, of the above referred company, your nationality has been mentioned as British.
"You are requested to intimate the factual position in the matter to this ministry within a fortnight of the receipt of this communication," the notice to Rahul Gandhi said.
In November 2015, the Supreme Court had dismissed a public interest litigation seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the citizenship of Rahul Gandhi while noting that PIL pleas were not meant to target one individual or organisation but was a medium to resolve human suffering through good governance.
A bench of then Chief Justice of India H L Dattu and justice Amitava Roy rubbished the plea questioning the source and authenticity of the documents attached to a petition.
Rajnath Singh told reporters in Lucknow that if any MP writes a letter to any ministry, then necessary proceedings are undertaken by the ministry. "It is not a big development, it is a normal process," he said.
Asked specifically if the timing of the letter raising question on the citizenship of the country's main opposition leader was relevant as it comes in the election season, Singh replied, "No, no. This question was raised in Parliament also. A Member of Parliament (Dr Subramanian Swamy) has written to the ministry several times as well, following which the action has been taken."
WATCH: Rajnath Singh on MHA notice to Rahul Gandhi
In 2016, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had forwarded to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, headed by veteran BJP leader L K Advani, Swamy's "complaint of ethical misconduct" against Rahul Gandhi that he had accessed documents in which the Congress leader had called himself "British".
In his reply to the ethics committee on the allegations of British citizenship, Rahul Gandhi had said he had never "sought or acquired British citizenship" and that his "identity is that of an Indian".
Rahul Gandhi also questioned the committee's decision to look into a "complaint that is not in order", claiming it was "an endeavour to malign" him.
The panel had issued a notice to him, seeking an explanation to whether he had once declared himself a British citizen on the legal papers of a company in the United Kingdom.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lost the plot. After four phases of elections, it is clear that Modi ji and the BJP are hurtling towards an imminent defeat at breakneck speed. Consequently, they seek to manufacture one malicious and fallacious agenda everyday. These are rehashed allegations of the year 2014-15. I had rejected them then also," Surjewala told reporters in Delhi.
"Modi government should be renamed as a desperate government manufacturing one allegation per day, but your fake allegation will not replace the truth".
The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections is underway of which four phases were completed on Monday.
Rahul Gandhi is seeking re-election from party bastion Amethi in Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls in the fifth phase of voting on May 6. He is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala where polling has been completed.
An objection on the citizenship issue was also raised by an independent candidate against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, but the returning officer after scrutiny declared his nomination papers as valid.
Related News: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy, Rahul Gandhi, MHA, Union Home Ministry, Backops Limited
Rahul Gandhi Quits
'Rahul will win by over 5 lakh votes'
'We don't doubt Rahul has a good heart'
News India | Latest News India | Bollywood News | Indian Cricket Score | India Business News


Your yacht is your floating hotel, and you get to choose your ports of call Our tailor-made yachting holidays allow you to craft a spectacular itinerary, with your choice of island destination.Whether sailing the Ionion Sea, with Corfu as your backdrop, or sailing around the magical Cycladic islands with Mykonos and Santorini at your doorstep, or to the islands of the Dodecanese, with Rhodes in the spotlight, this will be the experience of a lifetime.
Sailing Yachts offer a more relaxed and serene atmosphere, without any compromise in comfort and performance. All the brand-new models from the most known yacht manufacturers (Bavaria, Sun Odyssey, Oceanis, Jeanneau, etc.) are available.
Motor Yachts cruise to your destination in style and comfort. Motor yachts combine speed and luxury with a modern sophisticated design.
All of our craft are modern, recently built boats, operated to the highest standard with safety and comfort foremost. They are lovingly maintained and fully equipped. Sailing boats can accommodate from 6 to 13 persons, depending on model.Our selection of motor yachts can carry as few as you and your immediate family and up to more than 100 persons. In fact, our larger craft are an ideal holiday charter for your club or special group, or as a floating classroom for university students. We can even provide an experienced guide to travel with you, making all of your ports of call even more interesting.
Start your sailing experience from Athens, Capital of Greece, and explore the Aegean Sea. Sail to Mykonos (one of the most cosmopolitan islands of the world), Santorini, or Rhodes, and have an unforgettable vacation. If you are not an experienced skipper, or you are not familiar with the strong winds that prevail in the Cyclades, then sail to the Ionian Sea. Pick up your boat from our base in Corfu and visit Lefkada, Paxi islands and Kephalonia, or plan to come to the Cyclades when there is no wind (early June or late September usually). Or, sit back and relax while our experienced captain and crew navigate through the crystal blue waters of the Aegean.
Let us know your requirements, tell us when you'd like to sail, and give us an idea of the islands you've dreamed of visiting ... let's get started on making those dreams come true!


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Q: How to make custom error message in Django Admin need make custom error message in Django Admin
@receiver(pre_save, sender=User, dispatch_uid='active')
def active(sender, instance, **kwargs):
email = instance.email
if User.objects.filter(email = email):
  if email == None:raise ValidationError('The email can not be null.')
  raise ValidationError('The email address is alerady in use.')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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3 Fun and Unusual Cars to Ship
EasyHaul.com is a leader in the auto shipping and export business, and we pride ourselves on the ability to ship a wide variety of vehicle types. But some cars are a bit more of a challenge than others. Check out some of these vehicles that might make our truck drivers do a double-take.
Campagna Motors T-Rex
Another three-wheeled beauty, the T-Rex is a vehicle that toes the line between a sports car and a motorcycle, while still being something wholly unique in itself. Given its exposed interior, our drivers may need to wrap it to protect it from the elements, but would have no trouble shipping it.
Peel P50
This tiny three-wheeled microcar holds the Guinness Book of Records record for smallest production car ever made. While its heyday was in the early 60's, this car is finding a bit of a resurgence with a new design. Given its small size, our shippers could easily move this car.
Pyramid Electric Car
At a top speed of 40 miles an hour, this single-passenger electric car may not be a speed demon but its unique shape will definitely catch your eye driving down the road. Given its low center of gravity (despite its anti-gravity aesthetic), our drivers could handle this shipment with no problem.
EasyHaul is always up for any challenge, big or small. Get your free shipping quote instantly at EasyHaul.com .
auto shipping company, Auto transport quotes, Car Shipping service, Vehicle delivery
Considerations that go into your shipping quote
Transportation 101: Enclosed Shipping vs. Open Carriers
A Step-by-Step Guide to Shipping Your Car Overseas
Driving or Shipping Your Car Cross-Country: Which Way to Go?
5 Tip to Ensure a Hassle-free Transportation Process


Branding in today's time is both essential and crucial. Without branding, you cannot give your service a face and voice to get recognized. Branding can enhance your company's reach. It gives your firm a platform to thrive. The pool of digital marketing is flourishing with every passing hour so how to position yourself in such a saturated market? That's the big question that intrigues every other marketer. Many branding assets are there that can assist you in putting your best foot forward.
How can I increase my brand visibility online?
So how do you create brand visibility?
How can brand visibility be improved?
You can interact with your audience, indulge them in your services and inspire them to go for your services and products. All this can be achieved if you follow the below-mentioned guide and quickly plan to get a couple of these branding assets.
The foremost brick in the palace of online branding is to get your hands on an appealing logo design. You have to create a captivating logo for your company, the moment you confirm its name. Your logo will deliver the exact message of your firm. As it also highlights the level of professionalism you want to throw on your audience as advised by the expert logo designers service Dubai.
It will create an emotional connection and persuade them about your expertise and reliability. The logo ought to be clear, fresh and inspiring. The logo designers service Dubai take special notice to produce a masterpiece that can stay up for a long period. Hence, your logo needs to be timeless and appropriate to help take a leap to success.
The second most important thing is to have a professional outlook – a website. Developing a website or your company is as necessary as having a car to run errands. You cannot survive the wild waves of competition coming from your rivals if you do not operate through a full-fledged website. The website will provide a gateway to you for establishing customer interactions. It will provide a means to interact with your services and indulge with your products.
On your website, you can manage your complete portfolio, if you are planning to offer services. In the case of delivering products, you can have your own e-store organized perfectly with specific product descriptions to educate the masses. Through its content, you can bring your site on the top ranking websites. So, when the customer types the keyword related to your niche, Google bots quickly refer your site to navigate. It will give a boost to your business and will help you accelerate your brand's recognition to far and wide.
Social media platforms have so widely been recognized as the main asset to boost branding. A couple of social media platforms are there which have actually helped many companies to surface themselves in the industry. Moreover, giving them proficient exposure to regulate and operate their business.
If you want to take the front seat, you need to leave your print on almost every prominent branding asset- including social media sites. Create accounts and keep them alive and running by constantly posting interesting videos and insights of your company.
A platform like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are famous for their roles in gathering potential customers. They can give a boost to your clientele by bringing many prospective customers to your fold. You can follow interesting trends to keep the buzz going and indulge them in engaging activities like polls, contest, and conversations.
The fourth best technique to boost your reach is to make video marketing your best mate. Video marketing is performed in many ways. Marketers are creating compelling animated videos where the brief message is summarized in an effective manner. When it comes to product descriptions, different forms of videos are sued to educate the viewers.
You can create a live video demonstration to guide them on how to use your product and why to have it, along with producing a captivating animated explainer video to boost the efficiency of your product.
Moreover, the short stories posted on different social media platforms is also a new trend to give the latest feed to the target audience. The humor-induced GIFs, that are designed solely to stir interest among the viewers, is a proficient tip to capture the attention as well.


WORKERS AT Ektacolour Finishing at Kodak in north west London are still standing solid in their decision not to volunteer for overtime after four weeks. The action has shaken management. They are over one million square metres of photographic paper behind in production and the figure is growing daily. Last week the 200-strong workforce, who are in the TGWU union, rejected another management "offer". The company also replied to the union's wage claim with a flat �10 per week increase. This falls far short of the joint union claim of a flat rate increase of �30.


Interested in becoming a Writing Assistant?
If you do not know your 7-digit Student ID #, you can retrieve it here.
In the boxes below, please type up short responses to each of the following (about 300-350 words each).
The best responses involve honest thought and reflection. We're not looking for a specific response—you should think of this as a chance to offer and discuss some intriguing possibilities.
Please note that we are not asking you to copy edit or otherwise write comments on the paper.


Reviews, phone numbers, address listings and coupon codes for Robeks near Waynesboro. Get the store hours and directions for Robeks in Waynesboro. Research coupons and discounts for Robeks. Please check to make sure your local Robeks is open for business before you start driving there.


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Lisa Carrington, född den 23 juni 1989 i Tauranga, Nya Zeeland, är en nyzeeländsk kanotist.

Hon tog OS-guld i K1 200 meter i samband med de olympiska kanottävlingarna 2012 i London.

2014 slog hon världsrekord i K1 200 meter på tiden 37.898

Vid de olympiska kanottävlingarna 2016 i Rio de Janeiro tog hon en guldmedalj i K-1 200 meter och en bronsmedalj i K-1 500 meter.

Vid de olympiska kanottävlingarna 2021 i Tokyo tog hon Guld i både K1 200 meter och K1 500 meter. Dessutom tog hon och Caitlin Regal Guld i K2 500 meter på tiden 1:35.785 vilket innebar ett nytt världsrekord.

Referenser

Lisa Carrington (NZL) på International Canoe Federation

Noter

Nyzeeländska kanotister
Världsmästare i kanotsport
Nyzeeländska olympiska guldmedaljörer
Nyzeeländska olympiska bronsmedaljörer
Olympiska guldmedaljörer 2012
Olympiska guldmedaljörer 2016
Olympiska bronsmedaljörer 2016
Olympiska guldmedaljörer 2020
Tävlande vid olympiska sommarspelen 2012 från Nya Zeeland
Tävlande i kanotsport vid olympiska sommarspelen 2012
Tävlande vid olympiska sommarspelen 2016 från Nya Zeeland
Tävlande i kanotsport vid olympiska sommarspelen 2016
Tävlande vid olympiska sommarspelen 2020 från Nya Zeeland
Tävlande i kanotsport vid olympiska sommarspelen 2020
Födda 1989
Levande personer
Kvinnor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
(36.1358°N, 115.1208°W)
Hubble Space Telescope - Visible Passes Home | Info. | Orbit | Close encounters
Search period start: 29 January 2020 00:00
Search period end: 08 February 2020 00:00
Passes to include: visible only all
Click on the date to get a star chart and other pass details.
Date Brightness Start Highest point End Pass type
(mag) Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.
29 Jan 3.3 13:43:08 10° SSW 13:45:39 16° SSE 13:48:11 10° SE visible
30 Jan 3.1 13:32:04 10° SSW 13:34:56 18° SSE 13:37:47 10° ESE visible
31 Jan 2.9 13:21:08 10° SW 13:24:13 21° SSE 13:27:19 10° ESE visible
01 Feb 2.7 13:11:20 15° SSW 13:13:31 23° S 13:16:47 10° ESE visible
03 Feb 2.2 12:51:31 25° S 12:52:07 26° S 12:55:36 10° ESE visible
05 Feb 2.4 12:31:32 26° SSE 12:31:32 26° SSE 12:34:17 10° ESE visible
05 Feb 2.7 14:08:18 10° WSW 14:11:26 21° SSW 14:14:35 10° SE visible
06 Feb 2.8 13:57:49 10° WSW 14:00:44 19° SSW 14:03:38 10° SSE visible
07 Feb 3.2 12:11:30 17° SE 12:11:30 17° SE 12:12:51 10° SE visible
07 Feb 2.9 13:47:25 10° SW 13:50:00 16° SSW 13:52:37 10° SSE visible


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Pon Holdings to Buy Dorel Sports (Cannondale, GT, & More)
October 11, 2021 by David Golay
2022 Cannondale Jekyll 1
Dorel announced today that it has agreed to sell Dorel Sports — its entire bicycle division — to Pon Holdings for $810 million. The deal brings Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Mongoose, Charge, Caloi, and KidTrax under the Pon umbrella, alongside Santa Cruz, Juliana, Focus, Reserve Wheels, and more. Per Pon's press release, the two bicycle groups have a combined revenue of about $2.9 billion, and they emphasize the importance of e-bikes for the family of brands going forward.
Given the growing need for electric bikes in all main categories, Pon Holdings strongly believes there is room and potential for a true leader in the world with a complete family of iconic and quality bike brands for daily use, for business, in leisure and in sports. The acquisition of Dorel Sports is fully in line with this vision. All brands can benefit from innovation, design, knowledge and creativity throughout the Pon.Bike group. Brands of Dorel Sports, for instance, can leverage the experience of Pon.Bike with electric bikes, combined with the high growth potential in the US. At the same time, the eCommerce experience of Dorel Sports will greatly benefit the European markets of Pon.Bike. Already 20% of Dorel Sports revenues is generated online. This rich knowledge and innovation contributes to all bike lovers in the world, especially in a time when cycling, dealers and bicycle companies can provide tangible solutions for mobility, health and sustainability challenges consumers, governments and companies face.
Pon Holdings
Cannondale and GT, in particular, are long standing brands in the mountain bike world whose popularity has waned somewhat in recent years, but both appear to be putting a strong foot forward with their new high-pivot Enduro bikes, the Jekyll and Force — both of which we should be getting time on soon. We're curious to see if they can continue to build on that recent momentum under their new ownership, as Santa Cruz has done since being acquired in 2015.
More details can be found in the separate press releases from Pon and Dorel. And of course, we'd love to hear what you think about the deal in the comments, below.
Categories Industry News Post navigation
McKenna Peterson on Ski Movies, Boats, & Hemingway's Typewriter (Ep.185)
Leatt 5.0 Clipless Shoes


Oleh Protsyk and Andrew Wilson, "Centre Politics in Russia and Ukraine: Patronage, Power and Virtuality," Party Politics, 9 (November 2003), 703-727.
Centre party politics remains a difficult phenomenon for post-Soviet scholars to analyse. While the political left and (to a lesser degree) right have been steadily moving towards crystallization of their organizational forms and ideological positions, in the political 'centre' both party structures and programmatic appeals remained highly elusive during the first post- communist decade (Remington, 1999; White et al., 1997; Wilson and Birch, 1999). Political parties and parliamentary factions that identified themselves as 'centrist' rose and fell at a rapid rate during the period under study, often without leaving enough time for either the electorate or for political scientists to understand their ideological position or political behaviour.
The ideological parties of the political left and right largely failed to recruit new members among the ranks of unaffiliated deputies or defectors from other parliamentary factions. The membership of centrist factions during all four parliamentary terms was more volatile than the membership of major factions of the left and right. None of the major pro-government centrist parties survived for longer than one parliamentary term. Further research on the impact that the specific combinations of clientelisric norms and electoral rules have on the motivations of centre party politicians can improve our understanding of centre party politics in post-communist regimes.


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A Few Miracles in the Early Life of St. Colette
There are many wonderful stories surrounding St. Colette - that happened to her and many others she did for others: cured a Dominican nun that was a leper, raised the dead, etc. Below are just two of these stories, shortened.
Forget the "Mary had a little lamb story", children should be told of how St. Colette had a lamb that followed her around and prayed with her!:
Birds flew about her, and a lark drank from her cup, while a lamb trotted after her and stood quiet in her oratory while she prayed.
(St. Colette and her little lamb.)
Colette's "tiny no more" story:
Colette was nearly grown up, but at sixteen she was no taller than she had been at ten or eleven.
"You are so small that you will never be able to keep the house clean when your mother dies," remarked her father one day, seeing Colette in vain trying to lift something from a shelf that was out of her reach, and though the words hurt her the girl knew that they were true. What would become of them when her mother died? and she was nearly sixty now. Night and day the thought [281] troubled her, and at length she resolved to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of a saint not very far from Corbie to ask for help, as many of her friends had done before her.
"Let me become tall and strong," she prayed, and tall and strong she became, to her great joy, so that when her mother died she was able to take her place and do all that was required of her. St. Colette was small on the day of her departure to this pilgrimage shrine and on the day she returned, she was much taller! God granted her prayers.
(A Franciscan friar listening to tiny Colette preach - before her miraculous growth spurt! Her little friends helped raise her up.)
St Colette de Corbie
St Colette de Corbie, Reformer of the Poor Clares
Feast Day – February 7th
In the little town of Corbie, France, St Colette was born on January 12, 1381, of exemplary working people. She was a child of grace, an answer to her mother's incessant prayers, for the latter was already 60 years old then and had been childless up to that time.
The little girl took great pleasure in prayer, in compassion for the poor, and in rigorous mortification, making of her soul and of her tender body a sacrifice to God. Up to her 14th year St Colette de Corbie remained unusually small in stature; the was a great grief got her father. St Colette begged God to console her father in this matter, and then she began to grow very rapidly to normal height.
On the other hand, St Colette de Corbie asked God to deprive her of the rare beauty she possessed, which she believed might be the occasion of danger to herself and others; that request, too, was granted, and Colette developed features of a severe cast which inspired great respect.
When both her parents had died, St Colette de Corbie, at the age of 22, obtained the permission of the Church authorities to shut herself up in a small abode directly adjoining the church; from a small window in it she could see the Blessed Sacrament. There she expected to spend the remainder of her life as an anchoress. She had embraced the rule of the Third Order of St Francis, in accordance with which she endeavored to live in perfect poverty, severe mortification, and constant prayer in order to become daily more and more like the Seraphic Father. She received many consolations from heaven, but on the other hand she also experienced severe temptations and even corporal abuse from the spirits of darkness.
Almighty God had destined St Colette for something extraordinary. He excited in her the desire to re-introduce the strict observance of the rule of St Clare, which many convents of Poor Clares then observed in a modified form.
The humble virgin recoiled at the thought, which she tried to persuade herself was an illusion of the proud spirit of darkness. But the inspiration returned again and again, and when St Colette de Corbie continued to resist it, she was struck dumb and later on blind, until she finally resigned herself to the will of God, like Saul before Damascus.
"Lord," St Colette de Corbie sobbed in her heart, "what wilt Thou have me do? I am ready to do anything Thou desirest of me."
At once her speech and her sight were restored. The Lord sent her a special director under whose guidance she was to perform extraordinary things. And so, after spending four years in her retreat, and with the authority and the blessing of the pope, she established one convent of Poor Clares after another, so that the number reached 17 during her lifetime.
After her death similar foundations were established in countries other than France, in which the primitive rule of St Clare began to flourish anew.
St Colette de Corbie endured untold hardships in fulfilling the task assigned to her, but heaven supported her even in visible ways; numerous miracles, including the raising to life of several dead persons, occurred in answer to her prayers and in confirmation of her work. So, the great foundress remained ever humble, regarding everything as the work of God, who often chooses the lowliest of people as His instruments.
On this foundation of humility she endeavored to foster in her convents the spirit of prayer and simplicity of heart, she placed great value on the recitation of the Divine Office in choir, undoubtedly in remembrance of the practice existing in her native town, and infused this esteem into her fellow sisters. She was also filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, and once in a vision she saw souls falling into hell more swiftly than the snowflakes in a winter's storm.
St Colette reformed the Order of Poor Clare's and founded a branch of the Order that is still known as the Colettines.
St Colette had a special devotion to St John the Apostle, who appeared to her on one occasion to place a miraculous ring on her finger. As he did so, he said: "by my own right and on behalf of the sovereign King and Prince of virginity and chastity." This ring was visible to all, and was a beautiful and very precious ring of gold.
St Colette had a great desire for a relic of the True Cross. One day when she was contemplating Our Lord's suffering in the midst of her community, she was drawn into an ecstasy. When her contemplation was over, she realized she was holding a small gold crucifix that had not been there before. It contained a small relic of the True Cross. Years later, upon preparing for her death, she gave away her few possessions. The abbess of Besancon received this cross as St Colette told her: "Keep it and treasure it, for it is from Heaven."
After laboring for 40 years, she was to receive her eternal reward. She died in her convent at Ghent on March 6, 1447. At the moment of her departure from this world she appeared to several sisters in different convents. Pope Urban VIII beatified her, and Pope Pius VII.
*from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm.
Chaplet of St. Colette of Corbie
Chaplet of St. Colette
May the Lord hear our prayers
through the intercession
of the glorious Virgin Mary
and in memory
of that most sacred hour
in which the Incarnate Word was born,
that all our desires may be accomplished
for your glory and our salvation.
O good Jesus!
O Jesus our Redeemer,
do not abandon us as our sins deserve,
but hear our humble prayer
and grant what we ask
of the most blessed Virgin Mary
and for the glory of your Holy Name.
As God pleases,
As God wills. (repeat ten times)
Let us praise the Father in his mercy
and the Son by his passion
and the Holy Spirit
the fountain of peace and sweetness and love.
Amen, amen without recall!
(You may choose to precede the Chaplet with a reading from scripture or I may take one of the Lord's self revealing proclamations:)
I am the Way.
I am the Truth.
I am the Life.
I am the Resurrection.
I am the Good Shepherd.
I am the Gate of the Sheepfold.
I am the Light of the world.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
I am the First and the last.
I Live.
The first coming of the Lord
The second coming of the Lord
in which our Lord Jesus Christ
is our Passover
given to us from the Cross
on whom the Incarnate Word bestows the Church
in which we receive the Passover of Christ.
The last coming of the Lord
King and Judge will come
who prepares our hearts for his reign
with whom the Incarnate Word will come again.
in memory of that most sacred hour
in which heaven shall be opened to our eyes.
Litany of St. Clare of Assisi
THE LITANY OF ST. CLARE, FIRST-BORN SECOND ORDER
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, graciously hear us.
O God the Father, of Heaven: have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world: have mercy upon us.
O God, the Holy Ghost: have mercy upon us.
O Holy Trinity, one God: have mercy upon us.
Holy Mary: Pray for us.
Immaculate Virgin: Pray for us.
Mother and Mistress of our Order: Pray for us.
St. Clare, first-born of thy Order: Pray for us.
St. Clare, spouse of the Crucified:
St. Clare, lover of the Blessed Sacrament:
St. Clare, lover of the Sacred Heart:
St. Clare, lover of the Sacred Wounds:
St. Clare, lover of the Sacred Name:
St. Clare, lover of the Sacred Gospel:
St. Clare, to thy mother forenamed "resplendent":
St. Clare, resplendent with the light of Jesus:
St. Clare, resplendent in thy noble heritage:
St. Clare, resplendent in thy renunciation thereof:
St. Clare, resplendent in clinging to the altar as thy portion:
St. Clare, resplendent as first abbess of a great Order:
St. Clare, resplendent in putting the Saracens to flight:
St. Clare, resplendent in reparation for the sins of the world:
St. Clare, resplendent in wondrous miracles:
St. Clare, little plant of St. Francis:
St. Clare, princess of the poor:
St. Clare, duchess of the humble:
St. Clare, mistress of the chaste:
St. Clare, abbess of the penitent:
St. Clare, alabaster box of ointment broken at the feet of Jesus:
St. Clare, received at death by a choir of virgins:
St. Clare, censer of sweet perfume filling heaven and earth: Pray for us.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: spare us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: graciously hear us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us.
V. Pray for us, O blessed Clare. Alleluia.
R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. Alleluia.
(Choose one of the following Collects below.)
O God Who hast raised up blessed Clare as a shining lamp of holiness to lighten the way before a multitude of virgins: by her merits and prayers grant to us who do call to mind her commemoration, that in this life we may walk in Thy light, and in the life to come, may forever enjoy the light of Thy countenance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that like as we do celebrate the memory of blessed Clare thy Virgin: so she may intercede for us; and that we may become partakers with her of eternal joy and joint heirs of Thy Only-Begotten Son. Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.
O God, Who hast filled the world with the splendid virtues of blessed Clare, Thy Virgin, by whom Thou hast also increased Thy Church with a new offspring: be pleased to grant; that we may so follow in her steps as to attain unto the splendor of her eternal glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany of St. Francis
LITANY OF SAINT FRANCIS OUR SERAPHIC PATRIARCH
St. Francis, Seraphic Father: Pray for us.
St. Francis, Patriarch of the Poor: pray for us.
St. Francis, Founder and Leader of three armies of God:
St. Francis, Abraham of the Gospel by reason of thy countless children:
St. Francis, like unto the Baptist in the preaching of penance:
St. Francis, like unto Moses, giving the law of perfection:
St. Francis, like unto Elijah, borne aloft in a fiery chariot:
St. Francis, herald of the great King:
St. Francis, messenger of peace:
St. Francis, valiant knight of Christ:
St. Francis, mighty lover of souls:
St. Francis, ensample of Gospel perfection:
St. Francis, spouse of Lady Poverty:
St. Francis, model of dedicated chastity:
St. Francis, master of holy obedience:
St. Francis, sublime in corporal penance:
St. Francis, uplifted in heavenly contemplation:
St. Francis, marked with the Stigmata of Jesus:
St. Francis, verily a living crucifix:
St. Francis, wholly set on fire of seraphic love:
St. Francis, lover of the Babe of Bethlehem:
St. Francis, lover of the Sacred Passion:
St. Francis, lover of the Blessed Sacrament:
St. Francis, lover of the Name of Jesus:
St. Francis, lover of the Holy Scriptures:
St. Francis, lover of all the creatures of God:
St. Francis, physician of the sick:
St. Francis, light of the blind:
St. Francis, healer of the lepers:
St. Francis, raiser of the dead:
St. Francis, terror of demons:
St. Francis, enthroned in Lucifer's place:
St. Francis, apostle of the infidels:
St. Francis, martyr in desire:
St. Francis, confessor of the Faith:
St. Francis, virgin in soul:
St. Francis, endowed with the virtues of the Sacred Heart:
St. Francis, our Advocate: Pray for us.
V. Pray for us, O blessed Father Francis. Alleluia.
Let us pray. (Choose one of the following Collects.)
O God, Who by the merits of our blessed Father Francis dost increase Thy Church with a new offspring: grant, we beseech Thee; that after his pattern we may learn to despise all things earthly, and ever to rejoice in the partaking of Thy Heavenly bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, when the world was waxing cold, to the inflaming of our hearts with the fire of Thy love didst renew in the flesh of our most blessed Father Francis the sacred marks of Thy passion: mercifully grant that by his merits and intercession, we may be enabled ever to bear Thy Cross, and to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.
O God, Who in many fashions didst shew forth in Thy Confessor our blessed Father Francis the wondrous mysteries of the Cross: grant us, we beseech Thee, ever to follow the pattern of his devotion, and, continually thinking on the same holy Cross, thereby to be defended against all temptations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, Who didst bestow Blessed Francis on us, for to be our teacher and leader in following the ways of Thy Only-Begotten Son: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who do honor his memory on earth; may one day be partakers of his glory in Heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, Who resisteth the proud, and givest grace unto the humble: grant us, through the intercession of our blessed Father Francis, to decrease in pride, and to increase in that humility which is so pleasing to Thee; that following in his footsteps, we may attain the gifts of Thy grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PCCs Minooka - "DAYS OF CHEER BEFORE ENCLOSURE NUNS HOLD OPEN HOUSES, WILL RETREAT INTO SILENCE"
(Older article just after new (current) monastery was built)
MINOOKA -- The Catholic nuns who built Annunciation Monastery warmly welcomed bustling throngs of friends, well-wishers, benefactors and neighbors during several open houses this week. But this newly built monastery west of Minooka soon will fall silent after the nuns retreat completely into a quiet life of prayer and contemplation.
The nine Poor Clare nuns who call Annunciation Monastery home have taken a vow of enclosure. In doing so, they have promised to lead their lives in silent seclusion on the monastery's grounds. Their solemn vow was relaxed for the nearly three years it took to build the monastery. During that time, the nuns interacted with people from all walks of life, including architects, contractors, professional laborers and community volunteers.
A construction-savvy Mother Mary Dorothy Urschalitz, the monastery's abbess, joked about dealing with Grundy County code inspectors. "Really, you'd like the codes to go jump," she said after conducting a tour of the monastery during an open house Tuesday.
The Poor Clares adhered to their traditions as closely as possible with work going on all around them. But with the monastery completed, the time has come for the nuns to return to their former lifestyle. Bishop Joseph Imesch, leader of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, will dedicate Annunciation Monastery during a Mass at 2 p.m. today. The bishop also will establish a papal enclosure that will take effect this evening. At that time, the Colettine Poor Clare Cloistered Nuns of Joliet will retire into prayerful solitude behind the monastery's walls. All dealings with the outside world will be handled by two externs -- Poor Clare nuns who do not vow enclosure.
This week's open houses offered a rare glimpse into a private world. Annunciation Monastery's facade, with its gray brick walls and blue-tiled roof, conceals a spacious interior of modest decor.
A chapel and a visiting parlor are the only public areas.
Community members will be invited to attend daily Mass at the monastery. The sisters, however, will attend the same service in an adjacent chapel.
The Poor Clares may greet family members four times each year at the monastery. But because of their vow of enclosure, the nuns remain behind a steel grate during the visits.
The nuns sleep in Spartan private quarters they refer to as cells. The tiny blue room that was open to the public this week contains a firm bed, a desk, a chair and a small closet area. A single crucifix hangs on the wall. The monastery's 10 cells are all much the same, Mother Dorothy said.
The Poor Clares built their monastery with help of volunteers from throughout the area. A local carpenter, for example, transformed old oak pews from Rockford's St. Bernadette Church into cabinets and bookshelves for the monastery's library. Two volunteers who asked that their names not be used for this story stained the wood last winter.
The nuns also proved to be skillful collectors. The monastery is adorned with religious statues, stained-glass windows and crucifixes that were donated by churches and community members. The bell tower from St. Mary Immaculate Church in Plainfield also found a home at Annunciation Monastery.
The tornado of Aug. 28, 1990, knocked over the tower that stood in front of the church since the late 1970s. The parish returned the tower to its designers, Anzelc Welding and Fabricators of Rockdale, while a new church was built. But the parish council didn't want it back because it didn't fit with the new church's design, said owner Tom Anzelc. The structure sat in the company's yard for eight years. Anzelc was preparing to scrap the tower when Mother Dorothy came across it while she was commissioning volunteer work from him. She convinced Anzelc to galvanize the tower and install it with a statue of the Blessed Mother at the front of the monastery. "It started out in Plainfield, and it ended up in Minooka. But it's still standing. And it's found a good home," Anzelc said.
In 1990, the Joliet Diocese began a quest to find a contemplative order interested in making its home here. The Poor Clares in Rockford responded to the local church's call by allowing nine of their nuns to found a monastery within the diocese. Mother Dorothy, who was abbess of Rockford's Corpus Christi Monastery, agreed to oversee the founding of the Joliet monastery. After a lengthy search, the pioneering nuns settled on 27 acres of wooded property on East Minooka Road. The land is bounded on the north by Interstate 80 and on the west by Aux Sable Creek.
"It's a nice place, very close to the little village (Minooka) and to Joliet," Mother Dorothy said. "And it isn't too noisy if you don't listen to I-80."
The nuns moved onto the property in 1995 and lived there quietly -- first in a mobile home, and later in a small ranch-style house they built while construction began on the monastery. The house will provide extra work space for the nuns. Mother Dorothy is matter-of-factly philosophical about the nuns' vow of enclosure. "It's an extra penance. We should do something for the Lord. He's done so much for us," she said.
PCCs Minooka: "REVEALING GOD'S TRUTH THROUGH A LIFE SPENT IN SOLITUDE"
April 11, 1998 - before current monastery was built
Every day, just before 12:30 a.m., a digital alarm clock rings in the basement of a home along Minooka Road. A few minutes later, five women walk upstairs to a living room that has been converted into a sanctuary. The women are barefoot.
They are clad in gray robes and have black hoods pulled over white head covers that leave only their faces exposed. The floor in the living room area is tile, the walls are pale blue. At the center is a simple wooden altar, crowded with candles, a statue of the Virgin Mary and a colorful box. Above the altar hangs a crude wooden crucifix.
The air in the room is permanently stained from the incense burned there daily. Amid the still of midnight the women begin to worship. They sing a hymn and chant Psalms. Then they meditate in private prayer. At 2 a.m. they return to bed. They'll sleep for three more hours before they wake up again and silently file back into the makeshift sanctuary. They worship and pray for 2-1/2 more hours. Then a priest arrives to celebrate Mass.
For more than 750 years, women have become Poor Clare nuns. In doing so, they physically close themselves off from family and friends and devote their lives to prayer. To a nun's ordinary vows -- poverty, chastity and obedience -- Poor Clares add a fourth vow: enclosure. They do not teach. They do not care for the sick. They do not counsel. They do not read newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio. They don't eat meat or snack. When relatives visit, which is allowed four times a year, the sisters must speak to them from behind a metal grate. They don't talk much. Their rule is speak when necessary, but always in a low voice.
What do the Poor Clares do? They pray for the church and for people who don't pray. They worship.
They read the Bible and Catholic writings. They sing hymns and chant Christian creeds. They also labor, attempting to be as self-sufficient as possible. Catholics call such orders cloistered or contemplative, because part of their job is to contemplate the church's teachings. Mother Mary Dorothy Urschalitz, who has been a Poor Clare for 38 years, knows how odd their lives appear in today's world. "They (lay people) think we have a hard life," she said. "I think they have a hard life."
The Annunciation Monastery of Poor Clares in Minooka is the first contemplative order in the Joliet Diocese. In 1990, the diocese's priest senate began looking into bringing a contemplative order to Joliet. The diocese sent letters to 20 different orders. Nineteen responded that they did not have enough nuns to start a new order. But the Corpus Christi Monastery located in Rockford said it was interested. The Rev. James Lennon of Joliet's St. Patrick Parish went to Rockford and urged the sisters to found a new monastery in Joliet. The sisters agreed to move nine nuns, and the bishops sanctioned the venture. It took nearly five years for the Poor Clares to find a new home.
The nuns almost bought land near Yorkville until neighbors and Kendall County officials raised concerns over the Clares' need to maintain their own cemetery. The Warpinski family heard about the nuns' plight from a priest and offered to sell them 20 wooded acres in Minooka owned by the family business, Central Sod Farms. The Warpinskis' asking price was nearly five times less than the sisters had offered. The Poor Clares bought the land. In October 1995, the sisters moved to their new home at 6200 E. Minooka Road in northern Grundy County.
At first, the sisters lived in a mobile home while they waited for their temporary house to be built. In 1996, they moved into the ranch house where they will live until the monastery is completed, possibly by August. They now use the mobile home as an office.
Mother Dorothy, who was abbess of Rockford's Corpus Christi Monastery and is now abbess in Minooka, said that from her dealings with contractors and architects, she has gained understanding of how people become so wrapped up in their lives that they neglect God.
"I keep reminding myself this is just an earthly building," she admitted. The women of the Annunciation Monastery are considered pioneers by the sisters who remained in Rockford. The move was somewhat unthinkable for the sisters, many of whom believed they would never set foot outside the stone wall of the Rockford monastery. In pioneering, the sisters have sacrificed some of their solitude.
Since being at Minooka, they have done things they wouldn't have thought likely before, like enduring newspaper reporters and photographers. Lennon said the Poor Clares were brought to the Joliet Diocese in part because they pray for local priests and parishes. But Lennon believes all people benefit from the work of the sisters. "The fullness of the Catholic Church finds its expression in both the active and contemplative life," Lennon said. "Today there is a great need for these sisters. A large number of people, Catholics and non-Catholics, are looking for quiet time. It's harder than ever to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world and listen to God. That's not pie-in-the-sky; that's realism." Because of their seclusion and rule of silence, the Poor Clares have more capacity for communicating with God, he said.
"The average person today might ask the questions: Why shut yourself off and withdraw from the world? Is it selfishness?" Lennon said. "And yet, the opposite is true. This is, we believe, a part of grace or a calling from God. They're embracing the spiritual life for us in a fuller way."
Mother Dorothy said that through talking with God and studying the Bible, people learn to act like God. "The praying church is the heart or breath of the church," Mother Dorothy said. "In prayer and worship, the Christian soul is formed. ... The devil can quote scripture, but he can't live it."
Although the nuns are shut off from the outside world, they don't seem unworldly. The priests keep them abreast of major news when they come for Mass. They laugh and smile often. "They're not the meek, mild, shy girl in the corner," Lennon said. "They're hard workers. They don't spend all their time in chapel."
In Rockford, the sisters grew much of their own food. In Minooka, they operate and perform maintenance on a tractor and station wagon. "We're a bit of Jack-of-all- trades," said Sister Mary Bernadine. "There isn't much we can't do."
During their one hour of daily recreation -- when the sisters may speak freely -- they make rosaries and knit vestments, altar linens and Communion veils. Sister Bernadine said some days she feels like bursting out with chatter at recreation time. Other times, the hour is as quiet as the rest of the day.
Bird seed dribbles over the top of the many feeders outside Don and Gloria Maxwell's home. The Maxwells often look out the window over their kitchen sink to follow the activities of the mysterious, wild creatures. The Maxwells feared the worst when they heard someone was inquiring about the Warpinski property, diagonally across Minooka Road from them. But upon learning about the Poor Clares, the Maxwells credited divine intervention. Nineteen years ago, their daughter, Anita, 14, was killed in a car wreck at the edge of what is now the sisters' property. "I can't help but feel she (Anita) had something to do with bringing them here," Gloria said.
During the Poor Clares' first winter in Minooka, it got too cold for them to stay in the mobile home. The Maxwells helped out, and a neighborly bond was formed. Now, besides regularly attending the 7 a.m. public Mass, Don and Gloria track their neighbors' progress. The Maxwells delight in the times they catch a glimpse of a sister outside. "They're the sweetest people in the world," Gloria said. "They ask for nothing, and they do with very little. They've really sacrificed their lives for all of us."
Dick Warpinski Jr., co-owner of Central Sod Farms, said working with the sisters prompted him to do some soul searching. "It kind of makes you step back and think a little bit about why you're going through this rat race," he said. "They don't have all the comforts we have, but they probably have more peace of mind."
Although Gloria Maxwell knows the sisters pray for all people, she can't help but feel they're praying especially for her family. "It's just very comforting. You go out there and see them, they're a sign of peace and hope and trusting in God," Gloria said. "You don't know them or hear about them, but there are people in your corner praying for you."
While the other sisters eat in the refectory, Sister Dorothy visits with the Rev. Jim Lennon in the parlor. Although their small temporary residence is inadequate to the demands of cloistered lifestyle, the Poor Clares try to keep their vow of enclosure with drawn curtains and closed doors. The monastic tradition dictates that the nuns not speak during meals. after a prayer of thanksgiving, the nuns listen to tape-recorded lectures from religious leaders as they eat the main meal of their day. Sister Rose and Sister Annunciata hold hands for support as they walk through the fields of Annunciation Monastery. Sister Rose entered the sisterhood at 19, expecting to live and die inside the walls of Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford.
A Life Of Devotion: Poor Clares Lead A Simple Existence At Their Minooka Monastery
"A Life of Devotion: Poor Clares Lead a Simple Existence"
1997 Chicago Tribune article
There is a new family in Minooka, one with a way of life both timeless and radical.
(Aerial view of the monastery).
On a clear day, a traveler heading down East Minooka Road might catch a glimpse of the four women as they cut away brambles and scrubby trees while their dog, Duchess, runs in lazy circles around them. At another time, in their home, the sweet music of a mandolin played by one of their number and voices joined in prayer can be heard from the other side of a curtain that separates household members from their visitors.
They are Mother Mary Dorothy Urschalitz and Sisters Agnes Ortiz, Adoracion Malabano and Bernardine Siebenaler. They are Sisters of the Order of Clare, more commonly known as Poor Clares, a contemplative order of religious women.
Formed in 1212 by St. Clare, a follower of St. Francis of Assisi, the group originally was called the Second Franciscan Order. They also were known by Francis as the Poor Ladies because, like Clare, many of the women had left lives of privilege and wealth to live in poverty. The members added their foundress' name to the order after her death.
"The life of a Poor Clare," Urschalitz says, "is a radical statement that God suffices."
(For St. Francis, St. Clare and St. Colette and all Franciscans, God suffices.)
Their vocation is to contemplate and to fix their attention upon God, offering praise and thanksgiving as well as prayers for the needs of God's people. The sisters do this in the same manner as the followers of Clare did, living a cloistered life in silence, physically enclosed in a monastery behind grilles or metal bars.
Responding to an invitation from the Joliet diocese, the four sisters in 1995 established temporary quarters for Annunciation Monastery in Minooka. It is one of 1,000 monasteries worldwide, 46 of which are located in the United States, and the third in Illinois (others are located in Rockford and Belleville).
Barefoot or in sandals, the Poor Clares wear the traditional gray woolen habit with black veil, sleep on straw mattresses, eat a simple meatless diet and live from the proceeds of their manual labor and the gifts of benefactors. They vow poverty, chastity, obedience and enclosure.
(Sisters receive Our Lord on the tongue while kneeling.)
"It's not an escape from the world by any means," says Urschalitz, a member since 1959, "but rather a different way of being in the world and finding God. It's not easy, and it's not for everyone. But, we must ask ourselves, is anything worthwhile easy?"
"The Poor Clares bring a contemplative life to the Joliet Diocese," says Bishop Joseph Imesch. "We have no special religious order of men or women dedicated to a life of contemplation. They bring a whole new dimension of spiritual life by their witness of a life of prayer, particularly prayer for priests. For that reason alone, I am happy to have them in the diocese, knowing that they are praying for all of us, but priests in particular."
(The sisters eat their breakfast of coffee and bread standing, facing away from each other in the refectory.)
Saying yes to the diocesan invitation wasn't easy. "It was a little hard to leave (Corpus Christi Monastery in) Rockford and the family we had been. You don't expect to give it up," says Urschalitz, who said that more than 30 sisters remain in Rockford.
But the sisters acceded, and a search for land began. It was complicated by zoning regulations in many communities and the order's requirement to have a cemetery for their members on the grounds. "To tend your faith, you need a view of the cemetery," Urschalitz explains. "It reminds you of the purpose of life."
Their land search ended in 1995 with the assistance of the Warpinski family, who sold a parcel of 27 acres in rural Minooka at a price too good to walk away from, according to Urschalitz.
"Our family was impressed by Mother Dorothy's persistence and her long search for the right land," says Richard Warpinski, a Yorkville resident and spokesman for the family that owns Central Sod Farms of Plainfield.
"Although we didn't know much about the order, we learned. We are proud that we were able to help. We think they'll do a lot spiritually for the community."
The four sisters attended groundbreaking ceremonies for a temporary monastery in October 1995 and have lived there since it was completed in March 1996.
(Monastery, round window is public chapel.)
Four additional sisters will join them when the 8,000-square-foot permanent monastery, designed by Frye, Gillian, Molinaro Architects of Chicago, is completed this December. Construction will begin this spring on the $1 million building, which will house 8 to 10 sisters and include a chapel open to the public for private prayer and for days of spiritual recollection. (Although a curtain separates the sisters from the public in their temporary home, a grille will provide a more permanent divider in their new quarters.)
The building effort has been financially supported by the Rockford monastery, memorial donations from friends and benefactors in Rockford, and assistance from the Joliet diocese. Memorial donations are still welcome, Urschalitz says.
An abbess at the Rockford monastery for 19 years, Urschalitz was given a leadership role in planning Annunciation Monastery, which involved meeting with architects, lawyers and the public. Upon the building's completion, the sisters will elect an abbess and Urschalitz will return to her cloistered existence.
The busyness of moving to a new home does not overshadow their focus or their daily routine, which begins at 5 a.m. when the sisters leave their rooms, or cells, and join each other in the chapel.
"It is one of the most irksome things in the world to be regular about meeting our spiritual needs," Urschalitz points out. "But we prove that we love God when we are faithful to our prayers whether it suits us or not."
They pray the Divine Office, which includes Psalms, readings and prayers. "Prayer is a means of sanctifying the day," she says, explaining that the sisters will pray the Divine Office five more times during the day before they retire at 9 p.m. They will sleep for 3 1/2 hours before rising for another hour of prayer at 12:30 a.m. Mass, a high point of each day, is celebrated by visiting priests, and guests are always welcome, Urschalitz says.
(Sisters entering choir for prayer, Divine Office.)
Rev. James Lennon, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Joliet, is a frequent visitor to the monastery and says mass there every Wednesday. A member of the priests' senate of the Joliet diocese, he initiated the process of bringing the sisters to the Joliet Diocese, and he looks forward to the day when the monastery is completed.
"The Poor Clares were a powerful presence on the South Side of Chicago for many years," Lennon recalls. "People were drawn there by the joyfulness, warmth and peace that permeated that monastery. While the Poor Clares are a unique gift to our diocese, we must remember that we are all called to prayer and to affirm the prayer ministry of other religious communities and the laity."
The sisters schedule time for meditation, praying the rosary, reading scripture and praying for others. Daily, they receive letters and phone calls requesting prayers for specific intentions. Although physically separated from those for whom they pray, there is a special bond, Urschalitz explains: "People are made close by an expression of faith, when they talk and share and pray together."
Gloria Maxwell considers her next-door neighbors "a blessing to the community. It's good to know that the sisters are in our corner, praying with us and for us."
Maxwell and her husband, Don, are frequent visitors to the monastery. "We'll stop over with a loaf of homemade bread, Don's specialty, and Mother Dorothy will respond, 'May God reward you,' " Maxwell says. "But we're already rewarded with their presence."
Choosing a simple existence of prayer and work has its merits, Urschalitz explains.
"You lose a lot when you get involved with too many things. It's better to do what I know," she says. "I know how to pray. I know I can run a chain saw, cut the grass and sew."
For the sisters, work is an act of obedience, a sacrifice of time and effort and a form of penance. They schedule work in two-hour intervals in the morning and afternoon. With the help of modern conveniences, they do their own building and grounds maintenance, cook and garden. They will install the floor tile and paint the interior of the new monastery.
"When we perform manual labor, we identify with the poor and those who work so hard with so little compensation," she points out.
(Postulant puts varnish on crucifix.)
The Minooka sisters raise money by making rosaries, vestments for priests, First Communion veils and hand-smocked baptismal gowns. They design and craft spiritual bouquet cards for a number of occasions, pressing wildflowers, operating their own letterhead-press and adding religious pictures and a touch of calligraphy. These items are for sale at the monastery.
(Handmade calligraphy card.)
During their one hour a day of recreation, the sisters relax and break their silence. The hour is punctuated with laughter and spent visiting about anything but monastery business. It's healthy and a way for the mind to relax, Urschalitz explains. The sisters might play a game of catch or, if numbers permit, start a volleyball or baseball game. In keeping with monastic tradition of feeding the soul as well as the body, meal times are quiet, she says, except for the voice of one sister who reads scripture or inspirational material.
(Franciscan joy - the nuns at recreation.)
"We find God in our lives here and in the sisters. And we become a family, but the young sisters have a difficult time at first, separating from their own families," Urschalitz says. She explained that they may not return home for any occasion, even the funerals of parents. Their families may visit them (separated by the grille) at the monastery four times a year. Communication is done by letters, though families will telephone with important messages such as a birth in the family.
When cloistered, a sister may leave the monastery only for medical appointments and to vote. In every monastery, one sister--Urschalitz in this case--is an extern, serving as a representative to the public and handling the sisters' outside business.
When a woman enters the order,there it is followed by six years of preparation, beginning as a postulant and concluding with final vows.
Today, the order counts 17,000 members internationally. What attracts a woman to a strict order are the very things that would seem to discourage it. According to Urschalitz, the discipline of cloistered life is liberating, setting them free to grow spiritually. The women entering the order today are a little older with more life experiences than her generation, who entered after high school. The eight sisters who will occupy the Minooka monastery range in age from 35 to 70.
Urschalitz recalls one woman's arrival in Rockford. "She was a businesswoman, a computer expert, all dressed up in a beautiful suit with a scarf draped just so over her shoulder.
"Just one year away from her final vows, the new member drives a tractor, moving wood chips. She tells us that she can't understand how she lived differently than she does now."
(From the nun's website: a nun on a tractor!)
St Colette de CorbieSt Colette de Corbie, Reformer...
PCCs Minooka - "DAYS OF CHEER BEFORE ENCLOSURE NUN...
PCCs Minooka: "REVEALING GOD'S TRUTH THROUGH A LIF...
A Life Of Devotion: Poor Clares Lead A Simple Exis...


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Painter. Born at Denholm (Scottish Borders), the son of a Borders farmer. His youth was spent at Greenhead, near Selkirk. After service in the army during World War I, he attended Edinburgh College of Art. With his cousin, the composer Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958) and their friend Hugh MacDiarmid (1892 - 1978), he planned a Scottish Renaissance. Indeed Johnstone was in the vanguard of a revival in the Scottish arts, becoming an influential painter combining the abstract and surrealism with images of the Borders landscape. His award of an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh lead Hope Scott (1897 - 1989), one of his major patrons, to present her collection including many of Johnstone's paintings to the University's Talbot Rice Gallery.


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16 January 2022 (closed)
Jakarta Composite Index (6,693.40) +35.04 +0.53%
USD/IDR (14,146) -6.00 -0.04%
EUR/IDR (17,335) +57.05 +0.33%
GDP Growth Q3 2021 3.51% (y/y)
Inflation December 2021 1.87% (y/y)
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Will Japanese Growth Support the Asian-Pacific Economic Outlook?
Export Japan
Inflation Japan
GDP Japan
In recent years, the Japanese economy has experienced significant hardships, generated largely by the aftermath of the hurricane and tsunami that hit the country in 2011. But newly adapted stimulus programs (the much-discussed programs of Abenomics) have boosted economic growth rates since that period. As a result, annual GDP is expected to rise to 1.8% for 2014, and these improvements are expected to have a supportive on the performances seen in surrounding economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
These expectations are based largely on the growing prospects for larger investment flows and bullish transmission effects in Asia-Pacific trade agreements.
But other factors are at work, as well. "The fiscal and monetary stimulus measures that make up the reforms seen in Abenomics," said John Gordon at NordFX, "will be one of the central growth drivers for Japan in 2014." The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely expected to continue on its current path of quantitative easing policies as a means for corrective decades of deflation, and push consumer price gains back into the 2% region. One of the additional effects of these policies can be seen in the Japanese yen, which has depreciated by more than 25% against the US dollar since the end of 2012. But what is more important is the fact that this helps boost export competitiveness in Japanese companies.
Potential Headwinds
The near-term fate of the Asia-Pacific region will depend largely on developments in Japan. But this does not mean the region is without its fair share of risks, as well. The Japanese economy still faces significant structural headwinds, as the high level of government debt (relative to annual GDP) will likely force the government to increase sales taxes from 5% to 8% toward the middle of this year. This will put limitations on consumer demand at a time when ageing demographics have already created a significant drag on the potential growth rates in Japan's over the long-term. When we look at Japan's relatively slow rate of long-term economic growth alongside the rapid currency depreciation, the likely result is that we will see significant transformations in the structural trade relationship that exists in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific region.
ASEAN Impact
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies have been relatively resilient, despite the economic difficulties that have been seen in the last two years. These stable performances have been aided by more substantial investment flows and improved domestic consumption -- with notable examples to be found in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia. But, looking ahead to the remainder of 2014, exports are likely to play an enhanced role in terms of its positions as a central growth engine, with domestic demand moderating. This essentially means that the frontier ASEAN economies (especially in areas like Vietnam) will play a much more interconnected role with its Japanese counterpart. So, it will continue to be important to monitor Japanese economic data in order to get a sense of how the Asia-Pacific region will progress for the remainder of this year.
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The narrow second level with its open stair rail makes this house plan, F-1585, more country. The wide parlor and dining room are separated by columns and a low wall. This openness allows a long, attractive view of the fireplace from the dining table. The optimal location of doorways and stairs reduce unnecessary traffic thru formal areas. An alternate double garage and master bath with separate shower and tub are included in the floor plan.
basic and alternate plans with your order of F-1585.


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In Tuesdays with Morrie, the author's old teacher taught Mitch Albom that love always wins (p. 34, Tuesdays with Morrie). This theme is at the core of The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Eddie devotes his life to keeping children safe, the epitome of love. His encounter with Tala at the end confirms Morrie's philosophy that love always wins. He gives his own life to save a little Amy or Annie, and it is out of love and concern for a child that might be burned to death that he risks his own life in the Philippines. As a result of his effort to save that child, he receives the wound that makes him a cripple for life.
Even though he goes to work at the Pier in maintenance by default (or so he feels) because of the injury, his mission there is, in fact, to keep...
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One of the most common problems with Outlook, or Outlook Express, is that it times out too soon. Either it can't send mail, can't receive or both. The error messages it gives are many, various and misleading. They can all be solved, however, the same way.
In Outlook, click on Tools. Some versions have their settings under Services, others under Accounts. Click on whichever you see. Select the tab for Mail, select your account and click on Properties.
Go to the tab marked Advanced at the top. In the middle of the window, you should see something that reads "Server time out period." Under this is a pointer that can be slid (using the mouse) from left to right, with the left end being the low setting. To the right of this, you'll see how long the time out period is.
Outlook and Outlook Express both default to a time out period of one minute. That's not one minute with no activity. That's one minute to log on to the server. If you have to resolve the server's IP address by DNS, or your server's running a bit slow, or there's any other hold up, you'll time out. The odds are, that whatever error message you get will have nothing to do with the real reason for the failure.
Set the time out up to at least three minutes; more is OK, but probably not needed. Click Apply. Click OK. Click Close. Close Outlook and reopen the program, to make sure the setting changes take effect.
Sometimes, in recent versions of Outlook or Outlook Express, you find yourself unable to open or save any attachments. When this hiappens, click on Tools, Options, Security. Near the top, there's an option to prevent opening or saving attachments that might be infected. Uncheck this, check Apply, and OK. Now you can open and save attachments again.
From what I can tell, this is because the option really should read, "Prevent oepning or saving any attachments, because any attachment might be infected with a virus." This typical piece of Micro$lop overkill is just another stumbling block getting between you and what you need do do.
All in all, the best way to solve all of Outlook's problems is simple: don't use it. Get a real email client and a real newsreader and avoid all the trojans designed to exploit all of Outlook's secureity holes.


This week of #52ancestors I want to give a face to a woman around whom there are many stories and #52familyphotographs gives me that opportunity.
Mary Van Syckel was born on 1 February 1867 to Chester and Mary Jane Mount Van Syckel. The family story says that she fell in love with a man whom her father would not allow her to marry. He then married her best friend (the height of perfidy) and she she attempted to stab her father to death. She does appear to have had a mental break, as in 1900 she is at the state hospital in Trenton, NJ. Her hospital records are very sad and bewildering as the staff describe her as quite insane (babbling, harming herself and them, unable to function in anyway) until one day her father comes to talk to her. After the visit she gets dressed and comes down to the dining room for mealtime and proceeds to act quite restored to her senses. Her parents come for her and the hospital staff agree to send her home. An astonishing recovery. I wonder what he said.
Mary was artistic and is rumored to have attended the Arts Student League in New York. Still working on documenting that. But she did make things. My cousin Susie grew up in a house where the rag rugs in the bathrooms were made by Mary. And my Aunt Louise tells stories about the way Mary and her sister put up all sorts of fruit and vegetables from their garden in Flemington, NJ.
Mary lived her entire life (minus the brief stay in Trenton) in Flemington, NJ. She died on 18 January 1953 at a nursing home in Chatham and is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery up at the top of the hill in Flemington.


If you're thinking about finding a Ukrainian bride, you should know that you need to make an effort to make her feel loved and happy. This is the very same reason why it's important to know the cultural background your love interest comes from. For example, a behaviour which is completely accepted by the western society, could seem offending to your partner. The article below examines the biggest differences between western and eastern cultures and aims to provide sufficient information to help you win the woman of your future Ukrainian bride.
There are plenty of wonderful women in the world who you might go out with, women whose inner and outer beauty shines like the moon in the night sky. This may possibly make you ask why you should narrow down your dating choices to one particular area, why date only single Ukrainian women?


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Home > Columns > Executive Interviews
Sparkcentral Executive Interview
Joe Gagnon, CEO, Sparkcentral
Endurance Athlete Goes Beyond the Extra Mile to Take His Company across the Finish Line
Which do you think would be the greater challenge? To run six marathons over six days on six continents, personally arranging all the travel, and flying more than 37,000 miles in the process? Or to take the reins of companies from the founder and guiding force in their origin to spur new growth – on three separate occasions?
It's a bit of a trick question. Joe Gagnon has taken on both these daunting propositions, the latter most recently at Sparkcentral, where he succeeded Belgian-born founder Davy Kestens as CEO of the messaging customer service provider in May of 2018. Gagnon, an endurance athlete, (we'll get to his extraordinary accomplishment a bit further along) splits his time between his home in Boulder, CO, the company's headquarters in San Francisco and a little time in New York. "At the end of the day, I go wherever the customers are," he said.
"This is the third time that I've come in after a business's founder," he noted. "Either I'm really good at it or I'm a dope. There's always a reason for the change. In this instance, Davy was the classic innovator with great ideas and a determined personality. He got his startup off the ground and sustained if for more than five years, but he recognized the need for a new leader with the experience of taking a company from its current size to the next level – from startup to scale-up."
"One time, I took over a company from a Harvard professor who was a big thinker. Another time I took over from a serial entrepreneur. This time, I'm picking up the ball from a 20-something who essentially had a great idea and ran with it," he said. "In each instance, you have to be mindful that the people who work in the company and the customers all believed in those people a lot. You need to think about operationalizing how the business is supposed to be run, because that is the piece where there has been difficulty; the forecasts may be off and the controls are not where you want them to be, the core processes and practices are not forefront for the most part. Sometimes, the culture is more emotional than stable. When you first arrive you quickly make some changes, and then you sit back for a while before you implement the things you believe in. Change is very much a function over time. Over a certain period, people start to think 'hmm… there's a reason why he (or she) is here.' Because you're doing things to help the business grow more systemically, not just episodically or with a lot of fanfare."
"I've always fancied myself as a servant leader," he continued. "You lead by supporting people and sometimes they are cynical about that in the beginning. Over time, customers, employees, and shareholders realize that the new CEO is actually there to protect their interests. Sadly, the change doesn't always work because sometimes it takes place later than it should have but is always a worthwhile endeavor. At Sparkcentral, we have fabulous customers, software that is getting better every sprint and a market that is growing. My background fit very well with what Sparkcentral is doing, so I wasn't afraid of taking on the challenge and the responsibility."
When asked what he considered the most surprising change since he joined the company, Gagnon responded that it was the pivot from just a social customer care platform that had begun before he arrived, to a move to messaging of all types… private messaging on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, even channels older than the modern Internet, such as SMS… that pivot of how customers engage is still a work in process. "We see digital messaging as an alternative to calling in to the contact center," he said. "What is surprising is that the interest in Social Care remains high. There is still a vibrant market and we still have over 50 Social Care customers. The move to a broad scale messaging market is still early. We're early on the messaging market adoption curve and yet I believe the company thought we the market was further along in its maturity. But my experience tells me…as does all the research we've done since my arrival …that staying in the Social Care market is critical, it is great for the status quo and also as a pathway to a "richer" messaging market. We've really stabilized our customer base by helping them understand that we're not moving away from social care. Market leaders like Zappos, which had been using us for social care, are now using us for SMS as well, supported by the same platform. Their growth path beyond social is exactly what we want to see happen with our customers; an integration of public and private messaging on the agent desktop to improve the customer experience. It might have seemed counterintuitive to go back in the direction we seemed to be moving away from, but we had 50 customers in that area who were using our platform and counting on us such as Netflix, Nordstrom, and jetBlue in addition to Zappos."
Asked about what the tipping point would be to make digital messaging a dominant method of delivering customer service, Gagnon noted that having been in the enterprise software space for a long time, he realizes that you can't fight gravity. "When budgets and plans are in place, it's not always possible to work around them. Eighty-five percent of technology spend is on legacy, so there's very little room for new ideas. The big shift will happen though as there is a growing sense of a plethora of benefits that will come with the move to digital. Contact center operations teams have gotten to the maximum level of return on such metrics as average handle time and first-call resolution. And yet we are still nibbling around the edges with innovation. There will be some real examples of companies we're working with that show that digital messaging does cost less while increasing customer satisfaction levels. When CRM first came out, many people said, 'why do I need that, I have Excel, or I have a database.' As time went on, companies like Salesforce demonstrated the value of CRM." He sees many parallels in messaging which does not require a major rip and replace operation but coexistence with existing systems. "Our solution can integrate with CRM, integrate with Workforce Management, and with virtual agents, aka chatbots, in a new and innovative way. We're hearing about some companies doing about 5 to 10% of their service as digital. Getting to 50% is probably three to five years away."
Looking at himself through the eyes of the young staff at Sparkcentral, brings to bear a different kind of personality that he thinks they appreciate. His quiet temperament balances with his high level of intensity which he attributes to his athletic background. "I push myself really hard, but there's no yelling or screaming, no big drama. It's just about grinding to a win and fostering a long-term formula for success."
Gagnon is one of the growing number of executives who not only run companies but run endurance races. He is the author of a book entitled "Living the High-Performance Life: An Ordinary Joe's Guide to the Extraordinary." It documents how after achieving a level of success at 40, he redefined himself and realized that the more of a complete person he became, the more successful he was as a leader. "As an endurance athlete, I realized that temperament matters as well," he said. "And we naturally bring a high level of energy to all that we do. Mindset becomes the edge, the difference maker and whether in athletics or life we realize that pain is temporary, but quitting is forever and so we press on in spite of whatever the circumstances are. Having that confidence when you are, say, four-hour from bankruptcy makes you think about say, mile 35 of an ultra-marathon. All I have to do is hang in there and I will survive and then thrive. Yet we need to be mindful of how we are feeling, whether we admit it or not there is an impact of us and we have to find a healthy way to deal with the stress. For me, running allows me to meditate and be active; I can mindfully process things and think through the issues – by the time the run is over much of what needed to be considered is taken care of. Running helps balance chemicals in the body, produces dopamine and makes us more relaxed. It gives you an outlet to ease the great and wonderful burden of being a CEO, which can wear you down. I ran a 100K race (62 miles) last weekend and thought this is the only way I get a break from the job."
In April of 2017, Gagnon ran the aforementioned six marathons on six continents over six days. "The best part about it was that I did all of the organization myself...from booking the flights to the training, to choosing the locations. It was quite an amazing experience…not just to see the world and meet people and push yourself to new limits… but to explore what happens, for example, when you don't lay down for a week. A lot of what I had practiced for so long came together and it showed that doing things like this is possible if you put your mind to it. I went to high school and college in the Bronx, NY, so I can't be that fancy. So, when people say 'oh, I can't make it happen, I don't have this, I don't have that,' l tell them that's what I used to say.
Yet he managed to keep his focus on business as well. In the middle of this incredibly grueling schedule, one colleague reported that Joe gladly took a call on an evening between races to help with a key account. "I think we need to take the word 'can't' out of the dictionary," said Gagnon.


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Cumbria community action
Redirected from Cumbria
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Cumbria, North West England
English county
Cite as Phil Green (2014). "Cumbria community action". Appropedia. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
From Wikipedia:Cumbria
Cumbria ( KUM-bree-ə) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county. The only other major urban area is Barrow-in-Furness on the south-western tip of the county.
The administrative county of Cumbria consists of six districts (Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland) and, in 2019, had a population of just over 500,000 people. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in England, with 73.4 people per km2 (190/sq mi). In late 2021, it was proposed that the administrative county of Cumbria would be abolished and replaced with two new unitary authorities; Westmorland and Furness (Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, South Lakeland) and Cumberland (Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland).
Cumbria is the third largest county in England by area. It is bounded to the north-east by Northumberland, the east by County Durham, the south-east by North Yorkshire, the south by Lancashire, the west by the Irish Sea, the north-west by the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway, and the north by Scottish Borders.
Cumbria is predominantly rural and contains the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered one of England's finest areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for visual artists, writers and musicians. A large area of the south-east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous and it contains every peak in England over 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level, with the top of Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet (978 m) being the highest point in England. An upland, coastal and rural area, Cumbria's history is characterised by invasions, migration and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots. Notable historic sites in Cumbria include Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, Brough Castle and Hadrian's Wall (also a World Heritage Site).
1 Climate action
3 Open spaces
4 Trees, woodland and forest
5.1 Networks and sustainability initiatives
5.3 Community resources
6 News and comment
7 Campaigns
Climate action[edit | edit source]
Kendal's Climate Change Citizens Jury
Authors: Kendal Citizens' Jury, Feb 22, 2021
See List of climate assemblies, Cumbria
South Lakes Action on Climate Change
Biodiversity[edit | edit source]
Cumbria Wildlife Trust - Westmorland Red Squirrel Society
Open spaces[edit | edit source]
Fix the Fells - Friends of Blencathra - Green Heart Den, user friendly urban oasis in which people can relax in and enjoy, possibly taking part in a range of activities and visiting again and again, Barrow-in-Furness
Trees, woodland and forest[edit | edit source]
Woodmatters
Resources[edit | edit source]
Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]
Cumbria Action for Sustainability
Sustainable Brampton
Events[edit | edit source]
June 8 Fix the Fells Volunteering Day
Community resources[edit | edit source]
Community run pubs:
Lyvennet Community Pub, Eden
The Old Crown, Hesket Newmarket
News and comment[edit | edit source]
Kendal underlines the importance of community-led climate action, Jun 25 [1]
New £75,000 community energy fund up for grabs in Cumbria, Sep 23 [2]
Community fight against coal in Cumbria, Sep 23 [3]
Cumbria's first wholly community-owned hydro-electric power plant was officially opened yesterday, Jan 5 [4]
One million cubic metres of waste near Sellafield housed at a site that was a mistake, admits Environment Agency, April 20 [5]
Campaigns[edit | edit source]
Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment
Resources UK - UK events - UK Talk - UK Village pump / Bristol - Kent - London
CASwiki... Topics - Resources - News - Events / About - Join - Talk - Village pump
Places... Africa - India - Mexico - Philippines - Europe - UK - Australia - Canada - USA
External links[edit | edit source]
Wikipedia: Cumbria
↑ sharedfuturecic.org.uk
↑ cumbriacrack.com
↑ @friends_earth
↑ The Guardian
Retrieved from "https://www.appropedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cumbria_community_action&oldid=581543"
Pages with videos
Sustainable community action


Applying for business school can be a daunting task. Where do you begin, and how do you make yourself as appealing as possible? Our panel of seasoned MBA admissions professionals will help break down your to-do list into manageable portions, and teach you how to stand out in a sea of talented applicants.
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