text:
Person Detail: Russell Hoban
Full Name: Russell Hoban
(1925-2011) Author. Russell Hoban was born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and died in London, England. He was the author of several books for children as well as adult novels. He taught for a time at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Russell Conwell Hoban was born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, on February 4, 1925.
Russell Hoban died in London, England, on December 13, 2011.
Mr. Hoban taught at the School for Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York, in 1964.
What Does It Do and How Does It Work?
(Pub: Harper & Brothers Pulishers ISBN: )
Juvenile nonfiction.
Bedtime For Frances
(Pub: Harpercollins Childrens Books ISBN: ISBN-10: 0060223502 / ISBN-13: 978-0060223502)
Children's book. The first of six "Frances the Badger" series published from 1960-1970.
The Story of Hester Mouse Who Became a Writer
(Pub: WW Norton ISBN: )
Children's book.
What Happened When Jack and Daisy Tried to Fool The Tooth Fairies
(Pub: The Four Winds Press ISBN: )
The Mouse And His Child
(Pub: HarperCollins Publishers ISBN: ISBN-10: 0060223782 / ISBN-13: 9780060223786)
Children's novel.
Turtle Diary
(Pub: Random House ISBN: )
Pilgermann
(Pub: Jonathan Cape Ltd ISBN: 0224020722)
The Medusa Frequency
Ridley Walker
(Pub: Jonathan Cape ISBN: 0-224-01851-5)
Angelica Lost and Found
(Pub: Bloomsbury UK ISBN: 1408806606)


text:
Somalia: Dilemmas of the Horn
By Scott C. Johnson On 4/12/08 at 11:54 AM EDT
The jihadist leads a double life. By day he's a government functionary in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Standing in the shade of a crumbling, Mussolini-era balcony, a phone headset clipped to his ear, he affects a casual, corporate air. But then he pulls his blue oxford shirt aside to reveal a fresh bullet scar. He spies on his co-workers, he admits, and feeds information about them to the Islamist rebels who are laying siege to Mogadishu. "God willing, we'll take over the country soon," he tells a NEWSWEEK reporter, one of the few Western journalists who have ventured into Somalia in months. The State Department recently added al-Shabaab (meaning "youth") to its list of terrorist organizations, making the group a target for attacks by U.S. forces operating in the Horn of Africa. The jihadist is unconcerned. "We're like a centipede," he says. "You cut off one of our legs, we just keep going."
Unfortunately, he's probably right. In late 2006 the United States backed Ethiopia's incursion into Somalia, designed to oust the Islamic Courts Union, the Islamist coalition that had taken over much of the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim country. (Al-Shabaab was the Courts' military wing.) Washington accused the Islamists of harboring Qaeda operatives involved in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. But the Courts had also brought more stability than Somalia had enjoyed in years. Somalis could walk the streets and do business again, and many welcomed the Islamists just as war-weary Afghans hailed the Taliban in the 1990s.
Now, by trying to prevent another terrorist haven like Afghanistan from developing, America may have helped create another Iraq, this one in the volatile Horn of Africa. "Every year this fighting continues, the situation worsens," says Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Abdul Salaam of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government. The Islamists' eviction in 2006 left a power vacuum that the U.N.-backed government still hasn't managed to fill. Ethiopian troops are loathed as occupiers and rarely leave their heavily fortified bases. And al-Shabaab has broken off from the Courts to wage a brutal and effective insurgency. The guerrillas have overrun at least eight Somali towns this year and control parts of the capital. Where once they brought order to Somalia, they now gleefully spread chaos.
Mogadishu looks like Baghdad during its darker days. Thousands of Ethiopian soldiers are hunkered down behind sandbags, concrete barriers and heavy artillery. Whenever they go out on patrol, their heavily armored convoys are blasted by roadside bombs, rockets and small arms fire. In recent weeks, al-Shabaab has stepped up a suicide-bombing campaign; an attack last week targeted a compound housing African Union peacekeepers, wounding nine and killing one. Leaflets warning of death to government collaborators likewise recall Iraq.
For ordinary Somalis, violence is ever-present and random. Mogadishu is cut up into fiefdoms more than neighborhoods, divided by checkpoints and patrolled by militias that claim varying degrees of loyalty to the government. Death can come from many quarters. Two weeks ago, when insurgents attacked the presidential palace with rockets, Ethiopian troops responded with a mortar volley into the crowded Bakara market. Seventeen people were killed and nearly 50 others were injured. Shrapnel struck shopkeeper Abdul Rashid, 25. "In your country, do you throw mortars at your own people?" he asked from his hospital bed, wincing from a clear plastic tube inserted into his ribcage. Some 600,000 have fled the country in the past year, and 750,000 are now trapped in squalid camps for the internally displaced.
Whereas in Baghdad the surge is beginning to have an effect, the violence in Somalia is increasingly random and getting worse. Noor Muktar, 35, was living in Mogadishu's sports stadium with other refugees when a fire fight broke out two months ago. She fled with her daughters—"I couldn't even get our bedding," she says—and now lives on the outskirts of town in a teetering shelter of twigs and plastic. Aid workers are being driven out of the country. Three staff members from Doctors Without Borders were killed earlier this year by a roadside bomb. As of last week two humanitarian contractors, a Brit and a Kenyan, remained hostage after being taken at gunpoint on April 1. Foreign U.N. officials are prohibited from overnighting in Mogadishu. Aid agencies stopped delivering bulk food shipments in many areas of the capital after a Somali government official told radio listeners to seize food from convoys by force. A recent U.N. report declared Somalia's humanitarian crisis the worst in Africa.
The government nominally in power, fractious to begin with, is more fragile than ever. More than 60 government employees have resigned in the past year after receiving death threats—many of them broadcast live on Mogadishu's privately owned Radio Simba. An estimated 40 senior officials and intellectuals have been assassinated by insurgents in the past year and a half. A group of Shabaab fighters recently called up Mogadishu Mayor Mohammed Deerhe on his cell phone and threatened to kill him, too. (They recorded the exchange: "I'm sure you're not a Muslim," the caller taunts the mayor. "You're just talking, it's not in your heart." Deerhe shouts back: "F––– your mother!")
With a budget of less than $10 million, the government is essentially bankrupt. Somali troops haven't been paid in eight months. One soldier in Mogadishu, a gaunt, khat-chewing sergeant wearing camouflage and a pair of ragged sandals, says government forces are near collapse. "The insurgents right now are very strong," he says. "If the Ethiopians were not here with us, the insurgents would destroy us quicker." The soldier, asking not to be named for fear of retribution, says he no longer receives a salary—only pocket money when a fight is brewing.
Like America since the invasion of Iraq, Ethiopia is rethinking the wisdom of its incursion. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi spoke to NEWSWEEK last week about the possibility of a unilateral pullout. "It's not an option we will take lightly," he said. "But it is an option." Critics ask whether Washington was too blinded by its hunt for terrorists to foresee the likely pitfalls in Somalia. U.S. intelligence agencies believe fewer than a dozen high-value Qaeda targets are holed up there, including Haroun Fazul, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Issa Osman Issa—the men accused of helping to carry out the 1998 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Since the invasion, at least one target, Abu Talha al-Sudani, has been killed in a missile strike. Others have been driven into hiding or out of the country, at least temporarily. But other strikes have misfired: on March 4, the United States targeted an Islamist militia leader named Hassan al-Turki. Six people were reported killed and 10 others injured, but the object of the attack was in another village near Kenya at the time. "In the short term [the strategy] may work for us," says Ken Menkhaus, a Somalia expert at Davidson College. "But in the long term it's sowing seeds of radicalism and anti-Americanism that we're going to deal with for generations to come."
Shabaab fighters say being targeted by America only helps their cause. "What we are sure about is that adding us to the [terrorist] list will bring many young people to us," the group's spokesman, Sheik Mukhtar Robow, said in a rare phone interview. "Al Qaeda became more powerful after it was added to the list. We hope that it will be the same with us." Robow claims that the guerrillas "had no official links with Al Qaeda before," but that now "we're looking to have an association with them."
That's probably just braggadocio. But there's no question that the insurgents are growing more radical. The Islamic Courts Union included several civilian leaders who might be described as moderates: the senior leadership, including a figure named Sheik Sharif, met with U.S. officials in Nairobi last week and disavowed any connection with al-Shabaab. They have advocated dialogue and emphasized that their fight is with the Ethiopian invading force, not all "infidels." Some of them are horrified by the tactics of their onetime allies in al-Shabaab. In towns that they've conquered the insurgents have opened the jails and killed local officials before melting away again. In Mogadishu, they've begun to target more moderate Islamic leaders. Sheik Mohammed Adham, a 48-year-old madrassa teacher, says the radicals assassinated one of his colleagues and closest friends last month. "These extremists, they're mad," he says, shaking. "I try to explain to the kids what good Islam is, but when they go home they hear someone has been killed, or shot, they see the bodies and they don't understand the value of life. I tell them good things and they go out and do bad things."
Abdul Rahim Ali Moudi, a spokesman for the civilian wing of the Courts, says Washington should have worked with their more moderate leaders earlier rather than tacitly greenlighting the Ethiopian invasion. "It would have been better if the Americans had listened to the Islamic Courts. But the problem is America hears only with one ear," he says. That may be starting to change. Somalia's current prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, has opened the door to talks with "any Somali," regardless of background. (He's also blasted his own security forces as "looters" preying upon the populace.) The United Nations has appointed a new, optimistic special representative for Somalia who is aggressively working to bring both sides to the same table. "We have to have a solution," says Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. "I'm going to organize it in the next few weeks or days." Last week Ould-Abdallah met in Nairobi with representatives of the Courts' moderate wing.
The State Department is backing such efforts, and embassy officials in Nairobi met with Courts moderates last week. "We remain committed to resolving the ongoing political and humanitarian crises in Somalia," says Greg Garland, a State Department spokesman. There's one problem: the jihadists may have their own plans.
Somalia: Dilemmas of the Horn | World

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text:
ISO 31-8 is the part of international standard ISO 31 that defines names and symbols for quantities and units related to physical chemistry and molecular physics.

Quantities and units

Notes
In the tables of quantities and their units, the ISO 31-8 standard shows symbols for substances as subscripts (e.g., cB, wB, pB). It also notes that it is generally advisable to put symbols for substances and their states in parentheses on the same line, as in c(H2SO4).

Normative annexes

Annex A: Names and symbols of the chemical elements
This annex contains a list of elements by atomic number, giving the names and standard symbols of the chemical elements from atomic number 1 (hydrogen, H) to 109 (unnilennium, Une).

The list given in ISO 31-8:1992 was quoted from the 1998 IUPAC "Green Book" Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry and adds in some cases in parentheses the Latin name for information, where the standard symbol has no relation to the English name of the element. Since the 1992 edition of the standard was published, some elements with atomic number above 103 have been discovered and renamed.

Annex B: Symbols for chemical elements and nucleides
Symbols for chemical elements shall be written in roman (upright) type. The symbol is not followed by a full-stop.

Examples:
 H He C Ca

Attached subscripts or superscripts specifying a nucleotide or molecule have the following meanings and positions:
 The nucleon number (mass number) is shown in the left superscript position (e.g., 14N)
 The number of atoms of a nucleotide is shown in the right subscript position (e.g., 14N2)
 The proton number (atomic number) may be indicated in the left subscript position (e.g., 64Gd)
 If necessary, a state of ionization or an excited state may be indicated in the right superscript position (e.g., state of ionization Na+)

Annex C: pH
pH is defined operationally as follows. For a solution X, first measure the electromotive force EX of the galvanic cell

reference electrode | concentrated solution of KCl | solution X | H2 | Pt

and then also measure the electromotive force ES of a galvanic cell that differs from the above one only by the replacement of the solution X of unknown pH, pH(X), by a solution S of a known standard pH, pH(S). Then obtain the pH of X as
pH(X) = pH(S) + (ES − EX) F / (RT ln 10)
where
F is the Faraday constant;
R is the molar gas constant;
T is the thermodynamic temperature.

Defined this way, pH is a quantity of dimension 1, that is it has no unit. Values pH(S) for a range of standard solutions S are listed in Definitions of pH scales, standard reference values, measurement of pH, and related terminology. Pure Appl. Chem. (1985), 57, pp 531–542, where further details can be found.

pH has no fundamental meaning; its official definition is a practical one. However, in the restricted range of dilute aqueous solutions having amount-of-substance concentrations less than 0.1 mol/L, and being neither strongly alkaline nor strongly acidic (2 < pH < 12), the definition is such that

pH = −log10[c(H+) y1 / (1 mol/L)] ± 0.02

where c(H+) denotes the amount-of-substance concentration of hydrogen ion H+ and y1 denotes the activity coefficient of a typical uni-univalent electrolyte in the solution.

Physical chemistry
Molecular physics
00031-08

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In my last post, we discussed the existence of the muse. This week … we'll go on a search for the muse!
For each of us, the muse is different. We all have our times when our muse delivers a stream of subconsciousness that makes us cry tears of joy when we finish a chapter. There is no right or wrong when it comes to the muse. It can be living or inanimate. It could be a place, a person, a process or ritual, an activity or music. Sometimes it just shows up and we don't know how or where it came from.


Anewal, spearheaded by Etran Finatawa guitarist Alhousseini Anivolla, is performing on Dec. 7, 2017 at Rockwood Music Hall. Anewal's music modernizes the sounds of traditional African songs of the Tamashek people of the Saharan desert, introducing new soundscapes with incredible results. Utilizing two-chord instrumentation, hypnotic beats, and an eclectic sonic palette that spans blues, African music of all kinds, and even subtle nods to rock, Anewal is like no other. We're giving away a pair tickets to see them live.
To enter Afropop's ticket giveaway, sign up for our newsletter here and then send an email to info@afropop.org with Anewal in the subject line, saying that you want to enter the raffle. If you are already receiving our newsletter, just send us the e-mail instead!


The 10 plagues in Egypt described in Exodus 7 -11 is outlined in an interesting way in Tyndale's New Bible Dictionary. Certainly sounds like the work of one ruling force. This is taken straight from the above mentioned publication with the exception of the 9th and 10th plague. I'm not attempting to use scientific explanations to disprove the involvement of God. If anything, I think it shows otherwise because of the "pre-designed" nature of the course of some of the plagues. I was reminded of this information while participating in a thread discussing whether or not and how God intervenes in the world. This struck me as very interesting, so I wanted to share it with everyone here.
#1 The Nile floods every year, and due to an unusually high flood one year the river soaks up red earth that is higher on the bank. The plague of blood results (the writer records what is seen). The problematic point in this explanation would be the blood found in the water vessels (unless it was water drawn from the Nile of course).
#2 The sudden introduction of protist organisms found in the red earth disturbs the river's ecosystem and the fish die. This next disturbance of the ecosystem causes a mass migration of frogs onto land (2nd plague).
#3,4 That ecosystem cannot support this many frogs at once, and they die. Flies and gnats (some translations, maggots or lice[?]) move in to decompose the frogs (3rd, 4th plague).
#5,6 This situation is ripe for pestilence which in turn kills livestock (5th plague), and people get boils from a communicable skin disease (6th plague).
#7 This chain of cause and effect seems to end here with the 7th plague being a hailstorm.
#8 The 8th plague brings a locust swarm which would certainly not be unusual there in Egypt.
#9 When I initially read about the 9th plague "darkness that could be felt," I first thought sandstorm. Michael Grant, in his Ancient Meditteranean, writes of a volcanic eruption in the Cretan colony of Thera dated c. 1450 B.C. which in intensity dwarfed the Krakatoa eruption of 1883 (this event killed 36 thousand in Indonesia). He adds that this event most definitely could have caused dark sooty air in Egypt.
#10 Egyptian firstborn die. Certainly the extraordinary event to provide the foundation of an independent people.
I've also read that the plagues were an undermining of specific Egyptian gods.
This past year one of our preachers did a series on Exodus and he basically made the same point - God was specifically targeting each of the Egyptian "gods" to make the point there is only one true God.
What's the source and did the author explain each plague? If yes, I would want to check that out.
I knew the Egyptians worshipped snakes and cats and calves, but I didn't know they had gods in connection with such things as flies, gnats, and hail(?).
"What's the source and did the author explain each plague? If yes, I would want to check that out."
As much as I would affirm the historical and scientific authority of the text, these are not the things that the text is concerned with.
The author of Exodus is clearly not concerned with scientific fact: he is concerned with the glorification and exaltation of I AM as the supreme deity over the land of Egypt. Before these incidents, Pharaoh had thought that he himself was sovereign over his land and his people. I AM makes it clear who is in control so that His people can remember the destruction He wrought. The plagues of Egypt are repeatedly referred to throughout the OT as symbolic of the greatness of I AM and for the necessity to remain in His covenant (Joshua 24:17, Judges 6:8 10:11, Nehemiah 9:9, Psalms 78, 81;10, 135, Isaiah 10:26, Jeremiah 11:4, Ezekiel 20:6). Because of this these events were necessarily grand in scope and memorable, so much so that the children of the Israelites were supposed to take great interest and ask about them.
Another reason for the scope of destruction in the text, which may be some kind of figure of speech, is to show that I AM has selected the people of Israel to be set apart from the Egyptians. For almost all of the plagues Israel is set apart from the rest of the nation, which shows not only the power and presence of I AM in the plagues but also demonstrates the specialty of I AM's covenant people.
In conclusion, I would affirm the historical accuracy of the text, but that is not the main issue here. The issues are who is sovereign over Egypt and why Israel should follow I AM. Through great miraculous events I AM shows Himself worthy of being followed and the only sovereign over any land, no matter how powerful their king.
Would you say the same thing about Genesis 1-3? If so, that casts a huge shadow on the Creationism/Evolution debate, does it not?
I have a few questions regarding the 10 plagues as described in Exodus, which I havn't been able to find good answers to.
What I find interesting of the 10 Plagues is that the Egyptian Sorceress and Magicians were able to do the same things by thier secret arts.
My question is: If the Egyptians use magic and thier secret arts and could do the same, where does thier power come from. Of course the obvious answer would the Egyptian Gods that they worshipped, but I guess what i'm really asking is what is the power behind the gods?
Is it the occult and demonic power?
Do the Egyptian Gods represent demons and the egyptians worhipping them is equivelant to demon worship?
What is the biblical definition of a demon? Are they fallen angels and are they the same as Evil spirits?
I would be interested in any opinions or views that others may have.
You will notice that the Egyptian sorcerers only copied the 'simple' miracles.
They clearly did not turn the Nile red for that had already been done. All they did was produce water and then turn it red. Any good conjuror could do that without being spotted.
The Egyptians also had the art of paralysing snakes so that they looked like a rod, and then causing them to become unparalysed.
In both cases these were simple conjuring tricks.
But when it came down to tiny insects they were beaten.
The Bible is not interested in the science behind what it describes. Its aim is to present the power and splendour of God.
That the first seven plagues followed a pattern often experienced in Egypt in a mild form is scientifically possible. What was amazing in this case was the way in which it was enhanced.
But the writer was concerned to bring out God's hand in it all.
The same thing is true about the relation of the plagues to the gods of Egypt. All the plagues were related in one way or another to the gods of Egypt, but it will be noted that no attention was drawn to the fact until Exodus 12.12. Moses did not want to introduce such ideas, which would have put the wrong emphasis on the story.
In Genesis 1 the whole emphasis was on God's operation. The secondary activity was almost ignored. The writer was not interested in 'how' but 'Who'. He was not interested in the science of it. He leaves us to recognise that some adaptation took place. For there were only three creative acts (using bara - to create). The initial creation, the creation of life, and the creation of man. The remainder is seen as 'just happening' because God spoke.
One source of such theories is found in articles by G Hort in Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (sorry, but you did ask :-))) ).
There is probably some truth in what she points out, but as so often taken too far.
The following is a critique of her work (from Answers in Genesis site).
According to Hort, the first plague, of blood, was supposedly4 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i1/plagues.asp#r4) a massive amount of red algae, plus a huge quantity of red earth washed into the Nile by excessive rains on the Abyssinian plateau. These algae allegedly de-oxygenated the water, thus killing the fish, which somehow gave rise to anthrax bacteria. The frogs then sickened, left the river (the second plague) and died. Hort's third plague was mosquitoes, which had bred in the floodwaters, and her fourth was the biting fly Stomoxys calcitrans, breeding in the decaying plants left by the retreating Nile flood. The livestock disease of her fifth plague was anthrax spread by the dead frogs. The sixth plague, of boils on animals and people, was supposedly skin anthrax transmitted by the biting flies.
The crucial element of Hort's theory is her two red algae, Haematococcus pluvialis and Euglena sanguinea, which she claims enhanced the colour of the muddy Nile water to make it 'blood-red'.6 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i1/plagues.asp#r6) However, these two algae are not normally red—in turbid, flowing water they are green, so the Egyptians could not possibly have mistaken them in the Nile for a plague of blood!
The fish could not possibly have died from the presence of Hort's two benign algae. Nor could they have died from anoxia (lack of oxygen), caused by any algae, because anoxia can only occur after an algal bloom, which cannot occur in muddy water. The fish died because they could not live in the blood.
If the water had been merely red-coloured, the Egyptians needed only to have let it stand in a vessel until the mud settled, or they could have strained it. Exodus 7:19–20 says that the Nile turned to blood when Aaron struck the water with his staff. There was no time delay, no gradual accumulation of red matter, and blood appeared in streams, ponds, pools, and vessels of wood and stone (Exodus 7:19), not just in the Nile.
Hort depends on floodwaters to breed her mosquitoes and biting flies, as well as to provide the widespread coating of red mud/dust on the land that she claims was blown aloft to cause the plague of darkness. However, Exodus makes no mention of floodwaters during the plagues. On the contrary, Moses meets Pharaoh on the banks of the Nile (Exodus 7:15), and the Egyptians dig along the Nile to search for drinking water (Exodus 7:24). These are not descriptions of a flooded river.
Hort depends on flooding for her plagues of frogs, flies and locusts, with more water added from the hailstorm. She does not explain how the khamsin dried out this massive saturation of the alleged red mud coating so that it could have turned into dust and been blown aloft in just a few hours. The Egyptians would have been used to desert storms. Pharaoh would hardly have been influenced by one, even if it lasted three days.
It is manifestly disingenuous of Hort to claim a mistranslation of one Hebrew word in the Bible account to substantiate her naturalistic theory, and then for her to disregard the two-and-a-half chapters of the same source document (Exodus 11:1–13:16) that describe in great detail the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians and the saving of the firstborn of the Israelites.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/images/v27/i1/p37_boats.jpgDid God use natural processes?
The beginning of all the events (and the cessation of some) at the exact times stipulated by Moses as the agent of Yahweh,10 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i1/plagues.asp#r10) and because of the actions or prayers of Moses and Aaron.
God is not precluded from using natural phenomena or secondary agents to accomplish His special purposes. In fact, Exodus 10:13 says that God brought the locusts of the eighth plague by 'an east wind that blew across the land all that day and all that night'. And then Exodus 10:19 says that, to end this plague, God 'changed the wind to a strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea'. However, this is the only plague which Moses detailed in this way.
Hort (and others) who attempt to belittle the plagues as being no more than a 'logical and connected sequence' of natural phenomena12 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i1/plagues.asp#r12) must explain why 'Mother Nature' has never repeated anything remotely like this sequence of events. All naturalistic explanations of the plagues lose sight of God's role as Judge. Hort might also ponder why, for the last 3,500 years, the Jews, in their annual Passover feast, have celebrated the deliverance of their firstborn as the trigger for their exit from Egypt.
Hort, G., The Plagues of Egypt, 2 parts, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 69:84–103, 1957; 70:48–59, 1958. Hort was 'a scholar of medieval English literature and religion' (ref. 3).
E.g. The New Bible Commentary Revised, Inter-Varsity Press, London, Exodus 7:14–11:10, p. 126, 1970; and The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Part 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England, Plagues of Egypt, pp. 1234–1237, 1980. Also The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Plagues of Egypt, Vol. 3, pp. 878–880, 1986. Sparks, B., Red algae theories of the ten plagues: contradicted by science, 2 parts, Bible and Spade 16(3):66–77, 2003 and 17(1):17–27, 2004, on which this article is based.
Hort wrote that we can only 'suppose that the waters of the Blue Nile … had brought [the two species of "red" algae] into the Nile from Lake Tana (Hort 1957:94, emphasis added)'. Quoted from ref. 3. Hort changed the east wind that brought the locusts into a south wind, because they are supposed to come from the Sudan or south-western Arabia. She also changed the west wind that blew the locusts into the Red Sea into a north, or sea, wind (ref. 3).Others, unacknowledged by Hort, have suggested red algae, red silt and anthrax. 'Hort's unique contribution has been to name two particular species of algae that are non-existent in Egypt and the Nile' (ref. 3). They are not listed in more than 170 species of algae known to cause HABs, listed by UNESCO and other sources (ref. 3). Wild carnivores may (rarely) contract anthrax by eating infected carcasses; humans may contract it from eating infected meat, or, if they have cuts or abrasions in their skin, from handling infected hides or wool. Moses announced or initiated plagues 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 before Pharaoh, but not, it seems, 3 and 9.
'YHWH' or Jehovah, the sacred name of the one true God (Exodus 3:14).
Exodus says that plagues 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 did not occur in Goshen, and no. 6 (boils) occurred 'on all the Egyptians'. Goshen is not mentioned in respect of 1, 2, 3 and 8.
Marr and Malloy (1996) postulated that a different set of organisms caused the plagues, that the 9th plague was blindness not darkness, and that the 10th plague was caused by a poisonous mould (from the droppings of the locusts) growing on the top portions of the grain supplies, with the firstborn receiving extra helpings. These and other naturalistic theories are counted in ref. 3.
Also of possible interest (I have not looked into it yet, but intend to).
Catalogued as 'Leiden 344', it was discovered in 1828, and translated in 1909 by Prof. Alan H. Gardner under the title The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage from a Hieratic Papyrus. See <www.geocities.com/regkeith/linkipuwer.htm>, 24 May 2004.
Becher, M., The Ten Plagues—Live from Egypt, <ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/838>, 21 April 2004.
Down, D., Searching for Moses, TJ 15(1):53–57, 2001, who quotes from Erman, A., The Ancient Egyptians: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, Harper and Row, New York, pp. 94–101, 1966.
In respect of the gods of Egypt: (from Answers in Genesis site).
To deliver the Israelites (Exodus 3:8; 19–20; 6:1, 5).
To answer Pharaoh's question: 'Who is the Lord1 that I should obey His voice and let Israel go?' (Exodus 5:2; 7:5; 8:22; 9:14).
So that the Israelites would know the power of Yahweh (Exodus 6:7; 10:2).
To show that the earth belongs to Yahweh, not to the Egyptian gods (Ex. 9:16, 29; 11:7; cf. Psalm 24:1).
To execute judgment on 'all the gods of Egypt' (Exodus 12:12, cf. Numbers 33:4).
Following, we list ways in which the plagues could have spoken against the various gods of Egypt.
Hathor was originally worshipped in the form of a cow. Later she is portrayed as a woman with a cow's head, and finally with a broad-faced, serene human head. She is also represented with the head-dress of a pair of horns with the moon-disk between them. She was presented in many different guises and associated with many local 'gods' in ancient Egypt.
The 1st plague was directed against the Nile itself, which the Egyptians worshipped as their source of life. This plague confronted the numerous river deities, including Khnum (guardian of the Nile), Hapi (spirit of the Nile and god of fertility) and Osiris (god of the underworld, whose blood the Nile was considered to be). By turning the Nile into blood and killing the fish (supposedly protected by Hathor and Neith), Moses was not only shaming all these Egyptian objects of worship, but also showing that sustenance comes only from the hand of Yahweh.
The 2nd plague, of an immense number of frogs, attacked the Egyptian goddess Heqet, symbol of good crops (derived from the Nile waters) and childbirth, usually depicted as a woman with a frog's head; as well as Isis, another fertility goddess. Frogs were sacred to the Egyptians. However, these goddesses were powerless to prevent these symbols of life from becoming rotting piles of death.
Interestingly, the Egyptian magicians mimicked the plagues of blood and frogs with their enchantments (Exodus 7:22; 8:7). These could have been simulations, but more likely were demonic miracles, as miracles are evidence of supernatural power, not just of God's power.2,3 God allowed the magicians to add to these two plagues, but not to reverse them!
The 3rd plague, of lice (or gnats or mosquitoes) from the dust of the earth, confronted all the gods of the earth (e.g. Akhor). This and the 4th plague, of flies, confronted another favourite, Khepri, the scarab (dung beetle) god. A plague of flies shows failure of the dung beetle god to do its job of burying the dung, which stops flies from breeding in the dung. This god was also associated with rolling the sun across the sky, like dung beetles rolling balls of dung.
The 5th plague, on the livestock (which provided food, milk, clothing and transportation), was a direct attack on Apis, the sacred bull god, and Mnevis, a bull-god symbol of fertility, as well as Hathor, the cow-like mother goddess, and Isis, the queen of the gods, who wore a cow's horns on her head. They were all shown to be imposters.
The 6th plague, of boils, showed the impotence of any of the gods of magic and healing, such as Hike and Thoth (Imhotep), to protect even the magicians from the boils, and thus from the power of Yahweh.
The 7th plague, of hail, and the 8th one, of locusts (brought by the wind), that destroyed the crops, attacked the various sky deities (e.g. Shu, Tefnut and Nut, deities of air, moisture and sky), who supposedly controlled the weather. The loss of crops showed the impotence of the gods of vegetation, agriculture and harvest (e.g. Geb and Seth).
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/images/v27/i1/p37_pyramid.jpgThe 9th plague, of darkness, was an attack on the supreme deity of Egypt, the sun-god Ra or Amon-Ra (also spelt Re), who was believed to bring light and heat to the earth. Other sky gods also impotent were Horus, Seker, Khepri, Mut and Nut.
Finally, the 10th plague, of death of the firstborn, was an attack on the divinity of Pharaoh, whom the Egyptians believed was an incarnation of the sun-god and of Osiris, the giver of life. It was the Pharaoh's task to retain the favour of the gods and to uphold the laws of Ma'at, goddess of order. However, he was powerless to prevent the death of his own son, the next-in-line 'divine ruler', or that of anyone else's son in the land of Egypt.4 Thus, Yahweh alone had absolute control of life and death.
I have dug out a more sober explanation of the sequence of events for the first six plagues.
The Plagues In The Light Of Natural Phenomena.
We will now try to see the plagues in the light of natural phenomena, recognising that God used natural phenomena, enhancing it where necessary, to accomplish His purpose. While the land waited totally unaware of the forces that were gathering He knew exactly what was coming and what He would do with it and directed Moses accordingly.
The first nine plagues form a logical and connected sequence if we work on the basis that in that year there was an abnormally high inundation of the Nile occurring in July and August. In Egypt too high an inundation of the Nile could be as bad as too low an inundation, and this was clearly beyond anything known. This would be caused by abnormal weather conditions in lands to the south of Egypt of a kind rarely experienced which may well have also caused the effects not produced directly by the inundation.
The higher the Nile-flood was, the more earth it carried within it, especially of the red earth from the basins of the Blue Nile and Atbara. And the more earth it carried the redder it became. The flood would further bring down with it flood microcosms known as flagellates and associated bacteria. These would heighten the blood-red colour of the water and create conditions in which the fish would die in large numbers (7.21). Their decomposition would then foul the water further and cause a stench (7.21). The water would be undrinkable and the only hope of obtaining fresh water would be to dig for it (7.24). The whole of Egypt would of course be affected. This is the background to the first plague.
The result of these conditions would be that the decomposing fish would be washed along the banks and backwaters of the Nile polluting the haunts of the frogs, who would thus swarm out in huge numbers seeking refuge elsewhere (8.3). Their sudden death would suggest internal anthrax which would explain their rapid putrefaction (8.13-14). This is the background to the second plague.
The high level of the Nile-flood would provide especially favourable conditions for mosquitoes, which may partly explain either the 'ken' (ticks/lice/fleas) (8.16) or the 'arob (swarms) (8.21), while the rotting carcasses of the fish and frogs would encourage other forms of insect life to develop, as would excessive deposits of the red earth which may have brought insect eggs with them. Insects would proliferate throughout the land (8.16). These might include lice and also the tick, an eight-legged arthropod and blood-sucking parasite and carrier of disease, as well as fleas. This is the background to the third plague.
As well as mosquitoes from the Nile flood, flies would also develop among the rotting fish, the dead frogs and the decaying vegetation, including the carrier-fly, the stomoxys calcitrans (which might well be responsible for the later boils), and become carriers of disease from these sources. The 'swarms' may well have included both (8.21). This is the background to the fourth plague.
The dying frogs might well have passed on anthrax, and the proliferating insects would pass on other diseases, to the cattle and flocks who were out in the open (9.3) and therefore more vulnerable. This is the background to the fifth plague.
The dead cattle would add to the sources of disease carried by these insects, and the insect bites, combined with the bites of the other insects, may well have caused the boils (9.9). This would occur around December/January. It may well be the background to the sixth plague.
Thus the first six plagues in a sense follow naturally from one another given the right conditions, but it is their timing, extremeness and Moses' knowledge of them that prove the hand of God at work.
The excessively heavy hail (9.22), with thunder, lightning and rain, may well have resulted from the previously mentioned extreme weather conditions, but it went beyond anything known and was exceptional, resulting in death and destruction, and the ruination of the barley and flax, but not the wheat and spelt which was not yet grown (8.31-32). (This indicates a good knowledge of Egyptian agriculture). This would probably be in early February.
The excessively heavy rains in Ethiopia and the Sudan which led to the extraordinarily high Nile would cause the conditions favourable to an unusually large plague of locusts (10.4; 10.13), which would eventually be blown down into Northern Egypt and then along the Nile valley by the east wind (10.13).
The thick darkness (10.21) that could be felt was probably an unusually heavy khamsin dust storm resulting from the large amounts of red earth which the Nile had deposited which would have dried out as a fine dust, together with the usual sand of the desert. The khamsin wind would stir all this up making the air unusually thick and dark, blotting out the light of the sun. Three days is the known length of a khamsin (10.23). This, coming on top of all that had come before, and seeming to affect the sun god himself, would have a devastating effect. These unusual and freak events demonstrate an extremely good knowledge of Egyptian weather conditions with their particular accompanying problems, which could only have been written in the right order by someone with a good knowledge of the peculiar conditions in Egypt which could produce such catastrophes, confirming the Egyptian provenance of the record and the unity of the account.


The results of the successful study were published Wednesday, April 10, on the online scientific journal Nature. It was through the efforts of the scientists at Wellcome Sanger Institute that the amazing breakthrough in cancer medicine was discovered. This includes Dr. Fiona Behan, who lost her mother after contracting cancer for the second time.
"This is so important because currently we treat cancer by treating the entire patient's body. We don't target the cancer cells specifically," says Dr. Behan in an interview with BBC.
The scientists used a genetic technology called "CRISPR." It's a tool geneticists use to separate and manipulate DNA, the same thing that was used to re-engineer two babies in China in 2018.
More commonly though, chemotherapy is used to combat cancer cells. This procedure is very traumatic for the human body, as it attacks the whole system rather than just the cancer. Through gene editing therapy, chemotherapy might not be an option in the near future, as there will be newly developed drugs to fight cancer.


Journal Star-area wrestlers entering the individual state tournament series unbeaten.
Only St. Bede senior John Barnes (32-0 at 285 pounds) and Josh McKinney of Midwest Central/Havana (27-0 at 160) wrapped up the regular season perfect.
Regionals begin Saturday across the state.
The Olympia wrestling team captured the Corn Belt Conference title with its first dual victory against Mahomet-Seymour in 15 years. The Spartangs defeated the Bulldogs 44-21 and Illinois Valley Central 72-9 on Jan. 27 to secure the league championship.
Olympia wrapped up the regular season 27-1 in duals and head into the postseason ranked No. 5 in Class 1A, according to the GEI Apparel/IllinoisMatmen.org rankings.
The Spartans have six wrestlers with 30 or more wins this season — Austin Weaver (35-2 at 106), Keaton Fogler (34-4 at 220), Triston Ballinger (31-10 at 145), Jake Short (30-9 at 120), Liam O'Rourke (30-10 at 160) and Wyatt Spaulding (30-6 at 182).
Three others have 28-plus wins — T.J. Peters (29-9 at 285), Bo Bauer (28-5 at 170) and Dawson Swindle (28-14 at 132).
Olympia's lone loss came against No. 4 ranked Lena-winslow, 38-27.
9 — Consecutive Big 12 Conference wrestling title for Bloomington, including the last two with Peoria schools in the league.
2 — Days until regional wrestling tournaments begin throughout the state. Look for previews of Journal Star area regionals on Friday.
While Wednesday was National Signing Day for football for high school seniors, two Peoria High juniors also received Division I offers.
Illinois offered junior receiver Jamir Whitelow. Lions junior offensive tackle Kendrick Green also received an offer, from Illinois State.
Both were JS first-team large-school all-area this past season.
Princeville defeated United 61-46 behind 20 points from Marisa Horton-Meza. Horton-Meza scored from both the inside and the outside, with four of her eight baskets coming from deep. Breana Bauman and Lucy Ward scored 15 points each for Princeville. Bauman was perfect from the free throw line, making all four of her foul shots. Ward did her damage on the inside, making six baskets and finished 3 for 4 from the free throw line.
Megan Axcell, Knoxville girls basketball: Scored 24 points in a 54-43 win over Brimfield on Wednesday. She made nine baskets including four from behind the arc. She helped the Blue Bullets fend off a 35-point second half from Brimfield. Kennedy Dura led the Indians with 17 points.
Richwoods (14-12, 5-2) at Notre Dame (19-7, 7-1), girls basketball, 7 p.m.: The Irish grabbed the first nonconference meeting in overtime, 55-53 on Dec. 1.


Due to the current construction, we had limited space available. We will be showing this film again in the future. Thank you for your interest and support!
In a picturesque garden on a grand country estate, two long-time friends, an 85-year-old pruning master, and the gardener, tend to the espaliers. Surrounded by vegetable patches, citrus trees, the orchard, and lush grapevines, they talk about food, the weather, their craft (which is quickly disappearing), and the changing world around them. For 15 years, they've been working on the pear arbor, but will it finally come together this year? What about the harvest? Will it be ready for the end-of-season banquet? Capturing one year in the life of the historic garden, magnificent documentary Portrait of a Garden is a beautiful, transcendent viewing experience.
In Dutch, with English subtitles.


text:
function stateValuesKFInn = mmsodaCalcInnovations(kalmanGain,obsPerturbed,measOperator,stateValuesKFPert,stateValuesKFInn,iDAStep)
% View HTML documentation for this function in the help browser

% %

% % LICENSE START
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % MMSODA Toolbox for MATLAB                                                 % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % Copyright (C) 2013 Netherlands eScience Center                            % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");           % %
% % you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.          % %
% % You may obtain a copy of the License at                                   % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0                                % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software       % %
% % distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,         % %
% % WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.  % %
% % See the License for the specific language governing permissions and       % %
% % limitations under the License.                                            % %
% %                                                                           % %
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
% % LICENSE END

[nParSets,nMembers,nStatesKF,nDASteps] = size(stateValuesKFPert);

for iParSet=1:nParSets

    KG = shiftdim(kalmanGain(iParSet,1:nStatesKF,1:nStatesKF),1);

    for iMember=1:nMembers
        A = shiftdim(obsPerturbed(iParSet,iMember,1:nStatesKF,iDAStep),2);
        B = shiftdim(stateValuesKFPert(iParSet,iMember,1:nStatesKF,iDAStep),2);

        stateValuesKFInn(iParSet,iMember,1:nStatesKF,iDAStep) = shiftdim(KG*(A-measOperator*B),-2);

    end

end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the Psxss.exe process frequently consumes 100 percent of the CPU's resources.
This problem occurs because a local procedure call (LPC) live lock occurs in the kernel.
See Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2 for more information.
The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.
See the terminology Microsoft uses to describe software updates .


text:
Language immersion classrooms: Programs are popular, diligence translates to performance
By Mercedes White Jan 29, 2012, 11:04pm MST
Share All sharing options for: Language immersion classrooms: Programs are popular, diligence translates to performance
Sophie Mertlich, front left, and Ariel Harp participate in Alisa Wu's third grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Tanner Isom listens to first-grade teacher Yu-Pei Tan during Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Olivia Springer, left, and Sophie Mertlich flank their teacher, Alisa Wu, who teaches third-grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy. Language immersion classes have been shown to help overall academic skills. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Ashley Pocock reads during Alisa Wu's third grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Bentley Crook leads the group during Yu-Pei Tan's first grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Alisa Wu's third grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Cali Jeppson leads the group during Yu-Pei Tan's first grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Ella Memmott leads the group during Alisa Wu's third grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Third grade teacher Alisa Wu plays piano during Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Children dance and sing during Alisa Wu's third grade Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Tanner Isom is at the front of the class with first grade teacher Yu-Pei Tan during Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Nathan Wilkinson is at the front of the class with first grade teacher Yu-Pei Tan during Chinese immersion class at Lone Peak Elementary School in Sandy, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Ravell Call, Deseret News
Bilingual education helps to level the socio-economic playing field by giving students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to acquire and excel in another language ... in some cases (they) perform as well as students from more advangtaged backgrounds. – Fred Genesee, researcher
Ms Alisa Wu's third grade class in Sandy looks like any other classroom in the country. The desks are lined in neat rows. Brightly colored pictures of letters and vocabulary words decorate the walls. The students read aloud a story from a primer. When they finish, they are lead in a music lesson by their teacher.
But this is no ordinary class.
The letters that cover the walls are Chinese characters. The story the class reads, entirely in Mandarin, is about an important Chinese holiday. And the song the eight-year olds are singing is a Chinese translation of a "Party Rock Anthem," a popular American song. Ms. Wu's class is not completing a unit on China, nor is their interest in Chinese language and culture a passing phase. They are part of a Mandarin language immersion program at Lone Peak Elementary.
Wu's class is part of a growing trend of language immersion classrooms. In 1981 there were fewer than 30 immersion programs in the country, today there are 448, according to a 2011 report released by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), a non-profit organization that advocates for foreign language instruction. States like Minnesota and Utah are leading the way with 52 and 58 schools offering language immersion options. American students are being educated in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Japanese, German, Arabic, and Norwegian.
One of the most intriguing aspects of these programs, both for parents and educators, is that immersion students tend to outperform their English-only peers on standardized tests. Why this phenomena exists is not entirely clear, but several factors unique to these programs provide some insight. Learning a new language simulates brain development in ways that enhance mental flexibility and develop problem solving skills says Ellen Bialystok, a research psychologist at York University in Toronto Canada. Parents with children in immersion programs may be more invested in their kids education, which has strong positive impact on student achievement notes Fatima Baig an education researcher at the University of Iowa. Finally, the nature of language immersion teaches students how to stick to difficult tasks. This diligence translates to better performance on exams, because students will be more likely to persist on challenging problems, according to a report released by the department of education at the University of Pennsilvanyia.
Superior performance
Student performance results from Canada, where language immersion has been a staple for over 30 years, are impressive. They've found that children enrolled in French-immersion programs consistently outperform their non-immersion counterparts. For example, on the 2009 Program International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, an assessment of student performance by country, Canadian students enrolled in French immersion scored about 50 points higher on the reading examination than their non-immersion peers, according to data compiled by Statistics Canada.
To put those numbers in perspective, Canadian French-immersion students average scores are higher than the average score for China, the top performing country in the survey. Immersion students scored an average of 573 on their reading exam, while non-immersion students averaged 523 points. China's average was 554. Canada as a whole scored 524.
In the United States, where language immersion programs are a more recent development, similar results have been observed. In Utah, for example, Chinese immersion students perform 6-11 percent better than non-immersion students on state board examinations, said Sandra Talbot, program director for Utah Chinese Dual Immersion.
Socio-economic status
The superior performance of language immersion students is often explained simply as a function of socio-economic status. Immersion students, the theory goes, tend to come from more affluent families and children from more affluent families do better in school, said Doug Willms, professor at the University of New Brunswick and member of the US National Academy of Education.
And while money is a convenient explanation, in this case it misses the mark. Among French immersion students, researchers found that "when gender, socio-economic background, and parent's education are taken into account ... immersion students still out perform their counterparts in non-immersion programs," according to a 2004 report by Statistics Canada.
But those findings aren't limited to Canada where well developed social programs even out distinctions between the haves and have nots. In a study of French immersion students in the Cincinnati Public School system researchers found that children who were from socio-economically underprivileged backgrounds benefited from immersion instruction as much as their more affluent peers. "Bilingual education helps to level the socio-economic playing field by giving students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to acquire and excel in another language ... in some cases (they) perform as well as students from more advangtaged backgrounds," said Fred Genesee, researcher on the study, from his office at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
Brain Development:
Numerous studies show a link between learning a second language as a child and IQ. In their 1979 landmark study of language immersion, RJ Griffore of Michigan State University and DD Samuels of William Paterson University in New Jersey found that immersion students out-performed their non-immersion peers on IQ tests. They noted that immersion students are particularly good at answering questions that asked them to interpret and organize a series of seemingly unrelated objects. But they weren't sure why.
It wasn't until data imaging that this theory could be examined more systematically. Dr. Ellen Bialystok, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University in Toronto Canada, uses traditional experimentation and brain imaging to study how learning a second language impacts children's cognitive development. Bilingual children, she noticed, tend to have have increased density of grey matter in the left inferior parietal cortex than their monolingual peers. This is because that section of the brain houses our "executive control" functions. She has found that learning a new language requires the constant involvement of the "executive control system," to help the child manage attention to the new language. Bialystok believes that the experience of learning a new language enhances the executive control system making it more robust for other functions too. In addition to moderating a person's ability to focus, the executive control system manages the ability to problem solve, to suppress misleading information, and to switch between multiple frameworks, said Fred Genesee.
To see how this enhanced functioning plays out on an achievement tests consider one of Bilyastok's experiments. Bilingual and monolingual students were asked whether the sentence "Apples grow on noses." was grammatically correct. The monolingual children were confused and often unable to answer the question. The bilingual children, by contrast, were successful in identifying that the sentence, although ridiculous, was grammatically correct. In this experiment, she explains, "the ability to ignore meaning when it is not part of the task is harder for monolingual children." In this case, children who speak a second language seem to be better able to focus on important details needed to correctly answer the question.
Sand Springs Elementary School in Layton has an award winning Spanish immersion program. Because of high demand and limited spots, the school holds a lottery for prospective students each year before the start of classes. Parents who want to have their children's names on the list are asked attend an information meeting at the school. "At the meeting they ask you to commit to the program," said Amy Mullins, whose son Daniel is part of the kindergarten Spanish immersion class there. "They ask you stay with the program, to not to take your kids out to school, and to read with them everyday for 20 minutes in English," she said.
Numerous studies show how committed, involved parents have a positive influence on student achievement. "Parental effort is consistently associated with higher levels of achievement and the magnitude of the effect of parental effort is substantial." said Karen Smith Conway, a professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire. Just how substantial? According to Conway: "Schools would have to increase per-pupil spending by more than $1000 in order to achieve the same results that are gained by parental involvement."
Intriguingly, certain kinds of parental involvement have more impact than others. According to Douglas Willms things like supervising homework, volunteering in classrooms, and attending parent teacher meetings have relatively small effects on student outcomes. But here are things that do impact student achievement. "Taking a genuine interest in kids achievement," by for example, "discussing school activities and helping them plan their programs has the strongest relationship to academic achievement," he said.
Willms is skeptical that parental involvement is what accounts for the superiour performance of immersion students, however, there are those whose work suggests there may be a connection. Fatima Baig, of the University of Iowa, studies the motivations of parents who choose German language immersion for their children. She found that across the board these parents said their biggest motivatior for choosing immersion was that it would give their child a better education. In her research she noticed that because these parents were excited about their kids education, they often wanted to talk with their kids about what they were learning in school. An interesting finding in the context of Willms work.
Cathy Steel chose a language immersion program for her son Ethan because of research she did on how "learning a new language opens up the brain for other kinds of learning" she says. Her fifth grade son Ethan, who has been in in Spanish immersion at Sand Springs Elementary since kindergarten, is reaping the benefits of a mind stimulated by a bilingual education. His teacher, Ms Skousan, calls him "bright" and "engaged." But in addition to the intellectual benefits Cathy expected to see, she says Spanish Immersion is teaching Ethan some important life skills too.
When Ethan has questions about his homework, Cathy's isn't necessarily in a position to help him because she doesn't speak enough Spanish.(Though according to Ethan's teacher Ms Skousan, her efforts to become fluent are impressive). While Cathy is there to support and encourage her son, Ethan is the one who has to find creative ways to answer his questions.
Amy Mullins notices something similar with her son Daniel. "My son is learning to be resourceful and confident because he can't run to mom and dad when he has questions," she says. He is learning to "take ownership for his education...to be independent...and to persist in difficult tasks."
This last element, persisting in difficult tasks is interesting because it is highly correlated with student achievement. Earling Bow and Robert Boruch, professors of education at the University of Pennsylvania, examined student performance on the International Mathematics and Science Study exams. The exams include two sections: the subject test questions and a student background questionnaire. They noticed that student performance on the subjects tests was highly correlated with the number of questions they answered in the background questionnaire. In their analysis of their findings they suggest that if we want to understand differences in student achievement "it is necessary to recognize the non-academic factors, such as student characteristics as majors sources of.... (performance) variability," according to their report.
EMAIL: mwhite@desnews.com


text:
package fr.sii.ogham.core.env;

import static fr.sii.ogham.core.CoreConstants.SERIAL_VERSION_UID;

import java.io.PrintStream;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Enumeration;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.Set;

/**
 * Extends {@link Properties} and wraps a {@link PropertyResolver}. The aim is
 * to be able to use a {@link Properties} object required by Java Mail while
 * real property handling is managed by the underlying {@link PropertyResolver}.
 *
 * @author Aurélien Baudet
 *
 */
public class PropertiesBridge extends Properties {
	private static final long serialVersionUID = SERIAL_VERSION_UID;
	private final transient PropertyResolver propertyResolver;

	/**
	 * Wraps the property resolver
	 *
	 * @param propertyResolver
	 *            the property resolver to wrap
	 */
	public PropertiesBridge(PropertyResolver propertyResolver) {
		super();
		this.propertyResolver = propertyResolver;
	}

	@Override
	public String getProperty(String key) {
		return propertyResolver.getProperty(key);
	}

	@Override
	public String getProperty(String key, String defaultValue) {
		return propertyResolver.getProperty(key, defaultValue);
	}

	@Override
	public Enumeration<?> propertyNames() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public Set<String> stringPropertyNames() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public void list(PrintStream out) {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public void list(PrintWriter out) {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized int size() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized boolean isEmpty() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized Enumeration<Object> keys() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized Enumeration<Object> elements() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized boolean contains(Object value) {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public boolean containsValue(Object value) {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized boolean containsKey(Object key) {
		return propertyResolver.containsProperty((String) key);
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized Object get(Object key) {
		return propertyResolver.getProperty((String) key, Object.class);
	}

	@Override
	public Set<Object> keySet() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public Set<java.util.Map.Entry<Object, Object>> entrySet() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public Collection<Object> values() {
		throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized String toString() {
		return propertyResolver.toString();
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized boolean equals(Object other) {
		return super.equals(other);
	}

	@Override
	public synchronized int hashCode() {
		return super.hashCode();
	}
}


text:
Menu Contact/Location
About RDCollab
Design Sketchbook
Increasing Value
Penn at 29th
2847 Penn Avenue
info@rdcollab.com
Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
Daniel Rothschild
Daniel Rothschild is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, an architecture and urban design firm located in Pittsburgh. He provides design, graphic, and communication leadership through the use of the firm's Design Sketchbook process and active participation in architecture and urban design projects. Dan creates design solutions that are artful, meaningful, and pragmatic, and that bring together divergent interests.
Dan received his Bachelor of Environmental Design at Miami University and studied at the Architectural Association in London. He pursued his Master of Architecture at North Carolina State, where he received the American Institute of Architects School Medal.
Dan's commitment to the design narrative has helped to form the collaborative environment of the firm. Dan has extended his leadership to the architectural community with the Regent Square Civic Association, the Pittsburgh Executives Association, and through eight years of service to the American Institute of Architecture Pittsburgh chapter including the role of President. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon in the Urban Lab, and has lectured at local universities. Recently, Dan served as President of Temple Emanuel. He is Co-Founder and Facilitator of AIA Pittsburgh Foundation's Leadership Institute for Emerging Professionals.
Copyright © 2020 Rothschild Doyno Collaborative. All rights reserved.


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35 Shocking Migraine Statistics to Think About in 2022
written by Ljubica Cvetkovska / January 12, 2022
If you think migraines are just headaches, you probably don't know enough about them. Migraines are recurrent headaches that cause mild to severe pain, usually throbbing on one side of the head. They're often accompanied by other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
Although they aren't considered a dangerous condition, the migraine statistics show that they still impact a person's life. In fact, according to these stats, acute attacks can be so severe they completely incapacitate sufferers and impair their daily activities.
Read on to find out more about migraines!
The Top 10 Migraine Statistics for 2022 to Keep in Mind
1 in 7 people in the world suffers from migraines.
28 million women in the US experience migraines.
Migraine symptoms can persist for up to 24 hours after a migraine attack ends.
An acute migraine attack can last from 4 to 72 hours.
190,000 migraine attacks take place every day just in the UK, according to migraine statistics.
Neurological symptoms appear in almost 20% of migraine attacks.
More than 20% of adults suffering from chronic migraines are disabled.
Migraine sufferers are 2 to 8 times more at risk of developing a sleep disorder.
Less than 5% of people experiencing migraine symptoms consult a headache specialist.
The cost of American adults getting brain scans because of their headaches is $1 billion a year.
Are Migraines Common?
How common are migraines these days? We'll find that out and more in the following section.
1. Migraines are a primary headache disorder.
(MRF)
After cavities and tension headaches, migraines are ranked third on the list of the most common health conditions. On top of that, they are the sixth most disabling illness.
2. 190,000 migraine attacks take place every day just in the UK.
(National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)
Further research on how many people in the UK suffer from migraines indicates that 6 million Brits report having migraine symptoms every year.
3. 1 in 7 people in the world suffers from migraines.
(The Migraine Trust)
It's estimated that 14.7% of people across the globe have migraines. What's more, around 2% of the world population suffers from chronic migraines.
Migraine Statistics in the US
Here, we'll be looking at the stats on migraines in the United States specifically.
4. 28 million women in the US experience migraines.
Women are affected by migraines three times more often than men. This is mostly due to changes in hormone levels, one of the most common migraine causes.
5. 39 million Americans have migraines.
In addition, recurring migraines affect 18% of women, 6% of men, and 10% of children. This means you'll find someone with this condition in one out of every four US households.
Health Facts Related to Migraines
What do migraines say about your general health? Here, we'll be discussing everything to do with health and migraines.
6. Migraines commonly go through 4 stages.
The four migraine stages include prodrome, aura, attack, and post-drome. However, additional headache facts show that not everyone goes through all four migraine stages.
7. There are 2 main types of migraines.
(WebMD)
Those types are migraines with aura or without aura. Aura refers to the sensory and visual symptoms that usually herald a migraine attack. These symptoms can last for as long as 30 minutes.
8. A quarter of migraineurs experience aura.
(Healthline)
Migraines with aura usually happen among 25% of migraine sufferers, statistics show. This typically occurs in the form of blurred vision and dizziness.
9. Migraine symptoms can persist for up to 24 hours after a migraine attack ends.
(American Migraine Foundation)
The postdrome stage, also known as a migraine hangover, lasts up to a day after the acute migraine attack and is characterized by fatigue, weakness, and cognitive difficulties.
10. An acute migraine attack can last from 4 to 72 hours.
How long is too long for a migraine? If the headache does not stop after three days, it would be a good idea to meet with a doctor. In addition, if you're older than 55 and are experiencing a headache that's accompanied by nausea for the first time, it's best to go to the doctor.
11. Neurological symptoms appear in almost 20% of migraine attacks.
What are the first signs of a migraine? Most people notice some of the warning signs of a migraine in the first stage, which occurs one or two days before an attack. These can be in the form of food cravings, mood changes, tiredness, and constipation.
12. Migraines run in the family.
(National Headache Foundation)
70% to 80% of people with migraines also have at least one family member who has suffered from this ailment, as revealed by most migraine stats. Although there's no definitive evidence as to what causes headaches, factors that can trigger severe types of headaches or migraines include skipped meals, the use of various medications, bright lights, disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle, and stress and depression.
13. There is a 50% chance of inheriting migraine pain.
These odds increase to 75% if each parent has the condition. Also, during childhood, boys are more at risk of migraines than girls, while this changes once puberty starts. Migraines in men, as we know, are less common than they are in women.
14. 35- to 45-year-olds are most at risk of getting migraine headaches.
(MRF, ResearchGate)
Migraine symptoms tend to appear during puberty. However, headache statistics show that they can affect much younger children. In fact, almost half of those troubled by migraines had their first attack before the age of 12.
15. Almost 10% of children suffer from migraines.
(Migraine Health Information & Community)
The statistics also reveal that children affected by this type of headache are twice as likely to miss school than children who have never had migraines.
16. Families that live on less than $35,000 a year are more likely to have a family member who suffers from migraines.
(American Headache Society)
This information shows a high migraine prevalence among families living below the poverty line. Also, patients under 65 years of age who get government health care assistance are more likely to suffer from recurring head pain.
17. Cincinnati is the worst city to live in for migraine patients.
(Migraine Again)
Cincinnati and St. Louis are ranked among the cities with the highest prevalence of lifestyle choices and foods that act as migraine triggers. However, according to the migraine statistics by state, California is the best place for migraine sufferers. In fact, 8 of the 20 cities with the lowest prevalence of this ailment are found in the state.
How Common Are Chronic Migraines?
How many people suffer from chronic migraines? In this section, we'll be exploring this and more.
18. Almost 1% of Americans complain of chronic migraines.
Chronic migraines affect 1% of US adults. That is 1.5 million women and over half a million men. Chronic migraine prevalence is notably higher among women, especially in midlife.
19. Headaches that happen on more than 15 days a month are defined as chronic.
Getting painful headaches on a total of at least 15 days each month, with migraine symptoms occurring with at least 8 of them, are classified as chronic migraines. Overuse of certain medications is cited as the most common reason why acute migraines turn into chronic pain.
20. More than 20% of adults suffering from chronic migraines are disabled.
As many as 90% of chronic migraine sufferers say they can't function normally and miss work as a result of a migraine attack, the chronic migraine statistics indicate. Also, some serious health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders, have been commonly observed in people affected by chronic migraines.
21. Almost half of the people with chronic migraines have relationship problems as a result.
(Verywell Health)
Migraines not only impair a person's ability to work, but hinder their progress in forming personal relationships as well. Living with migraines can put strains on family and social relations. Plus, the regular expenses for traditional and alternative migraine medications account for more stress and anxiety. Further facts about migraines show that almost 45% of migraine patients spend less time on a family activity at least once a month because of the pain caused by chronic migraines.
22. Suffering from chronic migraines can lead to suicide.
(Global Healthy Living Foundation)
Chronic migraineurs who also have related mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, are three times more likely to try to commit suicide, migraine suicide statistics reveal.
Migraines and Sleep
How are sleep and migraines related? Find that out and more in this section.
23. Most migraine attacks happen between 4 am and 9 am.
Migraines are believed to affect the sufferer in the early morning hours, indicating that a person's circadian rhythm or sleep habits can trigger the appearance of migraine symptoms.
24. Migraine sufferers are 2 to 8 times more at risk of developing a sleep disorder.
When it comes to the migraine facts and figures in relation to sleep habits, there's evidence that people suffering from chronic migraines are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia.
25. Sleeping for 8 hours can help stop migraines.
Regular sleep behavior can prevent the appearance of migraines. Sleep deprivation is proven to cause recurring types of headaches, but so is oversleeping. The majority of migraine facts confirm that healthy sleep habits are the right idea for migraine prevention.
26. Sleep can also offer relief from migraine symptoms.
(NCBI)
In a recent study of 32 people suffering from persistent tension headaches, 81% found sleep to be the most effective coping mechanism for the pain.
Migraines and Treatment
How do you treat migraines? This section will be discussing treatments for migraines.
27. Over half of migraineurs are never diagnosed.
Despite the global prevalence of migraines, this condition commonly remains misunderstood. In fact, migraine symptoms are frequently misdiagnosed as sinus headaches and tension headaches.
28. Only 12% of those troubled by migraines get preventive migraine treatment.
The goal of preventive migraine medications is to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks as well as their severity and duration. Helpful migraine information shows that as many as 25% of sufferers would benefit from preventive medication.
29. More than 50% of migraine patients self-medicate.
Approximately 98% of migraineurs admit to taking medication that temporarily relieves their headache, while almost 50% say they've never used preventive migraine medication.
30. Less than 5% of people experiencing migraine symptoms consult a headache specialist.
In the US, there are 500 certified headache specialists. However, medical schools generally provide only one hour of preclinical headache training and two hours of clinical headache training.
31. Cold packs offer the best relief from migraines.
What gets rid of migraines fast? The stats show that cooling down your forehead for 15 minutes can give you the fastest and most effective remedy for migraine pain.
The Impact of Migraines
What impacts do migraines have on those who experience them?
32. Migraines cost the US budget more than $35 billion annually.
In fact, almost 160 million working days are lost a year in the US due to migraines and migraine symptoms.
33. The cost of American adults getting brain scans because of their headaches is $1 billion a year.
What's more, these migraine stats show that the cost of chronic migraine treatment was higher than $5.4 billion in 2015, while $41 billion was spent on the treatment of conditions stemming from migraines, such as obesity, back pain, and high blood pressure.
34. A third of migraine sufferers worry that they might lose their job due to chronic pain symptoms.
Looking at additional headache stats, it's also clear that migraine sufferers are more at risk of developing psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and chronic stress.
35. Migraineurs pay 70% more for medical services.
(Migraine.com)
In addition to higher health care costs, these patients feel the burden of no or little support, as well as limited access to high-quality health care.
Migraine statistics show that the worldwide rates of this type of chronic pain are pretty high. We need to be aware that this is a very common and serious health issue that can seriously impact a migraineur's work and personal relationships. In addition, it's linked to stress and anxiety, which can lead to many physical and mental diseases. Hopefully, you and your loved ones now have all the facts to better understand the severity of migraine attacks and help you deal with them.
What is the number one cause of migraines?
Stress is the number one trigger that can cause a migraine. Other causes can include sleep irregularities, alcohol, hormones, caffeine, drastic weather changes, dehydration, bad eating habits, certain smells, light, and excessive use of certain medications.
What is the most severe migraine?
This question is difficult to answer as there are many types of severe migraines. Choosing which one is the most severe depends on which symptoms seem most severe to you. That being said, Hemiplegic migraines can cause paralysis, vision problems, and other symptoms that mirror a stroke. These can be extremely disturbing to a person.
Can a migraine kill you?
Migraine pain can lead to migrainous infarction, which in turn can cause a stroke. Although very serious, it is also extremely rare. In fact, doctors say that a person is more likely to get struck by lightning than die from a headache. However, living with any type of chronic pain is hard and can result in many serious health and mental diseases.
Will my migraines ever go away?
Sadly, there is no cure that permanently gets rid of migraines. Nevertheless, there are drugs that offer relief, and there are also migraine treatments that regulate the frequency and severity of the pain during a migraine attack.
What is a silent migraine?
Silent migraines happen when a patient experiences aura but no headache. Aura symptoms can include sensitivity to light and sound, blurry vision, dizziness, and abdominal issues. As aura symptoms are very similar to signs of stroke and meningitis, silent migraines can be very dangerous and require medical attention.
How do neurologists treat migraines?
Neurologists, who are trained in headaches, can diagnose migraines based on family history and MRI or CT scans. Treatment usually consists of preventive migraine medication taken on a regular basis and aimed at reducing how often migraines occur and how severe they are. Painkillers are also prescribed, particularly for acute attacks since they offer relief by preventing the appearance of migraine symptoms.
What are ocular migraines?
Ocular migraines can happen during or after a migraine attack. They're rare, ocular migraine statistics reveal, causing temporary vision loss or temporary blindness in one eye. The symptoms are the result of reduced blood flow in the retina and usually go away after an hour. This condition is often confused with aura. However, an optical migraine affects only one eye, while aura (or visual migraine) impacts both eyes.
Is migraine a serious problem?
Recurring headaches can be a seriously debilitating condition. Apart from experiencing pulsating chronic head pain, migraine sufferers also deal with nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and cognitive difficulties, such as not being able to think clearly or concentrate, as well as memory loss and difficulty communicating. The stats indicate that a vast majority of migraineurs cannot function properly during a migraine attack, which impairs their work performance and social activities.
What percentage of the population has migraines?
Around 12% of the United States population experiences migraines, including children. This works out to be many people in the country who live with migraines. This number breaks down to around 6% of men who experience migraines and 18% of women. Migraine statistics also show that around 10% of children suffer from migraines.
American Headache Society
Global Healthy Living Foundation
Healthliine
Migraine.com
Migraine Health Information & Community
National Headache Foundation
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
The Migraine Trust


Psychedelic desert doom/metal outfit SPIRIT ADRIFT has issued the new single "To Fly On Broken Wings," through an exclusive premiere hosted by Revolver Magazine, as their Curse Of Conception LP nears release through 20 Buck Spin.
SPIRIT ADRIFT – featuring members of Gatecreeper, Goya, and others – has taken their craft to an ascendant new level on Curse Of Conception earning their rightful place among the top tier of modern metal bands clawing their way above and beyond the underground scene. Now more than at any time metal has become the lifeblood of rock music and SPIRIT ADRIFT offers Curse Of Conception as an embodiment of that perseverant vitality.
Tune in to Revolver to hear "To Fly On Broken Wings" at THIS LOCATION.
Curse Of Conception was engineered and mixed by Sanford Parker (Yob, Pelican, Eyehategod) and features artwork by Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Magic Circle, Autopsy). Fans of Crowbar, Metallica, Judas Priest, Testament, Khemmis, Thin Lizzy, Rwake, Yob, Alice In Chains, Baroness, Pallbearer, Mastodon, and Katatonia, pay heed to the band's entrancing riffs.
20 Buck Spin will release Curse Of Conception worldwide on CD, LP, and digital formats October 6th. Hear SPIRIT ADRIFT's previously-released "Starless Age (Enshrined)" and find preorders at Bandcamp HERE; find additional options through the label webshop HERE, and iTunes HERE.
SPIRIT ADRIFT has booked two release shows for the LP, one in Tempe on October 7th alongside Atriarch, Take Over And Destroy, and Divine Hammer, and the second in Denver on October 14th with Khemmis and Abrams. Stand by for live updates including widespread touring in support of the record.
While Arizona's SPIRIT ADRIFT caused many listeners to take notice with their debut album Chained To Oblivion, it is on Curse Of Conception that the band has taken a giant leap forward in songwriting prowess, production and confidence. From Metallica/'Priest-like moments to epic crescendos, radio-ready crawlers to sky-shaking thunder, SPIRIT ADRIFT is aiming sky high with burning focus and peak vigor. Throughout the duration, brick-heavy riff assembly, somber southern atmospherics, and grand melodies entwine flawlessly into perfect metallic majesty.


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Tracking Mali's desert elephants near Timbuktu
by Nigel Kuhn | Jan 26, 2017
Nigel Kuhn is a frontline photographer and film producer partnering with our Mali Elephant Project and the Chengeta Wildlife team and International Conservation Fund of Canada. Read on to learn about Nigel's experience tracking the desert elephants of Mali as part of our anti-poaching efforts with Chengeta Wildlife. View the original article here.
The soldiers mounted up onto their troop carriers and heavy support wagons as we prepared to go out into the Malian desert and carry out our first anti poaching mission just South of Timbuktu. With a sense of urgency we left behind a skeleton guard and drove out of camp onto the potholed road under a scorching sun. A sun which having already been up for a few hours by 9 am, was chastising us for loitering.
We were in Mali as part of the Mali Elephant Project. This a project run by the WILD Foundation and the International Conservation Fund of Canada, and in partnership with Chengeta Wildlife who are providing critical combat tracking tactics for a brand new anti poaching unit. Lead by Rory Young, an expert tracker and combat tracking trainer, the team is providing 'in ops' training to this new unit.
Turning off the road, we passed beneath one of the towering monoliths which break up this Sahel semi-desert landscape and continue into the interior.
For some reason, this landscape reminds me of the Lord of the Rings… The dark Lord Sauron at the centre of his dark mountain and little Gollum and his servants scampering around the crags and planning to cause mayhem and chaos… anyway, I digress.
Amidst the arid ground, we started moving in and out of swamp land, mostly dry and parched, though we could see where the water had been above the black clay-based soil for weeks at a time during the wet season. It transformed this part of the desert into aquatic swamp land; a life-giving source for the grass, trees, and of course, the elephants.
The column stopped in a stand of trees and after taking up defensive positions, I took the opportunity to get out and have a scout around with some of the forest guards.
As we moved slowly through the area, we found them. Our first glimpse of elephant activity — footprints the size of craters. For many of the soldiers and forest guards, this was the first time they had seen such colossal footprints; so deep and so unbelievably wide. They were much bigger than the Southern African savanna elephant I was used to.
We discussed the differences between the rear footprints and the forefoot prints — the number of toes on each, which direction the elephant bull was walking, his speed, and lastly, how to tell his mental state. Was he anxious or was he just going about his day in typical elephant fashion? Questions are always great in the wilderness as they require answers and this comes from taking a closer look and investigating. For a photographer, the simplicity of this edict is perfect.
We ended up lining up for an impromptu photo shoot with bums in the footprints as we posed. This is what makes wildlife and conservation come alive. Enjoying moments like these is what makes tracking fun and taking the time to relax from the rigours of war and appreciate the simple beauty and magnitude of the present.
It was soon nearing lunch time and the hottest part of the day, so we set about laagering up in a glade to seek a bit of shelter from the scorching noon heat. Here the men cooked lunch and rested underneath vehicles and in any bit of shade available. We drank fresh Tuareg tea brewed by the one of the forest rangers, Azimud, and relaxed in a smattering of shade.
The tea comes in a shot glass, has a lot of sugar and the correct way to drink it is to sip it, with pinkie up. I feel honoured when I see Azimud coming with his little teapot and shot glasses and after weeks in the field with this team of men, one comes to miss these small moments.
Before the sun went down we had to make a decision whether to stay and laager up in the desert or head back to a more secure camp, but travelling at night was definitely not on the cards. With a constant source of tea we would be alright I figured!
We wanted to stay out, however it is a real threat staying in an area with little security and a relatively small number of men. Despite this, we had the element of surprise on our side and it would have taken a formidable number of troops (at least three times our number) to mobilize against us, but that would take more than a few hours to organise.
With ISIS and Al QAEDA running about causing mayhem, it is something which needs to be taken seriously and there have been cases where these "laagers" have been attacked at night by a lone gunman, so perimeter security is vital.
As the heat of the day abated with the setting sun, I took a moment to think about how much I have to be thankful for. To be in a position where I might be doing some good as part of a team of dedicated people who have given their lives over to studying and protecting these elephants.
That night at about 3 am when the temperature drops a few degrees, just before the dawn covers the land in its glow, I crawled into the bivvy bag Rory lent me and wrapping my turban around my head, trying to keep warm. The standard sleeping position in Mali for us on the ground is the fetal position, with a bivvy bag on top and a hand under our head. There are no pillows and it's comfortable.
With the sun rising over the desert behind the OC's wagon, the radio transmitter communicating in Morse code, the camp came to life. Hot tea was brought to us — it always feels somewhat of an honour.
Information was coming in that three bulls had ransacked the granary of a local farmer so we went to investigate. Loading up, we looked quite impressive as an anti-poaching unit. Something that seems to come easily to these troops and forest guards is the notion that when dealing with the community it is from the point of view of a guardian. They are there to help and offer assistance. It is with deference a people's respect is earned and with it a willingness to act and do the right thing. Naturally, the farmer was upset and after discussion with him and elders in the community, we set off in the general direction the elephants were headed.
We soon picked up the trail and it was time for the men to show their combat tracking skills. The last thing we wanted was to run into an elephant unprepared. The tracking team kept on the tracks, at times with Rory having to assist and point out signs which are easily missed.
Suddenly the lead tracking team crouched down, eyes on. I moved across from the scope team I was with. The men were whispering excitedly, pointing, with the biggest, broadest smiles and eyes full of wonder.
There they were, moving slowly like ephemeral ghosts through the undergrowth… the stark monolithic cliffs reaching up to the sky in the background. This is Mali. Elephants meandering through this area of the Sahel, oblivious to the war waging around them. Behind me the military men stood transfixed. The Officer in charge murmured, "How can anyone kill a beast as magnificent as this?"
Two days tracking and we were now spending precious moments with them. Moments which I knew would be over soon. I was trying to drink in all the details. The small tusks, the massive grey and wrinkled bodies. The power of their trunks as they tore down branches. The way they stuck together in a group, exactly like three old men after a lifelong friendship.
This is the Africa I love and for a moment it took my mind away from the fact there are men out there who see only dollar signs when they look at these beasts. The men who will kill mercilessly to earn an easy dollar. Right then it was just me and the elephants and I truly believe every person recedes inwardly and reflects on their souls when in the presence of such greatness.
About Nigel Kuhn:
Born in Zimbabwe, Nigel finished his schooling there and attended selection for a front line infantry regiment in the British army. Upon successful completion, he joined the Royal Green Jackets for just under four years. He saw service in Kosovo in '99 and Bosnia in 2001.
After leaving the army Nigel successfully completed an honours degree in photography, new media and journalism at the London College of Music and Media.
He returned to Africa and completed a year of professional guides training in South Africa in the FGASA system. After moving back to Zimbabwe Nigel successfully started two anti-poaching operations, which are still yielding results despite present politics.
Nigel first started working for Chengeta Wildlife after meeting Rory Young in Harare; he saw his first operation in Malawi, and now finds himself in Mali. To add value to his work in Mali and additional anti-poaching work in West Africa, Nigel is in the process of learning French in a small town in France.
For more information about our community conservation and anti-poaching efforts:
Keeping the elephants alive
The most challenging & dangerous elephant protection operation
Why do the local people protect the elephants?
The key to success: locals benefiting from elephant protection
John Emitchell	on January 28, 2017 at 11:26 am
Conservation requires good skills in tracking and proper military style of operation to safeguard the elephants on this earth. The struggle for conservation has taken new dimension which calls for a shift from old approach to more technological advancement to protect nature.
We sound the alarm to the rest of the world to take up arms against trafficking and illegal killing of iconic species. With this in mind, I wish to support the new intervention to conservation of wildlife on this planet.