text:
Nulla sit eight competition points clear at the top of the Macleay Valley Cricket Association first grade table after they picked up two victories in as many Twenty20 games last Saturday. Nulla's bowlers did the job as they were able to defend their total of 182 in their opening victory over South West Rocks. Adam Stutz (53) helped Nulla post the high total before Dan Baker and Mitch Nichols both picked up two wickets to contribute to South West Rocks falling 15 runs short of victory. Nulla then proved they can chase just as good as they can defend a total, as they surpassed Stuarts Point/Eungai's 143 runs at the end of the 15th over. It was a match to remember for Nulla bowler Chris Walker as he finished with eight wickets from his four overs. Corey Crotty (68) and Shane crouch (63) combined with the bat to earn the win. Meanwhile Rovers picked up a win in their first outing as they chased down Stuarts Point/Eungai's total of 98 in the 16th over. However, they weren't able to match those efforts in an important clash with South West Rocks. In a battle for second position, South West Rocks posted a total of 157 to chase but Rovers weren't up to the challenge. Rovers were dismissed for 130, giving South West Rocks a 27 run win.
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/xyfVshGek4Z7PqCkQg9FwW/2ff4cc1a-e361-4ad1-a494-40da69219991.JPG/r0_139_3338_2025_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
January 13 2020 - 10:58AM
South West Rocks bounce back to topple Rovers
Callum McGregor
A Nulla bowler sends the ball down the pitch. Photo: Penny Tamblyn
Nulla sit eight competition points clear at the top of the Macleay Valley Cricket Association first grade table after they picked up two victories in as many Twenty20 games last Saturday.
Nulla's bowlers did the job as they were able to defend their total of 182 in their opening victory over South West Rocks.
Adam Stutz (53) helped Nulla post the high total before Dan Baker and Mitch Nichols both picked up two wickets to contribute to South West Rocks falling 15 runs short of victory.
Nulla then proved they can chase just as good as they can defend a total, as they surpassed Stuarts Point/Eungai's 143 runs at the end of the 15th over.
It was a match to remember for Nulla bowler Chris Walker as he finished with eight wickets from his four overs.
Corey Crotty (68) and Shane crouch (63) combined with the bat to earn the win.
Meanwhile Rovers picked up a win in their first outing as they chased down Stuarts Point/Eungai's total of 98 in the 16th over.
However, they weren't able to match those efforts in an important clash with South West Rocks.
In a battle for second position, South West Rocks posted a total of 157 to chase but Rovers weren't up to the challenge.
Rovers were dismissed for 130, giving South West Rocks a 27 run win.
Primary producers are encouraged to apply for $75,000 bushfire recovery grant
Family ties and diverse roles highlighted at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre
Kempsey's Sanity store is set to close its doors next month
Australian Defence ships: what's so special about them
Hundreds of thousands of fish dead in Macleay River
Kempsey region revealed to have a higher than average level of economic disadvantage


text:
HIBAKUSHA: Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945)
Hiroshima*********************************************************************************************************************************Nagasaki
by Roland Salazar Rose
Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 1945 and Seventy-five years later 2020 , the Pandemic Year
The "hibakusha" are the surviving victims of the atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945. While these individuals survived the immediate effects of the blasts, the hibakusha have suffered from the effects of radiation sickness, loss of family and friends, and discrimination.
Many hibakusha share their personal tragedies and are dedicated to promote peace and to create world free of nuclear weapons. In this the seventy-fifth memorial year of the bombings it's required that we take time to remember all that happened and the effects its had on all of us.
Roland Salazar Rose was in military service at Corona Naval Hospital, California when the government announced the first Atomic Bomb destroyed Hiroshima. This was startling news for the World War II community, and was met with different points of view: "Great, that's what the Jap's deserve!" "Oh, those poor civilians!" (Several thousands Japanese soldiers were in Hiroshima at a barracks, all were killed.) Several days later, the second A bomb fell, this one on Nagasaki, and a week later Japan surrendered unconditionally to the United States. The war, that killed and maimed millions, was over.
Time to move on. And the U.S. did, as the America dream was at that time very much alive (not like now), and America started to turn tanks into cars, washing machines and all that became the late '40s and '50s craze for consumerism. New housing sprung up like grassland in the plains of Nebraska, and the valleys of California filled to the very edge of the cliffs edge with sprawling new homes for the millions seeking what was denied and now was achievable. In the East coast, on Long Island, Levitt developments commanded the potato fields for their massive developments of affordable housing, many of these planned communities still are occupied, but not necessarily affordable.
Roland was discharged from military service in California, and like thousands of others received unemployment assistance; the "52-20 Club," as so called then. Returning to his home in Queens NY, and with a dull job as a clerk at a large conglomerate in the city, he sought and got approved his GI Bill for college enrollment. He went to Champlain College in Plattsburg, NY, and from there to New York University.
Roland, and many ex-military lived well after the end of WW II; the war brought the "Greatest Generation" prosperity. The "Hibakusha," who might dare face a mirror, saw only terrible scars and lived with and died from radiation sickness.
Now: seventy-five years later, we continue to move on! But, stopping and remembering is always needed, now, more than ever in this Pandemic Year of 2020. And, we must always stand for no more wars." Roland Salazar Rose
www.salazargallery.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We're here to answer the most common questions about nondairy milk alternatives.
From appetizers to desserts, here are plenty of healthy Christmas recipes everyone can appreciate.
You don't have to feel guilty as you pile your plate high with these healthy sides.
Got a picky eater? Don't despair! These healthy dinners for kids are right up their alley.
This healthy food for school will keep you happy and focused all day long!


text:
ERJ Early View
Author FAQs
ERS Publications
European Respiratory Journal
ERJ Open Research
European Respiratory Review
ERS Books
ERS publications home
Reversing the tuberculosis upwards trend: a success story in Romania
C. Marica, C. Didilescu, N. Galie, D. Chiotan, J. P. Zellweger, G. Sotgiu, L. D'Ambrosio, R. Centis, L. Ditiu, G. B. Migliori
European Respiratory Journal 2009 33: 168-170; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00104308
C. Marica
C. Didilescu
N. Galie
D. Chiotan
J. P. Zellweger
G. Sotgiu
L. D'Ambrosio
R. Centis
L. Ditiu
G. B. Migliori
At present, no published evidence is available on the effectiveness of the DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) strategy in reducing the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) within a country in the European "hot spots". The present study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy implementation in reversing the epidemiological TB trend in Romania based on programmatic data analysis.
Key programme indicators were analysed from 1998 to 2007, and included DOTS coverage, case-detection rate, treatment success and overall incidence of notified cases. Internationally agreed definitions were used.
The key programme indicators began declining and the World Health Assembly targets were reached (79% case-detection of new sputum-smear positive cases and 85.5% success rate in new culture-positive TB cases), 7 yrs after initiation of the DOTS expansion.
The success story in Romania suggests that other middle-income, high-incidence countries (i.e. those belonging to the former Soviet Union) might be able to reach the World Health Assembly Targets and curb the burden of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis (TB) control is based on rapid diagnosis and effective treatment of infectious, sputum smear-positive (SSP) cases, and is aimed at breaking the chain of transmission and preventing selection of resistant mutants 1. In the early 1990s, the World Health Organization (WHO), after recognising that TB is a global emergency, advocated the global adoption of the DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) strategy. The DOTS strategy, which consists of five key elements (government commitment, diagnosis through bacteriology, standardised and supervised treatment, uninterrupted drug supply, and regular programme monitoring), proved to be one of the most cost-effective strategies ever initiated 1.
Moreover, in order to achieve the World Health Assembly targets (WAT; e.g. 70% detection of SSP-TB cases and 85% successful treatment of cases) and the TB-related Millenium Development Goal (a steady decline in TB incidence) 1, 2, WHO developed a broader approach that is embodied in the new Stop TB Strategy 1. The Stop TB Strategy consists of the following six elements: 1) pursue high-quality DOTS expansion and enhancement; 2) address TB/HIV, multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB and other challenges; 3) contribute to health system strengthening; 4) engage all care providers; 5) empower people with TB, and communities; and 6) enable and promote research. The new Stop TB Strategy incorporates all the principles of the DOTS strategy (as the first element), while offering further new elements (patient support, quality diagnosis and treatment for all patients, including MDR-TB, extensively drug-resistant-TB and TB/HIV co-infected cases), and is represented by all care providers, who are essential to improving TB control in difficult settings 3, 4.
Although evidence on the successful implementation of DOTS in Asia and Latin America exists 5, its long-term effectiveness was recently questioned 6. To date, no published evidence is available on the effectiveness of DOTS in reducing the incidence of TB within countries in the European "hot spots".
Over the past 20 yrs, Romania has been reported to have one of the highest adult TB rates in the whole of Europe; from 1995 to 2007 >23,000 cases·yr−1 were recorded, which corresponds to >100 TB cases per 100,000 population 7, 8.
The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the DOTS strategy implementation in reversing the epidemiological TB trend in Romania, based on programmatic data analysis.
The DOTS strategy was implemented in Romania building on the experience that had been gained in the pilot projects of Iasi County (Romania), where a protocol based on WHO recommendations (DOTS Strategy) was developed 1, 2, 8.
Surveillance data were collected using a computerised data-collection programme, based on Fox-Pro, which connected external units with the national Surveillance Unit at Marius Nasta Institute (Bucharest, Romania). The individual nominal data included all Eurosurveillance-recommended variables 9, 10. Confidentiality was ensured by coding all names of the data-set according to Romanian legislation. The following key programme indicators were analysed from 1998 to 2007: 1) DOTS coverage (proportion of the total population served by the strategy); 2) case-detection rate (as estimated by the National TB Programme and validated by WHO 7); 3) treatment success (the sum of cured cases, e.g. with evidence of bacteriological conversion at the end of treatment, and achieving treatment completion, e.g. having taken >80% of the prescribed doses) 2, 4, 7; and 4) the overall incidence of notified cases, new SSP cases, new culture positive cases, relapses, children (aged <14 yrs) and the case-fatality rate per 100,000 population.
Internationally agreed WHO definitions were used 2, 4, 7. The DOTS strategy was implemented in Romania building upon the experience gained in the pilot projects of Iasi County, where, in 1997, a protocol based on WHO recommendations was developed and implemented 8. After the successful implementation of DOTS in Iasi County, a gradual expansion of DOTS projects was carried out, which, by the end of 2005, covered the whole of Romania. The Romanian programme was based on the DOTS strategy launched by WHO before the Iasi project was created and not on the Stop TB Strategy, which was introduced after the DOTS implementation had been completed in Romania.
The results are summarised in figures 1⇓ and 2⇓. The DOTS coverage increased from 4% in 1999 to 11, 34 and 54% in 2000, 2001 and 2003, respectively, i.e. the year in which the national incidence of notified TB cases started to decline. The case-detection rate under the DOTS strategy increased gradually from 46% in 2002 to 75% in 2006 (79% in new SSP-TB) and the treatment success rate increased from 72% in 1997 to 82% in 2006 (85.5% in new culture-positive TB). After reaching the minimum ever rate in 1985 (55.8 per 100,000 population), the overall TB incidence continued to increase reaching the maximum ever rate in 2002 (142.2 per 100,000 population), after which it declined until 2007 (fig. 1⇓).
Tuberculosis (TB) notifications (per 100,000 population) and case-detection rate during and following completion of DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) expansion, Romania, 1999–2007. ▪: DOTS coverage (%); •: overall TB notification rate; ▾: case-detection rate, all new cases; ▴: case-detection rate, new sputum-smear positive; ♦: TB notification rate in children.
Treatment success and tuberculosis (TB) mortality rates (per 100,000 population) during and following completion of DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) expansion, Romania, 1999–2007. •: treatment success, new sputum-smear positive; ▪: cured, new sputum-smear positive; ♦: completed, new sputum-smear positive; ▴: overall TB mortality rate.
The behaviour of the other related indicators (incidence of newly notified SSP and children per 100,000 population) was similar (fig. 1⇑). After reaching a minimum ever rate of 7.9 per 100,000 population in 1999, the TB case-fatality rate continued to increase reaching the maximum ever rate of 48.2 per 100,000 population in 2002. This then declined consistently until 2007 when it reached 31.1 per 100,000 population (fig. 2⇑). The number of relapses, after reaching a maximum in 2002 (4,418 cases), initiated a consistent decline to reach 4,152 in 2007.
The study results suggest that implementation of the WHO-recommended strategy of TB control had an impact in reversing the upward TB trend in Romania, a high-incidence, middle-income European country. In 2006, Romania was the first among the priority European countries to reach the WATs, with a 79% case-detection rate of new SSP-TB cases and an 85.5% success rate in new culture-positive TB cases (cases cured: 71.7%; treatment completed: 13.8%), the indicator on new SSP-TB cases was a little below target at 82.2% (cases cured: 69.1%; treatment completed: 13.1%). The reason for the higher case-detection rate in SSP-TB cases than in all new cases is probably an effect of the extensive training conducted before DOTS implementation, which was funded by the Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The training emphasised the bacteriological confirmation of TB cases.
The main indicators related to the incidence of notified cases, after a typical post-DOTS implementation increase, declined 7 yrs after DOTS expansion was initiated. The decline of the TB case-fatality rate demonstrated the effectiveness of drug treatment. This was further confirmed by the declining number of relapses, reflecting the effectiveness of the treatment component of the programme. The results achieved in Romania, and reported in the present study, are largely based on the DOTS Strategy, as the new WHO approach was only introduced in 2006. As the new WHO Stop TB Strategy implies a more comprehensive approach to TB control, the programme results may improve in Romania in the future given that government and other stakeholders' commitment will continue at the present level.
As a consequence of the extensive public-health implementation of a strategy (Stop TB strategy) the study results are based on the analysis of surveillance (register) data (e.g. without the possibility of further patient follow-up) and comparison of indicators over time (e.g. without the possibility of comparing group versus control cases, as in controlled clinical trials).
Further epidemiological research is necessary to understand which factors are responsible for the sub-optimal results of the Stop TB Strategy in other settings. While the role of HIV is a well-known factor responsible for increasing the death rate and lowering success rate, as well as promoting development of TB disease among infected patients and preventing TB programmes to reach WAT, there is still little evidence available on the role of some social determinants of health, such as poverty, malnutrition, diabetes, etc.
The success story of Romania suggests that other middle-income, high-incidence countries (e.g. those belonging to the former Soviet Union) might be able to reach the World Health Assembly targets and decrease the burden of tuberculosis, after correctly implementing all elements of the Strategy. Moreover, a coordinated effort of all stakeholders at national level is necessary to tackle the social determinants and to control the HIV pandemic using the available strategies 1–3. This intervention will hopefully contribute to preventing the selection of multidrug-resistant- and extensively drug-resistant-tuberculosis mutants in these "hot spot" settings.
None declared.
Earn CME accreditation by answering questions about this article. You will find these at the back of the printed copy of this issue or online at www.erj.ersjournals.com/current.shtml
Received July 9, 2008.
Accepted September 8, 2008.
© ERS Journals Ltd
Raviglione MC, Uplekar M. WHO's new Stop TB Strategy. Lancet 2006;367:952–955.
The Stop TB Partnership. The Global Plan to Stop TB 2006–2015. Actions for Life Towards a World Free of Tuberculosis. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2006
Migliori GB, Loddenkemper R, Blasi F, Raviglione MC. 125 years after Robert Koch's discovery of the tubercle bacillus: the new XDR-TB threat. Is "science" enough to tackle the epidemic?. Eur Respir J 2007;29:423–427.
Hopewell PC, Pai M, Maher D, Uplekar M, Raviglione MC. International Standards for Tuberculosis Care. Lancet Infect Dis 2006;6:710–725.
Sharma SK, Liu JJ. Progress of DOTS in global tuberculosis control. Lancet 2006;367:950–952.
Cox HS, Morrow M, Deutschmann PW. Long term efficacy of DOTS regimens for tuberculosis: systematic review. BMJ 2008;336:484–487.
WHO Report 2008. Global Tuberculosis Control 2008 Surveillance, Planning, Financing. WHO/HTM/TB/2008.393 Geneva, World Health Organization, 2008
Sotgiu G, Arbore AS, Cojocariu V, et al. High risk of tuberculosis in health care workers in Romania. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2008;12:606–611.
Infuso A, Falzon D. [European surveillance of tuberculosis: description of the network and recent results]. Med Mal Infect 2005;35:264–268.
EuroTB and the national coordinators for tuberculosis surveillance in the WHO European Region. Surveillance of tuberculosis in Europe. Report on tuberculosis cases notified in 2006. Saint-Maurice, Institute de Veille Sanitaire, 2008
Vol 33 Issue 1 Table of Contents
Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on European Respiratory Society .
You are going to email the following Reversing the tuberculosis upwards trend: a success story in Romania
Message Subject (Your Name) has sent you a message from European Respiratory Society
Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see the European Respiratory Society web site.
European Respiratory Journal Jan 2009, 33 (1) 168-170; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00104308
Value of cancer antigen 125 for diagnosis of pleural endometriosis in females with recurrent pneumothorax
Recombinant human DNase nebulisation in children with cystic fibrosis: before bedtime or after waking up?
Show more Original Articles: Short report
About the ERJ
The European Respiratory Society
Society home
ERS books online
ERS Bookshop
ERS author centre
Accessing the ERS publications
European Respiratory Society
442 Glossop Road
Sheffield S10 2PX
Email: journals@ersnet.org
Copyright © 2019 by the European Respiratory Society


text:
Home / 1010 WINS / News / You're out! Old Tappan boy barred from joining sisters' softball team
You're out! Old Tappan boy barred from joining sisters' softball team
By 1010 WINS
April 1, 2019 04/01/2019 2:37 pm
OLD TAPPAN, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- A 9-year-old boy from Old Tappan doesn't like to play baseball, but he does like softball.
RELATED: Little League star Mo'ne Davis to play softball at Hampton | Mooning case against Virginia softball coach's wife wanes | US overpowers South Africa 7-0 at women's softball worlds
"I played baseball for a couple of years, and those years I couldn't wait for the season to be over. But softball, when I practice, I almost never want it to end because I'm having so much fun with my friends," Cayden said.
Cayden Walsh says he wants to play on the same softball team as his triplet sisters -- it's coached by their dad.
The trouble is, Cayden can't play on that team because he's a boy.
He wrote a letter to the Northern Valley League to point out the discrimination, but the recreation commission wouldn't budge.
"I see no reason why boys can't play softball just because they are a different gender," Cayden wrote. "If you ask me that sounds a lot like segregation."
At first, he was allowed to sit on the bench with the team, but was later informed that joining the team on the bench was against the rules.
"Being on the bench at least was a big thing for him, to be a part of the team," said Cayden's mother, Nikki Walsh.
Cayden's father said he's gotten some pushback for his son's letter.
"I don't want to say names; that's not what this is about. But I've been approached by individuals telling me to stop pressing on this or they might take me off coaching," he said.
But, he added, that won't stop him from advocating for his son.
"Years from now I don't want him to look at me and say, 'Hey, remember when I wanted to play softball and you didn't stand up for me?' " he said.
Old Tappan is in the process of forming its own co-ed softball league. In the meantime, the recreation commission is trying to line-up non-league games for Cayden to play in.
Like 1010 WINS on Facebook and follow @1010WINS on Twitter to get breaking news, traffic, and weather for New York City.
Clayton Walsh
Local All
FBI arrest Hudson Valley man for 'decisions … he made during the assault on our Capitol'


RASK advised the client on a public procurement case organized by the Lääne County Government to find the operator for the next five years for Sviby-Rohuküa-Sviby ferry line. This public procurement was announced in September 2015, after RASK had oppugned the legality of a temporary direct agreement with the same line. In the new procurement, Lääne County Government declared RASK's client, Kihnu Veeteed, to be the winner, in the full amount of 445 779 euros.
RASK advised the client in the public procurement litigation process, preparing the offer, communicating with the contracting authority and reviewing the contract.
According to the contract concluded on April 29th with Lääne County Government, Kihnu Veeteed will start operating the passenger ferry Ormsö on the Vormsi-mainland route from June 1st, 2016. The estimated volume of traffic is 2644 trips per year.
AS Kihnu Veeteed is a company providing maritime transport services. It has been operating since 2002 and it operates seven shipping lines in four counties under the public service contracts. In addition to the public shipping routes, the company also carries out an on-call trip in the Gulf of Riga, the Gulf of Finland and the small islands and the mainland in Väinameri and lake Peipsi/Peipus.


For more than a decade, I have referred to the ego, thought about the ego, looked for my own ego and pointed out various of my attributes as ego. All I can say now is that that process of self-inquiry served me for a time, but it no longer serves me. I am here to suggest that we pause and take in the possibility of removing the ego from our vocabulary.
For those interested in the bottom line, here it comes! The path I took to get there is explored after that.
We are complex. In fact, too complex for the outdated and short-sighted concept of an ego. What serves you at one point will not serve you forever. This post is my journey from important insights brought about by my ego-inquiry and how I outgrew the boundaries and restrictions the ego imposes. Perhaps you are someone who uses the term 'ego' in your self-observations and judgments of others, and I hope you will read through and open up to the possibility that there is a better way to understand who we truly are.
Over the past year I have been consistently hitting a roadblock in my ego inquiry. How do I make it fit into my ever-increasing and ever-expanding understanding of the conscious and subconscious and the greater mind and body as a whole? I found myself trying to jam the ego into other models of how the brain works that I have found to be helpful, and couldn't make it fit.
It hadn't occurred to me to remove the ego from my vernacular, and why would it? I am surrounded by people in the yoga and "personal development" community who - teachers, leaders and students alike - refer to the ego on a daily basis.
Mind-blown! In an instant I felt a massive shift; a release, as I opened to a possibility that I had not considered until then. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders and a calm feeling of truth rung deep within me. It just made so much sense. I mentioned this "new" contemplation and realization to a past client and she remarked that she actually brought this up in one of our sessions a couple of years ago and I didn't seem open to exploring it. We both equated my resistance to the fact that at that time I was in the process of publishing my book and couldn't hold space for that unraveling in the midst of sharing my story and my ego-contemplation with the world. I found that to be fascinating! Here I am now, ready to dig in and remove some beliefs that no longer serve me.
I had gone from perceiving my ego as the impulse to sabotage, compare, judge or put others down as a way to make myself feel more "right" or better-than. I had seen it as being deflated when I was hard on myself or in struggle around my own self-worth. I saw it as something that takes over when I have the urge to be boastful in any "look at me" kind of way. It was a successful point of inquiry as it supported me in cultivating the pause; that choice-point moment between impulsive reaction and deliberate response. I saw it fitting in the structure of the mind as a venn diagram; an overlap between subconscious and conscious, because it housed strong impulsive feelings, as well as manifesting in self-talk.
I then began contemplating what a healthy and balanced ego looks like. Nothing is all bad or all good, and shaming the ego as the uncontrollable animal or over-protective body-guard within us did not leave room for growth. As the ego is described, it seemed to be necessary for our human experience, which means it is not to be killed off or destroyed, but rather it was in need of a tune-up and a shift in relationship.
And so along that route I went for a while, contemplating a healthy and balanced ego. But what does that look like? What does that mean? A healthy and balanced ego, I thought, could be a state where impulse for indulgent desire or instant gratification no longer ran the show. Perhaps a relationship with self that is so grounded and loving that the "ego" still rattled with desire yet also got on board with higher levels of living and being. For example, I thought, an ego could feel rewarded and satisfied when impulse and compulsions quieted and a clear path towards good-choices became the yellow brick road. This line of thinking felt like a worthwhile pursuit for a while.
However, I ran into problems with referring to the ego as if it is a character within us, separate from all other characters we tend to notice. What started as a simple way to be with and retrain my impulsive reactions, became the roadblock in understanding how to practice my way into balance in my mind and body.
So, consider the idea of letting go of "the ego" as an entity to be feared, shamed, or retrained in our system. Our subconscious generates our self-protection impulse. This aspect of our basic life functioning, evolved to make us feels good around whatever promotes survival and reproduction, and to shy away from anything that could potentially get in the way of the same things.
Our subconscious system works like a recording device, holding on to "life-lessons" in the form of memory that has dissolved into instinct, which keep us alive and make us attractive mates and social companions. This system is often misguided because what serves you at one point in time is not necessarily what is best or what will serve you in the future, and we are all subject to many cognitive biases.
Ideally, our conscious mind will learn about our subconscious blind spots, so that it can help us pause, and create space between reaction and response, so that our subconscious can develop new and more functional instincts. This happens as we continue to slow down, pay attention, and behave in new ways. Shaky, tentative, new thoughts and actions – imagine Bambi learning to walk - eventually stabilize into smooth, powerful behaviors as new neural pathways form that are consistent with our expanding consciousness. In this way, as we become more self-aware and better understand how the world around us works, our brains literally change and we become new beings. I believe that the many powerful religious and cultural representations of personal rebirth refer to nothing more, or less, than this real miracle of self-renewal.
One of the things that I find most fascinating about this process starts with the observation that what served to protect us at the age of 4 is not what will necessarily be in our best interest at age 40. However, until the tedious brain re-wiring project I just described has played out to a successful conclusion, our subconscious will continue to urge us to do what we've always done regardless of your conscious mind knowing better.
So it's not EGO that urges us to be boastful. This is a deeply ingrained impulse connected to our need to be seen and positively acknowledged, as while our brains evolved, this was essential to our survival and propagation. And it is not your deflated EGO that pulls us into cowering or holding back from opportunity. Rather, this is our subconscious system that has either dipped into hypoarousal or has built a habit of holding back. It's all habit. It's all programming.
There is no ego. There is no fragmented version of us that fits the ego mold. Scientific research that became possible long after Freud did his work has made it clear that we are far more complex than Freud's ego based model of how our minds work. It is fair to say that brains work like small social groups, in which a network of vastly different characters argue, debate and cajole each other to behave as they wish the group (metaphorically, the individual within which this is occurring) to behave. Our genes, history and beliefs all show up in these characters - the judge; the critic; the child; the saboteur; the victim; the prostitute; the fear mongerer; the calm sage; the believer in magic; the bully – to name a few of the possibilities.
So what? Why does this matter? My hope is that you will use this as an opportunity to slow down and check in with how you use the concept of the EGO to understand your - and others - behavior. Without blaming the ego or shaming the ego, we are left with a possibility to see what is habit, what is fear, and what subconscious character is taking the wheel. Perhaps it will support you in pausing and looking at where you are lacking nourishment rather than falling into shame or frustration. When we are nourished and grounded, we have the space and energy to show up as we truly desire, rather than being steered towards habit or the various actions our subconscious has learned as protecting and prolonging our survival. It's all habit, and with awareness, effort and surrender, we can change what no longer serves us. Happy trail blazing ;).


Taylor-Dunn understands that getting people to where they need to go is vital to reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Whether you need to move a single individual or a 30-person team, you can depend on Taylor-Dunn personnel carriers to get your group there in a safe, timely, and cost-effective manner.
The SS-534 model provides personnel transportation for executive, supervisors, security, maintenance, mail carriers and other workers whose jobs keeps them on the go. The versatile design of the SS-534 allows users to convert the vehicle from personnel carrier to burden carrier in a matter of seconds. This vehicle can carry up to two people or 226kg of load on the job site.
With its three-wheel short turning radius design, The SS-534 can manoeuvre dependably around warehouses, industrial complexes, resorts, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals and other commercial complexes.
This vehicle is perfect for sporting events, convention centres and in underground plants and facilities where traveling safely and fume-free is essential.
The 36V personnel carrier is equipped with a 7.5hp AC motor, our own GT Drive, built-in charger with driver seat safety interlock switch, and rear hydraulic brakes. The 48V personnel carrier is equipped with a 12.5hp AC motor, our own GT Drive, built-in charger with driver seat safety interlock switch, and rear hydraulic brakes.
When being first-class is your competitive advantage, the FT-280 Aristocrat series of personnel and burden carriers is an excellent choice for your hospitality needs. Style, comfort and reliability are second-to-none in the industry. The FT-280 is available in a flatbed or 8-passenger configuration.
The Aristocrat's short wheelbase design, combined with 24:1 steering gear, provides ease of manoeuvrability in congested areas. Equipped with standard front and rear shock absorbers, they provide passenger comfort during daily operations.
The R-380 Roadmaster is designed to provide the ultimate versatility in today's work environment. This vehicle utilizes 16-gauge steel uni-body design that ensures years of service in rugged applications.
The R-380 48V GT is equipped with a 48V GT drive train that provides speeds of up to 24km/h. Equipped standard with automatic charger, solid state speed controller, safety seat switch and 8.8hp DC motor, the R-380 48V GT is the best value in its class of vehicles.
Configured with fold-down 4-passenger seating, the R-380 can be used as a personnel or burden carrier during daily operations. Equipped with factory-installed steel cabin and doors, this vehicle ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications.


text:
Q: getImportedPage without annotation I want to use PdfStamper to enlarge every page, and copy some pages.
Enlarge every page:
        for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
            page = reader.getPageN(i);
            media = page.getAsArray(PdfName.CROPBOX);
            if (media == null) {
                media = page.getAsArray(PdfName.MEDIABOX);
            }
            crop = new PdfArray();
            crop.add(new PdfNumber(0));
            crop.add(new PdfNumber(0));
            float w = media.getAsNumber(2).floatValue();
            crop.add(new PdfNumber(media.getAsNumber(2).floatValue() * 2));
            crop.add(new PdfNumber(media.getAsNumber(3).floatValue() * 1));
            page.put(PdfName.MEDIABOX, crop);
            page.put(PdfName.CROPBOX, crop);

            stamper.getUnderContent(i).setLiteral(String.format("\nq 1 0 0 1 %.1f 0 cm\nq\n", w / 2));
            stamper.getOverContent(i).setLiteral("\nQ\nQ\n");
        }

Insert an empty page, and copy content from page 1.
stamper.insertPage(2, stamper.getReader().getPageSize(1))
PdfContentByte canvas = stamper.getOverContent(2);
PdfImportedPage ip = stamper.getImportedPage(reader, 1);
Image ipage = Image.getInstance(ip);
canvas.addImage(ipage);

But I found PdfImportedPage deletes annotations, and after I enlarge a page the annotations are in the wrong position.
How can I handle these annotations, both when copying a page and when enlarging.

A: Displaced Annotations

after I enlarge a page the annotations are in the wrong position.

The Cause Of Their Displacement
The cause for this is simple: You (attempt to) enlarge the page to the right and then you prepend a shift to the right for the static page content. But you don't move the annotations. Thus, the annotations remain in their original position while the static page content is moved away.
What Needs To Be Done
If you actually want to move the coordinates of the static content, you also have to move all the other coordinate arguments in the PDF which relate to that content. This means in particular annotations (multiple entries), destinations, and structure tree information.
A complete implementation thereof is beyond the scope of a stack overflow answer.
A Simpler Option
You (attempt to) enlarge the page to the right and then you prepend a shift to the right for the static page content. Why don't you simply enlarge the page half as far both to the left and the right and leave the content at its coordinates? Then you do not need to change any coordinates at all...
Vanished Annotations

PdfImportedPage deletes annotations

The Cause Of Their Vanishment
The getImportedPage implementations of both the basic PdfWriter and the PdfStamper merely copy the static page content, not the annotations or other extra s. The reason is that in these cases the page is imported as a form Xobject which can be drawn in the content of any content stream (of a page, of an annotation, of another Xobject, ...) but which simply cannot have annotations of its own.
What Can Be Done
You can either flatten all annotations in a preparation step (using a PdfStamper and calling setAnnotationFlattening and setFormFlattening) or duplicate the page  in a preparation step (using PdfCopy and its getImportedPage).
The former option is keeping document level information but makes the dynamic annotation contents static. The latter option looses document level information but keeps annotations dynamic.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Military experience doesn't help veterans get elected, but may influence their behavior in Congress
Posted by Joseph G. Amoroso G. Lee Robinson Isaiah Wilson III and Rich | Jan 8, 2023 | The Hill | 0 |
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3803756-military-experience-doesnt-help-veterans-get-elected-but-may-influence-their-behavior-in-congress/
Military experience doesn't help veterans get elected, but may influence their behavior in Congress | The Hill
Greg Nash
Members of the House are sworn in for the 118th session of Congress on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
After a tumultuous process to select a House Speaker, the 118th Congress will begin work this week. Among the ranks of this Congress are 97 lawmakers with military experience, 19 of whom are freshmen. The share of veterans in Congress increased a modest 1 percent from the previous session, but veteran representation in Congress has declined since the early 1970s when nearly three-quarters of members had a military background. Today, less than one in five members served in the military.
Many are alarmed by this decline in veteran representation and also point to the increased polarization and dysfunction in Congress. These concurrent trends motivate efforts on the campaign trail, and on Capitol Hill, to highlight the legislative benefits of military experience. The dominant claim guiding this movement is that electing veterans to Congress can foster bipartisanship and cooperation.
However, in the 2022 midterms, some outspoken conservative veteran candidates leveraged their military credentials in a very different way. These candidates claimed there is no evidence that veterans in Congress are more likely to compromise. Instead, they argued that their military service informs more extreme beliefs on issues such as the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, the justification of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and the extent of the military's intervention abroad.
Given these competing narratives, does military experience matter on the campaign trail or in elected office? Here are three things to know about veterans in Congress:
Little evidence suggests that military experience matters to voters. Invoking military service credentials is a campaign strategy as old as our republic. However, our research and that of others suggests veteran congressional candidates do not enjoy a universal electoral advantage. Support for veteran candidates is influenced by partisan preferences and ideological stereotyping. Voters perceive veteran candidates as more conservative, and accordingly, liberal voters tend to view these candidates less favorably.
The results of the 2022 midterms appear consistent with these findings. Of the 196 veterans who ran in the general election, less than half won their races. There is no indication that veterans performed any better than candidates without military experience. Among veterans who did win, three-quarters are Republicans. Additionally, it is unclear whether either of the two veteran campaign narratives were more effective at influencing voters. For example, veteran candidates Eli Crane of Arizona and Joe Kent of Washington both ran competitive races while promoting more conservative positions. Benefiting somewhat from redistricting, Crane unseated the three-term Democratic incumbent, Tom O'Halleran; whereas just last week, Kent finally conceded to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after contesting the November results.
On the other hand, the more bipartisan narrative resonated with some voters, but not all. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), and John James (R-Mich.) will be sworn-in for their freshman term next week. These three Army veterans and West Point classmates are optimistic that their military bonds will be key to bipartisan legislative collaboration. However, in Georgia, veteran Marcus Flowers challenged incumbent Margorie Taylor Greene, criticizing her support for those who stormed the Capitol and emphasizing his Army values of honor and selfless service. Despite Flowers' well-funded campaign, Greene easily won reelection.
Evidence suggests veterans in Congress are more likely to be bipartisan. While it is unclear that military experience influences electoral outcomes, military experience does seem to matter for some legislative outcomes. Research on Congress suggests that veteran lawmakers express distinct attitudes when it comes to the use of force or how much oversight Congress should exert on defense policy.
More fundamentally, though, are veterans more likely to reach across the aisle? Our research finds that they are. Veterans serving in the House tend to be more bipartisan, particularly in recent years. Veteran lawmakers are more likely than their nonveteran colleagues to cosponsor bills introduced by members of the opposite party. Additionally, assessments by the Lugar Center's Bipartisan Index reveal that veteran members consistently outperformed non-veteran members in bipartisan activity from 2013-2020. These results hold even when considering the other factors likely to influence legislative behavior.
While these findings may be encouraging for the many Americans who seek a more collaborative Congress, it is uncertain whether this bipartisan behavior among veterans will hold up in this particularly polarized environment. Of the 97 veterans who will serve in this upcoming session, 48 denied the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including 10 of the 19 freshmen veterans. Disagreement on something as basic as the legitimacy of the electoral system does not bode well for the prospects of policy consensus. Six of the 20 representatives who voted against Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for speaker were veterans, underlying the potential departure from past trends of veterans as sources of cooperation rather than conflict.
Highlighting military experience in campaigns and in Congress may politicize the military. The phenomenon of lawmakers highlighting their military experience is likely to have unintended consequences for the relationship between the military and the society it serves. Over the past several decades, many have grown increasingly concerned with the politicization of the military. Many Americans watching in this contemporary political climate view the military through a partisan lens, unaffected by disclaimers that veteran politicians are not endorsed by the Department of Defense. As more veteran candidates use their military experience to claim political advantages — bipartisan or partisan — institutional trust in the military will likely continue to erode.
It is true that many veterans serve honorably in elected office, providing critical policy perspectives and cooperating to achieve legislative results. However, healthy relations between the military and the public rely on strong norms that are threatened when military experience is used to justify political distinctions. These democratic norms are cultivated to ensure the military remains nonpartisan, subordinate and accountable to civilian government authorities — integrated in politics, but ultimately trusted for its accountability to the Constitution over partisan preferences.
Efforts aimed at increasing veteran representation in government, encouraging veterans to highlight their military credentials in campaigns, and harping on the exceptionalism of veterans in politics all risk further politicization of the military. In the end, few may benefit from the references to veteran status in politics and — most threatening to democratic norms — the military may suffer.
Joseph G. Amoroso (@amoroso_jg) is an assistant professor of American politics at the United States Military Academy.
G. Lee Robinson (@leerobinson2022) is an assistant professor of American politics at the United States Military Academy.
Messy new Congress and coming gridlock: Founders intended governing to be difficult
What will the fusion breakthrough do for space exploration?
Isaiah Wilson III (@ThinkBeyondWar) is a professor of political science and president of the Joint Special Operations University.
Richard M. Yon is an associate professor of political science at the United States Military Academy and the director of terrorism studies at West Point.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the position of the United States Military Academy, the Joint Special Operations University, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.
veteran canddiates
PreviousThe Pete Santilli Show Is Coming to Red Voice Media
NextFive Things Biden Won't See During El Paso Border Trip
Joseph G. Amoroso G. Lee Robinson Isaiah Wilson III and Rich
If women are the Taliban's kryptonite, let's send our best and brightest
Federal prosecutors discussed charges for Trump in Stormy Daniels case after he left office: book
Russian exercises with Belarus spark concerns in Ukraine
Ann Coulter: How we became the world's suckers on immigration


text:
$(document).ready(function() { if ($.cookie('noShowWelcome')) $('.hey-alert').hide(); else { $("#alrt").ready(function() { $(".hey-alert").fadeOut(10000); $.cookie('noShowWelcome', true); $('.hey-alert').click(function () { $('.hey-alert').hide(); }); }); } }); $(document).ready(function() { $('#list-eps').delay(3000).fadeIn(400); });
Robert Downey Jr. Movies
Avengers: Age of Ultron HD
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's mightiest her..
Director: Joss Whedon
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Avengers: Endgame (2019) DVD
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allie..
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science-Fiction
Director: Anthony Russo,Joe Russo,Mark Johnston,Chris Castaldi,Simon Downes,Edward Catley
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch
Avengers: Infinity War HD
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an en..
Director: Anthony Russo
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland
Captain America: Civil War HD
Political involvement in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.
Actor: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen
Chef HD
A head chef quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.
Actor: Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, Robert Downey Jr.
Dolittle (2020)
Dolittle (2020) DVD
After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria's England, hermits himself away ..
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Family
Director: Stephen Gaghan,Sandrine Loisy,Simon Crane,William M. Connor,Joey Coughlin,John Beckett
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jessie Buckley, Jim Broadbent, Harry Collett, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani
Due Date HD
High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on..
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride, RZA, Matt Walsh, Brody Stevens, Jakob Ulrich
Gothika
Gothika HD
A repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Actor: Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, Penélope Cruz, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Dorian Harewood, Kathleen Mackey, Matthew G. Taylor, Andrea Sheldon
Iron Man 2 HD
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's ..
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Garry Shandling
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
Director: Shane Black
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany
Iron Man HD
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Paul Bettany, Leslie Bibb, Clark Gregg, Will Lyman
Predator 2 HD
Amidst a territorial gang war in 1997, a sophisticated alien hunter stalks the citizens of Los Angeles and the only man between him and his prey is veteran L...
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Actor: Kevin Peter Hall, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Rubén Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Adam Baldwin, Robert Davi, Kent McCord, Morton Downey, Jr.
Sherlock Holmes HD
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert Maillet, Geraldine James, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Hans Matheson
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows HD
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine James, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry, William Houston, Affif Ben Badra
Spider-Man: Homecoming HD
Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school..
Director: Jon Watts
Actor: Michael Keaton, Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Donald Glover
The Avengers HD
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving huma..
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård
The Judge HD
Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and,..
Director: David Dobkin
Actor: Robert Duvall, Robert Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Billy Bob Thornton, Sarah Lancaster, David Krumholtz, Emma Tremblay, Ken Howard
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective HD
From his hospital bed, a writer suffering from a skin disease hallucinates musical numbers and paranoid plots.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Musical
Director: Keith Gordon
Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright, Mel Gibson, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Adrien Brody, Jon Polito, Carla Gugino, Alfre Woodard, Amy Aquino
Tropic Thunder HD
Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Director: Ben Stiller
Actor: Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Bill Hader
Wonder Boys (2000)
Wonder Boys (2000) DVD
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years -- not since he wrote his award winning "Great American Novel" 7 years ago. This..
Country: Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America
Director: Curtis Hanson
Actor: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Rip Torn, Robert Downey Jr., Jane Adams, Michael Cavadias, Richard Thomas, Alan Tudyk
Zodiac HD
In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individu..
Genre: Crime, Drama, History
Director: David Fincher
Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Chloë Sevigny, John Carroll Lynch, Ed Setrakian, John Getz


Our classic, log-framed sofa is comfortable and durable. Unlike our Full Futon, the Sofa is stationary and does not fold down to make a bed. Please specify aspen or pine. Select the premium quality cushion and the cover in the fabric of your choice at an additional cost (see our Fabric Selector, fabric selection only applies to the cover).


text:
In It To Spin It
By Carlos Gomez
DJs have to crawl before they can walk. Such was the case for MurphiBennett Roderick Michael Kennedy (it's a family name), but today he's running the show.
After watching from the sidelines at the 2011 Fortune 421 DJ contest at Sidebar ultra- lounge in the Gaslamp, Kennedy decided to come back the next year and win it. And that's what he did this past November. The victory heightened his street cred overnight.
The soft-spoken 27-year-old who lives in Mission Valley has definitely received a shot of steroids to his career. All of a sudden, he's performing at some of San Diego's hottest spots, including FLUXX, Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, Stingaree, Ivy Nightclub at Andaz and more. DJ Murphi Kennedy competes at the Fortune 421 2012 DJ Contest held at Stingaree.
With his mixing of electronic dance music (EDM), house, open format, and what he calls "hip-house" (a mash-up of hip-hop vocals over obscure house tracks), Kennedy hopes to venture out and perform in other cities, and eventually Europe.
"Now it's like I'm in it to win it," he says. "It's scary and fun and cool at the same time, because I'm still waiting to wake up."
Kennedy grew up "musically confused" in Los Angeles, where he was influenced by his grandfather's affinity for old jazz - Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong - and hip-hop beats. He didn't particularly care for the lyrics of the latter.
He moved to San Diego five years ago. Local DJs Scott Feld, Ayla Simone and Chris Liosi helped get him into the house and EDM scenes.
"I basically started DJing for children," Kennedy says. He played birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, quincean?eras, Sweet 16s and First Communions. After those gigs, and lessons from local DJ Lee Schneider, Kennedy felt ready to move up. His first club set was in April 2012 at North Park's U-31.
The 2012 Fortune 421 DJ contest was held at Stingaree. For eight weeks, Kennedy battled against the area's up-and-coming DJs in a single-elimination tournament. Each DJ got two 30-minute sets. The one with the best music selection and overall crowd reaction moved on to the next round.
Kennedy would scout his competition and try to envision what the crowd would want, without adhering too much to a Top 40 playlist. After every battle, it was back to the drawing board to improve his performance.
"My career was at stake," he says. "My goal wasn't winning; it was doing the best that I could do."
The Holding Company: California Love
California Love Milagro Select Barrel Tequila, housemade passionfruit puree, fresh lime juice, house poblano cordial 5046 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach, 619.341.5898, theholdingcompanyob.com To vote for this margarita as your favorite, click here.
Nick's Del Mar: Single Barrel Margarita
Single Barrel MargaritaMilagro Select Barrel Tequila, fresh lime, agave, chile-lime salt rim 3377 Del Mar Heights Rd, Del Mar, 858.345.2127, nicksrestaurants.com To vote for this margarita as your favorite, click here.
Tahona Bar: The Golden Hour
The Golden Hour Milagro Select Barrel Tequila, kumquat, oleo saccharum, lime, hibiscus, nitro float 2414 San Diego Ave., Old Town, 619.255.2090, tahonabar.com To vote for this margarita as your favorite, click here.
Park and Rec: Dawn of the Day
Dawn of the Day Rhunarn-infused Milagro Select Barrel Tequila, mezcal, Italian aperitif, lemon 4612 Park Blvd., North Park, 619.795.9700, parkandrecsd.com To vote for this margarita as your favorite, click here.
Sustainable Barrio Logan spot fires up San Diego's barbecue scene
ReBru Spirits and Sideyard BBQ by HottMess open Nov. 19 in the neighborhood's multi-use building, The Boiler
Bar Pink and Small Bar permanently close their doors
After more than a decade in San Diego, the beloved bars in North Park and University Heights were forced to shut down due to COVID-19


text:
A Finding Aid to the Dorothy Varian Papers, circa 1902-1984, in the Archives of American Art
AAA.varidoro
Varian, Dorothy, 1895-1985
The collection is in English and French.
The papers of painter Dorothy Varian date from circa 1902 to 1984 and measure 2.3 linear feet. This collection documents Varian's life primarily through scattered biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, artists and art galleries; personal business records; a few writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material; photographs of Varian, her friends, and artwork; and original sketches by Varian and fellow artist Peggy Bacon.
The papers of painter Dorothy Varian date from circa 1902 to 1984 and measure 2.3 linear feet. This collection documents Varian's life primarily through scattered biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, artists and art galleries; personal business records; a few writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material; photographs of Varian, her friends, including Peggy Bacon, Alex Brook, Bernard Karfiol, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and artwork; and original sketches by Varian and fellow artist Peggy Bacon.
Varian's earliest correspondence is with her mother and her cousin Jessie, detailing her life as an artist in Paris. Also found is extensive correspondence with with Peggy Bacon, Hermine Kleinert, Lenore G. Marshall, Waldo Pierce, Katherine Schmidt, Antoinette Schulte, and the Renoir family.
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1920-1980 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1917-1981 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1940s-1960s (3 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1931-1984 (9 folders; Box 1)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1916-1981 (0.5 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1902-1961 (13 folders; Boxes 2-3)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1912-1924 (11 folders; Boxes 2-3)
Dorothy Varian (1895-1985) was a painter in New York City, and Woodstock, NY. Varian was born in New York City on April 26, 1895; daughter of Eugene W. and Helen Estelle Varian. She dropped out of high school at 15 and entered Cooper Union where she graduated with honors. After Cooper Union she attended the Art Students League. While a student she inadvertently won first and second prize in a local art contest sponsored by movie producer, William Fox. She used the prize money to rent her first studio in Woodstock.
In 1920, her cousins Jessie and C. Vanderbilt Barton provided her the means to study in Paris. Varian's first one-man show was held in 1922 at the Durand-Ruel Galleries in Paris. A close friend of Varian's during this time was Jean Renior, son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Within the first year after she returned permanently to the United States, Varian had exhibitions at the Whitney Club, Whitney Galleries, and the Downtown Galleries. Edith Halpert, director of the Downtown Galleries became Varian's art dealer. Varian used the money from her work to buy a home in Woodstock which became her primary painting studio. The majority of her circle was formed during her time at the Art Students League and during her years in Paris. Varian also met many artists who were living and working alongside her in Woodstock. Throughout her life, she stayed in contact with many of these friends including Peggy Bacon, Alex Brook, Georgina Klitgaard, Frederick Dana Marsh, Lenore G. Marshall, and Waldo Pierce.
Varian worked primarily with watercolor and oil painting. Varian's work has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Galleries, Carnegie International, Whitney Museum of American Art, Association of American Artists Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, and several universities across the country. Over the course of her career, Varian held fifteen solo exhibitions and received many awards including the Kuniyoshi Award in 1975. Varian died in 1985 at the age of 90.
Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 797 and 833 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Dominique Luster in 2014.
Dominique Luster
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in installments by Dorothy Varian in 1972, 1978, and 1981. An additonal installment was donated in 1986 by the Dorothy Varian estate, via Robert Plate.
The Dorothy Varian papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Dorothy Varian papers, circa 1902-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Also found in this repository is an interview of Dorothy Varian conducted 1980 Dec. 6-7, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Type Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schmidt, Katherine, 1898-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schulte, Antoinette E., 1897-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bacon, Peggy, 1895-1987 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brook, Alexander, 1898-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Karfiol, Bernard, 1886-1952 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marshall, Lenore, 1897-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peirce, Waldo, 1884-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Klienert, Herminie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid


text:
Amicus Therapeutics CEO John Crowley Is In The Business Of Saving Lives
Don Yaeger
In this edition of our Corporate Competitor Podcast, Crowley shares how the business he created to save his own children's lives grew into a global biomedical giant that is helping people worldwide.
You've obtained a law degree from Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard, and you have the entire world before you and your young family. Then you get a diagnosis from the doctor that two of your children were born with a rare genetic disease called Pompe, an often fatal neuromuscular disorder. How do you respond?
If you're John Crowley, you pivot and you pivot fast, leaving the career path you envisioned to get involved in businesses that just might save your children's lives.
In this episode of Corporate Competitor Podcast, Crowley traces just such a journey—his journey—from a devastated parent and husband to a determined business leader who not only managed to save his own children's lives but also those of other people all around the world.
If this sounds more like the stuff of Hollywood than biomedical engineering companies, that's because it is. Crowley's life story was made into the major motion picture Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendon Fraser and Harrison Ford. This podcast offers its own life and business lessons straight from Crowley himself.
One of my favorite Crowley-isms from our conversation remains this gem, "If you don't fail you're not trying hard enough." I'm positive you won't fail to be inspired and learn something incredibly useful for immediate application in your own business from this conversation. Have a listen.
• 4:00 John's determination to find a cure for his terminally sick children.
• 18:00 The key to establishing a clear vision.
• 19:00 How to recruit "passionate entrepreneurs."
• 20:00 How to lead empathetically.
• 25:30 The incredible bond created over Notre Dame football.
• 28:00 How to honor the loss of a loved one.
• 43:00 Three steps you need to take to turn big dreams into reality.
• 44:00 Why spreadsheets should be set aside on day one of corporate retreats.
Check out the full Corporate Competitor Podcast interview archive and subscribe to new episodes.
Over the last 30 years, longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated and 11-time New York Times Best-Selling Author Don Yaeger has been blessed to interview the greatest winners of our generation. He has made a second career as a keynote speaker and executive coach, discerning habits of high performance to teach teams how to reach their full potential.
Sometimes 'Good Enough' Really Is Good Enough
Jim Collins: An Ask Me Anything Session
IBM's Stacie Mason: "How Do You Know What To Say If You Haven't Listened?"
Why We Need To Lead With Transparency


Integrated care is increasingly promoted as an effective and cost‐effective way to organise care for community‐dwelling frail older people with complex problems but the question remains whether high expectations are justified. Our study aims to systematically review the empirical evidence for the effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of preventive, integrated care for community‐dwelling frail older people and close attention is paid to the elements and levels of integration of the interventions. We searched nine databases for eligible studies until May 2016 with a comparison group and reporting at least one outcome regarding effectiveness or cost‐effectiveness. We identified 2,998 unique records and, after exclusions, selected 46 studies on 29 interventions. We assessed the quality of the included studies with the Effective Practice and Organization of Care risk‐of‐bias tool. The interventions were described following Rainbow Model of Integrated Care framework by Valentijn. Our systematic review reveals that the majority of the reported outcomes in the studies on preventive, integrated care show no effects. In terms of health outcomes, effectiveness is demonstrated most often for seldom‐reported outcomes such as well‐being. Outcomes regarding informal caregivers and professionals are rarely considered and negligible. Most promising are the care process outcomes that did improve for preventive, integrated care interventions as compared to usual care. Healthcare utilisation was the most reported outcome but we found mixed results. Evidence for cost‐effectiveness is limited. High expectations should be tempered given this limited and fragmented evidence for the effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of preventive, integrated care for frail older people. Future research should focus on unravelling the heterogeneity of frailty and on exploring what outcomes among frail older people may realistically be expected.
Background: older adults are known to have increased falls rates and functional decline following hospital discharge, with substantial economic healthcare costs. This systematic review aimed to synthesise the evidence for effective falls prevention interventions in older adults recently discharged from hospital. Methods: literature searches of six databases of quantitative studies conducted from 1990 to June 2017, reporting falls outcomes of falls prevention interventions for community-dwelling older adults discharged from hospital were included. Study quality was assessed using a standardised JBI critical appraisal tool (MAStARI) and data pooled using Rev-Man Review Manager® Results: sixteen studies (total sample size N = 3,290, from eight countries, mean age 77) comprising 12 interventions met inclusion criteria. Findings: home hazard modification interventions delivered to those with a previous falls history (1 study), was effective in reducing the number of falls (RR 0.63, 95%CI 0.43, 0.93, Low GRADE evidence). Home exercise interventions (3 studies) significantly increased the proportion of fallers (OR 1.74, 95%CI 1.17, 2.60, Moderate GRADE evidence), and did not significantly reduce falls rate (RR 1.27, 95%CI 0.99, 1.62, Very Low GRADE evidence) or falls injury rate (RR 1.16, 95%CI, 0.83,1.63, Low GRADE evidence). Nutritional supplementation for malnourished older adults (1 study) significantly reduced the proportion of fallers (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19, 0.86, Low GRADE evidence). Conclusion: the recommended falls prevention interventions for older adults recently discharged from hospital are to provide home hazard minimisation particularly if they have a recent previous falls history and consider nutritional supplementation if they are malnourished.
Objective: The objective of this review was to synthesize the best available evidence for the effectiveness of complex falls prevention interventions delivered at two or more of the following levels: resident, facility or organization, on fall rates in the residential aged care (RAC) population. Introduction: Preventing falls in the high risk RAC population is a common global goal with acknowledged complexity. Previous meta-analyses have not specifically addressed complexity, described as falls prevention intervention delivery at multiple levels of a RAC organization, to determine its effect on fall outcomes. Inclusion criteria: The current review considered studies that included participants who were aged 65 years and over residing in long-term care settings providing 24-hour supervision and/or care assistance. Studies that evaluated complex falls prevention interventions delivered by single discipline or multidisciplinary teams across at least two or all of the following levels: residents, RAC facility and RAC organization were eligible. Experimental study designs including randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials and quasi-experimental trials that reported on measures related to fall incidence were considered, namely, rate of falls (expressed as the number of falls per 1000 occupied bed days), the number of participants who became fallers (expressed as the number of participants who fell once or more) and the rate of injurious falls (expressed as the number of falls with injury per 1000 occupied bed days). Methods: A three-step search strategy was undertaken, commencing with an initial scoping search of MEDLINE and CINAHL databases prior to an extensive search of all relevant published literature, clinical trial registries and gray literature. Two independent reviewers assessed selected studies for methodological validity using the standardized critical appraisal instrument from the Joanna Briggs Institute System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information (JBI SUMARI). Data were extracted from the selected studies using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI SUMARI. Quantitative data were pooled in statistical meta-analysis for rate of falls, the number of participants who became fallers and the rate of injurious falls. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effect model with heterogeneity assessed using the standard Chi-squared and I2 index. Where statistical pooling was not possible, study findings were presented in narrative form. Results: Twelve studies were included in this review with seven being eligible for meta-analysis. Complex falls prevention interventions delivered at multiple levels in RAC populations did not show a significant effect in reducing fall rates (MD = −1.29; 95% CI [−3.01, 0.43]), or the proportion of residents who fell (OR = 0.76; 95% CI [0.42, 1.38]). However, a sensitivity analysis suggested complex falls prevention interventions delivered with additional resources at multiple levels had a significant positive effect in reducing fall rates (MD = −2.26; 95% CI [−3.72, −0.80]). Conclusions: Complex falls prevention interventions delivered at multiple levels in the RAC population may reduce fall rates when additional staffing, expertise or resources are provided. Organizations may need to determine how resources can be allocated to best address falls prevention management. Future research should continue to investigate which combinations of multifactorial interventions are effective.
Provides advice and guidance on the development, commissioning and management of services for people living with frailty in community settings. The first section introduces the concept of frailty and sets out the rationale for developing frailty services. The second section explores the essential characteristics of a good service. The third section considers the issue of performance and outcome measures for frailty services. The appendix to the report includes eight case studies of services which are operating in different parts of the UK. The audience for this guidance comprises GPs, geriatricians, health service managers, social service managers and commissioners of services. It is a companion report to an earlier BGS publication, Fit for Frailty Part 1 which provided advice and guidance on the care of older people living with frailty in community and outpatient settings.
Loneliness occurs at all stages of life but little attention has been paid to its incidence and impact in the oldest old (85+), the fourth generation. This report begins by exploring: loneliness and why it matters; the incidence of loneliness in older people; and what is known about loneliness in the oldest old (85+). It then looks six contextual criteria that should be considered when initiating or commissioning interventions to tackle loneliness: rural and urban living; gender; health; living alone; community resilience; intergenerational interaction and ageism. Using case study analysis of projects that are tackling loneliness effectively, the report then explores practical steps that can be taken to reduce levels of loneliness among the oldest old. The case studies include one-to-one interventions, group services and building social networks; and encouraging wider community engagement. The case studies also illustrate the continued willingness of individuals of all ages to get involved in their local community. Whereas people might once have volunteered informally to help people they knew, 'permission' to initiate contact, through formalised and structured opportunities, is important. This is an important pointer as to how our modern society can organise itself to help address loneliness.


The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee describes how FBI harassment led a 54 year old psychiatrist, single mother activist, to close my 25 year Seattle practice to begin a new life in New Zealand. It begins by describing the fifteen years of covert harassment I experienced when I used my financial and social position, as a doctor, to assist two former Black Panthers who had occupied an abandoned school to transform it into an African American Museum. What began as unrelenting phone harassment and illegal break-ins, progressed to six attempts on my life and an affair with an undercover agent who railroaded me into a psychiatric hospital.
My main motivation for writing the book was the murder of a black postal worker and union activist named Oscar Manassa. The US government comes down hard on dissidents, whistleblowers and activists. As I recount in my memoir, Oscar also experienced extensive covert harassment prior to his brutal murder. Moreover immediately following his death, the US Postal Inspectors (an intelligence arm of the federal government blocked a homicide investigation by seizing the evidence file from the Seattle police.
The whole experience was a personal epiphany, leading to the frightening discovery that the democratic institutions of power have been taken over by an invisible shadow government.
At the beginning of 1987, I was a naïve hard working private psychiatrist concerned with growing joblessness and homelessness in Seattle's African American community. By the end of the year, I had been intimately acquainted with America's shadow government and the criminal activities US intelligence is notorious for – illegal narcotics trafficking, arms dealing, money laundering and covert assassinations of foreign and domestic leaders and activists.
My personal experiences would eerily foreshadow the burgeoning of the US intelligence state after 9-11. Any activist over fifty will tell you that the US government has targeted dissidents, whistleblowers and activists as far back as World War I with illegal wire taps, surveillance, break-ins, indefinite detention and extrajudicial assassination. Ironically all these previously illegal activities are totally legal under The Patriot act and the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Most Revolutionary Act won a 2011 Allbooks Review Editor's Choice award.
Jim and I discuss the Arab Spring, the recent takeover of the State Capitol in Madison Wisconsin, left gatekeeping foundations, and how the destruction of the middle class will hasten revolutionary change.
We talk about the New Zealand political climate, the 911 Truth Movement and Noam Chomsky's puzzling stance that there was no US government involvement in either 911 or the JFK assassination. We also discuss the role of insurance lobby and Big Pharma in blocking the establishment of universal single payer health care in the US, as well as Climategate and the BP oil spill. Finally we discuss my involvement with Seattle's African American Museum and the resulting government harassment that I describe in The Most Revolutionary Act. I talk about the murder of a postal worker named Oscar Manassa and the rip-off of the federal worker compensation program to fund the Contra war against Nicaragua.
E.G. and I talk about my harassment by the FBI and my decision to emigrate to New Zealand. We also discuss the demise of child psychiatry in the US – owing to the unwillingness of private insurance companies to cover mental health services for children and adolescents. And the failure of Obamacare to address this serious issue and the need for the US to create a true national health care system. We finished with a lengthy discussion about bullying, a special interest of mine as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Chris and I discuss how I was first targeted, following my decision to support the occupation (of an abandoned school) that led to the formation of Seattle's first African American Heritage Museum – as an alternative to the crack cocaine epidemic among the city's African American teenagers. We also talk about my research into HIV AIDS, my hospitalization and the Veterans Administration psychologist I worked with who also helped GIs illegally stationed in Cambodia in the sixties and seventies (and terrorized into keeping quiet about it).
Thanks moorbey, Signed the petition and posted on Facebook and Twitter.
SEND THIS LINK TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW NOW!
Richard, that link isn't working for some reason. I would be happy to review your book (and post it on my blog) if you care to make a review copy available.
Hello Stuart, I've read and posted some comments on your thread re: the CIA's influence on feminism over time, and have appreciated your work with that topic. However, I only yesterday came across some articles you had written several years ago while doing some web surfing: – The Cointelpro Role of Left Gatekeeping Foundations; The CIA And Nonviolence; and Does the CIA Fund Both the Right and the Left? Wow! Great work.
I just want to tell you how much I appreciate and admire your research and writing. These topics are very close to my heart and interests also, and seldom to I find such well reasoned and researched discussions regarding these critically important issues. Given the absolute credibility free fall of MSM that we have witnessed over the campaign season, on everything from the election itself to the West's attacks on Syria, I think these articles have even more importance than at the time they were written. For example Democracy Now's Syria coverage, like its Libya coverage, make it virtually unwatchable and renders it simply another State Department mouthpiece. The same could be said for other "progressive" media sites that run the usual mix of information combined with disinformation, such as Counterpunch (in my opinion).
As more people turn away from MSM and they "discover" such "progressive" sites, they tend to be very vulnerable to the more subtle propaganda presentation offered. For example Democracy Now's Dakota Access coverage was quite welcomed and appreciated by many of us, however, by combining it with State Department propaganda on Syria, it no doubt confused many who are less familiar with that issue than with say domestic environmental issues. There lies the real danger in these "gatekeeper" sites, and there lies the real importance of your articles I'm referring to.
Hi Gary, thanks for the very flattering comments. I, too, was very disappointed in Democracy Now until I discovered that they were getting substantial funding from CIA-linked foundations. I haven't posted the articles you mention on my blog – mainly because they seem a bit long and academic to me.
According to Sibel Edmonds, George Soros is the major funder of Demnow, and Amy collects $2m per annum.
Hi SJB; just ordered yr 'most rev…" and can't wait to read it. I'm an anarchist in Seattle and have never heard of you or your problems with the Bureau. Discovered you by accident when a friend did a search at Dissidentvoice looking for siomething I'd written and found yr MvG piece.
Aw shucks. Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you could find the book – I've been having an ongoing dispute with my publisher who keeps taking it off Amazon and Ingraham.
Never written/published anything longer than an essay, so I'm wondering what yr publisher's motive would be in making the book unavailable? Being of conspiratorial bent: pressure from our friends at the Bureau?
Purely pecuniary. I'm with a print on demand publisher – which means I paid for cover, layout and publicity. My contract includes making the book available to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Ingraham and two years ago they tried to collect $100 a month from under performing others to continue these listings. I refused and they took my listings done until I threatened legal action for breach of contract.
Amy who makes $2M/year – I think you live in fantasy land or just don't know the difference between real and alternate facts (aka lies). Suspect you know very little, if anything about George Soros other than that he is rich!
Dear Jolly Roger; I don't get involved in the prolonged rancorous conflicts which often mar the comments sections of blogs such as these. So this will be my last post on this subject.
You should note that I wrote "according to…" I didn't vet the statement. I do not doubt it, but I neither know nor care what the charlatan Amy Goodman makes.
I did a google search for Edmonds/Goodman/Soros and the top two items I link below. I didn't read the article nor watch the video. It was some time ago that I read abt Soros and Demnow at Edmonds website, Boilingfrogspost.
It may be true that I don't know the difference between "real and alternate facts" as you so inelegantly put it, but I make an effort to sort them out. Which, judging from yr pyretic reaction, you do not.
It may also be true that I don't know much about George Soros. He's an ubercapitalist, that's enough for me. I do, however, know that he and his father were major players in the Judenrat in Hungary, which supervized/enforced the dispossession and deportment of Jews to the camps, as he admitted on Fox news (of all places). I also know that he is a predatory currency speculator who almost singlehandedly destroyed the Thai Bhat resulting in the deaths of thousands, some say tens of thousands, of pensioners in that country.
That's more than enough for me. The fact that he dawns the cloak of liberalism is just part of the ruse. Got it now?
Okay, let's swap. I found "Debating Violence…" and I wrote something about "Cancer in Occupy…" too [linked below].
Wish I was in NZ tonight! Puget Sound got blasted with snow. I drive for Metro and I was slipping and sliding all around Burien. Thought I was going to die for sure. The didn't even put chains on our tires until AFTER the Super Bowl!
Great article – I love it. Do you know Rick Angel? He's a former Metro driver married to a good friend of mine.
Doesn't ring bell but there are thousands of us. I started in '05, was he working there then?
I'd say I liked your article at DV but it might sound self-serving as we made pretty much the same points.
That was just around the time he went out on medical disability – so I'm not sure.
Popped by to thank you for the follow. You flatter me!
No worries, Frank. You have an interesting blog.
Finally got around to TMRA, which I enjoyed. The general harassment you describe was all too familiar. While your case is unique in detail, it's formulaic in general outline–every case is. Yours does, however, contain some absorbing features. The account of your difficulties on Capitol Hill was moving, even harrowing. And the struggle with the RTC was a bit of a surprise, not in the sense that they were your adversaries–of course they were–but that it was they and not some better camouflaged outfit which obstructed you.
The most unusual aspect, at least in my experience, is that your case is more of a why-was-it-done than a who-done-it. And you do a laudable job of taking your readership through the various possibilities. I have little insight to offer (I've never experienced anything like what you endured), but that won't stop me from tendering some unsolicited opinions. That's what comment sections are for, no?
You are quite right in observing that unions act as agents of the state, indeed they do. But they could not have organized your ordeal. They may have played a part, but your alleged psychiatric problems are well out of their area of disorganizational expertise. They did yeoman work in disrupting OccupySeattle, but their skill set and area of influence stop well short of the medical and bureaucratic machinations which befell you.
A bit off topic but: My union newspaper recently rejected a piece I wrote. A co-worker had written an excellent article on the so-called right-to-work legislation crisscrossing the US. I wrote a piece which sketched the history of class conflict from the advent of the plow to the present. It was 8000 words. It was rejected. I suggested serialization. They countered that I would have to break it into "two or three stand-alone, 1000-word pieces" if I wanted them to print it. It was quite an effort to keep it under 8000–it's a big subject. Needless to say it wasn't length but content that got it squashed.
That your being from a working-class background I don't believe played any part in your ordeal. It was surprising to learn that about you though, considering what you told us about your mother.
Your suggestion that your race may have been the catalyst is better, but still not convincing. Black leaders who draw mass white support, particularly radical ones, are a greater threat than white radicals who draw a lot of black support. The bloody history of the former scenario speaks for itself–think Walter Rodney, MLK, Fred Hampton etc.
Your AIDS work gets warmer still, particularly the timing of it. (BTW, if you haven't read Dr. Mary's Monkey then you ought.) But the harassment precedes your involvement with AIDS.
I suspect your targeting was the result of all of the above.
Great book all in all, been recommending it to anyone who will listen. I wasn't at every moment content that you were being, if you will permit me, completely honest. (If I'm wrong, please forgive me; if correct, no worries, I understand.) But I've never read a memoir which was. Most importantly, in the end you came to all the right conclusions regarding those whom you encountered along the way. You now understand, and can function as a transmitter of useful information, which you have done in writing the book.
I also wonder if the campaign for the museum was worth the time, money, and effort, however heroic it was. I also wondered if there wasn't a touch of misandry informing some of your actions and conclusions. But no matter, the first order of business is, as Luxemburg suggested, to see the world as it is. There is a thin, transparent, yet seemingly impermeable, Gramscian cognitive barrier between the masses and their emancipation. And you have, if not punctured, then at least drawn attention to it, and in a powerful, effective way. So my hat is off to you.
Did some web searching for Jabari Sisulu and discovered that you are a candidate of some sort for the Green Party in NZ. I wish you well but I hope you understand that that party has the same geneology as the RCP. Good luck.
Thanks for the very thoughtful analysis Metrobusman. I was as much describing a state of mind as I was historical events – I spent most of the years scrambling to find some explanation of who was targeting me and why. And this was the first half of the book. I devoted the second half to exploring the massive penetration of Seattle grassroots organizations by saboteurs and my struggle to understand how that worked. It's only since I retired and had time to do more research that I gained some understanding of left gatekeeping foundations and how they deliberately sabotage grassroots groups. Webster Tarpley paints a really good picture how this happened with Obama and Bill Ayers (a long time federal agent) in Chicago in The Unauthorized Biography of Barack Obama. And all my research on the Internet bears this out – Australian Researcher Michael Barker has done some excellent research into left-gatekeeping democracy manipulating foundations.
That being said, I am (and former members of the CP) are absolutely certain that Robby Stearns was a paid federal agent long before he came to work for the State Labor Council. As was the late Craig Salins. And Jabari Susulu is a pseudonym for Omari Tahir. It's hard to say how the Museum occupation would have turned out if it hadn't been infiltrated from the very beginning.
There's no question that the NZ Green Party is infiltrated at the present time – we've identified at least 2 of the saboteurs by name. But there seems to be a fairly strong cohort that's pulled together to address the problem.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it is more than a case of infiltration. The plutocrats cannot prevent concerned people from coalescing around a given issue and taking action. In such cases they infiltrate, but they are more proactive than that. In the US, the state CREATED many of the NGOs; it's keeping the CPUSA alive long after it would have dissolved. It did resurrect the KKk–twice. This 'survivalist' city where Tim McVeigh allegedly lived is another state creation masquerading as an anti-state organization. The point is to herd the disillusioned into groups which they control and can misdirect. The people who join the CPUSA no doubt have good intentions, but they will be betrayed in the end.
Gramsci said that "The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions without becoming disillusioned." That's a tall order!
More info on Barker please, web search didn't yield anything.
I think we're on the same page about the government creating so-called "leftist" organizations and NGOs.
Many thanks, was unfamiliar with him. Good work, no surprises in it, the bourgeoisie never rests, because it can't.
Dear Dr Stuart, I'm a special investigative correspondent Sophie Mangal. I'm a member of Inside Syria Media Center.
Having a lot of links (with poor Syrians, with some of refugee camps inside Syria and even with people in Aleppo and Syria civil defense organizations) I monitor the situation in Syria and Iraq, Aleppo and Mosul, the Middle East in general and write articles. I have some good sources. Sometimes the information is very interesting, I'm into the problem for a long time in fact. I can share the information in English if you would like so you could publish it and much more people could know about the problems of Syria. Also I compose a summary of armed clashes in Syria every week and try to analyze the changes. I really express concerns about the situation. And I think it would be great if we together could open the eyes of the world. It would be very kind of you if you write me your answer.
Hi Sophie, I would love to publish some articles from ISMC as guest posts on my blog. I have emailed you. Look forward to hearing from you.
I could not find your email on this blog, so I am taking the liberty of posting here.
You were so good as to cite my blog in your e-book. Thank you. However, that domain name unfortunately has been snatched up by GoDaddy, after a wave of bot attacks on my blog that had it down most of the year. The site is back up under mindbodypolitic.ORG not dot com. You could help me immensely by altering those three letters.
I believe you might have linked me elsewhere in other articles as well. If you could change the links to the current site, I would much appreciate your help.
I have no doubt that the take-down was orchestrated and not just another example of egregious domain snatching by spam blogs.
I would love to send you a piece on what is happening in India right now.
The country is under biometric surveillance through the outrageous aadhaar ID.
If you're willing I might be able to post your article as a guest post on my blog.
Aw shucks, Decker. You're making me blush.
I'm afraid there's not much I can do at the moment as I'm presently a candidate for Parliament in New Zealand and this is taking nearly all of my time. Perhaps contact me again in Novemeber.
Ok, thanks so much for replying, best of luck to your candidacy, Im sure you win. I will absolutely keep in touch.
Many thanks for posting a review of my book, "Goodbye, Europe? Hello, Chaos? Merkel's Migrant Bomb". I am absolutely delighted and most grateful.
No worries, Michael. I heard you speak on Guns and Butter and was really keen to read the book.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Good to discover your work.
Thanks for commenting MK. Great blog. I'm always looking for alternative sources of information.
Thanks for the link, Gary.
Thanks for the link, Alyana. I feel honored to follow your blog.
Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall: Do you ever consider sharing links to affiliated sites on your own site? If so, I would like to do the same. Let me know.
Yes, I do. Tell me what you have in mind.
Rather than continuing here, please send me an e-mail at: class.warfare at gmail dot com. We can discuss further.