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Potential for Voter Fraud is Ripe in Fort Bend County
by Joseph Menslage
I was first made aware of the heavily inflated voter's rolls in Fort Bend County from an unexpected source: a link someone shared on Facebook. The link cited a study conducted by Judicial Watch, and after further investigating their claims, I found the problem is much worse than I could have possibly imagined.
Judicial Watch is a non-partisan watchdog group, whose motto is, "Because no one is above the law." To this end, Judicial Watch uses open records, freedom of information laws, and other tools to investigate and uncover misconduct by government officials. They also use litigation to hold to account politicians and public officials who engage in corrupt activities.
Their September 2020 study collected the most recent registration data posted online by the states themselves. This data was then compared to the Census Bureau's most recent five-year population estimates, gathered by the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2014 through 2018. ACS surveys are sent to 3.5 million addresses each month, and its five-year estimates are considered to be the most reliable estimates outside of the decennial census.
"The new study shows 1.8 million excess, or 'ghost' voters, in 353 counties across 29 states," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The data highlights the recklessness of mailing blindly ballots and ballot applications to voter registration lists. Dirty voting rolls can mean dirty elections."
As said by Senior Attorney of Judicial Watch and Director of Election Integrity Initiative, Bob Popper, "You expect the voter registrations to be around 75-80% of eligible voters. Once you get above 85%, red flags are raised. When you are at 101% like Fort Bend County is, you have a major problem."
Tom Fitton and Bob Popper
According to the voter registration rolls for Fort Bend County (FBC), there are currently over 490,000 people registered to vote. But to get us to the 85% "Red Flag Warning," as described by Popper, we have around 80,000 people registered in FBC who should not be. This number of suspicious voters could be as high as 100,000 if we were in the normal range of voters (75-80%).
For the better part of eight months, I volunteered as a block-walker for my friend and Pastor Johnny Teague, who recently ran against Al Green for Texas Congressional District-9. During that time, I worked almost exclusively in Fort Bend County, referencing the registered voter rolls in FBC provided by the Texas Secretary of State.
During that time, I noticed a disturbing pattern emerging. Almost every street in certain areas had about half of the houses registered with multiple voters. I saw some homes with as many as five people or more registered, and when speaking to the homeowner, I asked if they knew who they were. The homeowners had almost always never heard of any of the names registered to their place of residence. I would follow up with, "how long have you lived here?" Most of the time, the answer was "10 plus years."
I asked Pastor Teague if he had run into similar circumstances. "The problem is so bad that I don't even ask if that person lives there anymore. It seems like they never do, and have never heard of them," he responded. "I even saw in many neighborhoods Mail in Ballot Applications taped on every door in Fresno, Missouri City, and Stafford," he concluded.
But according to the Texas Secretary of State, in order to request a mail-in ballot, you must be 65 years of age or older, be sick or disabled, be out of the country during early voting and election day, or be confined to jail. So, my question for you is this: Why were mail-in ballot applications taped to every door in certain neighborhoods, knowing that by doing so without that person first requesting an application is against the law?
John Oldham (right)
Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham told me, "We know multiple names are registered at the same addresses, and under current Texas law, there's not a lot we can do about it. We have to wait for two federal election cycles (between 2-4 years), and if they didn't vote during that time, we send them a postcard. If they do not respond within a certain time as allocated by law, we purge them from the system. If they do vote, however, the clock is reset, and the process starts over."
"The challenge in our community is that people constantly move. It is hard to clean up like a system like that and it's up to the voter (if they move) to update their voting information. This needs to be done online. We can make a very secure, safe system like the DPS Portal. It is easy to detect voter fraud that may be occurring like that too. If we see multiple people registering from the same IP address, red flags will be raised," Oldham concluded.
Newly elected Texas State Representative Jacey Jetton of Sugar Land said, "Election integrity is essential to the continuation of our democracy. Any proven attempts to defraud an election should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Texas state Rep. Jacey Jetton
"I, along with some other legislators, are working on legislation to tighten Texas voting laws to make it harder to commit election fraud and to increase the penalties of those crimes. Photo ID being required for in-person voting is still a crucial component to ensuring the person voting is who they say they are."
"Accurate voter rolls and not removing eligible voters from the roll is especially important to prevent abuse and fraud. We in the legislature need to review ways to ensure our voter rolls are updated and accurate. We will work on ways to tighten up mail-in voting to ensure that the person requesting the mail-in ballot is who they say they are and the person who fills out the ballot is who they say they are and are voting as they intend," Rep. Jetton stated.
In conclusion, does any of this evidence prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that voter fraud, on a scale large enough to tip elections in Fort Bend County, exists?
No, but where there's smoke, there's fire. As Bob Popper stated, a voter roll at 101% of eligible voters registered is indicative of major smoke engulfing Fort Bend County.
Joseph Menslage
As the President and Publisher of Katy and Fort Bend Christian Magazines, Joe Menslage is committed to covering social and political news from a Christian worldview. He founded Katy Christian Magazine in 2005, which swept the greater Houston and Katy areas like a storm. That's when Joe realized the urgent need for publications willing to give voices to the voiceless, without political correctness or censorship. Joe Menslage founded sister-publication Fort Bend Christian Magazine in 2014. Prior to creating Katy Christian Magazine, Joe Menslage led a colorful life. He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, spent a great deal of his childhood in Colorado, and lived in a couple of other states before he moved to Houston in 1981. Joe was God-gifted with an entrepreneurial mind, and self-started other business ventures before he found his calling. In Joe's words, our innate talents are given by the Lord, and are meant to be used to serve the Lord. Aside from being a President and Publisher, Joe Menslage is also the co-founder of Katy Christian Chamber of Commerce, where Christians can network, build business connections, listen to passionate speakers, and enjoy monthly breakfasts and lunches. Joe Menslage also hosts a weekly political satire YouTube channel. Joe Menslage has four children. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, watching zombie movies and K dramas, ax-throwing and Krav Maga.
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Joseph Menslage December 2, 2020


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WHY SENATE DISOWNED 2016 BUDGET, SAYS SENATE LEADER
The Senate today said that it disowned the second version of the 2016 budget brought to it because it failed integrity checks.
The upper chamber also described Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) call for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari over the budget controversy as the biggest joke of the year.
Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume who briefed reporters in Abuja insisted that there was no need to dissipate energy on the 2016 budget since the Senate was in control of the situation.
Ndume also insisted that the insinuation that the 2016 budget was missing should be completely discountenanced.
He said that nobody ever declared the budget missing especially when President Buhari did not read the budget off hand.
The Senate Leader explained that what happened was that some copies of the budget submitted to the Senate were subjected to integrity checks and they failed the checks when compared with the original copy read and presented to the National Assembly by President Buhari.
He noted that through the integrity checks, the Senate discovered some loopholes that made it to confirm the existence of two versions of the 2016 budget.
Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had on Thursday said that the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions discovered that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, printed and submitted to the Senate a fake copy of the 2016 budget.
Saraki said that the Senate resolved not to consider the budget until the soft copy of the original budget presented by President Buhari on December 22, 2015 was made available to the Senate.
Enang on Sunday confirmed that; "His Excellency, Mr. President has sent a communication to the National Assembly on the 2016 budget. The content is as will be read on the floor in plenary."
Giving more details on why the Senate rejected the second version of the budget, Ndume said that the integrity checks showed that some projects that were not accommodated in the original budget presented by President Buhari were curiously injected into the budget.
He said that the Senate was jolted by the discovery although the strange projects did not affect the sum total of the budget.
He said, "There were issues with the budget that some people were not comfortable with. There were integrity checks and it was discovered that there were some loopholes.
"We asked the Ethics and Privileges Committee to find out what actually happened and it was discovered that there were two versions of the budget.
"It is not that the figure submitted by Mr. President has changed. It is still the same thing. It is not that what Mr. President submitted is sacrosanct, that it cannot be changed. It can be changed.
"It is not that the N6.08 trillion budget Mr. President submitted to us has changed or any of the subheads have changed. They are still the same.
"The President did not submit a failed document. The President submitted a budget, which went through integrity checks.
"I have my soft and hard copies of the budget. I spent most of the weekend looking at the budget.
"What I tried to do was to make a comparative analysis. So, I could not find the difference. But then they told that the difference is not in the sub-total or sectoral allocation. They did integrity checks and they gave me an example.
"That if a certain amount was allocated to do two things and they felt that that amount can be used to do four things. They said instead of two things, do four. They are still talking about spending the same amount but getting more for it.
"But what I can tell you now is that the budget that was submitted originally, there were certain integrity checks on it that made some changes in the quantity but not in the total."
On what informed the integrity checks, he said that the integrity checks became necessary in order to match figures with projects.
Asked when the budget is likely to be passed considering the controversy trailing it, he said that they are targeting end of February to round off on the budget but for "this mix up."
Ndume however assured that "we are committed to turning out the budget on time."
On the call to impeach President Buhari over the budget controversy, he said that the talk of impeachment by the PDP is the biggest joke of the year.
He asked, "What are we to do with PDP for what they did to this country in the past 16 years. We are to kill PDP.
"Buhari is the kind of leader we want in Nigeria. The good thing is that now we have a president, before we had something else."
On the invitation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, he said that the issue of the falling value of the Naira is of concern to the Senate.
Ndume said that the Senate wanted to what happening, why the Naira should sell N305 to one dollar.
He said, "We want to know the implication of what is happening to the Naira to the country especially to the ordinary Nigerian and what should be done to reverse the trend."
Reminded that the existence of two parallel markets for the sale of dollar might be the problem, he said that Bureau De Change operations have become a big employment avenue.
Ndume however added that the BDC operations should not be done in such a way as to affect the economy negatively.
On the oil benchmark of $38pb, he said "We passed the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) at $38 dollar per barrel. And now crude oil is selling for $29 at the international market.
"We are praying that every time it goes up. But if it remains like that, we really have to do something. But it's not something that Senator Ali Ndume will do alone. It is when the Senate sits down to consider this issue that I can come back to you again and speak on behalf of the Senate."
INEC TO MEET WITH RECS, POLITICAL PARTIES, OTHERS
BOKO HARAM: UN TASKS NIGERIA ON REHABILITATION OF…

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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal put his side's 2-1 defeat by FC Midtjylland down to Murphy's law.
Memphis Depay put the visitors ahead in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie, but Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu gave the hosts victory.
Van Gaal, already without 13 players, lost David de Gea during the warm-up and used an adage that means anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
"It is the law of Murphy I think," the Dutchman told BT Sport.
"A lot of things are happening in the heads of the players and in the first 10 or 15 minutes we were not so good."
Van Gaal felt his side improved as the first half went on and could have scored more goals.
But he added: "In the second half we didn't win any duels, any second balls. You cannot afford a second goal, but we could have scored also.
"Jesse Lingard had two remarkable chances."
At the end of the game, United fans in the MCH Arena made it clear they were not impressed with their side's display.
Van Gaal accepted the second-half performance was not good enough, but defended the attitude of his players.
"The fans can criticise," he said. "They can do it because when you see the second half, maybe they are right. We have to improve and then the fans shall support us again.
"All the players want to perform in an excellent way. It is not a case of attitude. We were not winning the second balls - that is my analysis."
What now for Van Gaal?
United's next game sees them face League One side Shrewsbury in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday night at New Meadow, looking to avoid an upset and a third consecutive defeat in all competitions.
The Manchester Evening News called for Van Gaal to be sacked immediately in an article written by their United reporter Stuart Mathieson.
"I wrote 'enough is enough' after the dire display against Southampton less than a month ago believing it couldn't get any worse and that it shouldn't be allowed to," he wrote.
"But then this came this Joke in Jutland."
Chief football writer for the Times, Henry Winter, told BBC Radio 5 live that the performance was appalling.
"It's definitely tick-tock time," he said.
"The press box there is very close to where the Manchester United power brokers were sitting. There was just a look of complete shock and horror on the face of Ed Woodward, the executive vice chairman, who will effectively be the person along with the Glazers who make the decision."
Former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 live that United have been "pretty awful to watch" this season.
He added: "They're not very good, that's the problem - they haven't entertained their fans, which of course at that football club you have to do and Van Gaal hasn't.
"The lack of leadership in that team is alarming - I know Rooney is in there and he missed out last night but there's no screaming and shouting at other team-mates to tell them what to do.
"With the injuries now with De Gea pulling out in the warm-up last night - Shrewsbury will be rubbing their hands together thinking they've got one hell of chance in the FA Cup on Monday."
De Gea hobbled out of the warm-up with a knee problem, but Sergio Romero proved an able deputy - making several fine saves.
Van Gaal was unable to say how long his first-choice goalkeeper would be out for.
He said: "We have to wait for a scan, then maybe we can say more but it was a big surprise."
Computer games or watching your team lose?
Read more on Manchester United: Computer games or watching your team?


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Archives For South Africa
Almost the size of Pretoria, this 62,000 hectare private reserve on the border with Kruger National Park has upped its game against poaching.
What was once an operation with a handful anti-poachers patrolling an electric fence and hiding in watch towers has now been turned into a 21st century fortress in the bush.
This is all thanks to a pilot project called "Connected Conservation", a collaboration between 48 private lodge owners, the tech company Cisco, and Dimension Data, the data solutions company.
While there had been great initiatives to protect the rhino over the years, these were reactive and the number of these animals being killed were increasing at an alarming rate. By combining tech thermal imaging cameras and thumb-print scanners with things like sniffer dogs, the reserve tracks the movement of people before they get close to endangered animals.
Since it began in 2015, the upgrades have brought about a 96% reduction in rhino poaching incursions, as well as reducing illegal incursions into the reserve by 68%. Key to the success has been reducing ranger response time from 30 minutes to 7 minutes.
Source: Business Insider, original article and photo by Caboz, J, 9 May 2018.
In Africa, Environmental Security, Illicit Goods, Information Technology, ivory, organized crime, poaching, smuggling	Cisco, Connected Conservation, Dimension Data, game park, nature conservation, Rhino poaching, South Africa, Technology
WCO News – February 2018
This edition of WCO News features a special dossier on the theme chosen by the WCO for 2018, namely "A secure business environment for economic development", with articles presenting initiatives and related projects that contribute to creating such an environment. The articles touch on authorized economic operators, national committees on trade facilitation, coordinated border management, performance measurement, e-commerce, data analysis, and partnerships with the private sector.
For sub-Saharan African readers, look out for the write up of the Customs systems interconnectivity and the challenges and opportunities for Customs administrations in the SACU region.
Other highlights include articles on Customs systems interconnectivity in the Southern African Customs Union, on the experience of a young Nigerian Customs officer who participated in the Strategic Management and Intellectual Property Rights Programme at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University, on how the WCO West and Central Africa region is using data to monitor Customs modernization in the region, and on the benefits that can be derived by facilitating transit procedures.
Source: WCO, February 2018
In Africa, Cross Border Trade, Cross-Border E-Commerce, Customs, Customs Declaration, Customs Union, Data Model, Globally Networked Customs, Information Exchange, Information Technology, IT Inter Connectivity, Risk Management, SACU, SARS, South African Customs, UCR, Utility Block, WCO	C-2-C data exchange, SACU, South Africa, Swaziland, UCR, WCO Magazine
How SA's abalone ends up on China's plates
Oxpeckers' environmental investigative journalist, Crystal Chow, digs up the dirt on the illicit abalone trade.
Abalone tops the list of the most exquisite seafood in Chinese cuisine, and fresh South African abalone are always the first choice for feasts in Cantonese restaurants, where one fresh abalone alone can cost up to HK$2,000 (about R3,000). In recent years, the overfishing and smuggling of wild abalone has pushed this endemic species of the South African coast towards extinction.
"The South African wild abalone are heavier, and they are better than the farmed Japanese and Australian ones in terms of fresh flavour and texture," said Chit-yu Lau, general manager of Ah Yat Abalones restaurant in Hong Kong. "Our fresh South African abalone are all imported through legitimate channels. The smuggled ones are usually dried, and are rare in Hong Kong."
Nonetheless, the illicit abalone trade has been gathering significant attention from conservationists combating wildlife trafficking, who believe the profitable contraband market of abalone is linked to the black market of ivory and rhino horns – both of which are driven by high demand from the Chinese market. To read the full story Click here!
Source: oxpeckers.org, author – Chow. C, June 9, 2017.
In Africa, Illicit Goods, organized crime	Abalone, China, Hong Kong, illicit goods, illicit trade, Perlemoen, smuggling, South Africa, wildlife trafficking
Chamber of Mines goes after UNCTAD over faulty trade misinvoicing report
The report claimed there was widespread misinvoicing in primary commodities in developing countries, including South Africa.
The Chamber of Mines on Tuesday called on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to withdraw its report on trade misinvoicing and acknowledge its shortcomings, saying that the prestigious agency had failed to collect its data accurately.
This comes after the Chamber released the third and final report in a series commissioned to examine the July 2016 UNCTAD report that claimed there was widespread misinvoicing in primary commodities in developing countries, including South Africa.
Also read Maya Forestater's blog post Misinvoicing or misunderstanding? for an incisive explanation regarding the UN's claims in its recent report Trade Misinvoicing in Primary Commodities in Developing Countries.
The UNCTAD report titled "Trade Misinvoicing in Primary Commodities in Developing Countries: The cases of Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia", claimed to have found widespread under-invoicing which, it alleged, was designed by commodities producers to evade tax and other entitlements due to the fiscal authorities.
UNCTAD said some commodity dependent developing countries were losing as much as 67 percent of their exports worth billions of dollars to trade misinvoicing.
For South Africa, the report calculated cumulative under-invoicing over the period 2000-2014 to have amounted to U.S.$102.8 billion; which was U.S.$620 million for iron ore, U.S.$24 billion for silver and platinum, and U.S.$78.2 billion for gold.
UNCTAD revised the report in December, though its fundamentals remained unchanged.
The Chamber of Mines also commissioned Eunomix to compile its own reports which were published in December and February respectively, focusing on UNCTAD's gold scenarios.
The third report, which was published on Tuesday, deals with the other commodities.
The Chamber said in terms of gold, the UNCTAD study methodology compared reported exports by product and country of destination with the reported imports of the products by those same countries, and did not use other widely available data, including that of Statistics SA and the Reserve Bank.
The Chamber also dismissed all other UNCTAD findings in terms of silver and platinum, and iron ore.
The Chamber said all the factors that UNCTAD did not consider reinforced the point made in the earlier Eunomix reports regarding the lack of rigour and unreliable methodologies used in UNCTAD's report.
"This is extremely unfortunate given the levels of credence that tend to be given to reports of this UN agency. Accusations of extensive misinvoicing and other illicit financial flows are feeding a growing lack of trust between key stakeholders in the mining industry," the Chamber said.
"The Chamber of Mines again calls on UNCTAD to withdraw this report and acknowledge its shortcomings." Source: The Citizen, Business News, 22 Aug, 2017. [Picture: Chamber of Mines]
In Africa, Cross Border Trade, Data Analysis, Trade Statistics	Chamber of Mines, Eunomix, gold, illicit financial flows, mis-invoicing, precious metals, South Africa, trade statistics, under invoicing, United Nations
SA Donkeys 'ferry' illicit vehicles into Zimbabwe
Police are on high alert looking for a syndicate that uses donkeys to smuggle luxury cars across the Limpopo River into the Zimbabwe.
Thieves tied ropes to the cars which were hitched on to the donkeys to pull the cars across the river.
Some cars are driven through the drier parts of the river. On Tuesday, a Mercedes Benz C220 was intercepted before it disappeared into Zimbabwe.
"Our members were just in time to pounce on them after the donkeys were apparently no longer able to pull it through the sand," Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo for the SA Police Service said.
The suspects fled into the bushes towards Zimbabwe side. Most of the cars are being smuggled across the river through the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, south of Beitbridge border post.
In December, police recovered a Hilux bakkie when thieves attempted to smuggle it through the river. The bakkie was stolen in Durban.
It was semi-submerged in the water when Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba spotted it from a helicopter while he was leading a high-density operation in Musina and Beitbridge.
The vehicle and donkeys were abandoned in the middle of the river and the suspect fled into Zimbabwe. It is not clear why the thieves do not simply driver the car into Zimbabwe – one reason might be that most modern cars are fitted with a tracking device which uses satellite tracking to locate a vehicle, if stolen. The tracker is only active when the car is running.
Mojapelo said 13 vehicles have been recovered since January this year. Thieves target luxury bakkies, SUV's, specifically Toyota and Isuzu. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are the two provinces that are mostly affected.
Last week, four vehicles were recovered. A Range Rover worth R900 000 was recovered after police intercepted it at the Beitbridge border post. The vehicle was en route to Malawi. The man was arrested and was found in possession of cash with an estimated amount of R30 000.
Mojapelo said the car had Limpopo registration numbers, but it was still unclear where it was stolen. Source: Pictures – SAPS and article – Iavan Pijoos, News24, 2 August 2017.
In Border Control, Border posts, Illicit Goods, organized crime	Beit Bridge, border post, donkeys, Limpopo River, luxury vehicles, Sim, South Africa, vehicle smuggling
Payback Time for the man who decimated South African Rock Lobster
July 23, 2017 — Leave a comment
Cape Town businessman Arnold Bengis drained South Africa's seas – and now it is payback time.
A US court has ordered the 81-year-old to pay South Africa $37-million (about R483-million) for catching thousands of tons of rock lobster over 14 years.
The restitution amount replaces a $21-million payment Bengis agreed to make to South Africa in 2004. Because he paid only $1.25-million and placed the rest "out of reach of the US", Manhattan District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced him on Wednesday to more than four years' imprisonment.
Kaplan ordered an immediate arrest warrant for Bengis, now living in Israel. State attorney Kiersten Fletcher said US authorities would try to extradite him.
Said the judge: "There is value to Mr Bengis understanding that.there may be a knock at the door and a pair of handcuffs in his future."
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries wanted $100-million in restitution but it welcomed Kaplan's judgment.
"We are fairly satisfied with the $37-million, but we hope [Bengis] won't appeal it, so the payment will be effected as soon as possible," said the department's Thembalethu Vico.
Although Bengis's activities stopped 17 years ago, damage to the coastal ecosystem was still depriving fishing communities of access to resources, he said.
Former department head of fisheries Horst Kleinschmidt, who testified in the District Court in 2004 about Bengis's fishing activities, quoted research that suggested free-falling rock lobster stocks "immediately stabilised" after his operation was stopped.
He said yesterday that when officials discovered the extent of Bengis's plunder "it made nonsense of any scientific inquiry" into environmental factors behind declining fish stocks.
"He hired lots of little fishermen with boats to supply him with contraband fish stocks. The decline is evident in the total allowable catch figures, which the scientists set lower and lower. Once he was caught, we realised he was a major source of that," he said.
His fleet of trawlers overfished more than 2200t of West Coast rock lobster between 1987 and 2000. The $37-million was the proceeds of just one year, plus interest, said an Ocean and Land Resources Assessment Consultants report.South Africa will be the first foreign government to be compensated under a 117-year-old US law, the Lacey Act, which regulates imports of protected species.
Department lawyer Barnabas Xulu said it took his team six months to prepare for the case and hailed the ruling as "ground-breaking", but conceded there could still be challenges ahead.
During arguments in court, Kaplan told Bengis's attorney, Eric Creizman, his client "rearranged" his assets, amounting to $25-million, into a Channel Islands fund so the US government could not reach it. Source: Times Live (2017, July 21)
In Environmental Security, Illicit Goods	coastal ecosystem, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, South Africa, US court judgement, West Coast Rock Lobster
Vietnam seizes 3 tons of ivory smuggled from South Africa
Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly three tonnes of ivory hidden among boxes of fruit, officials said on Sunday, the latest haul to spotlight the country's key role in the global wildlife smuggling trade.
Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa found 2.7 tonnes of tusks inside cartons on the back of a truck that was on its way to Hanoi, according to their website.
"This is the largest seizure of smuggled ivory ever in Thanh Hoa province," the report said.State media said the elephant tusks originated from South Africa.
The truck driver claimed he was unaware of what he was transporting, according to a report in state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper.
The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after populations of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.
There are now believed to be some 415,000, with 30,000 illegally killed each year. Prices for a kilogramme of ivory can reach as high as US$1,100 (Dh4,040).
Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992 but the country remains a top market for ivory products prized locally for decorative purposes, or in traditional medicine despite having no proven medicinal qualities.
Weak law enforcement in the communist country has allowed a black market to flourish, and Vietnam is also a busy thoroughfare for tusks trafficked from Africa destined for other parts of Asia, mainly China.
Last October, Vietnam customs authorities discovered about 3.5 tonnes of elephant tusks at Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh city, all in crates of wood, including a hefty two-tonne haul packed into a single shipment.
In 2015, 2.2 tonnes of tusks, originating from Mozambique, were discovered and seized northern Hai Phong port.
And last week authorities in Hong Kong seized 7.2 tonnes of ivory, the largest haul in the city for three decades.
While low level couriers are sometimes arrested across Asia very few wildlife trafficking kingpins are brought to justice. Source: The National
In Border Control, CITES, Customs, Illicit Goods, ivory, poaching	elephant tusks, Ivory, South Africa, Vietnam
Belissima!
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has seized a Ferrari that was smuggled into the country. The luxury vehicle worth an estimated R13.8m was stored at a warehouse in South Africa since 2014.
In February 2015, however, the vehicle's owner submitted an export declaration to take the car to the Democratic Republic of Congo through Beitbridge border post. A day later, there was an attempt to have the vehicle returned to South Africa through the same border post.
The vehicle has been detained and a letter of intent has been issued to the owner in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act No 3 of 2000 to enable them to make representation to SARS.
In Border posts, Customs, Export, Illicit Goods, SARS	Beitbridge Border Post, Customs, Ferrari, SARS, South Africa
Zim Revenue Scourge – porous borders lose millions
December 20, 2016 — Leave a comment
The Zimbabwe Herald suggests that Zimbabwe could be losing millions of dollars in unpaid taxes due to rampant smuggling of cigarettes into South Africa, investigations by this paper have revealed.Between 2014 and 2015, local customs officials seized nearly 2 500 cartons worth around $500 000 in taxes, according to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
Figures from the South African side are staggering, showing a wide discrepancy in the value of confiscated contraband between the two neighbouring southern African countries.
The South African Revenue Service told The Herald Business that it had seized R87 million (US$6,2 million) worth of Zimbabwean cigarettes since 2014, or 95 million sticks.
This will likely be worth millions of dollars in evaded tax in Zimbabwe, but the ZIMRA director for legal and corporate services Ms Florence Jambwa said the figures were difficult to determine because smuggling was an underground trade.
South Africa, however, says it loses an estimated R40 million (US$2,9 million) to cigarette smuggling each year, on the average, more than half of it Zimbabwe-related.
And this is just from what is on public record. Customs officials from both countries admit the figures could be higher. Both are also greatly incapacitated to detect illegal trades quickly.
"It is difficult to measure the levels of smuggling as this is an underground activity mostly done through undesignated entry points," said ZIMRA's Jambwa, by email.
"The value of the potential loss cannot be easily ascertained," she said, failing to provide an estimate.
Tax analyst Mr Tendai Mavhima said the figures from ZIMRA represent only a small portion of the actual amount of money Zimbabwe is losing to trafficking of cigarettes.
"The disparity in figures (ZIMRA and SARS figures) indicate there are problems in controls on either side, which may result in the revenue and tax losses from both countries being understated," he said by telephone.
Zimbabwe is the world's fifth largest producer of tobacco after China, the USA, Brazil and India.
The country produces flue-cured Virginia tobacco, considered to be of extremely high quality and flavour, according to a report on Zimbabwean tobacco companies by local stockbroking firm, IH Securities.
As such, Zimbabwean tobacco ends up in many top cigarette brands across the world, it says.
It is especially popular in China, the largest importer of Zimbabwean tobacco, and in South Africa, the country's largest trading partner.
In South Africa, Zimbabwean cigarettes are on demand for two key reasons: high quality and affordability.
It costs just $1,50 for 20 sticks in Zimbabwe compared to $3,20 for the same number of sticks in South Africa, according to estimates by regional economic bloc, SADC.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said: "Cigarette clientele opt for cheaper cigarettes. The high supply and demand for illicit cigarettes creates the market for it."
South Africa imposes very high taxes on cigarette imports – about 80 percent meaning many Zimbabwean dealers choose to export illegally.
SADC says illegal dealers supply nearly two thirds of the number of cigarettes smoked by South Africans.
In 2011 alone, at least 4 billion cigarettes smuggled into South Africa originated from Zimbabwe, it says.
The undeclared cigarettes are usually concealed in trucks, buses and other vehicles destined for South Africa by organised cartels, said Florence Jambwa of ZIMRA.
Sometimes the cargo is shipped at undesignated points on the porous border between the two countries. Source: Zimbabwe Herald
In Border Control, Border posts, Co-operative border management, Contraband, Corruption, Cross Border Trade, Customs, Illicit Goods, organized crime, Revenue Collection, tobacco	cigarette smuggling, contraband, porous borders, SARS, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zimra
Competition Commission raids shipping companies suspected of collusion
News 24 reports that the Competition Commission on Wednesday conducted a search and seizure operation at the premises of six cargo shipping companies operating in the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal (KZN) on suspicion of collusion and rate fixing, the body said in a statement.
"The Commission has reasonable grounds to suspect that Hamburg Sud South Africa, Maersk South Africa, Safmarine, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Pacific International Line South Africa and CMA CGM Shipping Agencies South Africa have engaged in collusive practices," the Commission said.
The companies' practices aimed to among other things fix the incremental rates for the shipment of cargo from Asia to South Africa, which was in contravention of the Competition Act.
According to the Commission, the search and seizure operation is conducted as part of an ongoing investigation which was initiated by the Commission based on information from a member of the public.
The companies under investigation transport cargo for import and export purposes across the globe, including South Africa. They use large metal containers as packaging crates and in-transit warehouses to store and transport general cargo such as frozen foods, garments and footwear.
The customers of these companies are mainly clearing and freight forward agents.
"South Africa is a strategic hub for the trade of goods in and out of the Southern African region. Any cartel by shipping liners in this region results in inflated prices for cargo transportation," said Tembinkosi Bonakele, commissioner of the Competition Commission.
"Cartels of this nature increase the costs of trading in the region and render the region uncompetitive in the world markets. Such cartels have the effect of significantly derailing the economic growth of the region."
Reuters reported that Maersk and MSC confirmed the raids and said they were cooperating with authorities. The other companies did not respond to Reuters' requests for immediate comment.
"The fact that the SACC carries out such inspections does not mean that a company has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour," Maersk said.
EU antitrust regulators in July accepted an offer from Maersk and 13 competitors to change their pricing practices in order to stave off possible fines. Source: News24
In Cargo carrier, International Shipping	CMA CGM, collusion, Competition Commission, Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Pacific International Line, Price fixing, Safmarine, shipping lines, South Africa
WCO addresses a "Ministerial Lekgotla" as an introduction to the CITES Conference in Johannesburg
At the invitation of the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs, Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya addressed a "Ministerial Lekgotla" held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 23 September 2016 as an introduction to the CITES CoP 17 World Wildlife Conference.
During the high-level panel session, Secretary General Mikuriya focused on the role of Customs in facilitating legal trade and intercepting illegal trade in wildlife and on its link to CITES and Sustainable Development Goals.
He highlighted the WCO Declaration on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which had been adopted in 2014 and aimed at drawing the attention of policy makers to environmental crime and at raising the priority of Customs operations in this area.
He also referred to the INAMA project (started in 2014) for technical and capacity building assistance for Customs on risk management, collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and institution building to enhance integrity. Cooperation with the transport industry was also part of the WCO efforts to improve compliance, as exemplified in the Royal Foundation Task Force Declaration on Transport, adopted earlier this year.
The presence in Johannesburg of high-level delegations also provided an opportunity for the Executive Heads of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) to meet in order to further enhance the collaborative work with the CITES Secretariat, INTERPOL, the UNODC, the World Bank and the WCO.
Fianlly, Secretary General Mikuriya also had a series of bilateral meetings with key partners, including with Executive Director Erik Solheim of the United Nations Environment Programme. Source: WCO
In CITES, Customs, organized crime, poaching, WCO	CITES COP17, Customs, INAMA Project, Johannesburg, Kunio Mikuriya, South Africa, World Customs Organization, World Wildlife Conference
Track and Trace your container with Transnet's Spotlight App
August 29, 2016 — Leave a comment
Transnet's new Spotlight App enables its customers to Track and Trace their containers, adding a valuable service to assist with their day to day planning, to increase operational efficiency.
Available on Android and Apple devices, current features include "Track and Trace", which is not only focused on containers, but also extended to trucks and vessels. Track and Trace extends across all Transnet Terminals and TFR Navis Facilities.
Soon to be released features will enable our customers to be notified of any operational changes in the various Transnet Terminals, from weather conditions to any congestion issues. In addition, the "Register Me" feature will enable Transnet to send customers personalised information regarding their specific consignments.
The Transnet Spotlight App is in line with Transnet's MDS pillars, being Admired, Digital, Agile and Value, Transnet Spotlight is the only app in the industry that provides status of consignments across all Shipping Lines. Future releases will extend to other industries. Source: Transnet.co.za
In Africa, Containerization, International Shipping, Logistics, Transnet	Android, Apple, containers, South Africa, Spotlight App, track and trace, Transnet Port Terminals, trucks, vessels
Davis Tax Committee pronounces on BMA
Recent speculation concerning the Border Management Agency Bill have brought about reaction from both within government and industry. While there appears widespread support for a unified agency to administer South Africa's borders, the challenge lies in the perceived administration of such agency given the specific mandates of the various border entities.
The Davis Tax Committee (DTC) was requested to provide a view on the affect of the proposed bill insofar as it impacts upon revenue (taxes and customs and excise) collection for the fiscus of South Africa.
The purpose of the Bill is to provide for the establishment, organisation, regulation and control of the Border Management Agency (BMA); to provide for the transfer, assignment, and designation of law enforcement border related functions to the BMA; and to provide for matters connected thereto. The functions of the BMA are (a) to perform border law enforcement functions within the borderline and at ports of entry; (b) to coordinate the implementation of its border law enforcement functions with the principal organs of state and may enter into protocols with those organs of state to do so; and (c) to provide an enabling environment to facilitate legitimate trade.
In short the DTC recommends that the functions and powers of SARS and the BMA be kept separate and that the Agency should not be assigned any of the current functions and powers of SARS with regard to revenue (taxes and customs and excise) collection and the control of goods that is associated with such collection functions. Of particular concern is the extraordinarily poor timing of the Bill. According to the 2014 Tax Statistics issued by SARS, the total of customs duties, import VAT, and ad valorem import duties collected amounted to R176.9 billion for the 2013-14 fiscal year. This was approximately 19% of the total revenue collected.
The DTC is of the view that to put so significant a contribution to the fiscus in a position of uncertainty, if the Bill were to be implemented, is fiscally imprudent at this critical juncture for the South African economy. Follow this link to access the full report on the DTC website. Source: www.taxcom.org.za
In Border Control, Border Management Agency, Border posts, Co-operative border management, Customs, DHA, law enforcement agencies, Non Tariff Barriers, One Stop Border Posts, SARS, South African Customs	BMA, Border Management Agency Bil, Davis Tax Committee, DHA, Integrated border management, SAPS, SARS, South Africa
Red Flags hang over BMA
According to Eye Witness News, a draft law aimed at creating a new, overarching border control entity has run into problems.
Parliament's Home Affairs Portfolio Committee has been briefed on the Border Management Authority Bill by the department, the South African Police Service (Saps) and National Treasury.
Cabinet approved the Bill in September 2015 to deal with weaknesses in the state's ability to secure the country's ports of entry.
The Bill proposes harnessing the responsibilities of Home Affairs, the police and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) among others in one agency under a commissioner.
The authority will take over the customs control functions currently undertaken by the South African Revenue Service. There are fears within the industry that it could compromise SARS's achievements in modernising its customs administration that has facilitated the movement of goods across the border.
Red flags have been raised by both the SA Police Service and National Treasury over the Border Management Authority Bill.
Treasury's Ismail Momoniat says while they support a single border control body, SARS must remain in charge of customs and excise and revenue collection.
"We're talking of significant revenue collection, and that is a speciality… The Bill is a framework, it's important it doesn't generate uncertainty for an important institution like SARS.
The authority will be governed by a commissioner and overseen by an interministerial consultative committee, a border technical committee and advisory committees.
The SAPS' Major General David Chilembe says the Constitution says South Africa must have a single police force. He says it may have to be amended if the new border authority takes over policing duties.
Chilembe also says the police, and not Home Affairs, should lead the new entity. Source: EWN.
In Border Control, Border Management Agency, Border posts, Co-operative border management, Customs, SARS, South African Customs	Border Management Agency, Customs, Home Affairs, Integrated border management, National Treasury, SA Police Service, SARS, Single Window, South Africa, South African Revenue Service


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Encyclopedia > Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe (in German literally: "air weapon") is the air force of Germany.
Founded during World War I with the emergence of military aircraft, it was dissolved after the war, as a part of the Treaty of Versailles. On February 26, 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered Hermann G�ring to re-instate the Luftwaffe, although the treaty was still in power.
By 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II, the Luftwaffe had become the most powerful air force in the world. As such it played a major role in Germany's early successes in the war, and formed a key part of the Blitzkrieg concept, much thanks to the use of the innovative Junkers Ju-87[?] dive bomber plane ("Sturzkampfflugzeug - "Stuka"). A contingent from the Luftwaffe was sent to support the rebel side in the Spanish Civil War with planes (notably the Ju-87) and personnel.
The inability of the Luftwaffe to control the skies in the Battle of Britain after the tactical mistake to bomb industrial targets in cities instead of British airfields formed a key point in the war, and German air power diminished further with the arrival of the Americans, though it remained strong, especially on the Soviet front. The Luftwaffe were the first air force to fly jet fighters, with for example the Heinkel He-178[?] (1939), the Messerschmitt Me 163 (1941) and the Messerschmitt Me 262 (1942).
(more needed on post-war history)
Official Website (in German) (http://www.luftwaffe.de)
East Hampton North, New York
... with no husband present, and 39.0% are non-families. 31.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or ...


Here are the top short stories, fanfiction, poetry, and posts about @in on Commaful, including topics like "copycat", "infatuation", and more. Click here to sign up for more stories about @in.
Am I one? Or is she two?... A poem on multiple personalities, based on prompt: advantage.


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David Warner, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja set to return to BBL-12
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Labuschagne is a terrific player who is going to score runs at some…
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ICC T20 World Cup tickets for India-Pakistan clash in Australia sold…
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Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) associates with complement dysregulation due to
Posted on October 6, 2017 by Lucille Long
Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) associates with complement dysregulation due to mutations and polymorphisms in complement activators and regulators. that aHUS-associated mutations in C3 selectively affect regulation of complement on surfaces and provide a structural framework to predict the functional consequences of the C3 genetic variants found in patients. and genes modulates penetrance and clinical severity of disease in aHUS. 2.?Patients, materials and methods 2.1. Patients Our series of aHUS patients comprises 237 unrelated individuals, including 214 Spaniards, seven from other European countries, six from the USA, six from South America and four from Tunisia. aHUS was FCGR3A diagnosed by the presence of one or more episodes of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia defined on the basis of hematocrit (Ht)??460?U/L, undetectable haptoglobin, fragmented erythrocytes in the peripheral blood smear, and platelet count <150,000/l, associated with acute renal failure. Patients with Stx-HUS, defined as the presence of Shiga toxin in the stools (by the Vero cell assay) and/or of serum antibodies against Shiga toxin (by ELISA) and/or LPS (O157, O26, O103, O111 and O145, by ELISA) were excluded. ADAMTS13 functional levels were used to exclude thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. 2.2. Clinical data from the families and the sporadic patient carrying C3 MK-0812 mutations 2.2.1. Family HUS19 There are three affected individuals (HUS19, II-1, HUS19M, I-1 and HUS19T, I-2) in this Spanish pedigree, all of them alive. Patient HUS19 is a 12y-old female who first presented at the age of 14 months after a respiratory infection. She has had 8 recurrences thus far. In all these occasions she was treated with peritoneal dialysis, plasmapheresis and plasma infusion and recovered renal function. The family history revealed that the mother (HUS19M) and a maternal aunt (HUS19T) also suffered an episode of aHUS of unknown origin without recurrence. The mother presented with aHUS when she was 6 years old and recovered completely her renal function. The aunt had developed aHUS of unknown origin MK-0812 when she was 14 months and also recovered her renal function. However, some neurological deficits continued to be (epilepsy supplementary to hypertensive problems) with this individual. 2.2.2. Family members HUS107 Individual HUS107 is a lady who belongs to some other Spanish pedigree. Her mother was also affected. Patient HUS107 has a healthy daughter and two unaffected brothers; one of them also has two healthy daughters. HUS107 presented with aHUS at the age of 35 years associated with the MK-0812 intake of oral contraceptives. This episode was complicated by neurological disorders and was treated with antibiotics, immunosuppressive drugs (vincristine), plasmapheresis and plasma infusions. Currently, she's chronic renal insufficiency and it is backed on peritoneal dialysis. Her mom presented at age 23 and suffered aHUS connected with neurological problems also. She received a cadaveric kidney graft at age 28 and passed away at age 31 without proof recurrence in the grafted kidney. 2.2.3. Individual HUS193 This individual offered aHUS with out a very clear triggering factor. The biopsy showed thrombotic microangiopathy and he recovered after 8 a few months with haemodialysis completely. However, 16 years he created terminal renal disease later on. He's in haemodialysis looking forward to a transplant currently. This patient shows permanent hypocomplementemia with low degrees of CH50 and C3 but normal degrees of C4. 2.3. Mutation testing/genotyping The sufferers had been screened for mutations and polymorphisms in and genes by automated DNA sequencing of PCR amplified fragments. Genomic DNA was ready from peripheral bloodstream cells regarding to standard techniques (Miller et al., 1988). Each exon of these genes was amplified from genomic DNA through the use of specific primers produced from the 5 and 3 intronic sequences as referred to (Richards et al., 2003, Prez-Caballero et al., 2001, Fremeaux-Bacchi et al., 2004, Miller et al., 1988, Delvaeye et al., 2009). Automatic sequencing was performed in an ABI 3730 sequencer using a dye terminator cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Copy number variations in the genes were analyzed by MLPA as described elsewhere.
This entry was posted in My Blog and tagged FCGR3A, MK-0812 by Lucille Long. Bookmark the permalink.


County Commissioner Fred Streetman became chairman of the Seminole County Expressway Authority by a unanimous vote last week.
Streetman replaced Sanford Commissioner David Farr, who has been the chairman for the past two years. Though the authority has no time limit for serving as chairman, Farr said he believed it was time for someone else to lead the group.
The expressway authority is made up of the five county commissioners, Altamonte Springs Commissioner Lee Constantine and Farr.


No Major or Minor Aspects Today!
Teaching & Preaching – What do you have to share with the world?
Great Listener – What do you need to help people process?
Over Compromising – What ground are you conceding that you don't have to?


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Црква Рођења Пресвете Богородице у Баточини налази се на око 25 -{km}- од Крагујевца и припада Епархији шумадијској Српске православне цркве. Саграђена је 1854. године. Слави рођење Богородице Марије.

Историјат

Изградња цркве у Баточини је почела 20. септембра 1854. године. За мајстора је одређен мајстор Настас коме је требало да се плати 350 аустријских дуката. Црква је обезбедила 100 дуката, остало је требало да дају парохијани. Највећи донатори били су Јанко Вулкан и кафеџија Дунде.

Црква је пројектована као једнобродна грађевина са полукружном олтарском апсидом и звонаром над припратом. Због зиме која се приближавала црква је брзо била готова. Изградња је покренута уз иницијативу баточинског свештеника Стефана Пантелића (1851–1853), а завршена је у време пароха Милана Вукашиновића (1853–1854).

Међутим, брзина градње, подводни терен и земљотрес 1894. године чији је епицентар био у Свилајнцу, довели су до тога да је црква опасно напукла. Због тога је припрата са звоником у дужини од осам метара морала бити срушена. Пред Други светски рат је покренута акција да се изгради нова црква са кубетом и припратом са звоником, али је рат то спречио.

Шездесетих година црква је била у веома лошем стању, па је предложена обнова која је обухватала изградњу порушеног дела цркве. Доградња разрушеног дела је почела 1966. године. Подигнут је звоник, замењен кров, урађена је унутрашња и спољашња фасада. Дограђени део храма је освештан 7. септембра 1975. године од стране епископа шумадијског Валеријана. Године 1984. је саграђена и нова парохијска зграда, а ограда је завршена 1992. године.

Баточину је 1999. године задесила велика поплава у којој је оштећена и црква. Црква је 2003. године реновирана. У унутрашњости је обијен малтер, пукотине зидова су саниране и нанета подлога за фрескописање. Спољна фасада цкве је оглетована и молерисана. Уз помоћ прилига верника и цркве рестаурисан је иконостас Николе Марковића из 1872. године.

Архитектура

Црква је једнобродна грађевина правоугаоне основе засведена полуобличастим сводом без куполе. Зидана је ломљеним каменом и опеком. На западу се до 1894. године налазила велика припрата са кулом која је срушена. Има по два прозора на северној и јужној страни наоса који су лучно засведени. По два се налазе на комидији и ђаконикону и један на апсиди. Четири мања олучена прозора налазе се на западној фасади, а један огругли прозор је изнад улаза. Сви прозори као и врата су од дрвета. Врата су двокрилна висине 1,30 Х 2,20 метара.

Црква је дугака 19,30 метара и широка 11 метара. Над припратом се налази галерија на коју се излази преко првог степеништа на северној страни. Степениште има гелендер од гвожђа. Наос је дуг 10,40 -{m}-, а широк 80,20 -{m}- у старом делу цркве и 8,45 -{m}- у дограђеном. Има четири стуба који су као и плафон олучени. На источнмом прислоњеном стубу се налази мермерна плоча свештеника Милана Миловановића. Полијелеј је новији рад и дар је манастира Грнчарице.

Види још
 Брзан
 Општина Баточина
 Списак споменика културе у Шумадијском округу

Литература

Цркве Епархије шумадијске
Верски објекти у Баточини
Православни храмови у Србији

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Vadehavet (Wadden Sea) This is an IBA in danger!
The Wadden Sea is characterized by intertidal mud and sandflats between the mainland and the barrier islands. The flats are traversed by deeper water channels. There are coastal marshes grazed by sheep and cattle and reclaimed coastal marshland behind the dykes with permanent grass and some arable land.
An extremely important staging area: at least 20 waterbird species congregate in internationally important numbers in winter or on passage, totalling hundreds of thousands of birds. Circus aeruginosus, C. pygargus, Recurvirostra avosetta, Philomachus pugnax, Sterna hirundo, S. paradisaea and S. albifrons, listed on Annex I of the EC Birds Directive, breed at the site, some in large numbers.
BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Vadehavet (Wadden Sea). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/04/2019.


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TV & Movies	• 24 Nov 2017
Murder on the Orient Express review: an injustice to Christie's classic
By Julia Breakey
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Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is an exciting novel because it offers the reader a puzzle with which to play. Each chapter is set up to provide evidence, and her famous protagonist Hercule Poirot is constantly working over clues to ask the reader one important question: have you figured it out yet?
Christie's work is methodical and precise, and she does not rely on sentimentality or emotional overtures to sell her story. Unfortunately, director Kenneth Branagh cannot say the same.
The latest Christie adaptation takes everything that makes Murder so engaging and warps it into a cloying, sentimental mess that feels more like an ego boost for Branagh than it does an homage to one of the greatest crime novelists ever.
The story is a familiar one (it has, after all, been adapted thrice to TV, once to film, and once to a computer game): a train is travelling through Europe, when, just as a murder is committed, snowfall stops its passage. Suddenly, everyone aboard the Orient Express is suspect to a crime the world's greatest detective sets out to solve.
At first glance, Kenneth Branagh's adaptation looks promising. The intensely-stylised cinematography embraces a mix of dark browns and neon blues, bringing a modern feel to this period drama while staying true to the repressed sophistication of the time.
Branagh plays with the cramped space of the train to gorgeous effect, always finding new ways to present the ensuing drama to the viewer. Not only does this include fascinating angles, but also a trove of shots reliant on sparkling reflections that warp and mask the characters' faces.
These characters are played by an impressive ensemble cast, including the likes of Branagh himself, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr, Penelope Cruz, and Willem Dafoe — and this star-studded list is but one of the reasons Branagh's direction is so disappointing.
Despite its glamorous outer layer, Murder misses the heart of puzzle-solving that makes Christie's work so riveting. The film speeds passed confusing clues, touching on them only when they are found and when Poirot miraculously figures out their true nature.
Never once does Murder remind the viewer of the stray pipe cleaner or the fabricated watch. Clues that took the protagonist chapters to decipher in the novel take Branagh's Poirot but two scenes.
So what does Murder show, if not the detective's meticulous process? Sometimes it adds pieces of action where the novel had none — a forgivable change when moving to screen.
Unforgivably, though, Murder gives Poirot an off-screen love interest (or just… an important woman? It's unclear) and melodramatic, fake deep speeches that point more towards Branagh giving himself meatier work than him trying to do Christie justice.
Nowhere is this more evident than during the film's climax, when Poirot torments a group of people already traumatised by sharing a train with an unknown murderer. Instead of his usual calm, Poirot flies into an frenzy of untethered irrationality, instantly destroying the viewer's trust in him.
But this isn't Murder's only faux pas.
The film also has no idea how to handle the strange politics that pollute the 1934 novel. Set in a time when overt racism was the norm, many of the characters are quick to suspect passengers of murder because of the colour of their skin or their countries of birth.
Removing himself from this narrative, Branagh makes clear that he does not condone this behaviour by inserting lines that reject prejudice. But this moral high ground is hypocritical when considering how Branagh treats his female characters — and, most notably, Michelle Pfeiffer's Mrs Hubbard.
Originally a woman who wouldn't stop talking about her daughter, Hubbard is transformed into a seductress who instead won't stop talking about her multiple ex-husbands. The change adds nothing to the story and feels rather like a cheap inclusion of sex to an otherwise sexless film.
It is an injustice to Christie to warp her character to suit the male gaze. And it is an injustice to the audience to feign political correctness when quietly rebranding a doting mother into an insatiable sex symbol.
Murder on the Orient Express is not a faithful adaptation. It is Kenneth Branagh grappling with the source material, desperately warping it into something that fits his understanding of the world. It is a beautiful, hypocritical mess, and Agatha Christie, murder mystery enthusiasts, and that star-studded cast deserve better.
Julia Breakey
Posted in TV & MoviesTagged Agatha Christie, movie review, movies, Murder on the Orient Express
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text:
Archive 12 Reasons Why Nigerians Die Young
12 Reasons Why Nigerians Die Young
According to the latest WHO data, life expectancy in Nigeria is: male 53.7, female 55.4 and total life expectancy is 54.5 which gives Nigeria a World Life Expectancy ranking of 177. Why are Nigerians dying so young?
Below are the twelve reasons why life is short in Nigeria. There may be more:
Communal killings:
Communal killings have dominated Nigeria's national life since Independence. More Nigerians have died from sporadic communal killings than in other parts of the world. We have had flash points in Jos, Northern Nigeria and other parts of the country. These deaths often claim hundreds of lives in their prime.
Poor health care:
Nigeria's healthcare system is in shambles. Our hospitals are mere consulting clinics. Many Nigerians go to hospitals and end up in the morgue. The state of healthcare is the reason why Nigerians die early.
Crime:
In Nigeria, one can easily fall to crime such as kidnapping, abduction and ritual killing. Only recently, a school leaver going to write examination into the university was abducted and later found dead having been raped. Many more Nigerians have died through this means.
Poor nutrition:
According to statistics from UNICEF, one in five Nigerian children do not live to see their fifth birthday due to malnutrition.
Harsh condition of life:
Life is hard in Nigeria. Majority of the over one hundred and seventy million people live below poverty line. People die from simple ailments that an average European would ordinarily take for granted.
In Nigeria, the living condition is poor. Noise level, traffic gridlock, car honking all contribute to stress. Even poor environment where people inhale dirty air is a contributing factor.
Compare this to the serene life in many European cities where there is Clean Air Act and strong compliance and enforcement of standards. These contribute to the healthy life of an average European.
Poor infrastructure:
Poor infrastructure such as roads often lead to accidents with many lives lost. More Nigerians died from road accidents that in any part of the world.
Extra judicial killings:
In Nigeria, if one does not die from other causes, one is sure to die from accidental or intentional police shooting. 8. Building collapse: The rate at which buildings collapse in Nigeria now makes it a major cause of death.
Malaria:
In Nigeria, malaria kills faster than AIDS. It is the number one cause of death among infants.
Heart Disease:
Heart disease and hypertension which used to be common among the elderly also kill is another cause of death for young people.
Witches and wizards:
Believe it or not, many Nigerians believe life can be cut short by the evil machinations of witches and wizards. How far that is true is what one cannot begin to test.
If you want to find out, visit a place of worship and hear Nigerians pray against evil spirits.
Ignorance:
In Nigeria, ignorance is behind many untimely deaths. An average Nigerian work all year round while a European takes a break for vacation.
How many public parks are in Lagos for example? The green areas are built up leading to poor quality of life of the people.
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Q: Should a left module be an enriched functor or enriched presheaf? In this page http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/module#InEnrichedCategory,
They defined the left module over a monoid object A as an enriched presheaf. However, consider the modules over a ring, the left module should be an $\mathbf{Ab}-$enriched functor. Is it a flaw or there is some reasons.
The same thing happens in http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/bimodule,
They defined the $C-D-$bimodule as a $V-$enriched functor
$$C^{\rm op}\otimes D\longrightarrow V$$
However, this is not the case in the usual use of bimoudles over two rings since a $R-S-$bimodule, where $R,S$ are two rings, is actually a $\mathbf{Ab}-$enriched functor
$$R\otimes S^{\rm op}\longrightarrow V$$
If this is a flaw, how can I contact them to correct it?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


As News Editor, Edward covers cybersecurity, new channel programs and program changes, M&A and other IT channel trends. Prior to Informa, he spent 26 years as a newspaper journalist in Texas, Louisiana and Arizona.
California's data privacy law will impact tens of thousands of businesses globally.


Tired of Working 60 Hour Weeks?
Kim was recently interviewed by Cornelius Fichtner from The Project Management Podcast about How NOT to Work 60-Hour Weeks.
A BOOK! Kim's book, The Socially Intelligent Project Manager: The Soft Skills that Prevent Hard Days will be available on December 10, 2019!
Want some quick tips on project management? Our YouTube Channel is live! Stuff That Helps: Quick Fixes has short videos to get you up and running fast. The whole staff helps out. Check it out here!
Kim's guest stint on The Stacey Harris podcast.
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Android Syncing with 1Password 4: Why must I enter the master password again and again?
Now that I have the sync working, another issue: I start the sync. But then first on my PC, I am asked to re-enter the master password, then after that, I am also prompted in the Android app to re-enter the master password. This happens despite both sides being properly unlocked. I imagine you have some security reasons for this but that makes manual syncing extremely tedious! Especially, when you can't see the master password you entered each time before submitting (see my other post on this). Please tell me it doesn't have to be like this. If both sides are unlocked and communicating, I fail to see the need to re-enter the master password 2 times again, or at least that should be configurable. OR at least, allow input of the PIN if set, on both devices.
Thanks peri. But I'm going to have to chime in and gripe about this. It's ridiculous. You should let users customize this behavior. I am adding this to my list of major issues I have with the product, and will have to determine whether in sum they are a showstopper or not. I'm very surprised and disappointed at this juncture, having been very impressed so far with the 1Password 4 application on Windows. Dealing with it on Android is proving to be another matter. More on that later.
Unfortunately since 1Password 4 is no longer being actively developed, this is unlikely to change. The Master Password must be entered before syncing on Windows, and then has to be confirmed on Android.
That said, we may be able to support automatic WLAN sync on Android in the future, and I'll certainly add your vote, though this won't take away the need to enter your Master Password on Windows before syncing.


I can say, with all honesty, that I am very glad to see March go. It was a very hectic month. Writing was not at the forefront as I dealt with other matters.
Before the 18th, I spent time doing a lot of sewing. I also did a lot of work to get things done that would be due between the 18th and the end of the month.
On the 18th, my family and I flew to New Orleans then drove to Fort Walton Beach, FL. One of my cousins got married on the 21st. It was lovely wedding. I got to see a lot of family that I haven't seen in years. It was my first time to New Orleans too. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the French Quarter and Cafe du Monde. How can you not go to Cafe du Monde when in the French Quarter? We returned to Colorado on the 23rd.
Unfortunately, our return resulted in a comedy of errors for me. On the 24th, everything that could go wrong was more than happy to go wrong. On the 25th, Anubis the feline overlord was climbing onto my collarbone from the couch cushion behind my back. I tried to move him as it was uncomfortable. Something spooked him, resulting in him kicking out his back claws into my right ear. A lot of blood and pain followed by a 2 hour long visit to the Urgent Care for 3 vials of Dermabond (to put pieces of my ear back together again) and a tetanus shot. Fortunately, I did not need stitches but was really close to needing them.
I have spent the last few days on copious amounts of pain killers which made my Friday with my nephew interesting. For his sake, my mom came with me to watch him. It was clear that I would need help with him as my neck was also messed up from Wednesday night's ordeal.
Today and tomorrow will feature the fun of getting my "office space" cleaned up from the sewing & packing chaos so I have somewhere to write again.
Looking forward to April, a great deal is going on. NaPoWriMo 2015, April Edition of Camp NaNoWriMo, and a Green Smoothie Challenge all kick off on April 1st.
Considering I only wrote 5 poems in March, I am a little nervous about NaPoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo. I am looking forward to the Green Smoothie Challenge as my dietary habits were horrid in March. Yay for cleansing and detox! In mid-April, I am hosting/teaching a class on heraldic commentary for the SCA at a local heraldic event. The monthly meeting I host on the subject are bad enough, due to my discomfort with public speaking, so I am extremely nervous about the class since there will be more people in attendance. I continue to hope that this month will be the month where I finally find a place to live.
April 14th is the release day for Elysian & Ether.
During NaPoWrimo/Camp NaNoWriMo, I plan to finish Vervain & Vice, start on Yowl & Yarrow and Hallow & Hearth, and continue the rewrite of Reaper's Moon.


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Rhodopechys alienus — вид птиц из семейства вьюрковых. Ранее считался подвидом Rhodopechys sanguineus, однако сегодня между ними известно несколько отличий.

Распространение
Обитают в горах Атлас на территории Марокко и Алжира, в том числе в горах Орес.

Описание
Длина тела 13 см, размах крыльев около 32 см.
Окрашены бледно, в светло-коричневый цвет (низ тела беловатый). Клюв тяжелый, тускло-желтый. Самка чуть тусклее самца.

Биология
Питаются семенами, зимой посещают поля. В кладке 4-5 голубых, слегка рябых яиц.

Примечания

Вьюрковые


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Two Diamond Rings. 1st item: 18K white gold ring containing 5 graduated princess cut diamonds with a total weight of approximately .75 ct, (approx. VS, H-I), ring size 6 1/2, 3.6 grams. 2nd item: 14K yellow gold ring containing 7 graduated marquise cut diamonds with a total weight of approximately .75 ct. (approx. SI, J-K). Ring sized 6 3/4, 3.4 grams. Provenance: Sevier County, TN private collection. CONDITION: Surface grime on both rings.


CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Freshman Jacy Smith tied the school record for most singles wins in a season earning her 16th win of the year as Western Carolina women's tennis fell to visiting ETSU 6-1 Friday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
ETSU won the doubles point and went on to take five of six singles matches.
The Buccaneers took the early lead winning two of three of the doubles matches. The No. 1 Catamount doubles tandem of Jordan Strickland and Savannah Taranto helped the Catamounts avoid the shutout in doubles winning 7-6.
ETSU went on to take five of the six singles matches for the win. The Catamounts did take three of the singles matches to a tie-breaker.
The lone Catamount win in singles play came from WCU rookie Jacy Smith who took the win at No. 2 singles 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
Smith has won 12-straight matches at No. 2 singles and 15 of her last 16. She currently leads the team with a 16-3 singles record and 5-1 in Southern Conference play.
Western Carolina plays the final match of the regular season at Wofford on April 11 at 2 p.m.


text:
Phantom City
My Sweet Wife's Eulogy
October 8, 2010 cratkins 7 comments
Memorial Words, September 25, 2019
Good Afternoon, my name is Charles Atkins. I am Jennifer's husband.
Today I wish to be frank with you; can I be frank with you?
On behalf of our family, I thank you all for coming here today to honor the life of Jennifer.
Jennifer Michelle Dubois Mahannah Atkins. Jennifer was the most capable and wonderful woman I have ever known. I was honored to be her husband for the past ten years and I am staggered by her sudden passing.
My pet name for her was "Smurfie," because her eyes were smurf blue. And, as you know in cartoon lingo, Smurf means good. In Indiana, where she grew up, her name is pronounced Due Boise, but she preferred the French version that rolled off one's lips in a romantic way, Jennifer DuBwa. So when I was kidding around with her as all married couples do, I used to call her Smurfie DuBois no-hyphen Atkins because she didn't want DuBois stuck to my name, but to stand-alone. I loved that pride. She thought my pet name was cute and very silly. Jennifer loved silly. I still remember when she used to pin down her son Thomas and blow raspberries on his stomach or any open skin until Thomas was laughing and squirming so hard he almost cried.
I mentioned that Jennifer was capable, and that is no empty euphemism. She was a master chef who taught culinary arts at Parkland College, she was a master baker who was so good; she could have made Mahatma Gandhi break a fast for some of her angel's food cake or peach cobbler. She was a fabulous sketch artist and oil painter, a brilliant poet although if I were to read some verses she wrote, it might make you blush! She was a musician with total recall – once she heard a song, she could recall it note-for-note. Her signing voice could charm the birds from the trees.
Jennifer was a master of beasts, so to speak, working with the ASPCA and the Champaign County Humane Society, nursing sick cats back to health. Critters of every type were naturally drawn to her. I saw her attract feral cats and hand feed feral cats in Georgia and Tennessee on one of her many road trips to Spring Hill, Florida, where her parents are retired.
If you needed your taxes done, Jennifer was as good as a CPA. She was a computer wiz, and understood electronics and modern technology. I actually felt like a complete idiot at times, as she was so much smarter and more capable than I was. When I sat at the computer with a problem, she would come over and say "MOVE." She must have really loved me. As all I could do was write, and I honesty think, she did that better than me, as well.
Jennifer was incredibly versatile, capable, and deep. In fact, I can assure you she was the deepest spiritual savant you have ever met – not even knowing, that beneath the shy, silly, teacher, was a human being fully awakened to the world's mythologies and spirituality. As a practicing Buddhist for the past 36 years, I've had occasion to receive training and meet the greatest so-called enlightened beings in the world. Jennifer, was the equal of any guru or realized being I have ever known. Didn't know that, did you? She never let on that she was an awakened being because she just wanted to live quietly and enjoy life.
Perhaps my favorite memory of her happened about five years ago. Let me explain: a friend of mine from Chicago had fallen on hard times. That day, the brakes on my car failed, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to visit him to bring him some much needed provisions and encouragement. She rolled up her sleeves, jacked up my car, found the bad part, looked it up on-line, called Auto-Zone, got the part, and then fixed my brakes. She then began to put together a little basket of goodies for my pal, and realized we had no jam for sandwiches, so she went onto the porch and plucked crab apples from the tree, and made him jam – right on the spot! When I told my friend what she did, he said, "You hit the jackpot, man!"
Family was Jennifer's heart and soul. The most important people in her life were her son Thomas, her parents, her sister Cynthia, her Grandma Porter, Sean Mahannah, and me. Her love for us was boundless. After the death of Jennifer's biological father, Tom Dubois, Susan married Executive Chef, Marshall Huffman, who many of you know as the former director of the Parkland College culinary arts program. She told me countless times how much she loved, admired, and respected Marshall, calling him her "polished apple." Over the ten years we were together, I witnessed a profound transformation and deepening of love and respect for Marshall as her father, and culinary mentor. She always felt that she could approach Marshall for advice, and told me on a number of occasions, that she loved him as much as her biological father, who was the most important human being in her life. It was through Marshall's influence that Jennifer advanced her skills and became a master chef. Jennifer was not demonstrative so she may not have told him, but she sure told me on many occasions, she loved him that much.
Let it be known that teaching culinary arts and running the Parkland HPI club was the greatest thrill of her working life. She literally donated hundreds upon hundreds of hours of her time to develop that program, working with Thomas Bickel, and so many others. She burned up tanks of gas and bought supplies with her own money when necessary, to develop the HPI Club. Her example should now become the gold standard on how that club should work.
Some of you may not know that Jennifer was the weekend, night DJ for Oldies 92.5 in 1999-2000; a job that filled her with pride and great joy, but the radio job paled in comparison to the satisfaction she got out of teaching at Parkland College. I know she will be sorely missed. I must add that she loved her students as if they were her own kids. You guy's are so lucky to have had her – but she thought she was the lucky one to have had you!
Everyone has an interesting relationship with their mother. Jennifer loved her mother, Susan Huffman so much, that Jennifer would sometimes cry herself to sleep when she didn't think she lived up to her mom's expectation – but I have never seen a love so enduring. Based on my observation over the past 10 years, I believe that the reason Jennifer was so capable, was directly due to the incredible influence and teaching of her mother. Their bond was deep and true, beautiful at times, adversarial at times, but it was a mother-daughter bond of fathomless love, respect, and inspiration.
Jennifer often told me how proud she was of her mother and what a lofty example of scholarship and success she had set. She confessed that her mother's accomplishments were almost too much to measure up to, but by setting the bar so high for her; Jennifer told me that her mother's example made her extremely proud. The one ironic twist of fate for Jennifer, the shy introvert, was becoming a teacher like her mother and father. They provided the ideal template for her new career, and no one was more surprised and happy than Jennifer was that she became a teacher.
Thomas, her son, was the center of her life. Since I had already raised a child, I kept telling her that you shouldn't try to be your kids best friend, you need to be their parent, which often means strictness and discipline. Of course, she told me that she was going to be his best friend and his parent! That kind-of put me in my place. I have never seen such selfless devotion of a mother to a child. He was the most important person in her life, and based on the way Thomas has grown up, she did all the right things, with just the right amount of love and guidance.
In some respects, I may have known Jennifer best of all. The two greatest loves of her life were her first husband Sean and me, here two husbands. She made me feel like the luckiest man on earth. As you can see, there was a 23-year age difference between Jennifer and me. I've never quite figured out why she gave her heart to me, as I'm not rich or handsome. Regarding me, she liked the creative types, and someone who was big to make her feel secure. As best as I can figure out is that she loved me then became my wife, because she could have deep conversations with me, she instinctively knew that I truly loved her, and that I was secure and protective.
Not to take away from our great love, the greatest love of Jennifer's life was the father of her son, my friend, Sean Mahannah. Their love will endure forever. Yes, Jennifer loved me deeply, but I think I loved her more.
Jennifer was a superb wife. She was a brilliant conversationalist with an off color, sometimes-silly sense of humor, as her student's will attest. She preferred the company of men to women, because she thought men were more trustworthy and wouldn't stab you in the back. Although she was extremely shy, and an introvert, whenever Jennifer spoke, people would take notice that someone of substance and character was speaking. I have known famous people, scholars, spiritual masters, artists, and captains of industry, in my unique capacity as a professional writer and author. In my 40 years as a writer, I have yet to meet any human being who could rival her, and for that reason, today should not be one of sadness – although her passing is truly tragic, it should be a celebration of life, for one of God's finest creations. She was the most wonderful person I have ever known.
Just last week I wrote her a love poem – although intimate, I would like to share it with you:
Psalm of Smurfie
Golden goddess from above
Moonbeam skin
Piscean love
Sapphire eyes
Lips of fire
Soothing coo of the dove
How I love thee
My feline femme
Passion raging like the sea
Holy heart
Mystic mind
Allure from which I cannot flee
Your True, Eternal Love, Chuckie Bear
If we are to make any sense out of this tragedy, it is that life is both fleeting and precious. In my last face-to-face meeting with Jennifer, she told me she loved me, and then kissed me. That is the memory I shall cherish to the end. It can also be said that life is eternal. Jennifer and I often talked about life and death, religion and spirituality, the mystic nature of the universe, and the powers of the mind. As one who is considered an authority in the study of consciousness, I can say with absolute confidence that Jennifer is not gone:
She is everywhere: Jennifer rides the wind like an elemental force. She can be experienced in the blooming of the flowers of the field. She is the pink-white blossoms of the cherry tree. She is the crest and spindrift of breaking gulf waves. She is the fertile soil of the woods. She is the enduring ember of your fire on a cold winter's night. She is the quantum world and the dynamic energy of all life and consciousness at every moment. In short, Jennifer is everywhere there is love, light, and life.
During our conversations about religion, Jennifer often said that she didn't care for religion (she was not a joiner), but she believed in the essence of the Holy Spirit, and was open to God. She loved Egyptian mythology, Native American culture, Jesus, Buddha, and the other sages that brought people hope, but she wasn't impressed with organized religion. She believed that heaven is not elsewhere, but inherent in life at every moment. She believed in forgiveness and lived by the Golden Rule. Based on her beliefs, Jennifer is here – now – among us, feeling the love in our hearts, and probably wondering what all the fuss is about. I can almost hear her saying, "Go home, make a cheeseburger, have a beer, enjoy the afternoon."
Today, I ask all of you to feel the joy and beauty of Jennifer's boundless spirit as we celebrate her truly amazing life. I have never loved one as I do Jennifer. Together with Thomas, Sean, Cynthia, and her beloved parents, I thank you all for coming, and pray that you keep her in your heart always.
Uncategorized none
#1 | Written by CL about 9 years ago.
I don't know what to say except Thank You. You've given me hope and strength this beautiful morning.
#2 | Written by Mark Rogow about 9 years ago.
All the best Charles to you, your remarkable wife, and her family.
#3 | Written by Michele about 9 years ago.
The most beautiful, heartfelt eulogy.
#4 | Written by Will about 9 years ago.
What a magnificent human being! What a beautiful eulogy, so touching, so profound, so generous, so full of love. Yes, she is everywhere…
#5 | Written by Yolanda about 9 years ago.
As you know, my dear husband made his transition a little over two years ago. I wrote his eulogy and came to the same understanding as well about life and death. There is no separation with those we are so deeply connected to. I especially feel this when I'm in the state of joy. I can viscerally feel his closeness. Since this time, I have defined my life as a journey of joy with the knowing that life truly is eternal. I wish the same for you and see you're clearly on your way. With loving kindness, Yolanda
#6 | Written by clown hidden about 9 years ago.
Beautiful words. I hope they help to mend the heart.
#7 | Written by Maria Serrano about 9 years ago.
Beautiful Eluogy!
We skipped meditation 101
Chit Chat With the Cheshire Cat
The Past Can't Hurt You
Stalking the Mad Hatter
Down the rabbit hole and into Bardoville
Excommunicated, for the Third Time
Tears of Amrita
Death on a Saturday Morn
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