text:
Screenplay: Adam McKay
Stars: Christian Bale (Dick Cheney), Amy Adams (Lynne Cheney), Steve Carell (Donald Rumsfeld), Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush), Alison Pill (Mary Cheney), Eddie Marsan (Paul Wolfowitz), Justin Kirk (Scooter Libby), LisaGay Hamilton (Condoleezza Rice), Jesse Plemons (Kurt), Bill Camp (Gerald Ford), Don McManus (David Addington), Lily Rabe (Liz Cheney), Shea Whigham (Wayne Vincent), Stephen Adly Guirgis (George Tenet), Tyler Perry (Colin Powell)
Country: U.S.
Adam McKays Vice is a satirical indictment of politician and businessman Dick Cheney, positing him as a coiled opportunist, a quiet, intensely private man whose greatest asset is his seemingly infinite capacity to take advantage of any situation to maximize his own accumulation of power. Although Cheney is often thought of in partisan terms, McKay, who both wrote and directed, takes the curious approach of presenting him not as a hard-line, hawkish conservative, but rather as a man who desired wealth and power and found that the best path to those was through the Republican Party. McKay even dramatizes the moment that Cheney decides to identify as a Republican not with some great ideological revelation or political awakening, but rather in response to hearing a sharp, direct-to-the-point speech by Donald Rumsfeld, at the time a Cabinet-level counselor to Richard Nixon. Cheney is drawn to his directness, not his ideology.
McKays portrait of Cheney begins in Wisconsin in the late 1950s, when Cheney (Christian Bale) was an aimless young man, much more attracted to drinking and fighting than power and money. Despite getting into the hallowed halls of the Ivy League, he continued to flounder in booze and misadventure until finally being whipped into shape by his fiance Lynne (Amy Adams), who tells him in no uncertain terms that he is to either make something of himself or she is out the door. McKay portrays Lynne as a calculating woman of serious ambition and practicality who recognized Cheneys potential before he did and pushed him in the direction of history; shes not quite a Lady Macbeth figure, scheming and manipulating her husband into disaster, but rather a kind of silent partner who nevertheless has much to say behind closed doors (in one of the films more memorable flights of fancy, Dick and Lynne actually engage in Shakespearean iambic pentameter when debating what political course he should take). In one of the films rare moments of empathy with Cheney, he is sharply chastised by Lynne when he engages in some play with his young daughter, telling her he is like an elf when he is promoted to Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford. If youre silly with her, shell grow up to be a silly woman, Lynne says sharply, to which Dick immediately acquiesces and apologizes. It is literally the only time Cheney apologizes for anything in the entire film; in fact, the film ends with Cheney addressing us directly, rebuking our implied judgment that he might have done anything wrong and embracing what he purports to be his role in protecting all of us from the violence of evil doers.
McKay offers no apologies either, and he goes after Cheney and the power structure that he was able to manipulate to his own devices with the same sense of aesthetic brashness and rage against the machine that he brought to The Big Short (2016), his breakout, Oscar-nominated dramatization of the 2008 housing collapse. The two films are very much of a piece, as they use a fiery, wry, and sharply humorous approach to their depiction of how corruption not only exists, but positively flourishes as the highest levels of business and government and theres little that can be done about it. In The Big Short, a small, unlikely group of oddballs saw the signs and cashed in on the collapse while the rest of the country suffered and the banks were bailed out and absolved of their role; in Vice, Cheney moves through the system, accumulating power until he essentially becomes the shadow President, pulling the strings of the George W. Bush administration to his own ends (which more than often involves ensuring new profits and control for oil and other big-business interests, including his own company, Haliburton). One of the key ideas in the film is the Unitary executive theory, a legal interpretation of Article 2 in the Constitution that the President has absolutely authority, a notion that clearly resonates with Cheneys desire for control. In the films second scene, we see him in a hidden conference room on 9/11, giving orders over the phone with Presidential authority while those around him stare in shock. Dick doesnt blink.
This does not mean that the film is completely devoid of empathy for Cheney or presents him simply as a cartoonish figure of malevolence, as John Stewart used to do on The Daily Show with the recurring segment You Dont Know Dick, which delivered unsetting factoids about Cheney like his keeping a man-sized safe in his office and having his house scrubbed from Google Maps (neither of which is mentioned in Vice). Cheney is humanized primarily via his relationship with his gay daughter Mary (Alison Pill). Cheney loves his daughter and is fiercely protective of her, even the political party he represents constantly seeks to demonize the gay community and limit their civil rights. The quiet, warm manner in which he receives Marys coming out as a college student stands in stark contrast to Lynne, who draws in her breath and immediately notes how Marys homosexuality will complicate his running for Congress.
In many ways, Vice is the film that Oliver Stone attempted and failed to make in W. (2008), his too-soon take on George W. Bush. While Stone floundered in his attempt to evoke the surreal absurdities of the Dubya years via sharply contrasting tones, McKay consistently balances drama and comedy, history and satire, outrage and disbelief. Its not a perfect film by any mean, but it does what it seeks to do very well, even if it necessarily skips over large swaths of Cheneys story, notable his role in the first Gulf War as Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. Virtually nothing is off the table, and McKay goes to town with fly-fishing metaphors, on-screen text, direct address, jumbled chronology, a false ending halfway through the film, and an oddball narrative approach in which the story is narrated by a man named Kurt (Jesse Plemons), whose extremely close relationship to Cheney is not revealed until late in the film.
McKay is aided and abetted by an impressive cast who largely disappears into the historical figures theyre playing. Much has already been written about Christian Bales uncanny turn as Cheney; his extreme physical resemblance to the real-life man is matched only by Bales exacting replication of his mannerisms. At times it feels a bit too much like impersonation, but that is partially because Cheney is so closed off for most of the time. Adams is exceptional as Lynne, as is Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfeld, Cheneys chief mentor in political cynicism and opportunism (which a younger, still forming Cheney naively asks Rumsfeld what they believe politically, Rumsfeld just laughs in his face). Sam Rockwell does a serviceable George W. Bush, although he is largely sidelined given the narrative focus on Cheney and his fundamental usurpation of Presidential power.
Vice wont likely reveal anything new to those in the know, and it is even less likely to change the mind of anyone who feels that Cheney was working hard to protect the American people, but it does present a consistently fascinating and highly entertaining portrait of the mechanics of power and how the worst human impulses all too often function as the grease that keeps them churning.
Copyright 2018 James Kendrick
Thoughts? E-mail James Kendrick
All images copyright Paramount Pictures
Overall Rating: (3.5)


text:
LifestyleEntertainment
Thousands cheer Indian Prime Minister Modi during Toronto visit
There are politicians, and then there are leaders.
And it was clear to anyone who was at the Ricoh Coliseum Wednesday night that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a leader.
Hours before Modi was expected to arrive, thousands were lined up in order to see the man who has captivated not just a nation, but the world.
Despite turning those without tickets away, there were empty seats in the crowd as Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced Modi to cheers.
Harper applauded Canada's relationship with India, both through trade and immigration, in a brief speech he made before introducing the man thousands had come to see.
"Canada's special relationship" to India is, "strong because of you," Harper said, pointing to the crowd.
Modi had undeniable charisma. It was as much a performance as a diplomatic speech. The crowd frequently interrupted him to chant his name, and laughed at every joke.
When he mentioned Thursday is his last day in Canada – he's headed to Vancouver after Toronto – the crowd booed.
Modi, too, recognized the role that the Indian diaspora has played abroad.
"Indians who have settled in Canada … have actually made a significant contribution to India," he said.
But it was Modi's pride in his country, and his hopes for its future, that dominated the topic of the night.
The solution to the country's problems, Modi said, is simple: "Development."
And what was apparent was not just the strides his country has made, but the distance it still has to go.
He applauded the uranium trade deal, and Canada's potash exports, which help Indian farmers.
"India has formidable strength, you only need opportunities," Modi said to cheers from the crowd.
With a shrinking population in most Western countries, Modi singled India's human resources as its greatest wealth.
Near the arena, a group of about 150 protesters called for Modi's prosecution, calling him an extremist Hindu nationalist with blood on his hands from his time as chief minister of Gujarat state.
Modi and Harper landed in Toronto Wednesday afternoon, after Modi's ceremonial welcome in Ottawa earlier.
Their meeting has already proven historically significant. It is the first bilateral meeting in Canada of an Indian prime minister since 1973, when former PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau met with India's then PM, Indira Gandhi.
Edgar Faleiro, an Indian Catholic, said his feelings for Modi are mixed because he has seen the country become increasingly divided along religious lines under his leadership.
"He's done well on the economic front," Faleiro said.
"If he can stand and protect every community, that would be great."
Modi is beloved by many, having earned a reputation for being a self-made man who began his career not in the lap of luxury, but as a tea seller.
"He's a very honest fellow," added Chandrakant Patil, who is also from Modi's home province of Gujarat.
Joyce Almeida, who make the trek to Ricoh Coliseum, protested his arrival.
"It's not a protest so much as highlighting a concern. We Christians in India are a minority and we're not being protected," said Almeida, who moved here from Maharashtra, India five years ago.
With files from CP and Star staff
modi visit indiaslider
Previous ArticleCelina Jaitly to represent global LGBTQ communities at Toronto Pride Parade
Next ArticleSara Jane doles out tips for bikini body
Cutting edge films, Sarah Palin doc, will be part of Tiff 2011
Suhaag August 3, 2011
Sabyasachi opens India Couture Week with subtle regal line 'Ferozabad'
Suhaag July 16, 2014
No new taxes, modest spending, hallmarks of provincial budget
Theatre is a chance to practice our craft: Ratna Pathak Shah
Suhaag September 22, 2012
First 300 brides to get Suhaag Wedding Planner, Suhaag Magazine or a beauty giveaway!
Djokovic slams Nadal in US Open final

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Kylie Kwong. Photography: Penny Lane.
Chef and restaurateur Kylie Kwong has announced that she will close her lauded Sydney modern Chinese diner Billy Kwong later this year, and will open a new venue later this year.
After 19 years, first in Surry Hills before moving to Potts Point, the closure will make way for a concept that Kwong says distills her favourite things about Billy Kwong.
"This year I turn 50 and to mark this milestone Billy Kwong as we know it will close so I can make way for an exciting new venture. I will be launching a completely new dining concept in my hometown of Sydney, which will celebrate my unwavering love of food, family and connection to the broader community at large. This new chapter will also facilitate the opportunity for me to further collaborate with inspiring partners both locally and abroad," Kwong said in a statement.
This statement also said that the new venture will give Kwong more freedom and time to be a greater part of the global dining community; to travel, mentor, and participate in creative endeavours. One of these no doubt is as the ambassador for Carriageworks, a title she's held for four years.
The new yet-to-be-named concept will be a casual diner with a smaller dining space than the 140-seat Billy Kwong. Kwong has enlisted the help of Adelaide-based Khai Liew to work on the fit-out. The location is still yet to be confirmed.
"In the meantime, Billy Kwong is still very much open and we look forward to seeing all of our wonderful, supportive diners in the coming months," says Kwong, who has not announced a closing date yet.


Present to your audience. Do you really want hidrocarburos aromaticos delete this prezi? Garcia y Hiidrocarburos Solorzano. Algunos derivados monosustituidos del benceno tienen nombres comunes ampliamente hidrocarburos aromaticos.
Benzo[a]pyrene b[a]pis a polycyclic aromatic hidrocarburos aromaticos PAH product of incomplete combustion of organic matter. Se encuentran en el medio yidrocarburos. Check out this article to learn more or contact your system administrator. Recommended articles Citing articles 0. A firewall is blocking access to Prezi content. Studies suggest hidrocarburos aromaticos AhR is involved in the regulation of other cellular processes, in hidrocarbugos to detoxification of xenobiotics, such as development, differentiation, proliferation, immune response, cancer development, hidrocarburos aromaticos apoptosis, by modulating signaling pathways mediated by protein kinases such as the epidermal growth factor EGFR.
Send this link to let others join your presentation: Cellular changes induced by b[a]p are complex and may be mediated by more than one signaling pathway and by the hidrocarburos aromaticos of multiple genes, so it is essential to know which pathways are involved in the metabolism of PAHs for a better understanding hidrocarburos aromaticos the molecular basis of diseases such as cancer.
See more aromaticod or the latest prezis. Send link to aromaticod together this prezi using Prezi Meeting learn more: Send the link below via email or IM Copy. Constrain to simple back and forward steps.
Copy code to clipboard. See more popular or the latest prezis.
Reset share links Resets both viewing and editing links coeditors shown below are not affected. See more popular or the latest prezis. Hidrocarburos aromaticos De La Nutricion. Send the link below via email or IM. Send the link hidroccarburos via email hidrocarburos aromaticos IM Copy.
Send the link below via hidrocarburos aromaticos hidorcarburos IM. La estructura del benceno se caracteriza por: Neither you, nor the coeditors you shared it with will be able to recover it again. Please log in to add your comment. Reset hidrocarburos aromaticos links Resets both viewing and editing links coeditors shown below are not affected.
Send the link below bidrocarburos email or Hidrocarburos aromaticos. Constrain to simple back and forward steps. Check out this article to learn more or contact your system administrator.


text:
UNLV Athletics receives largest donation ever
Thank you Fertittas. Thank you Coach Sanchez.
By Keith M. Scheessele@BSUKeith Sep 13, 2016, 3:44pm PDT
Share All sharing options for: UNLV Athletics receives largest donation ever
Tuesday was a huge day for the UNLV Rebels. The athletic department received the largest single donation to its sports programs in school history.
Largest Gift @UNLVAthletics History Announced https://t.co/Nj32AAeF4D @UNLVFootball #UNLVFB https://t.co/CHKp8zn1rB pic.twitter.com/9T6UQPswBb
— UNLV Athletics (@UNLVathletics) September 13, 2016
The $10 million gift will go towards the building of a training facility, a state-of-the-art project known as the Fertitta Football Complex.
The donation from the Ferittas comes four months after an anonymous donor pledged $2 million towards the project. At the time that was the largest single gift in UNLV Football history. To date, a total of $16 million has been committed to the construction of the complex, which is expect to cost between $24-26 million. The Fertitta family released a statement following Tuesday's historic announcement.
"We believe in the future of Rebel Football under Tony Sanchez's leadership and are proud to join others in the community in helping make this vital building block for the program become a reality."
UNLV Athletic Director, Tina Kunzer-Murphy:
"This is a day that will be long remembered at UNLV as it is the day that Rebel Football officially takes the next big step," said UNLV Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy. "The lead gift we announced earlier this year got the ball rolling in this community and we have had a lot of people step up in major ways in order to help this program begin to reach its full potential. I thank the Fertittas for their program-changing gift and I know they join me in saying that we need more of the families of Southern Nevada to join the Rebels on this journey. We thought outside of the box when we hired Tony Sanchez as our head coach and everyone is already seeing the outstanding results both on and off the field."
The Fertitta Football Complex will be 73,000 square feet, two levels, and will include an academic center, locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, strength & conditioning center, media room, training table and nutrition bar, athletic training center and player lounge.


New Zealand is known for scenic hiking and biking. Add in some time spent sampling the wines of this island nation and you have the makings of an idyllic adventure. It's closer and more affordable than you might think.


Sheriff Louis Falco announces the conduct of a targeted STOP-DWI enforcement detail on the early morning of July 5, 2015 in conjunction with Spring Valley Village Police Department. Four (4) subjects were found to be operating motor vehicles in an intoxicated condition in the vicinity of the check point. The subjects were processed and issued summonses in accordance with violations committed. This joint STOP-DWI enforcement detail was funded by the Rockland County STOP-DWI office in Pomona.
April Travis, age 26, residing in Stony Point, NY, was arrested on July 5, 2015 for DWI regarding operation of a motor vehicle with BAC of .08% or more. A Sheriff Patrol Officer observed the subject operating a motor vehicle on Route 59 in an erratic manner. The subject was found to be intoxicated and arrested. The subject was processed at Sheriff's STOP-DWI Van and released on summonses to return to Clarkstown Justice Court.
Diomara Gregorio, age 43, residing in New City, NY, was arrested on July 5, 2015 for DWI regarding operation of a motor vehicle with BAC of .08% or more. A Sheriff Patrol Officer observed the subject operating a motor vehicle on Route 59 at the STOP-DWI Check Point. The subject was found to be intoxicated and arrested. The subject was processed at Sheriff's STOP- DWI Van and released on summonses to return to Spring Valley Justice Court.
Thomas V. Brenner, age 24, residing at 18 Crescent Drive, Apt. 69, Theills, NY, was arrested on July 1, 2015 for aggravated harassment in the second degree (two counts), criminal contempt in the second degree and resisting arrest. He was arrested on the aforementioned aggravated harassment charges after he was picked up by the Rockland County Sheriff's Department on an active Arrest Warrant out of Stony Point. The defendant was arrested, processed, arraigned and released on an appearance ticket returnable on July 16, 2015 at 9 a.m. He was also served with an order of protection. On July 2, 2015, the defendant was arrested again after he violated the order ofpr issued the previous day. During the course of the arrest, the defendant did resist and was charged accordingly. He was arraigned and again released on an appearance ticket returnable as stated above.
Christian Carrillo, age 38, residing at 34 James Street, Tomkins Cove, NY, was arrested on July 1 for assault in the third degree, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment in the second degree. The defendant was arrested following an investigation into a domestic dispute. It is alleged the defendant did strike and injure his girlfriend during a domestic dispute while she sat in her vehicle. The defendant's children were sitting in the vehicle at the time of the assault. The defendant was arrested, processed, arraigned and ROR'd on appearance ticket returnable July 16, 2015 at 9 a.m. after posting $1,000 bail. A full stay-away order of protection was also issued on behalf of the victim.
Robert P. McCormick, age 18, residing at 99 West Main Street, Stony Point, NY was arrested on July 1, 2015 for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and unlawful possession of marijuana. The defendant was arrested following an investigation that revealed the defendant was in possession .4 grams of marihuana and 1 gram of suboxone. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Stony Point Justice Court on July 21, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
Tyshawn Mix, age 21, residing at 37 New Main Street, Haverstraw, NY, was arrested on July 2, 2015 for criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree. The defendant was arrested following an investigation that revealed he was wanted out of the Village of Spring Valley on an active arrest warrant for above stated charge. The defendant was arrested, processed and turned over to the Spring Valley Police Department to answer said charge.
Andrew T. Buckel, age 29, residing at 133 Barrett Pond Road, Cold Spring, NY, was arrested on July 1, 2015 for unlawful possession of marijuana. The defendant was arrested following an investigation that revealed the defendant was in possession .7 grams of marijuana. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Stony Point Justice Court on July 21, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
Todd Montanye, age 50, residing at 15 W. Malbie, Suffern, NY, was arrested on July 5, 2015 for DWI. The defendant was arrested following an investigation that revealed there was an active bench warrant out of the NYS Palisades Interstate Park PD for stated charge. The defendant was arrested, processed and turned over to the NYSPIP PD to answer said charge.
Diana Newsome, age 46, residing at 23 Charles Court, Stony Point, NY, was arrested on July 5, 2015 for disorderly conduct. The defendant was arrested after officers responded to a report of a disorderly person. Subsequent to said arrest, it was determined that the defendant was also wanted on an active Bench Warrant out of Spring Valley for failure to pay a fine related to traffic summonses she had received in Spring Valley. The defendant was arrested, processed, issued an appearance ticket returnable July 21, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. and was then turned over to the Spring Valley Police Department to answer said warrant.


Vehicles are good investments, but if they are already old, they hold little value for car owners. They could lie in the yard for many years, but their value is just decreasing. The more times you sit on them, the less you'll eventually gain from them. So, the best way to get good value from your old car is through making use of the best and dependable auto wrecker service.
It is hard to find a professional and reliable car wrecker service provider due to the many options available. If trying to select the most and reliable car wrecker company, it is very essential to consider many factors of the service provider. A lot of car wreckers must have many types of two trucks they could call upon to handle the safe and fast towing of virtually any kind car. Aside from handling many various kinds of car, it's better to select a company that is accessible 24/7. A lot of garages that offer wrecker services normally provide great discounts on towing, just when the repair job is performed on their premises. So, you have to be aware of that.
Do you want removal or wrecking service or both? Auto wrecker agencies provide an extremely diverse array of service in order to meet the needs of clients when it comes to managing the old junk. So, see to it the service provide covers your car model, make or the car's condition. A typical wrecking company provides an extremely different selection of services for Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Honda and Suzuki as well as Hino dismantling and wrecking services. Make sure that the company offers removal service.
Choosing the most excellent car wrecker service provider is the same as selecting a doctor or physician. Of course, you want somebody that you can depend on and the one who will be wary and vigilant with your car and somebody that offers a remarkable wrecking service for a competitive price. A lot of towing companies are after the quantity and not the quality. You must avoid these or any kind of service which tows car from such locations as city lots or those that have an agreement with any form of governmental municipality. Drivers of these tow trucks normally work based on commission and they are after the money than the right handling of your car needs and requirements.
When you choose a car wrecker that is associated with the garage that normally works on your car, ask if they will provide you with a discount once the repairs completed at their premises. This deal will help you make an option between other potential agencies. It is normally the smaller car wrecker services which work harder to gain and get your business. When you drive an old car, it is highly suggested to call or visit car wrecker company ahead of time to know if they are up to managing your car without doing any harm to it.
A wrecking yard, scrapyard or junkyard is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies. Other terms include wreck yard, wrecker's yard, salvage yard, breakers yard, dismantler and scrapheap. In the UK, car salvage yards are known as car breakers. In Australia, they are often referred to as 'Wreckers'.
Cash for my cars best rats for cash for cars Melbourne. We buy all cars, any cars, and in any condition.


text:
Posted on April 18, 2022 by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
Pakistan stirs up Pashtun hornet's nest
Afghans protest against Pakistani air strikes, Khost, April 16, 2022
The Pakistani air strikes on Saturday on the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Kunar and Khost killing dozens of people may seem at first glance a crude knee-jerk reaction to the ambush in North Waziristan the previous day in which seven Pakistani soldiers were killed. But there is some deliberateness in what happened.
Pakistani military leadership would know that such wanton killing of civilians would gain nothing tangible while it has the potential to play out at unforeseen levels. Certainly, the good part is that neither Washington nor any regional capital — or the new prime minister in Islamabad — voiced any disapproval.
But, predictably, the Taliban interim government strongly reacted. This is indeed a humiliating rebuff to the Taliban by its erstwhile mentors. The halo of having defeated a superpower dissipates when it transpires that the Taliban government is incapable of defending its citizens against an external attack.
This is a setback to the Taliban government's campaign seeking international recognition. Things were going rather well of late with Russia joining some other regional states in granting accreditation to a Taliban nominee to head the Afghan missions in their capitals — a shade lower than formal recognition but de facto recognition, nonetheless.
Equally, the momentum created by the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries in Tunxi, China, has suffered a setback. Ironically, China worked hard to generate such momentum. And, against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis, Russia was fully on board to assert that the regional states should keep the initiative on navigating a pathway for the Taliban government.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a visit to Kabul in this connection. But now it transpires that Beijing's Iron Brother has nullified all that with a single stroke. Beijing is keeping mum about the Pakistani attacks on Saturday, which constitute a flagrant violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
This last part is important because one consistent principle Beijing has espoused is to help Afghanistan defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. In fact, as recently as on March 31, Chinese President Xi Jinping in a special message to the top diplomats of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries underscored that Afghanistan has come to "a critical point of transition from chaos to order." He said:
"Afghanistan is a common neighbour and partner of all participating countries, and we form a community with a shared future linked by the same mountains and rivers who would rise and fall together… China always respects Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and has committed to supporting its pursuit of peace, stability and development."
Beijing, of course took such high ground with an eye on the US. Now, the Pakistani attacks set a precedent. From now onward, indeed, what prevents the US from undertaking military operations in Afghanistan? It didn't occur to Bajwa that Afghanistan is struggling to regain its sovereignty and a jab at this point can wound lethally.
But then, there is no question that Bajwa coolly assessed that Washington would be empathetic toward his disciplining of the Taliban. In fact, with this single act, he demonstrated that the Pakistani military has no longer any emotional hang-ups about the Taliban, no matter their past symbiotic relationship through decades.
Arguably, Pakistan is edging closer to the Western camp even as the regional states led by China and Russia have been eroding the Western exceptionalism and constructively engaging the Taliban in a robust regional process. (By the way, the White House decided to dissociate at the last minute from the joint statement of China, Russia and Pakistan at the recent meeting of the so-called Extended Troika at Tunxi.)
This is a high-stakes game, since Wang Yi has formally proposed to the Taliban government leadership in Kabul on extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan and Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar actually welcomed the idea.
In retrospect, it was Bajwa's removal of Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed as ISI chief last October (overcoming former Prime Minister Imran Khan's resistance) that proved to be the defining moment in the reset of equations between the GHQ in Rawalpindi and the Taliban. Hameed had enjoyed a good rapport with the Taliban leadership and their trust. Succinctly put, the Taliban accurately sensed the weighty compulsions behind Bajwa's stubbornness — personal, political and geopolitical — to replace Hameed as ISI chief even by risking a standoff with Imran Khan.
Since Hameed's replacement, things were never the same again between the Taliban and Rawalpindi. As Imran Khan's influence began waning, Taliban who is clued in on the Byzantine politics of Pakistan, drew appropriate conclusions. Taliban's overtures to the European powers, US, India, etc. can now be better understood. The Afghans instinctively seek to balance Pakistani pressures. But in this case, Taliban miscalculated, since Bajwa is so much more useful for Washington — in the immediate term, at least.
The Afghan opinion across the board has condemned the Pakistani attacks, including the Taliban's bête noire known as the National Resistance Front (NRF). That said, however, the NRF (who form the anti-Taliban resistance groups drawn largely from the security establishment of the ancien régime in Kabul) also takes a swipe at the Taliban.
While strongly condemning the Pakistani attacks, the NRF statement also says, "Condemning this aggression and the blind attacks by Pakistani forces, we consider the Taliban occupying regime the main cause of foreign aggression in Afghanistan. We emphasise the dismantling of the occupiers and proxy groups in Afghanistan."
The estrangement between Pakistani military and the Taliban puts the NRF in a dilemma, since its main plank is that the Taliban is a mere proxy of the ISI with an agenda to project Pakistani power into Afghanistan. That plank is coming unstuck just when the NRF is reportedly gearing up to launch its guerilla war in Afghanistan from its bases in Tajikistan.
The Foreign Policy magazine affiliated to the Washington Post recently reported that the guerrilla war is set to be launched in summer. Russian reports also mention that Western envoys have been quietly visiting Tajikistan to tie up loose ends. The paradox is that Bajwa and NRF leader Abdullah Saleh have now become bedfellows enjoying US patronage!
Yet, Bajwa's decision is risky no matter the grandstanding. Hopefully, Bajwa refrains from taking the next logical step which will be to split the Taliban — something that will please the Americans. But he is poking Pashtun ethno-nationalism. This is highly sensitive at a juncture when the Pakistani power calculus itself is so heavily dominated by the Punjabi elites. The huge groundswell of support for Imran Khan among Pashtuns is self-evident from the size of the protest rallies in Peshawar and Karachi.
For the foreseeable future, Taliban would also have its uses for ethno-nationalism, given its inability or unwillingness to share power and form an "inclusive" government. In all likelihood, this will manifest as greater radicalisation and militancy of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban). The Afghan Taliban will be hamstrung even if it wants to rein in the TTP in these emergent circumstances following the regime change in Pakistan with American backing.
TagsChina, Imran Khan, Russia, Taliban, US-Pakistan
Previous PostPrevious Battle for Mariupol is ending
Next PostNext Russia pushes back western sanctions, revs up operation in Eastern Ukraine


What is Ministry according to Jesus?
This is a small portion of what was shared in a recent gathering we had. The Lord's heart was very evident and His Presence rich. I pray you have ears to hear His Spirit and that freedom comes to your mind and heart concerning what Jesus calls ministry. =) Love and Blessings to you all.
According to Jesus, ministry has little and nothing to do with selling books, building expensive, excessive buildings to house masses of people, powerless programs and productions, promotions and the pride of men, titles of importance, qualifications and accomplishments being met according to the doctrines of men, expensive conferences that exclude certain social groups because of costs, plaques on the wall, or any other created thing that has been added by man to the gospel message and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Ministry according to Jesus is birthed in the heart of the believer by the Spirit of the Lord. It's the outflow of love from an inward Eternal River that the Lord Himself puts within the belly of all who come to Him.
One particular day the disciples were walking with Jesus to Capernaum, and on this walk the disciples began to question among themselves who would be the greatest in the Kingdom; this mindset is rampant among believers in the West. Jesus knew their thoughts but didn't immediately speak to them about this. When they arrived at their destiny Jesus used these words to question them "What were you discussing along the way?" This quickly convicted their heart's, so much so that they all remained silent; they knew exactly what He was inquiring about; which one of them would be greater?
This same carnal mentality that Jesus addressed in His disciples can be found among many believers (ministries) today. The fight to be the biggest, most popular church with the greatest worship team rests heavy upon the heart of the proud, but the thought of a lifetime of service to just a few of His little ones, makes one feel as if they've failed in "ministry" after all, ministry (according to western tradition) is meant to be 'BIG' right? This is the anti-christ programming that we've received in this Nation that is according to the thoughts of men, but not according to Christ. Let no man take your crown. Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Jesus.. Get big out of your heart and let love into it; ministry is whatever you do for someone else (by many or by few) out of HIS love that you yourself have received, and obedience to the leading of His Spirit. Not one cup of water you give to another in His name will go unnoticed or unrewarded by the Father.
It's incredibly sad that we've been so indoctrinated with carnal wisdom and filled with thoughts that are prevalent in the heart of prideful man, but remain non-existent in the heart of the Lord concerning what we've been traditionally exposed to and what's been called ministry. He see's our labor of love, not our mass production and assembly line Christianity. Having a significant anointing does not mean that it's meant for the masses or for 'BIG MINISTRY" or for writing books and going to Nations; anointing is simply the part of Jesus (His grace) He's given to you to bless others with. All you have to do is listen to His voice and follow His lead to release it in and around you. Even if He never leads you anywhere that masses will see how richly endowed with His fragrance you are, you will by no means lose your reward, what you pour out on others, is what you're pouring out upon Him. When you minister to someone else from a heart of love, you minister to Jesus. Don't be held back because no one see's you, just obey the Spirit of the Lord and bless those whom He leads you to and know that you're being seen by the hosts of heaven and pleasing the Father with your love offering. Prophesy, preach, cast out devils, heal the sick and love the people God brings your way. Don't wait for a church/pastor/leader to invite you to do it; Jesus invited you to go for Him as a witness and to bless others with what you've received.
We have seen very little of what the Father desires for His people to release and for the world to see, because we've been programmed to believe another gospel, which is not another as the word says, but it's been perverted throughout generations by the enemies lies and trickery. We need to agree with the mind of Christ to see the fullness of who He is released upon the earth through the church.
If being the most sought after evangelist or minister sends a surge of pride and acceptance into the heart, but to walk away from a meeting with no offering at all, (freely receive, and freely giving) makes one feel less than some of the more popular ministers, according to the flesh, we don't have the mind of Christ. This should not be, even the Apostle Paul poured out the fragrance of Christ upon those who needed him because of His passionate love for Jesus, not for his need to be popular, recognized or affirmed by man by receiving great offerings and pats on the back; his allegiance was to the Lamb alone and from the Lamb he looked for the reward of his labors.
If being the most well known prophet or author who's works are recognized world wide is the goal and it gives a sense of great accomplishment, but to sit at His feet, hear His voice speaking great secrets of the Kingdom and then be told to keep the vision sealed for a time would send a chill of "no one will know how great I am" racing across most our minds, we don't have the mind of Christ. When we long to shout out how much revelation we've received so others will recognize our importance, we don't have the mind of Christ. Did Jesus teach us to be the most recognized among men or to build great ministries this way? Did He teach us that it's necessary to add Dr. or any other title before our names so that people will recognize our vast knowledge and expertise and then those who appear less than us will not be received because of their supposed lack of accomplishments? Is it a Dr. so and so or Prophet so and so, that someone needs to taste the Kingdom of God, or is it a believer filled with the fire of His Presence? Is this what Jesus taught His disciples? Is it?
What questions do you think that Jesus would sit down and ask us if He were here in His earthly ministry today? Jesus has not changed and will not change His definition of greatness in ministry and in the Kingdom to accommodate a power hungry society. Some of the most accepted and beloved ministers of the gospel will never hear their names mentioned among the masses but the testimony and mention of their names in heaven is spoken before the Angels of God. Think of that!
Never let this world's thoughts be the measuring line that you use to determine greatness before God nor allow it to influence the way success in ministry is defined in your heart. If the definition is not according to Christ and His words, then it's a worldly and demonically influenced knowledge that should be treated as such. We minister out of our love for Jesus; we give to others out of our love for them, because of Jesus' love flowing through us. We don't minister to gain a great name or to be made great in the eyes of men. Our ministry goal should be seeing our savior reap the benefits of His suffering and to gain our reward from Him alone.
We may be blessed by offerings given out of love to us for our temporal support (a workman is worthy of his hire) or by an expansion in ministry spheres granted to us by the Lord, or by the privilege of authoring books birthed out of the heart of God, but we don't measure our success or greatness by these things, we measure success and greatness by our humble service of others as we serve the Lord Jesus from a pure heart. Whether its by one or many that we're called to bless and love, great ministry before God is as Jesus said, loving the one and being a servant of all. Jesus taught us that to truly be His servant we must become as He was, a servant. He gave us a clear example of His heart when He washed the disciples' feet and told them to do likewise. This is greatness in ministry and this is the ministry that the Father receives. It doesn't matter how big it is, how great of a name it has. (Revelation 3:1-6), if it's not steeped in the Spirit of Christ (humility) it's just another production of man that will carry with it, very little eternal result or reward. Amen! Jesus has not changed nor has His teaching changed. He not only told His Apostles to make disciples of the Nations, He also told them to teach these new disciples ALL that He commanded them… And this we must do and obey if we desire to see our Father's Presence, richly dwelling among His people again. Humble yourself and HE will exalt you, exalt yourself, and HE will humble you. Keys of the Kingdom, AMEN!
← Living in this world can be damaging to our souls, but our God is a God of restoration.


text:
by Philippa Gregory
Add to My Bookshelf
LoveReading View on Tidelands
Awash with atmosphere, passion and suspense, this first novel in a new series by the mistress of popular historical fiction is an immersive, entertaining, feminist-spirited feast.
Impoverished midwife and herbalist healer Alinor goes to a graveyard on Midsummer Eve wondering if she might find the ghost of her missing abusive husband. Instead she encounters James, a wealthy, handsome man who will change the course of her life. With England in the throes of civil war, James is a fugitive and Alinor puts herself at risk to take him across the dangerous marsh to his place of sanctuary. James cannot comprehend meeting "a woman like you in a place like this", words that ignite Alinor's heart and soul through her otherwise bleak existence: "I am bound as a tenant to a neglectful lord and I cannot leave. I am wife to a vanished man and cannot marry, and I am sister to the ferryman and he will never carry me across to the mainland and set me free".
While helping James does lift Alinor from the mire, the tongues of local gossip women and bawdy men are set wagging, threatening her very existence and her daughter's shot at a new life, and wise Alinor knows only too well that "no woman is innocent… Everything is our fault: sin and death are at our door, from now to Judgment Day".
The love story and evocation of time and place are utterly enthralling but, most of all, this is a dazzlingly compelling portrait of a complex, dignified woman standing strong and proud against the cruel confines of her class and sex.
Visit our 'Women's Words - 60+ works of feminist-minded fiction' to explore our collection of feminist-minded fiction from around the world, and across centuries.
Joanne Owen
Tidelands Synopsis
England 1648. A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . .
Midsummer's Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands - the marshy landscape of the south coast.
Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life.
Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor's ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbours. This is the time of witch-mania, and Alinor, a woman without a husband, skilled with herbs, suddenly enriched, arouses envy in her rivals and fear among the villagers, who are ready to take lethal action into their own hands.
Tidelands Reader Reviews
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to read and review this title. You can click here to read the full reviews.
A woman living in absolute poverty, a story of courage and love set amidst the turmoil of the English Civil War. Full review
christine woolfenden
The magnetism between them is strong but their different backgrounds make it impossible and as the story unfolds the suspicion surrounding Alinor increases culminating in a vicious and disturbing conclusion. Full review
Dana Captainino
Drawn into a world of superstition and intrigue, Alinor and James have a chemistry developing between them which neither can do anything about, and which both may come to regret. Full review
Fantastic and full engaging. Can't wait to read the next in the series! Full review
Tidelands Press Reviews
'The first in a planned series . . . The author crafts her material with effortless ease. Her grasp of social mores is brilliant, the love story rings true and the research is, as ever, of the highest calibre' Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail
'Vivid and beguiling - Philippa Gregory at her best' woman&home
'A compelling novel that shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women' Daily Mirror
'The novel's power lies in Gregory's evocative portrayal of the tidelands and the everyday lives of those who are bound to them' Sunday Express
'Philippa Gregory returns with an English Civil War novel that excels in everything she does best. Historical events are written with breathless immediacy, keeping the reader enthralled even if they know the outcome. She pays close attention to the plight of women in the past, so often unchanged despite men's wars, and gives them a voice . . . Fans will not be disappointed' Alys Key, The i
'Shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women . . . If this novel is the first sign of what's to come then readers are in for a treat' Emma Lee-Potter, Daily Express
'Tidelands evokes a world of suspense and superstition. Its fascinating fictional heroine, Alinor, is caught in a net of in-between spaces . . . I was completely swept up in this wonderful, immersive story set in the English Civil War when women who lived unconventional lives risked being accused of witchcraft' Tina Jackson, Writing Magazine
If you loved this, you might like these...
All versions of this book
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Publication date: 20th February 2020
Author: Philippa Gregory
Pagination: 464 pages
Genres: Books of the Month, Reader Reviewed Books, Historical Fiction,
Collections: 60+ works of feminist-minded fiction - Women's Words, 60+ Novels to Bring You Back to Nature,
Categories: Historical fiction,
About Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the international bestseller The Other Boleyn Girl, which became a major film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Several books later, she is looking at the family that precedes The Tudors in the The Cousins' War series, which was televised by the BBC as The White Queen. Philippa's other great interest is the charity that she founded nearly twenty years ago: Gardens for The Gambia. She has raised funds and paid for several hundred wells for the primary schools ...
More About Philippa Gregory
More Books By Philippa Gregory
View All Books By Philippa Gregory


text:
Live animal exports to be banned in England and Wales
EU-UK post-Brexit trade talks
Sending live animals abroad for slaughter and fattening will be banned in England and Wales under new plans.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said the ban could be in force by the end of 2021 in a post-Brexit break from EU trade rules.
The RSPCA welcomed the move, saying it would be "a landmark achievement for animal welfare".
But the National Farmers Union is calling for improvements to export rules, rather than an outright ban.
The government is launching an eight-week consultation on the plan - which includes measures to cut the amount of time animals spend in trucks within the UK.
A package of reforms is then expected to come to Parliament next summer.
Are both sides running out of road for a Brexit deal?
UK at odds with EU over approval for food exports
What happens next with Brexit?
Current EU trading rules allow for animals to be transported abroad for slaughter.
One local authority in Kent tried to ban the exports in 2012 after a lorry full of lame sheep was found at the local port and the animals had to be put down.
But the High Court overturned the ban, saying it was a breach of EU free trade rules.
Only a few thousand of the millions of animals bred for meat in the UK end up being shipped to Europe for slaughter.
But the government said now the UK has left the EU - and will stop following its rules after the post-Brexit transition period ends on 31 December - a ban can be introduced.
Its consultation will also look at further elements of animal welfare in transport, such as reducing maximum journey times, giving animals more space and headroom during transport, and stricter rules on transporting animals in extreme temperatures or by sea.
After months of taking a battering on issues like food standards in future trade deals - chlorinated chicken and the like - here is a strong push from the government on animal welfare issues.
An outright ban of this kind on live animal exports is stronger than some animal welfare experts had expected the government to propose - although one MP who's campaigned on this issue for years (and was delighted) told me he didn't care how the practice ended, just that it did.
Announcing the measure just weeks before the transition period ends sends a strong signal.
The government has long maintained that exporting live animals was a practice which could be ended as a result of Brexit - a good example of where leaving the EU would bring benefits.
No surprise then that it is keen to deliver on it fully.
But included in this consultation are some measures which will limit how far animals can travel within the UK, and it could well be that those measures prove a bumpier ride for the government.
The Conservative Party made the pledge to ban live animal exports in its election manifesto.
There had been fears a ban may not be possible under global trade rules, but ministers are confident its plans are inline with them.
Mr Eustice said the government had "struck the right balance" with its plan, saying it would "remove the trade that most people are concerned about - predominantly the export of lambs for slaughter to continental Europe - but would enable high value breeding stock still to be traded, as they are usually transported in very good conditions".
The basics on Brexit
Brexit happened but rules didn't change at once: The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, but leaders needed time to negotiate a deal for life afterwards - they got 11 months.
Talks are happening: The UK and the EU have until 31 December 2020 to agree a trade deal as well as other things, such as fishing rights.
If there is no deal: Border checks and taxes will be introduced for goods travelling between the UK and the EU. But deal or no deal, we will still see changes.
The move has the support of the RSPCA, which has campaigned on the issue for more than 50 years.
The charity's chief executive officer, Chris Sherwood, said: "There is absolutely no reasonable justification to subject an animal to an unnecessarily stressful journey abroad simply for them to be fattened for slaughter.
"Ending live exports for slaughter and further fattening would be a landmark achievement for animal welfare."
But the NFU is instead calling for improvements to export regulations.
'Massive impact'
The union's livestock board chairman, Richard Findlay, said: "The NFU has developed a solution to raise the standards for live exports for slaughter.
"We believe that an assurance scheme which goes beyond the current regulation would be best to ensure all animals travel in the best possible conditions and that they arrive at the approved and final destination in the best possible health."
He added: "Significant regulatory changes could potentially have a massive impact on the UK food supply chain."
However, the chief policy adviser for campaign group Compassion in World Farming, Peter Stevenson, urged farmers not to oppose the plans.
Instead he called on the industry to "recognise that this is an important part of moving forward to a high welfare future".
George Eustice
10Italian fashion great Nino Cerruti dies aged 91


text:
Sleeping Disorders in Chinese Medicine: Diagnosis and Acupuncture Strategies
Hamid D. Montakab
Home > Product > Sleeping Disorders in Chinese Medicine: Diagnosis and Acupuncture Strategies
Florida (CE Broker) Approved, NCCAOM Approved, California (CAB) CEU Approved
Sleep is a necessity in life, yet sleep disturbances, in particular insomnia, have been steadily increasing worldwide, affecting almost 40% of the population and disturbingly a large proportion of children, due primarily to our modern lifestyle.
This webinar will examine the Western and Chinese concepts about sleep. The Chinese energetics and in particular the role of the internal synchronizers, the "Extraordinary" vessels will be emphasized, as well as the diagnosis and treatment protocols for the various sleep disorders.
Goals and Outlines
Explore the Western physiology of sleep and dreams; sleep disorders
Understand the health consequences of insomnia
Analyze the Chinese energetics of sleep; sleep organization and the "Extraordinary" vessels; the role of substances (Qi, Blood, Yin …) in sleep; and the role of the mind and emotions in sleeping disorders
Understand the importance of the Liver and Hun in relation to sleep and dreams
Explore the impact of modern lifestyle on Heart, Liver and the Extraordinary vessels
Discuss in detail the diagnostic strategies and the most common disharmony patterns
Propose Acupuncture treatment strategies: calming the mind; regulating the movements of Wei Qi; releasing retained emotions; harmonizing the internal synchronizers
Overview the primary acupuncture points for insomnia and the Zang-Fu disharmony patterns
Classical Chinese Medicine, New Releases, Mind, Body, & Spirit
Alberta, CTCMA, Florida, New Zealand (NZRA), Ontario (CTCMPAO), Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, NCCAOM, North Carolina (NCALB), California
NCCAOM AOM-OM:
NCCAOM AOM-BIO:
Texas Biomedicine:
Florida Biomedicine:
Hamid D. Montakab graduated from the Medical School of Paris.
He did his residency in Surgery and completed a 3-year education in Acupuncture and further clinical training in China, followed by 2 years of exploring local healing in the Philippines and India.
He practiced for 5 years in America, obtaining the NCCA certification, and a degree in Chinese Herbalism. He founded the Academy of Chinese Healing Arts in Switzerland in 1986.
Hamid was commissioned by the Swiss National Science Foundation to conduct a research study on Acupuncture and Insomnia. In 1995 he was the co-founder and president of the Swiss Professional Organization for TCM (SPO-TCM).
He has written several acupuncture text books and his latest book, ACUPUNCTURE FOR TREATING THE HIDDEN ROOTS OF DISEASE: The Mind and the Emotions in Chinese Medicine, co-authored with Solange Montakab-Pont was published in April 2020.
Currently, he practices in Savièse and lectures in Winterthur-Switzerland and in other European countries.


Segment image region which has high solidity, using RAG. It firstly segments image with SLIC Superpixels, generates RAG based on solidity, and then merges regions.
Raw image. In most cases, this is mask or depth image.
Region where the label should be ignored.
Label image of region with high solidity.
Following topics are published when ~debug is True, see Parameters for more detail.
Label image segmented with SLIC Superpixels.
Label color overlayed image. This function can be replaced by label_image_decomposer.py but I added for easy debugging.
Whether to use approximate for input topics.
Debug mode. In this mode, the node publishes ~debug/* topics.


text:
The Evolution of Adam - a view from the Cheap Seats (Part 1)
I have a lot of time for Peter Enns, a man who has endured much at the hands of apologetic nincompoops like Norman Geisler. Enns recognises that, if Christianity is to survive, it must lift itself out of the biblicist, literalist cesspit - natural home of American evangelicalism - and get to grips with reality. It's quite a mission.
In The Evolution of Adam Enns is blunt when it comes to the genesis of the biblical origin stories. We learn about the post-exilic dating of the Pentateuch and are introduced to Wellhausen. Those in the megachurch pews are going to be dragged past a raft of exhibits - from Atrahasis to Enuma Elish - that clearly demonstrate the human origins of Genesis stories. Was Adam an historical character? Of course not. In fact, Adam is a peripheral figure within the Old Testament. He pops up in Genesis then disappears without trace (the exception is a passing reference in 1 Chronicles 1:1).
All this is great stuff, and a much needed corrective to the usual bumf that sits on the shelves in Christian bookstores. But, to be absolutely clear, Enns isn't a Bible debunker, but a committed Christian of evangelical hue. His reading of the Eden stories is, unsurprisingly, a theological one. The symbolism has (Enns maintains) everything to do with the "Israel's temple and the Sabbath rhythm," and nothing to do with the origin of humanity.
If all we had was the Hebrew Bible, this might not be such a camel-sized gnat to swallow. But for Christians there's Paul. Paul, for whom Adam is not just a peripheral figure, but a lynchpin in his theology. As in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. Jesus' death is contingent on Adam's sin; he is the "second Adam." For many [most?] Christians "it is theologically necessary for there to be some sort of Adam somewhere in human history who is personally responsible for allienating humanity from God."
It's a logic that's hard to refute if you've bought into the assumptions. Enns' task is to find a way through: Jesus as saviour minus an historical Adam; Genesis as scripture without a rejection of modern science and evolution. You've got to admire his fortitude.
Does he succeed or fail? In my view 'yes' to both. But make no mistake, this is a significant book and, perhaps, a harbinger of much needed change among twenty-first century evangelicals.
Corky 27 February 2012 at 09:13
"it is theologically necessary for there to be some sort of Adam somewhere in human history who is personally responsible for allienating humanity from God."
But, there's not - so there. And, on top of that, a man couldn't possibly live 930 years. But, the fact that Genesis says he did means the writer of Genesis intended that the story of Adam to be taken as a literal and true genealogy - which it was in 1 Chronicles 1:1.
How many more centuries will Xians keep grasping at straws to keep their religion from drowning? How long will the Xian hatred for true history and science continue?
After Ellen - Women SDA pastors emerge
Sandra Roberts - Southeastern Conference president Women's ordination is becoming the norm in many churches. Holdouts include the Se...
The Evolution of Adam (2)
Original Sin and Sin of Origin
The Evolution of Adam - a view from the Cheap Seat...
Rag FM
Honest Faith
Canon article updated
James McGrath on History & Faith
As Good as a Wink
Clobbering Palestinians with the Bible
The Bible with Typos
Bill is back
Mormon Growth Dives
Dogma and Deeds
Sage words from 1922
Warped, Twisted and Broken Art Thou
Hearken unto Warren


Cpl. Hicks at the end of Aliens: wounded in action but on his way to a full recovery.
Cpl. Hicks at the start of Alien³: decorating the escape pod with his internal organs.
So you're a character in a genre where Anyone Can Die — but somehow, you've managed to survive the big confrontation. Once the sequel rolls around, everything should be fine, right?
Guess Anyone Can Die after all. In fact, you're likely to bite it in the first few minutes if you appear in the sequel at all. And if you're a Final Girl who's in more than one installment of a Slasher Movie series, your life expectancy drops dramatically.
This can happen for several reasons: Maybe a character needs to stay single and the other character is in the way, maybe the actor died between films (in which case the death is usually offscreen, if not expect use of a Fake Shemp) or can only make a cameo, or maybe the character was only popular enough for a token appearance. Or the character is Killed by Request on part of the actor playing them. Whatever the case, Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome often comes off as more than a little mean-spirited, to the point that it can be compared to Fridging or Bridging if handled especially badly.
This generally has the effect of making the previous work a Shoot the Shaggy Dog / Happy Ending Override; however the main character will quickly move on with their life. Doing this is a great way to cause a rebellion in the fanbase over what is going to be without a doubt a Contested Sequel. The Snicket Warning Label may be applied here in cases where this strikes characters who got a Happy Ending in the previous work.
Compare Not Quite Saved Enough, Downtime Downgrade, Sequel Reset, Back for the Dead (where a long-absent series character is brought back only to get killed off), Bus Crash, Sequel Non-Entity, Happy Ending Override. Contrast with Doomed by Canon, where a character in a prequel gets killed off because his or her death is necessary for the preceding work's plot.
This is a Death Trope, so expect UNMARKED SPOILERS!
Astonage, one of the mechanics who survives Zeta Gundam and Gundam ZZ is killed off in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in Char's Counterattack by a missile that impacts the hanger bay. This is probably because he picked up a love interest sometime before the movie. You didn't honestly think that Kill 'em all Tomino would let him get away with that did you?
And unsurprisingly his love interest dies too. That's Tomino for you.
Male Bridge Bunny Saegusa, who survived Zeta Gundam alongside Torres is redshirted by Yazan in the first episode of ZZ.
For most of Hell Girl's second season, the main human characters of the first season are AWOL. Finally Tsugumi appears; she seems fine, but it sounds like something has happened to Hajime. We don't know for sure yet, but the similarity to The Ring is suggestive.
Many of the remaining characters from Fafner: Right of Left OVA end up dead in the first one-and-a-half episodes of the TV series.
April from Darker Than Black suffered a few serious injuries in the middle of the first season, but ultimately survived and appeared in the second season... only to be killed at the end of the first episode by Hei.
JC, the main supporting character of the 1998 video game SiN dies just minutes into its anime sequel counterpart, SiN: The Movie. He goes through a particularly gruesome transformation and has to be put down by his boss, John Blade. This clears the way for JC's younger, hotter sister (whose role and name are identical to her brother's) to join Blade's police force.
Izumii Curtis of Fullmetal Alchemist died before the events of the movie, Conqueror of Shamballa, and appears only as a voiceless cameo to reunite with her son Wrath as he dies. The screenwriter and the director wanted to avert this and have her live until some point in the movie where she is given her a dramatic death scene on screen but, due to time constraints, they had to cut this scene. Apparently, Izumi's seiyuu was apologized to for not being able to include her in the movie.
In City Hunter's Alternate Universe spinoff, Angel Heart, Ryo's Love Interest Kaori Mikamura dies in a car accident.
Goku, the main character from Dragon Ball, is killed withint he first few episodes of the sequel series, Dragon Ball Z. Of course, this being Dragon Ball, his body isn't even cold before his friends start talking about bringing him back to life.
Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals takes place two centuries after the game it's based on, so one wouldn't expect the main cast to be around in any case. However, Mid and Cid Previa both die very shortly after the game itself ends—Cid from natural causes and Mid from the OVA's Big Bad, which is a major plot point as Mid's ghost is a main character.
Done in the anime adaptation of Higurashi: When They Cry. At the end of the first season no main character has died for once and everything looks relatively happy. Cut to the first episode of Kai which is set in present day and has the now adult Rena being the only survivor of the entire town. She was sent away for trying to blow up the school and thus she avoided the town gassing that happens every arc.
Despite being the daughter of Suzuka, the title character of Fuuka eventually gets run over by a truck, in the process showing that Fuuka was actually a Decoy Protagonist, and it's another Fuuka who's the real female lead. That said, the original Fuuka still casts a large shadow over the rest of the cast even after her death. That being said, she comes back in chapter 135 - but that was a fakeout as well, as it was just a person who dressed up as her because she admired her. Fuuka is well and truly dead.
Danganronpa 3 invokes this throughout Side:Future by putting the old characters in deadly situations. In fact, it might even be Inverted since nearly everyone from previous installments made it out unscathed, while nearly all the DR3-only characters died.
The most shocking death of the series was that of one of the franchise's more popular characters, Kyoko Kirigiri. Or not, as it's revealed at the very end she survived thanks to Seiko's antidote.
Earlier on, the end of the second episode reveals that Aoi Asahina has bought it. The very next episode reveals that she's okay, and another character just set up a homicide prank while she was asleep using well-placed ketchup.
Even Naegi himself comes close to death by getting hypnotized into suicide, but he came out okay too.
Johnny Joestar, protagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, is revealed to have died in a flashback in Part 8 after a Heroic Sacrifice that he made to save his wife and son from a normally uncurable disease.
Wonder Man, a key member of the West Coast Avengers who was a major member of the team throughout its run, was shockingly killed in the first issue of the sequel series Force Works. Which had the accidental effect of cancelling his own comic series while it was still going!
Doomsday Clock reveals that Seymour, the guy who decided to run the original Rorschach's journal at the end of Watchmen was killed. Issue 4 also reveals that the original Silk Spectre as passed on.
The sequel to the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends fanfic More Than My Friend starts with both Mac's mother and his brother getting into a car accident. This causes Mac to be sent to an orphanage, but eventually Cool Big Sis Frankie adopts him.
"How Things Smurf", the third story in Raven Child's The Smurfette Village series, has all but ten Smurfs (both Smurfs and Smurfettes) die off due to a Synthetic Plague unleashed on them by the time the flashback sequence starts.
King Harold in Shrek 2 has a good example of a non-death Heroic Sacrifice, as he throws himself in the path of the Fairy Godmother's wand to save Shrek. The result is that his previous 'happy ending' is removed and he is turned back to the frog he was. But he's still alive at the end of the movie, and his wife doesn't mind his being a frog at all. Unfortunately, within the first act of Shrek the Third, King Harold, well, croaks no more... thus kicking off the plot of the film.
If you want to count All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, in the beginning, Charlie's friend Itchy gets sent to Heaven after he died by choking on a chicken drumstick and both are reunited. Of course, since the films star dead dogs, this doesn't really put Itchy out of commission at all.
At the very beginning of Cars 2, we find out that Doc Hudson's medical clinic has been converted into a memorial museum dedicated to him due to the death of actor Paul Newman. Also, the trophy Lightning McQueen won prior to the events of that film is called the "Hudson Hornet Memorial Piston Cup."
Season five opened with the deaths of Michelle Dessler and President Palmer.
Another example would be Curtis Manning only four episodes into season six (the fact that he was billed as a guest star, as opposed to a regular was a painfully obvious indicator that Curtis wouldn't be around for the long haul that season).
Subverted twice in the case of Tony Almeida: Just three episodes into the third season he is shot in the neck, while in the fifth season premiere he is caught in a second explosion after the first one claims Michelle. In both cases he was supposed to have been killed off, but the decision was ultimately made against it. He does later get stabbed with an overdose of hyoscine-pentothal in the fifth season, but this is reversed to reveal he was saved in time two seasons later.
In a literal case of a sequel, early on during mini-series "Live Another Day" it's revealed that Morris O'Brien died sometime after the original series in a car accident.
Archie Bunker's Place: Edith Bunker made it to the Spin-Off of All In The Family, but died of a stroke in between the first and second seasons.
Arrow: Sara Lance/The Canary survives all of season two, only to get killed off at the end of the third season premiere. She comes Back from the Dead early on in the following season.
Being Human sees George get killed in the fourth season premiere, while Nina turns out to have died in between the third and fourth seasons.
Captain Barbell: The title character's love interest from the 2007 series bites it in the first episode of the new 2011 series.
Chuck killed off some of its recurring characters in season premieres. The season 2 opener had CIA Director Langston Graham killed in an explosion and the season 3 premiere saw temporary Buy More manager Emmett Milbarge get shot by an assassin that was searching for Chuck.
Dark Matter: The season 2 premiere sees One/Derrick Moss being gunned down by lookalike Jace Corso.
Dexter: In the first episode of season 7, Mike Anderson, introduced in season 6, is shot and killed. He must not have been too popular.
Louis Greene was being set by the writers as a major antagonist in season 6, only to get unceremoniously killed by the new Big Bad in the third episode of season 7.
The Sixth Doctor's dropping dead in the TARDIS right at the beginning of Season 24.
A version of this happens in the TV Movie, where the 7th Doctor makes a brief appearance only to get shot and then die on an operating table. However, being the Doctor, he gets better.
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, the sequel to the TV movie The Ewok Adventure, has a perfect example of this trope. The original movie concerned the efforts of a teenage boy named Mace and his young sister Cindel to rescue their parents from a Big Bad monster that has kidnapped them. With the help of the Ewoks, they succeed and the first movie ends on a happy note. Barely 10 minutes into the second film, however, Mace is killed, and so are both parents. Cindel is the only human protagonist from the first film to survive the second one. Considering how the goal of the first movie was to save the parents, it's a good example of a sequel making the previous work seem like a Shoot the Shaggy Dog.
Fringe: Charlie Francis is killed in the first episode of the second season.
The Flash (2014), in the season 2 premiere, Ronnie Raymond aka Firestorm sacrifices himself to stop the singularity created at the end of the first season.
After being introduced in Season 5, Doran Martell and his son, Trystane, were killed off by Ellaria and the Sand Snakes in the Season 6 premiere. Executive Meddling plays here where Doran's actor, Alexander Siddig, was contracted for four episodes in Season 6 but unbeknownst to him, plans were changed during production.
Roose Bolton dies only two episodes into Season 6 after being one of the show's main antagonists for several seasons.
Randyll Tarly shows up in only one episode of Season 6 after being mentioned several times since Season 1 and gives a very good impression as Samwell's domineering father who made an impact on his character. Then in the middle of Season 7, he's roasted by Daenerys' dragons. This is justified because Season 7 is shortened to seven episodes.
Gilmore Girls had to kill off Richard for the revival, since the actor died between the original and A Year In The Life.
Gotham: Sarah Essen is killed in only the second episode of Season Two.
Gunsmoke: In the second made-for-TV movie, Matt Dillon got married. Unfortunately, his TV wife, Michael Learned, did not want to return for another movie, so at the start of the next TV movie, we learn her character died of the fever. And just when you thought ONE Western would let somebody enjoy lasting happiness with a beloved.
Hannibal: Beverly Katz is killed by Hannibal early on in the second season.
Volume 3 dropped bridges on or otherwise wrote out most of the new characters from season 2.
One other notable example is Emile Danko, Big Bad of volume 4. After living though the entirety of volume 4, despite every single hero out to kill him, he makes it a whole thirty minutes into volume 5 before he's sliced and diced to death by a guy who doesn't even really know him all that well, just to get a key hidden in his stomach. They even started to build up a story for him for the volume before they, well, Dropped a Bridge on Him.
House of Cards US: Zoe Barnes getting thrown in front of a subway train in the second season premiere.
Jessica Jones (2015): After being a main character in the first season, Will Simpson gets killed off in the second episode of season 2.
Justified: Sammy Tonin is on screen for barely a minute before being killed in the season 5 premiere.
Kamen Rider V3 had Kamen Rider Ichigo and Kamen Rider Nigo, the heroes of the original Kamen Rider series, take a nuke to the face after creating V3. They end up returning near the end of the series.
Law and Order: The actor who played Sgt. Max Grevey left the show after the first season. In the second season opener, Sgt. Grevey is killed execution-style outside his home while getting papers from his car. It is obviously not the same actor; all we see is his hat and trench coat from the back.
Shannon was one of the main characters in season 1 only to get shot a few episodes early on in season 2.
Mr. Eko, who was a major character in season 2 but killed off just a few episodes into season 3.
Season 4 marks the only time no main characters die early on, although several long-running recurring characters ( Danielle, Alex, and Karl) all get killed off halfway through the season to make up for it.
Charlotte is a main cast member in the fourth season and then is killed after only a few episodes of the fifth.
Juliet was a main character for several seasons only to die in the first episode of the final season. Justified, as she'd already been mortally wounded at the end of the previous season.
Inverted on Mr Selfridge. In real life, Harry Selfridge's wife died in the influenza epidemic of 1918, so she could legitimately have disappeared between seasons 1 and 2. Instead, near the end of the first season she tells her husband she is dying.
Night Man: Johnny's father dies in the first episode of the second season. This is due to the fact they moved production to Canada.
Once Upon a Time: Greg and Tamara were major villains in Season two, only to both get unceremoniously killed off at the beginning of Season Three.
Dr. Nodel and his son Paul were the two main characters of "Double Helix". In The Teaser of the sequel episode "The Origin of Species", they are absorbed by the ship, effectively killing them, as they possess a genetic disease.
Prisoner 98843 was the protagonist of "The Camp" but was killed off prior to the events of the sequel episode "Promised Land", having died of undisclosed causes in the week that passed between the two episodes. Alex, a major supporting character in "The Camp", appeared in only one scene of "Promised Land". He died from eating irradiated fruits and plants in the vicinity of Seattle.
In the fourth season, the character whose escape from prison had been what the entire previous season's plot centered around was quickly retconned into a different role and shot in the head to clear the decks for an entirely new plot that had little to do with that of the previous season.
A more climactic example is Veronica Donovan, who was killed at the end of the Season 2 premiere.
Revolution: After a hiatus of several months, Danny, the person the protagonists were trying to rescue for the first half of the season, gets gunned down in episode 11.
Robin Hood: The wildly popular guest-star Carter was brought back in the season two finale and saves all the outlaws' lives, only to get the bridge when the Sheriff stabs him to death in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.
Scream: The TV Series: Jake survived the first season but was gutted in the first episode of season two. The second Ghostface who survived the second season was killed at the very beginning of the Halloween Special. Justified in that the show is a slasher series.
Skins: After all they have been through in season 3 and 4, in the 7th series, Naomi dies, and Emily doesn't even know about it until the very end.
Hale gets run over by a van at the end of the Season 3 premiere.
And in the very next episode, Cameron Hayes gets killed off.
In season 5 premiere , we find out that Laroy died between seasons and then Opie bites the dust in the third episode.
Phil in season 6 is a borderline example, being killed 4 episodes into the 13 episode season.
Stargate SG-1: Kawalsky, one of the main characters from the previous Stargate movie, gets infested by a Goa'uld and is killed when Teal'c administers a Portal Cut to his head in the second episode of the SG1 series. However, the character continues to recur in hallucinations, illusions, and alternate realities, existing only to die again each time. Except for one time: the alternate-reality Kawalsky in the episode "Point of View" survives.
John Winchester gives up his life to save Dean's in the second season premiere. This was nearly averted as John was originally going to die at the end of season one, but the finale was running long as it already was so his death was saved for season two.
Castiel winds up getting killed early on during the 7th season. Subverted later on in the same season when it's revealed that he was later brought back to life.
Under the Dome: In season 1, Linda Esquivel becomes sheriff after her predecessor's death; she's killed off mere minutes into the second season. Likewise, Angie McAlister was a major character in the first season, but dies at the end of season 2's first episode.
V (1983): In the first episode of the sequel series, Martin (a prominent supporting character and fifth-columnist alien) gets dispatched by the Big Bad, Diana, halfway through the first episode. Other resistance members from the miniseries (including Robin Maxwell's father and Elias) are anticlimactically killed off within the first few episodes of the series.
Veronica Mars: Cormac Fitzpatrick kills Kendall Casablancas and is then killed by his brother Liam in the season 3 premiere.
Kate Ballinger slits her own throat in the season two premiere.
You thought season two would be about Ben Burke's rebellion? NOPE. He's devoured by Abbies in the second episode.
Nurse Pam is also killed by Jason in the third episode.
Falstaff, the Ensemble Dark Horse of Shakespeare's Henry IV plays, has apparently died early on in Henry V, and there's a scene where Falstaff's friends are discussing it. While not quite as sudden as many of the other examples on this page, and seen as sort of a consequence of Prince Hal (Henry V) disassociating himself from Falstaff, it seems as if this trope is older than film, and in fact Older Than Steam.
Some adaptations of this, such as Olivier's 1944 film version, play the announcement of Falstaff's death as a giant audience tease, with the bishop first bringing up Falstaff and pausing, enough to get the audience anticipating the arrival of the fan-favourite clown, before relating that he is in fact banished.
Some critics believe Falstaff was originally slated to appear in Henry V but Shakespeare decided it would distract people from the hero, so he wrote Falstaff out and gave the lines to Pistol, a very minor character in the prequel. Another theory is that it was connected to Will Kempe (the comic actor believed to have played Falstaff) quitting the company in unknown but likely acrimonious circumstances.
Lampshaded in The Order of the Stick, in which after helping Elan Take A Level In Badass, Julio Scoundrel tells him that to avoid dying, he never wants to see him ever again. However, he does later come to save him after being convinced that the greatest heroes are those who can defy genre conventions.
Bert was one of the few to survive the original "KITTEN" arc in Sluggy Freelance (albeit with a mangled prostate), but is unceremoniously killed off during "KITTEN II."
Adam Dodd, the survivor of Survival of the Fittest v1, was tossed in a second time in v3. Partway through, he mysteriously disappears, and is presumed dead, along with a bunch of other characters. However, subverted by a later reveal that they all had managed to remove their collars and were Faking the Dead, including Adam himself.
An in-universe example occurs with Sydney Morvran. The winner of v0 (the prequel to v1), he is put into the next version as punishment for not actively killing anyone, and then becomes one of the first fatalities.
On Young Justice, Garfield's mom Marie was killed in the Time Skip between seasons. The tie-in comic reveals it to be a Psychic-Assisted Suicide from a vengeful Queen Bee. Similarly, Tula/Aquagirl joined the team and died between seasons, with her death being the catalyst for another character's Face–Heel Turn. At least, that was his excuse for joining the villains - he was really a Fake Defector.


Is your third-party provider pestering you for your plan's census?
The census is a 401(k) administration document chock full of detailed employee information. Your provider uses the information for annual non-discrimination testing. These tests measure how broadly your 401(k)'s benefits are spread among company employees. The census should be completed in the first part of the plan year to meet filing deadlines.
For accurate test results, the employer must provide an accurate census. Among the most critical inputs is identifying Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs). That's because comparing how benefits are distributed between HCEs and Non-Highly Compensated Employees (NHCEs) is the crux of non-discrimination testing.
It's also important to understand that failing to identify eligible NHCEs can impact results.
For the prior year, an employee who was paid more than $120,000 (for 2015-2018).
Also, the employer can choose to define HCEs as those in the top-paid (top 20%) group of employees.
It's important to note that "compensation" can be defined in different ways. For the census, you should use the definition provided in the plan document. Census data may also be used to track vesting. So, it's important to have accurate hiring dates along with hours worked, if applicable.
Preparing a census takes some serious time that could be spent running your business. This is particularly the case if information comes from different data files, or is prepared by different employees. And someone should review the information employee-by-employee to make sure it is accurate.
At ForUsAll we understand you would rather run your business than fill out census forms. That's why we designed a 401(k) where we do most of the work for you. We can sync your payroll data to a recordkeeper, and automate much of the day-to-day 401(k) tasks. And we limit the information we need from you to prepare the census.
Here's the deal. We administer your 401(k). You run your business. Our focus is the blocking and tackling required to administer your plan. We automatically keep savings rates up-to-date, load participant data, and so much more.
ForUsAll offers engaging technology that's great at attaining high participation and deferral rates. This makes for a healthy 401(k) and increases the odds of passing non-discrimination tests. Good test results mean you can avoid corrective action. You may be able avoid the high costs of a Safe Harbor Plan as well. You can learn more about ForUsAll's innovative technology here.
Talk to us today to find out how we can take on much of your census burden. And ask us how we can help you can pass those compliance tests. We're always happy to walk you through the details of ACP testing and chat about keeping your plan compliant.


For sale is this Storm Toys 1/4 Boxing Champion Mike Tyson Action Figure with 3 Belt. Item is brand new unused in sealed box.
The item "Storm Toys 1/4 Boxing Champion Mike Tyson Action Figure with 3 Belt MISB" is in sale since Sunday, January 27, 2019. This item is in the category "Toys & Hobbies\Action Figures\TV, Movie & Video Games". The seller is "anglo" and is located in Singapore. This item can be shipped worldwide.


Liverpool-based developers, Lucid Games, have announced today that Switchblade, their strategic team-based MOBA, is available now in Early Access on PC via Steam and PlayStation®4. Steam gamers and PS Plus subscribers in Europe can also look forward to a 20% launch discount.
War is the new sport in Switchblade. Set in a futuristic world, Switchblade sees two teams compete in a frantic 5v5 arena-style battle, where players are able to switch seamlessly between heavily armed sci-fi vehicles, offering endless tactical choices as they work together to take down enemy towers.
Early Access players will get an exclusive Founders Pack upon purchasing the game, which will only be available to fans during Switchblade's Early Access phase.
Lucid have praised the ongoing efforts of the growing Switchblade community, encouraging players to offer as much feedback as possible during Early Access.
"We can't thank our amazing community enough for their incredible support so far. We consider them an extended part of the dev team and look forward to more players joining us, as we continue to shape Switchblade with their feedback during this exciting stage of development" — Craig Howard, Creative Director, Lucid Games.