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Aluminum Cutter; the design, the build, the world
Cruise the world safely and in comfort
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The Grail's Tale-a cruising blog
Reach out to Holy Grail
The Grails Tale 1, "AT LAST"
Twas two weeks before Christmas
and all through the boathouse
neither barnacle nor mouse.
The bottom was scrubbed clean
and the zincs all renewed
At the Mexican boatyard
while the crew was enthused.
The sails were all hung
on the mast with great care
In hopes that the boat
soon would be "there."
With holds full of goodies
we sailed from the bay
For we long have been waiting
for this special day.
And so it was, eight years, five months and four days after arriving back in the U.S. from New Zealand with our old boat, Dulcinea. We sailed south across the Mexican boarder from San Diego aboard our new Holy Grail – cruising destination, The World, time schedule, as long as possible. As this is written we are slowly making our way down the Baja Peninsula, mostly waiting for wind or for storm fronts to pass. We plan to make a quick trip through Mexico to Costa Rica and Panama to cruise some of the unihabited islands we missed last time. Then we hope to visit Cocos Island, which legend says is hiding a fabulous boot of pirates treasure!
Calm and Comfortable
Then on to the Galapagos Islands for another look at that fantastic place, and Easter Island, which is our eastern most destination in the South Pacific. After touring those monolithic statues, we will point Holy Grail west to Pitcairn Island to visit the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, before sailing through the Tuamotus to Tahiti. This letter is lacking tales of exotic places, but that will have to wat until the next edition.
During the last three months, we were in the final panic sprint, the stage which might precede cardiac arrest, halfway between sigh and gasp. Steph was engaged in an insidious plot to prevent our departure by ensuring that the Grail sinks so deep in the mud that she will never be coaxed out of the slip. Every day for months, she returned home to the boat after dark with cart loads of grains, beans, nuts, seeds, wines, cans, and packaged foods of every description, intent on sinking the boat! Then she worked until midnight sorting, repackaging and hiding the stuff from ever being found… at least by me. She does, however, have her top secret black book of codes, which charts every nook and cranny to keep track of this mountain of supplies. In those final months, six thousand pounds of supplies and equipment were stowed on board!
There are many opportunities to obtain basic supplies in Mexico and Central America. But at the time, preferred organic and low fat health oriented products and many of the other foods we use are unavailable, including seeds for sprouting and whole grains to grind into flour. Most of those items are unheard of outside the U.S. intil one reaches New Zealand or Australia. We grind most of our own flour to avoid the bleached white variety and weevils. So the long distance cruiser needs to carry as much as possible to last at least until reaching "down under." Supplies of any kind in the islands are very limited except in Tahiti where they are quite expensive.
continue top of next column
To illustrate the scope of this provisioning project, some of the quantities we hae, all in pounds, are: 60 of wheat berries, 45 of oats, 48 of honey, 40 of pasta, 50 of rice, 30 of popcorn, 50 about of assorted nuts (not counting Steph and Howard), about 100 litres of wine, and ten cases of tea (two gross bags to the case!). In addition to food, there was a major accumulation of spare parts, charts and resource material. We had upt on board and indexed over 900 charts (this was before the digital age) from around the world, all stowed neatly in geographic envelopes under our bunk mattress, which became six inches higher.
We love being back at sea and at anchor, with time to notice and focus on the marine and bird life. The luxurious simplicity of life not fragmented by telephone, television, internet, newspapers and othe "essentials" can not be comprenended unless experienced. We have each read several books a week since leaving, books that have been hoarded for years, while we thirsted for the time to read uninterrupted. Our fare has been mostly fish caught under sail. Hundreds and even thousands of miles from any city, the atmosphere is crystal clear and infigoration. And we are finally wearing shorts every day. We are only 90 miles from the official boundary of the tropics, the 23rd parallel, and already the giant frigate birds are wheeling effortlessly oerhead, and warm water fish are often available for our table.
THE BEST SPOTS
Visiting small, remote Mexican villages where practically everyone gives us a broad smile and a shy "Hola," where there is no influence of TV violence no paved streets, no hostility or fear, is a satisfying and centering experience. Isn't this how the world really should be?
So far, the highlights of our cruise have been the scenic and peaceful San Benitos Islands which are western outliers of the Baja Pennisula, about 30 miles offshore. There are three "islas" which form a crescent shapped protected anchorage, so filled with marine life any city aquarium would be proud. West San Benito has a Mexican fish camp on it's eastern shore which provides shelter for the abalone and lobster fishermen. The rest of the shoreline is home to giant elephant seals and sea lions, while etensive kelp beds hide striped bass. Every casual glance from the boat reveals teeming wildlife.
About halfway down the Baja is Bahia Tortuga, Turtle Bay, where we were hit with a 50 knot storm at anchor. Naturally, the worlst of it came on a black night, blowing striaght into the anchorage, turning it into a treacherous lee shore. With a four mile fetch across the bay, seas grew large rapidly. With radar and an engine powerful enough to make good speed against such strong winds and seas, we had no trouble moving to the windward side of the bay.
Finally looking backward, we learned how to sail all over again. Last year in September we sailed up to the Ventura/Santa Barbara area, about 175 miles north of San Diego. It had been almost 8 years since coming back from New Zealand with our old boat that we had done much sailing. The Santa Barbara Channel between the mainland and the northern Channel Islands is a rough patch of water, with winds often over 30 knots. We learned what the Grail could do, and how we needed to help her do it. We found our new boat capable beyond our imagination, comfortable and dry on dek, and far easier to sail than our previous 32′ sloop, which displaced almost half Holy Grail.
It was great fun to have the "Admiral's" sister visit in Santa Barbara. She endured a romp stomping close reach 30 knot blowacross the channel to Santa Cruz Island. On another day, the rest of the family was nearly becalmed. We enjoyed taking friends sailing and visiting in practically every harbor between San Diego and Santa Barbara, renewed old friendships, and then sadly said our goodbys.
As we sailed away from San Diego in December heading south of the border, we knew we would miss family and friends. We were satisfied that we had done our best to prepare for our adventures, and pleased that we had just wrapped up all the city life details, which released us for the next phase of this wonderful life.
Cruising Blog 2


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HomeAtal Innovation Mission
Notification for Appointment of New Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission
byAdmin @ DKR — Monday, April 05, 2021 0
Acclaimed socio-technologist Dr Chintan Vaishnav has been appointed as the new Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of the Government of India under the auspices of NITI Aayog. He is taking over the charge from Mr Ramanathan Ramanan, seconded by Tata Consultancy Services to NITI Aayog, who had been leading AIM as its first Mission Director since June 2017. Dr Vaishnav is moving from his present assignment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, to head AIM.
NITI Aayog takes this opportunity to thank Mr Ramanan for his outstanding contributions in laying strong, scalable foundations for AIM. During his tenure, short of four years, he also built a robust team of talented young professionals to carry forward AIM's mission. NITI Aayog wishes all the very best to Mr Ramanan in his future endeavours.
NITI Aayog welcomes AIM's new Mission Director, Dr Vaishnav, who will be taking over from mid-April 2021.
Dr Vaishnav is an engineer trained to understand and build large-scale systems, with both human as well as technological complexities. As a teacher, innovator, and entrepreneur, he has first-hand experience of the various parts of the innovation ecosystem, both in India and the US. Over the past decade, he has split his time between teaching and research at MIT and living and working with rural communities in India to build solutions that can overcome constraints fundamental to improving human conditions. He has co-founded both commercial and non-profit organizations. He has also advised start-ups, corporations, and governments on tackling challenges at the intersection of technology and systems, development, and public policy.
Dr Vaishnav holds a PhD in technology, management, and policy from MIT.
AIM's mission is to create and promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. To this end, AIM's holistic and umbrella framework, along with its organizational approach, is designed to spur the emergence of a nation of innovators and job-creators. Over the past four years, since its inception, AIM's various initiatives have achieved notable successes.
So far, AIM has established 7259 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across 650 districts, thereby providing over 3.5 million students access to emerging technologies. It has also operationalized 68 Atal Incubators, fostering over 2000 start-ups—of these, 625 are led by women. AIM selected 56 Atal New India and ARISE Challenge winners for product innovations with socio-economic impact, and initiated establishment of 20 Atal Community Innovation Centres to spur community-centric innovations addressing needs of rural India. It has also established one of the largest voluntary Mentors of Change networks, with over 5000 mentors nationwide and more than 30 corporate and international partners. It has also established strategic collaborations with other stakeholders to support its initiatives.
Tags: Atal Innovation Mission latest news Latest-News pib

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Three bedroom two bath ranch style home with a large open yard, carport and detached garage. This home has a lot of potential but is in need of some finishing work. Upgrades such as new flooring in the living room, dining room and kitchen, new furnace and hot water tank in 2014. This home also has attic space that could be used as additional living space or storage. Room dimensions are estimated.
Directions: East side of Huron Rd between Cottage Grove Rd and Lebourdais Rd.


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Archive | April 6th, 2020
India man hospitalised after Nazi criminal mistake him for Chinese
Posted on 06 April 2020.
India man hospitalised after Israelis mistake him for Chinese in coronavirus-related assault
Am-Shalem Singson was attacked by two Israelis As the they attacked, they shout "Chinese!" "Corona, corona". Singson did not carry the coronavirus. He wasn't even a Chinese. He was a Jew who immigrated from India to Israel [Mustafa Fatih Yavuz/Twitter]March 17, 2020 at 2:23 pm
An Indian migrant who was mistaken for a Chinese man was brutally assaulted by two Israelis in an apparent racist attack related to the coronavirus outbreak.
The attack, reportedly by Israeli media on Saturday, saw Am-Shalem Singson, who came to Israel from Manipur, India, in 2017, being taunted by two Israeli men who thought he was Chinese, before they violently assaulted the 28-year-old.
The Israeli men, who have not been identified, called him "Chinese" and yelled "Corona! Corona", a reference to the coronavirus pandemic that began in China's Hubei province, the Times of Israel reported.
"I told both of the attackers that I was not even Chinese, but rather a Jew from the Bnei Menashe community, not that there is any justification for attacking a Chinese guy or anybody else," he was reported saying. "But they were totally crazed and kicked me hard while yelling, 'Corona! Corona!'."
Singson is now hospitalised at the Poriya hospital in Tiberas. He is said to be suffering from "severe injuries to his chest and lungs." His condition, however, is stable.
READ: Years after the blood dumping scandal, Ethiopians are still resisting racism in Israel
Following the attack, the Racism Crisis Centre of the Israel Religious Action Centre, raised concerns over the rise of racism in Israel. "More than 10,000 people from China and East Asia work in Israel today," the group said.
"The [coronavirus] panic must not turn them into targets. In some previous epidemics, it was the Jews who were falsely accused of spreading the disease. Let's learn that humane lesson."
Shavei Israel, an Israeli-based Jewish organisation that encourages people of Jewish descent to strengthen their connection with Israel and the Jewish people, also expressed concern. The group is "stunned by the vicious and racist attack," said founder, Michael Freund.
"The Bnei Menashe are our brothers and sisters and anyone who raises a hand against them must be brought to justice. I demand that action be taken, and I call on the police to investigate this incident immediately," Freund added.
According to the Times of Israel over 4,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community live in Israel, and some 6,500 remain in India awaiting aliya.
Posted in ZIO-NAZI, Health, Human RightsComments Off on India man hospitalised after Nazi criminal mistake him for Chinese
COVID-19: Masks or no masks?
By Satya Vatti
Photo: Staff Sgt. Sergio A. Gamboa.
The United States now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases among all the countries in the world. If the state response to the pandemic in the richest country in the world remains much the same, inadequate and ineffective, millions of people in the U.S. are projected to become infected with the novel coronavirus in the coming weeks to months.
Science Magazine recently interviewed George Gao, the director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who played a central role in the isolation and sequencing of the 2019 coronavirus in China. Gao and other Chinese experts say that the big mistake that the U.S. and European countries are making is not wearing masks.
In many countries around the world, governments have encouraged the widespread use of facemasks for the population when in public spaces to curb the transmission of the virus. In contrast, since the first case of the coronavirus infection appeared in the U.S., both the Center for Disease Control and the Surgeon General discouraged people in the U.S. from acquiring and using masks, unless they were symptomatic.
Now months later, the CDC's disinformation is coming undone as it considers having the public wear non-medical masks, including do-it-yourself masks, to lower the rate of transmission.
The fact is that a very small percentage of the population in the U.S. has been tested for COVID-19, while the majority have no access to testing. This means that many people are already infected, or are carriers, unknown to them. Epidemiologists say people can have asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections that can still spread. COVID-19 spreads via droplets and contact, and droplets come out of people's mouths every time they speak. While the six-foot physical distancing rule does help reduce transmission, a combination of protective measures, including wearing masks, is more effective.
One would hope that U.S. health officials base their recommendations to the public in the midst of a pandemic on the basis of scientific findings quantifying the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the use of masks. Outrageously however, what these U.S. officials have based their public health advice on is the fear of creating a severe shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment supplies for healthcare workers — an artificial shortage that is in reality a direct result of the U.S. government's trade policy and aggression towards China that restricts Chinese imports using tariffs. Frontline healthcare workers in the U.S. are already reusing contaminated masks, wearing makeshift bandanas and scarves, and trash bags for gowns, and are themselves getting infected due to the shortages.
Before the pandemic, China was already producing half of the world's supply of masks. In helping lead the fight against COVID-19 internationally, China has been producing more than 110 million masks, medical and non-medical, per day to meet global demand. There is no shortage of masks, the masks are in China, and the U.S. government is choosing to not lift tariffs on Chinese goods, which would allow critical medical supplies and other necessary goods to freely enter the U.S. These tariffs also increase the price of Chinese imports by 25 percent, making essential goods less accessible to the people living in the United States.
Tens of millions of lives in the U.S. are criminally being put at risk because of the bipartisan Cold War-style attitude and hostility of U.S. politicians towards China, when what is needed is cooperation and collaboration with China to defeat the virus.
By taking extraordinary and unprecedented measures, China has flattened the curve; on March 18, in a country of 1.4 billion people, zero new cases of COVID-19 were reported. The United States should be willing to share information and learn from China's experience and expertise in battling the virus, rather than spending its energy on propagating a racist misinformation campaign against China as it is continuing to do.
In the absence of a nationally coordinated emergency public health response to the pandemic, along with criminally inadequate testing due to the for-profit healthcare industry, massive shortage of medical supplies as a result of trade tariffs on China and the unwillingness of the two-party political establishment in the country to mandate that private corporations reorganize their production and distribution capabilities to produce critical goods in a period of crisis, we must hold the U.S. government accountable for the unnecessary suffering being inflicted on tens of millions of working-class people.
A few U.S. government officials and private individuals are building public-private partnerships with producers and distributors in other countries to bring medical supplies and protective gear into the U.S. using commercial aircraft. But this type of decentralized response is completely inadequate given the scale of the need. The Department of Health estimates that the U.S. would need over 3.5 billion masks, if the pandemic lasts a year.
The people need full access to medical supplies and healthcare, free of cost! Demand that the U.S. government lift the criminal tariffs on Chinese goods and end the trade war with China!
Posted in HealthComments Off on COVID-19: Masks or no masks?
Humanitarian crisis brewing for undocumented people
By Frank Lara
Amnesty and Full Immigrant Rights NOW! | Photo: Frank Lara
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Beneath the rubble of the collapsing economy, there are lives that may be lost in the silence. COVID-19 has brought the U.S. economy to its knees, but for undocumented people the crisis means absolute destitution. If drastic measures and supports are not offered immediately to our gente, this country will be responsible for the lives of the estimated 11 million undocumented people and their children, many of whom are U.S.-born citizens.
The coming humanitarian crisis stems from another major crisis — the utter failure to offer any semblance of human rights to the workers that hold up key sectors of U.S. capitalism. On May 1, 2006, immigrant, Latino and Mexican people led the largest general strike in U.S. history, known as A Day Without Immigrants. This monumental day clearly chanted in unison the slogan, "Amnesty NOW! Full Rights for All Immigrants!" The demand reverberated among millions. Since that day, politicians, community leaders, and everything in between have been unable and unwilling to approach anything close to the strike's slogan.
Over a decade later, as beautiful children are locked in infected cages and fascistic ICE raids terrorize our communities, the leadership of this country continues to either demonize hardworking people and pretend they don't exist or are waiting for others to resolve the issue. In supposedly progressive cities and states, lives of undocumented people are acknowledged and thanked but nothing more. It is asked, "What about people who are undocumented?" YES! What about them?!
There are not enough "Go Fund Me" pages, mutual-aid listservs, and non-profits for the over 11 million undocumented people, of whom 9 percent are in California's workforce. All the support being offered by well-meaning people should be appreciated, but it doesn't replace the crucial need for swift acknowledgement of worker and human rights. With legal status, undocumented people — our people, fearless and courageous people — can advocate for themselves and their families without needing to ask for help first.
Undocumented people don't depend on charity, they depend on their work. It is their labor resulting in calloused hands, bent backs, and sore bodies that has lifted their families and this nation. So much so, that every year, undocumented immigrants pay $11 billion in local and state taxes, and yet are denied the benefits of those taxes, such as unemployment or social security, when in need. They contribute $13 billion to retirement accounts, the same accounts sustaining the most vulnerable population during this pandemic. It is their sweat that is putting food on the table for every single household because at least 50 percent of the agricultural workforce is undocumented.
Now, as the virus shreds the already weak U.S. capitalist economy, our people have nothing left to make money and it's inhumane to expect them to extend out these same hands to receive scraps. As the government is handing over trillions to the banks and corporations, there absolutely must be money for unemployment and services for all workers who reside in this country.
The tree has fallen and the monumental tragedy is that people heard it, see it, and acknowledge it but are simply stepping over it.
Start of a conversation
The humanitarian crisis for undocumented people is about to explode. This is a start of a conversation so that we are prepared to give our voice, resources and privilege to the coming fight. As a starting point, here are some action steps to be taken immediately:
Declare an immediate humanitarian crisis for undocumented immigrants!
Grant full rights and benefits to the undocumented that other workers are entitled to or should be receiving in this COVID19 crisis, including free health care, unemployment, the federal relief checks being sent to all adults and their children, housing that is being demanded for all homeless and under-housed people. [See the PSL's full demands here.]
Seek support from all humanitarian agencies, national and international, to create the infrastructure to provide emergency temporary shelter and social welfare programs.
As housing and shelter is being set up, temporary access should be granted for vehicles of undocumented immigrants to park overnight in country, state and national parks.
Cease all ICE proceedings and procedures related to deportation and incarceration of undocumented immigrants.
Immediate legalization process! The last meaningful legalization passed by Congress was in 1986, 34 years ago! There must be full recognition of the critical importance of labor done by immigrants, especially in the midst of this crisis. Just one example is the massive food production that the whole population depends on.
Release all people, especially children, from ICE detention centers. Stop the terrorizing police treatment of our brothers and sisters.
Grant union rights and membership to all undocumented immigrants considered "essential workers."
Immediately raise the salaries and improve working conditions to match COVID19 health recommendations for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented farm workers.
Bail out the people, Not Wall Street!
More importantly, all the listed demands should make it clear that these do not substitute for the need for "Amnesty and Full Immigrant Rights for All!" Much more will be needed. Be ready.
Posted in USA, Health, Human RightsComments Off on Humanitarian crisis brewing for undocumented people
وباء كورونا …وشبح الشيوعية
Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem,Sr
عية
الدعاية والتثقيف
د. عادل سمارة
هذا ما خطر لي حين تابعت كيف تصرفت الصين لمحاصرة هذا الوباء.فبناء على عدد السكان كان التخوُّف أنها ستعاني أكبر كارثة في التاريخ.عولجت الأزمة بهدوء ودون استعراضات مريضة:
• استعراض هولييود المبدع في الكذب
• واستعراض التخلص من البشر كما تقطيع وتذويب خاشقجي
• واستعراض الكيان بأن كل البشر كائنات دنيئة وهم من معدن ذهبي، لذا يُمسكون أموال العالم.
هنا يبرز الفارق بين الدعاية والتثقيف. ورغم انهما تناقضهما إلا أن هوامشهما تتداخل أحيانا، ولكن دون تحول إحدهما للآخر. ولذا يتصارعان على إعادة التثقيف، فالدعاية تحاول تحويل البشر إلى بضائع وغيلان استهلاك، والثقافة تقاتل لإبقائهم بشرا واعين. فإعادة التثقيف هو ميدان صراع.
ليس هذا التقوُّل من جانبي لتمييز دماغ بشري عن آخر، ولا طينة الجسم، بل للتمييز بين نظام فكري نظري وآخر، اي التمييز بين الجريمة المموهة وبين الإنسانية المتواضعة.
دعونا نقارن:
الرأسمالية خلقت الاستعمار والشعوب الفقيرة خلقت المقاومة وحرب الغُوار
الرأسمالية خلقت الاستيطان الرأسمالي الأبيض الذي اباد شعوبا باكملها والشعوب الفقيرة دافعت ما استطاعت كما تفعل فلسطين.
الراسمالية الأمريكية صنعت القنبلة النووية لإبادة من لا يمنحها سوقه وثروته وضربت بها اليايان، والاتحاد السوفييتي أرسل أول رائد فضاء يوري جاجارين
ثم صنع النووي ليحمي نفسه والعالم من الغرب بالردع.
الراسمالية وضعت اتفاقية بريتون وودز لهيمنة الدولار والبنك والصندوق الدوليين، وستالين وحده الذي رفض الانضمام.
حاول الكوريون الاستقلال وتطبيق الاشتراكية، فردت أمريكا بعدوان أفنى الملايين
حاول الفيتناميون التحرر فردت امريكا بحرب أخرى أفنت الملايين.
الاستقلال كلف الجزائر مليون شهيد قتلتهم فرنسا الجميلة.
قال كاسترو:الناس في كوبا تموت من الهرم وليس من المرض، بينما ترامب/و يحاول احتكار علاج الكورونا ليبيعه باعلى سعر فيموت من لا يملك ثمن العلاج وبوريس جونسون يقول لشعبه:توقعوا موت احبائكم.
ارسلت كوبا الصغيرة أطباء إلى إفريقيا باكثر من كل العالم لمواجهة وباء إيبولا.
ركزت الصين منذ ماو تسي تونغ على الإنتاج لكفاية نفسها والعالم بينما غادرت امريكا الإنتاج باتجاه المضاربات .
واليوم تتهاوى البورصات لأن اسهمها منتفخة ويلتهم الناس البضائع من الرفوف والشركات تتوقف عن الإنتاج بسبب كورونا، بينما الصين هادئة تاكل وتشرب وتتعافى.
أمريكا تستخدم نظرية مالثوس المجرم بقتل الشعب الإيراني بالعقوبات حيث تسرق ارصدة إيران، بينما الصين تساعد إيران المسلمة وحتى إيطاليا التي يحكمها يمين فاشي.
الصين 1500 مليون لديهم فوائض هائلة ولبنان بحجم مدينة صغيرة مشتبك مع لصوص المال الطائفي.
تريليونات الصين من اجل شفاء البشر وتريليونات مجرمي النفط لإبادة الوطن العربي.
الصين لم تبع اسلحة لأبناء سلمان وزايد وآل ثاني وثالث ورابع وعاشر، أما الغرب فيصنع الأسلحة خصيصا ضد اليمن وسوريا وليبيا وفلسطين وكل المحيط.
اخيراً، الدعاية هي غالباً لترويج بضائع تم اغتصابها من جهد العمال بينما الثقافة هي لتوعية العمال بأن يحرروا جهدهم كي يتمتعوا بما أنتجوا.
عزيزي القارىء: إذا فكرت جيداً في هذا، فاعلم بأن هذا التحدي للبشرية هو استعادة لشبح الشيوعية كي تحرر البشر من راس المال. وبهذا يتجدد أمل ماركس عام 1848 حينما كتب "إن شبح الشيوعية يحوم في سماء أوروبا" تفاؤلاً بثورات تم قمعها وقمع غيرها، لكن البشرية لا تخنع. وبات عليها سحق أكاذيب أن الشيوعية ضد الأديان والقوميات.
أعتقد أن ذهن ونفسية الناس اليوم متفتحة كي تسمع الثقافة وليس الدعاية ومن هنا أهمية الحوار والكتابة.
أخيراً: إذا كان الأثرياء ضد الاشتراكية لأنهم بالمال يشترون الكثير، "قيمتهم" مُستمدة مما لديهم من مال منهوب من جهد المنتجين، وليس من كفائتهم الثقافية والأخلاقية والإنتاجية، وإذا كان السياسيون يمتطون المال والأديان لتبرير وتثيبت مواقعهم مدعومين بقوى الدين السياسي والطابور السادس الثقافي، فما على الطبقات الشعبية سوى الثورة من أجل الاشتراكية.
ملاحظة: كل هذا التفوق في الصين وهي شبه اشتراكية، فادفعوها واندفعوا معها لاشتراكية أعمق وأفضل.7
Posted in Arabic, China, HealthComments Off on وباء كورونا …وشبح الشيوعية
Arrest the virus, free the prisoners!
By Steven Powers
We cannot allow the capitalist ruling class to turn a blind eye to the plight of the incarcerated population — not in general, nor in the particular circumstance of the global pandemic of Covid-19. In the U.S., there are 2.3 million human beings in state, federal, and county jails and more than 52,000 in immigrant detainment camps. Around the country, organizations and coalitions are calling for the immediate release of incarcerated people who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and La Riva/Peltier election campaign raise these demands as well.
Corona virus and prisons, jails, and ICE detention
It is impossible to quarantine in the context of incarceration. Every prison, jail, juvenile facility, and immigrant detention center will become an incubator of the deadly corona virus. Social distancing is physically impossible in lower security facilities. Inmates are in gate group cells usually made up of four to five 50-person cells. Even as big as 100-person dormitories exist in other facilities. In higher-security prisons, a facility-wide lock-down entails a 24-hour confinement in one's cell. This of course would mitigate recreation time in the yard as well as congregating in the prison cafeteria. Yet serving meals to locked-up inmates could still spread the virus. All regular cell searches put inmates in contact with correctional officers who are already bringing the virus into work from outside contacts.
Jails are already compromised in dozens of counties. Jails hold all people who are either awaiting trial or for transfer to a prison. Since jails are filled and overcrowded with people abducted from their communities, there are almost certainly more people carrying the virus than the few cases documented. Few COVID-19 test kits are available to gauge the real numbers.
Similarly, immigrant detention centers are group encampments already suffering from heap-like conditions, and detainees cannot be given adequate physical distance. Because of overcrowding and a lack of physical institutions, immigrant detainees are regularly rerouted to jails where many infections have already been documented. Immigrants are denied due-process rights and are jailed for coming to the U.S. seeking work or refuge.
Size and scope of the problem
In some cases, such as the infamous Rikers Island Jail in New York City, as many as 21 inmates and 17 correctional officers have already tested positive for the corona virus as of March 20, with already one death of an investigator. Urgent action is necessary. Presumably, every incarcerated person will be transferred to upstate New York prison facilities pending trial, compromising state prisons more pervasively. This is true everywhere people are bused en mass from the jails to the prisons.
In all cases, prisons, jails, and immigrant detention camps suffer the same inhumane and unsanitary conditions. Incarcerated people often lack access to regular running water, hot water, regular shower privileges, hand sanitizer (because they contain alcohol), and hand soap. An observation from formerly incarcerated people on the depictions of prisons in movies and TV shows is that they are shown to be clean. The reality is that mold is a common occurrence, and rodents, roaches and grime accompany the crumbling infrastructure of the country's repressive apparatus.
Already across New Jersey, hunger strikes have cropped up in three facilities holding immigrant detainees, for lack of cleaning measures and a shortage of soap.
Similarly, the food served in these facilities is criminally insufficient. Prisons tip-toe on the minimum threshold for legally required calories provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Incarcerated people often depend on family support for funds to buy candy, ramen noodles, and chips from commissary at massive markups. This plays no small part in the prevalence of chronic health conditions in prisons.
Most studies conclude that the incarcerated population is many more times likely to be victim to chronic health conditions such as asthma, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, sexually transmitted diseases, cancer or myocardial infarction.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 73 percent of prison inmates and 77 percent of jail inmates report chronic conditions at admission, and only 44 percent claim to be satisfied with the medical care compared to the care they received prior to incarceration: "Nearly half (48 percent) of prisoners and 43 percent of jail inmates reported that the health care received while incarcerated was better than or about the same as the care they received in the 12 months prior to admission."
One can conclude that the latter response is because the inmates were not previously receiving health care outside.
Wardens and correctional officers in a pigpen scramble
Around the country, health care workers, lawyers, prisoner rights activists, abolition groups, and even some corrections boards have called for the urgent release of inmates considered high risk.
Earlier this week Los Angeles County began releasing hundreds of low-level inmates to reduce the possibility of infection, and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said his city was considering similar measures. A decisive factor in this decision is not so much the moral uprightness of the authorities in control. Rather, corrections officers are calling in sick at much higher rates, and medical wings of the facilities are understaffed, under-resourced and over-burdened. Ohio corrections initiated a similar pressure-valve type of release. The United States repressive apparatus is cracking at the seams with this contradiction. Corrections associations and inmates alike are citing the inevitability of rebellion as the times get tougher.
The real possibility of losing control of the prisons looms over the heads of prison administrations everywhere. Robert Hood, a former warden of Colorado's "Supermax" federal penitentiary, told ABC news: "All of the sudden the guys that are the best inmates, the 50% to 60% who are in for drug-related, non-violent offenses, the guys in the dormitories — not the lockdown guys — all of a sudden they're at the most risk. What would I do if I was an inmate in a dormitory? I'd go smack someone in the head — and I mean that. I'd want to go on lockdown, because then I'd be a little better off."
The call for release of at-risk prisoners is not consistent across the country. In fact, there may be a monetary incentive to keep them incarcerated. New York Governor Cuomo boasted that prisoner-made hand sanitizer was a superior product to anything else on the market. At a press conference, Cuomo gleefully announced, "Open the curtain please!" to show a line of New York State hand sanitizers created by CorCraft, which uses prison labor at 16 cents to $1.14 an hour. He then applied the CorCraft company hand sanitizer to describe it having the scent of a floral bouquet. In short, Cuomo sees the crisis as an opportunity to extract super profits from prison labor.
What is more, the "Pandemic Influenza Surge Plan for Managing In- and out-of-Hospital Deaths," published by the New York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office in 2008, explains that the city's Department of Corrections manages a mass grave site on Hart Island for people unable to afford burials. This grave site is currently worked by prisoners, and has been for the last 150 years. Thus, instead of a compassionate release on a massive scale of incarcerated human beings, the city plans to force prisoners to bury potentially massive numbers of people, including their own imprisoned brothers and sisters, in the event of mass deaths due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis always comes to the prison; prisons are the crisis
A major contradiction has become clear one week into the corona virus pandemic: Capitalism is not capable of handling a global crisis. In the United States, this is particularly acute. The lack of access to health care, the 40 percent of the U.S. population that has only an average of $400 in personal savings, the millions who face layoffs and shutdowns, the massive homeless population amid the glut of empty houses and luxury condos, the vast food deserts, and the lack of a sufficient social safety net are now everywhere on display in their most brutal forms. Seldom remembered are the lives of 2.3 million people brutally incarcerated in America's prisons and their families who also suffer from the imprisonment.
Every experienced prisoner-rights and abolition organizer knows that each time a hurricane approaches the United States the race is on to urge wardens and corrections boards to evacuate the prisons. In one particularly terrifying case, the inmates of Orleans Parish Prison were left to drown as Katrina swept in and guards abandoned the prison without opening the cells. Inmates were stranded neck deep in sewage water without food or drinking water for nearly a week. Some 517 of these incarcerated people are still unaccounted for.
How many hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, influenza, and pandemics will have to devastate the incarcerated population before decisive action towards a better future is taken? Some theories refer to the U.S. government as a "carceral state," a state that funnels its problems into incarceration measures. Crime rates in this country don't match incarceration rates nearly as much as with unemployment, homelessness, and poverty rates. In short, the carceral state is the capitalist state, which exists to manage the affairs of a shrinking but wealthier ownership class amid a colossal working class (employed, unemployed, homeless, or incarcerated) scrounging to get by. One of the capitalist state's greatest weapons in its racist class war has been the prisons.
The urgent action of early and compassionate release of prisoners with the COVID-19 crisis has already taken place in other parts of the world: Iran released one-third of its total prison population in response to the exigencies produced by the virus, some 85,000 temporarily freed people.
In the name of humanity
The 10-point program of the Gloria La Riva and Leonard Peltier presidential campaign addresses economic and social crises with radical solutions. Three points of the 10-point program are here especially relevant:
★ 3 | End racism, police brutality, mass incarceration — Pay reparations to the African American and Native communities.
Mass incarceration and racist policing are symptomatic of the 400 years of brutal repression meted out to African-descended peoples in the U.S. and the genocide committed against the Native nations. Reparations must be paid to the African American and Native communities! More than 2.2 million people are behind bars in the largest prison complex in the world. End mass incarceration of oppressed and working-class people. Fully prosecute all acts of police brutality and violence. Free Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners!
Adding to this demand in light of COVID-19, we call for the compassionate release of all elderly prisoners and those with chronic health conditions. The population of prisoners age 55 over has increased 400 percent in the last 20 years. For those who remain in the prison system, we demand radical reforms focused on humanizing the conditions, including paying prisoners at least minimum wage for their labor, stopping punitive punishment like isolation cells and extraction teams, and expanding educational and rehabilitation programs.
The immediate release of all pre-trial detainees, who can return to court after they're reopened after the crises, and immediate freeing of those with release dates in 2020 and 2021. There are as many as 612,000 people in local jails who are not convicted — that is, they are legally innocent. Only 32,000 of this population are considered violent, yet many deemed violent by the capitalist state only have enhanced statuses because of poor representation in the courts and, for many African American inmates, wrongful convictions. There are of course exceptions to the issue of general release, but they can be reviewed by peer boards not traditionally in the hands of the repressive state apparatus.
The immediate release of all youth prisoners (46,000) to return to their families or safe homes with guidance counselors to help in true rehabilitation.
At a federal level the majority of incarcerated people are in for public order (the preferred term to victimless crime) and property crimes. In almost all cases, these people could now be released from their 40- to 50-year sentences.
State Prisons make up the majority of incarcerated people, and similar to the other categories: public order, DUI, (racist) drug crimes, property crimes make up the vast majority. Almost 100 percent of these inmates should be freed.
Freedom for all people incarcerated on parole or probation violation (often failures to check in), for petty marijuana or alcohol consumption, "police contact," or failure to pay for ankle monitors or restitution. In addition, freed prisoners need sufficient funds to be able to find housing and income until they are employed. Free education should also be offered as well as job training.
★ 4 | Full rights for all immigrants
Abolish all anti-immigrant laws. Stop the raids and deportations and demonization of immigrants. Shut down ICE and the concentration camps and reunite families. The government's war on immigrants must end. The border wall must be dismantled. Amnesty and citizenship for those without documents. Full rights for all!
All 61,000 immigrant detainees should be free. As the immigrant detainees have said in the New Jersey hunger strike, "If we have to die, we would rather die out there than in here!" This would entail not only closing all ICE camps and disbanding ICE but also releasing immigrant detainees who have been placed in local jails as overflow.
★ 10 | Take over the stolen wealth of the giant banks and corporations — Jail Wall Street criminals
The vast wealth of the giant banks and corporations is created by workers' labor and the exploitation of the world's diminishing natural resources. The billionaires looted and destroyed the economy. It is time to seize their assets and use those resources in the interests of the vast majority. Power must be taken out of the hands of the super rich, and Wall Street criminals must be jailed.
Point 10 in the La Riva Program stands out in the context of $1.5 trillion stock market bailouts in response to the crisis. The billionaires have certainly shown solidarity with their own class. So much pain and death could be avoided if they were not the ruling class. If anyone belongs in jail, it is the bankers and the gangsters in the Pentagon and the White House.
Prisoner self-determination
We cannot hope to divine a new society on the basis of our imaginations alone. We can, however, say that the rest of the world operates with a fraction of our prison population. While the freedom of say 80 percent of the U.S. prison population would seem magical in its scope, it would still leave 500,000. That would place the U.S. fourth in total people incarcerated. The U.S. would still be in the running for the highest incarceration rate per capita.
Because the media pounds away at the population with such negative coverage of prisoners — diverting attention from the real capitalist criminals — the idea of many people being freed from the prisons, jails, and immigrant detainment centers could cause a negative reaction. But liberation is nothing to fear. What is truly scary is the idea that this racist mass incarceration system could be one large mass grave in the context of a global pandemic.
Posted in USA, Health, Human RightsComments Off on Arrest the virus, free the prisoners!
10 prisoners at Raymond Nazi detention Camp are going on strike
By:Sammi Ibrahem,Sr
Nazi Occupied Palestine: Ten prisoners in "Raymond" Nazi Camp, today, Sunday, launched an open-ended hunger strike, in protest at the conditions in the Camp sections and the prisoners live in these days.
The Radio of the Prisoners Radio quoted the director of the Prisoners Club, Abdel-Al Al-Anani, as saying that 10 of the Raymond Nazi Camp prisoners had started a hunger strike, refusing to continue isolating the two prisoners "Omar Kharwat and Hatem Al-Qawasmeh."
The strike step comes as a rejection of the prison administration procedures that it imposed on the prisoners recently, and its continuation. The Occupation Prison Administration refused to release the prisoners whose sentences had expired or were about to end.
The Ofer Nazi Camp administration also transferred the nine prisoners who had been quarantined, who had been in contact with the editor, who was infected with the Corona virus, Noureddine Sarsour, without taking samples from them.
Prisoners in the occupation prisons face dramatic circumstances that multiply in light of fears of the spread of Corona virus infection.
Posted in Palestine Affairs, ZIO-NAZI, HealthComments Off on 10 prisoners at Raymond Nazi detention Camp are going on strike
USA: Analysis! $ trillion package
Congress just passed a $2 trillion bailout package (which is really $6 trillion when you include the Federal Reserve's intervention!), most of which will go to the biggest banks and corporations. While it has some relief measures for the working class, it constitutes the greatest redistribution of wealth in modern history from the people to the already rich and powerful. The working class must and will find the means to fight back. The capitalist system and its government have demonstrated their absolute and utter bankruptcy in their handling of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Be sure to check out this informative interview on the radio show Loud & Clear featuring Marxist scholar and journalist Vijay Prashad on the model set by the Indian state of Kerala as an example of a humane, people-first approach to the crisis.
Posted in USAComments Off on USA: Analysis! $ trillion package
An American diplomat: "Corona" is a time bomb that will strike countries including Lebanon
By: Sammi Ibrahem,Sr
Former US Ambassador to Bahrain Adam Erel, who previously served as deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, said that if the world thinks that New York City has a real problem in tackling the new Corona virus, or what is known as "Covid-19," let them wait until they see. Other regions.
This came in a tweet of the former ambassador, on his Twitter account: "If you think New York has a problem, just wait until Covid (the new Corona virus) hits millions of displaced people and refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Kenya and Gaza."
The former ambassador continued in the same tweet, describing those countries and regions as the most populated area, "population density on the ground and social separation is impossible and suffers from failure of sterilization and health care efforts at the lowest levels … a time bomb."
Earl's tweet came in a comment on a tweet from the New York Red Cross Committee, in which it said: "Victory over the pandemic lies only when countries, means and resources come together to contain and combat the spread of the virus … This is the only way forward."
Posted in Middle East, USA, C.I.A, Health, LebanonComments Off on An American diplomat: "Corona" is a time bomb that will strike countries including Lebanon
Putting Profits Before Workers' Safety: Inside Amazon During the COVID-19 Crisis
by MATT SMITH
Photograph Source: Fibonacci Blue – CC BY 2.0
As coronavirus continues to spread and much of the country is locking down, Amazon has been ramping up. With more people staying home, delivery is becoming more important than ever, and more lucrative. Demand is soaring for deliveries on everyday necessities, everything from toilet paper to powdered milk.
All these deliveries require an army of workers—drivers, handlers, sorters, and more—at the company's vast network of fulfillment and delivery centers. I am part of that army, a contracted cargo handler at an Amazon delivery station outside of Seattle, near the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
While so many in the working class suffer an untold cost from coronavirus-related wage losses and layoffs, those of us still working bear the brunt in other ways. My coworkers and I are working harder than ever, putting our health on the line to provide an important service to our quarantined neighbors. But the executives and the billionaires at Amazon and its contractors are unfortunately not taking basic steps to protect our health and the health of the public, despite what their PR departments might say.
Unhealthy Conditions at Amazon
The Amazon delivery network is a potential hotbed for coronavirus spread. While health officials advise against meetings of 10 or more people, Amazon warehouses have 100, 500, or even 1500 employees working in a single location. From these warehouses, drivers and cargo handlers like me are dispatched all over the region, entering thousands of apartment buildings, businesses, and residences to deliver packages.
Despite this clear potential for danger, Amazon has not taken many simple precautions to prevent an outbreak. For example, neither Amazon nor our contractor has provided basic supplies like hand sanitizer for our trucks, to disinfect between deliveries, in spite of repeated requests from workers.
At our delivery station, we have also not seen any increase in our paid sick leave to account for the virus threat. Many of our coworkers would face a difficult choice if they experienced symptoms of coronavirus: go to work and risk infecting your coworkers, or miss as many as 5 days of pay (the time it can take to get tested for COVID-19 and receive the results). In the context of high rents, low wages, and no support for paid leave, many of them will be forced to take the risk and come to work.
On top of this, there has been remarkably little communication from Amazon management about precautions and procedures, including the question of what happens if one of our coworkers were to test positive for COVID-19. This question has become even more urgent, after an Amazon associate recently tested positive at a delivery station in New York City and five tested positive at a warehouse in Spain. In New York, employees say that it was co-workers—not Amazon management—that informed them of the positive test result, and that workers were asked to come in for their shift after the case was discovered. Amazon should communicate clearly with its employees and contractors about this threat, and they should immediately shut down any facility where a positive coronavirus case is found, with full pay for all affected workers.
These problems are not isolated to Seattle and New York. My Amazon coworkers have been increasingly trying to sound the alarm at warehouses around the country—but often anonymously, for fear of retaliation.
Workers and Community Members Need to Fight Back
Urgent action is needed, for workers like me who are being put into increasing danger, and for workers who are losing incomes because they are forced to stay home without paid leave or have been laid off.
The bosses of huge corporations like Amazon appear to have no intention of fixing these problems on their own, despite having the money necessary to do so, out of concern for their profits. Neither do the Democratic and Republican political establishments, which have failed to address the needs of working people even in normal times. To solve this crisis, workers will need to organize and demand change, whether for immediate cash assistance, guaranteed paid sick leave, safe working conditions, or Medicare for All.
In Seattle, socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant is fighting for a $500 million tax on big corporations like Amazon to fund immediate relief for working people. Workers, socialists, labor unions, and activists will need to join in this fight if we want to win.
In another important step, over 1,500 Amazon employees from around the world have signed a public petition calling for action from the company. In addition to urgent safety precautions, the petition correctly calls for Amazon to institute 1.5x hazard pay for all of us who are risking our health to do this work.
Deeper Problems Exposed
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing the bankruptcy of capitalism. Corporations like Amazon put profits over the health of their workers and the community. When workplace problems arise, employees have little to no recourse through regular corporate structures, where unresponsive bosses have a monopoly on decision-making.
This system, which was already failing the vast majority of working people even before the coronavirus outbreak, has shown its complete inability to deal with the global pandemic as well as the rapidly emerging climate crisis. The model of siphoning off unimaginable wealth to the top, while even the most essential social needs like healthcare are starved, is not working. We urgently need a single-payer Medicare for All system, where the profits of insurance and big pharma are de-prioritized, so that the health needs of ordinary people can be met. Workers will need to get organized and build mass movements to win this kind of change.
But that will not be enough. Ultimately, unless entire sectors like healthcare and energy and housing, and large corporations like Amazon, are taken into democratic public ownership, crises such as coronavirus and climate change will not be addressed. Instead of allowing massive layoffs and bailing out big corporations like Boeing, we need to take the major corporations into our own hands as workers and democratically run them ourselves.
Posted in Human RightsComments Off on Putting Profits Before Workers' Safety: Inside Amazon During the COVID-19 Crisis
The Nazi occupation forces arrest two Palestinian youths, east of Jerusalem
Nazi Occupied Jerusalem: This morning, the Nazi Occupation Forces arrested two Palestinian youth, after they raided their homes east of occupied Jerusalem.
The Quds News correspondent reported that forces from the Nazi occupation army stormed several neighborhoods in the towns of Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, and Al-Sawahrah, east of the city.
He added that the occupation forces arrested the two young men, Ahmad Al-Khatib and Hassan Abu Al-Rish, after they raided and searched their homes in Al-Eizariya.
During the storming and withdrawal, confrontations broke out between the youths and the occupation forces, who fired sound and gas bombs at the place.
In Issawiya, the occupation forces launched a campaign of arrests in the village north-east of Nazi occupied Jerusalem yesterday, and arrested each of: Fadi Abu Al-Homs, Noor Muhaisen, Hussam Alyan, Muhammad Musa Mustafa, Majd Derbas, and David Derbas from the neighborhood of the martyr Muhammad Obaid.
The Nazi occupation forces stormed the village of Al-Issawiya throughout the day and spread among its neighborhoods claiming that the residents did not adhere to the house quarantine.
However, Palestinians in the village say that the forces storming the neighborhoods in large numbers during the day cause them to fear the transmission of the Corona virus infection to them due to the high injuries in the ranks of the occupation forces.
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Prisoners Authority: Injury of the released prisoner Noureddine Sarsour, "Corona"
Nazi occupied Ramallah: According to the Prisoners and Editors Affairs Authority, the results of the tests conducted by the freed prisoner, Noureddine Sarsour, showed that he was infected with the Corona virus.
And the commission stated that Nour Al-Din is from Petunia, west of Ramallah, and he was released from the Ofer Nazi Camp on Tuesday, and spent all his detention, in the "14" section, and the Benjamin Gestapo Investigation Center.
Posted in Palestine Affairs, ZIO-NAZI, Human RightsComments Off on The Nazi occupation forces arrest two Palestinian youths, east of Jerusalem
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Nevada Sunrise Announces New Hearing Date for Nevada Water Right and Stock Option Grants
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2019) - Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation (TSXV: NEV) ("Nevada Sunrise" or the "Company") announced today that the administrative hearing on the question of forfeiture of the Company's Clayton Valley water right (the "Hearing") that was originally scheduled for April 1, 2019, has been rescheduled. The date of the Hearing was reset due to the appointment by the State of Nevada of a new hearing officer, thereby allowing the new appointee additional time to review the case and to hear certain preliminary motions on the matter.
At the Hearing, Nevada Sunrise intends to vigorously defend its water right Permit 44411 (the "Permit") located in the Clayton Valley basin against the claims of non-use alleged by Albemarle Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA ("Albemarle") (NYSE: ALB), and present arguments that the State Engineer did not provide the required notice prior to declaring the Permit forfeited in November 2016.
Members of the public are invited to attend the Hearing, which is now scheduled for 8:30 AM (Pacific Time) on July 15-19, 2019 and on July 22-26, 2019 at the offices of the Nevada Division of Water Resources (the "NDWR"), Tahoe Hearing Room, 901 South Stewart, Second Floor, Carson City, Nevada.
About the Permit
Nevada Sunrise acquired the Permit, which allows for 1,770 acre-feet of water use for mining and milling per year, from an arms-length vendor (the "Vendor") prior to commencing exploration for lithium brines in the Clayton Valley. In December 2015, Nevada Sunrise received a written appraisal from an independent appraiser certified in the State of Nevada valuing the Permit at US$1.42 million. According to the appraisal report, the Clayton Valley basin is currently "over-appropriated" and that any new applications to appropriate water in an over-appropriated basin would be carefully reviewed by the NDWR. Consistent with the conclusions of the appraisal report, with the exception of one application to appropriate 50 acre-feet annually for a five-year period, all applications for new water rights allocations made in the past two years by other junior lithium explorers in the Clayton Valley have been denied by the NDWR.
Nevada Sunrise exercised its option for acquisition of the Permit by executing a definitive purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with the Vendor (see Nevada Sunrise news release dated March 20, 2016). As consideration for its purchase of the Permit, to date Nevada Sunrise has paid to the Vendor US$397,500 in cash by installments toward an agreed purchase price of US$1.3 million, and has issued 1,100,000 common shares (of an agreed 2.0 million shares to be issued over a 5-year period) and a series of common share purchase warrants exercisable over a 5-year period. The common shares and unexpired warrants issued by the Company are currently being held in trust for the Vendor until all legal challenges to the validity of the Permit have ceased. Should the Permit ultimately be forfeited, in accordance with subsequent amendments to the Agreement, the Vendor has agreed to forego all of the issued common shares and unexpired warrants and return US$322,500 of cash payments made by the Company.
In June 2016, Albemarle filed a motion with the NDWR to forfeit the Permit held by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Intor Resources Corp. ("Intor"). Albemarle argued that the Permit was automatically forfeited by claiming that it had not been used for a five-year period. Albemarle, the world's largest producer of lithium chemical products, currently operates the only producing lithium mine in the United States at Silver Peak, Nevada, in the northern Clayton Valley.
Intor opposed Albemarle's forfeiture motion, and requested a hearing to present evidence to defend its Permit. Intor argued that the State Engineer must first provide a notice prior to initiating forfeiture proceedings. However, the State Engineer did not give Intor the benefit of a hearing, and on November 30, 2016, granted Albemarle's motion and issued the ruling forfeiting the Permit. Since the NDWR ruling, Intor has methodically gathered evidence of historical water use in order to defend the validity of the Permit. Intor's appeal was heard by the Fifth Judicial District Court of Nevada (the "Court") in April and May of 2018, after which the Court ordered that the forfeiture ruling be vacated and the matter remanded for the Hearing.
Nevada Sunrise also announced today that it has granted a total of 675,000 stock options to directors, officers and consultants of the Company, exercisable at a price of $0.09 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant. The options have been granted in accordance with the Company's stock option plan.
About Nevada Sunrise
Nevada Sunrise is a junior mineral exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in gold, cobalt, copper and lithium exploration projects located in the State of Nevada, USA.
The Company's key gold asset is a 21% interest in a joint venture with Liberty Gold Inc. at the Kinsley Mountain Project ("Kinsley Mountain") near Wendover, with the property subject to a 3.0% net smelter returns royalty. For further information on Kinsley Mountain, including a technical report compliant with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects entitled "Updated Technical Report and Estimated Minerals Resources for the Kinsley Project" (the "Report"), effective October 15, 2015. The Report dated December 16, 2015 was subsequently filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at http://www.sedar.com.
Nevada Sunrise has the right to earn a 100% interest in the historic Lovelock Cobalt Mine and Treasure Box copper properties, located approximately 150 kilometers (100 miles) east of Reno, both of which are currently under option to Global Energy Metals Corp., who can earn up to an 85% participating interest from the Company. In September 2018, Nevada Sunrise acquired the right to earn a 100% interest in the Coronado VMS Project, located in Pershing County, approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Winnemucca, which was recently the subject of a diamond drilling program by the Company (see Nevada Sunrise news release dated January 10, 2019).
Nevada Sunrise owns 100% interests in the Neptune, Jackson Wash and Aquarius lithium projects, a 50% interest in the Gemini lithium project (Kore Mining Ltd., formerly Eureka Resources Inc., holds a 50% interest), and a 100% interest in the Atlantis lithium project, currently under option to American Lithium Corp., all of which are located in Esmeralda County.
Warren Stanyer, President and Chief Executive Officer
email: warrenstanyer@nevadasunrise.ca
All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation ("Nevada Sunrise") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements that address the potential acquisition of water rights, the potential restoration of its water rights,the potential results of the relocation of water rights, the potential value or importance of the Company's water rights for mining and milling in the Clayton Valley, future mineral production, reserve potential, potential results of exploration drilling, the future price of lithium, potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, potential size of a mineralized zone, potential expansion of mineralization, the timing and results of future resource estimates, or other study, proposed exploration and development of our exploration properties and the estimation of mineral resources. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Nevada Sunrise to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.
Such factors include, among others, risks related to the potential acquisition and/or transfer of water rights including challenges from third parties; that the result of the scheduled water rights hearing may not be successful, or if successful, the amount of water allowed for beneficial use may be reduced; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Three MonthsEnded December 31, 2018, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com
Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and accordingly are subject to change after such date. Except as otherwise indicated by Nevada Sunrise, these statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any dispositions, monetizations, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our operating environment. Nevada Sunrise does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included in this document, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. The Securities of Nevada Sunrise Gold Corporation have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to the account or benefit of any U.S. person.


Just Sax Repairs is a saxophone servicing business run by Erin Royer and fellow saxophonist Jesse Deane.
Erin and Jesse studied in the UK under one of the worlds leading saxophone repairman Steve Crow.
Erin and Jesse offer top quality repairs and aim to have every service completed within 5 working days.
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Part of Mechanic Street was shut down on Sunday morning while the Emporia Fire and Rescue squads conducted training maneuvers in a condemned house.
The house, located on the 900 block of Mechanic Street, is set to be razed soon. This presented an opportunity for the fire department to hold a training session in a residential setting versus the training tower at Fire Station No. 2.
A ladder stretched from one of the fire trucks into the third-story window of the house as firefighters and EMT's gathered for the training mission.
Gould said they could not actually start a fire in the structure due to regulations around training missions, but would use a smoke machine and other techniques to simulate smoke and low visibility.
The training is an opportunity for Emporia Fire and Rescue to stay up to date on skills and department protocol, and a chance for new people to learn how Emporia's emergency response teams work together.
"We have some newer people coming into the department, so this is a good way to reinforce policy and show the new people how we do things," Gould said.


text:
Alice Spawls (1)
Glen Newey (1)
James Hamilton-Paterson (1)
Jenny Turner (1)
Peter Campbell (1)
Sarah Rigby (1)
Amartya Sen (1)
Claudia Johnson (1)
Joanna Kavenna (1)
Joanna Trollope (1)
Peter Davidson (1)
At Tate Britain
Peter Campbell: Thomas Girtin
"... in English topographic art. Country Life recently asked its readers to nominate the best views in Britain. The top two, selected from the most popular nominees by a panel including Jeremy Paxman and JoannaTrollope, were Salisbury Cathedral from the water meadows – Constable taught us that one – and Buttermere, which we learned from Turner. Photographers have also put their mark on nature, using ..."
Making Lemonade
Sarah Rigby
The Best of Friends
by Joanna Trollope.
Bloomsbury, 261 pp., £15.99, March 1995, 0 7475 2000 3Show More
"... Critics don't think much of JoannaTrollope's novels. They call them inconsequential, petty and suburban. But that's beside the point, because as far as money and fame are concerned she's a phenomenal success. The critical reaction isn ..."
'Shop!'
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
by Kate Atkinson.
Black Swan, 382 pp., £6.99, January 1996, 0 552 99618 1Show More
"... Self is to Amis' or 'vivid, charming, but lacking in force'? What, page 100 reached, and nothing done? Nothing to say, except 'I am really enjoying myself'? Anyone who reads, let's say, JoannaTrollope will be able to read and enjoy Kate Atkinson. Her novel delivers to the populace its jokes and its tragedies as efficiently as Dickens once delivered his, though Atkinson has a game-plan ..."
I've Got Your Number (Written on the Back of my Hand)
by Nick Hornby.
Gollancz, 256 pp., £14.99, April 1995, 0 575 05748 3Show More
"... Whenever I read a novel which starts out with a break-up – and there have been a lot of them around lately, what with the last Margaret Atwood, and then the Michael Brace-well, and then the latest JoannaTrollope – I always riffle first through all the pages, to see what happens at the end. I did this with the new Nick Hornby, and I'm about to say what I discovered, so if you don't want a big ..."
Pleased to Be Loony
Alice Spawls: The Janeites
Jane Austen's Cults and Cultures
by Claudia Johnson.
Chicago, 224 pp., £22.50, June 2012, 978 0 226 40203 1Show More
"... shows no signs of waning: the TV series Lost in Austen is being made into a film (Nora Ephron worked on the script) and HarperCollins is publishing contemporary reworkings of the novels – JoannaTrollope has been signed up for Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen societies flourish around the world – the Germans and South Americans are particular fans – and, of course, on the internet. Some publish ..."
Bendy Rulers
Glen Newey: Amartya Sen
TheIdea of Justice
by Amartya Sen.
Allen Lane, 468 pp., £25, July 2009, 978 1 84614 147 8Show More
"... that Anna Karenina is the ideal novel; this knowledge doesn't put anyone in a position to appraise other, non-ideal books. Knowing that the Tolstoy is the ideal doesn't help in deciding whether a JoannaTrollope surpasses a Philip K. Dick in literary merit. And so, Sen concludes, with justice: we don't need a grasp of ideal justice to know how to act justly in the non-ideal world. Sen frames the ..."
Yearning for Polar Seas
James Hamilton-Paterson: North
The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule
by Joanna Kavenna.
Viking, 334 pp., £16.99, February 2005, 0 670 91395 2Show More
The Idea of North
by Peter Davidson.
Reaktion, 271 pp., £16.95, January 2005, 1 86189 230 6Show More
"... vendors and taking tea with governors. At some moment in my first decade my inner compass was irretrievably set. Like Auden, who was never not thinking of Iceland, I have never not faced the Orient. Joanna Kavenna's inner compass also seems to have been set early, but hers pointed north. Even as a child in Suffolk she loved the cold: 'Winters were never cold enough, even when the snows fell and ..."
The Uncommon Reader
Alan Bennett: A Story
"... the equerries came up with a list of suggestions. Though this meant that the Queen came away with a disproportionate notion of the popularity of Andy McNab and the near universal affection for JoannaTrollope, no matter; at least embarrassment had been avoided. And once the answers had been supplied the audiences were back on track and finished on the dot as they used to do, the only hold-ups ..."


My thoughts on data mining, machine learning, programming languages, open-source software and general nerdery.
Each quarter the UCLA Statistical Consulting Center hosts minicourses twice per week in R and LaTeX. Tonight was my turn to present.
I presented Advanced Graphics in R. This was the same presentation I gave at the LA R Users' Group in August will a fellow consultant. She and I had trouble coming together to make one presentation, so we shared our outlines, and we deemed her outline was deemed "Intermediate Graphics in R" with some ggplot, and mine was deemed "Advanced." It seems to work.
My slides are here, and the handout version is here. The corresponding code is here.
Math typesetting for R graphics.
Many think that "advanced" graphics would be lattice or ggplot. We chose to address those packages in their own minicourses.
use local variables and introduce them.
don't use function names as variable names (I violated this one here).
I learnt a lot, though I still think ggplot is a better fit for my simpler needs.
I must say, I'm VERY impressed! It makes me want to make a movie presentation too using R (although I might want to learn FIRST how to use graphics in R).
Really nice. And I never knew that some parameters could be customizable. I think I should keep a copy of the handout/s given on the discussion, as this will be important later on for my study.
Nice work there! Great discussion of the different things R can do. The handouts are pretty informative too (I downloaded it and read it).
I missed your presentation in the user's groupback in Agugust and I was glad to see your blog about the graphics R. I have been raring to learn more about this and use this as my tool. Your handout and slides would really help me in my study and I do hope that I won't have a hard time learning this.


Want to know what people are saying about us? Check out the testimonials from our customers!
Here are some comments from clients from the past. If you liked our party bus service, or have feedback from a recent reservation we would love to hear from you. Feel free to pass on comments using our contact form.
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text:
Weighing Benefits and Risks: Colorectal Cancer Screening in Older Adults
Current guidance from the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against screening patients older than 85 years for colorectal cancer.
Despite a decade-long decrease in incidences of colorectal cancer and associated mortality, colorectal cancer is still a significant concern in populations of older adults. Current trends in colorectal cancer indicate that 90% of new diagnoses are made in patients older than 50 years of age, with 42% of new cases occurring in patients older than 65 years.1
Current guidance from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)2 recommends against screening patients older than 85 years for colorectal cancer and remains uncertain about the benefits of screening those between 76 and 85 years.2 According to Joseph D. Feuerstein, MD, of the Division of Gastroenterology and the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues, although new colorectal cancer screening may not be appropriate at the population level, some patients may benefit from screening regardless of age.
In a review published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings,1 Dr Feuerstein and colleagues summarized the current literature on colorectal cancer screening and older adults.
To Screen or Not to Screen
"The decision to screen older adults for [colorectal cancer] is complex," the authors noted.1 "Although the current [USPSTF] guideline recommends against screening in patients older than 85 years, there are no data that the benefits of screening cease at any particular age alone as the only factor in consideration."1-3
In order to determine which patients may benefit from screening, physicians must balance the risk for cancer-related morbidity and mortality with the individual mortality risk related to "other competing health factors,"1 including conditions like congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, advanced dementia, and severe functional limitations in activities of daily living — all factors that may reduce life expectancy compared with healthy controls.1
Before proceeding with a screening-related course of action, patient life expectancy must be estimated. Tools such as ePrognosis can be used to aid in this prediction, in conjunction with cognitive and capacity assessments to ensure that patients are able to engage with shared decision-making.1
Overview of Available Screening Modalities
Currently, a number of tests are available to screen for colorectal cancer; however, most have not been validated in an elderly cohort. Available screening tests can be categorized into invasive and noninvasive modalities, the details of which are outlined below.
Colorectal Cancer Risk May Be Reduced With Postpolypectomy Surveillance
Processed Meat Linked to Colorectal Cancer Risk
Sociodemographic Factors Influenced Survival in Young Adults With Colorectal Cancer
Invasive Modalities
While colonoscopy is considered the standard for colon cancer screening, currently, no randomized controlled trials examining colonoscopy in an older population have been performed.1 The primary benefit associated with colonoscopy is the combination of screening with polyp removal into a single procedure; adequate polyp resection should mitigate colorectal cancer risk. Colonoscopy is cost effective, but there are a number of potential complications associated with the procedure, including the bowel preparation, the colonoscopy itself, and the use of sedation.1
Sigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy has primarily been studied in European populations. One trial — the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial — included 20,726 patients age 70-74, with results demonstrating a 20% reduction in colorectal cancer incidence and a 35% reduction in mortality.4 Prior to this procedure, adequate bowel preparation must be undertaken. Risks are typically less than with colonoscopy, but cardiovascular risks persist when sedation is required. Additionally, this procedure does not evaluate the right colon, meaning that some lesions may be missed.1
Capsule Colonoscopy
This procedure has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)5 for patients who have "undergone previous incomplete colonoscopies requiring proximal colon imaging"1 and for patients who are at a higher risk for colonoscopy or sedation. However, study of capsule colonoscopy is limited due to poor bowel preparations, and the procedure has not been studied in older adults. In the event that lesions are identified, patients may be required to undergo a second procedure. Risks include capsule aspiration, choking on the capsule, and developing a retained capsule due to narrowing in the gastrointestinal tract.1
Computed Tomographic Colonography
This imaging modality is associated with an 82% to 92% sensitivity for adenomas 1 cm or greater in size.5,6 Bowel preparation is required for this procedure, in which carbon dioxide insufflates the colon through a rectal catheter. The US Multi-Society Task Force (US-MSTF) recommends that physicians proceed with colonoscopy for patients with polyps larger than 6 mm.7 Although this procedure has been FDA approved for screening asymptomatic patients older than 50 years, it has not been evaluated specifically in a population of older adults. One study, focused on patients older than 65 years, found that older patients had poorer insufflation and demonstrated evidence of retained fluids in the colon compared with younger patients; no significant difference in polyp detection was noted between the 2 groups.6 Risks include exposure to radiation from the CT scan and possible perforation due to insufflation of air.1
Noninvasive Modalities
Before utilizing a noninvasive modality, physicians must assess for which modalities the patient is a reasonable candidate, and — importantly — must ensure that the patient is "willing to pursue colonoscopy if the result is positive."1 One risk associated with these types of procedures is the possibility of false positives, which would result in further invasive testing via colonoscopy.1
Fecal Occult Blood Test
Multiple studies including large samples of older adult patients (ages 70 to 80 years) have demonstrated a mortality benefit when using fecal occult blood test to screen.1 In fact, this method — specifically, annual or biennial testing — has been associated with a significant reduction in colorectal cancer incidence, likely due to the identification and removal of precursor lesions for colorectal cancer.8
One single fecal occult blood test, performed during a digital rectal examination, is "not adequate" for screening;1 serial tests must be performed. This test is associated with a high rate of false positives — 86% to 98%1 — and, as such, the US-MSTF recommends against its use, although the American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines acknowledge this test as acceptable.7,9 Because a positive test triggers further invasive testing, there is risk associated with performing fecal occult blood test as a method of colorectal cancer screening in older adults.1
Fecal immunochemical testing recommended by both the ACS and the US-MSTF guidelines due to improved sensitivity and specificity compared with fecal occult blood testing.7,9 One study that compared fecal immunochemical testing with multi-DNA stool testing in adults 50 to 84 years of age found that the sensitivity of fecal immunochemical testing "did not differ significantly according to age."1 Associated risks include the necessity of a follow-up colonoscopy in the face of positive findings.1
Stool DNA Testing
In 2014, multitarget stool DNA testing was compared with fecal immunochemical testing in 903 adults 75 and older (total N=9989).10 Researchers indicated a 92.3% sensitivity for detection of colorectal cancer compared with 73.8% sensitivity with fecal immunochemical testing.10 Sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions was 42.4% vs 23.8% for each modality, respectively.10 Despite these positive results, it is important to note that validity is limited due to the limited number of elderly participants. ACS guidelines do not recommend this test for patients older than 85.9 However, there is "significant appeal" associated with stool DNA testing, including its high sensitivity and its safety in administration. Patients who are not medically cleared for colonoscopy should not undergo stool DNA testing.1
Researchers have found that methylated septin 9 has been correlated with early colorectal cancer carcinogenesis, which can be detected in blood via real-time polymerase chain reaction.11 For neoplasia, specificity of 92% has been reported.12 Among elderly adults, this modality should be used cautiously as, the authors noted, the false positive rate increases with age.1 Septin 9 testing is not considered a confirmatory test, and positive results require follow-up with colonoscopy or other invasive diagnostic testing. Major gastroenterology societies do not recommend septin 9 testing.2
In addition to the risk for false positives, Dr Feuerstein and colleagues noted that a risk for false negatives also exists. Such scenarios can result in significant anxiety and distress for patients.1
Additional Risks: Bowel Preparation and Sedation
Although bowel preparation is necessary to provide accurate visualization and aid in cancer screening, risks are associated with the practice. For example, poor bowel preparation increases both procedural and anesthesia time. Older adults are more likely than younger patients to have poor bowel preparation, with one 2002 study finding that patients older than 80 years had lower colonoscopy completion rates.13
In addition to poor preparation, some preparations, including oral sodium phosphate and magnesium citrate, are associated with an increased risk for renal complications in older adults.14,15 Volume depletion, renal impairment, and electrolyte abnormalities are all potential risks. Split-dosing bowel preparations may result in increased falls and cognitive changes.
Researchers of one systematic review and meta-analysis16 reported that a cumulative gastrointestinal adverse event rate, including perforations, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cardiovascular and pulmonary events, of 26.0 per 1000 colonoscopies in patients older than 65 years. Among patients older than 80 years, the incidence rates for these cumulative gastrointestinal adverse events was 34.9 per 1000 colonoscopies, with octogenarians having a 70% greater risk for "experiencing a cumulative [gastrointestinal] adverse event" compared with younger patients.16
For patients requiring procedural sedation, studies have focused on the use of both a benzodiazepine and a narcotic agent. One study, for example,17 found that in a study population of 214 consecutive patients with a median age of 87 years, 35% required sedation with both midazolam and fentanyl. No procedure-related mortality was noted among this patient group. Another study,18 prospectively analyzed 2000 colonoscopies and found that 59% of the elderly group (n=1000, age 65 and older) required intravenous midazolam with a significantly lower median dose. In that study, investigators noted that endoscopic complication rates have been used to justify the use of "alternative colorectal imaging investigations," but data do not support this belief.18
Despite these data, The American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommends that in order to reduce the risk associated with anesthetic use in older adults, fewer sedative agents at lower doses should be used, and medications should be administered via a slower infusion rate.1 Propofol is also safe and effective in cohorts of older patients,19 and American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy recommendations suggest that a lowered dose be administered slowly in this patient population.
Deciding When to Cease Screening
Physicians should utilize a decision-making approach when deciding to either initiate, continue, or discontinue screening for colorectal cancer in older adults.1 These discussions should include risks associated with the screening test, risks associated with potential treatments if colorectal cancer was detected, and risks associated with colorectal cancer morbidity and mortality if detected and left untreated. Throughout these discussions, patient preferences should be thoroughly explored.1
Patients with a life expectancy of less than 10 years should consider stopping colorectal cancer screening — especially in patients with a significant comorbidity burden.1 Regardless of the decision, physicians should thoroughly document all discussion details.
"Although there is a balance been risk and benefit in colon cancer screening in the elderly, there is general consensus that an age cutoff is not that sole factor contributing to colon cancer screening decision making," Dr Feuerstein and colleagues concluded.1 "Balancing the risk and benefits of further screening in the older population should be between the provider and the patient, taking into account personal preferences, comorbidities, functional status, and life expectancy."1
Follow @Gastro_Advisor
1. Nee J, Chippendale RZ, JD Feuerstein. Screening for colon cancer in older adults: risks, benefits, and when to stop. Mayo Clin Proc. 2020;95(1):184-196.
2. US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for colorectal cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149(9):627-637.
3. Kahi CJ, Myers LJ, Slaven JE, et al. Lower endoscopy reduces colorectal cancer incidence in older individuals. Gastroenterology. 2014;146(3):718-725.
4. Schoen RE, Pinsky PF, Weissfeld JL, et al; for the PLCO Project Team. Colorectal-cancer incidence and mortality with screening flexible sigmoidoscopy. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(25):2345-2357.
5. Rex DK, Boland CR, Dominitz JA, et al. Colorectal cancer screening: Recommendations for physicians and patients from the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on colorectal cancer. Gastroetnerology. 2017;153(1):307-323.
6. Johnson CD, Herman BA, Chen MH, et al. The national CT colonography trial: assessment of accuracy in participants 65 years of age and older. Radiology. 2012;263(2):401-408.
7. Levin B, Liberman DA, McFarland B, et al; for the American Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Advisory Group, the US Multi-Society Task Force, and the American College of Radiology Colon Cancer Committee. Screening and surveillance for the early detection of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps, 2008: a joint guideline from the American Cancer Society, the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology. CA Cancer J Clin. 2008;58(3):130-160.
8. Mandel JS, Church TR, Bond JH, et al. The effect of fecal occult-blood screening on the incidence of colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2000;343(22):1603-1607.
9. Wolf AMD, Fontham ETH, Church TR, et al. Colorectal cancer screening for average-risk adults: 2018 guideline update from the American Cancer Society. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(4):250-281.
10. Imperiale TF, Ransohoff DF, Itzkowitz SH. Multitarget stool DNA testing for colorectal-cancer screening. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:187-188.
11. Lofton-Day C, Model F, Devos T, et al. DNA methylation biomarkers for blood-based colorectal cancer screening. Clin Chem. 2008;54(2):414-423.
12. Church TR, Wandell M, Lofton-Day C, et al; for the PRESEPT Clinical Study Steering Committee, Investigators, and Study Team. Prospective evaluation of methylated SEPT9 in plasma for detection of asymptomatic colorectal cancer. Gut. 2014;63(2):317-325.
13. Lukens FJ, Loeb DS, Machicao VI, Achem SR, Picco MF. Colonoscopy in octogenarians: a prospective outpatient study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2002;97(7):1722-1725.
14. Markowtiz GS, Stokes MB, Radhakrishnan J, D'Agati VD. Acute phosphate nephrology following oral sodium phosphate bowel purgative: an underrecognized cause of chronic renal failure. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2005;16(11):3389-3396.
15. Uchiyama C, Kato T, Tomida K, et al. Fatal hypermagnesemia induced by preoperative colon preparation in an elderly woman: report of a case. Clin J Gastroenterol. 2013;6(2):105-110.
16. Day LW, Kwon A, Inadomi JM, Walter LC, Somsouk M. Adverse events in older patients undergoing colonoscopy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Gastrointest Endosc. 2011;74(4)885-896.
17. Clarke GA, Jacobscon BC, Hammett RJ, Carr-Locke DL. The indications, utilization and safety of gastrointestinal endoscopy in an extremely elderly patient cohort. Endoscopy. 2001;33(7):580-584.
18. Karajeh MA, Sanders DS, Hurlstone DP. Colonoscopy in elderly people is a safe procedure with a high diagnostic yield: a prospective comparative study of 2000 patients. Endoscopy. 2006;38(3):226-230.
19. Heuss LT, Schnieper P, Drewe J, Pfimlin E, Beglinger C. Conscious sedation with propofol in elderly patients: a prospective evaluation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2003;17(12):1493-1501.
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All-nighters are rarely enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination, but can you get sick from being tired — and I mean, not just cranky and desperate to lay unmoving in bed for 12 hours, but physically ill? According to a recent study from the University of Washington, there's evidence that chronic exhaustion might actually influence how well your immune system functions, and unfortunately, not in a way that turns you into someone whose superpower is avoiding the sniffles.
In the study, published in the journal Sleep, researchers analyzed blood samples from 11 sets of identical twins who reported different sleep patterns. (Prior research has shown that sleep has a heavily genetic component, so using twins allowed researchers to control for the role of genetics in their findings.) Over the course of two weeks, participants wore wrist actigraphs measuring the duration of their sleep. At the end of the study, their blood samples were compared with their sibling's.
Here's where it gets interesting: Researchers found that the twin who slept less displayed signs of a depressed immune system. "Habitual short sleep was associated with up-regulation of genes involved in transcription, ribosome, translation and oxidative phosphorylation," they wrote. Additionally, and perhaps surprisingly, they also found that "genes down-regulated in short sleep twins were highly enriched in immuno-inflammatory pathways." In other words, chronic sleep deprivation appears to shut down the systems associated with immune response.
"Our study... provides a potential link between sleep deprivation and adverse metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory outcomes," researchers concluded.
Their findings are supported by prior research, which shows that sleep is important in regulating the functioning of the immune system; it follows that sleep deprivation would suppress this functioning. In fact, a 2012 European study found that severe deprivation elicits the same kind of reaction from the immune system as physical stress, particularly in terms of white blood cells. Furthermore, a different study that year found that sleep deprivation weakens a vaccine's effectiveness. Over time, this deprivation can wind up having serious health consequences.
It looks like sleep deprivation really can make you more vulnerable to illness. Luckily, the solution is super easy: get more sleep. Although it's tempting to forgo sleep when you're busy, it's a vital part of self-care, which is something we could all use lately. So next time you're tempted to let Netflix play itself out until long past a reasonable bedtime — it doesn't count as a marathon if the computer selects the next episode for you, right? — just shut off your laptop and let your dreams entertain you instead.


Mike Chisholm has worked across the country as a broadcast journalist and producer with CBC television and radio, CTV and as the national Atlantic correspondent for Global TV. He is a recipient of both a Jack Webster Journalism Award and an RTNDA award for his reporting. His focus with The Vancouver Observer is environmental and political reporting.
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