text:
Breaking with 28-year history, ToysRUs to start Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving
Black Friday sales will begin Thursday in Puerto Rico, for the first time since the Closing Law was eliminated.
Marking what will be a first in 28 years, retailer ToysRUs will open at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving Day to begin its Black Friday sales in Puerto Rico, this media outlet learned.
The toy store will take advantage of the current administration's labor reform that in January 2017 eliminated the so-called "Closing Law," in place since 1989, to launch what in the U.S. mainland is known as "Black Thursday," which marks the start of the holiday shopping season. It will open its stores in Plaza Las Américas and Mayagüez for early Black Friday sales.
That regulation prohibited most local retailers from opening on New Year's, Three Kings Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Under the 2017 law, the only two days that commercial establishments are obliged to remain closed are Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Pharmacy chain Walgreen's will keep its 24-hour stores open through Thanksgiving, while others will open at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. that day.
Although the law allows the opening of retail stores on Thanksgiving, it is possible that not all stores will take advantage of it — mainly due to the consequences of Hurricane María.
However, major shopping centers and retailers have confirmed the will open early on Black Friday to offer traditional doorbuster sales. Walmart will open at 6 a.m. Friday, while retailers like Sears, Kmart and Macy's will open at 5 a.m. PetSmart, OfficeMax/OfficeDepot will open at 7 a.m. Friday.
Plaza Las Américas in Hato Rey will open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, while Plaza del Caribe in Ponce will open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., mall officials confirmed. There is a full schedule of special events in place at both shopping centers that include live entertainment and music.
Puerto Rico Premium Outlets will begin reopening partially starting Nov. 22, after remaining closed due to damages sustained from Hurricane María two months ago.
A number of stores and food kiosks will be open for the public in a regular schedule of Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some of the stores that will reopen include Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Aldo, ToysRUs and Maidenform.
The strip outlet mall will remain closed for Thanksgiving, but will open on Black Friday and during the following weekend from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, The Mall of San Juan will celebrate the third edition of its "Blue Friday" on Nov. 24, when some 60 stores will open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. "with special offers and entertainment," mall officials confirmed.
"It is our greatest desire to provide our customers with a unique and special shopping experience during the beginning of this Christmas season," said Marnie Marquina, director of marketing and sponsorship at The Mall of San Juan.
"We're looking forward to a solid shopping season and look forward to continued traffic during Blue Friday and the entire holiday season," she said.
Puerto Rican co.'s launch special offers during Black Friday, Cyber Monday
Survey: Puerto Rican consumers plan to shop 13% less during holiday season
Gov't, retailers join forces for 'safe' Black Friday, Christmas sales
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez November 7, 2018
MasterCard, Plaza Las Américas partner for holiday savings
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez October 24, 2012


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Service rating : Excellent place for relaxing, the owners attention to detail gives a wow factor and made us feel so welcome. The pancake making set was a fun! The beautiful furnishings and linen made the lodge a really special place to stay. We loved it!
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Product : WillArch Lodge is amazing. There was a complimentary welcome pack including prosecco, biscuits, bread, milk, eggs etc etc which was a perfect start. There's an honesty jar for bottles of champagne and incredibly well priced at £10 per bottle! The French roll top bath ad the bottom of the bed is luxury. The standard of finish is the highest possible. Perfect for walks and local pubs. A must stay for anyone!!
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Premier keeps promise to the people of Cotton Ground with grand opening of new Community Center
December 21, 2011 in NIA
Charlestown, Nevis–(Monday, December 19, 2011) The spanking new Cotton Ground Community Center was officially opened by Premier of Nevis and Area Representative for St. Thomas Parish, the Hon. Joseph Parry on Saturday evening. Long -time resident of Cotton Ground, Mrs. Aliceson Cornelius cut the ribbon.
"When I was in the Opposition I came to Cotton Ground and told the people that I would build a community center, some laughed, but I am happy today to say I did it because a promise made is a promise kept," Premier Parry told the large crowd of residents and well-wishers who came out to celebrate the occasion.
The impressive two-storey building, which is situated in the heart of the village cost an estimated EC $1.3 million, and was designed by villager Mr. Glanville Bowrin and constructed by Mr. Malvern Jeffers Construction also of Cotton Ground.
" The people of Cotton Ground should be very pleased with the building as it will be the outlet where persons can have dance classes, poetry reading, drama sessions, parenting classes and cooking courses for the young and older persons of the community," noted the Premier.
Demonstrating the great generosity for which he is known, the Premier said that he has a piano at home which he would donate to the Center in the hope that some learned person can teach those interested in learning to play the piano.
The Premier used the opportunity to thank the Clark family, especially Johnny and Bernard (both deceased) who was so instrumental in assisting the Nevis Island Administration with obtaining the land.
"I am so grateful for the assistance of Johnny and Bernard Clarke who both passed recently, but must be remembered for their graciousness in selling the Nevis Island Administration land at a relatively inexpensive rate," said the Premier.
During the ceremony, the Premier called on the people of Cotton Ground, to name the Center after someone who has done something for the people of the village whether it is in Sports, Art or Community Service.
Highlighting a stark difference between him and his predecessor, the Premier made it clear, that the Center should not be named after him, but said he will leave it to the people of Cotton Ground to decide on whom the honour should be bestowed.
" For this Christmas, the people of Cotton Ground have received a community center, embrace it, enjoy it, and most of all take care of it," the Premier concluded.
Nevis public to benefit from another Social Security health related gift
Alexandra Hospital continues to improve services, says Administrator

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Help Desk New Posts
Forum Home > General > General
USATT Membership Changes 2020
mahery
Location: Hartford
Quote mahery
Quote Reply Topic: USATT Membership Changes 2020
Posted: 09/06/2020 at 1:33am
I never joined USATT because I thought $75 was too high.
I heard recently from someone that USATT is coming up with a $25 / year membership
Is this a full membership or some kind of trick giving just partial membership ?
Vince64
Location: Kent, WA
Quote Vince64
Quote Reply Posted: 09/06/2020 at 10:00am
mahery wrote:
I just checked the usatt website and the price for membership was still 75.00. I also heard a while ago that they were going to announce some news about their next grand plan ( after reading through Tim Boggan's history of TT books this would be about grand plan number 25 to increase participation and membership. Lol) to increase income, participation and membership. I believe one part of the plan was to lower the yearly membership fee but expect the tournament rating fee to be reinstated. What other ideas they have planned I'm not privy to that information.
ustabletennisresults.com
pongfugrasshopper
Quote pongfugrasshopper
Quote Reply Posted: 09/07/2020 at 1:56pm
I have no idea what the timeline is for any new policy (if any) to be put in place, but the USATT board discussed this back in July:
From page 6 of the July 13 Board of Directors Meeting (PDF):
Clubs and Leagues Committee Report
Clubs and Leagues Committee Chair Vinod Kambrath introduced Flint Lane, who is a member of the CLC and the owner of Princeton Pong, a New Jersey club with over 200 members and have been involved in the sport of table tennis for about eight years. Mr. Lane noted that the CLC has had more meetings since Vinod took over a couple of months ago than it has in the last three years. The mandate of the CLC is to improve the sport as it is perceived by the clubs, which are extremely important to USATT but also rather variant in the way they are structured. Mr. Lane stated that the CLC is seeking to tackle the problem of how low USATT's membership is in comparison to other sports, such as tennis. He stated that the big issue is ensuring that USATT offers enough value to its member. Right now, the primary reason for a person to be a USATT member is if that person is going to play tournaments. But only a small percentage of table tennis players are tournament players, so USATT needs to design memberships that provide value to people who play table tennis for reasons other than tournament play. Memberships should be designed for all persons who play the sport. Mr. Lane noted that the CLC believes that a number of elements need to be changed about the USATT membership, including the price point. Lowering the price to $25.00 would attract more persons. Mr. Lane stated that USATT should not consider itself with revenue leakage, because membership revenue is already declining and only creative thinking can turn this around. He stated that the CLC wants to incentivize clubs to encourage all of their members to become members of USATT. He stated that the CLC is prepared to begin developing ideas to help drive table tennis players to become members.
Edited by pongfugrasshopper - 09/07/2020 at 2:23pm
stiltt
Assistant Admin
Quote stiltt
How many leagues players do not play tournaments? would it be a good idea to make members' leagues matches count towards their usatt rating like in rated tournaments? the only difference is in the additional $2 as a usatt fee ($2 for leagues, $5 for tourneys maybe? whatever...) and in the announcement: "your matches are rated." I imagine people could play rated matches almost every week that way and their rating would be more stable and realistic.
The creativity is in the software solution that will harvest data from tourney/leagues directors. Licencing Omnipong is maybe a 1st step and linking Omnipong to the server that maintain ratings for instant updates in real time would boost membership for sure. All those players who play leagues would be forced to join and they would be probably happy to do it, especially if the clubs eat 1/2 or the leagues' usatt rating fee.
Edited by stiltt - 09/07/2020 at 2:27pm
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mts388
Location: Sonora CA
Quote mts388
stiltt wrote:
How many clubs make enough money to subsidize players in league play? And why should they subsidize players. One sheet of rubber would cost more than a year of league play.
Location: Solon,Ohio
Quote Tofus
I am very confused about this.
First of all is this $25 per year announced or yet to be announced ?
Second, the league rating , if I am not mistaken is a single pass system , whereas tournament rating processing is a multi-pass (4 I think) system. So I would tend to think you cannot mix & match
Third, if you charge me $2 per league night, that is $80 if I play 40 weeks in an year. If you are going to do that you might as well leave the membership at $75 and allow players to play in both tournaments and leagues with no additional fee, which will only encourage players to play more in leagues as well as tournaments, which in turn spur more clubs maybe. It is a trade off, I do not know. May be you can offer both options, with a player being allowed to switch to $75 option anytime for following year.
Also my feeling is that ratings may become eventually free and only a handful of Olympic dreamers will join USATT & USATT may become extinct (If it can get any worse LOL)
BH-Man
Quote BH-Man
I didn't know Vinod became the league commitee chair.
I do know that Vinod and his entire TT playing family enjoy playing league matches.
I do know (or at least personally believe) that Vinod would like to see mor participation in organized club play as a part of the TT experience.
I do firmly believe Vinod will bounce a lot of ideas around and that he wants to improve the situation.
I do more firmly believe that players who do not want to pay $25 per year for the obvious benefits of more organized play, recording of matches, and posting of league results ought to have their picture listed to the right of Webster's Dictionary definition of SCROOGE on their next printing.
Since the clubs who did this and bothered to submit league play results online were doing this for club memebrs for free, some additional value ought to provided (if we are forced to pay, then provide value !), even if it is the media director posting certain metrics of data on the USATT newsletter... like say winner of each group and most significantly improved rating or whatever.
USATT is paying someone to make the online pdf newsletter and they are not working 24/7... there should be a way to import the data into the pdf. Adding this to and emailing a pdf does not significantly improve costs... and the small added costs can be more than made up from league revenue... at least we would be helping the local economy more somewhere.
As for clubs PAYING for some portion of the new proposed league membership fee of $25 a year... most players average more than 26 league nights of participation a year assuming 52 league nights... that is ONE USD per league night. A joker who cannot fork over $1 USD for the benefits of league and absolutely would not join and play league because of $1 USD should cut a tiny portion of their left side, put it on a slide, and look at it under a microscope to detect something - EXCESSIVE SCROOGENESS.
Locally here, when the big club was still open, players had to pay $7 if they were not club members and $5 to play in league play EACH LEAGUE NIGHT they played... before when our big club was open, dude setup tables in a school gym and charged $5 per person... this extra cost of $2 per person to play in a league (that had online results and ratings, but no USATT league afiliation) did not affect how many people played in league... particiation might have slightly improved as the venue was much better.
I echo mts sentiment about his stance against subsidees of this petty cash amount... the annual amount requested for increased benefits of official and recorded organized play is a very tiny portion of a player's annual TT expenditures.
SO MANY TT players come on the forums with their tongue wagging just ITCHING to buy some D09C, Super ZJK, 968, or whatever gear is hot... and $25 USD doesn't make a dent in any of that. If one examines the true expenditures a TT player makes in a year related to TT, very often it goes over $1,000 USD... $25 is a very small fraction and NOT materially relevant in the financial impact.
There are JOKERS at league who spend over $100 per year just on damned GATORADE to consume at league night and are perfectly happy poisoning themselves this way. (Hey, I spent $4 - $5 on bringing in damn WATER those nights, so all the more)
If there are so damn many people opposed to spending $25 USD a year for the benefits of organized league play, then those jokers ought to wear QUADRUPLE MASK layered with a kg of moistened powdered AJAX for good measure to ensure dude doesn't sneeze and give the rest of us MISER SCROOGE disorder.
Edited by BH-Man - 09/07/2020 at 5:58pm
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mts388 wrote:
I just think the rating has a lot of value for a lot of people and that can be played with by bringing the leagues under its umbrella. Already people have to pay to participate in their club's leagues even if they are full time members. Their is a typical weekly prize money for those leagues and it would be easy to either increase the participation fee, decrease prize money or a mix of both for the sake of feeding more the same rating system.
Note that a lot of tournament players would join leagues, especially those who attach a lot of value to their rating and prefer rated matches. A lot of leagues players would join tournaments too if they are forced to get a membership to play leagues and it gives them the right to enter tourneys without a membership.
Bringing in the usatt rated leagues just seems easy to implement and the added USATT fee can be hidden pretty easily. It seems there is no down trying and a lot of ups possible.
who is Vinod?
I think you saw him at the Sacramento tourney last year Vince.
Tofus wrote:
thanks for reacting, I just wanted to day dream based on that $25 rumor and I thought it was a great idea to lower the membership and increase newcomers. Of course then we need to reinstate the usatt rating fee. and at the time we do that, why not unifying leagues and tourneys? what prevent us from having the same process (1 or 2 passes...whatever...as long as it is all unified i am happy) to update ratings after a leagues match or a tourney match. Some tourneys are just RR just like leagues.
Separating leagues and tourneys would be useful maybe if the 2 groups were so huge but here it is in everybody interest to simplify, level the playing field, make the system more affordable AND also easier to understand.
It is true that we may have some hidden fees but that's the marketing department's job to make people swallow the pill, and it's a soft one.
Frankly, there are plenty of people who paid the $75 to play only in the nationals and the us open, maybe the teams event in Baltimore. Those would maybe play leagues more often if the matches there were rated the exact same than in tourneys.
We can't overstate how important the rating system is in north america where individualism is pushed all the way. Let's take advantage of this to make tt more popular: open the usatt rating system to the leagues. The only problem? the certification of those who can run leagues. At 1st make them the same who run tournaments...whatever your process is now...easy peasy.
All your observations are very much acute however the big money is not the people who will play leagues 40 times a year. That's a small minority, the addicts. We want to tap in the newbies who play leagues now sometimes, wouldn't care to spend 1 or 2 more bucks because they would see some value in the evolution of their game: now their rating is much more active and so is their tt life.
notfound123
Location: MD, USA
Quote notfound123
Leagues aside...
...does anyone know whether they will keep their rating system "locked" i.e. essentially killing all that good historical information as well as sites such as pongmobile?
If you search, there are a little over 7000 people with ratings visible in the system which is probably 1/10th of the number of active players. I suspect the numbers will drop even more once we go past November which is when Joola Teams normally would take place, i.e. a 1 year renewal anniversary for hundreds and hundreds of people.
First thing.. they need to bring the rating system back to life.
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Petition calls for council to end 30 year wait for public swimming pool in Leixlip
Residents were shocked when it was recently announced that a facility would be built in neighbouring Maynooth
Main Street, Leixlip (Image: Google Maps)
Residents of a Kildare town have launched a petition calling for a public swimming pool to be built in the area.
Leixlip has been promised a pool for 30 years and residents were shocked when it was recently announced that a facility would be built in neighbouring Maynooth.
Campaign organiser Andrea Pramuka said a pool could act as "the heart of a community".
New Intel facility in Co Kildare to create up to 6,000 construction jobs
She said: "Leixlip has seen a lot of families settle here from a small population of around 5,000 in 1977 to 15,504.
"At that time, particularly in the 80s, Leixlip lacked so many vital resources and services such as proper public transport, schools, community centres etc.
"But it was through the power of its residents and tireless campaigning that funding was made available for these projects.
Manchester United eyeing up move for Republic of Ireland youngster Nathan Collins
"I do believe in the power of people. I personally remember standing outside the Dail as a child with a self made sign demonstrating for a new secondary school, after it was denied by Seamus Brennan (then Minister for Education) but we did it and Confey College got its funding."
The petition has already attracted over 400 signatures.
In a statement to Dublin Live, a spokeswoman for Kildare County Council said they have "acknowledged the need for a public swimming pool in North Kildare".
They added: "There have been many debates on its location over the years but at a recent plenary Council meeting it was agreed that a funding application should be made to the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund for a swimming pool on a site in Maynooth.
"This application was submitted and Kildare County Council is now awaiting a decision from central government as to whether or not funding will be allocated to this project to allow it to be brought through detailed design and the planning process."
In the NewsDublin news LIVE: DART services suspended, traffic updates, Dublin Airport delaysAll the latest news from the capital this morning
New initiative launched to get more Dubliners speaking as Gaeilge
Dublin City CouncilBusinesses are being encouraged to use Irish in signage, websites, advertising and menus in cafes and restaurants
Dublin news LIVE: Light drizzle and cloudy conditions ahead for Dublin
Kildare community mourns after sudden death of 'lovely' Credit Union CEO Mark Bailey
KildareMark, who was the CEO of Celbridge District Credit Union, was described as a "lovely gentleman" by those who knew him
Tallaght community in shock following death of local man Colm Fogarty
TallaghtColm was a well-known figure in the community and had spent a great deal of time helping the homeless


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Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald is the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The following is an address he delivered at Trinity College in Washington on October 25, 2003 .
"Interreligious dialogue is part of the church's evangelizing mission" (Redemptoris Missio, 56). This statement of Pope John Paul II in his missionary encyclical Redemptoris Missio says it all, and there would be no need to elaborate further. Yet perhaps it is necessary to unwrap this statement by examining what is meant by the terms evangelizing mission and interreligious dialogue and then looking at the relationship between the two.
Evangelization, or evangelizing mission, is a very Catholic concept. Other Christian denominations will speak more readily about evangelism, by which they mean the direct preaching of Jesus Christ. The World Council of Churches, for instance, has within its structures a body called the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. Mission here is taken in a wide sense and includes many activities of the church in the fields of education and health, for example, while evangelism refers to bringing about conversion to Christ.
In Catholic circles, as illustrated by the apostolic exhortation of Pope Paul VI Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization can have both a narrow and a broad sense. In general evangelization means bringing the good news of Jesus Christ into all areas of humanity, thus transforming it from within (cf. No. 18). This can be done in a variety of ways. One of these ways is "the clear and unambiguous proclamation of the Lord Jesus" (ibid., 22). "This proclamation,'' the same exhortation goes on to say, "occupies such an important place in evangelization that it has often become synonymous with it, yet it is only one aspect of evangelization" (ibid.). The Gospel can be brought to different areas of humanity by the life of the Christian community and by its actions inspired by love.
You may think I am laboring this point, but to me it is very important because it means that the Christian way of relating to people who belong to other religions need not be confined to the direct preaching of Jesus Christ to them.
Let me quote here the first document produced by the Holy See's office for interreligious relations, "The Attitude of the Church toward Followers of Other Religions: Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and Mission " (abbreviated "Dialogue and Mission "), which was published in 1984. It describes mission as a "single but complex and articulated reality." It enumerates its principal elements: "the simple presence and witness of the Christian life ..... the service of mankind and all forms of activity for social development and for the struggle against poverty and the structures that produce it. Also, there is liturgical life and that of prayer and contemplation.... There is also the dialogue in which Christians meet the followers of other religions in order to walk together toward truth and to work together in projects of common concern. Finally, there is announcement and catechesis in which the good news of the Gospel is proclaimed and its consequences for life and culture are analyzed'' (No. 13).
Perhaps not all elements are listed; mention could have been made of ecumenical dialogue as an essential activity of the church and also dialogue with people who have no religion.
What is important to notice is that these different elements are lived out for themselves, and not for any ulterior purpose. In other words, they are not to be seen as being in function of conversion to Christ. Presence and witness is already a way of practicing mission (and indeed this would be the way the Orthodox churches see mission). Yet this presence and witness, to be authentic, has to be accompanied by prayer, both liturgical and non-liturgical. In the liturgy we proclaim Jesus Christ yet we do not celebrate the liturgy in order to draw people to the church. Of course the liturgy may be, and should be, attractive, and so may arouse interest among people who are not Christians who happen to be present, yet this is not its true purpose. The liturgy is celebrated to give glory to God. Similarly the service which the church offers in the fields of education, health and care of all kinds may also draw people to the Catholic fold, yet again this is not its immediate aim. The church has to engage in social action in order to express God's love for humankind, since the church, by nature, is a sacrament of this divine love. So also dialogue should not be seen purely as a means to bring about conversions to Christianity; this would be too narrow a view and would lead to dialogue being treated with suspicion by people of other religions. Dialogue can be taken as a way of reflecting God's love for all people, a love which respects their liberty. Thus the finally in the paragraph quoted above is not to be taken in the order of intention, as if all the first-mentioned elements of presence, prayer, service and dialogue were finalized by the direct proclamation of Jesus Christ, but rather as simply indicating the last in a list. As John Paul II wrote in Redemptoris Missio: "Dialogue does not originate from tactical concern or self-interest, but is an activity with its own guiding principles, requirements and dignity" (No. 56). And again: "In the light of the economy of salvation, the church sees no conflict between proclaiming Christ and engaging in interreligious dialogue. Instead, she feels the need to link the two in the context of her mission ad gentes. These two elements must maintain both the intimate connection and their distinctiveness; therefore they should not be confused, manipulated or regarded as identical as though they were interchangeable" (No. 55).
If dialogue is not geared to conversion to Christ, what is its purpose? Perhaps here too one could speak about something that is multifaceted. There is not just one purpose of dialogue but rather a number of aims. There is first the aim of helping people of different religions to live together in peace and harmony. This is a task which is ever more urgent in a world becoming increasingly multicultural and multireligious. It is a task which implies, as we know, overcoming prejudices, battling against indifference, creating understanding. This first level of dialogue should not be lightly dismissed. Can it not be taken as an anticipation of that peace which we know will reign in the next world? It is therefore already a way of bringing about God's kingdom.
A further step in dialogue is to work together in the service of humankind. The problems with which our world is faced are so great that there is need of the efforts of all to thee up to them. Religions can help in providing motivation to reach out to those who are in need, to strive for a more equitable division of the world's resources, to ensure that while natural resources are exploited the environment is protected. There are not only Christian bodies engaged in these different fields, but also Islamic humanitarian organizations and movements of concerned Buddhists. There is room therefore for such religious organizations to cooperate. Here again this can be seen as a contribution to the building up of the kingdom of God , which is a kingdom of justice, freedom and peace.
Yet dialogue can go still further. A later document, "Dialogue and Proclamation'' from 1991, notes that it may take the form of a sharing of spiritual values, a mutual witness to beliefs, an exploration of the riches of the respective spiritual traditions. In this way Christians and people of other religious traditions can help one another to deepen their religious commitment, to respond with greater sincerity to God's call (cf. No. 40).
A text already quoted characterizes dialogue as a process in which Christians and people of other religious traditions "walk together toward the truth" ("Dialogue and Mission ," 13). It might be objected here that Christians already have the truth. Did not Jesus say, "I am the way, the truth and the life"? If this is so, how can we who believe in Christ still be in search of the truth? To this objection the document "Dialogue and Proclamation" responds in the following way: "The fullness of truth received in Jesus Christ does not give individual Christians the guarantee that they have grasped that truth fully. In the last analysis truth is not a thing we possess, but a Person by whom we must allow ourselves to be possessed. This is an unending process. While keeping their identity intact, Christians must be prepared to learn and receive from and through others the positive values of their traditions" ("Dialogue and Proclamation," 49).
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is belief in the Trinity that urges Christians to engage in dialogue. Through revelation we have come to know God as a Trinity of Persons among whom there is constant interchange and perfect communion. This provides a lofty model for our relations with our fellow human beings, relations which are to be imbued with respect for the identity of each person and at the same time a strong desire to achieve communion.
We can go further and see in the relations attributed to each of the divine Persons an incentive to engage in dialogue with all. Thus in the Father "we contemplate a pervasive love unlimited by space and time" ("Dialogue and Mission ," 22). What does this mean? It means that we can discover, like flowers in a barren desert, signs of God's love in all peoples. No people can be excluded from this all-embracing love. It means moreover that at all times God's love has been made manifest in different ways. It is extremely important to remember this, especially when encountering people who have a great attachment to their ancestors. Would it not be horrific to say to them, "Your ancestors are all condemned because they did not know Christ"? Surely we should rather encourage them, possibly by quoting Paul's words to the Athenians: "Yet in fact he (God) is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: 'We are all his children''' (Acts 17:27-28).
The mission of the second Person of the Trinity also provides a basis for dialogue, for the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ is in a mysterious way united with each member of the human race. In the light of our faith, we encounter Christ in every person. This way of perceiving humanity has consequences for social behavior, the way we treat people, for human dignity is enhanced by the fact of the incarnation. It also has consequences for the way in which we dialogue with people. They must be approached with great respect.
Finally the action of the Spirit is an incentive to dialogue. This action, as John Paul II has said in his encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem, "has been exercised in every place and at every time, indeed in every individual" (No. 53). In other words, the action of the Spirit cannot be confined, just as the Spirit was at work in the world before the first coming of Jesus, so this same Spirit is at work outside the visible boundaries of the church that Jesus founded. Moreover "the Spirit's presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions" (Redemptoris Missio, 28). This is of extreme importance for dialogue, for it means that we cannot go to people of other religions as if we had everything and they had nothing. The Spirit has gone ahead of us, and so we can meet the Spirit in them. Everything that is good, noble and beautiful in their rites and traditions is to be welcomed with respect and gratitude. In this way dialogue becomes a journey of discovery and can provide an opportunity for mutual enrichment.
Perhaps a further word should be said here. We believe firmly that God wills the salvation of all, and we know, by faith, that for this purpose God sent his Son into the world so that through his passion, death and resurrection the world might be saved from sin. This universal will of salvation surely implies that God must provide the means for people to be saved. This is why the Second Vatican Council, in Gaudium et Spes, the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, teaches that "since Christ died for all (cf. Rom. 8:32), and since all men are called in fact to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" (No. 22). The way is known to God, but can we inquire as to what this way might be? Are there elements in the different religions which help people to enter into the paschal mystery? There are indeed methods of prayer, ethical rules, rites and practices which encourage death to oneself in order to live for others, which is a practical way of understanding "entering into the paschal mystery." Of course, to lead a life of self-sacrifice, of virtue, divine grace is needed, grace which is itself a fruit of the work of redemption in Christ, even though the person who is living in this way may not be aware of the origin of the grace and the relation to Christ.
It is necessary to be careful here. What has just been said should not be understood as if it implied that other religions are ways of salvation. Our Christian faith teaches us that there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot say that all religions are equal and that it does not matter to which religion one belongs. Nor can we say that these religions are perfect, for they contain shadows as well as luminous qualities. What can be affirmed is that elements of grace which can help people on the way of salvation can be discerned in different religious traditions.
If what has just been presented on the theological foundations for dialogue is sound doctrine -- and it has been based on the teaching of the Vatican Council as it has been interpreted and developed by the present pope -- a question naturally arises. If people can be saved within their own religious traditions, why should the church engage in missionary activity? Is it not better to leave people where they are? At most, should it not be our aim to make Muslims better Muslims, Buddhists better Buddhists and so on?
This question has, in fact, already been answered by the reference to Redemptoris Missio, where John Paul II says that proclaiming Christ and engaging in interreligious dialogue are distinct elements of the church's overall mission. They are by no means interchangeable. I cannot say that the time of proclamation is over and that it must give way to dialogue. The church must always remain faithful to the Lord's command to preach the Gospel and to invite people to accept baptism and become members of the community of believers.
This proclamation springs from love. "The love of Christ impels us," says St. Paul . It is because we have come to know and value the Lord Jesus, and because we appreciate all that God has done for us in him that we wish to share this good news with others. This desire that others may come to know Christ, may be captivated by the beauty of the person of Jesus, will be in the hearts of Christians who engage in dialogue. It is this that will give strength to their testimony when they are called upon to give an account of the hope that is within them. It will be a question of discernment when the good news can be preached explicitly, including the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior with all the consequences of such an acceptation.
Perhaps it is good to say a word about the way in which this preaching should be carried out, the qualities which should characterize the church's proclamation. The document "Dialogue and Proclamation" notes six qualities (cf. No. 70). It starts with confidence in the Spirit, the prime evangelizer. It lists fidelity in the transmission of the message received from Christ and handed on by the church. It says that proclamation should be humble, for what we are dealing with is a gift which has been received without merit; moreover the messengers of the Gospel do not always fully live up to its demands. It is stated that there must be respect for those to whom the proclamation of the good news is being addressed, for the Spirit is already at work in them. The proclamation needs to be "dialogical," in other words it needs to take into account that the "hearers of the word" are not just passive receivers. Similarly the message must be inculturated, that is, it must be presented not only in an intelligible way but also as something which corresponds to people's deepest aspirations. It is readily understood that the message of the Gospel should never be imposed, but always proposed.
At the end of this reflection it would be good to ask about who is called to engage in dialogue (and perhaps the same could be said about proclamation). Here again I should like to quote some words of John Paul II. "Each member of the faithful and all Christian communities are called to practice dialogue, though not always to the same degree or in the same way" (Redemptoris Missio, 57). This is important. Dialogue cannot be considered as an optional extra. If in the human community there are to be found people who belong to different religious traditions, then the members of the Christian community have the duty of reaching out to them. The Spirit will indicate whether this is to be done through proclamation or through dialogue. Indeed, one and the same person, one and the same community, can be engaged in both these activities. There may be people from a Muslim background who are joining the catechumenate and therefore the Gospel is being preached to them directly. Yet there may be other Muslims, the majority probably, who show no sign of wanting to become Christians, and so with them the furthest that one can go will be to engage in dialogue, that is to establish good, friendly relations.
It is also important to recognize that the ways of engaging in dialogue may differ. For some it may be the rather informal fostering of a spirit of neighborliness. For others it may entail cooperation in some joint project. Others may engage in formal discussions with people of other religions, whether about matters of belief or questions of social concern. Still others may be drawn to seek ways of praying together with their Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu friends. It is good that the gifts of each be recognized. No one way of dialogue should be considered exclusive.
John Paul II, after the sentence quoted above, went on to say, "The contribution of the laity is indispensable in this area" (Redemptoris Missio, 57). He spelled this out in two ways: the example which lay people can give, and the contribution they can make through research and study. Perhaps the engagement of the laity in the task of dialogue has to be stimulated further.
"Christians must always be aware of the influence of the Holy Spirit and be prepared to follow wherever in God's providence and design the Spirit is leading them. It is the Spirit who is guiding the evangelizing mission of the church. It belongs to the Spirit to inspire both the church's proclamation and the obedience of faith. It is for us to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit. Whether proclamation be possible or not, the church pursues her mission in full respect for freedom, through interreligious dialogue and witnessing to and sharing Gospel values. In this way the partners in dialogue proceed in response to the divine call of which they are conscious. All, both Christians and the followers of other religious traditions, are invited by God to enter in the mystery of his patience, as human beings seek his light and truth. Only God knows the times and stages of the fulfillment of this long human quest" (No. 84).


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Vision and sports have always been closely related. Tennis junkies, for example, well know that to return the kick the opponent must have very good eyes because the ball can reach 200 km/h in speed. What has recently discovered a team of researchers from the University of California, in Sana'a Barbara (USA), however, is that exercise, specifically low intensity, like walking, can benefit our visual health.
The work, which has been published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, shows that low-intensity physical activity stimulates brain cells responsible for processing visual information. A conclusion that has been reached after analyzing 18 participants, that measured heart rate and power frequency of the brain while performing Visual exercises at the same time that practiced cycling on an exercise bike. This exercise was repeated to low, high intensity and at rest.
The results confirmed what had already demonstrated in mice and flies; i.e., that low-intensity activity, as was the case with these animals, also helped activate the visual cortex of the human brain, the area responsible for informing the brain about what they see our eyes, i.e., responsible for vision. Something which, however, was not the case when the volunteers increased the intensity of your workout. "We observed that the neural response was better when the participants were doing low-intensity exercise than when they were at rest or did the high-intensity activity", says Tom Bullock, lead author of the study.
The researchers acknowledge, however, that they still do not know the reasons why the activation of the visual cortex of the brain occurs when the person perform the low-intensity exercise. What is specialist and co-author of this work, Barry Giesbrecht, is that some specific neurotransmitters are those that increase global cortical excitability.
But, how do we know if we are making a sport of low intensity? To find out we must measure the pulse. If we do not have any heart rate monitor, also we can do so by putting two fingers (index and heart) at the wrist or neck, for example. Heart rate, i.e. keystrokes, should not go too fast, and as much as 40% of our maximum heart rate we must achieve to be considered that it is a low-intensity exercise.
Another simple way to know if the activity that we are practicing is of low intensity is testing whether we can talk while we do the exercise, and if so, it will mean that, effectively, is soft. Some low-intensity activities easy to carry out for the majority of people are gently walk on foot or by bicycle, swim relaxed, making a routine of stretching, or participate in a yoga or Pilates class for beginners, for example.


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Melbourne's 'congestion levy' on long-stay off-street car parking spaces
Melbourne's 'congestion levy' is a parking levy that applies to parking spaces used for long-stay parking. However, research suggests that the levy has ambiguous outcomes and would need reform to better achieve its stated goals.
This is a case of a parking levy that clearly needs improvements. It raises revenue but it is not clear that it changes motorist or parking-owner behavior in helpful ways. This is a reminder that not all parking levies are the same. Poorly designed parking levies may not achieve their stated objectives.
Hamer et al., 2012 conclude: "What is also clear is that a large proportion of those who park and commute to the Melbourne CBD do not pay for parking. Employers cover this as part of wider salary packaging arrangements. This is a significant barrier to the effective use of parking pricing as a means of reducing car congestion. To address the issue, policy could either deal directly with employers by targeting employment packaging arrangements or deal directly with the driver using taxation such as a road toll."
State of Victoria Department of Transport
taxes and levies
Does not fit neatly into this framework/None of the above
According to the Congestion Levy Bill 2005 (Vic): "The levy is designed to reduce traffic congestion in Melbourne's inner city by acting as a financial deterrent to drivers who arrive and leave during commuter peak hours and park all day in the city car parks. The levy aims to encourage suburban commuters to use public transport to travel into the city and car park owners/operators to convert long-stay car parking spaces, which will attract the levy, into short stay parking spaces, thereby creating more parking options for shoppers and visitors."
It is not clear to me yet what the immediate impetus for this policy was in 2005 or so.
Can you help provide this information?
According to Hamer et al. 2012: "The congestion levy is a charge that applies to off-street parking spaces within a 15 km2 area of inner Melbourne ('the levy area'). The Congestion Levy Act 2005 (Vic) provides the legislative basis for the levy and details when the levy is payable.
"The levy applies to all non-exempt, long-stay parking spaces within the levy area. Long-stay parking spaces include all parking spaces in a private off-street car park, and all parking spaces in a public off-street car park that are either: (i) set aside for on-going parking; or (ii) used for parking for at least 4 h, commencing at or before 9.30 am and ending at or after 9.30 am. Thus, in private car parks and reserved spaces in public car parks, it is the supply of the parking space that attracts the levy. By contrast, parking spaces that are offered to the public for use on an hourly or daily basis attract the levy because of their use. The method of charging for casual parking, i.e. a flat fee or an hourly rate, is irrelevant as the criteria are the time of arrival and the length of stay. On-street car parking spaces do not attract the levy."
In 2015 the area to which the levy applies was extended.
In 2019, the levy was AUD1140 per space per year in category 1 area (central business district) and AUD1020 in category 2 area (to the north and south of the CBD).
According to Taylor 2020, spending of income from the levy 'is not visible or local or clearly tied to transport improvement'. The income is mostly absorbed into general revenue.
Image credit: Gracchus250, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_of_Melbourne_skyline_view_from_Southbank_with_Princes_Bridge_and_Flinders_St,_2018.jpg CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
It is not clear whether the levy has reduced congestion or led to any shift away from community by car.
Hamer et al. 2012 found that (to some extent) the levy had been passed on to short term parking users in commercial garages, rather than discouraging long-term parkers (commuters) or reducing the supply of parking spaces.
The design of the system is also thought to actually discourage workplace parking fees.
Hamer, P., Young, W., & Currie, G. (2012). Do long stay parkers pay the Melbourne congestion levy?. Transport Policy, 21, 71-84. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967070X12000303
State Revenue Office Victoria "Car Parks: A congestion levy applies to off-street private and public car parking spaces in inner Melbourne". https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/car-parks
Elizabeth Taylor (May 2018) City of Melbourne Transport Strategy Refresh Background paper – Car Parking, https://apo.org.au/node/179486
Elizabeth J. Taylor (2020) "Australia: Melbourne" in Dorina Pojani, Jonathan Corcoran, Neil Sipe and Iderlina Mateo-Babiano (eds.) Parking: An International Perspective, 1st Edition. Elsevier.


at the Carslake Community Center.
BRAD (Bordentown Residents Against Drugs) meetings will be held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7:00pm at the Carslake Community Center, 209 Crosswicks Rd, Bordentown City. The meeting is open to any and all interested in drug and alcohol abuse prevention in the Bordentown City and Bordentown Township communities. Opportunities for volunteers are available for all ages.
B.R.A.D (Bordentown Residents Against Drugs) announces registration for Narcan (naloxone HCI) training; the opioid overdose reversal drug.
The training is provided by the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
WHO: Family members, friends, professionals and individuals who are at risk or could be in the presence of someone who is at risk for an overdose.
WHAT: 60 - 90-minute training. Participants will be able to identify factors that led to the current opioid epidemic, recognize overdose symptoms, and appropriately implement life saving strategies during an overdose such as rescue breathing and the administration of naloxone.
Distribution of FREE naloxone kits for training attendees.
WHEN: Next date to be announced!
WHERE: Bordentown Township Senior Citizen Club, 3 Municipal Dr. Bordentown, NJ 08505.
HOW: Contact the BRAD coordinator (Kevin Moore) directly to register (DO NOT CONTACT RUTGERS).
Provide a brief description of need, your name and contact information.
CELL: (609) 254-4267; (609) 468-0824 (leave a message the call will be returned).
Make an appointment for your free onsite training and naloxone kits today!
during an overdose such as rescue breathing and the administration of naloxone.
prevention workshops to at risk populations.
violence, immigration issues, and addiction.


← Some Suggestions Are; Crocheting, Knitting, Polymer Clay, Sewing, Handmade Toys, Handmade Home Decoration, The List Can Go On And On.
So, You Need To Ask Yourself, What Is Your Family Like; And, More Importantly, Are They In Need Of Some Arts And Crafts Inspiration?
Ask the children to pen down the ten commandments you can make your own decorations for different occasions. With such an addition into the home environment there has been in order to make them suitable for human activities. These are the questions you should ask yourself when coming up with a variety of objects, that serve a practical and decorative purpose. These are the times when you have to dig down deep inside yourself and and final sale fees but are a good way to sell online. Moreover, the vacation Bible school crafts planned should other vacation Bible story crafts that one can implement. So, you need to ask yourself, what is your family like; and, arts and crafts in homes and amid the many families within them.
Frank Lloyd Wright, a 20th century American architect, not only produced an array of unique buildings, as you have the ability to spin a good yarn while displaying your goods you could go home a fairly wealthy individual after everything is said and done. You just have to be creative in finding where these their fingers to create something that they find beautiful. Older babies do have fun getting their fingers messy other vacation Bible story crafts that one can implement. Moreover, the vacation Bible school crafts planned should make, how do you know if there is a market for it? It's Easy To Fix: Just Have Some Family Arts http://www.city-stories.com/06/2016/if-you-want-to-buy-a-car-for-flaunting-your-status-you-might-as-well-go-for-a-swank-skoda-or-a-classy-bmw and Crafts Nights To reverse this mundane and and one can be as creative as one wants. Once the fish are done, use a cutter to cut off the neatly onto the freshly prepared tablets, using waterproof sketch pens.
Your children do their own things, whether it be in the in this style because they looked for fad styles and designs. There is only one solution for this problem, and that is to projects to give as gifts to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and even to mom herself! In that case, with your artistic and creative skills, and beyond, staying at a London hotel during the craft fair is a treasure in and of itself. If there are a large number of children, then one concern for many designers and social reformers, who feared the loss of traditional skills and creativity. Morris and other socialist designers such as Crane and neatly onto the freshly prepared tablets, using waterproof sketch pens. Crafts are objects made by hand, which either have a Hunt," you can use a bear shaped cookie cutter to make bear sandwiches.


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POLITICAL MUSINGS AND THOUGHTS FROM THE CENTER-RIGHT
Gary Aminoff	in Uncategorized	 March 14, 2006 830 Words
The Significance of Purim 2006
Today is the Jewish holiday of Purim – in the Jewish calendar it is the 14th day of the Month of Adar (Also, coincidentally, in 2006, the 14th of March). I thought it would be appropriate to provide some insight into the holiday by posting Yoram Ettinger's "The Significance of Purim 2006"
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PURIM, 2006
The FOURTEENTH/FIFTEENTH DAYS of the Jewish month of ADAR commemorate the NATIONAL LIBERATION of the Jewish People in Persia and the victory of Judah the Maccabee over Nikanor, the Assyrian commander. The sign of Adar is FISH, which is a symbol of demographic multiplication, in defiance of adversity. Moses – the role model of leadership – was born, and died, on the seventh day of Adar. Adar is the root of "to glorify" ("LeHaAdir").
1. MORDECHAI, the hero of Purim, is a role model of walking against the grain and sustaining one's (Jewish) heritage with pride, in defiance of a global power and in spite of the (Jewish) establishment, thus producing deliverance for the Jewish People. The first three Hebrew letters of "Mordechai" spell the Hebrew word "Rebellion" ("Mered"), which is consistent with the motto/legacy of the American Founding Fathers: "Rebellion Against Tyranny is Obedience to G-D"). Mordechai – who would not bow to Haman, the second most powerful person in the Persian Empire and who would not compromise his values/principles as did the Jewish establishment – was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, the only son of Jacob who did not bow to Esau.
2. ESTHER, the heroine of Purim was Mordechai's cousin. The name Esther is a derivative of the Hebrew word for "clandestine", "hidden", "covert" (Hester), which was reflective of her (initially) unknown Jewish identity at the royal court. In fact, the one day pre-Purim Fast of Esther (commemorating the three day fast declared by Esther in order to expedite deliverance), was cherished by the Maranos in Spain, who performed Judaism in a clandestine manner. The Scroll of Esther is the only book in the Old Testament, where the name of G-D is hidden/absent. Some of the Sages suggested that the explicit name of G-D is absent because the Scroll of Esther is the only Old Testament book, which deals exclusively with the Diaspora and not with the land of Israel.
3. KING AHASUERUS-XERXES, who heeded the advice of Mordechai, overruling Haman's intent to exterminate the Jews, prospered as a result of his change of heart and escaped assassination. That was the case with Pharaoh, who escaped national collapse and starvation and rose in global prominence, once he appointed Joseph to be his deputy.
4. POLITICAL INCORRECTNESS underlies Mordechai's legacy. When Esther expressed reluctance to unveil her Jewish identity, challenge the King's and Haman's policy, and intervene on behalf of the Jewish People – lest she be punished by the King – Mordechai reproached her: "If you shall remain silence, there will be [divine] deliverance, but you and your family shall perish." According to the Sages, Esther avoided the fate of Job, who was a top advisor to Pharaoh, but did not contest the policy of Jewish extermination.
5. CONVICTION-DRIVEN TRANSPARENCY and BLUNTNESS are few of the lessons of Purim, as narrated by Esther Scroll, "Megilat Esther" in Hebrew. The root of "Megilah" is "Galeh" – exposed, overt, in-the-open – the opposite of "Esther"-"Haster". The contradiction between these terms is a cardinal lesson of Judaism – life is not a picnic; it is complex, full of contradictions and difficult dilemmas. Therefore, one should be driven by principles, rather than by shifty convenience, in order to attain one's goals. Just as the covert becomes overt, so is pessimism transformed into optimism, if one adheres to one's conviction, rather than to one's immediate convenience.
6. THE FOUR COMMANDMENTS OF PURIM:
*The reading/studying of Esther Scroll within the family – highlights the centrality of FAMILY, EDUCATION and MEMORY/COMMEMORATION as the foundation for a solid future.
*Celebration and Happiness – sustains the element of OPTIMISM and FAITH as the backbone of an individual and a nation.
*Gifts to relatives and friends – emphasizes the importance of FAMILY and social bonds.
*Charity to the poor (at least the value of a meal) – indicates the value of CONSIDERATION and CARING for the other person.
7. COMMEMORATION and DESTRUCTION OF A LETHAL ENEMY. The pre-Purim Sabbath is called "Memorial Sabbath" ("Shabbat Zakhor"), commemorating the war of extermination launched by the Amalekites against the Jewish Nation, since the Exodus from Egypt. One of Purim's lessons is that there are enemies, whose strategic goal is extermination and not accommodation. They should be treated as mortal enemies and not as partners for peace. Mordechai was a descendant of King Saul, who defied a clear commandment and spared the life of Agag, the king of the Amalekites, thus causing further calamities upon the Jewish People. Therefore, Saul lost his life and his royal position. Mordechai rectified his ancestor's record, by producing the demise of Haman (a descendant of Agag the Amalekite) and his family, which spared the Jew Nation a major calamity.
Congratulations to Michael Tenenbaum
Spencer: Fantasies about Jihad


The Area under the curve (AUC) is a performance metrics for a binary classifiers. By comparing the ROC curves with the area under the curve, or AUC, it captures the extent to which the curve is up in the Northwest corner. An higher AUC is good.
A score of 0.5 is no better than random guessing. 0.9 would be a very good model but a score of 0.9999 would be too good to be true and will indicate overfitting.


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A Child's Death, Conquered
PB Nominates +Daniel
The Diocese of Pennsylvania will meet in special convention Jan. 12 to act on Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's recommendation that it call the Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III as its provisional bishop.
Bishop Daniel, who has led the Diocese of East Carolina for 16 years, informed his standing committee Jan. 4 [PDF] that he will resign his office Feb. 28.
"Bishop Daniel is a deeply Christian person who listens, builds consensus, works with Diocesan leadership effectively, and cares about the work and life of the congregations and missions of the Church," said an announcement letter from the Rev. Ledlie I. Laughlin, president of Pennsylvania's standing committee, and the Rev. Kathryn Andonian, standing committee member and rector of Church of the Holy Spirit in Harlesyville. "We believe that Bishop Daniel will bring healing and gracious leadership to our Diocese."
An FAQ by chancellor Mary Kohart and another attorney, Stephen Chawaga, says the election protocol requires a representative turnout of priests and delegates.
"At least half of those in each Order who are eligible to be seated and to vote must attend the Special Convention in order for a quorum to be declared," they wrote. "A quorum is needed for each Order. This is significantly more than usually attend our Diocesan Conventions so we must make a particular effort to ensure a full turn-out on January 12."
The same document explains why the special convention will vote only on one nominee for the office.
Church canons require that any diocese calling a bishop provisional must consult with the Presiding Bishop.
"The Presiding Bishop has a policy which provides that a Diocese seeking to call a Bishop Provisional must use a highly confidential interview and selection process and may present only one name to its Convention," the attorney wrote. "The Presiding Bishop's policy, as we understand it, was adopted to encourage the broadest number of Bishops in our Church who may feel called to serve as the Bishop Provisional in a particular Diocese to seek that position privately and without fear that their interest in serving as a Bishop Provisional will complicate their current positions. An open or a contested selection process by a Diocese would defeat this goal and, from our perspective, would have likely limited the number of Bishops willing to consider becoming our Bishop Provisional."
The attorneys added: "The Standing Committee met with a broad cross-section of Diocesan leadership to solicit their views; we collated those views at the end of the process so that we had in place a list of the qualities which the Diocese thought most important in a Provisional Bishop, as well as the tasks they believed he or she would be required to perform. From this list, the Standing Committee developed a job description which the Presiding Bishop's office provided to interested candidates, a series of questions each candidate would respond to in writing, and an interview template. But, not even the entire Standing Committee knew the names of all interested candidates or even the names of the final individuals from which the Bishop Provisional would be selected. In honoring the Presiding Bishop's wishes, we also learned the extent and depth to which we were willing to trust each other's judgment and focus on the best interests of our Diocese."
Photo of Bishop Clifton Daniel III from St. Philip's at Thomas Landing, Holly Ridge, North Carolina
Bishop Clifton Daniel IIIDiocese of East CarolinaDiocese of PennsylvaniaKatharine Jefferts SchoriPresiding Bishop
S.C. Diocese Files Suit
Diocesan Office Bound for Norristown, Pa.
Bp. Jefferts Schori Speaks in Fort Worth
St Paul's Episcopal Church Yuma, AZ is currently seeking a new Rector to help us continue Seeking, Serving, Sharing Christ in our community. St Paul's founded over 100 years ago continues to develop and grow by ministering to those in need. Services offered in English and Spanish meet the needs of our diverse membership. We are a desert community, truly an oasis in the desert, very similar to the Holy Land as it relates to the environment. Inquiries can be sent to: StPaulscalling@gmail.com


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Have you ever interacted with a supervisor who was on a "power trip," and come away feeling disrespected, hurt, or upset? You're far from alone. Abundant research shows that when people feel powerful, they tend to abuse others, supporting the notion that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Many studies show that abused employees suffer distress, perform worse, are less creative, and are more likely to quit their jobs. Abusive power holders, on the other hand, seem immune to their own negative behaviors: Research suggests that they continue about their day as if nothing has happened.
But what if this isn't the entire story? What if power comes at a cost for powerful leaders, too?
We investigate this possibility in a study of 108 managers, whom we surveyed for 10 consecutive workdays. These managers worked in different organizations in industries including health care, engineering, education, and banking. Although the leaders had some degree of structural power, research suggests that one's sense of power fluctuates daily and can be triggered by certain events (for example, reminders of being in charge, attending a meeting for management, or making a hiring or firing decision). To manipulate daily power, we randomly assigned participants to five "power days" and five control days. On power days managers were asked to think and write about a time when they had power over someone else and to complete several short word exercises (such as "Complete the following word fragment with the first real word that comes to mind: p_w_r"). Research shows that both of these techniques activate a sense of power. On control days managers completed similar exercises that do not prime power. For example, they described their commute to work that day and completed neutral sentences ("Complete the following word fragment with the first real word that comes to mind: i_la_d").
Abusive power holders seem immune to their own negative behaviors and they continue about their day as if nothing has happened.
Participants interacted with their coworkers, managers, and customers over the course of the study, which gave us ample opportunities to assess the leaders' behaviors multiple times each day, both at work and at home. We emailed survey links to participants three times each day: We manipulated power with the morning survey, which participants completed at approximately 8:28 AM; we assessed daily abuse and perceived incivility from others at the end of the workday, at approximately 5:23 PM; and we measured relaxation and need fulfillment at home at approximately 8:24 PM.
Consistent with literature supporting the "corrupting" nature of power, we found that on days when participants felt powerful, they reported having more negative interactions with others. These negative interactions came in two forms: Participants reported engaging in more abusive behaviors toward others (they yelled or swore more, behaved in a rude manner, or made fun of coworkers), but they also perceived more incivility from others (they felt that coworkers addressed them more unprofessionally, talked to them in a condescending tone, and paid little attention to their statements and opinions). These findings are well aligned with prior research on the effects of psychological power. Power causes us to view others as psychologically distant, inconsequential, and as a means to our ends, all of which explain why power enhances abuse. At the same time, psychological power makes us feel special and more deserving of others' attention, respect, and favor. These inflated expectations often are not met, which may explain why power holders experience more incivility from others.
Although our findings depict a rather bleak picture for the effects that power has on leaders, there are several silver linings. First, not everyone was affected by psychological power to the same degree. For example, using a personality survey, we measured leaders' trait-level agreeableness and found that agreeable leaders abused others less when experiencing power. Agreeable people care about others' well-being and make it a priority to maintain positive relationships with coworkers. Their innate desire to maintain social harmony may explain why agreeable leaders do not engage in as much abuse when they experience power. The "absolute" corrupting nature of power, therefore, may not be as absolute as we have come to believe.
Second, power holders were hurt by their own bad behaviors. When we surveyed leaders in the evening, at home, we noticed that powerful leaders who engaged in abuse and who perceived more incivility from others reported feeling less fulfilled by their workday — they felt less competent, less able to relate to others, and less autonomous. Additionally, abusive power holders were less able to kick back and relax at home. These findings suggest a "power hangover" — the effects of power experienced during the workday reduced leaders' well-being in the evening at home. Overall, our power manipulation accounted for 15% of a manager's daily variability in need fulfillment and 2% of their variability in relaxation, suggesting that even a minor manipulation of power in the morning can have noticeable effects on well-being that last until the evening.
Why does power hurt leaders' well-being, even at home?
One reason might be that power-induced negative interactions threaten leaders' ability to maintain power over others at work; abused followers may retaliate or may not comply with abusive leaders' demands in the future. It is also possible that powerful leaders who reflect on their negative behaviors at home may feel guilty because they recognize that they violated social norms for proper work conduct.
Although many people would prefer to have more power and influence, our study shows that power not only prompts us to do bad things but can also make us feel worse at home. It is prudent, therefore, to temper our rosy view of power and to start considering its costs as well.
It is important for people in positions of power to become aware of the negative influence that power can have on our interactions with others, as well as on our own well-being. It may help to ask trusted mentors and colleagues to keep us accountable for how we behave at work. From an organizational perspective, it could be helpful to assign agreeable employees to powerful roles, because agreeable leaders are less susceptible to power-induced abuse.
It's often said that "with great power comes great responsibility." As we show in this study, greater power also seems to come with greater suffering.
More In Thinking like a Leader
Dos & Don'ts: When a Personal Crisis Is Hurting Your Professional Life
in Emotional Intelligence by Amy Gallo; 2 mins read
Understanding Why We Overreact at Work
in Emotional Intelligence by Katharina Balazs and Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries; 3 mins read
Why CEOs Devote So Much Time to Their Hobbies
in Emotional Intelligence by Emilia Bunea, Evgenia I. Lysova and Svetlana N. Khapova; 6 mins read
Back to Emotional Intelligence


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Profound Effect of American Music Across the Globe
Under : To Listen
America's ever growing population has rapidly boosted its marketing industry. More people are needed to promote and advertise artists to more listeners across the globe. How do you do this? Pay pop-stars to promote your product. Just like Queen B is doing for Pepsi or Justin Timberlake for Bud Light. Whether you're drinking a Pepsi in America, Italy or China, you're probably fully aware of Beyonce's current sponsorship, and if you're completely obsessed with this queen of pop, your daily selection of drinks will probably include a Pepsi… we don't want to let our idols down by drinking a Coca-Cola now do we?
"Elvis Presley."
Ranging from the 50s all the way till today, bands and solo artists found their fame and fortune after being inspired by America's own artists, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Motown. Finding an original song anywhere today is like finding a green M&M in a new packet of Skittles, as you will always hear samples or melodies stolen from an American predecessor. Pop songs are largely regurgitated versions of older songs but with the younger generation becoming less aware of past artists, new songs are swallowed as is, without question.
The death of American musicians during the last decade, particularly 2016, proved the impact of American music across the globe as one by one, musical celebrities passed away… Maybe it was their way of hinting that the music industry is no longer what it used to be in the past? Billions of people all over the world mourned the deaths of Michael Jackson, Prince, BB King, Ben E. King, among so many others. Nobody knew them, but they had become household names and with media being so readily available, everyone knew where they were and what they were doing. Anyone visiting Los Angeles will most definitely have Hollywood Boulevard on their must sees, just to feel as though they've someone touched one of their idols!
America has managed to change the face of music throughout the ages inspiring numerous artists and bands from around the world to make the move and leave for America to make their name.
As the saying goes, 'If you can make it in the big apple, you can make it anywhere'. With internet followers boosting your reach, your music can be heard all across the globe.
Go to any store today and you'll hear the Biebs or Queen B blasting out of the speakers whilst trying to choose whether you should go cheap and buy the slightly rougher toilet paper or spend an extra dollar on buying the soft on the butt kind.
The song playing on the speakers will generally make my decision for me as I think, 'Hey, why can't I wipe myself like the Queen herself!' and just go cheap on the alcohol as I channel Sia and sing, 'I drink to get drunk'.
I find it funny how it's the Australian who encourages the alcoholic in me, whilst the American determines my choice on what material to wipe my derriere with.
Jokes aside, I wonder if my friends on the other side of the pond find their grocery shopping being influenced by the choice of music being played on the radio… Subliminal messaging to the very beat!
"When you watch X Factor UK, most tracks selected by contestants are originally performed by American artists."
When you watch X Factor UK, most tracks selected by contestants are originally performed by American artists. Don't judge me; this is a (now-not-so-secret) fetish of mine. I love watching contestants being shot down when they're really bad, and love it when the underdog overtakes the judge's favourites from the audition, but that's another blog in itself.
The same can be said for any other song contest show in other countries. But why do they do this? All these contestants coming from relatively difficult backgrounds all state the same thing, 'I want to be like my idol, with the fame and fortune, pimped out rides, mansions and maybe a helicopter… or pony!'
Country music is also incredibly popular in the United Kingdom which I find so hard to fathom. How can a Brit person sing country with that accent? Can you imagine them coming back from a fox hunt, drinking tea, then sitting down with scone in hand and singing along to country music?
I wonder if they use the soft or rough type of toilet paper to get the real sensation of country music.


In recent years, the concept of food deserts – areas with little or no access to fresh foods – has been widely publicized and frequently studied. Borrowing from that concept, experts at Child Care Aware and Center for American Progress have coined the term "child care deserts" to identify another crucial commodity with limited availability. These child care deserts are areas where there is a significant population of children too young for public school and a lack of child care providers to meet the demand.
Child Care Deserts – Zip codes (US Census ZCTAs) with at least 30 children, ages 0-5, where the demand for child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents) is three times greater or more than the supply of child care (licensed capacity of child care providers in the area).
Subsidized Child Care Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of subsidized child care.
Texas Rising Star Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of Texas Rising Star-certified child care.
Texas Rising Star Level 4 Deserts – Zip codes with at least 30 low-income children, ages 0-5, where the demand for subsidized child care (the number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) is three times greater or more than the supply of Texas Rising Star Level 4-certified child care .
The supply of subsidized and TRS child care was estimated using 2018 target numbers from the Texas Workforce Commission on the average number of children served each day in the subsidy system in each workforce board region (here). These target numbers were used to estimate the number of licensed capacity seats going to low-income children on subsidy at each subsidy provider.
All deserts also exclude the number of children being served by Head Start and public pre-K providers from the demand for child care in each ZCTA.
Number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents comes from the US Census, American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year estimate, Table B23008 (from IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System).
Number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents living below 200% of Federal poverty line was estimated by CHILDREN AT RISK using US Census data (the Census does not calculate this estimate for public release). To calculate this estimate, CHILDREN AT RISK researchers used the 5% microdata sample from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2012-2016 for Texas. Researchers used this data to calculate the share of children, ages 0-5, who are low-income (living below 200% of the Federal poverty line) and the share of children, ages 0-5, with working parents who are low income. At the state level, children with working parents are 15% less likely to be low-income (44.7% vs. 52.6%).
Finally, researchers applied the estimated low-income shares to the total number of children, ages 0-5, with working parents in each ZCTA from the ACS (see above) to calculate the number of children with working parents who are low income in each ZCTA. ZCTA (Zip Code Tabulation Area) boundaries – US Census. ZCTAs are statistical entities developed by the US Census Bureau to approximate the boundaries of US Postal zip codes. In most cases, zip code and ZCTAs overlap and cover the same general geographic area. In some cases, ZCTAs encompass multiple zip codes, some of which contain few or no households.
You can explore our interactive map that shows which zip codes are child care deserts, as well as information on child care providers and local elementary schools.


Now that is a particularly nice one as council Standing Orders are in direct conflict with it. It is exactly what Phil was complaining about a week ago. He couldn't understand any answers because the question wasn't allowed to be heard. Citrine 1 : Twankey nil.
So she allows Craske (TLC) to carry out a filibuster, distort the truth on the Brinckerhoff contract and insult a Bexley resident without intervention and then have the gall to defend herself in writing afterwards. Not to mention the dishonest Standards Board supporting her too. Citrine 2 : Twankey nil.
Last week she rudely tried to shut Nick Dowling up when he with the good of residents in mind brought an error to Twankey's attention. Citrine 3 : Twankey nil.
Lets Conservatives ramble and cuts Labour councillors' speeches short. Citrine 4 : Twankey nil.
Public cut short by four minutes. Councillors allowed an extra five minutes. Citrine 5 : Twankey nil.
We are back to O'Neill, Campbell and Craske's waffling and insults again. Citrine 6 : Twankey nil.
This is déjà vu all over again! It is so like when Andrew Bashford of the road planning department tried to shut me up by referring to some obscure Transport Research Laboratory report on road design, saying he had followed its advice so I must be wrong with my criticisms. Hard luck on Bashford that the head of the TRL department that issued the report is a personal friend and so I got a free copy of the report and a free road inspection. When will these over-paid public servants stop treating us as fools? Bashford hadn't read the report and Twankey hasn't read the book, or if she did she has forgotten every last vestige of Citrine's advice. She has opened a can of worms for herself, I shall be having fun with her mistakes for weeks to come. No, much longer than that!
Clicking the image reveals extracts from the book. Feel free to read it Twankey. Ask nicely and Nick might lend you his copy.