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Posts Tagged As: Illinois Family Institute
NOM quotes Laurie Higgins; claims it's Chicago Tribune
Once a voice for those who opposed marriage equality in a somewhat civil tone, the National Organization for Marriage is racing down the fast lane towards anti-gay extremism. In the past few months, as it has became unavoidable clear that equality is the near future, NOM has abandoned all pretense of principled opposition on the issue of marriage and has been edging towards becoming just another of the shrill voices screaming about the homosexual agenda and ranting about what the evil radical homosexual lobby is trying to do to destroy America and harm Christians (as they define them).
Today is another example: (NOMblog)
Same-sex 'marriage' radicals are at it again… the latest example comes from Chicago.
In what the Chicago Tribune rightly called "a stunning public admission" openly homosexual Democratic State Representative Greg Harris of Chicago, outright admitted in a public debate that the proposed law in Illinois redefining marriage did NOT provide religious liberty or conscience protections for individual Christian business owners.
The article continued, saying that "it was clear that both he and homosexual Chicago Alderman Deb Mell (a former state representative and co-sponsor of SB 10) oppose any such protections." (emphasis added).
That seemed odd to me, as the Trib hasn't referred to someone as "homosexual Chicago Alderman" since the 90's. This is the rhetoric not of reporters or even editorial boards, but of anti-gay activists. So I did a little searching and, sure enough, this didn't come from the Chicago Tribune's reporters or editorial staff at all.
It came from Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute, one of only 34 groups listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an active anti-gay group (a "hate group"). And that "stunning public admission", yeah that was only Laurie being "stunned".
Now most of us can pretty easily distinguish between raging bias-based ranting and news coverage. But it is becoming increasingly evident that Brian Brown and others at the National Organization for Marriage live in a world where anti-gay epithets and paranoid raging against gay Americans seems normal and ordinary.
Tags: Illinois Family Institute, Laurie Higgins, National Organization for Marriage
Laurie Higgins hates the sinner
Laurie Higgins is an activist who writes strident florid diatribes decrying "the normalization of homosexuality" for the the anti-gay hate group, Illinois Family Association (IFI is one of only seventeen groups so designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center). But Laurie doesn't see herself as a hater – or not of people. Laurie only hates sin.
Higgins' specialty is schools and one can usually find her railing about the evils of gay-straight alliances, often at about the same time that the news is covering the story of a gay teen who committed suicide. And as part of the small but shrill collection of truly outlandish wackadoodle activists, Laurie is dedicated.
Annually, she calls on Christian parents take their kids out of school on the Day of Silence to show that they oppose its goal of drawing attention to anti-gay bullying and harassment. She considers No Name-Calling Week to be "devilish" because the curriculum, which call on students to not use 'gay' as a slur, "manipulate[s] emotions while never exposing or critiquing the assumptions embedded within the activities."
And it isn't that Laurie thinks that these are admirable efforts which go too far in their efforts to stop bullying. Nor does she simply think that such efforts unfairly portray conservatives as hateful or uncaring.
Rather, Laurie believes that there should be "a culture of disapproval and condemnation" towards homosexuality. She believes that Christians students have a moral obligation to denounce the homosexual agenda in public schools and cultivate a such a culture.
But Laurie owns no shame for this. She feels no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences that come from her campaign. That children suffer is not due to her words of truth but due to the confusion from others lying to them and deceiving their soul.
And Laurie is firmly convinced that it is she who genuinely loves those who experience a disordered sexual attraction to their same sex. Unlike the depraved, carrion-devouring culture, Laurie loves them enough to tell them that a celibate life lived in submission to God is not a lonely, unfulfilled life. She alone is brave enough to tell children that a life in which they will never kiss, hold hands, date, infatuate about, fall in love with, marry, build a life with, and grow old together with anyone ever is a life defined by real love and real peace.
And as much as she loves those depraved and disordered people, she hates their sin. And it is her hatred of the sin of homosexuality that drives her to feats of rhetoric that have contributed to IFI's recognition as a hate-group.
In fact, Laurie can stand as Example One of the embodiment of St. Augustine's call to Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin. But the little problem with loving the sinner and hating the sin is that Laurie, like most who live that principle, just can't tell where the person lets off and their sin begins.
Let's look at a paragraph from her most recent article. Although it is titled as though calling the church to care, it is just one of her usual encouragements to hate. The sin, of course.
When I think about the evil done to children by teachers who tell them that homosexuality is deserving of respect and affirmation, I become angry, and I desperately want others to experience the righteous anger that should well up in decent people who see young children taught that evil is good. We do not embody the love of Christ when we remain silent while body and soul-destroying lies are being affirmed to and in children, teens, and adults.
Laurie would have us note that it is homosexuality that she opposes. But is it? Are teachers telling children, "homosexuality is deserving of respect and affirmation"?
No, they are not.
Rather, teachers are telling students that homosexual persons are deserving of respect and admiration or, at least, that their homosexuality is not cause for precluding such persons from respect and admiration.
And Laurie doesn't believe that at all. She thinks that society should be withholding respect and admiration for these people. It should reject and condemn. It should make them feel shame.
When we consider the honesty of the situation, what Laurie really means is:
When I think about the evil done to children by teachers who tell them that homosexuals are deserving of respect and affirmation, I become angry, and I desperately want others to experience the righteous anger that should well up in decent people who see young children taught that evil doers are good. We do not embody the love of Christ when we remain silent while body and soul-destroying lies are being affirmed to and in children, teens, and adults.
But that looks too much like hate so say in public.
And besides Laurie would tell us that she does think that they are, like all of us, "deserving of respect and admiration as a Child of God." She would go on about their eternal soul and what "real love" means and sacrifice and freedom in Christ and a whole lot of other phrases that allow Laurie to see herself as separate from the misery, pain, and death of innocent children for which she will have to answer to her Maker.
But the truth is that when it comes to real gay people in real situations, Laurie's sees the sinner as inseparable from their sin. And her only response is hate.
Tags: Illinois Family Institute, Laurie Higgins, Wackadoodle
LaBarbera Award: Laurie Higgins
The Nazis, of course, were notorious for having murdered an estimated six million Jews, along with another six million undesirable Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians — and let's not forget homosexuals — for good measure. We all know that; that's why you can say "Nazi" or "Hitler" without having to describe the abject evil they represent. And Laurie Higgins, of the Illinois Family Institute, thinks that Hitler's atrocities are on par with homosexuality.
In an article she penned last July, Higgins says the "church should fight homosexuality like it did Nazism," a confusing title given that she goes on to lament the church's failure to fight Nazism as a parallel to today's affirming churches:
What is alarming about the account of the German Evangelical Church's reprehensible failure is its similarity to the ongoing disheartening story of the contemporary American church's failure to respond appropriately to the spread of radical, heretical, destructive views of homosexuality. Don't we today see church leaders self-censoring out of fear of losing their positions or their church members? Don't we see churches criticizing those who boldly confront the efforts of homosexual activists to propagandize children and undermine the church's teaching on homosexuality? Aren't the calls of the capitulating German Christians for "a more reasonable tone" and a commitment to "honor different views" exactly like the calls of today's church to be tolerant and honor "diversity"? Don't pastors justify their silence by claiming they fear losing their tax-exempt status (i.e. government assistance)? Don't they rationalize inaction by claiming that speaking out will prevent them from saving souls?
…I've asked this question before and I will ask it again: How depraved does the behavior have to be and how young the victims before the church, starting with those who have freely chosen to assume the mantle of pastor or priest, will both feel and express outrage at the indecent, cruel, and evil practice of using public money to affirm body and soul-destroying ideas to children?
Higgins asks, "where is the outrage?" Well I have some outrage for her. Virtually every question she asks is a strawman. First, is it even possible for Higgins to portray LGBT people less humanely than this? Nowhere is there even a hint that gay people are people, let alone fellow citizens, neighbors, parents, children, families, co-workers, care-givers, soup kitchen volunteers, or anything else remotely human. Instead, she equates her fellow citizens with the vile racism behind slavery and the horrific anti-Semitism of the Holocaust. Is that not, too, an outrage?
And further, how can she overlook massive numbers of evangelical, Catholic and Mormon churches which have actively fought to demonize LGBT people at every turn, including blaming gays for all sorts of natural disasters, economic crises and other evils in the world. They've accused LGBT people of conspiring to molest your children, abolish Christianity, and generally destroy civilization. They've collectively spent millions — probably even billions when it is all counted — to permanently render LGBT people as second-class citizens. I'm not one to draw parallels, but since she brought it up, I can't help but notice that second-class citizenry was a tactic employed by the Nazis against a reviled minority back then.
Some Christians who think that being gay is a sin will say, in moments of pious reflection, that homosexuality is no worse a sin than any of the other sins and, heck, we're all sinners. But Higgins is not that kind of Christian. She thinks being gay is a much worse kind of sin, a special Hitler-and-Nazi-Germany kind of sin. Higgins needs to bone up on her history and closely observe the consequences of labeling a hated minority with that kind of evil. And accept responsibility for her part in it.
Tags: Illinois Family Institute, LaBarbera Award, Laurie Higgins
Demand Honesty – Sometimes You'll Get It
The Illinois Family Institute is decidedly anti-gay. They believe that your "lifestyle" is inherently evil and they know no limits in their fight against "militant homosexual activists." IFI is one of only 12 Anti-Gay Hate Groups listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
But even those persons at IFI who have dedicated their lives to anti-gay activism are approachable. And recent events demonstrated this to me.
At this time yesterday, the IFI had a flyer on their website which they were encouraging their followers to pass out at church (it was conveniently sized to fit in a church bulletin). "Urgent!" it warned and then listed just why Illinoisans should fear Senate Bill 909, the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Bill.
As its second bulletin point it declared:
It Infringes on Freedom of Speech and Religion.
Miss California , Carrie Prejean, could have been charged with a "hate crime" for her views on same-sex marriage if S. 909 was already law. What could constitute a "hate crime" under this bill is a homosexual man or woman claiming they were discriminated against and hurt by what was said.
Now, those who read here know that this is complete nonsense.
The bill says nothing about "claims" or "hurt by what was said." Instead it provides states with federal assistance for a crime that
(A) constitutes a crime of violence;
(B) constitutes a felony under the State, local, or tribal laws; and
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or tribal hate crime laws.
And I think we all know that Carrie's babbling about "opposite marriage" was not a violent felony. Indeed, if hate crimes legislation could lead to Carrie's arrest, it would have; Nevada has hate crimes protections in place.
So I contacted the Illinois Family Institute and had a lengthy email exchange with David E. Smith, its Executive Director. Smith was not quick to agree that his claims were baseless. He decidedly did not want to admit that his claim was hyperbolic, dishonest, and a flat-out attempt to lie to those who use IFI as a resource a claim based more in desire to influence belief about the bill than in any real possible scenario. *
But I appealed to Smith's integrity and the commands of his (and my) faith not to lie, and ultimately Smith had to admit – mostly to himself – that his flyer was not truthful.
And he changed it. And I commend him for making that change.
It's not now a glowing endorsement of the bill, but at least it reads a bit more honestly:
To see where "hate crime" laws lead, we can look to other countries where such laws have been passed, and also to our nation\'s public universities. More than 230 public universities have so-called "speech codes" that are being used to restrict Christian speech. The majority of these speech codes censor any speech that challenges homosexual behavior.
Now I don't think that S. 909 will lead to "speech codes". But, unlike the false claims about Carrie Prejean, this slippery sloap is at least a legitimate concern and a credible issue over which reasonable people can disagree.
I am sure that our readers will continue to see false, offensive, or inflamatory statements in the many anti-gay writings of IFI. But that is not why I tell this story.
I want to let this serve as a reminder that the most effective strategy is not always to go in with guns blazing and call an opponent a homophobic lying bigot. Even if you think they are.
Now some folks have no interest whatsoever in the truth. They lie because that's what lying liars do. But some – even those most extreme – don't want to think of themselves as liars. They want desperately to "win", but perhaps not at the cost of their immortal soul.
And I think that we could have a more reasoned debate, tear down a few walls, find some common ground, if we insist that all of us – those who agree and those who disagree – speak the truth, hold ourselves with honor, and demand honesty.
Sometime you'll get it.
* The Illinois Family Institute objected to my characterization of their efforts as "a flat-out lie". As I cannot state for certain what went on in their heads, I will concede that perhaps they were so confused by their own rhetoric as to actually believe that Carrie Prejean could have been arrested for saying that she supported "opposite marriage".
Tags: David E. Smith, Hate Crimes, Illinois Family Institute
IFI Corrects Paraphilias Claim
On May 5, the Illinios Family Institute joined the chorus of those who misstated the APA's definition of orientation so as to claim that the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Act would protect pedophilia, exhibitionism and various other paraphilias:
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has defined the broad term of "sexual orientation" to include bestiality, pedophilia, incest, and "gender identity" disorder among 547 forms of sexual deviancy or 'paraphilias.'
Clearly our Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, are at risk, not to mention legitimizing and safeguarding over 2 dozen mental/sexual disorders.
H.R. 1913 is an insidious piece of legislation that is aimed at protecting immoral deviant behaviors while inhibiting moral verbal opposition with the threat of prosecution…
We contacted the IFI and referred them to what the APA actually says. They have now issued a correction:
In the article entitled "Hate Crimes Bill Moves to Senate" (5/5/09), we mistakenly stated that the American Psychiatric Association's actual definition of "sexual orientation" includes paraphilias. The APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) classifies "sexual orientation" as heterosexual, homosexual, and bi-sexual. The 547 mental disorders called "paraphilias" specifically involve non-human objects, physical pain, or unwilling partners as in pedophilia. IFI apologizes for the error.
Ok. That's more of a slur by association than an apology. Which is, naturally, why IFI has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
And, of course, the IFI went on to oppose the bill in terms of "threats to equal protections", an argument that did not seem to require attention when other classes of people were offered hate crimes protections.
Nevertheless, I do commend them for taking action to admit their misstatement.
Tags: Hate Crimes, Illinois Family Institute
More from Laurie Higgins on why She Supports a Culture of Disapproval and Condemnation
On April 15, Laurie Higgins, the Director of the Division of School Advocacy for hate-group Illinois Family Institute, wrote an article about why she opposed Dr. Throckmorton's efforts to get Christian kids to follow the Golden Rule in response to GLSEN's Day of Silence.
She argued that Christian kids should not "do to others what you would have them do to you", but rather they "must condemn volitional homosexual conduct".
I found this to be an endorsement of the bullying that GLSEN sought to counter as well as a perverse distortion of Christianity. I responded with a commentary in which I stated that "Higgins opposes the Day of Silence because she believes it is a Christian kid\'s duty to bully his gay classmates".
This did not sit well with Laurie Higgins.
She countered with another article in which she accused me of spreading "pernicious lies" and tried to draw a distinction between "condemnation, which means strong disapproval" and bullying. She even went so far as to argue that "censoring" the public condemnation of gay students by other students "constitutes an act of incalculable harm".
Higgins expressed no mention of the harm of allowing this "strong disapproval", such as the suicide deaths of two eleven year-old boys in the previous week.
I commented on her rebuttal,
To Laurie, Christians students should show contempt and disgust and derision. It is a good thing to abuse their fellow students that they think might be gay. It\'s the Christian thing to do. It\'s just condemnation of sin, not bullying, you see. It keeps society on the straight and narrow way.
Now Laurie has responded again. In her opinion piece The Bullying Tactics of "Anti-Bullying" Activists, she seeks to defend her honor.
Rather than review her bullet points one by one, I'll let my previous writing stand on its own. I think that the observations I have made about her character, values, goals, intentions and agenda are far more evident in her writing than are her new protestations.
And, perhaps most important, Laurie and I have found a common point. Referencing something I wrote in the comments to my own commentary, she indicates that I have, indeed, identified her intention and purpose (in the comments an individual who called herself "Teri" said I "hit the nail on the head").
Though Laurie truncates my comment, I'll repeat it in full.
Laurie\'s defenders play the same game that she does. They talk about "homosexual behavior".
What they don\'t tell you is that they define "homosexual behavior" to include the simple act of identifying as gay.
You see, to the IFIs and Exoduses and others who "fight the homosexual agenda", they really don\'t care so very much what you do in the privacy of your home – so long as you are suitably ashamed and believe that you are a sinner.
What they oppose is gay people openly and proudly identifing themselves and living with dignity.
Laurie and Teri and their pals would FAR rather have a teenage kid sneaking off to a seedly alley to have shame-filled anonymous unsafe sex than they would some virginal boy announcing that he is gay and plans to stay pure until he falls in love and marries the man of his dreams.
You see, as long as he hates himself they have a chance to save his soul. And that is far more important to them than his body or his spirit or his health or his character.
This is why they fight so hard against the Day of Silence and Gay-Straight Alliances. Not because of sex, but because these groups help counter the culture of disapproval and condemnation.
Because what Laurie wants more than anything is that the culture and society be dominated by disapproval and rejection of gays. Not gay sex, but gay identity. [The section in bold is quoted by Higgins]
And on this Laurie Higgins and I agree. We both acknowledge that she sees her goal as defending the culture of disapproval and condemnation.
Where we disagree is that I find the suffering and dead children she leaves in her wake to be abominable and horrific.
In mentioning the deaths of Carl Walker-Hoover, Jaheem Herrera, and Eric Mohat (the first time she's been inclined to do so) she finds no evidence that "compassionate, intelligent expositions of conservative views of homosexuality" (the condemnation and strong disapproval in which she says Christian kids must engage) are in any way to blame.
Even though the parent of all three boys lay the blame for the death of their children at the feet of anti-gay bullying, Laurie thinks that she's identified another culprit. Believe it or not, it's me.
Tags: Illinois Family Institute, Laurie Higgins
Laurie Higgins Seeks to Justify her Endorsement of Bullying
Laurie Higgins, Director of the Division of School Advocacy of the certified hate-group Illinois Family Institute, is not at all pleased with my observations about her advocacy for bullying.
The homosexual blog Box Turtle Bulletin carried an article last week in which Timothy Kincaid spread pernicious lies about me. I don't know Mr. Kincaid, so I don't know if he has a limited capacity for following the logic of an argument or if he has a limited commitment to truth and an unwillingness to provide evidence for his defamatory claims.
The crux of Higgins\' argument is the indignant insistence that she does not personally bully children but that "There is an important distinction between interacting with individuals and participating in public debates"
In my interactions with individuals who identify as homosexual, I would never articulate my views about homosexuality unless the topic were introduced by them. If the topic were introduced by them, I would speak the truth graciously.
Higgins goes on at quite some length in her "graciously truthful" way, crafting a world in which schools are hell bent on promoting a radical, subversive, ahistorical view about the nature and morality of homosexuality and are conspiring to censor conservative views. This makes it "ethically legitimate for all citizens to participate in the public discussion regarding what best serves justice and the common good."
But let\'s stop for just a moment and remind ourselves exactly what it is that we are talking about, exactly what it is that Higgins finds so objectionable: anti-bullying programs.
The constant use of "faggot" and "homo" and the constant deriding of students who may not fit the stereotype of sexual norms is pervasive in our public schools. And it is resulting in the staggering truth that children as young as 11 years old are killing themselves rather than face another day of this abuse.
And let\'s also keep in mind that there is nothing whatsoever that these kids can do about it. They did nothing to start it, do nothing to contribute to it, and have no way of stopping it. Many of them do not identify as gay and most of those who do have never engaged in any sexual behaviors of any kind. These are just kids who – for reasons that adults can never fathom – have been declared to be "a fag" and therefore deserving of torment.
Think about this when you read the next paragraph.
The truth is that public schools can find ways to curb bullying without addressing homosexuality. For example, students who engage in promiscuous behavior, particularly girls, are often called "sluts," "skanks," and "whores." Public educators deplore such bullying, and yet even in the service of ending bullying they would never permit books, plays, films, days of silence, newspaper articles, essays, speakers, panel discussions, and "diversity" weeks to be employed in the service of transforming students' views on the morality of promiscuous behavior. They would find ways to curb bullying of promiscuous teens without ever specifically addressing promiscuous conduct.
I want to be charitable. I want to believe that no one, not even Laurie Higgins, would oppose programs that seek to stop kids calling other kids "skank" or "whore". I can\'t.
I want to believe that Laurie thinks it wrong to push gay kids into lockers, beat them up, threaten them, and subject them to a constant barrage of insults. I can\'t.
I want to believe that she feels more empathy and a closer association with those being tormented than to those who doing the tormenting of their fellow students. I can\'t.
There simply is no way to avoid it. There is simply no other possible conclusion. Laurie Higgins supports the bullying of gay students, she just refuses to think of it that way. Higgins sees the abuse as the legitimate response of moral kids to the immoral conduct they see in others.
Just like Laurie finds it reasonable to call a promiscuous girl (or one so accused) a slut or a whore, so too is it reasonable to torment gay kids (or those so assumed) with taunts of "faggot" and to physically abuse and threaten them. Because in her world Christians are required to "condemn" objectionable behavior – which means public derision and abuse – even if most of their victims have never engaged in any behavior at all.
And if there is collateral damage, that is of little concern to Laurie Higgins. She has never shown the slightest care for the victims, not even in passing. The important thing to Laurie is that students who share her contempt for homosexuality be unhindered in their efforts to condemn and berate.
And if this results in dead children, that is of no consequence; to Laurie it\'s a small price to pay.
Tags: Bullying, Illinois Family Institute, Laurie Higgins
Who's Really Being Silenced?
BTB reader Elliot Ryan noticed something about the YouTube webpage which hosts the Illinois Family Institute's "Dare To Stand" video, and wonders who is really being silenced?
By Elliot Ryan. (Click to enlarge.)
Tags: Illinois Family Institute
Illinois Family Institute's VideoFAIL! (Update: It's back in all its red-scare glory)
The Illinois Family Institute, one of only twelve anti-gay groups in America listed by the SPLC as a hate group, tried to out-fear NOM's fearmongering commercial released last week with a fearmongering video of their own. The IFI's video, which endorsed the current status quo in schools where kids are being bullied and hounded into killing themselves, was posted as a response to the Day of Silence slated for Friday, April 17.
I had hoped to post about the IFI's video this evening, but guess what? It's no longer on YouTube. There's nothing but a note saying "This video has been removed by the user." And the original link on the IFI web page bragging about this video is also gone.
So what gives?
JoeMyGod seems to have some of the details leading up to its withdrawal. The IFI originally listed a Baptist Church in Glendale, Arizona as a producer of the video. In fact, the video referenced that church's DareToStand.org web site. But that church denied having anything to do with the clip. They have posted a note, which reads:
Please note: The Illinois Family Institute posted an article on its site April 15, entitled Dare to Stand regarding a video produced by a church in Illinois. Because the radio ministry of Northwest Valley Baptist Church coincidently [sic] bears the name Dare to Stand, we were mistakenly connected with it.
Neither Dare to Stand radio nor Northwest Valley Baptist Church is in any way involved with the development of this video or with the web site connected with it (www.dare2stand.com). Our website is www.daretostand.org. Please contact the Illinois Family Institute at www.illinoisfamily.org for more information.
The IFI's web page was then changed to identify the video's creator as Grace Gospel Center in Bensonville, Illinois. And then sometime after that, the video and the web page both vanished into thin air.
So I can't give you a blow-by-blow analysis of the video's false claims. Just as well though. When they are putting out false claims about who is actually involved in making their own video, you know it has problems.
Update: It's baaaack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9d38EoQ9pg
This video reminds me of a short movie that was put out in the 1950's which imagined the United States invaded by the Communists. It featured Jack Webb and was called Red Nightmare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61DCzi_5DDY


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Tag: Accra
By Anna McCue | May 30, 2018
The last time I lived in a building with communal bathrooms and kitchen was my first year at Loyola. I hated it then. I wanted my own space and privacy and I wanted to be able to hide from people I didn't want to talk to. I knew I would never choose to live in a communal hall like that, but I also didn't think I'd ever happen to live in one again.
Living communally, however, has been the backbone of my small time in Ghana. It's made me question why Americans are so bent over backwards about maintaining their privacy, about keeping private spaces walled off from public spaces.
On my first night here, I spent about an hour playing games with the other USAC students who all gathered in the room that would become mine. From the very beginning, I realized that the spaces I occupy here would become shared spaces. Even the things I own here have been shared freely or borrowed indefinitely. I'm an introvert but I've become used to never being alone here in Ghana.
On my last night here, I was alone in my room as I packed my things to return home. The rest of the students in my program had left. It struck me that I was the last of us to arrive here, and I was the last one to leave. Now, that loneliness is breaking my heart. I'll never again walk some few doors down and ask Laura to use her electric kettle, or walk further down the hall and ask Sharne to file my nails; Gerry isn't here to lend me money for water, Chase isn't here to open her door for me when I ask her to make me dinner. This community of international students has, in my opinion, become the most essential part to my well-being in Ghana.
Some of the USAC students (not including me) at the wedding of our resident director.
Beyond the doors of the hostel, a similar sense of community is laced in the air that I breathe. Vendors at the Night Market cooperate with little competition. Students preparing for finals share notes and ideas that will help them write their exam. If I don't know where I'm going or where to find something, I'll receive help from the first person I ask. Friends are easily made and kept. Everyone is my sister and my brother. And I became a part of these communities from the moment I stepped off the plane in January.
I'm keeping this post short because writing it is making me tear up. I am and will always be infinitely grateful for those I've met here who made me see the value of a life lived communally. My heart aches at the distance that will soon separate us. I want Chicago to be closer to Reno and Columbia, Las Cruces and Boston, DC and wherever the hell Sharne lives just so I can get on a train and be at your door. You all helped me become part of a home here, a home in which I feel protected and uplifted and uninhibited – a home whose dynamic would have collapsed as soon as any of acted selfishly.
To my two aunties and the USAC student staff who helped me learn the ropes of life in Ghana, thank you for being patient and kind with a clueless international student like myself. To the countless University of Ghana students who I met and talked with, thank you for answering my questions and letting me enjoy your beautiful country. To my UG professors, some of whom frustrated me, thank you for teaching me about Africa from an African perspective.
Laken and me at our Aunty Abigail's traditional wedding. Her dress for the ceremony is made of Ghanaian woven fabric called kente.
I will keep all of you in my heart always. You've made coming to Ghana the best decision I've ever made for myself.
Bi Nka Bi – No One Should Bite the Other
By Anna McCue | April 7, 2018
At the edge of campus on the Wednesday before Easter, Phil, Elly, and I climbed into an SUV in our Sunday best. We were on our way to the wedding of someone named Ethan from Florida – someone none of us knew.
The driver of the SUV was a young woman named Selly. She wore her natural hair and was dressed in a white lace dress that starkly contrasted her smooth, dark skin. Her mother was in the passenger seat, also dressed in white. She plugged her iPhone into the center console and played Ghanaian pop music as we drove off campus. As we introduced ourselves from the backseat, I was struck by her sudden comfort with us, three young white people whom she'd never met. I grew to be equally comfortable with her on the short ride to the venue.
The event was a traditional Ghanaian engagement and marriage ceremony. It involves the groom-to-be and his family presenting gifts of food, drink, and cash to the family of the bride-to-be. Today, the groom was not Ghanaian, and neither was his family, but he still was presenting gifts in exchange for the bride's hand. But his family remained in Florida – so who would be able to participate in the wedding?
TL;DR, it was his sisters Elly and Anna, and his brother Phil.
Family pic. LtR: Elly, George, Georgina, Ethan, me, Phil.
The long version is that the bride, Georgina, was friends with Selly, the woman who picked us up at campus, and Selly used to work in UG's International Programming Offices, where USAC's current resident director Abigail is stationed. Selly petitioned Abigail on behalf of Georgina for Abigail to send some American students to act as a surrogate family for the groom. Otherwise, Ethan would have no family who could present the wedding gifts. Got it? Ethan -> Georgina -> Selly -> Abigail -> Anna -> Elly, Phil.
Doesn't matter. On the Wednesday before Easter, Anna, Elly, and Phil were adopted family members for Ethan from Florida.
Technicalities of the ceremony requirements aside, I ask you, dear reader, to imagine being in Ethan's position. How would you feel coming to Ghana for the first time to get married? Would you invite strangers to be in your wedding party? Would you ask a stranger to become your sister, knowing that you might never meet again?
Akosua, sister of the bride, and her partner at the drinks table.
The ceremony was lively and loud and beautiful. The bride, Georgina, was dressed in a two-piece dress woven of multicolored kente, with jewelry around her neck and adorning her hair, and she was holding a fan made of white feathers. She took my breath away, and I bet Ethan felt similarly. We were invited to sing, dance, shake the hands of Georgina's family, take photos with cousins and sisters, invited to a feast fit for royalty. And the event wasn't in a banquet center or a huge garden – it was in Georgina's family home.
Now, can you put yourself in this position? Your daughter is getting married to an American man whose ways of life are vastly different from your own. He isn't familiar in the Akan marriage tradition, and yet he still wants to participate in one. What does it take for you to open your home to him and his (albeit, fake) family? To offer them food, welcome them into your home, dance and sing with them, add photos with them to the wedding album that you will show your future grandchildren?
Tables set up under a marquee in the yard of the family house.
Phil, Elly, and I decided to leave the festivities just as the heat of the sun was becoming weak, around 4pm. I was full of fufu and jollof and sobolo with a huge smile on my face, and the three of us joked about the more bizarre aspects of the day as we waited by the house gate for Selly to come out.
She drove us to ISH and the drive back felt a lot longer than the drive there. As we left the car, I said yɛbɛhyia – see you later. Literally, it means "we will meet again."
Alone in my room, I sat in thought and wonder at the hospitality of everyone I'd encountered that day. The whole day had felt surreal, but comfortable. As Selly got to know me in her car, I felt appreciated. When Ethan asked me to fill the role of his sister, I felt honored. When Georgina's family opened their doors to me, I felt accepted. I'd suddenly felt at home with this family I didn't know and the family I'd just become a part of. What new kind of hospitality was this? There were no presuppositions, no judgments, no uncomfortable gazes – they welcomed me as if they had always known me as an intimate friend. Even the language of the Akan is welcoming: everyone greets you with akwaaba – you are welcome here; saying thank you, medaase, literally means "I lay at your feet;" yɛbɛhyia – we will meet again.
Can you put yourself in my position?
I navigate my small part of Accra with the language of laying yourself at a stranger's feet, ensuring them you will always meet again. I cram myself in the back of a trotro with a stranger pressing their arm up against me. Strangers ask me where I'm from, asking me for my phone number so they can get to know me. Sometimes, men ask if I will marry them as I'm waiting in line to get lunch.
What do you do when socialization requires a level of intimacy with strangers that you're not familiar with? When the friend of a friend of a friend asks you to pretend to be someone's sister? When suddenly your understanding of personal space is inconsequential?
I am endlessly grateful that I am able to be here in Accra, but I think I am more grateful to those I've met along the way, whose attitudes of intimacy and hospitality have sometimes been challenging. I didn't come here to be comfortable, so I don't resist these challenges. Was Selly comfortable putting three American kids in her car to take them across town? Did Ethan get married in Ghana without his family present because it was more comfortable? Was it comfortable for Georgina and her family to open their home to American strangers? Maybe, maybe not. But what rises above insistence on personal boundaries and comfort is extending welcoming to strangers.
It might be hard for you to put yourself in my position. If it is, I challenge you to look more closely at Africans, at Ghanaians, at the city of Accra. They might be strangers to you, but they don't bite. You are welcome here.
The newlyweds dancing after the ceremony.
Yɛbɛhyia,
Comprehensive and Universal
By Anna McCue | March 10, 2018
cath·o·lic \ˈkath-lik , ˈka-thə-lik\ adj 2: comprehensive, universal; especially: broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests
Homesickness is much different than I anticipated. I've experienced longing, obviously, whether for a place or a person, and I know what that feels like. But being in Accra for four months is a little different than spending a couple weeks away from family in the states. Vast space and time are between me and the rest of my familiar world, and sometimes it hurts my heart. These are manageable feelings, and I know they are neither unique to me nor profound. They are just things people feel when they study abroad, and they are things that come and go.
What helps, though, is to catch glimpses of the universality of life on this huge planet.
Sunday the 25th of February, I went to Catholic mass for what was the first time in a month. Circumstances and laziness had kept me from going during my first four weeks in Accra, but that Sunday was a fortuitous one.
I've got fourteen and a half good good years of Catholic education under my belt, and I know what a Catholic mass feels like. It's catholic – universal. It's said in the vernacular (which, here, is fortunately my first language), all the prayers are the same, and it follows a playbook that saves me from having to really make any decisions during the service. During mass, whether or not I'm feeling particularly faithful that day, I feel comfortable. I feel connected to myself and those around me. And then after the hour, I feel peaceful and calm.
At home, I go to mass because it's part of my routine and part of my extracurricular commitment. I participate in the ritual because it brings me these feelings of peace that, I believe, bring me closer to God. I also know that I have friends, even a second family, in my faith-based communities in Chicago and Ohio.
But here, I went to mass on Sunday the 25th because I needed something that felt familiar.
I have weird moments here where I feel turbulent, unsettled, and alien, when I know that I should instead be feeling like I belong. The week before the 25th was peppered with many of these moments, and I was desparately in need of an anchor. I knew there was a St. Thomas Aquinas Church on campus, a forty-minute walk from my hostel. I knew they had two mass times on Sunday mornings, so I decided to go to the second one at 9am.
The worship space was semi-circular, with rows of pews surrounding the altar on three sides. One side was occupied by the choir and a small podium for the choir director to stand on. Facing the altar, there were two projection screens displaying the lyrics to the hymns for the service, as there were no missals provided for the congregation in the pews.
A badly taken photo of the worship space from the choir loft.
Genuflecting, I took a seat in the center section near the back as the procession was beginning. All at once, with the incense to my left, the choir to my right, and the altar displaying a Chi Rho before me, I felt exactly as peaceful as I needed to be. I don't think it was my faith which brought me to this calmness, because I can practice my faith anywhere. And it wasn't necessarily the environment of the relatively humble worship space that impacted me.
Instead, I think I experienced contentment because I was experiencing something familiar. Something universal. Something catholic.
Since Sunday the 25th, I've been searching for these universal experiences from which to draw serenity. I've found them in teenagers who walk home from school in groups of two and three, gossiping among themselves; in street vendors and bartenders who get my attention when I forget my change; in the way the earth smells after a light rain. This week I ended up in the hospital with a fever, and the nurse taking a blood sample from me asked how school was going so I wouldn't feel nervous. The other day I tripped over the sidewalk in a place where the cobblestones had been upset by a growing tree root. Once I saw a toddler take a faceplant in the dirt before promptly getting up and continuing to run along with her older siblings.
When I take a beat to slow down and reflect on what I'm feeling, I recognize these catholic moments. A moment that doesn't necessarily remind me of anything or anywhere, because I don't think that would help my homesickness. Rather I cherish moments that could happen anywhere, and in these I feel peace.
I really am trying to make myself feel like I can be a part of this place, to truly be where my feet are. Sometimes it feels hard when I know I'm not staying for a very long time, but I'm trying nonetheless. How do I balance a mindful effort to be present at this university with genuine feelings of longing for the family, friends, and places that are familiar?
Truthfully, I'm unsure. And I'd love for any tips and tricks.
But I bet if I spend enough time pursuing these moments of universality, seeking the catholic facets of my world, and leaning in to my Catholic faith, I just might find some answers.
Ad majorem dei gloriam,

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A couple of years ago, Rachel Maddow did a show on the failed and disastrous welfare drug testing debacle in Florida. During the show, she traced the legislation that demanded that welfare recipients be drug tested back to its money source — the Koch brothers.
Following that show, she got a surprise — one that delighted her. When Maddow covers the Koch brothers, she hears from the Koch brothers' lawyers. This time? The Koch brothers sent her a script with instructions to read it on the air. The script contained verbiage that would have denounced her reporting of their affiliation with groups that control Republicans and legislation at the local, state, and federal level.
Maddow points out that MSNBC and her show will make corrections when a mistake is made, but there is a threshold that won't be crossed.
This is important. This is evidence that they are trying to run this country from their own agenda, if evidence is needed at this point.
I've experienced that in my own life with powerful and wealthy people I know. People in positions of power are not accustomed to being challenged. They certainly aren't accustomed to being criticized. They don't want to see the mirror that we hold up to them. It infuriates them. How dare we! How dare Rachel Maddow!
As for their lame little script that they wanted her to read online, here is her response.
Rachel Maddow can't be bought by corrupt people. People who stand on principle can't be bought. They can't be silenced. They can't be controlled. The Koch brothers, and other conservatives — and maybe, truth be told, even some powerful Democrats who have lost their way — can't deal with that.
FYI, this is what a patriot looks like. In my opinion, what she's doing is dangerous. These people could have her "dealt with" without it ever being traced back to them. Oh we would all question it, sure. But they'd never see justice. She is a hero. She is….a patriot.
The only way we're going to get change is to change people and open their eyes. That's going to happen one person at a time.


text:
Q: Getting the wrong type when using a function imported from C in Python - Ctypes I wanted to use a function written in C which maps a number from one range to another:
//mapping a number <value> from 0 -> <max>  to
//<wanted_min> -> <wanted_max>

float map3(float value, float max, float wanted_min, float wanted_max) {
    return (( (value/max) * (wanted_max - wanted_min) ) + wanted_min);
}

which outputs the wanted result (-0.8 in this case) when I run it in C (in Visual Studio).
but when I run it in python (with the module ctypes):
from ctypes import *
c_funcs = CDLL("./myf.so")

def map_num(value, Max, wanted_min, wanted_max):

    x = c_funcs.map3(ctypes.c_float(value), ctypes.c_float(Max),
                     ctypes.c_float(wanted_min), ctypes.c_float(wanted_max))
    print(type(x))
    return x

print(map_num(10,  100, -1, 1))

output:
<class 'int'>
4

the type of x is int, and I can't figure out why.
and if I use regular python I get the wanted result (of course):
def map_num(value, Max, wanted_min, wanted_max):
    return (((value  / Max ) * (wanted_max - wanted_min)) + wanted_min)

print(map_num(10,  100, -1, 1))

I get the wanted result which is -0.8 (for example in this case)
I'm sorry for the lack of PEP8, any help would be greatly appreciated !

A: If you don't apply a prototype to function, ctypes assumes that arguments and return are int. See Specifying the required argument types (function prototypes). You can prototype your function so that nothing needs to be recast.
from ctypes import *
c_funcs = CDLL("./myf.so")

c_funcs.map3.argtypes = [c_float, c_float, c_float, c_float]
c_funcs.map3.restype = c_float

def map_num(value, Max, wanted_min, wanted_max):

    x = c_funcs.map3(value, Max, wanted_min, wanted_max)
    print(type(x))
    return x

print(map_num(10,  100, -1, 1))

Now that map3 has been fully prototyped, there isn't a need for the intermediate map_num function if all it does is call the C function and return its result.

A: ctypes can't infer the return type here and assumes it to be int, so you need to set it explicitly
Just do this before you call the function
    ...
    c_funcs.map3.restype = c_float
    c_funcs.map3(...)

From the docs https://docs.python.org/3/library/ctypes.html#return-types

By default functions are assumed to return the C int type. Other return types can be specified by setting the restype attribute of the function object.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This Indian-style vegan salad has a good contrast of tender steamed broccoli and crunchy raw carrot. It goes well for a light lunch or dinner with grilled halloumi (or paneer cheese if you can get it). Or eat it with tandoori chicken and rice.
Steam the broccoli for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl and add the carrots.
Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, garam masala and cumin, and fry gently until the mustard seeds start to pop.
Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and fresh coriander. Season to taste.
Pour the dressing over the veg and serve while the broccoli is still warm, or cold.


text:
Long Island Green Recycling | Aluminum and Electronics Recycling | NY
Fax Office: 631-732-6917 | Fax Shop: 631-320-3153
Click here for PK Metals hours and location
Commercial and Residential Recycling
Recovery and Salvage
Transportation and Container Services
Working Safe and Smart
Our Green Commitment. Protecting the environment.
At PK Metals our mission is to help our customers go green.
We do this by turning the tens of millions of pounds of scrap metal, paper, cardboard, plastics and electronics they bring us into useful commodities. We invite you to learn more about the benefits of recycling by reading the helpful recycling facts below.
The Benefits of Recycling
Please click the link to see a video on the benefits and impact of the recycling industry. Impact of the Recycling Industry
Recycling aluminum reduces the energy needed to produce new aluminum by 95%. The energy saved is equal to the amount of electricity the average home will use over 10 years.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
Americans throw away enough aluminum every month to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.
Steel and Tin
Recycling steel saves enough energy to power about 18 million homes a year.
Every day Americans use enough steel to construct a pipe running from Los Angeles to New York… and back.
If we recycled one-tenth of the tin cans we throw away, we'd be saving about 3.2 billion cans.
Most Americans use enough paper and wood products each year to consume a 100-foot tall Douglas fir tree.
In 2007 the U.S. population recycled more than 56% of its paper products. This impressive figure equals nearly 360 pounds of paper for each man, woman, and child in America.
More than 400 paper mills in the U.S. use at least some recovered materials in their manufacturing processes.
Every year Americans use enough plastic film to shrink wrap Texas.
Americans use 25 billion plastic bottles every year.
If every American household recycled 1 out of every 10 bottles it used, we'd keep 200 million pounds of plastic out of the landfills every year.
One metric ton of electronic scrap from personal computers has more gold than 17 metric tons of gold ore.
In 1998 the amount of gold recovered from electronic scrap in the U.S. was equivalent to more than 2 million metric tons of gold ore & waste.
PK Metals is committed to protecting the environment and is a proud supporter of:
ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.)
ISRI Safety & Environmental Council
HIA (Hauppauge Industrial Association)
LICBDC (Long Island City Business Development Corporation)
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PK MetalsOur Green Commitment
Suffolk Industrial Recovery Corp (d/b/a PK Metals) is a recognized leader in the scrap recycling industry, working to protect and preserve our environment for over 30 years. We work closely with our customers to provide Long Island and the greater New York area with safe, reliable and competitive scrap recycling and debris removal.
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text:
Biswadeb Biswas: An Adventurer Who Will Live On
HomeBlogElder CareBiswadeb Biswas: An Adventurer Who Will Live On
"People who have achieved greatness and managed to inspire everyone they've crossed path will never die. They live in our minds in the hopes that we keep their light alive. If we remember them well enough they can still guide us, like the shine of long-extinguished stars that guide ships in unfamiliar water."– Matt Haig
This quote perfectly describes the Late Shri Biswadeb Biswas (1936-2019), who strived to live life to the fullest and went on to do just that. Any person familiar with the Nanda Ghunti Expedition would definitely know about Mr Biswadeb Biswas, who was the last surviving member of the epochal 1960 Nanda Ghunti Expedition.
In 1960, the first civilian Himalayan Mountaineering Expedition in India took place. Along with the expeditors, the total members in this expedition included three scientists, two press representatives, one physician, and one transport officer— taking the total count to 15 members. Since the expedition required the right finances, Mr Biswadeb decided to write to Everest winner Sir Edmund Hillary, who was visiting Calcutta at the time. Together they met Mr Ashok Kumar Sarkar of Anand Bazar Patrika, who after listening to their story not only arranged for the money but also published photos and excerpts of this great achievement in his newspaper.
Thus, began the unforgettable journey of a man who stopped at nothing, went on to achieve greater heights, and in the process, managed to inspire countless other individuals.
Right at the onset, it was pretty evident that Mr Biswadeb Biswas was not cut out for ordinary things. His love for adventures led him to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling, where he was one of the first batch of trainees. He learned under the tutelage of the legendary Tenzing Norgay—the Chief of Field Training at the institute. Eventually, he went on to become a key member of many such adventurous climbs, the last being in 1987 to the Lang Tang Himalayan in Nepal.
A reputed editor at the Anand Bazar Patrika and an author of well-documented books like Mana Expedition, 1961 in the Himalayan Journal—Mr Biswadeb Biswas has many popular books to his credit.
Apart from being the founding member of Parbat Abhijatri Sangha that undertook this remarkable mission, Mr Biswadeb Biswas was the recipient of the prestigious Tenzing Norgay Award conferred to him by the Govt. of West Bengal. He also received the Ashok Kumar Sarkar Mountaineering Award and Citation from Sri Subhas Chakraborty, Minister of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of West Bengal.
Having met the likes of former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the former President of India, Dr S. Radhkrishnan for his great feat—Mr Biswadeb Biswas continues to inspire several others and motivates them to pursue their passion with everything they've got.
Mr Biswadeb Biswas was 83 years old when he passed away on 14th September 2019. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter, along with million others who have always looked up to him and worshiped him.
His funeral took place on 17th September 2019 in Keoratala Crematorium at 2:00 pm in the presence of his family members. Several from Ananda Bazar Patrika and mountaineer group attended his funeral to pay homage during his last rites.
TriBeCa Care has had the honour to interact with Mr Biswadeb Biswas when he was our Elder Care member and we could get to know him in such close quarters. Although he is not there with us today, his greatness, achievements, and personality are always going to have a special place in our hearts.
Divya Sadasivan
Anand Bazar Patrika, Biswadeb Biswas, death, funeral, Himalayan Mountaineering Expedition, mountaineer, Nanda Ghunti Expedition, Parbat Abhijatri Sangha, Sir Edmund Hillary
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UVM hockey: Can Catamounts curb mistakes against Northeastern?
Vermont men to host Northeastern Friday night, women face BU; Martin St. Louis enters NHL Hall of Fame.
Superb goaltending and solid defense undone by the most egregious of errors. Offensive opportunities created but too seldom converted.
Such has been life for the University of Vermont men's hockey team early this season. Those are trends that must soon be reversed or the Catamounts will face a miserable early spring.
At 1-4-0 in Hockey East, UVM (3-5-0 overall) already faces a significant uphill climb in the league standings. It gets no easier Friday when the Huskies of Northeastern prowl Gutterson Fieldhouse.
While the men play only one game, the Catamount women — also beset by offensive shortcomings — will travel to Boston University for a pair of games.
That's what UVM head men's coach Kevin Sneddon calls it.
More simply, it's making the wrong decision at the wrong time with the dire consequences.
The Catamounts' last game, a 3-2 loss at Boston College, is an example, a game in which UVM twice rallied from one-goal deficits but yielded all goals after bad decisions.
"First shift in the game we're kind of on (a BC player) in front of the net, but we're not. We're down 1-0," Sneddon said.
"End of a power play, we try to make a heroic play when it's not the time to do that. We give up a 2-on-0 and they don't convert, we don't cover, we make a second mistake and now we're down 2-1," he said.
"We get it to 2-2. Twenty-one seconds to go in the period, easy line change, we come on, we think overly aggressive and we give up a 3-on-2 the other way and now we go into the break down 3-2," he said. "To me, that's not managing the game very well from a decision standpoint."
Consequently, the coaches spent considerable time going over responsibilities and the importance of puck management. Specifically, Sneddon said he thinks some of those plays may be due to players going out of their roles in efforts to make up for the injury losses of Alex Esposito, Liam Coughlin and Max Kaufman.
"The tendency on the part of some of our guys is, 'Wow, we're without Coughlin, without Espo, without Kaufman — I've got to do more. I've got to do something quite frankly I'm not capable of doing,'" Sneddon said.
As for the injured, Kaufman was back in full-contact practice but listed day-to-day pending clearance for Friday's game. Coughlin and Esposito are progressing but remain listed week-to-week although both are due to skate soon.
A year ago, Adam Gaudette (30-30-60), Dylan Sikura 922-32-54) and Nolan Stevens (24-18-42) formed the most dynamic line in college hockey. All are now professionals.
Yet the Huskies' scoring hasn't diminished by much, especially in the third period where they have piled up 19 goals; they have 17 combined for the first and second periods. They have a 4-2-0 record when trailing after two periods, a sign of resilience and confidence.
Forward Grant Jozefek (8-4-10) are defenseman Jeremy Davies (3-7-10) are the offensive catalysts and Cayden Primeau (2.68; .909) anchors the defense.
Ranked 13th nationally, Northeastern is 3-1-1 in Hockey East and 6-3-1 overall.
As someone who saw every minute Martin St. Louis played in a Catamount uniform, I was glad to see UVM's greatest player inducted into the National Hockey League Hall of Fame. I always thought Marty would be a solid NHL player … if anyone would ever give him the chance.
And speaking of Marty, his long-time sidekick and UVM's all-time leading goal scorer (107), Eric Perrin, is still going strong strong in Finland. He just turned 43 and is in his 14th season in Finland's premier league, Liiga.
Perrin has 8 goals and 14 points in 20 games this season. He's the all-time leading foreign-born scorer in Liiga history with 512 points in 605 games. He also scored 32 goals and 104 points in 245 NHL games plus a Stanley Cup with Marty in Tampa Bay in 2004.
Like the men, the UVM women have searched in vain for the scoring touch this season.
"It's a fine line between trying too hard and not being focused enough," coach Jim Plumer said.
The Catamounts (2-6-3, 2-5-1 WHEA) will visit Boston University (2-3-3, 2-3-3). The Terriers aren't quite the force of recent season but still solid.
Time will tell, but it appears Vermont has ramped up its efforts with Sneddon, Kevin Patrick and Jeff Hill all hitting the recruiting trail.
"We're excited about it," said Sneddon of UVM's outlook over the next couple of years.
Speaking in general terms, he pointed out that "I'm more active in the recruiting. I've seen almost all our players if not all who have committed. Some have signed (national letters-of-intent) and some are pending.
"It's more having three guys being extremely involved than it has been in the past," he said.
Sneddon said UVM will also renew and intensify its efforts in Quebec where it and all NCAA schools face nearly overwhelming competition from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Players who signed with the QMJHL are ineligible under NCAA rules.
While NCAA and/or UVM rules bar Sneddon from commenting on many of the recruited players, various college recruiting sites make it easy to keep track of who is expected when.
Next year's UVM class is expected to have four freshmen and one transfer. The latter is forward Thomas Aldworth, who is sitting out his transfer year from Quinnipiac. Aldworth can practice with the Catamounts this season. In two-plus seasons at QU, Aldorth had 17 goals and 32 points in 78 games, including 10-6-16 as a sophomore.
The freshmen are expected to be: F William Lemay, 6-0 180, Brooks Bandits (AJHL) 21 games 11-18-29; F Simon Boyko, 5-10 175, Brooks Bandits (AJHL) 14 8-9-17; F Riley McCutcheon, 6-0 195, Cobourg Cougars (QJHL) 24 17-6-23; and D Conner Hutchison, 6-1 195, Penticton Vees (BCHL) 22 2-8-10.


When Dr. Kyle Jensen became the new writing program director at University of North Texas, he encountered a set of problems that all WPAs face.The administration was eager to see the program grow, in terms of its enrollment and its visibility across and beyond the local campus. On top of this, the need to secure additional funding for the department--and to update the curriculum--weighed heavily on Kyle and his team. Kyle's curriculum revision needed to accomplish all those objectives without raising the cost for students.
Kyle reached out to our Macmillan Learning Curriculum Solutions team to find out what resources were available to support his plan for the program. Together they generated a set of unique solutions that helped Kyle reinvent UNT's writing program. Kyle selected An Insider's Guide to Academic Writing (Miller-Cochran et al.) as the core text. He then added original content to more clearly articulate the program's goals relative to the university's core curriculum expectations. Textbook author and WPA Susan Miller-Cochran of the University of Arizona visited campus to deliver a professional development event that clarified the tenets of UNT's new approach. With sales from the custom text, the program began to provide revenue for scholarships, author visits and professional development event workshops, and other activities beneficial to faculty and students.
Kyle also drew upon the affordances of Macmillan's trade portfolio to help students develop a stronger engagement with the program's reading and writing assignments. He selected readings from recently published popular texts that address pressing issues relevant to student lives. In addition, he assigned two full-length novels, The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex (both authored by Jeffrey Eugenides). With royalties generated from sales of the custom text, Kyle was able to fund a Fall screening of the film version of The Virgin Suicides--an event that was attended by nearly 1,000 students. Not only was this special event well attended, but it established a broader community of learning across sections in the program.
The culminating event of the new writing program curriculum came in March: a public lecture by Jeffrey Eugenides on how to solve problems in writing. Eugenides' lecture addressed how he didn't want to conduct research while writing Middlesex. He shared that eventually he realized the need to do research which allowed him to finish the book. His lecture connected with students at a fundamental level and was attended by the President, Provost, Vice Provost and College Deans at UNT. It sparked enthusiasm from administrators, faculty, and students alike--as well as from members of the surrounding community. Students were thrilled by the opportunity to personally interact with the Pulitzer prize-winning author; the program benefited from increased visibility, an annual, cost-effective update model for its curriculum, and the ability to attract and retain academic talent.
Kyle's influence and creativity serve as the foundation for a new content model for writing programs everywhere. It is important to share that Kyle and the Curriculum Solutions team were able to deliver this innovative solution without increasing costs for students. Learn more about the response to UNT's event with Jeffrey Eugenides here.
Brenda Helmbrecht at Cal Poly was a new author for the fall of 2013. Fresh Voices, a collection of writing from first-year students, is intended to help new students create their own voice while progressing as writers. The essays selected for Fresh Voices are a showcase for the talented writers in Cal-Poly's first-year writing program, and encourage a new batch of students to break old habits.
Brenda worked with Hayden-McNeil to create a design and layout that would be functional and eye catching. Color coded tabs help students navigate the sections of the reader with ease, and text boxes lead students to websites with additional information about topics discussed within the reader.
The English Department at College of the Desert had offered a choice of texts for their instructors to use for their English 061 course, but they saw a need to use one common text so students could switch sections without having to switch to a new book--and so that instructors could have a unified approach. For Fall 2016 they chose Green and Lawlor's integrated reading/writing text Read, Write, Connect, customizing by adding their own student learning outcomes to the front of the book. To further assist students with their writing, they also chose to add at no additional cost two ForeWords modules--Strengthening Academic Writing Skills and Sentence Guides for Academic Writers. With an attractive custom cover featuring a photo of their campus, the book is designed just for College of the Desert students. We look forward to checking back with them to see how their custom edition is working for them and to further refine their textbook to suit their needs.
As a high school, the Lincoln Nebraska Public Schools needed to comply with NASTA specifications, but they were ready to roll to the new edition of Abcarian's Literature: the Human Experience, a college-level text. In addition to making the necessary changes to comply with NASTA specifications, we also created a hardcover edition for them at a reduced cost. Although books were for spring, we sent them in October to give them plenty of time to prepare. We ran with the first printing and sent thirty-six desk copies as soon as they came off the press, free of charge.
The English faculty at Old Dominion University had been using Kennedy's Backpack Literature from Pearson. They were looking for something that would allow them to add in their own content. This content was different from what we typically see in English custom: material about the department or the writing center. Instead, through the inclusion of original works of poetry and fiction from the ODU faculty they strove to show students the value of literature and creative writing. Roughly two poems from each faculty member plus a short story, we added about 30 pages to the back of Literature to Go. The faculty received a $1 royalty to support underfunded programs. Additionally, they invited franchise author, Michael Meyer, to visit the school that spring.
Pikes Peak Community College first adopted the Second Edition of From Inquiry to Academic Writing for their year-long Composition I and II course to provide students with the most comprehensive rhetoric/reader they could find and with additional readings and student essays they chose added for maximum effectiveness in the classroom. They were so happy with their custom edition that when the Third Edition came in out in 2016 they revised their custom, working again with our editorial staff to update their supplementary readings to go with themes taught in the book.
The Guide has been a collaborative effort of UA faculty, graduate students and foundations writing students. New to the program in fall 2017 is the inclusion of access to Macmillan Learning's digital support tools for English composition - Writers Key and Writer's Help 2.0. The text is printed on 100% recycled stock and contains permissioned work in addition to their original content. The Foundations Writing Program will be evolving to 100% digital resources for 2018/2019.
In the spring of 2016, instructors at the University of La Verne's writing program were looking for a rhetoric to address both the culture-writing approach common in the first semester and a research-based approach for the second semester. To keep the cost to students reasonable, they wanted to create a text that included only the content they needed. The curriculum solutions team at Macmillan Learning sent copies of existing Bedford texts that covered these types of writing, and writing program chair Jolivette Mecenas was excited that she could pick and choose the coverage she wanted and add her own content as well. Our editorial staff worked closely with Professor Mecenas to create the University of La Verne's own unique two-part rhetoric, with Part 1 containing chapters from Lunsford's The Everyday Writer, with its great coverage of the writing process, and Part 2 containing chapters from Palmquist's popular Bedford Researcher on the research process. The school added their own introductory text at the beginning of the book, including a welcome letter to students and information about their writing program. Lastly, we designed an attractive cover using school colors and photos of their campus, including their leopard mascot. Professor Mecenas was thrilled with the results, telling us: "The book looks great - exactly the book we were looking for!"
More than ten years ago, our sales team began working with the English Department at U T Knoxville to learn about their new approach to teaching English 102, working with them as they class-tested several Bedford/St. Martin's writing texts. Out of this was born, in 2006, one of our first complex Bedford/St. Martin's custom texts. Working with the composition director, our in-house team helped them craft a book that combined the chapters they wanted from five different Bedford texts with their own content, photos, and student essays. The resulting book was carefully edited and beautifully designed, with all the varying text styles and pedagogy seamlessly woven together to make an effective text for their course. Over the years, our curriculum solutions team of editors, sales reps, and specialists has continued our successful partnership with the department, working together to revise their content and switch out the Bedford content as needed through four editions, addressing the changing needs of the course to provide great service and a superior custom rhetoric.
The faculty at Washington State University were interested in Markel's Technical Communication, but knew they wouldn't cover all the material. To accommodate for this, we removed five full chapters and the appendix handbook. Rather than repaginate completely, we updated the front matter and TOC to reflect the jumps in the page numbering. Additionally, we added a full index for further clarity. The book was also given a custom cover that included the school and course name. Ultimately, the custom paperback was packaged with six-month access to LaunchPad. Meaning, students had the best of both world: a print book tailored to their course and a digital option with accompanying resources as well.


text:
War on West Papua
Admiralty Shipyards
Kalashnikov concern
Kazan Helicopters
Kurganmashzavod
Mil Moscow Helicopters
Rostec
Russian Helicopters
Tactical Missiles Corporation
United Aircraft Corporation
VPK Military Industrial Company
Boris Obnosov, CEO of Tactical Missiles Corporation
General Director Boris Obnosov
141080, Moscow region, Korolev, Ilyicha str., 7
Tel +7 (495) 542-57-09
АО «Корпорация Тактическое Ракетное Вооружение» (ktrv.ru)
Tactical Missiles Corporation was established by Presidential Decree in 2002 and gradually absorbed dozens of defence technology and space warfare companies. In 2020, Defense News ranked Tactical Missiles Corporation 35th in the top 100 of weapons dealers and assessed the company's 2019 revenue at $3.475 billion. The corporation's strategic targets, as described on its website, are the "keeping and developing of missilery's research and production capacity, supplying national defence capability, resource mobilization needed for highly effective guided missiles and air-based, ground-based, sea-based weapon systems production, also in strengthening military positions of Russia in world armament markets.
Air-to-Air Guided Missile R-73/AA-11
TNI AU received 75 of these in 2010. They are designed for MiG and Sukhoi aircraft.
R-73 Missile
Air-to-Air Guided Missile RVV-AE
Indonesia bought 60 of these in 2012-13. The air-to-air guided missiles are designed to be attached to the Russian fighter aircraft made by Sukhoi and MiG. The RVV-AE is Russia's first purpose built 'fire and forget' missile. The missile is marketed as an air-to-air 'beyond visual range' weapon and is widely deployed in conflicts in Africa and the Arab world.
RVV-AE Missile
Kh-29 missile
TNI AU bought ten of these in 2012. The Kh-29 'air-to-surface' missile travels at 1100km an hour and features a 'TV guidance' system. Like the RVV AE, this is a 'fire and forget' bomb.
The Kh-31 is a medium range air-to-surface missile. Ten of these were purchased by TNI-AU in 2012. The Kh-31 and Kh-29 are both intended for Russian Sukhoi jets and can be mounted simultaneously for different destruction purposes.
Russian white Kh-29 and grey Kh-31 missiles
The Kh-59 is an air to sea missile, intended for destroying ships. Ten of these were purchased by TNI AU at the same time as the Kh-29 and Kh-31 missiles.
Kh 59 missile
Yakhont
The Yakhont is a 'supersonic land attack cruise missile', that can be fired from the air, land or at sea. This 'fire and forget' weapon was purchased for TNI-AL in 2011. It has a range of 300 kilometres.
Yakhont Missile from Tactical Missiles Corporation
This website is a collaboration between WagePeace, War Resisters International and Make West Papua Safe. We welcome further collaboration and input. The information here is accurate however it is not comprehensive. To add or amend information about weapons in West Papua email our team.
Anda dapat menambahkan informasi tentang senjata dan peralatan militer di tanah Papua secara anonim dengan menggunakan formulir ini.


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text:
Q: Problema con CSS para timeline Descargué un timeline de esta web https://codepen.io/P233/pen/lGewF pero tengo un problemita, no puedo modificar los círculos de la izquierda que acompañan a los botones:

Veo un código así:
.radio:checked + .relative .circle {
    background: #f98262;
}

Pero no logro modificar el color del círculo, ¿alguna sugerencia?

A: Si descargaste todo como viene en el ejemplo, simplemente tienes que buscar la clase del <input> la cual es radio.
Buscas en el scss el .radio y verás el siguiente código:
.radio
  display: none
.radio:checked
  & + .relative
    label
      cursor: auto
      @if $vertical
        transform: translateX(42px)
      @else
        width: 400px
        transition: width 0.3s linear 0.2s
    .circle
      background: $red
  & ~ .content
    max-height: 180px
    border-color: $white
    @if $vertical
      margin-right: 20px
      transform: translateX(20px)
      transition: max-height 0.4s linear, border-color 0.5s linear, transform 0.2s linear
    @else
      width: 400px
    p
      max-height: 200px
      color: $white
      transition: color 0.3s linear 0.3s

Como puedes ver el .circle tiene background: $red, simplemente cambia el valor de esa variable o pon un color directamente.


Just finished Simon Sebag Montefiore's The Romanovs 1613-1918. This book followed the Romanov dynasty who we served as emperors of Russia for three centuries. Russian political history during the early modern period is a story of repression, where the autocracy partnered with the nobles to repress the peasants. While a Marxist reading of history might claim that this is always happening, Russia provides some really blatant examples: throughout the 18th century the Romanovs constantly reward their favorite couriers with thousands and thousands of peasant lives, and often serfs were used as a farewell present to get a troublesome lover out of their hair.
The book covered all the well-known Russian tsars, including Peter the Great (who has his own son tortured and murdered for being insufficiently loyal to his reform programs) and Catherine the Great (German by birth but who murders her husband to take power). Until the 18th centry, everything plays as a sort of fun-house mirror to absolutist rule in the west - the Russian court is usually run by ministers imported from Germany, and Peter the Great's "All-Drunken Synod" is a mockery of courts such as Verseilles. Ultimately the autocrat and the in-group of their advisors (who could change on the whim of the autocrat) was always in charge.
Once the book gets into the 19th century and past the Napoleonic Wars, the book changes from a typical narrative history. Usually into the 19th century a narrative history starts to include the stories of people who are outside the monarch's inner circle, but the book keeps its focus on the ruling family. As a wave of liberal politics spreads across Europe in the revolutions of 1848, it's clear that the Romanovs refuse to change Russia and try to hang on to power as best they can (On his deathbed, Nicholas I raises a clenched fist: "Hold everything like this!"). Alexander II ends up emancipating the serfs as a way to ensure that political change comes from the top down, rather than being forced on it by the peasants. Russia struggles into the 20th century as a half-rate power with an unorganized military that suffers a number of setbacks through the Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War. The autocracy ensures that the entire system is set up to serve the ruler, rather than to project power. At some point the emperors end up under constant threat of assassination. Their subjects are explicitly trying to kill them.
Eventually we get to Nicholas II and the various intrigues around his wife and their relationship with Rasputin - a wholly ridiculous figure. Rasputin, a Siberian peasant with the affect of a holy man, provides the family with a mystical justification for their autocracy. It's not clear he was any different of a sycophant than those that usually surrounded the Romanovs, but his presence is seen as a corrupting force across the rest of the Russian political elite and a constant source of tension. Eventually the Great War puts an immense amount of pressure on the Russian ruling class, and something breaks - Rasputin is brutally murdered and Nicholas II abdicates to the forces of February Revolution. His brother Michael II is emperor for a day until he too realizes the situation to be untenable and abdicates to the forces of the revolution.
After this, the tone shifts again - Nicholas II lives with his family under house arrest. The Bolsheviks come to power in October and plan the murder of Nicholas and the entire Romanov clan (Lenin claims "A revolution without firing squads is meaningless"). After wielding power for three centuries, the Romanovs are finally the objects and the repression of the state is brought against them. Nicholas and his entire family (his wife, four daughters, and hemophiliac son) are murdered in 1918 and the Russian Republic moves forward to become just as autocratic a state as it was under the Romanovs. Stalin claims "the people need a tsar" and Russia ends up with "red tsars" in Montefiore's parlance - except now the leader is the Communist Party. The book closes on a grim note with a postscript on Vladamir Putin and his distate for the weak men (Nicholas II and Mikhail Gorbachev) who "threw power on the floor" only to "allowed power to be picked up by hysterics and madmen". Russia continues as an autocracy, even after the death of their ruling clan.


text:
About Health Forward
Grantees and Applicants
System change requires commitment and funding
Members of the Johnson County Trauma Informed Care Task Force
By Valorie Carson on February 24, 2016
Community Planning Director
United Community Services of Johnson County
The human services sector — like all professional fields — is one that must incorporate new research and understanding of the interconnectedness between the body, behavior, history and environment in order to stay relevant. Professional development around issues such as cultural competence, gender identity, impact of socio-economic status, and equity have strengthened organizations' ability to better partner with their clients as they work to accomplish targeted goals or recover from hardship.
Sometimes increased awareness and the translation of new knowledge or perspectives into practice can be completed on a personal level, but often it must happen at the level of organizations and systems in order to have its greatest impact. Organization and system change require commitment and coordination – and funding.
In late 2011, professionals in Johnson County, Kansas, representing systems of care and correction were just hearing about "trauma-informed care" and wondering what it meant for their organizations. Did this impact their clients or their staff? Should becoming trauma-informed as an organization be a priority? What process and training was necessary to becoming a trauma-informed organization or system? And who could help local organizations get there?
With awareness about the impact of trauma increasing, United Community Services of Johnson County (UCS), a nonprofit focused on human services planning, convened an initial group of interested organizations to explore what it would mean for them to become trauma-informed. The group, who came to be known as the Johnson County Trauma Informed Care Task Force, wanted a collective way to explore the issue and how it related to them – but UCS immediately recognized that the planning, training, and coordination of such an effort would require resources. Resources to support the time for convening and facilitation, getting educated about best practices and training resources, working one-on-one with staff to build buy-in, the delivery of training and related materials, and support for the creation and implementation of action plans within each member organization.
The Health Forward Foundation's Applicant Defined Grant funding made it possible for UCS to provide the planning support essential for Johnson County agencies to lay the groundwork for a trauma-informed community within their own organizations.
Finding funding for a change process that is driven by a community's collaboration is often difficult. The Health Care Foundation recognized early on that the vision of creating a trauma-informed community in Johnson County would likely not be a simple one-and-done effort. Instead it would be an ongoing effort, shaped by local partners and their capacity for change, and require organizational culture shift to be successful. Understanding that changing organizational practice and culture takes time, the Foundation provided three years of support for the process of planning, training, implementation, expansion and sustainability.
The groundwork laid by member organizations and supported with resources from the Foundation has resulted in:
hundreds of trained staff at dozens of public and private organizations
100-plus educational presentations and increased awareness across the county
ongoing quarterly trainings for members' new staff
increased secondary trauma resources
bi-monthly meetings of the Task Force within the county's Community Violence Action Council (COMVAC)
ongoing team meetings within member organizations to assure the gains made by the effort continue growing.
The Health Care Foundation has been a critical partner in Johnson County's effort to create a trauma-informed community – a vision that local organizations will continue striving for in order to assure better outcomes for their clients and staff, and ultimately all residents of Johnson County.
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Fluid in ears and ear infection, treatment?
Doctor found fluid in my ear and I'm taking ear drops. The ear drops are making my ear hurt. Any help would be appreciated.
Coconut oil safe to use in ear daily for ear pressure? Pain/water behind eardrum currently on antibiotics but ear pressure remains.
Could antipyrine benzocaine ear drops help cracking and popping in the ears due to fliud ?
Can benzocaine ear drops help cracking and popping in the ears due to fliud ?
No: It will only help with pain.
Otitis media with effusion in adults causes ringing in the ears?
Does the antibiotic ear ointments that residue in the external ear canal can cause ringing in the ears (tinnitus)?
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