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Cameraman at 13 (Photo by Blandine Philippe)
Performer/Videographer (2007)
On Set - "Willie in the Sky"
It's All About the Vision
Nathaniël has been directing and producing Films, Videos and TV projects for over 27 years. From his Films which traveled the world through Festivals (Willie in the Sky, Exode, Dans le Passage…) to more artistic projects (Music Videos, Video-choreographic Installations), he worked on numerous types of productions, know for bringing impactful Visual propositions and an organic flow of work with the individuals he collaborates with.
Director, Creative Producer and multi-disciplinary Artist from Montréal, Nathaniël is developing films and videographic projects, producing an original Musical for the stage (Reunion of The Bells), regularly working as a French voice artist and linguist, and occasionally teaching fellow actors and filmmakers.
NathanielSiriBusiness@gmail.com
©2020 by Nath Creation. Proudly created with Wix.com


A humorous naptime book for baby (and sleepy mama, too) from best-selling author Margie Palatini and award-winning illustrator Dan Yaccarino. Includes Read Aloud/Read to Me feature where available. Readers embark on a fast-paced chase through every room in the house as we follow Mommy on her quest to settle Baby down for nap. Dashing from family room to living room, both on the table and under it, through the kitchen and even hiding in the laundry basket, this hilarious romp culminates with mommy and baby collapsed – AT LAST — fast asleep in a chair.


Purchasing any pre-owned vehicle should never be painful, tedious or difficult. The buying experience you receive and the environment where you purchase a vehicle of this nature is imperative to your long term happiness. At McDonald Automotive we've been at it for over 50 years, doing right comes naturally. We not only invest heavily in training the staff for our world class facilities, but in the latest technology and software that makes purchasing your dream vehicle from us easy and transparent. Every one of our vehicles is reconditioned to the highest standard, we'll share with you the CarFax report and inspection up front so you can see for yourself exactly what went into making it the finest one on the market. We understand that not only having the very best condition is important, but fully appreciate that it's one of the largest investments you'll make and that the final selling price is extremely important! We rely on Market Based Pricing, not numbers arbitrarily chosen based on what we own the vehicle for, simply guessing, or using archaic "book" values. The Market Based Pricing philosophy is simple, just like investment banking or the real estate industries it takes into account condition, location, supply, demand as well as comparable prices and what a similar product has sold for. McDonald Automotive's pricing strategy is powered by a software platform that utilizes an algorithm which constantly checks the entire market instantaneously multiple times daily to determine what the optimal price of each individual vehicle should be to ensure we always remain relevant and priced accordingly in the hyper-competitive pre-owned marketplace. We look forward to earning your business and remain at your service to assist you in finding the perfect vehicle to fulfill your dreams.
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*** McDonald Mazda South at 6100 South Broadway in Littleton has recently completed construction on the Nation's flagship Revolution dealership, come experience the unequaled luxury for yourself. As always our Market Based Pricing ensures you will always get the best price possible on every pre-owned vehicle! All of our pre-owned vehicles are fully inspected and reconditioned to our high standard. McDonald Automotive is a family owned dealer group for over 50 years and passionately dedicated to community involvement. To us doing right comes naturally!. Please call us today at 303-376-4732 to schedule your test drive.
Why Buy From McDonald Mazda South?
At McDonald Mazda South, our mission is to put the customer first. We have had the pleasure of servicing the great state of Colorado since 1988. Today we are proud to be called one of the most popular Mazda dealerships for new and used Mazda's in not only the greater Denver area but the entire state of Colorado.


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Home > Community Leaders Continue to Speak Out
Community Leaders Continue to Speak Out
Written by Rachel Weber, November 27th, 2019
Last week, we stood together with community leaders and climate justice advocates to host a press conference about the destructive impacts of the wood pellet industry and other extractive industries in the state. Following the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board Meeting, Belinda Joyner of the Concerned Citizens of Northampton County and Debra David of the Concerned Citizens of Richmond County shared their experiences living with the impacts of polluting industries — including Enviva wood pellet facilities, hog factories, Duke Energy's power plants, and the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Community members and advocates hold signs at the press conference in support of climate justice and in opposition to extractive industries and dirty energy.
Emily Zucchino, Dogwood Alliance's Director of Community Engagement, and William Barber III of the NC Poor People's Campaign and Climate Reality Project also spoke, renewing calls on Governor Cooper's administration and DEQ to issue a cumulative impact assessment of extractive industries in the state, starting with the wood pellet industry.
The meeting and press conference came on the heels of DEQ approving Enviva's third massive expansion this year — this time at its dirty Northampton County facility, just a few miles from Belinda's home. Each time Enviva applied to expand, community members and North Carolinians from across the state spoke out in favor of forest protection and climate justice, urging DEQ to deny the production increases.
Belinda Joyner of Garysburg, NC, Concerned Citizens of Northampton County
"They [DEQ] had a public hearing in three different counties, and to come back with the same result, I find something wrong with that… Because they did not listen to anything that we said in Northampton County. They did not hear the cries of the people who can't sit on their porches, can't hang their clothes on the line, with trucks 24/7 up and down the highway." – Belinda Joyner, Concerned Citizens of Northampton County
Throughout the press conference and at the Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board meeting beforehand, we kept hearing a similar refrain — a call on DEQ to stop treating communities like dumping grounds and sacrifice zones.
Debra David of Dobbins Heights, NC, Concerned Citizens of Richmond County
"Where I live in Dobbins Heights, we already have Duke Energy, Piedmont Gas, Perdue Farms, CSX Railroad, Trinity Chemical Factory, and we have Enviva built on top of that. So I feel like we are a dumping ground." – Debra David, Concerned Citizens of Richmond County
The seriousness of the climate crisis demands transformative action to transition to a clean energy economy and dramatically scale up forest protection. Issuing permits now for expanded forest destruction and new fossil fuel infrastructure locks in dangerous emissions for decades to come, at a time when we urgently need decision-makers to pull the brakes on these harmful industries.
William Barber III, NC Poor People's Campaign and Climate Reality Project
"When we allow our communities to be encroached upon by fossil fuel infrastructure, whether it be pipelines or power plants, and when we allow our forests to be cut down and consumed, it increases the amount of greenhouse gas emissions being dumped into our global atmosphere and lowers the probability that we will act in enough time to minimize the worst effects of the environmental crisis." – William Barber III, NC Poor People's Campaign and Climate Reality Project
Emily Zucchino, Dogwood Alliance
"Those hit first and worst by climate change are often the very communities who live with the pollution and disruption of the industries that have caused and are worsening the climate crisis. Yet our state laws and regulations keep us bound to a system that approves industry in a silo, failing to consider the full and long-lasting impacts."
Destructive industries like the wood pellet industry have been approved to expand repeatedly, without proper scrutiny of their full impacts on our forests, climate, community resiliency, and public health. It's time for the Cooper administration to conduct a cumulative impact assessment of the industry's full impacts, and not continue to allow them to go unaccounted for.
After these leaders spoke out to call for a cumulative impact assessment and shared their experiences, we gathered for community reflections — a powerful session facilitated by Jodi Lasseter, co-convener of the NC Climate Justice Collective.
We gathered in a circle at the Walnut Creek Wetland Center to make space for community reflections.
The permitting of Enviva's expansion has failed to reflect the real concerns of North Carolinians across the state, and these expansions will be a tremendous loss for our forests and communities. So as we continue to urge our decision-makers to halt the expansion of this destructive industry, we also make space to recognize and mourn the devastating impacts of these facilities.
We ended the day with gratitude, in recognition that the movement for forest protection, climate action, and justice for all grows stronger every day — and we're strongest when we stand together.
Tags: biomass, climate, Climate Change, climate justice, Community, Dogwood Alliance, environment, environmental justice, Enviva, forests, North Carolina, Southern Forests, wood pellets
Rachel Weber
Rachel's driving passion as an organizer is her commitment to environmental justice and building people power. While attending Duke University, where she earned her BA in Public Policy, Rachel interned for two summers with Dogwood Alliance, working on the Carbon Canopy Project and the Our Forests Aren't Fuel campaign. Inspired by Dogwood Alliance's vision and mission-oriented work, she served as a Youth Board Member on the Program Committee. A native New Yorker, Rachel's found home is in North Carolina, where she loves to hike, write, and practice yoga.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Srilanka-ferien.net is 4 months & 4 days old. It has global traffic rank #0. Its domain having .netextension.Its Pagerank is 0/10. It is Not listed on Dmoz.Some threats were reported so it may not considered SAFER to browse.Srilanka-ferien.nethas estimated worth of $ 112and have a daily income of aroundN/A.


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title: Kevin Fitzgerald's 69th Birthday
date: 2016-05-24
author: Lauren Montes
tags: weekly links, java
status: published
summary: Curabitur et dui ut purus eleifend tempor vitae.
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* Aliquam et justo sed massa bibendum fringilla
* Suspendisse ac augue cursus, cursus erat in, finibus sem.

Ut convallis massa non interdum convallis. In gravida ligula eu rhoncus malesuada. Nullam ut pellentesque sem, vel posuere justo. Sed lobortis convallis leo vel imperdiet. Pellentesque commodo nisl sed nulla pellentesque laoreet. Duis sed nibh vel tortor elementum consectetur sit amet vel arcu. In tristique pulvinar lobortis. Donec eleifend ante vel enim hendrerit rutrum. Maecenas rutrum varius nisi, at malesuada massa pellentesque nec.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Creating an environment that allows your employees to thrive is essential in creating a strong work culture. This will help promote growth, creativity, and an innovative work environment that will only result in success, for your brand.
Here are a few things that can kill your employees' motivation.
Being consistent is also very tough, because it requires the ability to define your vision and to walk a fine line, one that is focused on the vision of your brand. It can, however, be very rewarding, especially to keeping your team motivated. Your team will have a clear understanding of the goals, and direction in which they can focus their creativity and energy.
Creating an environment that encourages personal development allows your employees to feel you care about their ability to succeed. Many successful brands offer training for their employees, reimbursement for continued education, and more.
Making it difficult for your employees to grow will create a stagnant work environment.
Applying a strategic approach to leadership will help to simplify the process create a more productive environment for your teams. Bad leadership pollutes the whole chain, and creates a disruption in the organization. As they say, the fish rots from the head down.
Communication is not just important in the success of your relationships, the inability to communicate in business is a one way ticket to failure, and a team with no sense of direction, and in turn an inability to remain motivated.
A chink in the chain of communication will leave critical tasks incomplete, cause missed deadlines, and a disorganized work environment.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated, especially in the workplace. Employees want to know you see and hear them. Showing appreciation is the least you can do for an employee that gives you 110%. Encouraging and rewarding your team will help to keep them motivated, and will motivate those who may lack motivation.
Make time to analyze your work culture, and to make it a priority to stay on top of the needs of your team.


Kemberton is a leading provider of technology-enabled revenue cycle management services to hospitals for complex claims.
The company specializes in the management and collection of 3rd party liability claims, workers' compensation and motor vehicle accident claims and the resolution of insurance denials for hospitals and physician practice groups.
Kemberton helps accelerate collection times and maximize reimbursements for over 200 hospital clients in 30 states, resulting in millions of dollars of incremental cash payments for our clients.
Our technology advantage includes workflow optimization, automated claims processing, knowledge base and rules engine, and full transparency.
Our enterprise revenue recovery advantage sets us apart from other traditional complex claims outsourcers as we provide quality, professionalism and transparent results that leading provider organizations demand and deserve.
Our claims management process and model is so effective we can go 100% at-risk for our results, and we bring in more revenue, from more sources, faster and at a lower cost than traditional in-house and outsourced revenue cycle management operations.
And, last but not least, our people are the reason so many clients work with Kemberton. Learn more about our leadership team and our values and see why we stand out.


UNDP Suriname Country Office is a small Country Office with limited capacity in Communications. Over the years, the programmatic gains of the Office have not been optimally shared with stakeholders, thus limiting the extent of awareness of the work, successes, gains, and development contribution of the UNDP in Suriname.
Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, the Communications Intern supports the implementation of the communications and advocacy strategies of the office to increase the standing and awareness of UNDP with partners, the media and the public. The Communications Intern promotes a client-oriented approach in UNDP.
The Communications Intern works in close collaboration with the Management Support and Business Development, Programme, Operations and project staff in the Country Office to design and distribute communications material in print, electronic, and social media.
Draft short and captivating highlights of UNDP Country Office events for publication on Social Media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Logistical support to the organization of publicity/outreach for the Country Office interventions.
Identification, documenting and drafting of best practices and lessons learned.
Writing human interest stories for publication on the Country Office website and social media platforms.
Preparation of communication material highlighting major programme and projects achievements.
Education: Must be a registered student at Post-Graduate level.
Language and Writing Requirements: Fluency in English, and sound writing skills.
Suriname is a Middle Income Country with good, secure and safe housing options. Access to all of the basic amenities, good health services and low crime rate characterises the capital, Paramaribo. The Banking Sector is robust and modern and credit cards are used across the city. Public transportation (buses and taxi) is safe and there is a small expatriate community, which facilitates the establishment social networks and intercultural engagements.


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Your Saliva Says A Lot About You
On this episode of the podcast, Anushka Khasnobish talks to us about her research using saliva samples to aid in the early detection of certain diseases. Based on the composition of microbes in one's saliva, researchers can now say with increasing levels of accuracy whether or not someone is experiencing the kidney disease IgA Nephropathy (or Berger's disease). Her work is helping drive these developments in microbiology and medicine. But that's not all it's doing - turns out, there's a lot your saliva can say about you. Learn more by listening in to our full conversation.
About Our Guest
Anushka Khasnobish is a creative writer wandering in the maze of science of little things called "microbiology". As a doctoral researcher, she is currently looking at the relationship between human health and the little microbe friends in our saliva and how health experts can utilize this relationship for therapeutic purposes. She is a curious child trapped in an adult body and this curiosity fuels her work. She is a strong believer of destiny which is reflected in her creative blog, "Maktub."
You can get in touch with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
On the Frontiers of Co-Production with Dr. Ben Clark
Keywords: public administration, technology, innovation, coproduction, crowdsourcing, community governance, equitable provision of services.
Ben Clark is an Associate Professor in the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management at the University of Oregon.
Dr. Lauren Fink - Music to My... Eyeballs?
Keywords: music, physiology, eye tracking, phase locking, absorption, motor behavior, social synchrony, technology, feeling in the groove.
On this episode, we discuss the relationship between music and human physiology, and highlight some interesting findings from Lauren's dissertation work at UC Davis (see video below for a taste of what's to come).
About the Guest:
Lauren Fink holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, Davis, where she was supervised by Dr. Petr Janata. Previously, Lauren attended the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Allen Otte of the Percussion Group Cincinnati and earned her Bachelors of Music in percussion performance. Lauren also holds an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, where she conducted research in the Center for Music & Science and was supervised by Dr. Ian Cross.
Lauren has been a visiting researcher at the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, the Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. She was the scientific co-chair of a Conference on Music and Eye-Tracking and a guest editor of a Special Issue on the same topic for the Journal of Eye Movement Research.
In addition to her research, Lauren leads a neuroscience diversity initiative: SOMA: Seminar Outreach for Minority Advocacy. She also volunteers with non-profit organization Girls Rock Sacramento and serves on the peer review panel of the California Arts Council.
Soon, Lauren will be moving to Frankfurt, Germany for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics.
Learn more about her on her website: https://lkfink.github.io
Carl Snyder - To Infinity and Beyond
Keywords: space exploration, microbes, alien life, holographic microscope, astronomy, Europa, medical technology, clean water.
NASA Mission to Mars 1978 Mishap:
During the episode Carl mentioned that NASA is leery of making big claims about finding extraterrestrial life due to controversy surrounding a mission in the 70s that initally (mis)interpreted bio-signatures and later retracted certain claims. The mission was known as Viking Lander.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_lander_biological_experiments
UPCOMING MISSIONS TO KNOW ABOUT
Clipper:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Clipper
Lander:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Lander_(NASA)


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Home/article/French people's reaction to "Single's Inferno": "Freezia controls people with her pretty appearance"
French people's reaction to "Single's Inferno": "Freezia controls people with her pretty appearance"
Netflix's original program "Single's Inferno" is gaining popularity around the world.
Unlike Korean entertainment shows that generally failed, "Single's Inferno" ranked fifth in the global ranking chart according to FlixPatrol (Jan 9th).
In particular, YouTuber Song Ji-ah, who got overwhelming votes from 3 men, received such a high response that the number of subscribers increased by 1 million after the broadcast.
Other male and female cast members also received attention through the program. Cha Hyun-seung, who joined the broadcast in the middle, became a hot topic as his experience as Sunmi's dancer became known.
On Jan 9th, a review video titled "French people's unexpected reactions to Single's Inferno" was uploaded on the YouTube channel "French hotteok".
It drew attention by delivering French locals' opinions, which were quite different from Korean people's reactions. On this day, Frenchman Somin exclaimed, "Single's Inferno was fresh to me. It was very Korean."
According to Somin, "Single's Inferno" is extremely popular in France. It is said that you can find more review articles about it than the mega-hit "Squid Game".
However, French people's view of "Single's Inferno" was quite different from that of Koreans. For example, the most popular cast member in France is Ahn Ye-won rather than Song Ji-ah.
French viewers left comments such as "I don't understand why Ye-won has such a small amount of footage", "Ye-won is my favorite. She has everything", "A really lovely person"…
Somin also strongly agreed with this opinion and explained, "Nearly 90% of people say that Ye-won and So-yeon are their favorite participants."
On the other hand, French people's evaluation on Song Ji-ah was contrary to that of Korean viewers. Somin said, "She's definitely not my style. She didn't look happy at all. French people don't really like Ji-ah either."
A French Twitterian pointed out, "Ji-ah controls people with her pretty appearance. Three men follow her like puppies although she has no specific personality charm." In addition, Moon Se-hoon's obsessive love for Shin Ji-yeon also drew negative reactions.
French netizens posted reviews such as "I'm scared of Se-hoon. It doesn't make sense to be that obsessed", "This guy is so stupid"… The two YouTubers shared in chorus, "There is a proverb in Korea that says 'There is no tree that won't fall if you chop it 10 times'. However, he's a stalker."
Free Zia Korean Show Single's Inferno
"Single's Inferno" Freezia deleted all contents featuring fake branded clothes and posted hand-written apology
UEE on "My Little Old Boy": "I'm so jealous of the coffee truck Kim Tae-hee sent to Rain"
Kang Ha-neul's shocking kiss scene with Ahn Young-mi on "SNL Korea"


HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The Montana Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a man once accused of plotting to kidnap David Letterman's young son from Letterman's ranch in Montana.
The 2005 kidnap-related charges against Kelly Frank were ultimately dismissed, but Frank was sentenced to 10 years in prison for overcharging the talk show host for painting work at his ranch.
Frank escaped from a state prison ranch in June 2007 and was recaptured six days later. He was given an additional 10 years for the escape.
The 47-year-old Frank appealed his escape conviction to the state Supreme Court, which on Tuesday affirmed the conviction.
Prison spokeswoman Linda Moodry says Frank will be eligible for parole in May 2011.


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The Conceit of Nicholas Kristof: Rescuing sex slaves as saintliness
This entry was posted in colonialism, Rescue Industry and tagged Asia-Pacific, rescue industry, trafficking on 22/11/2011 by laura agustin.	52 Replies
Some people find commercial sex or prostitution vulgar. I find Nicholas Kristof vulgar: preening, in love with himself, interfering, condescending, happy to pose grinning with brown people and claim to be saving them. A true colonial character – give me tight dresses and flashy colours any day! Since I find him nauseating, I mostly ignore him, though his Wikipedia entry makes him sound a saint (in the Rich White Man category), with prizes for 'powerful columns that portrayed suffering among the developing world's often forgotten people and stirred action' and for 'giving voice to the voiceless'. Gag. Ashton Kutcher is way preferable.
Lately Kristof live-tweeted a brothel raid alongside Somaly Mam, supposedly blow-by-blow. I am not going to complain about twitter, but the 140-character limit does foster reductionism and clichés. But more important is his claim later that thanks to him and Mam:
In Anlong Veng, Cambodia, 6 more brothels have closed since the raid I live-tweeted there that rescued a seventh-grader.
Great balls of fire, what colossal nerve to make such a claim. I know he is trying to reach the mainstream but it is so offensive he would refer to a young person in Cambodia with a made-in-USA label like seventh grader. His next claim was:
In part, that's the power of Twitter. And the fear of traffickers that they could be next to face wrath of @*SomalyMam*
Wrath? A journalist who fosters the notion of a black and white world of bad people punished by good is not a journalist at all but a man selling his own virtue – which by the way is what prostitutes were said to be doing, in the olden days.
But vulgarity and childishness are not so important in the end. The real disorder in Kristof's blithe chirping about brothels closing is the absence of responsibility towards the people working in them: where did they go? how will they live? do they have a roof over their heads now? How can he not understand that this is just how trafficking can happen, in his own sense of the word?
Not only women who sell sex earn their livelihoods through brothels: barmen, waiters, guards, laundresses, food vendors and others are integrated into these businesses. Those who want to abolish them might at least suggest alternatives if this source of income dries up. As for actual brothel workers, whether they were happy or coerced, the stigma attached to their previous employment could make it difficult to fend for themselves afterwards without turning to unscrupulous characters unless they are very lucky. But in the fairytale land of Rescue, uncomfortable consequences don't exist and Rescuers are always Doing Good.
A critical perspective is commoner amongst those concerned about so-called Development and Aid. I used the satirical representation at the right on a post about Rescue Tourism, and Africa is a Country also makes fun of him. If you want to read a recent smarmy article by Kristof, try Fighting Back, One Brothel Raid at a Time from 12 November at The New York Times, where he boasts of his own heroism:
But riding beside Somaly in her car toward a brothel bristling with AK-47 assault rifles, it was scary. This town of Anlong Veng is in northern Cambodia near the Thai border, with a large military presence; it feels like something out of the Wild West.
There it is: Rescue as cowboy thrills, a way to live out conceited notions of importance by riding rough-shod through other people's lives.
–Laura Agustín, the Naked Anthropologist
Kristof's seventh-grade sex slave, censorship and colonialism Writing on Nicholas Kristof's tweets about saving sex slaves, I said that the important point to criticise is his boast...
Kristof and the Rescue Industry: the Soft Side of Imperialism During a prolonged stay in New York recently I realised that Nicholas Kristof looms very large to many people, while...
Kristof's asinine smarm: the Soft Side of Imperialism redux For everyone now suffering from Mr Smarm's documentary – which I've only heard about – here's The Soft Side of...
The Age of Women Who Sell Sex: Does Kristof lie? What about the children? The other day someone asked if I believe what Nicholas Kristof wrote about sex slaves in Half the Sky or do I...
This entry was posted in colonialism, Rescue Industry and tagged Asia-Pacific, rescue industry, trafficking on 22/11/2011 by laura agustin.
← Laura in Toronto: VENUE CHANGE for sex trafficking, sex work and rescue talk Real media coverage for critique of anti-trafficking Rescue Industry →
52 thoughts on "The Conceit of Nicholas Kristof: Rescuing sex slaves as saintliness"
Cristina 22/11/2011 at 20:00
Nick Kristoff is really despicable.I have worked with some "former slaves" he has interviewed and featured and they shared their trafficking stories with me. Interestingly, Mr. Kristoff's own articles and stories about these girls exaggerate and sometimes alter parts of the story, as if it its some sort of oral history or myth.
One of these girls did not want to be "the face" of trafficking. However, with some pressure that she would "share" the story of trafficking and this would help prevent others from enduring what she did pushed her to agree. However, she does not get paid for her story being rewritten and re-imagined. Meanwhile Mr. Kristoff is praised for his "daring" and "heart wrenching" journalism and he is getting PAID for this work. Shame on him.
Laura Agustín 22/11/2011 at 20:23
Cristina, I have heard other such rumours about those supposedly saved by both Kristof and Mam. It's a shame we can't find a way to present this as 'evidence' of exploitative practices by Helpers and Saviours.
journo 20/07/2012 at 00:50
Dr. Augustin,
Could you kindly forward Christina (commented on 22, November 2011) my email, which does not show up in these comments but which I am sure you have access to, as I typed it in the required fields in order to post my comment. I am a U.S. journalist who has worked in Cambodia and am very interested in hearing about Christina's experience working with some of the "former slaves" that Kristoff has interviewed. Please do not post my email address anywhere on this site. Thank you so much.
kato 22/11/2011 at 21:58
Unfortunately these so called rescuers are using cases of people who are held against their will, as a weapon in an attempt to remove the rights of sex workers, thus endangering them, some of those sex workers say that they do not have any real better alternative than sex work, that they would choose to be a sex worker instead of other options that they don't want to do.
It is extremely dangerous to use a few cases of trafficked victims as justification for society to remove sex workers rights, thus making them more endangered and discriminated against and marginalised, thus affecting their mental health and mind, body and spirit.
If a female or male wants to be a sex worker then they should at least feel comfortable and protected by rights and by the police, even if sex workers are not always liked, they still are human beings who deserve rights and they should have every right to feel safe and protected in their own chosen consentual adult sexual relationships, just like wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and husbands etc have rights in their relationships and sexual relations, then sex workers must also have equal rights to equality in consensual adult sexual relationships.
The people who want to remove sex workers in society, are not listening to sex workers wants, opinions and needs, cause they just do not care, and do not respect them for their relationship choices, farley and bindel with their judgemental attitude are two such examples of people who discriminate against sex workers.
Kris 22/11/2011 at 22:59
I find his stories very interesting. He also reports about the DMSC in India. It turns out to be the largest human trafficking ring in the world! They have tens of thousands of sex slaves in their grasp!! That's more than the total number of prostitutes in the Netherlands. Saban B looks like a wimp compared to these criminals, his gang only occupied 40 women during one moment. But 40 women is a lot obviously.
You may find his stories interesting, but that is the second time you have mentioned his slanderous comments about DMSC on this website. They are not true, he did not understand that organisation, as how would he? He finds what he has preconceived notions about. I will appreciate your not repeating this again. Thank you.
Tracey Tully 28/11/2011 at 03:20
Kristof is dangerous because he is so widely-read in the English-speaking world and because he propagates memes like the one you describe. It is an absolute lie. I know workers from DMSC and they are doing some incredible grass-roots work. I feel you have to be emotionally invested in his heroic narrative to miss the clues about the toxic ideas he is presenting. His jounalismy activismy jaunt to Cambodia was a voyeuristic perversion, as are many stories about sex trafficking, not just Kristof. Though he is already a long-time offender. Would you want him near your daughter?
Unfortunately those so called rescuers are using cases of trafficked victims as an excuse and as a weapon in an attempt to remove sex workers rights to equality in society, they try to remove those rights by using stigma and spreading misinformation.
There has been a lot of sex workers who have stated that they want to remain doing sex work, as other alternatives are just not that appealing to them, so instead of trying to take away their livelihood and using stigma and discrimination against them, why not just give them rights and better protection in society?
Many sex workers have been murdered cause of bad stigma in society and lack of rights to equality and safety.
Most sex workers agree, it is not the work itself that is dangerous, but the lack of rights to safer conditions, thats the real danger, its hard to get safer conditions with so much disinformation and hatred being spread against sex workers, by people who do not like their chosen profession.
Wives, husbands, adult boyfriend and girlfriends have equal rights to adult consensual sexual relations, sex workers should also have their equal rights to their own adult consensual sexual relations and promotion of safety and better conditions.
It is unfair to hold a huge portion of sex workers as being responsible for any cases of trafficked victims, both are seperate issues that need to be addressed in a fair, cohesive and precise way, much education also needs to be done on both issues for improving the situations of the sex worker and any trafficked victim.
Its surely not impossible to create safer environments for both issues.
But first people should realise that yes they are women and even men in society who want to be sex workers and have a livelihood out of it, and during their time as sex workers they need fair treatment.
Well-put summary of the sex worker rights position. I don't promote the idea that there are two clearly separable groups, though, myself – it's far more complicated than that!
Laura the USA recently recognised that sex workers have different rights and needs to trafficked victims.
Do you have an opinion on this, curious to know?
It is true though that both issues are a bit complex
Adeyemi 23/11/2011 at 21:20
At this time I have no critique of the work of Nicholas Kristoff as I believe tge truth will emerge if actually he is exploiting tge victims. However, while I agree the society must find alternative source of livelihood for the sex worker, I completely object to the notion of giving rights to commercial sex workers to continue what they do for a living. The question is how do we protect children used for sex by adults who visit brothels to solicit sex? By giving them such rights, the society would be legalizing commercial sex; it is time to abolish prostitution in it's entirety I do not favor the mistreatment of a woman's body in any form therefore, while the society must find an alternative form of survival for people involved, the abolitionists are right we must end prostitution and sex trafficking.
Some sex workers have said they do not want some other alternative source of livelihood cause the alternatives do not pay as much as sex work.
If sex workers want rights, they are entitled to rights.
You are most naive if you ever think that you can abolish human exchanges where sexual services are offered in exchange for material wealth, such activity has been there for hundreds and hundreds of years stretching back to some of the earliest known civilisations, get real.
Trafficking with held victims most definetly should be fought, but not to the level where it creates trouble and danger for sex workers like in sweden where they are forced cause of restrictions into dangerous situations.
Johnpaul 28/11/2011 at 19:32
"Some sex workers have said…"
Really, Kato? Than that ends that debate. If "some have said" than clearly we should let them go on undisturbed.
Oh, by the way, "some" of these sex workers are little children…I wonder what they have to say.
McDuff 30/11/2011 at 07:15
We wouldn't find out by asking Nick Kristoff. He's never very interested in what prostitutes have to say, regardless of their age. Well, apart from prostitutes called Nick Kristoff.
Brazen Lee 30/08/2012 at 20:01
haha. yes.
THIS sex worker says… unless YOU are a sex worker, do you really think you get a say?
It is HIGH TIME for folks to stop conflating SLAVERY with SEX WORK. It's no more accurate than saying RAPE is the same thing as SEX.
Also, little children who are not of age to consent are not "sex workers". A sex worker is someone who makes a conscious decision and effort to work in the sex trade. Sex without consent isn't sex. Sex work without consent isn't sex work. Stop confusing/conflating sex work and slavery.
marc 28/11/2011 at 20:48
i don't want to get into the sex worker issue…but the issue of trafficking pre-adolescent girls simply has no defense.
you may be right that Nick Kristof is using an 'Geraldo' approach but at least he is getting the message out to millions of people…
your problem is that right or wrong, and not withstanding a short guest appearance on BBC and hanging out with Julian Assange's legal team, no one knows who you are..
As far as Nick Kriston the Rich, White, Straight, male…I would give that issue a rest…Since, to judge from your photos you are a Rich-World, White, Woman …you fit the neo-colonalist profile too.
What problem are you talking about, marc? It doesn't matter if I am important, it's a blog, these are my opinions as a researcher in the field for many years. Freedom of speech, remember? And whiteness is not about skin colour, I guess I will have to write about that soon.
Also I never mentioned Geraldo, that was someone else.
Bittermuch 06/12/2011 at 21:39
You take criticism well, Laura.
Maybe what Marc was simply stating is that he disagrees with your bashing because, unlike you, Nick is well known and is doing a really good job with the awareness factor. Freedom of speech….remember?
Julia 17/01/2013 at 02:49
I am so sick of the "it's worth it because it raises awareness" argument. The number of new organisations popping up, especially in North America, whose sole aim is "to raise awareness about human trafficking" is ridiculous. Raise awareness to what end? It follows from a navel-gazing and erroneous assumption that all we need to do to change an issue is sit back and "be aware."
Gregory A. Butler 29/11/2011 at 01:51
Marc –
It's easy to make cheap shots at Dr Agustin.
How about we keep this story focused on the main theme.
That is, a glory-seeking affluent White man from America comes to Cambodia to impose his morality on adult Cambodian sex workers. Many of these sex workers have ended up in Cambodia's hellish prison system thanks to Kristof's "rescue efforts".
That's the bottom line, no matter what you think of Dr Agustin.
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Mr. Butler,
How about we keep this story focused on the important theme.
Children are being forcibly raped.
Somebody needs to do something and Kristof is doing more to raise awareness than anyone else (yes, including you Ashton).
That's the bottom line, no matter what you think of Mr. Kristof.
John Paul,
The issue is, Kristof's raids are leading to adult sex workers, voluntarily employed in the trade, being arrested, beaten, robbed and raped by the Cambodian Police.
That's the real issue here, as the vast majority of sex workers rounded up in Kristof's raids (about a 200 to 1) ratio, are adult sex workers.
As for Nick Kristof, he's a rich White man from the west with a messiah complex, an unhealthy obsession with young women having sex and more money than brains.
John Paul, we do not know if or when and where children are being forcibly raped. In case you haven't noticed, Kristof is a liar. It's all part of the neocolonialist mindset. If sex work was vested with labour rights, it would prevent trafficking. It is the best safeguard against it, as well as against HIV, STIs and violence. Especially state violence.
Thanks Greg and Tracey, where do you get your statistics from and Tracey why do you say Kristof is a liar?
I heard from a lot of people that don't like Nick Kristof but I don't really understand where the anger comes from. Surely it can't be for refering to one of the Cambodian children as a "Seventh grader" (which, in my opinion, is the pettiest criticism I've ever heard).
Kristof sets himself up as this "great White father" out to "save" the dirty fallen girls of Cambodia.
His raids lead to Cambodian women being herded into prison camps, where, according to Human Rights Watch, they are subject to beatings, rape and robbery by Cambodian police officers.
Incidentally, most of these women are ADULTS who are VOLUNTARILY working as sex workers.
That's my beef with Kristof.
I am opposed to western neocolonialism in the developing world.
Casey Nelson 30/11/2011 at 22:30
"Great balls of fire, what colossal nerve to make such a claim. I know he is trying to reach the mainstream but it is so offensive he would refer to a young person in Cambodia with a made-in-USA label like seventh grader."
This does seem something of a pedantic point, but taking it a bit further, one of the things I find odd about this characterization of the girl as a "seventh-grader" is that if she is imprisoned in a brothel, she's not going to school, regardless of the grade. And if she is a 14-year-old that's been trafficked from Vietnam and debt-bonded into a brothel in Cambodia, most likely by her parents, it is highly unlikely that she is from a background in which she has received any significant schooling, let alone 7 years of it. While being, as I said, a rather pedantic point, it hints, in part, that Kristof is not acting as a journalist reporting on a brothel raid and the people involved, but as a dramatist of sorts, spinning a narrative in which the details of the real-world individuals are not as important as painting a particular picture. The messy particulars of actual individuals are smoothed into characters in a narrative (which do in fact fit neatly into Twitter-size blurbs.) We are not supposed to think about the complex and difficult real world circumstances leading to girls (and women) like this ending up in brothels or as some other sort of CSW, but merely have a visceral reaction that demands simple, immediate, uncomplicated solutions.
Frank 07/12/2011 at 16:52
I guess I came to the party a little late, but since Kristof has a movie coming out soon, this issue isn't going away anytime soon.
marc – When you say, "I don't want to get into the sex worker issue here…", either you are uninformed or you are following the tack of Kristof and his cohorts who, because they cannot debate the issue of sex work straight up, have to hide behind the relatively rare 10 year old forced into prostitution to promulgate a global ban on sex work. This issue is about sex work (and imperialism) and little else.
Furthermore, taking cheap shots at Laura proves that:
1) You are losing the argument.
2) You have nothing else to add.
If you can't handle the truth, go back to reading and listening to people like Sorvino, Hunt, and Kutcher; they have a far bigger presence on the web than people like Laura.
Lastly, regarding your "give it a rest" remark, it is pretty difficult to "give it a rest" when you have all this White ***** (in the thousands, with millions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies behind them) floating around Asia trying to impose those good 'ole superior "Western Values" on people who never asked for or want it. Saying that Laura is some sort of neo-colonialist is ridiculous.
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Living in Cambodia, Writing in Cambodia 30/08/2012 at 17:52
I take issue with some of Kristof's grandstanding and the savior complex that comes across in his writings, but it is not all negative. Live tweeting from a brothel raid that he had absolutely nothing to do with and then taking a bit of the credit for it is ridiculously egocentric and dishonest, but he is raising awareness about a terribly exploitative industry. Many of the comments on this blog seem to go back to sex workers rights and women who choose to work in prostitution, but as a Western educated man who has lived in rural Cambodia for a few years and worked with prostituted women on health issues relevant to their living situations, let me be clear: MOST WOMEN IN CAMBODIA WORKING IN THE SEX INDUSTRY DID NOT CHOOSE TO BE SEX WORKERS! I am 100% in favor of sex workers rights, but when a girl is deprived of education, told she is inherently inferior to her male counterparts, raped, and then regarded by large sections of the overall community as being "broken" (from the Khmer) she is not choosing anything. When she faces constant violence and the threat of violence at the hands of men and mamasans on a daily basis, she has not chosen to be victimized. When this continues on for years (and it does continue for years) and the 14 year old girl grows into a 20 year old young woman, it is easy to say she has chosen to work as a prostitute, but the truth is she was never given a choice at all. Prolonged victimization and social marginalization within Cambodian society has given her the only identity she knows: "srey coyt" – broken woman, the Khmer term for a sex worker. There are exceptions to this; there are women who make an informed decision to enter the sex industry because they see it as a viable means of monetary gain, but this is a terribly small amount of the women working in the Cambodian sex industry. Basically, it should be clarified that when you advocate for sex workers rights it is crucial to distinguish between someone who has made an informed decision and someone who has not had any choice but has grown resigned to their fate after years of abuse.
It should be said too that the stuff about the girls "rescued" in the raid being kept in police custody is total bs. They receive psychological treatment, a safe shelter, education, medical treatment, and a supportive community at one of the centers run by Somaly Mam's partner organization. Terrible abuses do happen to prostituted women in police custody, but that is precisely why Somaly Mam's organization provides shelter and protection for the women and girls rescued. None of the women or children are held against their will while they are at one of the centers run by Somaly. This is an important point because while I disagree with much of Kristof's methods, he is bringing a lot of attention to a very good organization.
I am not my commenters, and my post is not about 'sex worker rights'. You write in that typical expat way that says because you happen to live in a country you know everything about it and are uniquely qualified to comment. Everyone has their own anecdotal evidence about many topics, but anecdotes and firm beliefs are not the same as research, comparing data from different sources, field work and analysis. That's what I do and why I'm here, so please keep your remarks on the actual topic.
olympia 04/09/2012 at 05:50
Have you ever walked past a house with vicious guard dogs?
It always amuse me how they turn on each other as soon as their is a passerby.
This page and all the criticism for Kristof and his work, much like the guard dogs, loose track of the real danger!
Trafficking children for any purpose is wrong! ANYONE that brings this to light and cause public attention on this very sad practice is doing good work!
Olympia…totally agree. Seems like a bunch of crying babies on here to me. Pot calling kettle?
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There's another upcoming waterpark in Misamis Oriental. TUBURAN SPRING WET ADVENTURE PARK will be located in Poblacion, El Salvador City and will have large pools with water slides, an 8-lane Palaro-standard swimming pool, a children's park, a reception area for big events and seminars, and overnight cottages.
The project will be developed around the existing Tuburan Spring, a popular swimming resort in the city located just 500 meters from the National Highway. It also has the Birhen sa Lourdes Grotto (small chapel in photo below).
El Salvador City's tourism is currently centered around faith tourism with Divine Mercy Shrine. But there are also other tourism potentials in the city and Tuburan Spring is just one of them.
Here's a map of Tuburan Spring. Accessibility is not a problem as road from National Highway is all concrete.
Here are some renderings of the proposed development. This is the entrance to the park.
Here's an aerial perspective of the proposed development. You can see a Children's Park on the left and pools at right.
This is the reception hall for seminars and other big events.
The pool also has some slides for fun.
The park will also have an 8-lane Palaro standard swimming pool.
The Birhen sa Lourdes grotto will be preserved.
There will also be overnight cottages.
Hopefully, the proposal will push thru.


Trying to fix our washer/dryer combo and they sent used parts!
Our Dometic washer/dryer combo control panel burnt up, so they paid for us to get a new Splendide combo unit.
Among other things, we took apart the brand new Splendide combo washer/dryer to diagnose the error code that started flashing a week after we bought it, and cleaned the condenser and filter.
Dometic heat pump outdoor temperature sensor replaced, Schwintek slide motor replaced.
Landfall Terrace in St. Paul in January, blown fuses in the converter, insulation board as skirting, heaters under the camper, frozen water spigot, frozen heated water hose… Oh what fun!


text:
Blog | Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus: the latest lethal germ
In 2003 a brand new virus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused an outbreak of serious illness in Asia. The outbreak sickened over 8,000 people and killed over 700. Many of the infected were health care workers.
In February of 2013 a similar but distinct virus was identified in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Here's what MERS-CoV particles look like as seen by electron microscopy (Credit: CDC/Wikipedia). Since that time about 200 people have been sickened by MERS, all linked to 6 countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 180 cases (143 in Saudi Arabia) and 77 deaths (59 in Saudi Arabia). There have been no cases thus far in the U.S. No specific treatment or vaccine exists for MERS-CoV.
Annals of Internal Medicine published a report by researchers in Saudi Arabia describing 12 patients admitted to ICUs with MERS-CoV. The description of the illness that emerges from details they report is scary. Eight of the patients contracted the illness in the community. Three patients were in the ICU for other reasons and were infected in the ICU, and one was a health care worker who presumably contracted the illness at work. The patients ranged in age from 36 to 83. The average time from the onset of symptoms to presentation to the emergency department was 1 day, and to ICU admission was 2 days.
The majority of patients presented with shortness of breath, cough, and fever. Many of the patients had chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease. All of them required being on a ventilator (a breathing machine). Their chest X-rays (which you can check out yourself in the article) looked horrible. They spent an average of 16 days on the ventilator. Seven patients had kidney failure requiring temporary dialysis. Eight patients had dangerously low blood pressure requiring medication to elevate it. Seven patients (about half) died.
MERS-CoV is definitely transmitted from person to person, but the specific mode of transmission is still uncertain. It's not clear if the virus is transmitted in respiratory droplets, or by direct contact. Thus far MERS-CoV appears to be much more lethal but much less infectious than SARS was. That's another way of saying that it's a younger virus, since germs tend to get less lethal and more infectious as they evolve. (A mutation that makes a virus more infectious will spread much faster than a mutation that makes it less infectious. Similarly a mutation that makes it less lethal will give the patient longer to infect others.)
Neither the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) nor the World Health Organization recommends that anyone change their travel plans because of MERS. For now, it seems geographically quite localized and fairly difficult to catch. But no one can say what the future holds, and whether a few mutations from now MERS will be coming to an airport near you. If that happens, the rapid development of a vaccine will be critical.
The small lesson is that MERS is an emerging pathogen that deserves our attention, and that what is simmering on the other side of the globe this year can be a global pandemic next year. The big lesson is that nature is a mixed bag. Nature brings us both rainbows and tsunamis, both my 10-year-old daughter's amazing eyes and the norovirus that is keeping her home from school today. And every now and then Mother Nature invents brand new ways to kill some of us.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page)
A Novel Coronavirus Called "MERS-CoV" in the Arabian Peninsula(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel recommendations)
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update(World Health Organization)
New MERS death raises Saudi toll to 59 (AFP)
Clinical Course and Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients With Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection (Annals of Internal Medicine article, free without subscription)
Medusa's Ugly Head Again: From SARS to MERS-CoV (Annals of Internal Medicine editorial, subscription required)
Albert Fuchs, MD, FACP, graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, where he also did his internal medicine training. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Fuchs spent three years as a full-time faculty member at UCLA School of Medicine before opening his private practice in Beverly Hills in 2000. Holding privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, he is also an assistant clinical professor at UCLA's Department of Medicine. This post originally appeared at his blog.
Posted by Albert Fuchs, MD at 9:00 AM
Labels: Albert Fuchs , epidemiology , guest post , infectious disease , medicine in foreign countries , nosocomial infections , pulmonology


Locksmith Taringa is a Southside Brisbane locksmith service offered by Titan Locksmiths. Andrew White, a fully licensed locksmith living nearby will only charge what we quote. We use only quality locks and give you the best advice on securing your Taringa home without the need of being locked up in a prison. No unexpected surprises when it comes to price structure. Don't forget to ask about out our seniors' discount offer on the service call out fee for residents of Taringa.


In February of this year an interesting story appeared in several news outlets. Perhaps you saw it. It was a story about a Spanish government employee who decided to take a six-year break from work. He never showed up a single day for six years and yet for those six years he continued to receive his regular paycheck until his bosses finally discovered him. Joaquin Garcia, 69 years old, supervised the construction of a wastewater treatment plant just southwest of Seville there in Spain, the B.B.C. reports.
Now, the problem happened because the water company reportedly thought that the government officials were Garcia's bosses and vice versa. So, no one really knew who he worked far. And so, Garcia took advantage of this little misunderstanding and he started skipping work in the year 2004. And he never showed up a single day for six years. Deputy mayor of the city there finally caught him in 2010, you'll love this, because Garcia became eligible for a special plaque honoring his 20 years of service, the B.B.C. says. So, the deputy mayor says, "I called him up and asked him, 'What did you do yesterday? The month before? The month before that?' He didn't know what to say." So, as you can imagine, this didn't go over really well and so in January of this year, in a Spanish court, he was fined the maximum amount that Spanish law will allow, $30,000. But each one of those six years he collected a paycheck of $42,000. Garcia has reportedly retired. And in fact, his attorney says, the man has gone into hiding because of all the publicity.
Now, when we hear a story like that our first response is humor. Several of you chuckled along with me, there's a bit of humor to this story. But our other response, I'm afraid, is a little different. And that is, when we hear about someone who doesn't work and yet gets paid, it violates our most basic sense of fairness. And yet today we learn that that is exactly what has happened to every one of us who is in Christ. In exchange for our not working, we have received God's gift of righteousness. This is the heart of justification by faith alone.
And who sins have been covered.
"Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account."
Now Paul, in this letter, has already insisted that the gospel he preached is perfectly consistent with the Old Testament. In fact, back in chapter 3 verse 21 he says that both "the Law and the Prophets" bore witness to his gospel. So here in the fourth chapter Paul set out to prove the gospel of justification by faith alone from the Old Testament. And, of course, the Old Testament provides abundant proof that this message, the message of justification by faith alone, has always been the only way to be right with God. He uses two examples, Abraham, whose story, of course, comes from the Law and David, whose story comes from the Prophets. He's really going to concentrate on Abraham and David's story really just serves to support and supplement the lessons from the life of Abraham, but nevertheless, there are these two examples.
Chapter 4 really reads like an expository sermon that Paul probably preached often in the synagogues as evidence that his gospel was witnessed in both the Law and the Prophets. But this fourth chapter makes another profound point, really important to understand, and it's this, both Abraham and David were made right with God in exactly the same way as the first century believers in the Roman church and the same way we are. Abraham and David believed the very same gospel that Paul preached, just in a more basic and rudimentary form.
Now, as we unfold this foundational chapter that's really at the heart of Paul's gospel, let me give you an outline that we will follow as we walk our way through it. First of all, in the first eight verses of chapter 4, Paul answers the question, on what basis are we made right with God? On what basis? His answer will be, it is on the basis of God's grace alone and not by any human works.
The second question that he will answer in this chapter is found verses 9 to 12, and it's, who can be made right with God? And here he will argue and answer that question with this, it's not merely Jews, but it is both Jews and Gentiles, that whoever believes becomes Abraham's offspring, not his ethnic offspring, but his offspring spiritually, believing in the way that he believed.
And then the third question, and the bulk of this chapter really, he answers a third question, by what means are we made right with God, in verses 13 to 25, by what means? And his answer will be, it is by means of faith without any reference to law or to works. So, let's then begin to look at the first question, in the first eight verses of this chapter, on what basis are we made right with God?
Now, last time we began to study these verses and in verses 1 to 3 we see the basis of justification, the grounds of justification, identified. Paul begins his Old Testament defense of the gospel by asking a basic question in verse 1, regarding the central question of how a man is made right before God, what did our forefather Abraham discover? What did he find? Paul's answer to that question comes in two parts. First of all, he says the basis of our justification cannot be works, because that would allow us to boast before God. Look at verse 2, "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about." If Abraham was justified in whole or in part by his own works, then he would be able to legitimately boast of his own accomplishments. Paul can't contemplate that. In fact, the second half of verse 2, Paul doesn't even get out a full sentence. It's like he is so bothered by that whole idea, it's so impossible, so unthinkable, he just blurts out, "but not before God." That can't be, that's impossible.
Now, the second part of Paul's answer to the question in verse 1, what did Abraham find in reference to justification, is this, the basis of our justification cannot be works because that is contrary to the Scripture. And this is where we come to verse 3, "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" Paul quotes Genesis 15:6.
You cannot make too much of Genesis 15:6. It is the first time in the Bible that God explains how sinful fallen human men and women can be made right with Him. It's the first time we learn about justification by faith alone. Because it's such a foundational text, Paul really never leaves it in this chapter. In fact, Romans 4 is essentially an exposition, an expository sermon, on that text. Paul will either quote it or refer to it in every paragraph in this chapter.
Now, notice the text that he cites. Moses says this, in Genesis 15:6, verse 3, "'Abraham believed God.'" "'Abraham believed God.'" Now, the first and most important question is, what exactly did Abraham believe? Paul cannot mean that Abraham only believed the physical promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. In other words, God didn't credit righteousness to Abraham simply because Abraham believed that God was going to give him a son, God was going to give him descendants, God was going to give him a plot of land in the Middle East. All those things were true, but that wasn't where Abraham's hope was.
He was looking beyond that, at spiritual realities. If you doubt that, read Hebrews 11. In Hebrews 11 we're told he went out from his land to go to a land God promised and all of that, but listen to what Hebrews 11:10 says, "Abraham looked for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." What fixated Abraham's mind wasn't the earthly physical aspects of the promise made to him, it was the eternal heavenly spiritual one. The same thing in Hebrews 11:16, speaking of all the patriarchs, including Abraham, "they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one." He wasn't consumed with that plot of land in the Middle East. He was consumed with being right with God and being with God forever.
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned [or credited] to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
Now watch verse 8, "The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham." God preached the gospel to Abraham. You say, in what form? Well, notice the rest of verse 8, it was part of the Abrahamic Covenant, "'All the nations of earth are going to be blessed in you.'" That doesn't mean every nation or nations as nations, but individuals from all of the nations on earth are going to be blessed through you.
You say, how is that the gospel? Now think about this. God, a righteous holy God, cannot pronounce spiritual blessing on those who are His enemies, who are living in rebellion against Him, whose sins are not forgiven. So, when God said "People from all the nations of Earth are going to be blessed in you," implied in that spiritual blessing is salvation. Implied in that is reconciliation to God, just as Abraham had experienced. He believed the gospel.
If you're still not convinced go down to verse 16, "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one." You say, wait a minute, you lost me, what's going on there. Okay, take the word seed, in both Hebrew and in English it can be used collectively, as in plural, seed meaning descendants plural. But the same word can be used to speak of seed, singular, one descendant.
"By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed, [here, obviously, in the plural sense, your descendants,] as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore."
But now, in the second half of verse 17 he changes, from the collective plural sense of seed to the singular sense of seed, "and your seed," one descendant, "shall possess the gate." Notice that the New American Standard has a marginal note for the word their. Do you see what the marginal note is? The Hebrew literally says, "his enemies." So, he's gone from plural descendants to one descendant, who will possess the gate of his enemies and then he says in verse 18, it's in that one descendant, in that seed, that "all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."
So, do you see what's going on here? Abraham believed the good news that through one of his descendants, the seed, singular, that is, Messiah, God would extend spiritual blessing and salvation to those who believe around the world, rather than the condemnation that they deserve. You say, did Abraham get it? Oh yeah, he got it. Jesus Himself said he got it. In John 8:56 Jesus says, "'Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad.'" He understood one of his descendants was coming who would bring salvation and spiritual blessing to the nations.
Abraham didn't understand all that we understand about the Messiah and who He would be, didn't understand all that we understand about the gospel, but his faith and confidence was in the Messiah and in the gospel. His hope of justification was not in the physical aspects of the promises God made him, but in the spiritual aspect that through his seed, the Messiah, individuals in all the nations of the Earth would be saved and would come to enjoy spiritual blessing. "'Abraham believed God.'" That's what it means. That's what he believed.
Now, go back to Romans 4. When it says "'Abraham believed'" it's important for you to understand that Abraham's faith was not simply an intellectual assent to the truthfulness of God's promises in the gospel. Instead, Abraham's faith was whole-hearted trust in God. How do we know that? Well, look down in verse 5. Paul says, "it's the one who believes in [emphasis added] God." That's different than "believes God." "Believes in [emphasis added] God" is a way of saying you put your trust in Him. And, of course, later in this very letter Paul will explain that true saving faith, whether it's the faith of Abraham, or his faith, or my faith, your faith, true saving faith always includes confessing the Messiah to be Lord, Master, Sovereign, and Abraham exercised that kind of faith in God. "'Abraham believed God.'"
Notice how verse 3 continues, "'and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" God made Abraham a gracious promise of spiritual blessing and salvation through the Messiah. Abraham believed God's promise and, listen very carefully, in response to Abraham's faith, but not because of Abraham's faith, God credited righteousness to him. The key word here in the second half of verse 3 is the word credited, that word is absolutely foundational to the gospel and to justification. The Greek word that's translated credited occurs throughout the Scripture. But in the rest of Scripture, at the very most, it occurs three times in several chapters. But here in Romans 4 that Greek word occurs 11 times. And, in fact, in five of six verses, five times in six verses, verses 3 through 8. So, this is at the center of justification, this is at the center of the gospel.
What is this word, credited? Well, the word is a financial word. It's an accounting word. It's a bookkeeping term. Literally, it means to put something in someone's account, to put something in someone's account. Paul uses a similar Greek word in Philemon verse 18. He says to Philemon, "But if Onesimus has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account." That's the idea of this word.
Now, in the context of Romans 4, what was put into Abraham's account? Now be careful here, because at first glance it can be misleading, "'it was credited to him as righteousness.'" "'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" If we are careless in our thinking, or in our exegesis, we might wrongly conclude that since Abraham had no righteousness, God decided to put faith in his account. We might conclude, wrongly, that God said I'm going to accept Abraham's faith instead of, or as a substitute for, real righteousness. That cannot be what Paul means because of the context. Go back to chapter 3 verse 22. When Paul is explaining justification, he says, here's what's put in your account in justification, "the righteousness of God" and that happens "through faith." It's not faith that's put in your account, it's righteousness that's put in your account.
Now, Paul confirms this down in verse 6, he says, "just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works." Notice that little expression, "David also speaks." That implies that the second half of verse 6 is a summary of both the quote from David and the quote from Genesis 15:6. And the point of both quotes then, is in the second half of verse 6, "God credits righteousness apart from works." So, Abraham believed God and in response God put righteousness into his account. And we are going to see that throughout chapter 4, I'm not going to belabor that.
But that raises a key question, on what ground or basis was righteousness credited to Abraham? Well, think about yourself for a moment. How can something be put in your account? There are only two ways that something can end up in your account. Either you earned it and it was put in your account or it was a gift given to you and you put it in your account. That's the only way something ends up in your account. So, in the case of Abraham, was the righteousness credited to his account because it was earned and deserved? In other words, was it the result of his works? That's what the rabbis said. Or was the righteousness that God credited to him completely unearned and undeserved? Paul argues that the ground of justification, both Abraham's and ours, is God's grace and not works.
So, let's look at verses 4 and 5, where we see the basis of justification explained. In verses 1 to 3 he's identified it, he says it can't be works, it's by faith, but there's another implication to be drawn out here. He's going to explain it in verses 4 and 5, and in these verses Paul compares and contrasts the two ways that righteousness could have been credited to Abraham. Let's look at option number one, the righteousness God credited to Abraham was earned and deserved. That's an option, not a good option, it's an option, but in verse 4 Paul uses a simple illustration from everyday life to show that this cannot be how Abraham was justified.
Look at verse 4, "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due." This is obvious, right? Every day you go to work and when you work your employer credits, or he puts into your account, the wages that you have earned for your work that day. The money that he puts in your account, notice verse 4, "is not credited as a favor." That's huge, because the Greek word translated "favor" is charis. It is the normal New Testament word for grace. What you get paid for working isn't grace, Paul says. It's not grace. When your boss gives you your paycheck, he's not doing you a favor. Let me read verse 4 to you literally from the Greek text, "his wage is not credited according to grace, but rather according to debt," what he's owed. When you work, your employer owes you what he puts in your account. He's obligated to pay you for your work. That's obvious, okay?
Now, let's consider why Paul says this here. What are the spiritual implications of this basic illustration? Listen carefully, here's what he's saying. If Abraham was justified by his works, then when God credited righteousness to him it was not credited on the basis of grace, but on the basis of obligation. And that cannot be how Abraham was declared righteous. Why? Well, because it doesn't fit the experience of Abraham. As we discovered last week, when God found Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, he was probably an idolater. But even if he wasn't an idolater, I can promise you this, he was a sinner. Remember, we've just walked through, several months ago now, we walked through Romans 3, and Romans 3:9-20, says all have sinned, "'There is none righteous, no not one.'" Abraham is included in that. So, he didn't earn anything from God, it doesn't fit his experience. It also doesn't fit Genesis 15:6. Look at verse 3 again. Abraham didn't work, he believed God, and God credited righteousness to him. So this first option cannot be the basis on which God credited righteousness to Abraham.
So, that brings us to option number two, the correct choice. The righteousness God credited to Abraham was unearned and undeserved. Verse 5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness." Now, first of all, let me just say that clearly Paul doesn't mean here that true believers don't do good works. Elsewhere he clearly teaches that those who have already been justified, on the basis of God's grace alone, will do good works in response to that reality. Ephesians 2, we quote those wonderful verses, "by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." What's the next verse? The next verse is, God created you "unto good works." So, you're not saved by works, but having been justified by grace, you will work. So that's not what he's saying. Here, Paul is talking about the ground or the basis on which we are made right with God, and that can never be our works or it ceases to be grace.
So then look at verse 5, that little expression "the one who does not work," that describes a person who does not work in an effort to gain a right standing before God, a person who doesn't try to make God his debtor, to credit righteousness he's earned, who has no right to righteousness from God because of his works and doesn't claim to have. So, look at verse 5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes." That is so important. Notice that Paul intentionally contrasts working and believing. In verse 4 you can work and have the righteousness you earned credited to your account. In verse 5 you can believe and have the righteousness you have not earned credited to your account as grace. Believing then, believing God, is not a work. In verse 5 it's the opposite of working, "he who doesn't work but believes."
You see, believing is the opposite of working. It is instead, trusting in the work of Christ. The whole idea of working and earning righteousness, it doesn't fit Abraham's experience, it doesn't fit Genesis 15:6. What does fit is that we, like Abraham, can contribute no work to our justification. Instead, we are justified as he was, as a favor. In other words, by grace, by grace alone. Look again at Genesis 15:6. Look at verse 3. It says nothing about any work Abraham had done serving as the basis, or the grounds, for his righteousness. All Abraham did was believe God. The main point of verses 4 and 5 is this, the ground of justification is not our works, but simply believing God's promise of spiritual blessing and salvation through the Messiah, just like Abraham did. That means, by the way, that the ground of our justification is what? It is God's grace alone. That's the gospel.
Now, look again at verse 5 and I want you to see specifically what Abraham believed about God, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly." That is a shocking statement, "God justifies the ungodly." Who are the ungodly? Well, the Greek word ungodly means, destitute of reverential awe toward God. It is those who have a fundamentally flawed view of God. Remember, back in Romans 1:18, "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness." In Romans 3:18, as he brings depravity to its ultimate foundation, he says, "'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" That's ungodly.
Notice how he describes the ungodly in verse 6, they are those with no works. In verses 7 and 8, moreover, they are guilty of "'lawless deeds'" and "'sins.'" In fact, let me show you what this group of people called ungodly really are like. Turn over to 1 Timothy 1, 1 Timothy 1:9. Paul says, God's "law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious," here's our word, "for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane." What do godly people do? Well, they "kill their fathers and mothers, they're murderers, they're immoral, they're homosexuals, they're kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and all kinds of other things that are contrary to God's law," that's who the ungodly are.
Go over to 2 Peter, 2 Peter 2, and notice verse 5, God "did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly." All of those people that God destroyed and drowned in the flood, they were ungodly. Look at verse 6, "He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives there afterwards." The people God destroyed in the fires of Sodom and Gomorrah were ungodly. Turn over to chapter 3 verse 7. As he looks forward to the coming Day of the Lord, he says, "by God's Word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men." All of those human beings that God will rain down His wrath upon and cast into eternal hell, are ungodly.
Now, go back to Romans 4 and notice what Paul says. He says, Abraham and anyone else who's going to be justified, "believes in God who justifies the ungodly." That ought to shock you. God puts righteousness in the accounts, not only of those who have no righteousness, but He puts it in the accounts of those whose accounts are already filled with sin and lawless deeds and ungodliness. God justifies, or declares righteous, not those who are righteous, but the ungodly.
By the way, this proves that justification is not God making us inherently righteous and then declaring us to be righteous because we really are, that's sanctification. Rather, in justification God declares the person who is ungodly to be righteous. That's grace. Look at chapter 3 verse 24, "being justified as a gift by His grace." This is how it works. Verse 16 of chapter 4, "For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace." It's the only way. Look at chapter 11. He's talking, in verse 5, about election, God's gracious choice, and in verse 6 he says, "it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace stops being grace." If you contribute anything it's not grace any more, God's putting in your account what you've earned.
Now, the question is, how can God justify the ungodly? How can He declare to be right with Him, the ungodly, when He Himself says in Exodus 23:7, "'I will not justify the guilty.'" Is God breaking His own law? Is He violating His own character in justification? Absolutely not. The answer for how God can justify the ungodly, is Jesus Christ, the death of Jesus Christ. Go back to Romans 3:24, we are "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Here's how He makes it possible to justify the ungodly, it's through the work of Christ.
Specifically, in verse 25, God "publicly displayed Christ as a propitiation," as the satisfaction of His justice through the death of Christ, and it's received "through faith." Look at chapter 4 verse 25, "Jesus our Lord was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification." Chapter 5 verse 6, here it is, I love this, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died [for whom?] the ungodly," "the ungodly."
So Paul says that, for the one who stops working as a means of being right with God, but believes in the God that has promised to justify the ungodly, look at chapter 4 verse 5 again, "his faith is credited as righteousness," or as it's put in verse 6, "God credits righteousness apart from works." God gave Abraham the gift of righteousness, or the gift of a right standing before Him, that was not earned and was not deserved. And that's exactly what God does for every repentant believing sinner.
So, whose righteousness was credited to Abraham and is credited to us? Look at chapter 5 verse 19. Paul makes it very clear. "For as through one man's disobedience," in context that's Adam, "through Adam's disobedience the many," really and again, in context, all of us, all humanity, "were made sinners," or constituted sinners, "even so through the obedience of the One," again, in context, Jesus Christ, verse 17, "through the obedience of Jesus Christ the many will be constituted as righteous."
This is really important. You see, God doesn't do in justification what He says He would never do, which is declare someone to be righteous where there's no righteousness anywhere to be found. That's not what God does in justification. Instead, in justification God declares us to be righteous because He has put real righteousness in our account. It's just not our righteousness. It's the righteousness of the One.
Do you understand what it means? We talk about, you know, I have the righteousness of Christ. What does that mean? When we say God credits Christ's righteousness to us, what does it mean? Here's what it means, it means two things. First of all, it means that God puts in my account what theologians call the active obedience of Jesus Christ. In other words, that 33 years Jesus lived on earth, when He never thought a sinful thought, He never spoke a sinful word, He never committed a sinful act, He lived in perfect conformity to God's law, He was perfect. God takes that life of perfection and He puts it in my account, as if I had lived it. And then He does something else, He credits, or puts in my account, what theologians call the passive obedience of Christ. That refers to His suffering on the cross. God takes the suffering that Jesus did for my sins and He credits it to my account as if I myself had suffered for my sins, but in fact, Christ suffered for them. That's justification.
According to Genesis 15:6 Paul says Abraham was ungodly, he had no works to offer God as the grounds for his acceptance with God, and Abraham was saved by God's grace alone through faith in God's saving promise of the seed, the Messiah. Here's how Lloyd Jones puts it, "Abraham was saved by faith in exactly the same way we are, without works, without any merit. He saw that his salvation lay entirely in the merits of the Son of God who was going to come and who after the flesh would be born of his seed."
So, what do you need to do to be right with God? Well, you need to do what Abraham did. Number one, you need to recognize the fact that you ungodly and unrighteous and that you deserve God's just wrath and anger and eternal death forever, and you need to turn in repentance toward God, turn from your sin, leave your rebellious ways and return to your Creator. Number two, like Abraham, you need to stop trusting in yourself and your own efforts to be right with God. And number three, you must believe in God who justifies the ungodly as a gift by His grace alone through the work of Jesus Christ alone. Abraham did nothing to make himself right with God, he simply believed what God promised to do through his seed, that is, through Jesus the Messiah. That was the gospel Abraham believed 4,000 years ago. That was the gospel David believe 3,000 years ago. That was the gospel Paul and the Roman Christians believed 2,000 years ago. And it's still the only gospel today. If you want to be right with God, this is your only hope.
And for those of you in Christ, do you see what this says to you? You can have confidence in the gospel. Jesus Himself said Abraham was in heaven. And here we're told how he got there. It was by the same gospel you have believed. You can trust God and the promises He's made you in the gospel. God saved Abraham through this gospel. God saved David through this gospel. God saved Paul and the Roman Christians through this gospel. And God will save us through the same gospel. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness."
And Father, for those here this morning who are not in Christ, help them to see where they are and help them to see their only hope, that they will only be made right with You if they abandon all hope in themselves and put their confidence in You, the God who justifies the ungodly. May this be the day. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
© 2019: Tom Pennington. All rights reserved. Transcript for personal use only, alteration and redistribution prohibited.


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How Jennifer Garner Reportedly Feels About Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's Rekindled Romance
By Stephanie Downs - June 9, 2021 04:02 pm EDT
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who dated in the early 2000s and were engaged before calling off their wedding, have seemingly rekindled their relationship. How does Affleck's ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, feel about this news? According to Us Weekly, Garner is reportedly supportive of Affleck and Lopez's relationship.
A source told Us Weekly that Lopez has Garner's "seal of approval." They added that the two women have crossed paths over the years and that "J. Lo thinks Jennifer is a kind and wonderful person and an amazing mother." Garner and Affleck were married for a decade before they split in 2015. Their divorce was finalized in 2018. The two are still on positive terms with one another for the sake of their three children together — Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9.
Affleck and Lopez were engaged from 2002 to 2004, although the pair called off their wedding and later called it quits for good. However, it seems like they have given their relationship another go. In early May, Lopez and Affleck sparked rumors that they rekindled their relationship after they were spotted on a getaway to Montana together. Their apparent reconciliation came shortly after the "Let's Get Loud" singer announced her split from her fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, whom she was with for three years. At the time, Lopez and Rodriguez released a statement on the Today show in which they said that they decided that they work "better as friends." They added that they will "continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and project" and "wish the best for each other and one another's children."
About a month after Lopez and Rodriguez's split, Us Weekly reported that the Maid in Manhattan star was "full-on dating" Affleck. An insider told the outlet, "Jen and Ben are both very happy with each [other] and are excited to see where the relationship goes." Those in the couple's inner circle believe that the second time is the charm for them, as they believe that they're "soulmates." A separate source said, "Friends say they can see them staying together forever this time around. They love being together and the weekends away they had been spending together have really sealed the deal. They are very much in love."
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The major preconception benefit of taking a folic acid supplement is the prevention of birth defects. The US Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends at least 400 mcg (micrograms) of folic acid per day before and during pregnancy.
Deficiencies in folic acid or folate (natural form) have been linked to major birth defects of the brain and spine of babies. Such as neuro tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly.
It's important to start taking this vitamin supplement at least three months prior to getting pregnant. So this is definitely one to add to your preconception checklist. Continue taking it throughout your pregnancy.
The benefit to start before conception (preconception) is that these defects occur in the first few weeks of pregnancy often before you even realize you have conceived. In other words, it only works if you take it before getting pregnant.
The CDC says that taking a folic acid supplement can decrease the odds of birth defects by 50 to 70%. It is a B vitamin sometimes referred to as B9.
The fertility benefit is that folic acid is needed for the growth of new cells in our body. Thus helping our system to produce healthy eggs. Well nourished eggs means less problems with fertility, ovulation, conception, implantation, miscarriage, and, of course, growing a healthier baby.
Unless prescribed by your doctor, you should limit your intake to 1000 mcg per day. If you've had a previous child with brain or spinal cord defects you doctor may prescribe 4000 mcg a day during the one month before you get pregnant.
Even if you believe that you are eating a well balanced nutritional diet, the CDC recommends still supplementing with capsules or pills. More studies are needed, but the belief is that some women may not be able to assimilate the naturally occurring form of this B vitamin (folate) resulting in a deficiency.
The March of Dimes states "A recent study* suggests that women who take a folic acid supplement for at least 1 year before they become pregnant can cut their risk for having a premature baby (born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) by half. The study also suggests that these women can reduce their risk of having a very premature baby (born before 32 completed weeks) by up to 70 percent."
*Bukowski, R., et al. Preconceptional Folate Prevents Preterm Delivery (abstract). American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 197, number 6, December 2007, page S3.